《The Legend of Noralon - A Litrpg Apocalypse》


 Chapter 1: The Legend of Noralon

    Tom stood in front of the raid party as they did their final prep work. Not everyone in the raid group was a friend. In fact, he would say he was only close to three of them. Alex, the wizard with her star-spangled robes, Abaddon the Orc juggernaut with his shield and mace, and Skippy, the elvish assassin who was currently jumping up and down on Abaddon''s head.


    "Alright, final checks. Everyone has equipped armor with acid-resistant, yes?" Tom asked over the chat.


    "Check" came from almost everybody in the group.


    "Alex, did you lose your armor again?! Because if you did, we aren''t canceling the raid." Tom asked,


    "No, no, I got it. I just forgot to equip it." Alex''s wizard robes immediately changed from blue to a scaly green as she switched out equipment.


    "Alright, Alex here is going to cast [Acid Resistance] on us. Then we are going to activate the following Skills: [War Banner], [Horn of War], [Battle Cry], [Dragons Might],  [Strength of the Heavens], [Duty Till Death], [Holy Mantle], and I''m activating [Glory to the Damned]. Once the fighting starts, everyone needs to use their boosting abilities. The Scylla will beat us in a battle of attrition, so now isn''t the time to be conservative. Unless there is anything else, everyone drinks your potions and---"


    "Alright, chumps, let''s do this. Leerooooy Jeeeenkiiins!!" Starkiller called as he pulled out his swords and charged up the staircase and onto the deck of the ship.


    "God dammit, Starkiller, wait!!" Tom called out, but it was too late. The moment Starkiller stepped onto the deck, the entire raid party was teleported on deck with him, and the way back downstairs was closed and locked.


    Upon arriving on deck, the massive eight-headed Hydra came into view. Technically, it was a Scylla, basically a hydra with flippers instead of legs. Two of its heads were wrapped around the ship''s main mast while the other six worked on devouring the crew. Its monstrous heads roared, the sound echoing through Tom''s body as he charged the Scylla.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have entered Scylla''s weather effect: [Acid Rain]


    Everyone exposed to the rain will take continuous [Acid] damage, with damage doubled for creatures with the [Plant] and [Artificial] types. [Acid], [Lightning], [Water], [Potions], and [Poison] effects will be strengthened, while [Fire], [Nature], [Wood], [Bone], and [Blood] magic will be weakened.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Dammit. Astrid, activate your skills!!"


    But it was too late. All group cohesion was lost as the Scylla sprayed acid over the raiding party. Astrid didn''t even respond as one of the raid bosses'' heads attacked him.


    Tom immediately unleashed a mix of blue holy lightning and infernal red lighting. The magic augmented by the [Acid Rain] shot through the air to slam into the Scylla''s face, burning a scar over one of the Scylla''s left eyes. The head hissed and lunged at him. Just as the creature was about to bite Tom''s head off, Abaddon''s shield bashed the monster, interrupting its attack. Using that opportunity, Tom hit the head with a [Holy Smite], his sword arcing with holy lighting as he carved a hole in its eye socket.


    With the head effectively unresponsive, Tom and Abaddon wasted no time and unloaded every special attack and spell they could as quickly as they could. Holy lighting, infernal lighting, smite, hammer down. Even as they poured on the damage, the raid boss''s massive health bar was barely moving, even with an entire raid group attacking it with everything they had.


    That was when Tom cursed as he realized no one was even trying to follow his strategy. Instead, he was simply trying to stay alive in the chaos, and unsuccessful at that. The battle plan he had spent a month planning had gone down the drain with Starkiller''s bullshit.


    The Scylla''s head roared as it pulled out of range, the roar stunning all of them before the Scylla started dosing the entire raid group in acid. Looking around, Tom swore as he glanced at the health and mana bars of everyone present and came to a painful realization.


    "We''re going to wipe," Tom said defeatedly as Scylla''s stun effect faded.


    He didn''t even bother keeping up the attack. Even if everyone suddenly remembered the strategy, they had already missed their window of opportunity.


    "I told you this was going to fucking happen. We''re 15 levels below where we needed to be to fight the Scylla." Skippy pointed out. Despite his words, he didn''t stop attacking the raid boss. He was the kind of person who would keep playing to the very end rather than admitting defeat and moving on.


    "I know, I know, but if we pulled it off, we might have gotten an achievement reward for the expansion," Tom moaned as the Scylla slowly but surely began to slaughter the raid party.


    Tom was just tired. He had spent weeks crunching the numbers between classes, optimizing their loadouts, and strategizing, all for it to come to nothing.


    "Well, this is a bust," Abbadon said as Skippy and Alex walked up to the two of them.


    "What did you fucking expect, you freaken numb skull? I told you guys we needed a healer when Jason quit. I said that we needed to wait until Duncan and Lizard Wizard were done with their midterms. I told you not to bring Starkiller along. But no, It will be fine, Skippy. You worry too much, Skippy. Pikachu knows everything. Well, look who''s the short dumb arsehole now, fuck nuts." Skippy ranted at them.


    "No one called you short," Alex said.


    "Well, I remember hearing it," Skippy protested.


    "Sounds like a you problem." Alex pointed out.


    "So, who''s going to be the healer for the expansion then," Skippy asked. "Because I''m not dealing with this shit again."


    There was a momentary silence only broken by the roars of the Scylla.


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


    """Not it!""" Abbadon, Alex, and Skippy all said simultaneously,


    "Not ¡­ god dammit," Tom swore as he was a second behind everyone.


    "Yes, it''s not me!" Skippy cheered. "Not me!! Suck my dick, Tom."


    "Ugh, I don''t even know where to start. You do realize I was going for a magic swordsman, right?" Tom protested.


    "Yeah, you''ve been a magic swordsman ever since we banned your fat ass from being a wizard. But now you are our healer," Skippy said, giving him an evil grin. "Thank you for taking care of us, sucker."


    "Your mom took care of me last night," Tom shot back.


    Skippy flipped him off as Abbadon laughed.


    "He got you." Abbadon chuckled. "Though if I''m being honest, I''m working on a completely new character for the expansion pack. This fight just proves I need to change my build.¡±


    ¡°What is your current build anyway? I don¡¯t remember.¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°30 lvls in Crusader, 30 in Guardian, and 10 in Alchemist,¡± Abbadon said.


    ¡°Jesus, man, I knew you were making a tank build for this raid, but that''s a bit overkill. You can''t have more than five offensive skills in your entire build,¡± Tom pointed out, ¡°You''re basically a chew toy for mobs."


    ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± Abbadon admitted. "But Tristan and Andrew are too busy to play anymore, so I figured we needed a tank. I am not going to make this mistake again. My next character is going to be perfect. Minmaxed to perfection, I¡¯m going to have damage and defense coming out of my ass."


    "Maybe you should get two girls and a cup to check your ass," Skippy punned.


    Tom grimaced. "That was ¡­ gross, Skippy, your gross."


    "Well, I do this for an audience of one, and I thought it was hilarious," Skippy said as he flipped him off.


    ¡°I''m thinking of going for a sexy high elf wizard with massive tits," Alex said, the lewd tone coming over the mic. Nobody spoke for a long minute.


    "Alex, you''re gross too," Tom said.


    "Don''t hate the player. Hate the game." Alex shot back.


    "First off, you''re a girl, so I''m not even sure if that phrase works for you. Second, being bisexual does not excuse being a raging pervert." Tom pointed out. He pointedly ignored the fact that the Scylla was spraying them with acid and just kept talking.


    "Ok, just to reconfirm. Abbadon is going for some mystery Tank."


    "With alchemy," Abbadon said.


    "Yes, Abbadon, we all know you love alchemy. So Abbadon is going to be a tanky alchemist. Alex will be extra lewd but otherwise stick to the standard artillery archmage build."


    "Sexy Artillery," Alex cut in, correcting him.


    "And Skippy is ¡­" Tom trailed off. "What are you going with this time? I know you normally go for some kind of rogue archetype or agility-based swordsman."


    "I want to become an endurance-based sword master," Skippy said. "I was thinking [Sword Master], [Blade Dancer], [Matadoor] kind of thing. Thinking of getting away from being a rouge for a bit."


    "And I''m stuck playing the healer," Tom groaned. "I hate you all."


    "Don''t worry, Tom, I still love you," Alex said sarcastically.


    "Come on, Tom, you loved playing the Death General. You just need to do that again but with life magic instead of death." Skippy said.


    Tom was just about to argue why that wouldn''t work when he realized that was a perfectly viable option. Life and Death magic were mirrors of each other. He idly noticed his health dip into the ten percent range as the acid rain continued to eat away at his HP.


    "All right, I''m logging off for the night. We''ve got that chemistry test first thing tomorrow, and I don''t want to be completely out of it." Abbadon groaned.


    "Wait, we have a chemistry test tomorrow?!" Tom asked.


    "Um, yeah," Abbadon said. "Skippy was supposed to tell you ¡­"


    Tom glared at Skippy.


    "Well, look at the time. Good night, guys," Skippy said before his avatar disappeared.


    "I am going to fucking kill--" Tom was cut off just as the Scylla bit down on his head.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Died


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom sighed as the world around him went dark. Ten seconds later, he respawned in his character''s home. His home was a large lighthouse on the east coast of the in-game map. Glancing at the in-game clock. It was 4 in the morning. His mom would go mental if she caught him playing so late on a school night, which was ironic as she generally didn''t care about whether or not he was even fed.


    DING!!!


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    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Starkiller: Hey, group. Sorry for the party wipe, but Sultan paid me 350$ to ruin the raid. LOL. You have my contact information if you need any mercenary action for the next expansion. ;)


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom rolled his eyes as he logged out of the game. The familiar logo of the legend of Noralon appeared before him, a snake eating its own tail wrapped around an hourglass. The menu presented six options: New Character, Load Character, Settings, Exit Game, and The Titan Expansion. His eyes were drawn to the enticing option of the Titan Expansion, but it remained inaccessible for another thirteen hours. With a click, he chose to exit the game, and suddenly, the virtual world around him dissolved into darkness.


    As the darkness receded, Victor regained control of his physical body. He removed the full immersion helmet, placing it on his desk with a thud. Exhausted, he collapsed onto his bed, drifting into a realm of dreams filled with the adventures and wonders of The Legend of Noralon.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Lance Dov''more


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Elf


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Demon


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 70


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Dark elf / Doculfar


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 9,600


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 16,800


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 17,600


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 128.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 192.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 128.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical, Elemental, Magic, Crit, Insta-death, Disease, Poison


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind


    </td>


    </tr>


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    <td>


    Weakness


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    N/A


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    </tr>


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    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Demonslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Classes: Disciple of Zax 30 / Hexblade 20 / Paladin 20


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


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    Base Attributes


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    STR: 800


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 960


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 800


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 640


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 640


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 880


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 880


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 640


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 640


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 640


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 640


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 640


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 2: Mondays

    BEEP BEEP BEEP


    The alarm clock blared in Tom''s ear like a bee on steroids. He silenced it with a smack, but a part of him wished he could blast it to smithereens with a Pyroclap. But that was a level 80 fire magic spell. It would take him months to grind back up to level 80 in the fire magic skill tree. Was it 80? It might have been 40? He couldn''t remember. He was pretty sure that Alex had used the spell when he was at level 50, but that might have been a scroll instead of his own skill level. In the midst of his connotations, he realized the clock was still going.


    Tom''s inner monologue was abruptly interrupted as a sharp pain erupted from his stomach. His whole body convulsed, buckling against the object that fell on him, and suddenly, he was wide awake, not a trace of drowsiness in his mind.


    ¡°Good morning, brother!¡± an annoyingly cheerful voice sounded right on top of him. ¡°Morning, morning, MORNING!!!¡±


    Tom glared at his little sister, but she just smiled back at him cheekily, still sprawled across his stomach. She was humming to herself in obvious satisfaction, kicking her feet playfully in the air as she studied the giant world map The Legend of Noralon Tom had tacked to the wall next to his bed. Or rather, pretended to study. Tom could still see her watching him intently out of the corner of her eye for a reaction.


    ¡°Get off of me, Chloe,¡± Tom grumbled. He quickly grasped her legs and chest and flipped her over the edge of the bed. She fell to the floor with a thud and an indignant yelp.


    She sprang back up to her feet like a cat before snatching his pillow out from under his head with lightning speed. Before Tom could react, she swung it at him with surprising force, the pillow connected with his face, engulfing him in softness as he smacked back down into the bed. Laughter erupted from Chloe''s lips as Tom sputtered, trying to free himself from the pillow''s grasp.


    "Oh, you little brat!" Tom sputtered as he grabbed his other pillow and tried to smack her with it.


    Chloe laughed like any other nine-year-old as she ducked his attack and hit him with the pillow a second time.


    "Can''t catch me!" Chloe giggled as she continued to beat him with his own pillow.


    Tom signed as he picked her up and tossed her onto the bed. He started to tickle her, causing her to laugh uncontrollably. Her blonde hair whipped around as the nine-year-old tried to struggle out of his grasp.


    The two of them jerked to a stop as Dad slammed his bedroom door open with a bang.


    "Shut the hell up!" Dad shouted.


    "What the fuck are you two doing?! I have been up all night, working hard, and you two ungrateful brats can''t even keep quiet fucking quiet!! Do I look like I have time to fucking deal with you!?"


    Chloe shuffled behind Tom as their dad kept shouting. Tom''s entire body was rigid as his dad''s words pounded into him.


    "Fucking ungrateful! That''s what you are! Why the fuck did I even have kids!!" he ranted before turning to leave. "I need a fucking drink," he mumbled as he left.


    "Come on, Chloe, let''s get some breakfast. Then I can take you to school."


    Chloe nodded before she zoomed out of the room.


    Quickly changing out of his pajamas, Tom took a moment to look around his room. He took note of everything that was missing from his room. Chloe had a very fuzzy notion of other people¡¯s privacy and even sticker fingers. He would retrieve his supplies later.


    As soon as he was changed and his backpack packed, he went down the hall to the kitchen to eat something and try to avoid his Mom.


    Unfortunately, Mom was waiting for him today and immediately started to lecture him from her position on the sofa. He hadn¡¯t even finished his descent down the stairs, and she had already found something about him she didn¡¯t like.


    ¡°You don¡¯t really intend to go out looking like that, do you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this?¡± asked Tom. He was wearing cargo pants and a hoodie, barely any different from literally every other teenager in the world. It seemed just fine to him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so difficult,¡± she snapped at him. ¡°Our family is a pillar of the community. I know you don¡¯t care about such things, but appearances are important to a lot of people. You are a member of this family, and your actions inevitably reflect on our reputation. I will not let you embarrass me by looking like a common punk. Go back to your room and put on some proper attire.¡±


    Tom had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes just long enough to turn his back on her. Maybe her guilt trip would have been more effective if this had been the first time she had tried it on him. However, there were two problems with her argument. One, they were white trash. Dad was an abusive alcoholic, and mom was a morbidly obese narcissist. Their reputation couldn''t really go any lower. Second, these were, in fact, the nicest clothes he owned, so her point was moot.


    "Don''t you ignore me," his Mom called after him as he moved into the kitchen, refusing to get off of her fat ass to follow after him.


    "Go upstairs and put on some jeans," she ordered as she flailed about in her lazy boy.


    "Buy some jeans that fit then," Tom shot back.


    "Hey, don''t you talk to me like that?!" she hissed. "I carried you for nine months, and you will not disrespect me like that!!"


    His mom''s idea of jeans was the kind of skinny jeans that were so small they might have cut off circulation to one''s feet if he could actually put them on, which he couldn''t. He suspected she liked them because she had once been the cheer captain in high school, but after a fight with whoever his grandparents were, she ran off with his dad. An abusive alcoholic who was ten years her senior. And when she didn''t become an Instagram star or whatever she was trying to become, she just gave up. She spent all her time on the couch watching TV or entering Chloe into beauty pageants or other dumb things to make herself feel better instead of, you know, actually parenting them.


    Tom grabbed two bowls and dumped the premade oatmeal inside before adding raisins, brown sugar, milk, and some raspberries he had stolen from a bush, taking over the backyard.


    When Chloe snuck down the hall of their one-story home, she immediately shuffled over to Tom, being careful so as not to let their Mom see her. Then she sat down and began eating with him. Mom was still watching the news. Something about a snowstorm being due to hit them later tonight. He didn''t really care too much, and global warming meant they weren''t going to get more than an inch of snow.


    As soon as he and Chloe were done with their food, he grabbed her pink winter coat and slipped it on her. He grabbed his own coat and both their bags as he took her out the door. His Mom Did not even acknowledge them, her eyes glued to the TV.


    "Is it really going to snow?" Chloe asked as they started to walk down the road.


    "Probably," Tom said as he checked the weather with his phone.


    "Yes, I want to build a snowman," she sang.


    "Oh no," Tom swore as Chloe started singing. Do you want to build a snowman from frozen, over and over?


    For the next five blocks, Tom was forced to endure her endless repetitive singing of a Disney movie. Fortunately, his high school was in the same general direction, so that way, he wouldn''t be losing any time.


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    Fortunately, her elementary school was only five blocks away from their house, so it wasn''t a big deal. More importantly, he wasn''t alone for long. Alex joined them halfway through the walk.


    "Hi, sweety," Alex said, picking Chloe up and spinning her around.


    Chloe squealed in delight as Alex spun her.


    "Don''t do that," Tom complained. "If she throws up, it''s your fault."


    "Ok, ok," Alex said as she put Chloe down,


    "But Tom," Chloe protested.


    "No, the last time she spun you around, you threw up and ended up sick for a week," Tom said as they walked along.


    Alex was quite a bit different from her in-game characters. Her father is Chinese, and her mom was Egyptian, but she inherited the worst traits from both of them. She was short, chubby, with cropped hair, and stuffed into a sweater and sweatpants combo. Pimples decorated her moca face, and her frizzled black hair was at least a third of her mass. She was not what anyone would call sexy. As opposed to her skinny white blonde bimbo character models in-game. Not that she cared all that much. She gained weight too easily, and she was an uber-nerd with no interest in exercise, much like Tom.


    That was probably why they got along so well, though Chloe was another reason.


    "So Tom, are you coming over to my place for the expansion tonight? It''s a LAN party." Alex half whispered.


    "Can I come?" Chloe asked so cutely it was almost heartbreaking.


    "Sorry, pumpkin," Alex said. "This is a teenage party only."


    A part of him wished he could bring Chloe, but she was a bit of a brat, and he took care of her all the time. It wasn''t that he didn''t love her. He just wanted some time alone with his friends once in a while.


    Once they reached Chloe''s elementary school, Chloe ran off toward her friends.


    "She''s so cute," Alex cooed.


    "She''s a bit of a brat." Tom countered. "She stole all my pens and paper today."


    "Hey, a cute girl should always be forgiven." Alex protested.


    "Why do I feel the next time you screw up, you''re going to quote this conversation."


    Alex suddenly looked at him all seriously.


    "You and Chloe, okay. I mean, I know your parents ¡­"


    "Let''s talk about something else," Tom cut in as they arrived at school.


    Hopkins was a public school comprising three floors, sixty-four classrooms, and a variety of workshops for extracurricular activities. It aimed to provide a comprehensive educational experience. However, it had fallen on hard times. The school had been underfunded for years, resulting in outdated facilities and a dire need for upgrades. Even the computers were still running on the outdated Windows 7 operating system. The school''s infrastructure had also seen better days, with peeling paint and aging equipment that had remained unchanged for at least five years. It was clear that Hopkins was in a state of disrepair, but it wasn''t so bad as to justify an injection of money.


    Despite all of its problems, Tom really loved his school. He much preferred it over his house.


    Tom and Alex arrived at school at 8:00 a.m. They were just getting to the front of the school when¡­


    "Hey! What the hell are you doing!" Tom yelled, as suddenly a car pulled out from the curb, the engine revving as some moronic jock blasted out from the curb, straight at them!


    Tom and Alex dived between two parked cars in front of them. Tom heard the squeal of brakes and the maniacal laughing from the car''s open window.


    "Better pay attention, couch jockey!" Getting to his feet, Sean glared at Chad, the backup quarterback for the Panther Pack.


    "Least. He''s not a camper!" Alex shot back.


    "Shut it, Dyck," Chad shot back.


    "Eat a dick Chad," Alex shot back.


    "You first bitch! First time for everything." Chad laughed like a hyena.


    "The same can''t be said for you," Tom shot back.


    He didn''t care for Chad; the guy exuded arrogance, and rumor had it that he had quite the reputation as a star athlete in his last high school. However, when he was expelled and transferred to Hopkins, he got demoted, and that failure had led to him finding unfortunate targets to release his frustration on other people. Tom and Alex had come to his attention at a Halo LAN party. Chad had been an obnoxious ass, so they had fragged him the entire night. And now he hated them. Tom for being a nerd, and he called Alex a trans dyke. Needless to say, the feelings were mutual.


    The only thing that had stopped Chad from beating the crap out of them had been the football coach''s rather strict policy on his players getting into fights. But it still hadn''t stopped the harassment.


    "You better watch your mouth, Tom. You can''t be with your friends all the time,"  Chad warned.


    Tom drove off in his car, nearly hitting someone''s car as he served into the parking lot.


    "Fucking lunatic," Tom muttered.


    While he wasn''t exactly afraid of Chad, Tom really wasn''t all that interested in getting beat up, either. Sure, he could hold his own in most fights, but most of the fights he''d been in as a kid hadn''t been with a high school athlete in perfect physical condition with anger issues.


    "Come on, let''s go," Tom said. Leading Alex towards the front entrance.


    The front of the school was already packed with puffy-faced students, the cold air nipping at their faces as they procrastinated before class, the cold air being preferable to the classroom.


    Two of the stragglers were Tom''s friends. Hector and Skippy. Hector was short, barely five feet tall, had curly brown hair, and was obese. Hector always had trouble making friends, and honestly, he was anti-social to an extreme degree. Despite that, he was a chemistry prodigy. He was also a massive role player, and he always insisted that people call him by his player handle in-game. Personally, Tom was pretty sure the guy had ADHD and maybe autism.


    Skippy, on the other hand, was over five feet tall, drank way too much coffee, and he enjoyed saying offensive stuff despite the fact he wasn''t racist, or homophobic, or transphobic, or sexist, or any other issue. He was just an asshole who liked to get a rise out of people. His squirrely disposition had him checking over his shoulder every few seconds.


    "Hey, assholes," Skippy called out. "I''ve got your coffee."


    Skippy offered him a steaming cup as he walked up to him.


    Tom briefly considered injecting the coffee directly into his veins before he started to drink.


    "Thanks, Skippy," Alex said as she took the coffee and chugged it down.


    "Thank you, my ni--"


    Alex smacked skippy in the arm hard.


    "Oh, what was that for?" Skippy asked.


    "You''re not allowed to say the N-word. remember"


    "But what if I were given a choice between saying the N-word and saving a black person''s life or not saying the N-word and that black person dying." skippy asked.


    "Well, I mean, of course, then you could say it," Alex said, rolling his eyes.


    Skippy opened his mouth.


    "No, you can''t say it right now." Alex cut in.


    "Why not?!" Skippy moaned.


    "It''s racist," Tom suggested.


    "I don''t even care about that. I just like saying the word," Skippy admitted.


    "Yeah, I''m just not saying it," Tom said


    "You wouldn''t say the N-word to save someone''s life?" Skippy asked.


    "Why wouldn''t you say it, Tom?" Alex asked


    "Because I don''t want to be canceled," Tom stated


    "Is that racist? I feel like not saying the word would be racist." Skippy said.


    "Skippy, how is Tom racist?" Alex asked.


    "Alex, I''m white. I want to go to college. I''m not touching this with a ten-foot pole,"  Tom said, backing away from the group.


    "Well, Skippy is." Alex pointed out.


    "Skippy''s family owns a chop shop. He''s not going to college. He''s going to run a chop shop. If I get labeled as a racist, any scholarships I get could be dropped." Tom pointed out.


    "How are you getting canceled for saying the N-word if you''re saying it to save someone''s life?" Alex asked.


    "I could get canceled for debating it in the first place, so I''m shutting up," Tom pointed out.


    "So you would let a black person die?" Alex asked.


    The second to last bell rang, cutting their conversation short.


    "Saved by the bell," Tom said as he shot off.


    Tom raced inside the school, up the stairs, and towards the chem lab. Hector was right behind him as he had the same morning chem class. They arrived just as the last bell rang, along with one of the goth kids with long bangs. Slipping in, he hoped no one would notice them. The teacher, Ms.Lewis, gave him a dirty look.


    "I''m getting tired of the lateness, people. If anyone is late for tomorrow''s test, he or she will receive a zero," she said.


    Ms.Lewis was the kind of teacher that every kid in his class, including Alex, had at least one dirty thought about. With a body of sin, wearing a too-tight pantsuit that threatened to rip open with her every movement, she was complete eye candy. Most of what he knew about her was from rumors. She had supposedly tried to be a reporter and become a teacher as a fallback option. And she was young, like graduated from college last year, and isn''t even 25 yet. If Tom hadn''t been so tired, he would have been completely distracted by her as she walked around the classroom. Tom sagged in his chair. It was warm in the classroom, too warm for him to stay awake.


    "Alright then," Ms.Lewis''s voice snapped Tom out of his thoughts, causing him to look up.


    "If you would all kindly take out your notebooks," Ms. Lewis continued.


    He then darkened the lights for a PowerPoint presentation. Tom tried to focus on the review, but soon, his head began to nod in time with Ms. Lewis''s singsong cadence. In another five minutes, he was fast asleep.

 Chapter 3: Bullies

    Tom picked at his sandwich as he waited for his free-period appointments. None of his friends were free during this period, but he had found a way to earn some side money by doing homework or giving test answers to the kids with too much money and insufficient brains. Right now, though, he was using the time to download everything on the Legend of Noralon onto his phone. He wanted to be ready for the new update. Unfortunately, the devs were being maliciously quiet about the whole thing. There wasn''t a hint, a leak of in-game footage, patch notes, a tweet, nothing. It was driving the entire community mad as they tried to figure out what the new expansion was and why it was being hyped up so much.


    Finally, his first customer showed up. A blonde bimbo in a cheerleader''s outfit sat across from him, her hair done up in pigtails, the tips of each dyed pink¡ªthe titular popular girl.


    "Hey, Penny,"


    "Hey, nerd, do you have my homework?"


    Tom pulled out Penny''s biology, chemistry, and physics homework and a cheat sheet for her biology test. Penny wasn''t dumb. She just didn''t care about school. From what Tom could tell, Penny''s life plan was to marry someone rich and become a music star. She even had a YouTube channel where she posted music videos. Penny took the homework, looking it over before handing him two hundred dollars in small bills.


    "Hey, I''m recording a new song next week, so I need you to help me with my homework," Penny said as she stored her homework.


    "I can''t help you. I''m busy for the next week." Tom cut her off, not wanting to interrupt his legend of Noralon time.


    "I''ll pay double," Penny stated dismissively.


    Tom briefly considered it.


    "Get back to me tomorrow. I''ll know more then." Tom said.


    Penny nodded before leaving.


    The following six people were just your common run-of-the-mill morons who had more money than brains. They paid him, and he gave them their homework until his money-making was interrupted when Chad wandered over to him.


    "Hey, Bruner!!" Chad spat, spittle flying from his mouth as he grabbed him by the coat and dragged him into one of the less populated areas.


    "I think you and I need to have a chat," Chad said, a slimy smile on his face.


    Tom tried to stop Chad, but his feet slid across the ground as the football player handled him like a child.


    Chad slugged him in the stomach. Causing all of the air to leave his lungs as he doubled over in pain.


    "My car is all scratched up because of you and your dyke friend, Bruner!! How are you going to pay me back for that?"


    Chad kicked him again, causing a fresh flash of pain to radiate through his body.


    "Hey, Chad," Luke said, his voice steady and commanding. "I think you''ve had enough fun for one day. Leave him alone."


    Chad turned to face Luke. Luke was as wide as Chad but taller. He was also the quarterback, the most popular kid in school, and someone Tom hated more than Chad.


    Luke had once been his best friend until his mom got rich and moved to a nicer part of town. After that, Luke didn''t talk to him. He got a brand new group of douchebag friends like Chad and failed to remember Tom ever existed whenever he wasn''t in the same room as him.


    "What is it to you, Grayson?!" Chad asked.


    Luke took a step closer to Chad, towering over him. "If you get kicked off the team because you can''t control yourself, then it''s everyone''s business. Walk away before I tell the coach."


    That did it, and Chad backed up, glaring at Tom as he got back to his feet. Tom didn''t break eye contact with Chad until the bully fully turned and left in a huff.


    "You okay?" Luke asked him.


    Tom felt his blood boil at the sheer irony of that question.


    "What do you want, Luke? I don''t have all day." Tom spat.


    "Come on, Tom. We used to be friends," Luke begged. At least let me take you to the nurse''s office."


    "I''m fine. I''ve had worse beatings at home," Tom said. "Or did you forget that?"


    Luke flinched at those words, his face turning downwards.


    "I''m sorry, man, it wasn''t like that," Luke said, trying to defend himself.


    "We''ve had this conversation before, Luke," Tom said, dismissing him. You give some half-hearted apology, and then you go back to hanging out with Chad and pretending I don''t exist until the next time you see me."


    Tom got to his feet and started to walk away, but Luke stopped him.


    "Tom, please, can''t we just talk? We used to be best friends."


    "Used to be," Tom stated angrily. "You''ve made it pretty clear on that, past tense."


    "Look, can we ju ---"


    "What do you want, Luke?" Tom cut him off. He was tired of dealing with Luke.


    "What makes you think I want anything?" Luke asked.


    "You don''t make it a habit to stop Chad from beating the crap out of people, so I can only assume you want something this time." Tom hissed.


    "That''s not true." Luke protested.


    "When was the last time you helped me when Chad was being an ass? Better yet, when was the last time you stopped anyone from being bullied? Hmm? You might not participate, but you sure as hell don''t stop, so I ask again, what do you want?" Tom asked.


    "What was I supposed to do? Not enjoy my life just because yours was shitty?!" Luke shot back.


    Tom smiled, and at least he got a rise out of him.


    "Do what you want, Luke, just leave me out of it," Tom said as he walked away.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    <hr>


    Luke walked back to his friend''s table, unsure of what to do.


    "Hey, Grascon," Chad called out. "You done making out with the nerds?!"


    That comment earned him a round of chuckles from the other football team members. Chad was tanned with rippling muscles that made him look like a movie star in an 80s action movie, while Kevin was tall, thin, and lean, almost like a stick. More than that, he was an almost unhealthy shade of pale. The guy gave Luke the creeps. Luke scoffed at the two jokers as he moved over to the people he actually liked to hang out with.


    "Hey Chad, you''re done playing with the kids," Gareth Brown shouted back. Maybe you and I could go a few rounds on the mat."


    That shut Chad right up as Luke sat down next to Gareth. Gareth was built like an Olympic weightlifter, making even Chad look scrawny, and that was saying something.


    "Fuck that guy," Gareth spat.


    "He''s not that bad when he''s on the field." Luke protested.


    Gareth rolled his eyes but didn''t argue.


    "Have you considered joining the team?" Luke asked.


    "I already had that conversation. They give you the spiel about having to eat, sleep, and breathe insert-your-sport-here, and my eyes just glaze over. I''ve got my sport. Nothing better than mixed martial arts." Gareth said.


    "I think your mom regrets dumping you in karate classes every day."


    "Hey, I can do more than karate," Gareth said, smiling at him as Samatha Mato sat down next to them.


    "Alright, what are you two knuckleheads talking about?" she asked.


    Samatha, or just Sam, was the head of the archery club. Someone once told her that she looked like a Native American Lara Croft. Sam had decked the guy, though Luke agreed with the assessment.


    "Karate," Gareth said.


    "Still trying to get your brother to join you?" Sam asked.


    Gareth signed. "He doesn''t want to. He''s more interested in the tradecrafts. He likes making stuff, and I like breaking stuff. I don''t mind it, but he needs to learn how to protect himself."


    "From what? I go out hunting every summer with my dad, and I barely ever need to defend myself." Sam said.


    "I worry," Gareth said.


    The bell rang, cutting off further conversation.


    "Ok, guys, see you tomorrow," Luke said as he got up to leave.


    Luke ended up walking past Penny, who was strumming her guitar.


    "Hey, Penny," Luke called out,


    "Hey, Luke," Penny replied, glancing up from her guitar. "What''s up?"


    "Just the usual drama," Luke said with a shrug. "How about you? New song?"


    "Yeah, just messing around with some ideas," Penny said as she turned her guitar.


    <hr>


    Tom sat down in the hallway for lunch while his friends did the same. Hector had a black eye, which caused Tom to pause.


    "Dude, what happened?!" Tom asked as he examined his friend.


    "I fell down the stairs," Hector said stiffly.


    "Bullshit." Skippy snarled. "It was that cock gobbler Kevin again."


    "Ok, first off, we need to wash out your mouth and second. Who the fuck is Kevin?" Tom asked.


    "Kevin, he''s Chad''s friend. He''s the really tall taint licker." Skippy said.


    Tom knew the guy. Weirdly tall and strong, the guy gave him the creeps.


    "Only unlike shit tits, Chad, this creamcrate doesn''t care about being caught," Skippy said.


    "Creamcrate? Why would creamcrate be a ¡­. Oh god, dammit, Skippy, I just got it. Why did you put that in my head?" Hector asked.


    "How long has this been going on Heactor?" Tom asked, trying to redirect the conversation.


    "Not long," Hector said, trying to deflect the question.


    "How long?" Tom pushed.


    "Since last year," Hector admitted.


    "Hector, why didn''t you tell us about it?" Alex asked as she hugged their friend.


    "Why didn''t you talk to a teacher?" Tom asked.


    "Kevin''s sperm donor is rich," Skippy said.


    "Then why is he here? Hopkins isn''t exactly a private school." Tom pointed out.


    Hopkins was a public school and not the best one. Luke was only here because his mom was a politician, and having her son attend a public school looked good for her optics.


    "I heard he got his ass aborted out of the other schools, and the only reason he''s still in this fucking Hopkins is that his dad is putting his beansprout up the principal cream crate." Skippy gossiped.


    "You''re doing this on purpose, aren''t you?" Tom demanded. "How do you even know all this?"


    Skippy shrugged.


    "I hear things."


    "You mean you eavesdrop," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "So how do we fix this?"


    Skippy shrugged. "We could feed him his daddy''s tampons."


    Tom ignored Skippy.


    "Could we get him to focus on someone else," Tom suggested.


    "That''s dark," Alex pointed out.


    "And besides, Who are we going to throw to the lion to get him off of Hector," Skippy said.


    "Maybe we could get him expelled. Hector''s autistic. We could claim it a hate crime." Skippy suggested.


    "I thought you said his dad was mashing ugly bits with the principal?" Tom asked.


    "Oh, right. Oh, I know we follow the principal home and take pictures of them fucking then we call the police on the two of them, and then we post the pictures on --"


    The bell rang, cutting off further conversation.


    Tom rolled his eyes.


    "I need to go see my counselor about college stuff," Tom said as he got up to collect his bag.


    <hr>


    Tom walked into the student counselor''s office. The place was neatly organized and filled with college pamphlets and motivational posters. Tom sat down across from Mr.Chen.


    "Mr. Chen, you called me?" Tom asked.


    "Yes, Mr.Bruner, I have your letter here. Why did you list the school as your address?" Mr. Chen asked.


    Tom shrugged.


    "I didn''t trust my parents not to throw it out," Tom stated.


    "Ah, I see. Well, here you go." Mr. Chen said, smiling as he delivered Tom''s letter.


    Tom snatched the letter out of Mr. Chen''s hand and tore it open. Pulling out the letter, he quickly read it. His excitement quickly turned to disappointment as he read the following words. We regret to inform you ¡­


    "You didn''t get in, I take it?" Mr.Chen asked.


    "No, I''m not. Apparently straight A''s and B''s in everything, but the gym isn''t good enough for college anymore." Tom said half-jokingly.


    Mr.Chen picked up the letter and looked it over himself.


    "I''m sorry to hear that, Tom. College admissions can be competitive. I think the problem is your portfolio; it isn''t diverse enough." Mr. Chen said, "You lack any extracurricular activities."


    "I have to pick up and take care of my sister every day. I don''t exactly have the time to waste on a bunch of other nonsense." Tom shot back.


    "Have you explored scholarships?" Mr. Chen asked.


    "Yeah, I was hoping for some financial assistance."


    Mr.Chen nodded and started typing away at his computer.


    "Tom, I see that you applied for several scholarships, but unfortunately, most of them are restricted to minorities or other factors you do not qualify for. But you can receive the gold standard scholarship," Mr.Chen said, hopefully.


    "That scholarship is only worth two thousand dollars, and the public colleges cost twenty-five thousand for the first year," Tom stated.


    "Ahh," Mr. Chen said. I see the problem. Would you be willing to take out a student loan?"


    Tom ran his hands through his hair. He could take a student loan, but what if he didn''t land a good job after college? What was he supposed to do if he landed back at square one with that much debt?


    "It may be better for you to spend some time working on yourself. Perhaps spending a year expanding your horizons, taking a gap year to explore different opportunities and build your resume might be beneficial." Mr.Chen offered


    Tom looked at Mr. Chen like he was an idiot.


    "Mr.Chen, I have a nine-year-old sister who needs to be taken care of, two god-awful parents, and limited cash. How is taking a gap year even remotely helpful?!"


    "Well," Mr.Chen began nervously.


    Then the bell rang.


    "There''s the bell. You better move on, Mr.Bruner," Mr.Chen said, ushering Tom out of the room.

 Chapter 4: Family Drama

    Tom walked home with a backpack full of textbooks. He was disgusted. With hours of homework to do, two quizzes, and a French test, he was pretty sure he was going to fail no matter what he did. It wouldn''t have been as bad, but the expansion was tonight, and he was unwilling to miss that. He barely noticed the gathering clouds until the snow started to fall. By the time he got home, a thin layer of powder had covered everything, turning his drab home into a winter wonderland. Tom barely noticed as he made his way home.


    "Hey," Alex nudged him in the side. "Remember LAN''s party tonight at my place."


    "Yeah, yeah, I just need to drop Chloe off at home, and I''ll be right over," Tom said as he jogged over to Chloe''s school. Alex broke off, heading to her own place.


    Tom found Chloe sitting alone on the school''s stairs. Her classes had gotten out almost an hour before his, but Mom and Dad wouldn''t pick her up, so it was up to him.


    "Hey, munchkin," Tom called out to her.


    Chloe''s face instantly lit up.


    "TOM!" she screamed as she ran over to him in a tackle hug.


    "Hey, what''s wrong?" Tom asked, concerned at the over-affection.


    "Nothing," she said, taking his hand as they started to walk home.


    Tom considered digging into it but decided just to leave it.


    Chloe was a bundle of joy as they walked home, holding her tongue out to collect snowflakes. When they finally got home, they were covered in snowflakes.


    Tom opened the door only to close it as a wine bottle smashed into the door.


    "Fuck you fucking whore! Where is my fucking beer?! Goddammit, you''re just as useless as those fucking kids," his dad screamed.


    "Fuck you, you fucking asshole. Maybe if you took your daddy''s tampon out of your asshole, you might actually be worth something!" his mom screamed right back.


    A wet, meaty smack echoed from the house.


    "You fucking whore!!" his father roared.


    Tom flinched backwards as he grabbed Chloe and pulled her closer. His heart felt like it was going to stop, and he broke out in a cold sweat as the shouting continued. He could hear his parents fighting inside. It was a bad one. Internally, Tom felt like a child again, hiding under his bed while his parents threatened to kill each other just outside his door.


    Tom pulled Chloe to the side of the house, pulling her away from the front door as he stumbled backwards. His eyes never left the door, and his breathing grew heavy.


    "Tom?" Chloe asked, getting his attention.


    Tom looked down to see his little sister. She was as terrified as he was. Somehow, that gave him courage, or maybe it just made him realize that he didn''t have the luxury of being afraid.


    "Let''s go get your stuff," Tom said as they circled to the side of the house where their rooms were.


    "No way, in seven hells am I leaving you with those two," Tom muttered.


    Even if that were his initial plan, he wouldn''t be able to leave Chloe with those two nut jobs when they got like this.


    "You said a bad word," Chloe said.


    "Hell isn''t a bad word; it''s a place," Tom said as he found his bedroom window.


    He turned to Chloe. "Stay here and stay quiet."


    Sliding open his bedroom window, he slipped inside. He dumped his school books on his bed. Carefully opening the vent in his room, he took out his laptop and full immersion helmet, the only things he owned of any real value and the only two things he needed to keep away from his parents at all costs. Stuffing them inside his backpack, he grabbed some spare clothes, his Noralon guidebook, and as many pencils and paper for Chloe as he could stuff in the bag.


    Slipping back outside, Tom carefully closed his window so as not to alert his parents that he was home. Next, he moved on to Chloe''s bedroom window and repeated the process. He dumped her school supplies, grabbed some clothes, and stuffed her elephant.


    Tom slipped out just as the screaming reached a new height.


    "You think your fucking better than me bitch!?!"


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    SMACK


    "You."


    SMACK


    "ARE"


    SMACK


    "NOTHING"


    SMACK


    Tom winced with every meaty smack as he pulled Chloe away from the house.


    "Is mommy going to be ok?" Chloe asked.


    Bless her heart, Chloe really was an angel.


    "Probably not," he said. "But unlike us, she can leave whenever she wants."


    "Where are we going," Chloe asked.


    "You''re just coming with me to Alex''s house," he said, trying to cheer her up. "You''ll get to eat pizza and play with Lucy all night."


    "Lucy?! Yeah!!" she squealed in delight.


    Tom smiled at her before he vindictively dialed 911 and waited anxiously for someone to pick up.


    "911, what''s your emergency?" a calm voice on the other end answered.


    Tom took a deep breath, trying to steady his breathing before pinching his nose to obscure his voice better. He didn''t want his dad to find out who called the cops. "I... I need to report a domestic disturbance," he stammered out.


    The dispatcher''s tone shifted to one of concern. "I''m here to help. Can you please provide me with your address?"


    Tom quickly gave his house address, then continued, "It''s the neighbors next door. I can hear yelling, and I think things are getting physical. I''m really worried about them."


    "Thank you for reporting this, sir," the dispatcher replied. "Officers are on their way. Please --"


    "Sorry, but I have to go now." Tom cut in, hanging up.


    He wasn''t going to let his dad touch Chloe ever, and if his mom ended up in jail with his dad, all the better.


    Tom smiled at Chloe as they walked to Alex''s house, the snow coming down even harder. He hoped his parents would end up in jail. It was no less than they deserved. That just left one last problem he considered as he watched his little sister skipping through the snow. How was he going to break this to the guys?


    <hr>


    Tom tried to look innocent as Alex opened the door.


    "Hi, Alex," Chloe said.


    "Hello, pumpkin. What are you doing here?" Alex said, hugging Chloe.


    "Mom and Dad went out to drink beer for the night, so Tom said I get to have a sleepover with Lucy," Chloe said happily.


    "Did he?" Alex asked, looking at Tom. "Well, I think we can set you upstairs with Lucy, and you can watch a movie."


    "Really?!" Chloe ran inside.


    "Hey, take off your shoes," Tom shouted after her.


    His smile died as Alex turned to him.


    "I''m not sure if I should complain about you bringing her over or not," Alex muttered.


    "I''m not missing tonight, and I wasn''t going to leave her home alone." Tom protested as he walked inside the house.


    They found Chloe buried inside Lucy''s fur. The massive black dog was lying on the ground, allowing Chloe to smother herself in its belly. Lucy belonged to Alex. She was a massive black dog with fluffy fur and floppy ears. Tom didn''t know what breed she was, and Alex didn''t seem to have any idea either other than that she was part poodle, part really big dog.


    "She''s so fluffy," Chloe squealed in glee.


    "Hey, Tom," Hector said as he entered the room. "Something happened at home?"


    "Mom and Dad ran off to a bar for the night." Tom lied.


    "Well, that''s terrible," Skippy said sarcastically. "Hey Tom, do you want a beer?"


    "Mmm, I love beer," Chloe said.


    "Here''s a beer, little lady," Skippy said, handing her a beer.


    Tom snatched the bottle out of skippy hand instantly, his heart jumping into his throat.


    Tom froze for a moment.


    "Chloe, have you ever had a beer?" Tom asked.


    "Maybe," Chloe responded.


    Tom relaxed; maybe it was how Chloe said no when she didn''t want to say no. Then he turned to Skippy.


    "Skippy, I love you like a brother, but if you give my sister a beer again, I''m shoving this can up your ass."


    "Sorry, Tom, I just don''t swing that way. Hector''s mom, on the other hand, loves shoving large cylinders up her ass. Some of them are even plastic," Skippy said.


    "Fuck you," Hector called out, throwing his empty pop can at the back of skippy''s head.


    Skippy leaned out of the way as the can sailed past his head.


    "You need to pick that up, you know?" Skippy said cheekily.


    Tom rolled his eyes at Skippy''s antics.


    "Come on, Chloe, you and Lucy can watch The Princess Bride upstairs," Alex said as she loaded up a plate with pizza and other snacks they had prepared for the night. Chloe shot up and followed after her.


    "Does anyone else think Princess Bride is a good movie?" Skippy asked.


    "Yeah," Tom said. "Why did you phrase that like a question?"


    He asked as he entered the other room and quickly pulled his laptop out of his backpack.


    "I just think The Princess Bride isn''t a good title. Movies are great, but I always feel like I''m about to watch Barbie when I hear the words ''Princess Bride.''" Skippy said


    "Hey, guys. I hate to be that person, but it starts in six minutes. Also, Tom, you''re the face of the party," Hector said as he slipped on the gear.


    "Oh, come on. You''re already making me the healer, the party leader, and the face. Now, do I need to dump points into charisma?"


    Alex came back downstairs just as Tom was finishing up, and Skippy was putting on his own helmet.


    "Alright, Chloe''s upstairs with Lucy. I put on Netflix and gave her more than enough toys to play with. I think we should be okay," Alex said as she leaped into her own chair, putting on her own full immersion gear.


    "Alex, are you guys seriously making me the face of the party?" Tom asked.


    "Of course, I want to see sexy Tom," Alex winked at him as she slipped on her helmet and entered the game.


    Tom rolled his eyes as he slipped on the helmet. He turned it on, unknowingly entering Noralon for the last time.

 Chapter 5: Character Creation

    Loading, please wait ¡­ Loading, please wait ¡­Loading, please wait ¡­


    Tom found himself floating in a familiar void with dozens of icons in front of him. After selecting the Noralon icon, the other icons disappeared.


    In front of Tom, the familiar logo of Noralon online expanded into the size of a house, along with multiple options. Moving his digital body, he clicked on the new expansion.


    "Welcome to the Noralon Online Frontier Titan Expansion," the epic voice-over guy''s voice echoed in the void. "In this expansion, you will build a brand new character before you are unleashed on Noralon. The great goblin hordes, under the instructions of the great titans, have taken over the southern continent, and the northern kingdoms need your help to survive the oncoming storm. Crush your Enemies, and Honor your Allies!!!"


    That never got old, no matter how many times he heard it. Tom was just about to get started when an unexpected notification appeared in front of him instead of the character creation.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Welcome to the Final Expansion of The Legend of Noralon.


    All of us within Discordia INC. and the team behind the Legend of Noralon would like to thank you for your loyalty over seven years of adventures. Unfortunately, due to foreseen events, the Legend of Noralon Titan Expansion will be the last update. We want to thank all of our loyal fans for their years of dedication. As such, we have prepared a one-time special event for our long-term fans before they embark on their final adventure.


    Calculating Premium Rewards, please wait ¡­


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What?!" Tom muttered as he reread the message. "Last update?! What the hell, Discordia?! You can''t just shove Premium rewards in my face and gloss over the fact that this is the last expansion. What the hell?!"


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    We felt terrible about giving premium rewards only to our long-term customers, so for every Player, old and new, who wishes to join the Legend of Noralon, we offer a [Reroll Scroll]. If you feel uncomfortable with your body, you can use this scroll at any time to go back to character creation with no loss in levels.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Okay, this wasn''t that great. It was clearly aimed more at the new players, and Tom would probably just sell it. But hey, free money.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You defeated the Eels of the Deep with the Iron Bay Pirates, Defended the Skylords of Lysander from the Dragon Emperor Ter''nok, and rescued all of Noralon from the Apocalypse Monks.


    You received the following rewards for completing all of the main storylines of the Legend of Noralon.


    You have gained the [Mapping], [Storage], and [System Wiki] personal skills.


    [Mapping] - Rare: You have an internal map. It automatically and permanently records details of the terrain you travel over. New information is displayed in full color. Areas of the map lose color as time goes by, indicating that the information portrayed may be outdated. Areas that appear completely black have not yet been explored. The area of the map highlighted by exploration and its detail is increased by 1% per skill level.


    [Storage] - Uncommon: You can store items in an extradimensional space. Space equal to your skill level multiplied by 1 meter cubed.


    [System Wiki] - Common: Here, you can access basic information about classes, the system, skills, skills, titles, and other system-related information. Increase the amount of information you can access based on skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This was more like it. [Storage] and [Mapping] were cornerstones of any adventurer''s kit. Everyone had some variation of those skills. And even if he hadn''t picked up, he would have gotten item equivalents of both.


    [System Wiki] On the other hand ¡­ that one was just garbage despite its rarity. The [System Wiki] skill did offer information, but the Noralon Wiki online contained everything the [System Wiki] did, as well as information on monsters, items, quests, and dozens of subjects. Compared to that, [System Wiki] was just weak. He would probably just sunder it or combine it with something else later on for something better, but it would be no big deal.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You and your guild formed a coalition with twelve other guilds to defeat The Whisper in the Sand. You marched an army through the Sand Sea and slew a Superboss of Noralon, a Titan of old. Based on your deeds, you have been awarded a personalized bonus skill.


    You have gained the [Party Leader] personal skill.


    [Party Leader] - Rare: You may create a party-sharing experience and be treated as one person for the sake of rewards and events. You may add one person per skill level of this skill.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom paused at the words Whisper in the Sand. He still remembered that nightmare well. This whole premium thing was a bit of a walk down memory lane, but the Whisper in the Sand was special. It was one of Noralon''s Superbosses. It was famously unbalanced.


    It was no Hakkar, the soulflayer, but more along the lines of people assuming the boss was an immortal object unbalanced. That was the raid boss that made him famous as the Death Sovereign. He had lost thousands of undead in that fight, hundreds of hours of work down the drain, not to mention all the money he had spent.


    It took the thirty-six top guilds burning hundreds of real-world dollars, billions of in-game currency, two weeks of planning, and more than a few in-game exploits just to put the stupid thing down. His job had been mainly to stall the super boss with a literal army of undeath while everyone else took a break, which was probably why he got [Party Leader]. It was a support skill. It was meaningless on its own, but once he got more skills, that would change.


    He opened the following notification, trying to forget about how much money he had wasted on that boss.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have received a [SystemToken] for playing The Legend of Noralon since the game''s initial release.


    [SystemToken]: This item allows the user to bypass the requirements for any class, race, skill, or bloodline requirement during character creation.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Ok, that was just bullshit. He could get a legendary class right out of the gate, but he couldn''t use it. Tom had already been dubbed the healer, and as much as he wanted to ditch the role, he wouldn''t do so at the expense of his friends.


    Tom thought back to the class options, running through his memories of legendary classes, hoping there was something healer-ish. But he got nothing. There were some mythic classes, but nothing worth the token.


    He looked over the notification again, and a thought occurred to him. He could get a Bloodline.


    Typically, if he wanted a bloodline, he would have to roll for it in character creation for a 1 in 20 chance at having a random bloodline, or he would have to go through multiple dangerous, complex, and potentially expensive rituals in order to obtain something halfway useful. Honestly, he preferred the second option, as that gave him a choice instead of locking him into a pre-existing role.


    But if he could pick and choose a bloodline. That could work. If he was going to be stuck grabbing support classes, a good bloodline could mitigate the problem. And if he could pick and choose at the start of the game ¡­ that was a game-changer.


    Oh, this was going to be fun. With this mind made up, he dove into the character creation. The first part was his first choice of race and gender. He picked male without a second thought. He wasn''t like Alex, switching genders for fun, nor was he transgender, and he had already tried being a girl once to satisfy his curiosity, not that he would tell anyone that. As such, he stuck with being a male, as that was what he was comfortable with. His choice of race was a much more difficult one.


    There were elves, dwarves, orcs, amazons, beast-kin, and on and on. The list went on and on. Before long, Tom''s eyes started to glaze over as he tried to look at his options. Finally, he picked one at random to see its stats.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Race: Orc


    Description: Orcs sit at the crossroads between two species, eternally at war: the [Humanoids] and the [Goblinoids]. Orcs have been raiders, traders, and poets, but above all, Orcs are nomadic, never settling in one area for too long, lest they become unwelcome. They are often forced to wander, not at home in any location, due to their heritage.


    Racial Skill: [Tireless] - Lesser: Reduce all active stamina costs by 0.5% per skill level


    Racial Skill: [Brutal] - Common: When your target is at 25% hp, you can [Execute] them. Killing the target instantly. When you do [Execute] them, all enemies around you have a chance to be afflicted with [Terror] equal to your skill level.


    Racial Type: [Humanoid]: you count as a [Humanoid] with all of the strengths and weaknesses


    Racial Type: [Goblinoid]: you count as a [Goblinoid] with all of the strengths and weaknesses


    As an Orc, you receive a bonus to your attributes per skill level: +3 to Strength, +2 to Constitution, +2 to Spirit, and +1 to Ego.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom ignored the Orc while it was interesting. It was geared towards a [Warrior] build with no magical potential, which was not what he was looking for. What he wanted was a healer. He wanted a bonus for intelligence, perception, will, or maybe charisma stats.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    Description: Humans are one of the most numerous races on Noralon. They are among the shortest-lived, but they make up for it in their ability to survive nearly anything. Some humans have had holes punched through their brains and have survived. Despite being nearly unkillable, humans are highly social creatures and breed like rabbits.


    Racial Skill: [Pursuit Hunter] - Lesser: Reduce passive Stamina costs, such as running and working out, by 0.99% per skill level


    Racial Skill: [Storyteller] - Inferior: +10% to your Charisma stat


    Racial Type: [Humanoid]: you count as a [Humanoid] with all of the strengths and weaknesses


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    As a human, you receive a bonus to your attributes per skill level: +3 Constitution +2 Endurance +2 Spirit +1 Ego.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Race: High Elf - Alfar


    High elves are the longest-lived of all [Humanoids]. Unfortunately, while their long lives have granted them great wisdom, it has also led to a certain degree of arrogance and scorn for the shorter-lived races.


    Racial skill: [Manipulator] - Common: you are better able to spot tells and manipulate people''s actions by 1% per skill level.


    Racial skill: [Mana Stability] - Lesser: Your spells are more stable, reducing the WILL requirement for all spells by 0.5% per skill level


    Racial skill: [Humanoid]: you count as a [Humanoid] with all of the strengths and weaknesses


    As a High Elf, you receive a bonus to your attributes per skill level: +3 to Charisma, +2 to Intelligence, +2 to Will, and +1 to Constitution.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Race: Halfling


    Description: Halflings are a small, nimble, and clever race. They live in tightly-knit communities and value family, friendships, and a simple, comfortable life. They are also considered fat, short, hairy-footed vermin who do nothing but eat.


    Racial skill: [Lionheart] - Inferior: you have a 1% chance per skill level to ignore any [Terror] based effect.


    Racial skill: [Eat, Drink, and be Merry] - Common: The effects and flavor of all food and drink you produce through cooking, farming, brewing, or hunting increase by 3% per skill level.


    Racial skill: [Humanoid]: you count as a [Humanoid] with all of the strengths and weaknesses


    As a Halfling, you receive a bonus to your attributes per skill level: +3 to Dexterity, +2 to Agility, +2 to Luck, and +1 to Constitution.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "[Lionhearts] is pretty good, and [Eat, Drink and Be Merry] is useful if I want to go the [Beast Tamer] or [Druid] route," Tom mumbled to himself. "Human and High Elf are good if I''m going to be the face of the party. High Elf gives a bonus to Charisma, too. But it leaves me a bit too squishy."


    In the end, he didn''t go with any of them. While many races were an okay fit, he was trying to min max. That just meant he was going to have to go for a hybrid. Some Hybrids, like half-orcs, could give higher-tier skills. In this case, he would combine [Human] and [High Elf] to combine [Storyteller] and [Manipulator] into something better.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf


    Description: Hybrid races are often a mix of their partage races, including the stats; however, the child will often favor the mother.


    Racial skill: [Analyze Person] - Uncommon: By combining the [Storyteller] and [Manipulator] skills, you have become a student of the human condition, able to read how people tick, see through their lies, and anticipate their behavior. Increase the effectiveness of this skill by 3% per skill level.


    Racial skill: [Best of Both Worlds] - Uncommon: You have the benefits of both humans and elves gaining a human''s temperament with an elven lifespan. Increase all XP gains by 1% per skill level.


    Racial Type: [Humanoid]: you count as a [Humanoid] with all of the strengths and weaknesses


    As a hybrid race, your Racial bonuses will be split between [Human] and [High Elf] Options. As you are still in character creation, you may choose your Racial Bonus.


    Make your choices: --


    Please select four Racial Stats from the eight options below. You must select two from each, and one of them must be Constitution or Endurance.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Human]: +3 Constitution +2 Endurance +2 Spirit +1 Ego</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[High Elf]: +3 Charisma +2 Intelligence +2 Will +1 Constitution</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bonus selected: +3 to Will, +2 to Constitution, +2 to Charisma, and +1 to Spirit per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Alright," Tom began, "Okay, I just need to alter my appearance." Tom smiled as he accepted the half-elf race as his race.


    His avatar appeared before him, and Tom just stared in stunned silence. What the fuck was he looking at? He stared at the near-perfect copy of himself staring back at him blankly, the only difference being he had slightly pointed ears and he was in his underwear.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell if this is an amazing update or just outright creepy,¡± Tom muttered.


    He had to admit he wasn''t what anyone would call handsome. His hair was a mop of curly straw, his eyes were a bit too bright a shade of blue, his waistline sported a third tire, and an unhealthy amount of teenage ache covered his face.


    "Thank you, Mom and Dad, for feeding me nothing but McDonald''s," Tom muttered.


    He absently wondered if he should change his appearance or just randomize it into something else. Nah.


    He immediately got to work making his ideal version of himself. He trimmed off his fat and removed the ache. He gave himself enough muscle to look good, but he didn''t want to look too buff. He altered his hair color, changing the limp straw hair with what looked like locks of spun gold. He turned his eyes into sapphires. He gave himself an extra foot of height, bringing him to a little over 6 feet tall. And finally, he gave himself a twelve-inch penis because he was an immature teenager, and the idea of having a massive shlong appealed to him. Finally, he accepted his choices and moved on to his magic.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select your Magic Affinities --- You have 400% to distribute


    Fire - 10%


    Water - 10%


    Earth - 0%


    Air - 0%


    Light - 10%


    Dark - 0%


    Life - 10%


    Death - 5%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Honestly, it was unimportant in the long run. A person could just pick up any classes they wanted with enough hard work. In the short term, it would allow him to pick up some specific mage classes early on. He had been thinking about this all day, and he had figured out the perfect combination of affinities for him as a healer.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select your Magic Affinities ---


    Fire - 30%


    Water - 100%


    Earth - 100%


    Air - 30%


    Light - 80%


    Dark - 10%


    Life - 90%


    Death - 45%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Now, he could pick up Water, Earth, Light, and Life magic right off the bat. He could still pick up the other magics, but he would have to find spells or a source for the affinities he had below 50. Finally, he moved on to the last part of character creation.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please Roll for Bloodlines and Mutations


    ROLL


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom pressed the button, not expecting much. There was only a 1 in 20 chance for him to get a bloodline.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have inherited no Bloodline


    Would you like to use a System Token to grant you a bloodline heritage


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Well, that was to be expected. He hadn¡¯t really expected to get a good bloodline. He mainly had just been hoping against hope that he wouldn¡¯t need to spend the system token. But he wasn¡¯t that lucky.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have used System Token to unlock a Bloodline


    Please select the Bloodline of your choice


    Bloodline of Vainqueur the Dragon (Rarity - Legendary)


    Bloodline of the Storm King (Rarity - Legendary)


    Bloodline of the Azerinth Healer (Rarity - Legendary)


    Bloodline of the Chaotic Craftsman (Rarity - Legendary)


    Bloodline of the Primal Hunter (Rarity - Legendary)


    Bloodline of the Tunnel Rat (Rarity - Legendary)


    Bloodline of The Apocalypse Redux (Rarity - Legendary)


    Bloodline of the Tree of Aeon (Rarity - Legendary)


    Bloodline of the Jackal Among Snakes (Rarity - Legendary)


    Bloodline of the Chrysalis (Rarity - Legendary)


    ¡­.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom stared at all the options. He was going to kill his friends for making him the healer. Unfortunately, despite his desire to do so, he couldn''t take any of the blatantly awesome choices. He scrolled down and down until he found what he wanted.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!! You have retroactively Awakened The Bloodline of the Inkheart.


    [Bloodline of the Inkheart] - (Rarity - Ancient)


    Harness the power of words as your essence intertwines with ink and paper. With this bloodline, your mastery over written and spoken language is unparalleled.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword]: Harness the power of the written word to create magical literature. Write with any medium. With increased quality and accuracy, you can produce books, skill books, spellbooks, scrolls, and talismans. Gain +1.25% Scribing Mastery, +5% to writing speed, and reduce errors in your writing by 1% per skill level.


    </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    [Words of Power]: Master the arcane language of runes, glyphs, rituals, magic circles, and formations. Your comprehension of these words of power is profound, allowing you to read and write them with ease. Increase your comprehension of magical inscriptions and symbols by 5% per skill level.


    </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    [Knowledge]: Your mind functions as an impeccable archive, retaining every piece of information you''ve ever encountered. With this skill, your ability to organize and recall knowledge improves by 1% per skill level, ensuring that no detail escapes your memory.


    </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    [Gift of Tongues]: Your natural understanding of language has allowed you to quickly learn and speak foreign languages, even ancient and forbidden tongues. Increase your knowledge of all languages by 1% per skill level. Increase your Speech Mastery by 1.25% per skill level.


    </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    [Wordsmith]: Words hold immense power, and the right words can shake the world. With this skill, you gain perfect command over language, allowing you to correct and refine written or spoken words to align with your intentions. Enhance your ability to choose the right words to achieve desired outcomes, improving clarity and impact by 5% per skill level. Increase your Speech and Scribe Mastery by 1.25% per skill level. For a small mana cost, you can correct any writing to reflect your intentions.


    </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    [My Mind is My Temple]: Fortify your mental defenses and guard your thoughts. Gain a +1% resistance to all mental effects per skill level while simultaneously shrouding your thoughts from others, making it difficult for them to read or influence your mind.


    </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">


    +5 INT per skill level


    </li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It wasn''t even close to a top-tier bloodline with only six skills and one stat booster, but it would become utterly overpowered when combined with the right classes. Also, it saved him six skills he would have otherwise had to buy to make the combat portion of his class work.


    Once he was done, he checked over his character one more time. All he had left to do was to pick his name. For some odd reason, he decided to use his real name. Tomus Bruner


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Welcome to Noralon Player


    We wish you a happy new life and a happy apocalypse.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What''s up with the happy apocalypse part?" Tom asked. "I''m pretty sure that wasn''t there befo--"


    Tom was cut off as he fell into the void.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 1%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal:


    Racial:


    Bloodline: +5 INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline


    [Bloodline of Inkheart] - Ancient: Your blood has turned into ink as the sum total of written wisdom has coalesced within your veins.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 1


    - [Words of Power] - Level 1


    - [Knowledge] - Level 1


    - [Gift of Tounges] - Level 1


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 1


    - [My Mind is My Temple] - Level 1


    - +5 INT per Level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 06/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Party Leader] - Level 1


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 1


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 1


    - [Storage] - Level 1


    - [Mapping] - Level 1


    - [System Wiki] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 6: Tutorial â… 

    Tom dropped into the tutorial in nothing but a loincloth.


    ¡°Holy shit.¡± He muttered as he stumbled with the landing.


    The first thing that hit was the sensations. The Legend of Noralon had always felt a little off. The textures were always a little wrong, and the ground was always just a little too flat to be natural. Everything was just a little wrong, enough for him to notice the difference but not enough to ruin the game. Then he spawned into the tutorial.


    He looked around. He appeared to be inside a standard Noralon dungeon. He was standing inside a stone corridor. Behind him was a staircase that led down into the blackness below. In front of him was a stone table. The stone corridor turned off to the left, and torches lined the walls.


    "I''m in your standard Legend of Noralon dungeon. How original," Tom muttered to himself.


    Tom looked down at his hands. Examining his body, he was wearing a loincloth and nothing else. He brought up his hands, and it looked real. He could see the wrinkles and grooves in his hand. Noralon had always looked slightly simulated, but now he could hardly tell the difference. Nope, scratch that. He couldn¡¯t tell the difference.


    "This is so cool." Tom marveled.


    He didn''t know what patches the devs had made to the VR, but it was worth every penny. He pressed his hand against the stone wall. He could feel the wall! The cold stone, the brickwork, the cracks and ridges. He could even feel the heat the torches were giving off.


    "This feels real," Tom muttered.


    He checked his ears, confirming they were now slightly pointed. He could feel it. He could literally feel his thumb and forefinger rubbing against the point of his ear. Even the tip of his ear felt real. Suddenly, A thought occurred to him: Noralon had done a lot of things, but they never ¡­


    Tom''s hand smacked into his loincloth as he not so discreetly checked his package. Nope, that was real, very real, very sensitive, and suddenly doubled in size.


    "What kind of pervert programmed this shit?!" Tom muttered as he felt his new equipment. "Alex is going to have a fucking riot with this," he muttered.


    He paced back and forth as he tried to wrap his head around all these new or perhaps old sensations.


    "Ok, first things first. Let''s double-check the free Skills." Tom muttered to himself.


    He just wanted to ensure they hadn''t changed the skill around during the expansion. They did that once in 1.8, and it had royally screwed him over.


    After a few minutes of pursuing his status, he was able to confirm his skills worked as he expected them to work.


    [Mapping], [Storage], [System Wiki], and his bloodline all seemed to be working as they normally did, at least as best as he could tell based on his current limitations. He created a party made out of him and himself for the moment. He would need more resources to vet everything thoroughly. He did earn some levels, though.


    <[Mapping] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Storage] has Reached Level 2>


    <[System Wiki] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Knowledge] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Party Leader] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 2>


    "Alright, nothing has changed so far," Tom muttered. I even got some levels, but nothing that directly benefits me."


    He pulled up his map again, but he could only see the dungeon he was in.


    Turning around, he found a staircase leading out of the dungeon. Walking forward, he tried to walk out. He just wanted to see what would happen. The results, however, were disturbing.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to leave the tutorial and sacrifice your expansion benefits?


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Oh my god. You''ve got to be shitting me," Tom swore as he saw the notification.


    While it didn''t stop him from leaving, it definitely incentivized him to stay. He would lose seven Skills if he left. Suddenly, a terrible thought occurred to him.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to log out of the tutorial and sacrifice your expansion benefits?


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "You are shitting me!" Tom swore. "I can''t log out without losing all of my free Skills! What the hell, devs?! This is bullshit!!! What if I have to use the bathroom."


    Tom''s hands shot up in annoyance. He was stuck here until he cleared the dungeon. What the hell? Tom turned down the hallway and started to walk forward. Opening up his class options, he looked over his options.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Options available:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fighter Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Warrior - Inferior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Tactician - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Squire - Common</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Spellcaster Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Luminancer - Inferior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Geomancer - Inferior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aquamancer - Inferior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Biomancer - Inferior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Diviner - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Light Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Life Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Earth Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Water Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">White Mage - Uncommon</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Hedge Wizard - Uncommon</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pro-gamer - Rare</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Rouge Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Sleuth - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bandit - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pupil - Common</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ranged Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Archer - Inferior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Trainee - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pathfinder - Common</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Support Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Seerer - Inferior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Nurse - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Priest - Common</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Crafter Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Scribe - Inferior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cook - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Blacksmith - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Student - Common</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What the hell?! These are common classes? Where are all the weaker options?" he muttered.


    Normally, he would have to pick the lowest tier of classes, Inferior or Lesser rarity, and then upgrade or combine them one by one to get his final class. Still, now he was being handed a bunch of common classes, effectively allowing him to skip step one out of his twenty-step plan. Was this a hidden premium perk that the developers hadn''t mentioned? Or did they just change how the classes worked?


    Tom just decided to shrug and not think about it. He carefully considered what he wanted for his initial long-term class. He aimed to evolve his first class into the mythic-ranked [Augur] class, which focused on divination, Utility, teaching, and healing.


    Tom considered his options. Normally, to get a higher-tiered class, one needs to grind up skill levels, do special quests, pick up titles, and earn feats to meet the requirements for those classes¡ªthe honest way. However, there were ways to trick the system.


    It was possible to achieve a higher rarity class by mashing together a bunch of lower rarity classes¡ªThe dirty way. Of course, the dirty way could backfire and inflict so much soul damage on his character that he would go to respawn.


    Looking at his classes, the Skills he needed to get [Augur] the dirty way, and the number of levels he needed to get those Skills ¡­


    "[Light Mage], [Lumenmancer], [Life Mage], [Biomancer], [White Mage], [Pathfinder], [Seerer], and [Diviner]," Tom muttered as he devised his mental road map to the [Augur] class.


    "I think I can get away with 1 level in each class, so ¡­ 7 levels in total." Tom nodded as he decided.


    He would start with one of the mage options first.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Name: Life Mage


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Class type: Spellcaster, Utility


    Class Rank: Common


    Skill Slots: 0/6


    Class Cap: 20


    Description: You are a basic mage of the Life element. You are a student of life, studying life magic in all its myriad forms to better bend it to your will.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Name: Light Mage


    Class type: Spellcaster


    Class Rank: Common


    Skill Slots: 0/11


    Class Cap: 20


    Description: You are a basic mage of the Light element. You are a student of Light, studying not only light magic but also how it interacts and merges with the other elements.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Name: White Mage


    Class type: Spellcaster, Support


    Class Rank: Uncommon


    Skill Slots: 0/11


    Class Cap: 20


    Description: The White Mage is a revered class specializing in the arts of light and life magic. They are masters of healing and restoration. They possess the ability to channel positive energies to mend wounds, cure ailments, and protect their allies.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom groaned. He really didn''t want to be the support, but he had agreed to be the healer, so he had to make the best of being the support player. He knew he wanted the Augur class. He had some plans with his bloodline and the scribe class, but everything else was in the air.


    Then an Idea popped into his head: Light magic combined with Glyphs. He was already planning on touching on glyphs, so it wasn''t even a waste.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Leveled up


    You are now a level 1 Light Mage


    +14 free points


    Please select a Light Mage Skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <System Wiki has Reached level 3>


    First thing first, Tom assigned his free points. The stats in the Legend of Noralon were a little funny. You got stat points from one of five places. The first was racial stat points. These were assigned at every level automatically and were completely locked in by your choice of race. For Tom, he benefited from +3 WILL, +2 CON, +2 CHA, and +1 SPIRIT.


    The second place you could get them from was free points. Humanoid races like humans, elves, dwarfs, etc. All got 14 points to assign per level. These were also a blatant trap for new players. You needed to assign the same number of stat points to the same stats at each level to get the most out of your stats. If someone just assigned points as needed, they would find themselves with mediocre stats in the end game and would have to sunder their build and start over. Because of that, wherever he puts his free points now, he will be stuck for the rest of this play.


    He decided to go with +4 to Will, +4 to Perception, +3 Intelligence, and +3 Charisma. He set his system to automatically assign those points with each new level so he wouldn''t have to. He also set it up so it would display all of his increased stats per level regardless of where it came from. It was a preference thing.


    The third was the bonus he got every ten levels. That would only matter once he reached level ten, so he ignored those for now. The fourth place where stats came from was his bloodline. He got +5 INT per level. You could also get stats from skills. But those were rare. Only Legendary skills granted that effect, and most of those skills were locked behind the higher-tier classes. But Tom knew he would get there soon enough.


    The moment Tom hit accept, a surge of energy jumped through his body. Power seemed to flood every inch of his body, curling his toes as pleasure seeped through his muscles and into his bones. Tom almost collapsed to the ground as the feeling faded away.


    "What ¡­ the fuck ¡­ was that?!" Tom muttered


    He didn''t feel pleasure when he leveled before. Were the devs trying to get him addicted to leveling? If they were, it was working.


    With his stats out of the way, Tom opened up his skill list for Light Mage. He already knew what to expect and wasn''t surprised when his choices popped up.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Light Mage - [Light Magic] - Inferior


    While you are a light mage, light is not all you are. Using light as your starting point, you have begun to expand your sorcery into the other elements through the lens of light magic. Solar, Metal, Sound, and even Mirror magic are where your interests lie


    +0.5% increase to your Light Magic Mastery per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Light Mage - [Lumenmancy] - Lesser


    While other people dabble in light magic, you have chosen to take your first steps toward specializing in light magic, throwing away lesser elements as you embrace the light.


    +1% to your Light Magic Mastery per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He chose [Light Magic], not for any real reason; these Skills were functionally identical at this level. When he picked [Lumenmancer], he would also pick up [Lumenmancy].


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have gained the Skill [Light Magic] - (Inferior) - (Passive).


    While you are a light mage, light is not all you are. Using light as your starting point, you have begun to expand your sorcery into the other elements through the lens of light magic. Solar, Metal, Sound, and even Mirror magic are where your interests lie


    +0.5% increase to your Light Magic Mastery per skill level. Due to picking a magic skill before level 10 allows you to select three spells from the light magic school.


    < Select your Spells >


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <System Wiki has Reached level 4>


    Tom smiled as he opened his list of possible spells he could learn. Well, that wasn''t true. He already knew exactly what he was going to pick.


    "This is going to be juicy," Tom muttered as he made his choices.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have learned the Light Magic spell [Tilt Brush].


    Draw in the air and turn your imagination into reality in a myriad of colors and textures. Drawings last only one hour.


    Mana costs 1 Mana per Minute


    Skill requirements: Light magic level 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have learned the Light Magic spell [Mana Bullet (Light)].


    You fire off a steam of weak magical bullets made out of light.


    0 - 2 Damage per Bullet


    Mana costs: 1 Mana per Second


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have learned the Light Magic spell [Mana Chains (Light)].


    Chain down your target with chains made out of (Light) Mana, locking them in place and holding them for 10 seconds.


    Mana costs: 150 Mana.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Alright, time to test if the most broken spell in the game still works," Tom muttered.


    Placing his finger in the air, he started to draw a symbol, a glyph of Lighting Bolt. When he finished drawing, he touched it with a bit of mana.


    ZZZZAAAAPPP


    His drawing collapsed in on itself, turning into a lightning bolt before leaping out of his hand and smashing into the nearby wall.


    <[Light Magic] has Reach Level 2>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reach Level 2>


    <[Words of Power] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Gift of Tongues] has Reach Level 2>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reach Level 2>


    <[My Mind is my Temple] has Reach Level 2>


    <[Knowledge] has Reach Level 3>


    <[Light Magic] has Reach Level 3>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reach Level 3>


    "Oh, this is going to be good," Tom chuckled as he tried out a few other glyphs, getting a few more notifications as he did.


    This was why he had picked his bloodline. [Words of Power] boosted his glyphs. [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword], and [Wordsmith] helped with his penmanship. Finally, [Knowledge] and [Gift of Tongues] helped him retain information about glyphs.


    "This is going to be fun," Tom chuckled as he rubbed his hands together maliciously.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 1


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 160


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 0.3 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 0.3 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 0.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind 2%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Light Mage 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 1


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 1


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Inkheart] - Ancient: Your blood has turned into ink as the sum total of written wisdom has coalesced within your veins.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Words of Power] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Knowledge] - Level 1 >> Level 3


    - [Gift of Tounges] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [My Mind is My Temple] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - +5 INT per Level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 07/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Party Leader] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 1


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 1 >> Level 3


    - [Storage] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Mapping] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [System Wiki] - Level 1 >> Level 4


    Light Mage 01/11


    - [Light Magic] - Level 1 >> Level 3</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 7: Tutorial â…¡

    Tom relaxed in the front entrance of the dungeon until his mana finished recovering before getting up and walking forward into the first chamber. A dozen zombies were mulling around aimlessly. He smiled as he started writing in the air while the zombies wandered aimlessly.


    He finished two, then four, eight, sixteen, and then 32 separate glyphs linked together in one large spell. For the most part, Tom was working from pure memory, or maybe pure [Knowledge], though he did have to admit that [The Pen is mightier than the Sword], [Gift of Tongues], and [Words of Power] were giving him fresh inspiration on how to use glyphs in ways he wasn''t familiar with.


    <[Light Magic] has Reached Level 4>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Words of Power] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Gift of Tongues] has Reached Level 3>


    The simple, unfortunate truth was that he had never gone down the glyph user path that deeply, at least not as his focus. So, this was partially new territory. When he was finished, he looked at the thirty-two glyphs interconnected in a beautiful bomb.


    He picked up a scrap of driftwood from the ground and chucked it at one of the undead. The piece of driftwood smacked it in the head with a thunk, drawing their attention.


    <You have inflicted 3 damage on Shambling zombie>


    "Hello boys!" Tom called out.


    The zombies turned to him, shuffling towards him with an undead wraith in their eyes. Tom turned and ran back down the hallway to a safe distance. The moment the undead touched the collection of glyphs, it exploded with a Boom. Golden flames erupted outwards. The holy fire Tom had summoned consumed the undead instantly, as their two biggest weaknesses slammed into them simultaneously.


    <You have killed a level 2 Shambling Zombie>


    <You have killed a level 2 Shambling Zombie>


    ¡­


    <You have killed 12 Shambling Zombie>


    <Level Up>


    <Level Up>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Words of Power] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Gift of Tongues] has Reached Level 4>


    <[My Mind is my Temple] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Knowledge] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Light Magic] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Light Magic] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Party Leader] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 4>


    "YES!!" Tom cheered. "Suck it assholes!!"


    He was exuberant. Holy Fire Nova was a high-level spell, something he shouldn''t have been able to cast at this level. This was the reason glyph magic was so powerful. Of course, its abysmal cast time and the required knowledge base to make it work tended to kill glyphs for anyone who hadn''t already played Noralon before. Nonetheless, his power was now only limited by his knowledge and between his previous playthroughs and his bloodline. It would take less time to list what he couldn''t do now.


    But right now, he needed more levels.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are now a level 1 [Lumenmancer] - Inferior


    +2 CON +4 PER +8 INT +7 WILL +1 SPIRIT +5 CHA


    Please select a [Lumenmancer] Skill.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <System Wiki has Reached level 5>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are now a level 1 [Seerer] - Inferior


    +2 CON +4 PER +8 INT +7 WILL +1 SPIRIT +5 CHA


    Please select a [Seerer] Skill.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <System Wiki has Reached level 6>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have gained the Skill [Lumenmancer] - Lesser


    [Lumenmancy]: While other people dabble in light magic, you have chosen to take your first steps toward specializing in light magic, throwing away lesser elements as you embrace the light. +1% to your Light Magic Mastery per skill level.


    Due to picking a magic skill before level 10 you can select three spells of level 0-9 or below.


    < Select your Spells >


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <System Wiki has Reached level 7>


    He would skip the free spells for now and save them for later.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have gained the Skill [Pierce the Veil] - Rare


    [Seerer] - [Pierce the Veil]: Pierce the veil of deception, unraveling lies, illusions, and obfuscation Skills to reach the truth. Your eyes can spy hidden treasures, traps, and compartments. Reduce the effectiveness of illusions and obfuscation skills by 1% per level. Increase your chance of finding hidden treasures, traps, and other compartments by 1% per level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom reviewed what he needed to get the [Augur] class before he left the tutorial: [Light Mage], [Lumenmancer], [Seerer], [Diviner], [Pathfinder], [Biomancer], [Life Mage], and Level 1 [White Mage]. He just needed to pick up the two life magic classes, [White Mage] and [Pathfinder] classes.


    He still had a long way to go, but it was necessary. And it would be fine; he still had plenty of dungeons to go through. His leveling would slow right down after he hit level ten and every ten levels after that. But that was a problem for Tom in the future. Present Tom was going to enjoy all of these free levels and skills.


    <System Wiki has Reached level 8>


    He could feel the difference. While not as apparent as an increased strength stat, he could feel the difference as he drew a quick glyph just to test it.


    "Alright, time for the loot." Tom chuckled as he moved into the shambling zombie room. Tom moved back to where the zombies had been. The entire corridor and a good portion of the room were blacked out from the intense flame. The once-rotting corpses of the shambling zombies were little more than piles of ash on the ground. That was the nice thing about holy fire; there was no barbecue smell.


    Glancing around the room, his eyes were drawn to a chest off to one side. Instantly, he moved over to the chest, cracking open the lid and ¡­


    THUNK


    "Gah, what the fuck?!" Tom swore as the crossbow trap on the inside of the lid shot him.


    <You have been shot; you have taken 17 points of damage>


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    <[Pierce the Veil] has Reached level 2>


    <[Pierce the Veil] has Reached level 3>


    <...>


    <[Pierce the Veil] has Reached level 10>


    <[My Mind is my Temple] has Reached Level 4>


    <Level up>


    The notifications sprung up in his head as the bolt sank into his shoulder, taking a third of his health.


    "Really? [Pierce the Veil], Really?" Tom muttered. "You couldn''t have warned me before I opened the chest. At least I got a pity level for being shot!"


    The bolt hurt; it was not like the weird static pain, but it actually hurt. The last time he had been in this much pain, his father had hit him.


    "Why is that pain setting so high?" he gasped as he yanked the bolt out of his shoulder.


    A fresh wave of pain assaulted his body.


    "Should have grabbed [Biomancer]," Tom muttered to himself as he pulled up his menu.


    Tom scrolled through his options, looking for the pain setting, and it was gone.


    "What the hell?!" Tom moaned. "This feels like they''re trying to get us to pick up a pain reduction skill."


    Tom was assigned his new level. It was not [Biomancer] or [White Mage]. He had considered it, but he wanted to know what was in the chest more than he wanted to fix his arm. And it wasn''t that bad; he would probably pick up [Biomancer] for his next level.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are now a level 1 [Diviner] - Lesser


    +2 CON +4 PER +8 INT +7 WILL +1 SPIRIT +5 CHA


    Please select a [Diviner] Skill.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <System Wiki has Reached level 9>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have gained the Skill [Identify] - Common


    [Diviner] - [Identify]: You glean basic information from your target''s status, whether they are a person or material. Reveal an additional 0.5% of your target''s status.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <System Wiki has Reached level 10>


    Tom groaned as he felt his HP tick up with the increased Constitution. It wasn''t healing, but it was good enough.


    Tom threw open the chest. The first thing he did was rip out the crossbow and toss it and the bolt into his Inventory as his first loot. Take that crossbow. You belong to me now.


    Then he moved into the rest of the chest. He found a pair of boots, a shirt, pants, underwear, a dagger, a red gemstone, probably a ruby, and a potion.


    "[Identify]," Tom said.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Iron Dagger


    It''s a Dagger made of iron.


    Damage: ???


    Quality: ???


    Durability: ???


    Special Effects: ???


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Lesser Mana Potion


    Restore 120 Mp


    Quality: ???


    Durability: ???


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Priestly Cotton Shirt


    An oversized white shirt with gold trim that gives you a priestly look.


    Quality: ???


    Enchantment: Temperature Control, Self-repair


    Durability: ???


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Priestly Pants


    Some well-made white pants with gold trim.


    Quality: ???


    Enchantment: Temperature Control, Self-repair


    Durability: ???


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Underwear


    Tra la la modern underwear with an elastic waistband.


    Quality: ???


    Enchantment: Self-Cleaning, Self-Repair


    Durability: ???


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Ruby


    AL2O3


    Quality: ???


    Durability: ???


    Special Effects: ???


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Fur Inlaid Troll Leather Boots


    Boots created from the skin of a ??? Troll


    Defense: ???


    Quality: ???


    Durability: ???


    Enchantment: Perfect Fit, Self Cleaning, Hyper Comfort


    Special Effect: Regenerating Boots, Enhance Durability


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Identify] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Identify] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Identify] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Storage] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Storage] has Reached Level 4>


    <...>


    <[Storage] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Knowledge] has Reached Level 5>


    While the notifications could have been more helpful, the experience to his [Identify] skill would be more useful in the long term. It was incredibly annoying because he knew the [Eye for Treasure] Skill could tell him everything about these items. Unfortunately, that wasn''t on his roadmap to the Augur class. And that Skill, in particular, only worked on items, not living beings or mobs.


    He slipped on the clothes. While they didn''t seem special, he preferred them to being practically naked. The boots, however, were made of soft but durable troll leather, the insides lined with soft fur, and fit perfectly. The entire thing fitted around his feet like a snug second skin t.


    "I am definitely keeping these," Tom muttered as he tested his new boots.


    The warm fur almost wrapped around his toes. He didn''t even need socks.


    Finally done with the loot, Tom moved to the door leading to the next room. This time, being a bit more careful, he opened the door while keeping his body out of the line of fire. He carefully pushed open the door.


    POP! POP! CLICK! THWANG! SNAP! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!


    Three crossbow bolts shot through the small opening in the door, and at least a dozen bolts crashed into the door behind Tom as he activated the trap.


    <[Pierce the Veil] has Reached level 11>


    "What the fuck kind of tutorial is this?!" Tom sputtered.


    Tom slowly moved his head towards the small gap in the door to try and examine the room beyond.


    "Jesus Christ," Tom whispered.


    Through the gap in the doorway, he could see crossbows mounted all over the walls, attached to a network of strings, wires, and pulleys strung throughout the hallway like cobwebs.


    "This is ¡­ who''s idea was this?!" Tom muttered as he stared at the death trap in front of him.


    He was honestly wondering if this was a joke tutorial or maybe the devs were just being sadists.


    He carefully considered his options. He wasn''t going to spend all night trying to disable them all, and he would prefer not to just set the entire thing on fire. Those crossbows could be sold when he got to the nearest town and could give him a good amount of seed money. So, he needed something to set off all the traps. Something that wasn''t him ¡­ A truly evil grin started to bloom on his face as a plan formed in his mind.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 63/80


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 640


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 1.2 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 1.2 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 3.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 4%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Light Mage 1, Lumanancer 1, Seerer 1, Diviner 1,


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 8


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 28


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 8


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 28


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Inkheart] - Ancient: Your blood has turned into ink as the sum total of written wisdom has coalesced within your veins.


    [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 2 >> Level 4


    [Words of Power] - Level 2 >> Level 4


    [Knowledge] - Level 3 >> Level 5


    [Gift of Tounges] - Level 2 >> Level 4


    [Wordsmith] - Level 2 >> Level 4


    [My Mind is My Temple] - Level 2 >> Level 4


    +5 INT per Level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 10/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Party Leader] - Level 2 >> Level 3


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 1


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 3 >> Level 4


    - [Storage] - Level 2 >> Level 10


    - [Mapping] - Level 2


    - [System Wiki] - Level 4 >> Level 10


    Light Mage 01/11


    - [Light Magic] - Level 3 >> Level 6


    Lumenmancer 01/6


    - [Lumenmancy] - Level 1


    Seerer 01/6


    - [Pierce the Veil] - Level 1 >> Level 11


    Diviner 01/6


    - [Identify] - Level 1 >> Level 8</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 8: Tutorial â…¢

    He immediately backed away from the door and began a summoning ritual. He started by drawing a 2-meter-diameter circle. Then, he started drawing glyphs on the inside and outside of the circle. He winced as he tried to raise his shoulder. He dropped his left arm, deciding just to use his right arm to complete the summoning ritual.


    It took him time, at least twenty minutes, and he had to reference his bloodline multiple times to ensure he didn''t fuck this up and summon something he couldn''t control. It was tedious and nerve-racking at the same time. He was also reminded why most people used spells over glyphs. Glyphs were sooo slow. When he finally, finally, finished the stupid circle, he activated the simple summoning.


    <[Light Magic] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Lumenmancy] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Lumenmancy] has Reached Level 3>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Words of Power] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Words of Power] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Knowledge] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Gift of Tongues] has Reached Level 5>


    <[My Mind is a Temple] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 5>


    "I''m not sure if I like how much this tutorial is making me work," Tom muttered as a brown bull stepped out of his ritual circle. He identified it out of reflex more than anything else.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Lesser Earthen Bull


    Level: 4


    HP: 500 / Stamina: 1200 / MP: 120


    A creature from the elemental plane of earth, these cattle graze upon the crystalline grasses of their home and have gained the Basalt Bone Marrow from it, enhancing their skeleton and blood. This is a summoned creature; upon its death, it will fade from this plane and return to its home.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Identify] has Reached Level 9>


    It was shit. He didn''t have any skills to boost his proficiency in summoning the bull, so he was getting the bare minimum, which showed. Not that it mattered. This was more of a sacrifice than an actual guardian.


    "Alright then," Tom began, "charge through that door."


    The bull immediately launched itself towards the door, smashing through the double wooden doors and flying into the room. Tom launched himself to the side as the traps activated.


    The SNAPS, CLICKS, THWANGS, THUDS, CLATTERS, SMASHS, CRASHES, and tortured Bovine SCREAMS.


    It all came as a sudden explosion of noise. Thankfully, the cow noises only lasted a few seconds. The crossbows continued SNAPPING and POPPING like the three-minute mark on a bag of microwave popcorn, and then nothing.


    Tom causally peaked into the hallway.


    "Holy shit," Tom muttered. "Peta is going to hate me."


    From floor to ceiling, crossbows lined the walls. Half of them were destroyed beyond repair, having been stuck too many times by their fellows. There, spent bolts lay all over the floor. A conspicuously dense concentration of them marked the middle of the room, probably where his bull had died.


    <Congratulations on disabling a truly monstrous trap. You have earned 1 Level>


    Tom pulled open his class options and picked the [Biomancer] class.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are now a level 1 Biomancer - Inferior


    +2 CON +4 PER +8 INT +7 WILL +1 SPIRIT +5 CHA


    Please select a Biomancer skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <System Wiki has Reached level 11>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have gained the Skill [Biomancy] - Lesser


    While others dabble in life magic, you have chosen to specialize in life, bringing the core of your being closer to life.


    +1% to the effectiveness of your Life Magic per level. Due to picking a magic skill before level 10 you can select four spells.


    < Select your Spells >


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have learned the Life Magic spell [Revitalize]


    Burn the target''s life force in order to restore full functionality to their body.


    Mana cost: 25 Mana per second


    Target HP cost: 50 hp per second


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have learned the Life Magic spell [Lesser Heal]


    You pour a steam of healing magic into the target, restoring their life force.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Hp Restored: 100


    Mana costs: 50 Mana


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have learned the Life Magic spell [Lesser Mend]


    You drop a blob of healing magic that works to repair the body as much as restore it.


    Restore 100 hp over 1 minute.


    Mana cost: 20


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have learned the Life Magic spell [Lesser Purify].


    Remove weak afflictions and debuffs affecting the target.


    Mana cost: 100


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom immediately cast all four of his new life magic spells in quick succession, restoring and repairing his shoulder.


    "Oh yes," Tom moaned in pleasure as he swung his arm in great loops, enjoying his range of movement. The notifications were nice, too. Walking forward, Tom collected hundreds of bolts and any of the dozens of crossbows that looked intact, dumping them all into his inventory¡ªmore seed money.


    <[Storage] has Reached level 11>


    <[Storage] has Reached level 12>


    It was kind of interesting to see his second skill break into the ten range. The first ten levels were easy¡ªyou could knock them out in a day. After that, the requirements got steeper. He had to have dumped a ton of materials into his [Storage], and he had only grabbed two levels for it. If it had still been level 1, he would have gotten to at least level 10, possibly 11.


    Tom was beginning to wonder if this tutorial was specially made harder for veterans of the Legend of Noralon like him¡ªsomething to consider.


    Tom carefully opened the doors at the end of the hall, jumping back in case of traps. But there was nothing, only a sloping path downwards. Slowly following it down, Tom descended further into the dungeon.


    The entire place seemed like a crypt, with fake corpses and coffins lining the walls. Tom checked to see if any of the corpses had any loot. Unfortunately, he didn''t find anything.


    The next chamber revealed a spacious dining area frozen in time. The table stood as the centerpiece, surrounded by a macabre gathering of skeletons and lifeless bodies, their hollow eye sockets staring emptily ahead. It appeared as though they had assembled for a feast that was never to be enjoyed. The table itself was strewn with a lavish spread of food: loaves of Bread, Mushrooms, delicate cheeses, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, dried meats, nuts, carrots, and unopened bottles of wine decorated the table.


    The fireplace in the corner popped merely as if the homeowners weren''t dead and would be back any second. A simple staircase ascended to a second floor on the other side of the room, offering a vantage point that overlooked the wide room.


    Suspended above the table, a chandelier with flickering candles cast eerie shadows on the remnants of a ghostly gathering. It was a haunting sight, frozen in time, where echoes of laughter and celebration lingered, now swallowed by the passage of years.


    "10$ says all of the corpses are undead," Tom muttered as he used [Identify] on them.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skeleton Warrior * 4


    Level 4


    HP: 35 / Stamina: 100 / Mana: 20


    This undead warrior can use weapons and even basic tactics a step above the most basic skeleton.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Draugr * 2


    Level 6


    HP: 150 / Stamina: 210 / Mana: 80


    A specialized undead whose body has been preserved by the cold, this creature is both a zombie and a ghost, utilizing intelligence beyond that of the common undead.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Draugr Frost Mage


    Level 7


    HP: 100 / Stamina: 170 / Mana: 400


    A Dragure that has deepened its connection with the ice and the cold. Transforming this warrior into a powerful spell caster.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Identify] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Identify] has Reached Level 10>


    "I fucking called it." Tom cheered.


    His joy was shattered the next moment as the heads of the undead rose up to meet his eyes, and the pathway he had used to enter the chamber snapped shut behind him, locking him in with the undead.


    "Crabbaskets," Tom swore.


    You may skip to the next Chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 800


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 1.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 1.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 4.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 5%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Light Mage 1, Lumanancer 1, Seerer 1, Diviner 1, Biomancer 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 35


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 25


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 35


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 25


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Inkheart] - Ancient: Your blood has turned into ink as the sum total of written wisdom has coalesced within your veins.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 4 >> Level 5


    - [Words of Power] - Level 4 >> Level 6


    - [Knowledge] - Level 5 >> Level 6


    - [Gift of Tounges] - Level 4 >> Level 5


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 4 >> Level 6


    - [My Mind is My Temple] - Level 4 >> Level 5


    - +5 INT per Level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 11/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Party Leader] - Level 3


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 1


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 4 >> Level 5


    - [Storage] - Level 10 >> Level 12


    - [Mapping] - Level 2


    - [System Wiki] - Level 10 >> Level 11


    Light Mage 01/11


    - [Light Magic] - Level 5 >> Level 7


    Lumenmancer 01/6


    - [Lumenmancy] - Level 1 >> Level 3


    Seerer 01/6


    - [Pierce the Veil] - Level 11


    Diviner 01/6


    - [Identify] - Level 8 >> Level 10


    Biomancer 01/6


    - [Biomancy] - Level 1 >> Level 2</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 9: Tutorial â…£

    Tom turned and bolted towards the staircase as he launched a light bullet at the Draugr mage. The spell impacted easily enough but didn''t stop the draugr from launching its own ice bolt back at him.


    Tom ducked under the flying icicle as it shattered against the wall behind him.


    <[Lumenmancy] has Reached level 4>


    ¡°Not helpful,¡± Tom muttered as he leaped up the stairs two at a time. Weaving his hands together, he created a crude glyph trap halfway up the stairs. It was actually just an oversized fire-starting glyph that he purposely drew wrong, turning it into a bomb.


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached level 6>


    <[Words of Power] has Reached level 7>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Knowledge] has Reached level 7>


    <[Gift of Tongues] has Reached level 6>


    <[My Mind is a Temple] has Reached level 6>


    When Tom reached the landing at the top of the stairs, he froze in dread. There was a door at the end of the second floor and three tombstones, one on each side and one in front of the door. And the moment he stepped onto the second floor, the tops of all three coffins burst off, and three more draugrs walked out.


    "Fuck" Tom swore, then he screamed as an ice bolt hit him in the back.


    Tom whirled around to see the undead mage preparing another shot. He ducked to the side. Pulling up his menu, he quickly selected two new light magic spells.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have learned the Light Magic spell [Mana Bomb (Light)].


    The Light Bomb spell emanates pure luminosity, forming a radiant sphere that swiftly travels before unleashing a blinding burst of light, illuminating everything in its path.


    Damage: 10 - 100


    Mana costs: 100 MP


    Range: 10 meters


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have learned the Light Magic spell [Lesser Light Shield].


    You create a small barrier made out of light capable of deflecting a single attack.


    Mana costs: 50 Mana


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom didn''t even have time to enjoy his new magic as the draugr behind him closed in with massive great swords raised. Leaping off the staircase and out into the open air, Tom created a light shield that was a stepping stone in mid-air.  Using it as a makeshift platform, he stepped onto and off the shield and landed on the chandelier.


    He was almost safe now¡ªhe just needed to kill the only ranged mob in the room. His thoughts were cut off as he had to jerk his head to the right to avoid an icicle from slamming into his eye.


    "Just die, asshole," Tom cursed as he conjured his light bomb and tossed it at the mage.


    The mage didn''t stand a chance. As the spell impacted its body, it exploded, blasting the room with light and causing the chandelier to sway dangerously.


    <You have killed a level 7 Draugr Frost Mage>


    <You have killed a level 4 Skeleton Warrior>


    <You have killed a level 4 Skeleton Warrior>


    <You have killed a level 4 Skeleton Warrior>


    <You have killed a level 4 Skeleton Warrior>


    <Level Up!!>


    <Level Up!!>


    <[Lumenmancy] has Reached level 5>


    <[Light Magic] has Reached level 8>


    <[Light Magic] has Reached level 9>


    <[Light Magic] has Reached level 10>


    Tom ignored the notifications and lobbed two more Light Bombs down on the undead. The first or second, depending on how you counted, killed the two basic draugr that had been with the mage. The second group of draugr tanked the Light Bomb.


    Their blue eyes glared at him with rage as they leaped off the stairs, hoping to slash him on the way down. They missed. Tom found their attempts funny, as they tried to reach him with their weapons but utterly failed.


    "Yeah, yeah, I''ll get to you in a minute," Tom muttered


    He took a moment to heal his injuries, burning the last of his mana to heal the frost mage''s second attack. All while the undead below waved their weapons around like a bunch of role-players at a bar.


    <[Biomancy] Level Increased to Level 3>


    He took a moment to examine them with [Identify].


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Draugr Warrior * 2


    Level 7


    HP: 150 / 250 / Stamina: 490 / Mana: 80


    A specialized undead whose body has been preserved by the cold. This undead creature is both a zombie and a ghost. Utilizing intelligence beyond that of the common undead, it has retained some of its ability to fight.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Draugr Viking


    Level 9


    HP: 400 / 500 / Stamina: 960 / Mana: 120


    A specialized undead whose body has been preserved by the cold. This undead creature is both a zombie and a ghost. Utilizing an intelligence beyond that of the common undead, it has retained its abilities to fight and sail.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "You have got to be shitting me," Tom murmured as he looked at his enemies. "I take it back. The devs are definitely trying to get me to quit."


    Pulling up his menu, he assigned his two levels to new classes.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are now a level 1 Life Mage


    +2 CON +4 PER +8 INT +7 WILL +1 SPIRIT +5 CHA


    Please select a Life Mage Skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[System Wiki] has Reached level 12>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have gained the Skill [Life Magic] - Inferior


    Life is eternal. It permeates every corner of the galaxy, every world, and every energy source. You are learning the intricate dance of life.


    +0.5% to the effectiveness of your Life Magic per level. Due to picking a magic skill before level 10 you can select four spells of level 0-9 or below.


    < Select your Spells >


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[System Wiki] has Reached level 13>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are now a level 1 White Mage


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    +2 CON +4 PER +8 INT +7 WILL +1 SPIRIT +5 CHA


    Please select a White Mage Skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[System Wiki] has Reached level 14>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have gained the Skill [Meditation] - Uncommon


    White Mage - [Mediation]: Whether you are truly meditating or just sleeping, this skill is perhaps the most important one you can gain. When meditating or sleeping, all regeneration is increased by an additional 2% per level. Allows the player to enter their soul space.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[System Wiki] has Reached level 15>


    "Alright then," Tom muttered as the undead tried to get at him from below. "I just need to wait for my mana to recharge, and then I can kill these assholes."


    Crunch


    Tom felt his stomach and his body drop an inch. He looked up to see the chandelier chain slowly pulling itself out of the ceiling.


    "Crap," Tom said.


    Pulling out his mana potion out of his storage, he drank it back like a shot of vodka. As his mana returned, he began to swing the chandelier back and forth.


    "Come on," he muttered.


    There was a high-pitched squeak as the metal continued to sheer above him. As his swing hit its apex, he leapt from the chandelier towards the staircase. The chandelier fell to the ground, slamming into the ground with a bang.


    Rushing for the stairs, Tom swerved around the glyph trap he never got to use. The undead raced behind him, clearly faster than the first group. Reaching the stairs'' top, he started drawing another glyph trap.


    He was really starting to wonder if he should have put points into dexterity as he quickly constructed the trap. And not a moment too soon as the draugr touched his first glyph trap. Tom lept backwards as fire engulfed the draugr.


    "Fuk fuck fuck" Tom muttered as the undead emerged from the flames damaged but functional.


    Lobbing his last light ball into their midst, the ball exploded on impact.


    <You have killed a level 7 Draugr Warrior>


    <You have killed a level 7 Draugr Warrior>


    <[Lumenmancy] has Reached level 6>


    <[Lumenmancy] has Reached level 7>


    "Of course, I didn''t kill them all," Tom muttered. "That would be too easy."


    The Draugr Viking charged up the stairs and right into his second trap. This one charged the draugr''s body. Its bones were showing in places, and its once-white skin was nearly black now.


    "What does it take to kill this thing?!" Tom swore.


    The Viking draugr charged at him, it''s great ax raised to strike him down. Tom fired off a light bolt into its face as he ran around the center coffin of the second floor, and the draugr chased him.


    Tom quickly realized he was running out of stamina. If he didn''t finish this fight before that bottomed out, he would be very dead. Turning, he launched himself off the first floor, tumbling towards the ground. The draugr chased after him as Tom scrambled desperately on the ground, picking up one of the steel swords the draugr had held. Picking it up, he held it with trembling hands as the undead charged at him, bringing its ax down in a fatal arc. Only to bounce off of a pane of pure light that shattered the moment after it had blocked the attack.


    "Lesser Light Shield, Bitch" Tom shouted as he launched himself forwards, the tip of his sword punching through the draugr''s chest where its heart had once been.


    <You have killed a level 9 Draugr Viking>


    <[Lumenmancy] has Reached level 8>


    <[Lumenmancy] has Reached level 9>


    <[Lumenmancy] has Reached level 10>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached level 7>


    <[Words of Power] has Reached level 8>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Knowledge] has Reached level 8>


    <[My Mind is a Temple] has Reached level 7>


    <[Party Leader] has Reached level 4>


    <Level Up>


    "Oh, thank the gods." Tom breathed out a sigh of relief before toppling over. His stamina was nearly gone, his mana was gone, and his health was fine somehow.


    "I hate being the god''s damned healer!!" he shouted to no one in particular.


    As happy as he was with his gains from that fight, that was too fucking close for his liking. If that last attack hadn''t killed the draugr, he would be going for respawn right now.


    For a good thirty minutes, he just sat there recovering his resources as he looked through his status.


    [Light Magic] and [Lumenmancy] were both at level 10, giving him a 15% boost to all of his light magic. And that number was destined to grow even larger. His Bloodline skills were coming along nicely. He was getting faster with his glyphs. Once he switched to paper and ink, he would be a true terror to behold. When he was done reviewing his status and nodded at the results, he assigned his new levels.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are now a level 1 Pathfinder


    +2 CON +4 PER +8 INT +7 WILL +1 SPIRIT +5 CHA


    Please select a Pathfinder Skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations! You have gained the Skill: [Far Sight] - Common


    Extend one''s vision beyond the horizon. Distant details become vivid and clear, bringing the world closer as if it were within arm''s reach.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Just one more level, and he would have the Augur class. That would last him until he reached level 30, at which point he would have to consider his second class. But that was a problem for future Tom.


    He decided to leave the new spells for future Tom as well. Free spells of any level were rare. For most players, 99% of all of their spells would come from spellbooks. For a full-on pro-wizard like Alex, they memorized most of their low-level spells, so when they started a new character, they would come out with a full arsenal.


    Standing up, he collected the draugr''s weapons and all of the food before getting up and moving to the door. The Mage actually had a spell book for a simple frostbite spell. He stashed it away so he could give it to Alex later. While the book might be useful for him, it wasn''t very useful right now. Also, there was Alex to consider. If she didn''t already have the spell, he would give the book to her, or else he would use it for himself.


    The Viking, on the other hand, wore a helmet and even had some gold on his person. Once he had looted the easy stuff, he rolled up his sleeves and prepared for the gross.


    "This is going to be so gross," Tom muttered as he gripped the iron knife and moved over the draugrs head.


    Tom brought his new iron sword down on the draugr¡¯s neck, severing its head¡ªjust in case. He picked up the head and set it on the now-empty table, bracing himself for the task ahead. Positioning the tip of his iron knife at the tear duct, he carefully pushed it in, trying not to puncture the eye. His stomach churned as he fought back nausea. Gagging, Tom wiggled the blade between the eyeball and its socket, then twisted it, popping the eye out with a sickening sound.


    ¡°Okay, I take it back. This is way too realistic,¡± Tom gagged, turning away just in time to vomit.


    ¡°I hate this so much,¡± he spat the last of the taste from his mouth before grabbing a bottle of wine. He took a swig, swished it around, and spat it on the ground. ¡°At least it actually tastes like wine,¡± he muttered, wiping his mouth.


    Part of him wanted to quit then and there, but he knew draugr eyeballs were valuable alchemical ingredients, and he needed them. He managed to collect eleven of them; the twelfth exploded, prompting him to retch even more. Maybe he should pick up a looting skill to help with this¡­ but that felt like such a waste of limited skills.


    You may skip to the next Chapter!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 160


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 160


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1280


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 2.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 2.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 5.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 7%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Light Mage 1, Lumanancer 1, Seerer 1, Diviner 1, Biomancer 1, Life Mage 1, White Mage 1, Pathfinder 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 56


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 56


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Inkheart] - Ancient: Your blood has turned into ink as the sum total of written wisdom has coalesced within your veins.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 5 >> Level 7


    - [Words of Power] - Level 6 >> Level 8


    - [Knowledge] - Level 6 >> Level 8


    - [Gift of Tounges] - Level 5 >> Level 6


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 6 >> Level 8


    - [My Mind is My Temple] - Level 5 >> Level 7


    - +5 INT per Level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Party Leader] - Level 3 >> Level 4


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 1


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 5


    - [Storage] - Level 12


    - [Mapping] - Level 2


    - [System Wiki] - Level 10 >> Level 15


    Light Mage 01/11


    - [Light Magic] - Level 7 >> Level 10


    Lumenmancer 01/6


    - [Lumenmancy] - Level 4 >> Level 10


    Seerer 01/6


    - [Pierce the Veil] - Level 11


    Diviner 01/6


    - [Identify] - Level 10


    Biomancer 01/6


    - [Biomancy] - Level 2 >> Level 3


    Life Mage 01/11


    - [Life Magic] - Level 1


    White Mage 01/11


    - [Meditation] - Level 1


    Pathfinder 01/11


    - [Far Sight] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 10: Tutorial â…¤

    Tom sat his ass down after removing the eyeballs of all the draugrs. So gross. He shuddered just from the memory of the act. Fortunately, he didn''t have anything left in his stomach to throw up.


    He decided then and there to launch a complaint ticket to the developers about making some parts of the game too realistic.


    But that was all beside the point. It was time to earn the [Augur] class. Tom triggered his [Meditation], and instantly, his heart rate slowed


    <[Meditation] has Reached Level 2>


    He ignored the notification as he entered his inner soul, mana space, or whatever the game called it this time. It really didn''t matter.


    Once he was inside¡­ himself, he could see the inside of his soul. It was a collection of beautiful nebulas of different-colored clouds floating through what might have been space. The constellations in the nebulas represented his classes, and the stars within those constellations were his individual skills. The few stars floating outside of the nebulas were his personal skills. All were just sitting there, just untapped potential.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Welcome to the Soul Forge


    The Soul Forge is a place in your inner soul where you can attempt to combine Skills and Classes. Creating new and sometimes better versions of what you already had. But be warned.


    Failure in the soul forge can result in soul damage. Soul damage can weaken or disable skills and even temporary loss of stats.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Meditation] has Reached Level 3>


    "Blah blah, I heard it a million times before. Skip," Tom muttered as he skimmed the notifications.


    This wasn''t new to him; he understood the rule of the soul forge. If he had been asked to describe the soul forge, he would have claimed that it was like trying to play Jenga while blindfolded and wearing a shock collar. Fortunately, it was predictable, and people had been adding to the Noralon forms for years. He was pretty sure he remembered most of them.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Warning


    You are attempting to combine [Light Mage] and [Lumenmancer]. Be warned: While the Soul Forge is active, all classes and skills inside the forge will be inactive. If the elements are compatible, you will receive a class or skill fusion. If the elements are incompatible, then you just wasted a whole lot of time.


    Would you like to activate the Soul Forge Y/N?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom pressed yes.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Soul Forge


    Time to Completion: 7 Hours: 59 Minutes: 57 Seconds


    RUSH


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom selected RUSH, just going through the motions.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Warning


    Using RUSH on the Soul Forge will finish the process immediately, but if you are attempting to combine incompatible elements, you will suffer a backlash: (-20% to all stats for 24 hours)


    This is a form of Soul Damage


    Would you like to RUSH Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    SKIP, Tom thought as he pushed the button as hard as he could. He already knew all this.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations: Class Fusion


    Light Mage + Lumenmancer ¡ú Master Lumenmancer - Historic


    Before, you were merely a student of the light. Now, you are its master in all forms.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Meditation] has Reached Level 4>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You have upgraded your skills


    [Light Magic] - Level 10 + [Lumenmancy] - Level 10 ¡ú [Bright Arts] - Level 10


    [Bright Arts] - Common: You have pushed your understanding of Light to the limit. Increase the power of all Light magic or Light mana by 2.5% per level of this skill. Due to being under level 10, you have gained three new Light spells.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom smiled as the notifications came in. His magic skill level was technically lower, but his total bonus had just hit 25% instead of 15%, and now he was going to do the same thing with his life magic.


    <[Meditation] has Reached Level 5>


    Tom felt an uncontrollable grin spread across his face. The power of the soul forge was his. The song and dance started all over again.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations: Class Fusion


    Life Mage + Biomancer ¡ú Master Biomancer - Historic


    Before, you were merely a student of life. Now, you are its master in all forms.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You have upgraded your skills


    [Life Magic] - Level 1 + [Biomancy] - Level 3 ¡ú [Art of Life] - Level 2


    [Art of Life] - Common: You have pushed your understanding of Light to your limit. Increase the power of all Life magic or Life Mana by 2.5% per level of this skill. Due to being under level 10, you have gained three new Life spells.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Meditation] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Meditation] has Reached Level 7>


    Tom found it a bit funny that his life magic was now at a higher potency than when he started.


    Now came the tricky part. He really hoped that he would remember how the Augur class was supposed to look in this form; otherwise, he would be going for a respawn.


    Carefully, very carefully, Tom began to assemble the stars. First came the White Mage class, bridging the gap between his two master classes. On top of those, he added the Seerer, Diviner, and Pathfinder classes for his divination magic. Slowly, ever so slowly, the blocks started to take shape.


    But something was nagging at him. It was like someone was poking him in the back of the head, and the closer he brought the blocks together, the harder he was being poked. Finally, the distraction got so bad that he had to stop what he was doing.


    "What the hell is that?!" he wanted to scream as he looked around his soul space. He noticed something. A red nebula to his back seemed almost like a massive scar in his soul space. It had six stars hidden within.


    "The bloodline ¡­" Tom muttered.


    One little star was tapping against the cluster, not a part of the bloodline but attracted to it.


    "What the hell is this?" he mumbled to himself as he examined them. One of them was his bloodline, a mix of red and black floating in the void. The other was golden. Tom didn''t recognize it. It wasn''t until he took stock of all of his other skills that he could determine what it was by the process of elimination. [System Wiki].


    He knew that some bloodlines could be upgraded with skills, but he had never heard of [System Wiki] being one of those skills. In hindsight, that wasn''t very surprising. [System Wiki] had no practical purpose in the game, with the Noralon Wiki available online. Or it could be part of the new update. He didn''t know, but he was excited to find out.


    The one downside was that he would lose [System Wiki]. He thought about it. Worthless skill or bloodline upgrade? Bloodline, he decided as he grabbed the star and shoved it into the bloodline hard.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alert!!!


    You are attempting to upgrade your bloodline [Bloodline of the Inkheart] by sacrificing [System Wiki]


    You have lost


    Calculating ¡­


    Insufficient materials to upgrade Bloodline.


    Calculating ¡­


    [Identify] has also been sacrificed to the bloodline.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "NOO!" Tom screamed as [Identity] disappeared.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Calculating ¡­


    [Meditation] has been downgraded to [Shallow Meditation]


    [Shallow Meditation]: your regen is increased by 2% per skill level


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    What did I do to deserve this?" Tom asked as he realized his new [Shallow Mediation] would not allow him access to the soul forge. Any second now, he would be booted from his soul space.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Calculating ¡­


    Due to being in the tutorial, additional resources have been allotted to complete the bloodline upgrade.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What the hell does that mean?" Tom asked. He almost wanted to weep as his hope of the [Augur] Class drained away.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations: Bloodline Upgrade


    Skills [System Wiki] & [Identify] have been sacrificed to enhance your Bloodline.


    [Bloodline of the Inkheart] - Ancient ¡ú [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records] - Forgotten:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword]:  Harness the power of the written word to create magical literature. Write with any medium. With increased quality and accuracy, you can produce books, skill books, spellbooks, scrolls, and talismans. Gain +1.25% Scribing Mastery, +5% to writing speed, and reduce errors in your writing by 1% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Words Will Always Retain their Power]: Master the arcane language of runes, glyphs, rituals, magic circles, sigils, arrays, and formations. Your comprehension of these words of power is profound, allowing you to read and write them with ease. Increase your comprehension of magical inscriptions and symbols by 5% per skill level. Increase the longevity, durability, and efficiency of the words of power by 5% per level.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Library of Akashic Records]: You have a perfect Memory storing away everything you have ever learned in an ever-growing library within your mind. Information regarding the System and Akashic Records is more easily recalled to the forefront of your mind. Increase your ability to organize and recall information by 5% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Universal]: Within your aura, all spoken words are heard in your native language, all written text appears in your native language, and anything you write automatically transforms into the native language of whoever reads it. This effect applies to everyone within the aura, ensuring seamless communication across all languages. However, this linguistic ability is limited to the aura''s range and does not persist once individuals leave its influence. Additionally, while within the aura, everyone has a chance to learn the [Omniglot] skill equal to 1% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Wordsmith]: Channel your thoughts into words. You can transmit your intentions into words. And your words onto any medium, whether paper, stone, sound, or even onto mana itself, at a rate of 100mp per minute. Reduce the mana cost of this skill and increase the quality of your words by 1% per level.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar]: +1% Immunity to all Mental and Soul attacks per level. Even if your brain suffers damage, your soul can take over, allowing you to function normally. Those with hostile intent cannot read or detect your thoughts. </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Thirst for Knowledge]: [Identify] skims the information from a target''s status. [Thirst for Knowledge] absorbs all the knowledge it can access. You can read a book at a glance or know a person in their entirety +1% Skill gain increase per level. Reduce Mental backlash from this skill by 1% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Visions of Akashic Records]: You can now see the Akashic Records, the Metadata inherent in everything, including the system. Reduce the Mental backlash from this skill by 1% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Soul Forge]: You can now manipulate the Akashic Records within a person''s soul or within the system. (warning: doing this without another person''s permission is taboo) You can now clearly see skills and classes in the Soulforge. Increase your Proficiency in the [Soul Forge] by 1% per level. Increase your Soul Magic Mastery by 2% per skill level. </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+5 PER per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Shallow Meditation] has Reached Level 8>


    Tom blinked, just staring at the notification for a few seconds as joy bloomed into his chest, replacing his despair. A forgotten rarity bloodline? Seriously? How? Why? He immediately pulled up the help guide just to check again that the Forgotten Rarity hadn''t changed.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Rarity:


    Inferior


    Lesser


    Common


    Uncommon


    Rare


    Epic


    Historic


    Ancient


    Mythic


    Legendary


    Forgotten


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Yep, he had managed to get an eleventh-rarity bloodline. Somehow. The notifications made it pretty clear this had only worked because he was in the tutorial. But wow. That was amazing. There was very little information about anything at the Forgotten Rarity.


    In fact, Tom only knew of two classes that he could get with that rarity. The first was [Dungeon Master], which required a person to have the [Dungeon Breeder], [Dungeon Architect], and [Dungeon Keeper] Classes all maxed out. The other one was the [Saint]. That one could only be acquired if you were the exclusive puppet of a god. Those builds were basically just puppets for their chosen deity.


    But that wasn''t what really excited him; it was the [Soul Forge] skill of his new bloodline. The clusters of stars and nebulas in his soul space now had tooltips and actual organization within.


    He could see each of his classes, and each one had hints and hidden secrets that spoke to him now as he understood each class''s potential. He could see what each class could become and how to combine them to create something more. Honestly, what he was doing before would be best described as solving a puzzle while wearing a blindfold.


    He could also see that what he had previously attempted might have blown him up. He started to alter the position of the stars. He needed to consider not only the color of the nebulas behind the stars but also the constellations that the stars were part of. He lined them so that the constellation lines overlapped with each other while making sure to blend the nebulas.


    It was like a beautiful three-dimensional puzzle. Each change he made to one part of the puzzle required him to make changes to every other part.


    <[Soul Forge] has reached level Level 2>


    <[Soul Forge] has reached level Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Soul Forge] has reached level Level 6>


    <[My Mind is My Temple My Soul the Altar] has reached level 5>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have unlocked a Class, Evolution!!!


    Master Biomancer - Historic + Master Lumenmancer - Historic + White Mage - Uncommon + Seerer - Inferior + Pathfinder - Common + Diviner - Lesser ¡ú Augur - Mythic


    You are an Augur. You divine the future, bring life and healing to the downtrodden, and provide guidance to your flock, allowing them to reach greater heights than they might have otherwise.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Thank the bloody devs for [System Wiki]. I can''t believe that useless skill actually came through for something." Tom shouted as the notifications kept rolling.


    He had only just barely met the qualifications for this class. Without [Identity], it had been painfully close, but his new bloodline came in clutch.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    Skill Upgrade: [Shallow Meditation] - Level 8 ¡ú [Prophetic Mediation] - Level 4


    You can enter a state of meditation. While in meditation or when sleeping, all stamina mana and health regeneration are increased by +2% per level. You may also gain prophetic visions and insights while in meditation, allowing for special quests.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This one was simple. It was a meditation skill that gave him free quests and, in other words, free money.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    Skill Upgrade: Far Sight ---> [Far Seeing] - Level 1: Using Divination magic, you can extend your perception far into the distance, allowing you to view the distant world without moving a single step.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    Skill Upgrade: [Pierce the Veil] - Level 11 ¡ú [Augurs Eye] - Level 5: You see everything; lies and falsehoods hold no power against you as you gain a full appraisal of anything in your line of sight. As an Augur, you can see the potential within people.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It occurred to him that [Augurs Eye] was somewhat redundant with his new [Thirst for Knowledge] skill. That was a little disappointing. But Tom was willing to write that off as the price for doing business.


    <[Prophetic Meditation] Level increased to 5>


    <[Prophetic Meditation] Level increased to 6>


    <[Prophetic Meditation] Level increased to 7>


    <[Prophetic Meditation] Level increased to 8>


    <[My Mind is My Temple My Soul the Altar] has reached level 6>


    Tom exited [Prophetic Meditation] and flopped backwards, covered in sweat.


    "Yes, yes, my brain is better than everybody," Tom cheered as he raised his arms in victory.


    The world would bow down to his awesomeness after a nap.


    Tom curled up right there on the floor and fell asleep utterly emotionally exhausted.


    You may skip to the next Chapter!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 160


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 160


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1280


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 2.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 2.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 5.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 3% Soul 3%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 8


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 72


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 56


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 72


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 56


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 7


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 4


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 4


    - [Universal] - Level 3


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 8


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 4 >> Level 6


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 1


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 1


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 1 >> Level 6


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 10/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Party Leader] - Level 4


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 1


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 5


    - [Storage] - Level 12


    - [Mapping] - Level 2


    Augur 05/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 5


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 10


    - [Art of Life] - Level 2


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 4 >> Level 8


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 11: Tutorial â…¥

    Tom didn''t know when he woke up, but it couldn''t have been too long, or the game would have booted him from the game.


    Getting up, he stretched a bit. While he hadn''t leveled up, his new bloodline provided him with more Intelligence and Perception, and it took a moment to get used to the changes. Once he was done, his thoughts turned back to finishing the dungeon.


    He walked up the stairs towards the wooden door leading deeper into the dungeon and pushed it open with ease.


    On the other side of the door was a large room containing five more doors¡ªtwo on each side and one dead ahead. In the middle of the room was a small obelisk with writing on it. It wasn''t English, but it didn''t matter as [Universal] came in clutch.


    Through veiled paths, destiny unfurls,


    Five obscured tales enigmatic swirls.


    One yields passage, humble and free,


    The rest ensnared, entangled in greed.


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 4>


    "What?" Tom muttered, utterly confused. "Entangled in gre ¡­, what the fuck is this shit? If I wanted to deal with bloody poems, I would have gone to school."


    Tom decided to check all the doors. Each door was made of stone, and all of them had symbols engraved on them. The moment he looked at the doors, his bloodline notified him they were runes, not that he needed the bloodline to tell what he was looking at.


    "Air, transform, fire, break¡­. And it''s a trap," Tom muttered as he examined the first runic door. The runes were set up to create a firebomb if anyone tried to open it.


    With a sly grin, Tom got started. His hands danced across the door, glyphs appearing around the well-made runes, defacing the work and subverting the rune script. It took him a literal hour to finish his modifications. The tricky part was modifying it enough that the magical script would fail in such a way that it wouldn''t explode and take most of the room and, by extension, himself with it.


    With a delicate touch, Tom activated the script.


    BZZZVVTT


    The door let out a horrendous buzzing, blasting out sparks like a broken computer. The mana filling the door glowed, flickered, and then went out.


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Words will Never Lose their Power] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Words will Never Lose their Power] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 5>


    With the door now dead, Tom grabbed the handle and threw open the door.


    Thump


    A crossbow bolt slammed into his stomach.


    "GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!!!" Tom swore as he immediately got to work on healing his wound as he ripped out the bolt.


    Looking up, he was greeted with a view of a chest with a crossbow mounted above it. Feeling properly humbled, he got up, stumbling as he moved over to the chest and opened it up. A smile bloomed across his face as he identified the contents.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Starting kit: Smith


    Moonstone Ingots * 50


    Steel Smith Hammer


    Steel Tongs


    Small Portable Steel Anvil


    Skill Book: Smith


    Basic Smith Recipes


    Forge your destiny with our Smith''s Starter Kit, a comprehensive collection of essential tools and resources tailored to empower novice blacksmiths. Unleash your potential and shape a new world, one hammer strike at a time.


    Warning: this item cannot be used inside the Tutorial


    Quality: Uncommon


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He had found a starter kit. Tom whooped with joy. These were worth more than a chest of gold. And if that infernal riddle was to be believed, he had four of them!!


    So for the next four hours he worked on unlocking the other three doors. The fourth had no script on it so he left it alone for the time being.


    The reason every door took so long was due to the fact that every additional door had more complex traps both magical and mundane. He carefully and slowly worked through each and every trap, triple-checking his work each time, as he patiently worked on the doors. But the rewards, both the actual rewards and the skills were worth it.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Starting kit: Alchemists


    Associated Alchemical Ingredients * 1000


    Mortar and Pestle


    Flasks * 30


    Caldron


    Skill Book: Alchemy


    Basic Alchemist Recipes


    Embark on your alchemical journey with our Alchemist''s Starter Kit. Equipped with a versatile assortment of ingredients, vials, and apparatus. This kit empowers aspiring alchemists to unravel the mysteries of potions, elixirs, and transformative concoctions. Embrace the power of the elements and forge your path as a master of the arcane arts.


    Warning: this item cannot be used inside the Tutorial


    Quality: Uncommon


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Starting kit: Enchanter


    Inferior Soul Stones * 100


    Lesser Soul Stones * 50


    Common Soul Stones * 10


    Weak Enchanters Focus


    Skill Book: Enchanter


    Basic Enchantments


    Delve into a world of arcane symbols, mystical crystals, and ethereal threads as you learn to infuse objects with extraordinary properties. Unleash your creativity and enchant your way to greatness as you craft extraordinary artifacts that will leave a lasting mark on the enchanted realms.


    Warning: this item cannot be used inside the Tutorial


    Quality: Uncommon


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Starting kit: Farmer


    Potato seeds * 100Wheat seeds * 100Tomato seeds * 100Onion seeds * 100Apple seeds * 100Steel Hoe Steel ShovelSkill Book: Animal husbandrySkill Book: Horticulture


    Embrace the spirit of the land with our Farming Starter Kit, cultivating a bountiful future from sunup to sundown. Raise fat animals, and together, let''s grow dreams, one harvest at a time.


    Warning: this item cannot be used inside the Tutorial


    Quality: Uncommon


    Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Smithing, Alchemy, Enchanting, and Farming. Each one had a class connected to it, and once the game started in earnest, there was good money to be made selling them. He was going to take the enchanting kit for himself. Hector would probably take the alchemy kit, and the farming and smithing kits would be sold for cash.


    And, of course, then there were the skills from opening those obscene doors.


    <[Augur''s Eye] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 12>


    <...>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 16>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 9>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 10>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Words will Never Lose their Power] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Words will Never Lose their Power] has Reached Level 8>


    <...>


    <[Words will Never Lose their Power] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 7>


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 7>


    <...>


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 7>


    As Tom stretched, he turned to the final door. The plain wooden door.


    "If this isn''t the boss battle, I''m going to be a little pissed," he muttered.


    Tom walked up to and pushed through the simple wooden doors. Past the door was a massive throne room. Seven thrones stood at the far end of the chamber. On each throne sat a draugr in heavy armor fused to their bodies. All of them had well-made weapons on their side.


    Tom wasn''t going to make the same mistake he made this time. Instead of using [Augur''s Eye] on them and potentially setting them off, he started by drawing a wall of fireball glyphs, four for each draugr.


    Behind that, he created seven summoning circles. Each one would summon Lesser Pyro Cobras. And behind that, he went wild with his glyph traps, lighting traps, fire traps, water traps, earth traps, and a Holy Light Trap. He wasn''t taking any chances with these draugrs. He was going to treat these draugrs like they were all level 20. He even got a few more skill levels out of it.


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 17>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Words will Never Lose their Power] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 10>


    When he was finally done, he sat back and activated [Augurs Eye] on the draugrs.


    "Let''s examine you properly," Tom muttered.


    Even before the notification finished popping up, all seven Draugr jumped to their feet and turned their icy, cold eyes towards him.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Draugr Death Knight * 7


    Level 20


    HP: 1500 / Stamina: 1760 / Mana: 600


    The draugr Death Knight is a foot soldier of Helheim''s army. These knights have powerful soul-bound weapons capable of harming intangible opponents.


    Perks: Knighthood, Soulbound weapon ¢ó, Shining Armour, Banner of the Dead ¢ò, Aura of Fear, Blighted Weapon, Duty before Death


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Alright, I''m suing the devs. This is harassment," Tom called out as the death knights rose from their chairs, each gripping a massive two-handed weapon as they charged.


    Instantly, the fireballs opened fire, taking each death knight down a good chunk of HP, but it was not enough to kill the over-leveled monsters. The draugrs roared in rage as their white skin charred black. The moment the fireballs impacted the undead, the summoning circles activated seven massive serpents that rose out of the ground to meet the seven death knights.


    The cobras lunged at the death knights, their flaming fangs piercing the undead flesh, but the death knights shook them off. Bringing around their weapons, they started to dance with massive snakes, a dance of fang and blade as the two sides ripped chunks out of each other''s flesh.


    Tom wasn''t paying attention to them, however. He had realized in horror that while his impressive network of traps would kill the death knights, it wouldn''t be enough to stop them before they killed him. Tom began rapidly building a new trap designed to deal with an unkillable foe.


    The snakes were already failing. The first nail in the coffin came when one of the death knights brought his two-headed ax around, decapitating one of his snakes'' heads. As his first summon died, the death knight turned to help his fellow. The domino effect meant that each snake died faster than the one before.


    Tom was busy frantically finishing his glyph work. Just as the draugrs finished killing his snakes, the undead charged him, running straight through his traps without a care in the world as the multi-elemental barrage flamed down on them. Fire, water, earth, air, light, and holy magic hammered the seven death knights as they charged through the tunnel, taking out all of their remaining hp. If they had been anything other than death knights, hell, if they had been a single level lower, that would have been the end of it.


    But they were level 20 death knights, and they all had the associated capstone perk. As each death knight ''died,'' they rose once again, and a golden aura surrounded their bodies.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Capstone Skill: Duty before Death


    Death is nothing in the face of duty.


    When your health points hit 0, you do not immediately die. Instead, you gain the [Invincibility] status for 5 minutes, during which you cannot take any damage nor suffer from debuffs and status ailments. However, you cannot regain HP, and once the effect ends, so will your life. May you fulfill your duty before passing it on. Increase the time you can remain in this stat by 1 minute per level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It was a last fuck you from a dead opponent. As all seven died, all seven rose, their injuries ignored as they charged at Tom, murder in their eyes as they no doubt intended to take him with them. The remaining traps bounced off of them completely useless. The undead were so focused on him they failed to notice the final trap, hastily put together but perfectly functional.


    Fwump


    All seven undead fell down into a perfect pit trap, collapsing into a mass of rotten limbs as they struggled to get up.


    "Ha," Tom laughed, "Fuck you, devs, you fucking hacks, try and cheat me out of my premium loot, fuck you."


    Tom threw together the necessary glyphs, and the draugrs were now tied together with ropes of light. To finish it off, Tom waved his hand, causing the pitfall opening to close up.


    "Wait five minutes and then extract the experience," Tom muttered as he walked past them, examining his notifications.


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Party Leader] has Reached Level 5>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 13>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 14>


    <Level Up>


    <Level Up>


    "I am amazing," Tom muttered as he entered the throne room and found his loot.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have found an Enchanter''s Table Seed.


    The enchanter''s table seed can be used with a settlement to create an enchanter table. This table is a staple of any good enchanter. It augments all enchantments by 10% and can also convert rocks into soul stones.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have found PG-13 Purifying Onsen Seed.


    This onsen seed can be grown within a settlement, creating beautiful collections of hot baths powered by geothermal elements (or magic) that help to remove curses, poisons, and diseases. They also release steam that constantly hides all of the r-18 bits, creating a family-safe environment; this is an illusionary effect.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have found Arnold¡¯s Millstone Seed.


    ''Silly Arnold, that''s not how you farm.'' Arnold was an intelligent scholar who was forced to become a farmer. Unfortunately, he was a terrible farmer, and he hated the work. However, he still needed money to avoid his debtors. The end result is this millstone, capable of grinding wheat into the finest flour and operating on mechanical or magical power endlessly. With this, Arnold got out of debt, and now this magical millstone is yours.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have found a Corpse of a Baby Torch Dragon.


    Once, this creature held the potential of a volcano. Now a simple corpse, it still retains the intense heat from the dragon that once lived within the world''s mantle. Now, it is a source of heat strong enough to power a furnace or a forge. The heat will increase with the amount of mana added to it.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What the hell is this?!" he asked, annoyed.


    He stashed the stuff in his inventory as he desperately searched around the room.


    "Where is the good loot? This is all settlement stuff, where my mythical sword, my holy necklace, or whatever. This tutorial is a godsdammed, unbalanced fucking bullshit." roared to the open air.


    Actually, now that Tom thought about it. This tutorial was fundamentally impossible for a new character unless they were a veteran player. When Tom couldn''t find anything, he signed. He was assigned his last level and got to level 10 in his [Augur] class. He also grabbed his remaining spells.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have reached the level 10 capstone and received the following benefits: +1 to all stats for each level. This effect is applied retroactively.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom felt like his entire body was electrocuted. Pleasure and pain coursed through his body as he received +10 to all stats. His build finally started balancing itself out. These capstone bonuses would happen at every ten levels and would increase at every ten levels. At level 20, he would get +2 to all stats; at level 30, he would get +3, and so on, until he hit the level cap at 100. Not that getting to level 100 would keep him safe. Unlike humans, monsters didn''t have level caps. Then, a second, slightly unexpected notification hit him.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have completed the Tutorial.


    You have earned the title: Beta Tester


    For acquiring the title Beta Tester, you have earned one free skill point


    You will be logged out of the tutorial in 1 minute


    We hope you enjoy your new life


    Time until expulsion from the Tutorial 00:59


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What the fuck?!" Tom muttered as his time ran out.


    It was official: Something was wrong with the tutorial. If he hadn''t basically cheated with the draugrs, then he might have had just enough time to run over to this chest and stuff everything inside of his inventory if he didn''t even bother to check the loot. He definitely didn''t have time to loot all the draugrs on top of that. Something was very wrong with this tutorial. It was almost as if it were trying to deny him any valuable resources.


    All of his thoughts ground to a halt as the timer hit zero, and everything went black. The last thing he saw before the blackness took him was one final notification.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    We wish you a Happy New Life + in The Legend of Noralon, Fifth expansion, The Goblin Invasion.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    You may skip to the next Chapter!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 350


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 450


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1600


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 5.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 5.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 10.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 6% Soul 6%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 7 >> Level 14


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 4 >> Level 13


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 4 >> Level 10


    - [Universal] - Level 3 >> Level 8


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 8 >> Level 11


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 6


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 1


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 1


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 6


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 10/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Party Leader] - Level 4 >> Level 5


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 1


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 5 >> Level 7


    - [Storage] - Level 12


    - [Mapping] - Level 2


    Augur 05/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 5 >> Level 6


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 10 >> Level 19


    - [Art of Life] - Level 2


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 4 >> Level 8


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 12: Tuesday

    Spears of light pierced through Tom¡¯s eyes and straight into his brain. He raised his arms to block the light and shut his eyes as tightly as he could. His hand bumped into his haptic gear. Had he fallen asleep in the game? That made sense, as he had already fallen asleep once today or yesterday.


    He pulled the haptic gear off, his head catching his ears as he took them off. He winced at the pain. He must have put on the helmet wrong and crushed his ear.


    His eyes winced shut from the overhead fluorescent lights. The moment he did, His ears were assaulted by a roar like a lion getting raped by an elephant. Whatever made that sound was right in front of him, but he couldn¡¯t force his eyes open.


    The roaring continued. The air around Tom vibrated with sound, and he could feel the warmth of breath on his face. He scooted back in his seat. Slowly, the muscles in his eyelids started to relax, and he was able to crack his eyes open. And He immediately wished he hadn¡¯t.


    Sitting directly across from him in a little dinky office chair was some kind of Lizardman. A monster. Not some dude in a costume ¨C a real fucking flesh-and-blood monster, and it looked pissed. Its right arm, which might have been as thick around as Tom''s waist, reached across its massive chest and ¡­ tried to rip off the haptic gear that was awkwardly placed over its reptilian head. Tom tried to get to his feet and run, but the moment his feet hit the floor, he was hit with a sense of vertigo and stumbled forward, crashing first into the table and then onto the floor.


    The monster finally seemed to have given up and violently ripped off the haptic gear, sending the expensive rig crashing into a wall. The lizard man''s motions were too much for the little office chair, which finally collapsed under the monster''s bulk, sending it crashing to the floor.


    ¡°Wharrapuck?¡± said the monster.


    Then Chloe''s scream cut through all of the morning fog.


    "MONSTER!!" she screamed.


    Tom spun to see his little sister holding onto Lucy''s neck as she stared at the lizardman.


    Two new screams pried Tom¡¯s attention away from the giant monster in front of him. He wasn¡¯t alone in here with the creature, which was some small comfort, but who the hell were these people?


    The first one was a squirrel. A literal squirrel man, he was honestly cute, and he knew it was a he because he was naked in a pile of clothes too big for him with his chestnuts out. Standing at just three feet tall, covered in thick fur, with a bushy tail. His coat was a warm brown color with accents of light tan around his belly, tail, and ears. His eyes were a pair of curious blue that gleamed with mischief and intelligence and a small button nose that twitched with excitement. His most notable feature is a long, fluffy tail that was almost as long as his entire body.


    The other one was a taller woman who he was forced to describe as a pornstar. No other description summed her up quite as well. She had light caramel skin, and her hair was a messy mane of spun blonde hair. Despite wearing sweats, it looked like her tits were about to rip through her sweatshirt, and her massive ass had already ripped open her pants. She also had pointed ears, so she was probably an elf. Despite all that, her eyes were the most eye-catching. Golden irises looked back at him with confusion. She looked suspiciously like ¡­


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 8>


    "Alex?" Tom asked.


    "Huh," she responded.


    ¡°Huh?¡± said the monster. Its mouth hung open, giving everyone a clear view of the very sharp teeth inside.


    "Holy shit," the squirrel said in a voice that immediately made Tom think of Alvin and the chipmunks.


    The squirrel guy jumped to his feet and lept backwards like a frightened cat, drawing two moonstone shortswords. The big-tittied woman summoned a giant fireball. Tom summoned a glyph as things started to look like they were about to turn nasty. But Then, just as the fighting was about to start, Tom began to notice his surroundings. He was in Alex''s house, and Chloe was behind him crying. He was in the game room where all of his friends were, and now he was surrounded by a bunch of strangers¡­


    "This can''t actually be real?" he muttered to himself


    The monster turned to look at him. "Toooom?"


    The monster was wearing clothes. Hector''s clothes only ripped like he had just hulked out. Tom shook his head. There was an easy way to check all of this.


    "[Augurs Eye]," Tom said immediately. Everyone in the room turned to face him, their weapons raised.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Alexandra Ling


    Titles: Beta tester


    Race: Sun Elf


    Type: Humanoid / Unlife


    Level: 10 (Hedge Wizardess MAX)


    Immune: None


    Resist: None


    Weak: None


    Bane: Manslayer


    HP: 250


    Stamina: 450


    MP: 1,000


    Personal skills: Manifold Chanting, Solar Metabolism, Storage, Mapping, System Wiki, Mana Super Session,


    Hedge Wizardess skills: Arcane Awakening, Arcane Shell, Charged Attack ¢ñ, Multi-cast ¢ñ, Synchronized Chanting, Grimiour


    Description: This beta-tester played Legend of Noralon for six years before the integration and is well in command of her magic. However, she is currently confused about her situation.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Abaddon (Hector)


    Titles: Beta tester


    Race: Lizardman


    Type: Humanoid / Giant


    Level: 10 (Giantslayer 10)


    Immune: Poison


    Resist: Physical, Disease


    Weak: Frost, Mind


    Bane: Manslayer, Scaleslayer, Giantslayer


    HP: 900


    Stamina: 1600


    MP: 200


    Personal skills: Storage, Mapping, System Wiki, Immortality, Tooth and claw, Hardened scales, Siege Breaker


    Giantslayer skills: Immortal Fists, Monster lifeforce (Giant), Giant Slayer, Second Wind, Endless Brawler, Legendary Strength


    Description: Abaddon is a beta-tester who played Legend of Noralon for six years before the integration. He is well in command of his power. Once known as Hector, now as Abaddon, he is confused and deals with minor body dysmorphia.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skippy (Sawyer Owens)


    Titles Beta tester


    Race: Squirrel Therianthrope


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    Level: 10 (Swordsman Max)


    Immune: none


    Resist Frost, Air


    Weak: Fire


    Bane: Manslayer, Beastslayer,


    HP: 250


    Stamina: 350


    MP: 200


    Skills: Stamina Burn, Ratatoskr''s Stash, Mapping, System Wiki, Blades,


    Swordsman Skills: Power strike, Piercing strike, Far strike, Venom Strike, Soul Strike, Manifold Strike


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Description: He is a beta-tester who played Legend of Noralon for six years before the integration and is well in command of his power. Skippy is confused and dealing with major body dysmorphia.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Augurs Eye] has Reached Level 7>


    "God dammit!" Tom swore as he dropped his glyphs.


    "Guys, it''s us, it''s me, Tom. The lizard is Hector, she''s Alex, and Skippy ¡­ why are you a cute squirrel?" Tom asked as he clutched his head. Blood was running from his nose.


    All at once, his friends stopped preparing to kill each other as they took a moment to properly assess their surroundings.


    Tom, realizing Chloe was still crying, went over to his sister to try to calm her down.


    "Tom?" she asked as she looked at him.


    Tom winced as Chloe looked at him without really recognizing him. It hurt more than he expected.


    "It''s okay, Chloe. It''s me and the guys. See nothing wrong," Tom said. "I promise you it''s just ¡­ a costume."


    "It is?" Chloe asked wide-eyed


    "Yeah," Tom said. "Here, watch."


    Tom pulled at his ears and stuck out his tongue, making Chloe giggle. But the ears didn''t come off; in fact, his new pointed ears felt painfully real. A part of his brain prodded him; he had been using magic just a second ago, and he shouldn''t be able to do that either. With deft hands, he wove together a spell, and a cluster of glowing butterflies burst from his hands.


    "Pretty," Chloe whispered.


    "That is so fucking gay," Skippy said.


    Chloe instantly forgot about her worries as she reached out to try to touch the butterflies.


    Meanwhile, Tom was having an internal panic attack. He was a half-elf, he was his in-game avatar, and he could use magic! What the hell was going on? That''s when something horrible occurred to him. What if it wasn''t just them? He quickly used [Augurs Eye] on his sister.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Chloe Bruner


    Titles: None


    Race: Human (may be changed to half-elf for no cost)


    Type: Humanoid


    Level: 1 (Tamer 1)


    Immune: None


    Resist None


    Weak: None


    Bane: Manslayer


    HP: 40


    Stamina: 40


    MP: 0


    Personal Skills: Pursuit Hunter, Storyteller


    Tamer Skills: Animal Companion


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom immediately checked Lucy.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Lucy


    Race: Black Doodle


    Type: Beast


    Level: 5


    Class/Race: Guard Dog 3 / Dark Hound 1 / Burning Hound 1


    Immune: None


    Resist: Fire, Dark, Cold


    Weak: None


    Bane: Beastslayer


    HP: 250


    Stamina: 350


    MP: 200


    Personal Skills: Man''s Best Friend


    Guard Dog Skills: Super Sniffer, Guard Dog,


    Dark Hound Skills: Dark Magic


    Burning Hound Skills: Fire Magic


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He was equal parts concerned and relieved at the fact that Chloe had turned Lucy into her own magical guard dog. Tom pulled himself away from his sister to look back at the rest of the group, clutching his head.


    "So, as a side note, magic is real," Tom said as he tried to cast a spell to heal himself; his hp had already dropped to the 50% marker just from using [Augurs Eye]


    Hector was still clearly freaking out.


    ¡°Whashgoingon?¡± asked Hector.


    "I think we all know the answer to that," Tom said.


    "Do we?" Skippy asked, his voice high and squeaky "Do we really? Maybe you should enlighten the rest of us. Because I, for one, would like to know why you look like Link from the legend of Zelda, why I''m a furry, Alex looks like she belongs on pornhub, Hector is a roided out lizard and why we are all dressed up in gay Renaissance fair costume."


    "Yeah, I have no idea about the how or even the why. But we are very obviously in the game."


    ¡°This is going to be so fucking awesome.!¡± Alex said as she blasted her wall with a Spark bolt.


    "This can''t be the game," Skippy said, sounding like Alvin the chipmunk.


    "You''re adorable," Alex cooed.


    "Eat my taint, Alex," Skippy shot back. "This can''t be the game."


    "And yet it is," Alex said.


    ¡°Is it?¡± asked Skippy. ¡°Is it really? Maybe you should enlighten the rest of us. Because I, for one, don''t know why I''m fucking furry. Alex is a fantasy porn star, and Hector is an eight-foot-tall crocodile?¡±


    "I thought we already established we''re in a video game." Tom pointed out.


    "I think he''s still freaking out," Alex cut in.


    "No, we aren''t. I''m pretty sure the legend of noralon didn''t have Alex''s house as an explorable location or computers or Tom''s little sister as an NPC," Skippy shouted pointedly.


    The effect was ruined by sounding like he was huffing helium.


    "Aporkalipse," Hector mouthed.


    "What?'' Tom asked, turning to look at his friend.


    Hector was moving his lips and tongue around.


    "Apor, apap, apacolipse, syt, systam apakalypse. System Apackalipse" Hector muttered, slowly clearing his throat. "Ok, I think I goot thisss, it''s a Ssssystem Apocalypssse,"


    Hector''s voice was substantially deeper and more gravely than before.


    "Oh, good to see that speech impediment that''s not going to be a thing," Tom muttered.


    "What the fuck is a system apocalypse?" Skippy asked.


    "The world becomes a video game, monsters show up, and society collapses, which might explain this situation," Tom said.


    "That sounds retarded," Skippy said.


    "That''s what your mom said last night." Alex shot back.


    "I was supposed to be going to Florida this spring!!" Skippy groaned as he scratched at his head.


    "Tom, why are you all dressed up?" Chloe asked.


    "Um, we all went to Magic Land and returned with superpowers, but now we all look like this," Tom said. "It''s not a costume, sorry/"


    "Can you teach me magic!" Chloe asked, immediately forgetting everything that had just happened.


    "Of course I ¡­ we can. But right now, I think the important thing is ¡­ Alex, Why are you fondling yourself?" Tom hissed out the last part as he placed his hands over Chloe''s eyes.


    Alex looked up at them from where she had been fondling her brand-new giant tits.


    "What part about I''m going to be a big titty girl next time did you not understand?"


    "Uh, hu, and why are you groping yourself?"


    "Don''t knock it till you try it. This is fucking awesome. Though I wonder?" Alex Then slid a hand down her pants to start playing with her sex.


    "Oh my god, it''s so much more sensitive!"


    "Fucking perv," Skippy muttered as he threw an empty pop can at her head.


    Alex didn''t even react to the pop can hitting her in the head.


    "Hey now, no kink shaming in the guild. Besides, if you suddenly had tits like these, you would be foundling yourself all day too. They feel amazing." she moaned as she played with herself.


    Skippy face palmed while Tom tried and failed to look away.


    "Guuyss, there''s an eight-year-old in the room. PGss-thirrteeeen," Hector said


    Alex jerked her hands away from her privates as if she had just been caught masturbating instead of openly masturbating in public like a perv.


    "We are all going to die," Skippy muttered.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 350


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 450


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1600


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 5.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 5.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 10.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 6% Soul 6%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    Bloodline Skills:


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 14


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 13


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 10


    - [Universal] - Level 8


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 11


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 6


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 1


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 1


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 6


    +5 PER per level


    +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 10/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Party Leader] - Level 5


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 1 >> Level 8


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 7


    - [Storage] - Level 12


    - [Mapping] - Level 2


    Augur 05/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 6 >> Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 19


    - [Art of Life] - Level 2


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 8


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 13: The End of the World

    "Okay, roll calls Half-High elf [Augur], Skippy picked a [Swordsman] Squirrel man, and Hector clearly picked Lizardman with the [Giant Slayer] class.


    "What did Alex pick?" Skippy asked.


    "Sun Elf [Arcanist]," Alex said proudly. "Well, I''m a current hedge wizard, but you know what I mean. And why aren''t you guys more excited that we''re in the bleeping game?"


    "Did you just say bleeping?" Skippy asked in disgust.


    "Did you all get the bonus skills, the one free skill, and the system token? I used my''n for [Mana Super Session]." Alex said, not even acknowledging Skippy''s words.


    "What''sss that one agiaan?" Hector asked through a slurring mouth


    "While it''s active, I have infinite MP for five minutes. But I need to repay everything I used back to the system. And the debt locks down a not insignificant percentage of my mana pool and regen until I get it to a high enough level. I did get the Bloodline of the Spector, though."


    "Wait, how did you get the bloodline?" Tom asked.


    "I got a bad roll. Preexisting bloodline detected," Alex said in a mock voice of the system.


    "Damm, that''s annoying," Tom said sympathetically.


    "Yeah, I mean, upgrading it to the bloodline of the Banshee Queen would be relatively easy. But I don''t know if that''s the best thing for my build. Hmmm. I need to look at the wiki later. Abbadon, what did you get?"


    "I got [Sseigebreaker]," Hector said. "Nooow, I ccan punch enkantmetsss and ssouls. Tom, what did you buy?"


    "I used it to purchase the ink heart bloodline," Tom admitted.


    "Why was I the only one to purchase a legendary bloodline?" Skippy asked. "At least Alex and Hector have good skills. Tom''s bloodline is only meh. I used my''n to get a legendary bloodline from the start."


    Tom shot Skippy a cruel smile.


    "I had the ink heart bloodline, but it fused with the [System Wiki] and [Identity] skill, and now it''s called the bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic records. It''s also a forgotten rarity, so suck it, Alvin." Tom shot back.


    "You got a forgotten rarity bloodline?" Alex asked as she smacked him in the arm. "You lucky dog. I didn''t know the [System Wiki] skill was actually useful."


    "I didn''t either," Tom said with a shrug. "I got lucky. In fact, I think the only reason I qualified for the upgrade is the hidden bonus in the tutorial."


    "Um, guyssss, whaat are yoou gooing to doo aboot this?" Hector slurred through his maw.


    They all turned to look at him. The massive lizard man was feeling up his face as if he were trying to familiarize himself with his new face.


    "Thank you, devs, for turning real life into a video game!" Alex cheered.


    Tom shook his head before glancing at Hector, who wasn''t paying attention. Instead, he was exploring ¡­ himself. He was touching himself, not sexually but exploratory, touching his face and placing his fingers in his mouth, running his tongue along his teeth.


    "Hector, are you ok, buddy?" Tom asked, concerned.


    "Iss reaaaly weerri, in game itt was a sssuiitt noow its real." Hector slurred.


    "I could understand you better if you kept a steady speech impediment, you know," Tom joked.


    "Trying new thingssss to get beeettter," Hector said.


    "Dude, if it''s bothering you that much, just use the reroll scroll," Skippy suggested. "I mean, we all got the rewards from the tutorial, right?"


    Tom nodded, but Hector shook his head.


    "Ca ca can not," Hector said, his speech improving with every word. "I neeed the racial skills and bonuses from the lizard man for my build."


    "Alright," Tom nodded. "If it becomes too big an issue, tell us your build will be worthless if you don''t feel comfortable in your own skin. Besides, we can pick up the polymorph skill at level 50, and that should--"


    Crash


    Chloe screamed as she raced back into the room with them. Lucy, on the other hand, started growling and barking angrily.


    Tom was cut off as his living room window suddenly shattered as a massive bear broke through the window of Alex''s house. Skippy, Hector, and Alex were caught off guard, their eyes widening in shock and fear.


    "Holy shit!!!" Skippy said


    The bear, snarling and baring its teeth, charged at them with determination. Skippy drew his sword and slashed forwards. Three massive slashes flew through the air, opening large tears in the bear''s torso and painting the floorboards in blood.


    The Bear roared in anger and charged at Skippy. Skippy froze in panic as the Bear charged. Before it could make it halfway to Skippy, Hector slammed into the Bear. Hector was big before the change, over six feet. Now, he was easily pushing eight feet and almost as heavy as the bear. He slammed into the monster with enough force to send them both sprawling to the ground.


    Hector had clearly gone right into game mode and was attacking Bear with no regard for his own safety, kicking the downed animal over and over again in the ribs in an attempt to kill the mob before it killed them. Lucy joined in spraying the Bear in the face with a cone of darkness as the animal struggled on the ground.


    "What''s happening?" Chloe cried.


    That snapped Tom out of his stupor. He scooped up Chloe, tucking her head against his chest so she couldn''t see what was going on as he started ordering his friends.


    "Alex, start casting," Tom ordered as he began casting his own spell.


    The Bear caught Hector''s leg, yanking it out from under him and knocking Hector to the ground. Hector hit the ground hard enough to dent the floor, letting out a yell of pain. Then the Bear launched itself on top of Hector, its jaw clamping down on Hector''s arm hard enough to shatter the scales on Hector''s arm. Hector screamed out in pain and started to flail against the bear. Lucy bit down on the bear''s leg and started to yank and pull on the wild animal.


    "Chain Lighting!!" Alex said as her spell left her hand.


    "Wait!!" Tom called out as the lightning bolt hit the gorilla and traveled from the beast to Hector and then to Lucy.


    "FUCK" Hector roared in pain.


    Lucy yelped as she lept back from the fight and retreated over to Tom, no to Chloe. Tom dropped a mend spell on the dog as a quick apology for Alex''s short-sightedness.


    "Shit, sorry," Alex apologized.


    Then the Bear punched Hector in the face.


    "Lesser Mend, Lesser Heal." Tom cast two healing spells on Hector to try and undo the damage.


    Skippy''s swords glowed as he started to chain his martial arts one after another, slamming each one into the Bear''s back as it pounded on Hector''s head like a bongo.


    "[Manifold Strike], [Far Strike], [Power Strike], [Piercing Strike], [Soul Strike], [Venom strike]," Skippy called out.


    The Bear''s backside exploded in blood as skippy savaged its rear end, his moonstone sword blurring as he burned through his mana and stamina pools like there was no tomorrow.


    Tom winced at the attack. [Manifold Strike] combined multiple Strikes, [Far Strike] extended skippy''s blade, and [Venom Strike] coated skippy''s blades in poison. [Soul Strike] affected skills, [Piercing strike] increased the penetrating power of the sword, and [Power Strike] Increased the strength behind his attack.


    The Bear let out a horrific scream at Skippy''s attack, dropping Abbadon as it turned to Skippy.


    "Shit," Skippy swore as he lept away from the bear. "[Nidhog --]"


    Too slow, the bear slammed him into the ground before he could get more than a foot away. There was a sickening crunch as skippy''s ribcage collapsed under the bear''s heavy blows. His blood splattered the ground as his organs were pulped.


    <Skippy has died>


    Tom didn''t even register the notification; instead, he just finished drawing a glyph at the same time as Alex finished casting.


    "Light Spear," "Rock Spear,"


    Tom and Alex''s spells slammed into the Bear''s chest, puncturing its heart and its spinal cord with a sickening shlunck. The Bear froze, its mouth gaping open in a silent scream.


    <Critical hit>


    <Your light spear has inflicted 498 points of damage>


    <Alexandra Lings Rock Spear has Inflicted 768 points of damage>


    <You have [Cripped] Dungeon Brown Bear>


    <You have killed Dungeon Brown Bear>


    <Level up>


    The bear toppled over next to Skippy''s ruined body.


    Tom turned away from the battle and dragged Chloe back into the kitchen.


    "What''s going on?" Chloe asked, tears in her eyes.


    "Chloe," Tom said as calmly as he could. "I need you to stay here with Lucy for me, alright? Can you do that for me? Can you be a big girl and stay here for me?"


    "Don''t leave me," Chloe said, wrapping her arms around him.


    "Hey, hey. I''m right here. Listen, I''m right here. I just need to go and help skippy. I''ll just be in another room. I''ll be right back, ok?" Tom said.


    "Ok," Chloe said, wrapping her arms around Lucy.


    Tom turned and ran back inside.


    "What the fuck happened" Hector whined as he pushed himself off the ground cradling his ruined arm.


    "Skippy is dead," Alex said as she stood over his body.


    Tom was only half paying attention. He cast another instance of Mend on Abbadon before he opened up his menu to start searching for his level ten capstone.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "What?!" Hector asked as he stumbled over, crashing to his knees at Skippy''s ruined form.


    "But he''ll respawn, right?" Hector asked.


    "I don''t think so, buddy," Alex said.


    "No ¡­." Hector whispered as tears gathered in his reptilian eyes.


    "But we can bring him back, right?" Hector all but begged Tom.


    "Yeah, I''m just grabbing my level 10 capstone ¡­ [Hand of Mercy], [Hand of Mercy], Hand of, " Tom muttered to himself until he found what he wanted. "Ah, I got it."


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tutorial: Capstone Skill


    A capstone skill must be taken every ten levels. Each capstone skill is more powerful than the standard skills and cannot become a personal skill. Until this skill is purchased, no additional skills may be purchased in the class, though you may continue to level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom Ignored the notification because he already knew all this.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level 10 Capstone Skill - [Hand of Mercy] - Ancient - Augur


    Completely restore a person to full health, letting neither physical damage, sickness, or even death stop you from restoring a person.


    Reduce the mana cost by 10 Mana per level.


    Mana cost to resurrect player: 2000 MP per level


    Requirements: Art of Life


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    [Hand of Mercy] was honestly ¡­ terrible. Its mana cost was awful from a meta-game perspective, even when the skill was maxed out. However, it had two redeeming qualities. First, it was effectively a cure-all and a resurrection skill. Second, everything better had far steeper skill and level requirements.


    Tom was just about to activate the skill when he realized he would need 20,000 mana to bring Skippy back. Hand of bloody mana grubbing.


    "Alex, I do not have the mana for this; I need [Mana Supersession]," Tom said.


    Alex walked over, taking his hand, and she activated two of her own skills.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Mana Supersession (System)] - Historic - Level 7


    Allows the user to borrow mana from a greater source (The System itself). For five minutes, you effectively have a mana pool equal to your source: ¡Þ


    After borrowing the mana, your mana pool will have 100% of your Mana pool and Mana regeneration locked. Reduce the % of your Mana pool and Mana Regeneration locked by 0.9% per level.


    If your entire mana pool becomes locked, all of your mana debt will be consolidated, and you must pay it off before your mana is returned to you.


    Locked mana and excess mana regeneration will go towards paying your debt.


    The current skill level will lock 93.7% of your mana pool on the next use.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Synchronized Chanting] - Level 13


    This skill allows the user to synchronize spell casting between multiple people, allowing multiple people to share the load of casting a single spell.


    Mana costs will be inflated by 100% due to efficacy.


    Increase Casting speed by 1% per level


    Reduce mana cost inflation by 1% per level.


    Current Inflation cost: 87% Increase


    This is a Racial skill and cannot be removed


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "This is going to be so expensive," Alex complained as she took Tom''s hand.


    "[Hand of Mercy]," Tom & Alex said as he pressed his hand on Skippy''s mangled corpse.


    Skippy''s corpse knit itself back together before grotesquely swelling like a balloon.


    <[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 2>


    Then Skippy screamed as life returned to his body.


    "What the fuck was that?!" Skippy asked.


    "A Bear." Tom deadpanned.


    Skippy shot Tom a look. "Really, Tom? And here I thought it was your mom."


    "That would be funnier, but I''m pretty sure my mom could crush you with her fat ass," Tom said.


    "Well, I hope you two are having fun. Fuck, I owe thirty-seven thousand and four hundred mana to the system because of you, Skippy. I don''t even have a hundred mana to use." Alex mopped as she sat down.


    "You guys better protect me while I''m useless," she grumbled before she went into meditation and started to regenerate mana even faster in an attempt to get rid of her debt.


    Skippy looked at Tom. "What did I miss?"


    "You died, we killed the bear, I bought [Hand of Mercy]," Tom explained. "By the way, was there any respawn screen or anything?"


    Skippy shook his head. "It just said you have died. Then I woke up."


    "I was afraid of that," Tom muttered. "By the way, how did you die? You''re a Legend of Noralon Veteran, and you got pwned like a noob. By fucking dova bear."


    Skippy threw up his arms. "Excuse me, my entire worldview has literally shifted, and I ran out of stamina. Sorry for not being perfect, you cunt."


    "Love you too, buddy," Tom said, attempting and failing to scratch behind Skippy''s ears as his friend dodged his hand.


    "Tom, can I come in now?" Chloe shouted from the kitchen.


    "Yes, you can come out now," Tom said.


    Chloe ran out. She tackled him in a bear hug before crying into his chest.


    "Don''t leave me alone again," Chloe begged.


    Tom didn''t answer. He couldn''t. He just did his best to rub her back to comfort her.


    "How long until Alex has all her mana back?" Hector asked as he nursed his slightly less ruined arm.


    Tom pulled out his phone and quickly ran the numbers before he grimaced, "Twelve hours and forty-three minutes with [Solar Metabolism]. Longer without."


    "Fuuck" Hector groaned.


    Tom cast a few more healing spells on Hector to fix his arm completely


    "Why did the bear attack us? Why did you have to kill it? What''s going on?" Chloe asked


    "Oh, sweety." Alex got up, ending her meditation as she walked over to where Tom was sitting. She rubbed Chloe''s back in the same way Tom did when he comforted her.


    "It''s ok. I''m sorry we had to hurt the bear, but he was trying to kill us, so we needed to kill him first to make sure he didn''t hurt you or Lucy, right Tom." She said calmly.


    Tom nodded in agreement, though in hindsight, they didn''t know that the Bear was hostile. It had broken into the house, and their response was very game-like: hit it till it dies.


    "Tom?" Chloe asked.


    "Yeah, pumpkin," Tom said.


    "Where did the bear come from?" Chloe asked


    Tom felt his heart stop as that question crashed into his mind. He felt himself begin to sweat as sneaking suspicions started popping into his head. Were monsters now part of the world? Was the world now overrun with raid bosses? Were dungeons everywhere?


    Then he realized something he could check. Tom considered using [Augurs Eye], but that wouldn''t give him enough information. With a bit of trepidation, Tom looked towards the bear and activated [Thirst for Knowledge]. Tom just hoped the backlash wasn''t as bad as he feared. His thoughts cut out as his mind was immediately assaulted by the largest brain freeze he had ever experienced.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Dungeon Born Brown Bear


    Level 9


    Type: Beast


    STR: 98, AGIL: 23, DEX: 15, CON: 60, END: 40, PER: 48,


    INT: 6, WILL: 2, SPIRIT: 28, EGO: 25, CHA: 14, LCK: 36


    HP: 0 / 800 / Stamina: 0/1170 / Mana: 0/120


    Skills: Iron Claws, Crunch, Toughness,


    This bear was created when the Vancouver Zoo transformed into the Safari Dungeon. During this process, the dungeon killed the brown bears living in the zoo, gaining their template and recreating the bears as standard Dungeon mobs.


    This brown bear then rapidly grew until it reached full size. Then, it roamed the outer dungeon, where it was attacked and forced out of its territory by an already displaced Dungeon gorilla.


    It then entered the world at large, where it wandered around and killed twenty-six people before being struck by a car. The injured bear then broke into Alex''s house in order to ¡­


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <You have suffered 100 hp worth of mental damage>


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Visions of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 2>


    <[My Mind is a Temple My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 7>


    <[My Mind is a Temple My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 8>


    "Ow ow ow," Tom groaned as he gripped his head in utter agony.


    "What''s the matter?" Alex asked.


    "Brain freeze!!" Tom groaned as he cast healing on himself.


    The spell restored his hp but did nothing to alleviate his brain freeze.


    "How did you get a brain freeze?" Alex asked.


    "Bloodline skill," Tom groaned. "[Thirst for Knowledge]"


    Tom felt like his head was about to split open from the utter tsunami of information as it battered his brain. Worse, his [Library of Akashic Records] Skill meant all that worthless information was now stuck in his head. Lovely.


    "It''s a dungeon born," Tom moaned. "The Vancouver Zoo has become a dungeon, and it''s overflowing."


    "Oh ¡­ we''re bleeped," Alex muttered.


    They all knew that a dungeon in overflow would simply continue to produce higher-level monsters until it was cleared or until it scoured the surrounding territory.


    Tom turned and stumbled outside through the hole the Bear had made. He needed to get away from the insanity, and he needed fresh air. Unfortunately, stumbling outside didn''t help him.


    Everything was now covered under a thick layer of snow, and people were getting in their cars and driving away. A dragon, no scratch, a massive wyvern¡ªit only had four limbs, not six¡ªswooped overhead, welcoming the dawn sun with a roar that echoed for miles.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the end of the world," Tom muttered as his friends and family looked at him with a mix of shock, confusion, horror, and utter glee.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Alex Ling


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Solalfar


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Undead


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Sun Elf


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 275


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 490


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: (75) 1200


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 4.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 7.7 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: (0.7623) 12.1 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Vitality


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Corpseslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Hedgewizard 10, 1 Unassigned


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 88


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 55


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 55 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 88


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 55


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 INT +4 WILL +3 EGO +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 CHA


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Spector] - Epic: This bloodline endows its bearer with an ethereal connection to the spirit world, blending the boundary between life and death. Those who possess this bloodline gain ghostly abilities, allowing them to move unseen and untouched through the physical realm.


    Bloodline Skills:


    - [Haunting Presence] - Level 12


    - [Ethereal Form] - Level 9


    - [Invisibility] - Level 14


    - [Steal Life] - Level 1


    - [Undying Focus] - Level 22


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 11/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Solar Metabolism] - Level 1


    - [Stable Chanting] - Level 15


    - [Storage] - Level 10


    - [Mapping] - Level 3


    - [Mana Supersession (System)] - Level 11


    Wizard 6/6


    - [Arcane Awakening] - Level 20


    - [Arcane Shell] - Level 13


    - [Charged Attack ¢ñ] - Level 11


    - [Multi-Cast ¢ñ] - Level 10


    - [Synchronized Chanting] - Level 14


    - Capstone: [Magic Grimior] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 14: Time to Pack

    "Everyone back in the house," Tom ordered, pulling Alex and Chloe back inside.


    "Was that a dragon?!" Chloe asked excitedly.


    "No, it''s a wyvern," Tom answered.


    "Is it friendly?" she asked.


    "No, it would eat you," Skippy said.


    Tom would have snapped back at skippy, but his mind was in a daze as he tried to remember the average stats for a Wyvern. It was easy with [Library of Akashic Records]. Yeah, it was at least fifty times stronger than them, with stats in the average 500 range. They would get flattened in an instant right now.


    Tom pulled out his phone on reflex and found he had reception.


    "Phones still work," Tom announced.


    He immediately called the police.


    "Thank you for calling emergency services. We are currently experiencing a high volume of calls. Please stay on the line, and your call will be answered as soon as an operator becomes available. Your call is important to us. Please remain on the line and do not hang up. If this is a life-threatening emergency, please hang up and dial again. If you require immediate assistance, please contact your local authorities or seek help from nearby individuals. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your patience." The recorded voice spoke through his phone in an emotionless tone.


    "The 911 line is busy," Tom said in disgust.


    "Really?! A fucking Wyvern flies over, and you think everyone in a forty-block radius isn''t calling 911?" Skippy asked sarcastically.


    "We can''t stay here," Alex said. That bear left a gaping hole in my house."


    "That''s what Hector''s mom said after I visited her last night." Skippy chuckled.


    Hector smacked skippy. His increased size sent skippy tumbling across the carpet.


    "Gross," Tom stated.


    "We should get out of here and get powerleveling," Alex stated.


    "Is the dragon bad?" Chloe asked.


    "Wyvern," Skippy corrected.


    "Yes, the Wyvern is very bad," Tom said. And I don''t think just running around aimlessly to grind levels is a good option. Where could we go?"


    For a long moment, nobody said anything. Then, an answer came from an unexpected source. Though perhaps they should have expected it.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have received a System Quest: Settlers of Noralon ¢ñ


    Welcome to Noralon players. As you may have noticed, you are now a permanent feature of Noralon. Unfortunately, the transition has resulted in the birth of dungeons, monster lairs, and other dangers yet unseen.


    While human society will function for quite some time, civilization will eventually break down and must be reforged in the fires of adventure.


    Humanity will need to rebuild around the system, so we are giving a special promotion to our long-time players. Monster lairs have been placed in prominent locations all over the world. If you can clear these lairs, a settlement seed can be found inside. These seeds function as they did in the game and offer many benefits, including monster repellent, faction creation, class unlocks, and other bonus effects.


    As a premium player, the three settlement seeds nearest to your location have been marked in your [Mapping]. However, there is no such thing as a free lunch. All settlement locations have been seeded with monsters to ensure only the worthy may claim them.


    Objective: Arrive at a settlement location


    Rewards: Bonus XP for twenty-four hours


    Failure penalties: Any unclaimed settlement seeds will be converted into monster lairs.


    Time Limit: 29 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 51 seconds.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom pulled up his [Mapping] skill to examine it. What he saw was an almost medieval version of Google Maps around Alex''s house. He quickly examined the map, looking for points of interest, and found them. The first was a hospital a couple of miles away in the city, the museum deeper into the suburbs, and, strangely enough, his high school sitting between the suburbs and the city.


    <[Mapping] has Reached Level 3>


    "I''ve got three," Tom stated.


    "The hospital, the school, and the museum? Which one should we take?" Alex asked.


    "The zoo where the bear came from is closer to the museum. And I can''t see a major hospital being left unclaimed for more than an hour. Even if monsters spawn inside, cops will be called to handle it." Alex pointed out,


    "What if the hospital spawns ghosts or something?" Hector asked. "You can''t shoot ghosts."


    "Yeah, but we''d have to get past all those police officers. I''d rather have the settlement before we have to deal with other people," Tom shot back.


    "Well, that sums things up, we are going to apocalypse high," Skippy quipped.


    "Our world just became our favorite video game, and you want us to go to school?!" Alex asked, horrified. What about adventure? What about glory? We could make a beeline straight for the dungeon and clear it. I bet the rewards would be sweet."


    "We have no food, no shelter, nothing. This won''t be like the LAN party with pizza pockets and root beer," Tom stated. "We will be in the wilderness with no food, no water, no shelter, no internet, no electricity, and I don''t know if you noticed, but the pain setting was set to 100 and then removed, so this is going to fucking hurt until we raise our EGO stats. Also, we don''t get a guild bonus unless we have a guild."  Tom pointed out.


    "I''m with Tom," Hector stated. "School is the best option. It''s got plenty of facilities for crafting and cooking, plenty of space, and even some basic defenses. They''re not great defenses, but metal doors and brick walls will work for now. Besides, it''s a designated safe area, so it''s already set up as a gathering point during emergencies or natural disasters. So it should have emergency supplies."


    "How do you know all that?" Tom asked.


    "How do you not? We had an entire session about this when we were freshmen." Hector said.


    "Doesn''t that mean we''re going to have to deal with a bunch of assholes?" Skippy asked. "Even if we take the fucking school, we''re going to have to deal with all those people. I don''t remember any of us being all that good at public speaking, and that was before I turned into a four-foot rodent."


    "That''s why Tom is the face of the party," Hector said.


    Tom rolled his eyes. He wasn''t any more social than the rest of them. Ignoring his slightly higher charisma stat, he only had two social skills: [Analyze Person] and [Wordsmith].


    "Do you think we can deal with a wyvern if it''s just the four of us?" Hector shot back.


    "Not at this fucking level," Skippy admitted. "So back to fucking school then?"


    Tom nodded. "Alright, Alex. I''m sorry, but we need everything we can get, so we''re looting the house. We are going to need every advantage, so let''s grab as much food, water, and clothes as possible. Actually, where is the rest of your family?"


    Alex shrugged. "Dad took Fang out towards Vancouver for the night. Something about making a man out of him and introducing him to his colleagues. Some dumb sexist thing, I don''t know."


    "Should we, like, leave a message or something?" Tom asked.


    He knew that Alex''s relationship with her one remaining parent was almost as bad as his relationship with his own parents, so he wasn''t sure what she would want.


    Alex waved her hand, burning the words ''I''m at Hopkins'' into the wall of her living room.


    Alex nodded. "There, now Fang can come find me. Come on, Chloe. Let''s go find some clothes that fit us while the boys rob my house."


    "Ok. Hey Alex, why are your butt and boobs so big now?" Chloe asked innocently


    "I ate my vegetables. It was totally worth it." Alex answered, winking at Tom.


    "Corrupt her, and I''ll bury you alive," Tom warned her.


    Tom, Skippy, and Hector started to take everything in the house. They emptied out the fridge and stashed all of their computers inside their storage, including the books and any clothing they could find. They didn''t know what they would need, so they made sure to take everything.


    <[Storage] has Reached level 13>


    "Should we take the couch?" Skippy asked.


    "Um, sure," Tom said. "Skippy, you have an upgraded [Storage] skill, you take it. Actually, just take all the furniture, would you? I think Alex wouldn''t mind having her home in her back pocket."


    Skippy nodded as he got to work stuffing the furniture into his inventory.


    Tom went into the kitchen to find Hector eating a stack of ham from the fridge.


    "Hector, what are you doing?" Tom hissed.


    "What?" Hector asked as he slurped back a pound of ham. I put on an extra two feet, I''m freaking starving.


    "Just make sure to put plenty of food into our inventory. We don''t know where our next meal is coming from."


    Hector nodded as he stuffed a block of cheese into his storage.


    "I''m almost out of space," Hector noted.


    Tom signed.


    "Alright, give me a minute. I need to assign my eleventh level, and I''m going to pick up  [Tactician] and get us some party skills," Tom stated.


    "You''re not going to max out Augur?" Hector asked


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Tom shrugged. "We''re playing on hardcore mode as far as we know. We only get one shot at this. We need every possible benefit if we are going to survive. I have [Party Leader], but that doesn''t do shit unless I get  more supporting skills."


    Hector nodded.


    "Yeah, having an angry bear banging on my head was instructive."


    Tom nodded as he opened his status and got started


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level up!


    You are now a level 1 Tactician


    You have two free Skill points to assign


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom pulled up his skill list. At this point, his choices were already starting to get too large. He had the options for light magic, divination, life magic, utility, and leadership skills available.


    Scanning down the list, he wanted one skill for Augur and two for [Tactician]. He scanned the ever-growing list, focused on finding the one he was looking for.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Tactician] - [Leadership ¢ñ] - Inferior


    "Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." - Warren Bennis.


    The Leadership skill imparts multiple effects, which the user may select to better reflect their own personalized way of leading.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Group Discipline]: You and your party gain 0.5% resistance to all mental attacks per level of this skill.</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Tactician] - [Raider ¢ñ] - Inferior


    "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women." -  Arnold Schwarzenegger.


    The Raider skill imparts multiple effects, which the user may select to better reflect their own personalized way of Raiding.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Terrorize]: when you or a party member attack an opponent, you have a chance equal to 1% * skill level to inflict an injury on your opponent with the [Terror] aliment.</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom nodded in satisfaction at his first two purchases. Honestly, they were bog standard for these skills, but for a very good reason.


    Tom sat his ass down and mediated, reentering her soul space. The [Soul Forge] firing up. Once inside, he immediately searched for three motes of light: [Party Leader], [Storage], and [Mapping]. The three were easy to find as he didn''t have many free skills floating around yet. He gathered up all three skills and moved to his newest constellation. He shoved all three into the [Tactician] class.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Migrated the skill: [Party Leader] from your personal skills to your [Tactician] skills.


    [Party Leader] - Level 5 has evolved into [Tactical Leader] - Level 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Tactical Leader] - Level 2


    Party Leader: All party members now share experience regardless of their actions. All party members can see the health, stamina, and mana of all other party members. Party members may see each other''s status. Party members can share quests with each other. You can add three people to your party per level in this skill.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have migrated the skill: [Mapping] from your personal skills to your [Tactician] skills.


    [Mapping] - Common has mutated into [Coordination ¢ò] - Lesser


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Coordination ¢ò] - Level 1


    "Without a map, you''re lost in a hostile environment" - William Mcnabb


    The Coordination skill imparts the following effects, which the user may select to better reflect their own personalized way of Coordinating.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[War Map]: You have an internal map. It automatically and permanently records details of the terrain you and your party members travel over. New information is displayed in full color. Areas of the map lose color as time passes, indicating that the information portrayed may be outdated. Areas that appear completely black have not yet been explored. The area of the map highlighted by exploration and its detail is increased by 3% per level.</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have migrated the skill: [Storage] from your personal skills to your [Tactician]  skills.


    [Storage] - Uncommon has mutated into [Logistics ¢ò] - Lesser


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Logistics ¢ò] - Level 6


    "Amateurs study tactics; professionals study logistics." - General Robert H. Barrow.


    The Logistics skill imparts the following effects, which the user may select to better reflect their own personalized way of handling Logistics.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Storage]: You can store items in an extradimensional space. Space equal to your skill level multiplied by 1 meter cubed.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Supply Chain]: You can now connect the inventories of your party members, creating a shared network of inventories. This allows the members of your party to transport supplies between their inventories for a distance of up to 10 yards per skill level.</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    .


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 7>


    <...>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 10>


    Tom sent out an invite to the party to everyone, including Chloe.


    "Chloe, make sure to hit yes to the party invite I just sent you. OK, Pumpkin," Tom called out.


    Chloe didn''t respond, but Tom noticed that an icon with his sister''s face appeared in the corner of his vision along with his three friends.


    "Alright, I just filled out [Tactician]," Tom said


    "Wait, how have you already filled out all your skill slots?" Skippy asked.


    Tom nodded


    "I bought [Leadership ¢ñ] and [Raider ¢ñ]. Then I transferred [Storage], [Mapping], and [Party Leader], which are now [Tactical Leader], [Logistics ¢ò], and [Coordination ¢ò]. Until [Tactician] hits level 10, I won''t be able to add any more skills."


    "That''s going to fucking suck. That''s like nine levels and no skill slots." Skippy said.


    "Eh," Tom shrugged. I''ll still get skill points, and I can always use them to upgrade my existing skills."


    Alex and Chloe came back downstairs at that moment. Chloe was wearing oversized winter gear that clearly used to belong to Alex. Alex, on the other hand, was clearly wearing her dad''s clothes in order to contain her new pornstar-sized assists. Even still, the way her breasts were stretching that sweater was just ¡­ Tom shook his head, trying to banish those thoughts. This was his best friend, and he was in an apocalypse. Now he needed to think about something else ¡­ something other than his bimbofied best friend.


    He was going to smack her for picking such a distracting avatar.


    "I grabbed all of the clothes upstairs, so we should have spares," Alex said.


    "Is there anything else we need to grab?" Tom asked as he tried to hide his blush.


    He was met with shaking heads as everyone was ready to go. Slipping on some more winter-appropriate clothes and boots, the group moved outside. Unlike the movies, the neighborhood was still full of people looking around, trying to figure out what was going on. The snow had fallen deep enough that it was halfway up Tom''s shin, the cold air biting at his face.


    "Shit! Shit! shit!" Hector muttered


    Tom turned to see his friend pulling coat after coat and wrapping himself up like a caterpillar in a cocoon.


    "You ok, dude?" Skippy asked.


    "Weak to frost," Hector said. "I''m literally taking damage right now."


    "Oh, for fucks sake," Tom muttered as he cast a mend spell on Hector.


    "Alright, I think I can take care of Hector if he''s bundled up. Alex, could you watch over Chloe?"


    Alex nodded. She scooped up Chloe with ease as princesses played in the snow.


    "Come on, sweety, let''s go," Alex said, turning to start trudging through the snow.


    "What are you guys doing?" Skippy asked.


    "Going to school?" Tom said.


    "There''s a car in the driveway." Skippy pointed out.


    "Um, I don''t have a driver''s license," Tom said.


    "Same," Alex agreed.


    Skippy stared at them like they were all fucking idiots.


    "Who fucking cares? It''s the apocalypse. If it''s too cold for scale butt to walk around in the snow, then let''s get in the car and go. Who''s going to pull us over a fucking centaur?!" Skippy asked.


    "Your mouth is going to get washed out with soap, squirrel butt," Chloe said.


    Tom and Alex looked at each other, and then she grabbed the keys.


    "I''m driving," Alex said.


    "You and I have the only ranged attack."


    "I''ll drive," Skippy volunteered.


    "Oh, hell no. First, I''ve seen you drive in a Mario Kart, and I wouldn''t trust you with a wagon," Hector said. Second, I''ll drive because I''m the only one with an actual driver''s license."


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skippy


    (Andrew Sawyer)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Theirinthrope


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Squirrel


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 270


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 380


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 220


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 3.3 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 4.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 2.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 5%, Elemental 5%, Magical 5%, Vitality 5%, Mind 5%, Soul 5%, Crit 10%, Poison 10%, Disease 10%, Insta-Death 10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Beastslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Swordsman MAX, Dancer 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 143


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 22


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 77


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 99


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 143


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 22


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 77


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 99


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK


    Racial: +3 AGIL +2 DEX +2 PER +1 CON


    Bloodline: +5 AGIL +5 LCK


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Ratatoskr]¡ªLegendary: You possess the bloodline of one of the divine beasts. Ratatoskr, the great squirrel who runs up and down the world tree, delivers insults to the great eagle at the top of the tree and Nidhog at the bottom, both divine beasts in their own right. This squirrel has not only traveled the length of the world but has survived two other divine beasts'' repeated attempts to kill him. Now, his blood runs through your veins.


    - [Ratatoskr''s Tongue] - Level 3


    - [Ratatoskr Instincts] - Level 13


    - [Vicious Mockery of Ratatoskr] - Level 17


    - [Nidhogg''s Gift] - Level 6


    - [Ascending Yggdrasil] - Level 11


    - [Aura of the Divine Beast] - Level 6


    - [Defiant Regeneration] - Level 8


    - [Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 10


    - +5 to AGIL per level


    - +5 to LCK per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 13/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Stamina Burn] - Level 8


    - [Rataskurs Pocket] - Level 10


    - [Mapping] - Level 10


    - [System Wiki] - Level 5


    - [Blades] - Level 22


    Swordsman 6/6


    - [Power Strike] - Level 13


    - [Piercing Strike] - Level 12


    - [Soul Strike] - Level 6


    - [Far Strike] - Level 9


    - [Venom Strike] - Level 7


    - Capstone: [Manifold Strike] - Level 4


    Dancer 02/6


    - [Swagger] - Level 1


    - [Mirage Step] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 15: Car

    Tom buckled Chloe into the middle seat as he and Alex sat on either side of his little sister. Skippy sat in the shotgun while Hector tried to squeeze himself into the driver''s seat. Lucy was sitting in the back of the car, just behind Chloe.


    "Hey Hector, are you sure you can do this?" Skippy asked.


    "Abaddon."


    "What," SKippy asked.


    "When I''m like this, you call me Abaddon." Hector no Abaddon stated.


    "Are you still roleplaying?" Skippy asked. "Every game, it''s Abaddon this, Abaddon that."


    "It''s comfortable," Abaddon protested.


    "Leave it, skippy, just let Abaddon have his thing. We don''t tell you to shut up." Tom said


    "Hey," Skippy protested


    "Despite how much we may want to." Tom sighed


    "I''m still here, asshole." Skippy moaned.


    Abaddon smashed his foot onto the gas, and the car flew forward, shoving everyone into their seats. As he pulled the car out of the driveway, they smashed into the trash cans with enough speed that they nearly ended up in the driveway across the street.


    "What the frack man?!" Alex called out. "This is my dad''s car. If he comes back and finds this thing wrecked, I am dead."


    "Sorry," Abaddon grumbled. It''s these bloody feet. It''s like I''m wearing flippers."


    "At least you aren''t slurring like a retard anymore." Skippy groaned.


    "Chloe, are you ok?" Tom asked.


    "That was awesome. Do it again. Do it again." Chloe called out.


    Abaddon crashed into another set of trash cans, possibly on purpose.


    "Abaddon, if your bad driving kills us, I''m going to haunt you," Alex said


    "Wouldn''t he be dead too?" Skippy asked.


    "He''s the tank, remember," Tom muttered. "If anyone can survive a car crash, it will be him."


    Abaddon actively ignored them as his new clumsy lizard hands worked to steer the car on the icy road.


    The car slid into and then out of the neighbor''s parking lot and onto the road.


    "Hey, is there anyone we want to pick up?" Skippy asked.


    "Alex''s Dad and brother are in Vancouver, and we aren''t picking up my parents," Tom stated.


    "Ummm, my parents are fine," Abaddon said sheepishly


    "What does that mean?" Skippy asked.


    "I don''t want to talk about it," Abaddon said.


    "Why do you never talk about your parents?" Skippy asked.


    "I don''t want to talk about it," Abaddon said.


    "Just leave it alone, Skippy. What about your dad?" Tom said.


    "I don''t even know where he is," Skippy said.


    "Alright, so no one is getting picked up, and we''re going straight to Hopkins. Abaddon away," Alex cheered as Abaddon crashed into another set of garbage cans.


    "Hey buddy, you want to go back, I think you missed a couple," Skippy said.


    Tom briefly wondered how it came to this. Gliding down the road, somehow hitting every single trash can along the way with a giant lizard man bundled up in winter gear in the driver''s seat.


    The car slowly petered down the once familiar road, but now it was all so different. The blue sky was a slightly different color, and two moons, one orangish red and a pale blue one, sat in the sky. Neither of them appeared to be the moon Tom had grown up with, and if this were Noralon, there would be one more moon, a green moon somewhere up there.


    Zoo animals roamed in the distance, moving through the suburbs like a new safari zone. The group could see places where animals had attacked people, fresh corpses still on the ground. But those were still in the minority. Many more animal corpses littered people''s lawns. Boars, buffalos, hyenas, and even a giraffe all had been shot to death after attacking somebody''s house.


    Tom wasn''t worried about that, though. He was worried about the fact that every dead animal had the same prefix when he appraised them: [Dungeon Born]. This meant that the wild safari zoo was still spewing out monsters, which was not a good thing.


    "Alex," Chloe said. "Why are there dead animals everywhere?"


    "They''re not dead, sweety. They''re just sleeping," Alex said.


    "They are bleeding," Chloe pointed out. "And that one is missing a head."


    "Um," Alex said.


    "They attacked people," Skippy said. "They attacked people, people fought back, animals died, people died."


    "Oh," Chloe said.


    "Really Skippy?!" Tom hissed into his friend''s ear.


    "Dude, I just got killed by a bear." Skippy reminded him. "I don''t think now is the time to fucking coddle her, you know?"


    Chloe was quiet after that, and it broke Tom''s heart to see her looking at the dead animals like that. Was this the right thing to do? Just picking up everything and running off?


    Sure, there had been some animal attacks, but people weren''t running and screaming. The sky wasn''t falling, and the world wasn''t ending. There was nothing to indicate that society was ending. Was he doing the right thing for Chloe?  He picked up his phone and started to look up news articles to check and see.


    The System: A Shared Delusion? Screens have appeared in front of people''s faces, claiming the world has been changed into a video game. Experts are claiming this is a case of mass hysteria and ¡­


    Cities across the globe are experiencing widespread riots as tensions flare over multiple animal attacks at public locations. Local governments are calling for calm while law enforcement agencies are struggling ¡­.


    Several members of the prepper community claim the end times are near and have left their homes for their personal bunkers ¡­


    A large creature has been sighted attacking people off the west coast of Los Angeles. Witnesses are claiming it''s a Kraken from the myths of ¡­.


    Never mind. If anything, he might have been underreacting. He was completely justified in doing whatever he needed to do to keep his family safe.


    Fortunately, they arrived at the school before he could spiral down that particular rabbit hole. They drove into the school''s parking lot, which was just below street level with a concrete wall to the left of the parking lot, leading back up to the road and the gym building to the right of the parking lot. The front entrance was located on the ramp that came down from the street.


    "Alright, now that the escort mission is done, can we please get back to killing monsters and gaining levels," Abaddon complained.


    "Oh, relax, you big baby, it wasn''t that bad." Alex teased him.


    "We hit every garbage can on our way here. I wasn''t even trying to do that. My dexterity is just too low."


    They stopped in the large parking lot at the front of the school. Tom and Alex got out of the car while Skippy and Abaddon argued.


    "I''m going to do some scouting. Wake me if we get attacked." Tom told Alex.


    Tom drowned them out as he activated [Far Sight]. Immediately, his vision became divorced from his body. He pushed forward towards the entrance of the school. He found a pool of blood that started directly at the entrance to the school, making the boundary between the outside world and the settlement inside.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Tom tried to enter the school, but his [Far Sight] bounced off the entrance.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Far Seeing] cannot enter an [Monster Lair]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Quest: Settlers of Noralon ¢ñ


    You have arrived at Hopkins with a potential settlement. Double all XP gains for the next twenty-four hours.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Quest: Settlers of Noralon ¢ò


    You have arrived at Hopkins. Hopkins has become an [Instant Dungeon] , clear it, kill the three mini-bosses inside and the final boss to transform the [Instant Dungeon] into a settlement.


    Objectives:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kill the Mini-bosses 0/3</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Kill the Boss 0/1</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ownership of the Hopkins Settlement</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    That was bad. He couldn''t enter the school but could see through the windows. Six imps were running around like a gaggle of cats inside a classroom.


    His perception flew around the school, searching through the windows. He found imps¡ªLegions of imps running around the school like a pack of teenagers hopped up on all the drugs. Then he found Mr.Chen. The imps were ripping apart his chemistry teacher. Tom vomited at the sight, but he kept watching. He was planning to use [Hand of Mercy] on his teacher when his remains started to dissolve into nothing. Tom spat out the remains of bile in his mouth.


    The lair behaved like a dungeon then. If they died inside, Tom would need to resurrect them immediately, which he couldn''t do because of the massive mana costs. Hardcore mode it was.


    Tom exited [Far Seeing].


    <[Far Seeing] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Far Seeing] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Far Seeing] has Reached Level 11>


    "What happened?" Alex asked, holding his arm.


    Skippy and Abaddon were already out of the car and looked ready to listen.


    "Well, Mr.Chen is dead," Tom said. "Ripped apart."


    "Fuck" Abaddon groaned.


    "It''s worse. The lair dissolved them."


    "The school is full of demons," Tom stated.


    "YES," Abaddon roared in joy. "My brain is better than everybody!!"


    Tom and Alex smiled at their friend while skippy rolled his eyes.


    "How are the demons a good thing?" Chloe asked, confused.


    "Hector grabbed the [Siegebreaker] skill," Tom explained. Demons aren''t flesh-and-blood creatures; they are purely magical, so if I chopped off a demon''s arm, he could simply reform his body without the damage. With [Siegebreaker], any damage Abaddon inflicts is permanent. It''s a very broken ability."


    Chloe looked up at him as if he had been muttering French. It occurred to him that his little sister probably didn''t know anything about demons.


    "What type of demons are we dealing with?" Alex asked.


    "A couple of imps are wandering the school, a fiend is in the gym, a beholder is in the library, and a succubus is on the third floor. There might be more, but I can''t find them. Also, they''re all labeled as mini-bosses. So there''s at least one more I can''t find."


    "Alright, this is going to be fucking fun!!" Skippy said as he stretched. "I''m going to do some light scouting before we start."


    Skippy ran off to look around the school entrance for traps or loot.


    "Do we need to do any prep work?" Hector asked.


    "Yeah, I do," Tom admitted.


    "Same. I need to [Meditate] until I can get all my mana back," Alex stated as she sat back in the car and settled down. "I''ve got a couple of potions of increased mana regeneration from the tutorial. I''m going to try to speed-run it."


    "I''m just making a shit ton of scrolls," Tom said with a shrug. "I grabbed the ink heart bloodline, and my second class was supposed to be a scribe. soooo." Tom''s voice trailed off as a smile played across his lips.


    "Oh, Fuuuck you," Abaddon shot back.


    "Fucking hacker," Alex said.


    "What?" Skippy asked as he came back. "Whose cursing without me in the conversation?"


    "Tom''s giving wizards a bad name; he''s doing a paper angel build," Alex stated.


    Skippy turned to him and gave him two middle fingers


    "Tom, I know it''s the literal apocalypse, but fuck you, you fucking hacker," Skippy said.


    "Hey, you assholes wanted me to be the healer and the face of the party. Don''t blame me if I have to cheat just to keep up." Tom said.


    Jokes aside, the Paper Angel wasn''t a cheat, as much as it was an in-game exploit. When someone used a scroll, they could cast a single spell at no mana cost. If you could create your own scrolls, a person could build up a large arsenal to be used without burning through any mana. But suppose a person specialized in paper magic and created a large reserve of spell scrolls. In that case, it becomes possible to simultaneously use several hundred scrolls at almost no mana cost.


    Yeah, it got very broken, very fast. But It wasn''t without problems. Unlike his light magic, his scrolls wouldn''t receive any bonuses from his magic skills. In his case, it was a very quantity-over-quality approach.


    The other reason the paper angels hadn''t dominated the legend of Noralon was that they tended to get blown out of the sky almost immediately. Tom figured it wouldn''t matter in his case as he was primarily the healer. What were they going to do? Try and kill him even harder?


    Tom pulled out a piece of desk paper and some pens and got to work¡ªright there in the middle of a snow-covered parking lot. He drew the glyph on a piece of paper and pushed his mana onto the page. In a little under a minute, he created a glyph on the page and was immediately rewarded for his efforts.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have created a scroll of fireball.


    You can use this scroll to conjure and launch a fireball at no cost to your person.


    Or you can give this to a person to attempt to learn the fireball spell. The Chance of learning the fireball spell: 14%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 15>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Words Will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 14>


    Tom smiled as he pulled out a stack of papers from the shared inventory. It was time to get to work. He absently wondered how everyone else was handling the apocalypse.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Abbadon (Hector Fortane)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Lizard-Man


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Giant


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Crocodile


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1140


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1950


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 220


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 9.9 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 19.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 4.4 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Poison


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 50%, Disease 50%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 50%, Frost 50%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Scaleslayer, Giantslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Giantslayer 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 66


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 96


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 66


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 88 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 END, +3 STR, +3 CON, +2 PER +2 SPIRIT


    Racial: +3 END, +2 STR, +2 CON +1 PER


    Giantslayer Skills: +2 AGIL


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Natural Arms and Armour] - Level N/A


    - [Aquatic Predator] - Level 1


    - [Storage] - Level 10 >> Level 22


    - [Mapping] - Level 6


    - [System Wiki] - Level 7


    - [Immortality] - Level 4


    - [Siegebreaker] - Level 22


    Giantslayer 6/16


    - [Immortal Fists] - Level 23


    - [Monster Lifeforce (Giant)] - N/A


    - [Giant Slayer] - N/A


    - [Secound Wind] - Level 5


    - [Endless Bralwer] - Level 9


    - Capstone: [Legendary Strength] - Level N/A


    - [Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 16: Preparing for the Delve

    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 17>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 18>


    <...>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Words Will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Words Will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 16>


    <...>


    <[Words Will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 12>


    <...>


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 13>


    <...>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 15>


    It had taken them six hours. Six full hours to fully pay back Alex''s mana debt. Her meditation, even aided by her potion of mana regen, was too slow. So Tom had needed to enclose her in a ritual that dragged all of the ambient mana towards her and then stuffed her full of mana. Everyone else actually lost some of their mana regen as a side effect. Even with all of that, it took her six hours to recharge all of her mana. It was two in the afternoon at this point, and all they had done was kill a bear.


    Skippy and Abaddon had been testing Hopkins. Going in, killing a few imps, grabbing some paper for Tom, and then leaving. They''d both been steadily gaining XP and even got to level 13, thanks to their actions. Chloe was playing on Alex''s iPad while Lucy patrolled the massive parking lot. That just left Tom to his own devices.


    With his sudden free time, Tom returned to his Legend of Noralon strategy: exploiting every glitch, bug, and cheat code the game had to offer. Normally, learning new spells required a spellbook or scroll, but there was a tiny bug. If you had the skills to create scrolls¡ªwhich Tom¡¯s bloodline granted him¡ªyou could craft a spell scroll even if you didn¡¯t know the spell. All you had to do was copy the symbols from the wiki, at least for the low-leveled spells.


    Tom had always wondered why the devs never fixed the bug, but if the game was actually meant as a tutorial for what was happening now, maybe they weren¡¯t supposed to? That idea was disturbing, but he¡¯d save that for later.


    For now, Tom focused on using his [Library of Akashic Records] skill to recreate mountains of high-level, single-use spell scrolls, either as learning material for Alex or as ammunition for himself. He started with the free spells he¡¯d earned in the tutorial¡ªten light spells and eleven life spells. But Alex, as a true spellcaster, wasn¡¯t nearly as limited. She added twenty more of the more valuable spells they knew to the collection.


    Alex had a skill called [Grimoire] that filled the same role as his [Library of Akashic Records]. It was basically a memory skill, only specialized for magic, not system stuff like his. But more importantly, Alex could summon the [Grimoire] as a physical book and give it to someone else to learn any of the spells she knew.


    That person could then learn any spell that Alex knew, and unlike the scrolls, they could repeat this. So Tom went wild. He recreated every spell he knew with [Library of Akashic Records], helping him remember things he was sure he had forgotten.


    Once Alex finished paying back her debt, she went through every single scroll Tom had created. With his skill level, only around 10% of them were viable, but they still added over a hundred spells to Alex''s arsenal.


    "Damm, this is great," Alex said as she opened up her [Grimoire].


    "You didn''t get all of the spells," Tom pointed out. "We wasted so much paper."


    "Meh, I got most of them," Alex said as she handed the [Grimoire] over to Tom.


    Tom went through the book and chose to learn all of the water and earth spells first, as he was planning to pick up water and earth magic skills next. Technically speaking, he could learn and cast any spell he wanted, but without the right skills to boost the spells, he would only ever cast the most basic version of the spell.


    "Tom, where''s Lucy?" Chloe asked.


    "Um," Tom looked around. "You guys see Lucy?"


    "I think she wandered up to the school," Skippy said.


    Tom grimaced.


    "Chloe, can you play with Skippy for a bit? We''re going to go look for Lucy." Tom said.


    "What?! NO!" Skippy said.


    "YEAH," Chloe cheered as she hugged skippy like a giant stuffed animal.


    Skippy struggled but wouldn''t use any real force against Chloe in case he hurt her.


    Tom, Alex, and Abaddon all walked through the front entrance of the school where skippy had said Lucy had wandered off to. Tom felt his face go pale as he stared at the broken body of Ms.Lewis. Everything below the waist had been cleanly sliced off, which was also the part of her body that had been within the threshold of the school. Tom reflected that the inside of the school might be working like a dungeon and would dissolve any dead material inside.


    Despite the fact that she was bisected, it was the massive gouge in her neck that appeared to have killed her, leaving a massive pool of blood on the pavement. Lucy was already liking up the pool of blood.


    "Is that Ms.Lewis?" Abaddon asked as Lucy licked up their teacher''s blood like barbecue sauce.


    "Lucy, no, get out of there, get out of there," Alex said, pulling Lucy away from Ms. Lewis''s dead body.


    "What happened?" Tom asked as he tried to use [Augurs Eye] on her. The skill only called her a corpse.


    "Well, I guess we won''t need to hand in that fucking homework." Abaddon joked.


    "That''s not funny," Tom said.


    "This is so unfair. She was so hot." Alex pouted.


    "Oh my god, we are bad people," Tom groaned. "Come on, let''s bring her back."


    "I''m not helping you resurrect her. No matter how good-looking she is." Alex said. "I just got my mana back."


    Tom rolled his eyes as he activated [Thirst for Knowledge]. The skill had already proven to be able to identify corpses.


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 5>


    <[My Mind is a Temple the Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 9>


    <[My Mind is a Temple the Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 10>


    <[My Mind is a Temple the Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 11>


    "Brainfreeze"


    Tom groaned as he gripped his head, blood leaking from his eye. He had to cast a healing spell to recover his hp. But now he knew everything about Ms.Lewis, from how she had gotten here to how she died to her damn measurements. It would have almost been impressive if not for the brain freeze. Why was it so painful?


    "She''s only Level 1. We can bring her back with a little under two thousand mana." Tom pointed out.


    "But I just got my mana back," Alex complained.


    "We can use Abaddon as an extra battery," Tom said.


    "Hey, don''t bring us into this!" Abaddon complained.


    Abadon grabbed Skippy and walked over to Alex.


    "Let''s get this over with," Abaddon said.


    Alex activated [Synchronized Chanting] as Tom moved in closer. He knelt down next to Ms.Lewis. Her skin was cold to the touch, and her clothes were soaked through snow melt. She must have been freezing when she got here. And yet, according to his [Thirst for Knowledge], she had died as a result of blood loss, not the cold. She also had a broken ankle.


    "What are you doing here?" He wondered aloud as he started gathering magic into his perk.


    Activating [Hand of Mercy] immediately reduced his MP to almost nothing. That was painful to watch. On the other hand, he was glad she was only level 1 and cost just under two thousand points; otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to pay the mana cost.


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 3>


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Tom watched as Ms.Lewis''s body was flooded with life magic. She sprouted new legs and pelvis, and the little injuries dotting her body knitted themselves back together, and the color returned to her cheeks. Ms.Lewis took in a huge gulp of air, nearly causing her breast to tear through what was left of her shirt, and then she threw up right into Tom''s lap.


    "Well, shit." Tom groaned as the mix of congealed blood and bile splattered his priestly robes.


    "That''s okay, Ms.Lewis. Get it all out." Tom patted her back, and she kept heaving and sputtering.


    Then Ms.Lewis started to cry. Not the crying you see in movies, but the big gulping sobs that you dealt with as a kid when your emotions were so out of control you didn''t even remember your name. Tom felt awkward as he rubbed her back as she sobbed. He had never done this with anyone but Chloe. So he wasn''t really sure what was appropriate. So, he was just there for her as she dealt with her trauma. That and the fact that she was completely naked from the waist down didn''t help his situation.


    ¡°Did you finish ?¡± Tom asked awkwardly, trying to break the moment.


    Alex punched him in the shoulder.


    ¡°You have a naked girl in your lap. Don''t make me jealous, or I will kick your nuts open."


    Ms.Lewis had finally stopped crying, but her face remained resting on his chest. She didn¡¯t let go, and Tom could feel her shaking body ease a little.


    "What happened?" Ms.Lewis asked.


    "You died," Abaddon said as he came into her field of view.


    Ms.Lewis looked up at him and screamed. She pulled out a knife from somewhere and stabbed him squarely between the legs. Tom winced in sympathy as Abaddon dropped like a bag of bricks onto the snow-covered asphalt. His hands cradled his bleeding groin.


    ¡°Ms.Lewis! Stop!!¡± Tom yelled, grabbing her arms as she tried to plunge the knife into Abaddon''s head. ¡°Ms.Lewis, calm down. Put the knife away. Goddammit!! That''s Hector!!!"


    ¡°She cut my dick off,¡± he said, rolling around on the ground in agony. Blood seeped out from below his sweatpants.


    "How is that, Hector?!" Ms.Lewis asked.


    "We''re in the game noob," Alex said.


    "Are you ¡­ Alex?! What game?! What are you talking about?!" Ms.Lewis asked.


    Tom signed and started to explain what was happening: the legend of Noralon, the System Apocalypse, what happened to them, and why they were here.


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 16>


    ¡°So we''re in a game?!¡± Ms.Lewis asked.


    "Maybe. The system, magic, and monsters all act like they would in Legend of Noralon. And the sky has two of the three moons of Noralon. But at the same time, the Noralon map was completely different from ours. Noralon doesn''t have Hopkins, Vancouver, or anything else." Tom said.


    ¡°Tom!¡± he shouted. ¡°Shut the fuck up and Heal me seriously!!!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m right here,¡± said Tom. ¡°What do you need?¡±


    ¡°What do I need?¡± he asked as if he couldn¡¯t believe the question had been asked. ¡°I need my fucking scrotum reattached!¡±


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Tom said, placing his hand on Abaddon¡¯s forehead. ¡°Revitalize...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not where I was stabbed,¡± said Abaddon between agonized gasps of breath.


    ¡°Dude, I¡¯m not touching your balls. The spell will work.¡± He refocused his mind. ¡°Revitalization!¡±


    Ms.Lewis laughed and shook her head. ¡°That was the dumbest thing I have ever ¡­¡± She stopped, her eyes and mouth frozen wide open.


    A faint glow shone from the point where the palm of Tom¡¯s hand rested on Abaddon¡¯s forehead. Abaddon¡¯s eyes closed, and his breathing became heavy. A small moan escaped his mouth. His shoulder and arm muscles began to twitch. His fists clenched shut, and a spasm of pain rippled through his face. His hands opened suddenly, and his mouth widened into a grin. He began to laugh. It was a shaky but sincere laugh.


    The kind of laugh your heart makes after you bet money you don¡¯t have bluffing with a pair of fives and win. The wave of spasms continued down from his chest to his abdomen and then below it. Abaddon let out a roar that shook the leaves on the trees. Ms.Lewis took a cautious step back, and even Tom took a step back.


    That was probably for the best because Abaddon evacuated his bowels in a spray that would have reached both of them otherwise. The spell coursed down his legs and sparked out at the tips of his big toenails. The roar ended, and Abaddon lay on the ground, panting and cupping his freshly healed balls with his freshly healed hands.


    ¡°What did you do to him?¡± Ms.Lewis asked Tom.


    Tom stood up. ¡°I healed him.¡± He touched each of his index fingers to the opposite forearm and whispered the words again: ¡°I heal thee.¡± The blood didn''t disappear, but the pained look on Abaddon''s face melted away.


    ¡°Really? That worked?¡± Ms.Leiws asked as Abaddon rolled back and forth on the ground as he, held his balls in his hands.


    ¡°Hey, Abaddon. You okay?¡±


    Abaddon¡¯s eyes were still shut tight, and tears flowed back toward his ears. ¡°Just let me savor the moment a little longer.¡±


    Alex pulled out a pair of large sweatpants.


    "As much as I''m enjoying the show, I do not want to resurrect you if you get hypothermia," Alex said.


    Ms.Lewis snatched up the pants and quickly pulled them on, glancing between them.


    "Where are my pants?" she asked as Alex handed her a pair of boots.


    "Probably with your leg," Alex said.


    "What?" she asked, confused.


    "When we found you were missing everything below your waist," Tom said as he cleaned himself up. We had to regrow your legs when we resurrected you."


    "I ¡­ what?!" she asked in shock.


    "What happened to you?" Tom asked, trying to change the subject and gain some intelligence on what was inside of the school.


    "I came to school when I saw the message in front of my face. There were animals attacking other people on the road. This was the safest place I knew about. I''m supposed to come here in an emergency. But when I walked in, it was empty. I thought I heard Mr.Vince, but inside these little red devils, they attacked me and clawed at my skin, my neck ¡­ I."


    Tom grabbed her and held her, and she bent over and threw up again as she hyper-ventilated, tears streaming from her face as she relived her death.


    "That''s okay. I think we understand." Tom said.


    "Should we be going somewhere? Somewhere safe?" she asked desperately.


    "Ms.Lewis, would you be willing to do me a favor in exchange for resurrecting you?" Tom asked.


    "Um, what?" Ms.Lewis asked.


    "We have my little sister here. I''m hoping you can watch and entertain her while we clear out and claim the school."


    Ms.Lewis''s eyes went wide in panic.


    "You can''t. If you go in there, you''ll die, you''ll ¡­"


    Alex blasted an imp that had been near the front of the school with a lightning bolt, killing it instantly and causing Ms.Lewis to flinch backwards as she stared at the dead imp.


    "We will be just fine," Alex said.


    "So, would you be willing to look after my little sister for a bit?" Tom asked. "If you don''t want to, you can just leave now and try to find salvation from someone else out there."


    Ms.Lewis looked around, grabbing for her keys and finding nothing. Tom suspected she was realizing just what walking away from this situation would entail.


    "How long will you be inside?" she asked.


    Tom shrugged. "A couple of hours. You are free to leave once we''re done inside, or you can stay inside the school once we claim it. When we claim it, it will become a safe zone completely free of monsters."


    That last part clearly pushed her over the edge.


    "Alright, I can take care of her." Ms.Lewis agreed.


    "Alright, let''s head down. You can watch her while the four of us go inside." Tom said.


    Turning and walking back into the parking lot. Back to Chloe.


    When they arrived, Chloe was trying to do up Skippy''s fur in cornrows.


    "Chloe," Tom called out.


    "You found Lucy!!" Chloe squealed as she ran up and hugged the black poodle.


    "Yeah. So Chloe," Tom said, kneeling down in front of his sister.


    "This is Ms.Lewis," Tom said, introducing his teacher.


    "Hello. You can just call me Betty." Ms.Lewis ¡­ Betty said.


    ¡°Wait, Tom. Don¡¯t leave me with her. I want to stay with you,¡± Chloe said, running up to him and wrapping her arms around his legs.


    "We''ll be back soon. Don''t worry; this isn''t our first dungeon dive," Tom said as he pried her off of him.


    "Now look. I need you to be brave, okay?" Tom asked. We need to do this, but I need you to be brave and protect Betty from the monsters, okay?"


    "Ok," Chloe said with a sigh.


    "Great. We''ll be back soon. Stay safe," Tom said as he turned and followed the other member of his guild back to the school.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 380


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 490


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1980


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 5.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 6.6per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 11.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 8.5% Soul 8%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 33


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 99


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 88


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 33


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 99


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 88


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 14 >> Level 25


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 13 >> Level 18


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 10 >> Level 19


    - [Universal] - Level 8 >> Level 10


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 11 >> Level 16


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 6 >> Level 11


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 1 >> Level 5


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 6 >> Level 10


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 13/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 8


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 7


    Augur 06/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 19


    - [Art of Life] - Level 2 >> Level 3


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 8


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 1 >> Level 11


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 1 >> Level 3


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Tactical Leader] - Level 2


    - [Leadership ¢ñ] - Level 1


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 1


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 1


    - [Logistics ¢ò] - Level 6


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 17: Highschool from Hell â… 

    Tom looked back to where he and his family were. Chloe was hanging out with Ms.Lewis as Lucy lept around them. They were just hanging out with them as they stood outside. Tom was a little concerned about leaving Chloe with Ms.Lewis, but Lucy was already level 7. She should be able to protect them if the worst were to happen.


    The group didn¡¯t even get one step past the pool of blood when the notification popped up.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Quest: High School from hell


    Three High Demons have emerged from the abyss to conquer your high school. Fortunately for you, the transition has severely weakened them. Kill them now before they regain their full power and claim this settlement as your own.


    High Demons Killed: 0/3


    Rewards: You will gain control over the settlement: Hopkins High School


    Penalties for failure: Hopkins will become a demon-infested nest.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The group had barely finished reading the text when dozens of imps charged around the corner, cackling like maniacs.


    "Demonic Fire Imp Level range of 3-9," Tom called out as the imps approached.


    That little information was all the team needed in order to understand the situation. That was the benefit of wasting so many hours playing video games together.


    "Alright then, let''s blast them," Alex said, launching a chain-lighting bolt at the Imps without any warning.


    The bolt slammed into the Imps before jumping to three of the closest ones in sequence, zapping all of the rapid demons rather painfully.


    Instantly, the other Imps focused on them and charged. The claws of the imps were splattered with blood, and their yellow eyes glowed red. Their red skin had tiny black bone ridges along their bodies.


    Conjuring a light ball, Tom launched the spell at the imps at the same time Alex launched a fireball. The two balls of magic sailed toward the imps and slammed into each other, exploding mid-air without each other without harming a single imp.


    "Oh Fuck!" Alex swore as the imps charged down on them unperturbed.


    "Abaddon," Tom ordered as he and Alex hid behind their tank.


    Skippy danced through the imps with a grace he never had as a human as he delicately slid his sword along the side of the charging animals leaving Ms.Lewis''s with crimson along their flanks as he casually stepped past their attack.


    Abaddon took a far simpler approach. As the imps charged at him, he leaned down, bent his knees, and caught the charging demon like an umpire catching a baseball. The animal squealed like a caught pig. But Abaddon didn''t let go. Instead, he picked up the imp and slammed it into a second imp that had been charging him.


    There was a sickening crack as the two living creatures slammed into each other, making Tom wince. Then, a third imp slammed into Hector''s legs and bounced off.


    "When do spells interact with each other mid-flight?" Alex asked angrily out as she blasted the imps, trying to flank them with a stream of fire.


    "They do now!" Tom stated as he started to draw more glyphs in the air.


    Abaddon rose to his knees just as a fourth, fifth, and sixth imp charged at him. Abaddon''s hand shot out, punching one of the imps in the face and shattering its skull on impact.


    "I''m already missing the pain modifiers," Abaddon muttered as the imps left deep claw marks on his scaled body.


    "It''s not too bad," Skippy said as he decapitated an imp with a [Piercing Strike].


    "It''s easy for you to say you haven''t been hit yet," Abaddon said as he kicked another brother''s imp.


    Tom finally finishes his glyph and unleashes it on the pigs.


    "Mass confusion," Tom casted.


    Tom watched as the coordinated attack of the dire imps devolved into chaos as they attacked each other, ran in the wrong direction, and, in one case, stopped fighting together and just started to shit themselves.


    Abaddon, Skippy, and Alex didn''t miss the opportunity. Abaddon lept on top of one of the imps and started to punch the animal to death. Skippy dashed back and forth, slashing open the throats of every imp he came across. Alex shot bolts of ice at the imps one by one, impaling each of them until there were none left alive and the notifications were rolling in.


    <[Tactical Leader] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Tactical Leader] has Reached Level 4>


    <...>


    <[Tactical Leader] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Logistics ¢ò] has Reached Level 7>


    "Alright, let''s review," Tom said, "where did we fuck up?"


    "You and Alex crossed the streams taking this from an easy fight to a pain in the ass," Abaddon stated.


    "Lesson learned," Tom muttered. We need to stagger our fire to ensure we don''t cancel each other out. Is there anything else?"


    "More Imps incoming!" Skippy warned.


    Turning, Tom saw at least another dozen imps charging right for them.


    "Icy Burst," Alex said.


    A blast of icy wind blasted out from her hands, cutting into imps, inflicting both cutting damage and slowing them down.


    The imps burst into flames as they tried to get rid of the frost creeping over their bodies. They never got the chance as Abaddon and Skippy dove into their ranks. Every one of Abaddon''s punches turned an imp into a pancake, while Skippy needed two of the three sword swings against an imp to kill it.


    "Why were we so shit against the bear again?" Skippy asked.


    "Because we were all freaking out. And then you died, and there''s no pain setting. Also, my sister was there, so I wasn''t really focusing on the fight so much as keeping her safe." Tom pointed out.


    "It doesn''t matter." Alex said, "No more of this apocalypse crap. Just some proper questing. Did we kill any of the demons?"


    "No," Tom said, "Just imps."


    "Can you use [Far Seeing] to find the higher demons?" Abaddon asked.


    "Give me a second," Tom muttered as his perception raced through the school. [Far Seeing] wasn''t like looking through a telescope; it was more like his point of view moving out of his head, and he started to fly around the school.


    Examining the place floor by floor as he searched for their targets. The school was mostly filled with imps wandering around in groups of five or six, but he did find a few rooms he couldn''t peek into.


    "There are four rooms I can''t see into," Tom informed his team.


    "Boss rooms?" Abaddon asked.


    "Boss rooms." Tom agreed. "First is the gym, the third-floor north side, the theater room, and the auto shop. I can''t find the fifth one."


    "If three of them are on the first floor, let''s remove the one on the third first and clear out the place as we make our way down," Alex suggested.


    No one had a better idea, so they made their way up to the top floor. Their school was divided into three floors. The first floor primarily consisted of home economics trade classes and three separate gyms. The second floor focused more on academic courses like history, computer programming, and mathematics, and the third floor was relegated to science classes, particularly physics, chemistry, and biology. This wasn''t a rule, but it was a predominant theme throughout the school.


    As they made their way up to the third floor, they discovered another group of imps patrolling the floor. This time, Tom took the lead.


    "Nova," Tom chanted.


    Instantly, a wave of light rose from his feet before slamming into the imps, sending them crashing to the ground.


    "Chain lighting." Alex chanted, sending lighting to cascade across the water, electrocuting each and every one of the imps and sending them collapsing to the ground. After that, Abaddon and Skippy cleaned up the imps.


    "Is it me, or is this just too fucking easy?" Skippy asked.


    The rest of the group gave him a look.


    "You just had to ask that, didn''t you," Abaddon muttered as the sound of hissing filled the hallway.


    The group turned to see a veritable wave of imps charging them. Their beady orange little eyes locked onto them like a pack of hungry rats.


    "Fucking shit," Skippy muttered.


    "Switching to healing," Tom warned.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The first imp launched itself into the air at Abaddon. Before it could get close, Alex unleashed an icy wind spell, blasting it back into the group of imps.


    Abaddon didn''t waste the opportunity. Instead of launching himself into the wall of imps, Abaddon roared and brought his fist down, killing two of them instantly. Skippy skewered four of them with a [Far strike] Before he started darting around Abaddon''s heels, stopping any imp from flanking them.


    Alex kept up her barrage of magic, cycling through her spells as she blasted, froze, crushed, or sliced the imps into oblivion. The imps started to climb up Abaddon''s body, clawing ineffectively at his scales as he repeatedly smashed, punched, and squashed them.


    "This is fucking great!!" Skippy cheered as he decapitated an imp with a casual flick of his swords.


    Tom lept back as six imps attacked him. He pulled out a scroll and used it to blast away five of the imps, kicked a sixth as it lept at him, and fired off a few healing spells to Abaddon. They were all slowly accumulating cuts and injuries as they battled through the endless tide of imps.


    Tom tossed up a light barrier to try and protect Alex and himself as Abaddon and Skippy shredded through the imp hordes.


    "Need a heal," Abaddon called out.


    Tom dropped a healing spell on his friend out of reflex as Alex covered him with a blast of superheated ash. The time to run. Abaddon stomped on the ground as he let out a roar like a t-rex.


    <[Fi-fi-fo-Fum] has inflicted Imps with [Taunt]>


    <[Fi-fi-fo-Fum] has inflicted Imps with [Terror]>


    <[Fi-fi-fo-Fum] has broken [Sneak]>


    <[Fi-fi-fo-Fum] has broken [Stealth]>


    <[Fi-fi-fo-Fum] has inflicted party members with [Courage]>


    Half of the imps turned and scrambled away in terror while the other half lept at Abaddon, seaming him like a swarm of insects as they scratched and clawed at Abaddon''s reptilian form.


    Tom started casting every life spell he could at Abaddon.


    ¡°Alex, cutting wind on Abaddon,¡± Tom ordered


    Alex didn¡¯t say a word, instead casting a spell. Instantly, hundreds of little blades of wind wrapped around Abaddon like a twister.


    The little blades of wind shredded the imps like they were in a blender, and at the same time, Abaddon''s scales'' hide was sliced up almost as fast as Tom could heal it.


    Soon enough, the last of the imps died, and Abaddon slumped to the ground in exhaustion.


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 5>


    ¡°That hurt. Are we sure we can¡¯t fix the pain setting?¡± Skippy asked.


    ¡°I think you can use the [Focus] skill to change the pain setting outside of the menu,¡± Tom said.


    ¡°I think that it¡¯s going to have to go into the skill tax,¡± Skippy said. ¡°I am not a masochist.¡±


    ¡°We should stop standing around,¡± Abaddon breathed. "We need to kill the higher demon before it sends more.¡±


    ¡°Give me a minute, Big guy, you''re not above 50% hp yet.¡±


    ¡°I can use a second wind.¡± Abaddon offered.


    ¡°If you waste that for free healing, I¡¯m going to drown you,¡± Tom stated.


    ¡°Hurry the fuck up would you,¡± Skippy growled


    Tom decided to just compromise. Pulling out one of his scrolls of healing, he activated it, immediately healing Abaddon back to full.


    ¡°Fucking finally, let¡¯s go,¡± Abaddon growled, leading the way forward with his bloodied claws.


    They moved down the hallway, following the trail of imps to the homeroom on the north side of the building. When Abaddon stepped through, he stopped and just stared.


    "Holy shit."


    Skippy quickly looked through the door and just stared.


    Alex and Tom peeked inside and froze


    "This is so hot," Alex moaned.


    "What the fuck!" Tom exclaimed.


    In front of the group was a succubus completely in the nude as she lounged on the desk like a swimsuit model. Her face was achingly beautiful, with two large horns pushing up from the side of her head; her ears were pointed like an elf''s, and her skin was a deep red. Her massive naked tits made Alex''s new porn star breasts look modest by comparison, and her hips were clearly wider than her shoulders by a good margin. Unfortunately, that was where the scene went from sexy into pure fetish material.


    Her stomach distended outwards in a macabre mockery of pregnancy as the skin of her distended stomach wiggled like a bag full of eels. Her oversized breasts continued leaking milk down her body. Even as they stood there in stunned silence. Even as he stood there, an imp wormed its way out from between her legs as the succubus moaned in ecstasy. Tom felt like his mind turned to mush as the succubus caressed her ---


    <Imp Mothers [Infernal Seduction] has been successfully negated by [My Mind is a Temple My Soul the Altar]>


    <[My Mind is a Temple My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 12>


    <[My Mind is a Temple My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 13>


    <...>


    <[My Mind is a Temple My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 8>


    <...>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 10>


    Tom blinked away the notifications as he came back to himself activating [Augurs Eye] on reflex.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Imp Brood Mother - Succubus


    The imp mother is a succubus who specializes in fertility magic. This demon often has hundreds, if not thousands, of imp children, all of which are under her control. The only time she is not giving birth is when she is gathering new genetic material for her children.


    Despite commanding literal armies, the imp mother has very few, if any, direct combat abilities. Instead, this demon focuses on its children and its ability to inspire lust in those in proximity to her.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "I volunteer to seduce the succubus," Alex said, inching forward as she started fumbling with her clothes.


    "She would drain you dry," Tom pointed out as he prepared a spell to kill the Imp mother.


    "Totally worth it." Alex breathed heavily as she watched the succubus tail plunge in and out of her own butt as she birthed more imps. Alex slid her pants down her waist, forcing Tom to try and one-handedly keep them up.


    "Abaddon, would you please just kill it," Tom begged as he tried to keep Alex''s clothes on.


    He looked over to his friend, but Abaddon and Skippy were completely mesmerized by naked succubus mammaries.


    "Yeah, enough of this shit," Tom muttered as he cast sunbeam.


    A beam of pure sunlight leapt from his hand and punched through The Imp mother''s belly. The red skin blacked and burned before it burst open in a shower of gore, and red tadpoles the size of rats spilled out onto the floor as the Imp mother screamed in agony as her children and her internal organs pooled on the ground. Tom followed up with a spear of light directly to her head.


    Tom checked the imp mother''s status and confirmed that she had suffered enough damage to not be able to recover.


    "What just happened," Alex asked, coming out of whatever spell she was under.


    "You were all enthralled by the imp mother I killed it," Tom explained.


    "Did you get pictures?" Alex asked hopefully as she pulled her pants back up.


    Tom blushed.


    "No, I didn''t get pictures."


    "Buuuuttt Tom. that was hot," Alex complained in mock sadness.


    "Well, this room is fucked" Abaddon noted.


    Tom looked back at the mix of demon tadpoles and abiotic fluid now staining the floor.


    "Yeah, we''re going to need a deep clean for that," Tom stated as the Imp mother died.


    <[Tactical Leader] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Coordination ¢ò] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 20>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Quest: High School from hell


    Update


    High Demons Killed: 1/3


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 380


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 490


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1980


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 5.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 6.6per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 11.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 22.5% Soul 16%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 33


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 99


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 88


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 33


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 99


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 88


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 25


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18[


    - Library of Akashic Records] - Level 19


    - [Universal] - Level 10


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 16


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 11 >> Level 16


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 5


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 2


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 10


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 11/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 8


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 7


    Augur 06/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 19 >> Level 20


    - [Art of Life] - Level 3 >> Level 5


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 8


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 11


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3


    Tactician 05/6


    [- Tactical Leader] - Level 2 >> Level 6


    - [Leadership ¢ñ] - Level 1 >> Level 13


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 1 >> Level 9


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Logistics ¢ò] - Level 6 >> Level 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 18: Highschool from Hell â…¡

    The team kept moving through the third floor and exterminated the small groups of imps as they recovered their resources.


    "Any idea where the other two high demons are?" Abaddon asked Tom.


    "I think we have one in the Library and one in the Gym," Tom said. "Which one do you guys want to go after first?"


    "The gym has got to be the fiend." Skippy stated, "The fucking sex ed class had an Imp mother, then the gyms going to have a friend."


    "That was the sex ed class?" Alex asked.


    "Yeah?" Skippy said. "You didn''t go?"


    "No, Skippy, I watched porn like a normal person," Alex said,


    "You knew it was the sex-ed class, right Tom?" Skippy asked.


    "Actually, I''m in the same boat as Alex," Tom admitted sheepishly.


    "Abb?" Skippy asked desperately.


    "Porn," Abaddon stated.


    "Well fuck all of you. I got to hang out with a bunch of hot girls for an entire period," Skippy shot back.


    Tom shook his head.


    "We''re getting off-topic. Which high demon are we fighting?" Tom asked. "If we assume that the Gym has a Fiend, then what''s in the Library?"


    "Beholder, probably," Alex said. "Though I suppose it could be a drider. I don''t think it''s going to be a shadow or imp. Though all three could be succubus if that''s the theme of the dungeon. I hope they''re succubus''s."


    "So probably a beholder then," Tom said, ignoring Alex''s horney musing. It was a lot harder now they were AFK.


    Abaddon and Skippy nodded their agreement.


    "Let''s start with the fucking Fiend first," Abaddon said. "We''re only pretty sure the library has a beholder. We''re ninety-nine percent sure a friend is in the gym."


    "Are we, though?" Tom asked. "Do we even know if the high demons are trapped in their rooms? The imp mother couldn''t move because it was hyper-pregnant, but the other two demons were under no such restrictions. Update aside, this is real now. Everything we knew might be wrong now."


    That caused a pause in the group as they digested the information.


    "Yeah, if they''re not locked in their rooms ¡­ Well, the library is on the way to the gym." Alex pointed out. "If the beholder draws agro and follows us to the gym. We''re fucked."


    This caused another round of silence as they considered their next move.


    "So, the Library?" Tom asked.


    "No," Abaddon said. Let''s get to level 12 first. Between the Imps and the Imp mother, we''re almost there. If we can each kill ¡­ 42 more imps, then we can get to level 12."


    When no one argued, they took that to mean agreement and started to hunt the Imps.


    At this point, the third floor was basically done, so they moved down to the second, where the imps were more plentiful.


    Groups of imps roamed the second floor like patrolling guards, unaware their mother had been killed and stuffed in Skippy''s inventory.


    Now that the group had gotten over the surprise of having the game become a reality, they started to get back into the groove.


    Abaddon could easily hold their attention while Alex focused on crowd control, and Skippy killed any stand-out enemies before they could become a problem. Tom just healed his team and occasionally buffed them. It wasn''t the most glamorous job, but he wasn''t sure if they would have survived this long without a healer.


    Tom frowned as he started to notice another problem, Skippy wasn''t keeping up as much as he had been expecting him to. Skippy had to use a skill if he wanted to one-shot an imp, and if he didn''t, he often ended up having to hit the imps two to three times instead of just the once it should have taken him, and it was causing the group to fall out of sync.


    The worst part, though, had to be the injuries were very real and very painful. In-game, if he had gotten scratched up like the imps had been doing to them, there would have been pain, but that pain would have been numbed and wouldn''t have lasted. He could run around with a gaping chest wound without thinking about it. Now the pain could effectively cripple one of them. The Imps were also annoying. They spoke, and thanks to [Universal], he could understand them. It was mostly swear words.


    Tom was doing his best to get the most out of the experience, and his status reflected that.


    <[The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 12>


    <...>


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 7>


    <...>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Tactical Leader] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Tactical Leader] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Tactical Leader] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Coordination ¢ò] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Coordination ¢ò] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Coordination ¢ò] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Logistics ¢ò] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Logistics ¢ò] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Logistics ¢ò] has Reached Level 10>


    Tom turned off his notifications before he got overwhelmed. Moving down to the second floor, they made their way to the library, killing any of the remaining pockets of imps they could find. Tom could see the XP bar inching towards level 12. The Imps weren''t worth a lot of XP, but there seemed to be a never-ending supply of Imps running around their school¡ªjust a little bit more.


    <Level up! You have one unassigned level>


    "I leveled up," Tom cheered.


    "Same," Abaddon said.


    "I need a few more," Alex said


    "Me too." Skippy agreed.


    It only took another three groups of imps to get Skippy and Alex to level 12.


    "Let''s get somewhere to find to take a break and assign our levels," Tom said.


    "Is that necessary?" Skippy asked.


    "We''ve been fighting all day. As much as I love this, I am hungry and tired. We need a fucking lunch break." Abaddon said, marching off to one of the computer labs. They took their time securing the room and then took a few minutes to make themselves some sandwiches, eat, and assign their levels.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Leveled up


    Congratulations, you are now a Level 1 Water Mage.


    You have selected the Skill [Water Magic]


    [Water Magic]: +0.5% to the effectiveness of all of your water magic.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "I took a Level in [Water Mage]. What did you guys take?" Tom asked.


    "I evolved my class and added some levels to [Wizardess]," Alex said with a shrug


    "I''ve picked up [Dancer] for levels 11 to 12. I got the [Mirage Step] skill to improve my mobility."


    "I only added levels to [Giantslayer]," Abaddon said with a shrug.


    For a long moment, they just sat there eating the food. Then Alex started to chuckle, and her chuckling eventually broke down into full belly laughs.


    "Dude, are you ok?" Tom asked.


    "Am I okay? Am I okay? Tom, I''m a sun elf from my wet dreams, clearing out demons from my high school with my best friends. This is the best day of my life." Alex chuckled as she hugged him.


    Tom stared at Alex for a minute, but then he started to smile, too. For all of today''s insanity, he was having fun.


    "Did you guys see how I tossed that imp?" Abaddon asked with a smile on his face.


    "Dude, That was fucking awesome," Skippy said. "It went flying. It was awesome."


    "Honestly, today''s been great," Tom agreed.


    They all smiled, but Abaddon frowned as something crossed his mind.


    "Does that make us bad people?" Abaddon asked.


    They all looked at him.


    "Wow, way to kill the mood, you fun nazi," Skippy said.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "I''m serious," Abaddon said, smacking skippy. "We''re here eating sandwiches and having a good time while the rest of the world is freaking out and getting eaten. Does that make us bad people?"


    "Of course, it doesn''t," Tom said, half trying to convince himself. Half trying to convince his friends.


    "When the world was normal, we were miserable. Life sucked. We got bullied and picked on and made fun of, forgotten about. That happened because that world belonged to people like Chad. Well, now Chad and the rest of them get to spend a little time in our world. And if they don''t like it, they can shove it." Tom huffed


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 10>


    <...>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 8>


    And now he felt guilty about his speech.


    "Alright, that¡¯s enough sappy stuff. Let''s go find and kill some demons," Tom said, trying to clear the air.


    The group left the computer lab and made their way to the library. After their previous slaughter, the imps were starting to thin out.


    As they approached the library, Tom felt his excitement rising as they opened the doors and entered. The library looked the same as it used to be: a large room with cheap metal shelves lined with books. Most of the light came from the massive windows looking out the back of the school.


    "Where is the beholder?" Skippy asked.


    "Maybe it''s a shadow?" Abaddon said as they scanned their surroundings.


    Tom looked around the room. The shadows suddenly became more ominous as he scanned for the demon.


    "There it is!!" Abaddon called out.


    Abaddon charged forward and started to punch the wall.


    "Abaddon, what are you doing?" Tom called out.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have resisted Elder Orb Beholders [Illusionary World] thanks to [My Mind is a Temple, My Soul the Altar]


    [Illusionary World]: This ability can be used to trap your target in a world within their own mind. You inflict illusionary sensory information on the target, convincing them that the false world is real while they sit there helpless.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    That was all Tom needed to know as he ducked and rolled under a table just as a beam of bright blue magic passed right over where his head had been. Looking up, he took the room in as quickly as possible. Abaddon was trying to make a new hole in the wall, and Skippy was trying to eat a book. And Alex had slumped down next to him and, with her hand, reached under her clothes to fondle herself, a lewd grin appearing on her face.


    "Yeah, just like that." she moaned


    "Alex!" Tom hissed, smacking her on the back of the head.


    That normally snapped a victim out of the illusion, but this time, it had no effect. Then he saw the beholder. Unlike the classical D&D beholder, the elder orb variant was a single floating eyeball surrounded by four other eyeballs, all orbiting it. The iris of the eye was a bright blue mixed with a shadowy purple.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Elder Orb Beholder


    Lvl: 15


    Hp: 240


    Mp: 2,050


    Stamina: 100


    Skills: [Illusionary World], [Perception Filter], [Perception Warp], [Aether Beam], [Shadow bolt], [Shadow Plane Shift], [Mana Essence Shift], [Shadow Flesh]


    The Elder Orb Beholder is a creature that has given up its flesh to fully commune with the magic of the world, becoming a creature of magic.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Shit," Tom swore.


    Pulling out Four of his scrolls, he immediately activated them.


    "Summon Shield Bearer, Summon Shield Bearer, Summon Shield Bearer, Summon Shield Bearer"


    Four massive suits of bronze armor appeared, each carrying a full-sized shield. Without fail, each of them interposed themselves between one of Tom''s friends and the Beholder. The Beholder wasn''t wasting any time. One of its orbiting eyes turned to face him, glowed orange, and then blasted Tom''s Shield Bearer with a massive shadow beam that ripped his guardian apart in seconds.


    "Aether and Shadow magic," Tom muttered to himself as he brought out another scroll.


    Shadow Magic was fast and powerful but didn''t have any defense worth a damn. Aether magic was powerful, but only in relation to magic. In hindsight, that blast to the head probably wouldn''t have done that much damage. Putting the two together, on the other hand, meant that the best way to kill was with a physical attack. Which he didn''t have, fuck.


    The Beholder fired Shadow bolt after Shadow bolt as it chased him through the library, fortunately ignoring his friends. Unfortunately, he was the one in danger. He had to throw up a light shield to block the first shadow bolt. The second missed him by inches before exploding next to his head. Tom dashed down the lines of books as the Beholder followed after him, firing spell after spell at him, forcing him to dodge wildly. He was really wishing he had picked up a movement skill at some point.


    Spinning around midstep, Tom unleashed a barrage of light bolts towards the beholder in hopes of stalling it. Fortunately, the Elder Orb was as predictable as they were in the game. Each time his spell shot towards the demon, it stopped moving, turned, and annihilated Tom''s spells with its own Aether magic attacks.


    Aether magic was, put simply, the magic of magic. Every good wizard learned at least a bit of it. But very few specialized in it because, against normal flesh-and-blood creatures, it wasn''t very effective. Against magic, however, it could alter the spell enough that it would just fall apart.


    But Tom was fine with that; he had an idea. The moment the Beholder stopped to counter his attack, his right hand started to draw his glyphs. He activated both glyphs at the same time. In a blinding flash of light, three Tom stood in front of the Beholder before the illusions took off in opposite directions.


    The beholder''s eye twitched as it rose into the air, firing shadow bolt after shadow bolt at the fleeing illusions in annoyance. The cloying mass of shadows blew apart metal shelves and the stone floor with ease. In seconds, the first illusion was hit, collapsing into motes of light as it tried to exit the library.


    The beholder turned to the other two, firing off at the other two erratically. It attacks lighting up the library. Unfortunately for the demon, it had failed to notice Tom. His first spell created three illusions that ran around, drawing enemy fire. His second was an invisibility spell. While the beholder had been firing about randomly, Tom had climbed up the bookcases behind the beholder, gathered his mana, and launched a water blade directly into the demon''s back end.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have inflicted 180 points of damage on Elder Orb Beholder.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The beholder screamed in agony, its body immediately turning into shadows as it shot out the door.


    "Light Bomb," Tom cast, trying to end the creature before it escaped.


    He grimaced as his attack missed, and the beholder flew out into the school.


    Turning around, he moved back to his friends to check on them. Fortunately, the Beholders [Illusionary world] required the demon to remain close by.


    "What happened?" Skippy asked in confusion.


    Tom dumped a few healing and cleansing spells on his team just to make sure they were ok before he spoke.


    "You guys got caught in an illusion," Tom said. "Come on, we still have to kill it before."


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Quest Update: High School from hell


    High Demons Killed: 3/0


    Demon Lord 0/1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 16>


    <...>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 20>


    <[My Mind is a Temple My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 17>


    <[My Mind is a Temple My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 18>


    <...>


    <[My Mind is a Temple My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Water Magic] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Water Magic] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Water Magic] has Reached Level 7>


    <Level up!>


    <you have one unassigned Level>


    For a long moment, nobody said anything. As they figured out what was happening, they turned and raced towards the door to the library and looked down into the pit. On the first floor, swallowing the form of the Elder orb Beholder, was a Fiend. Its body writhed and changed, growing bigger, darker, and veinier.


    "Does anyone else think he looks like a penis?" Alex asked.


    "Seriously?" Tom asked, annoyed.


    "Just a thought," Alex said innocently


    A crown of horns rose from its skull with bull horns pointed straight up towards them. Its black-red skin was massively muscled and veiny. Its lower body was that of a scaled goat''s legs with a spaded tail. Its face looked like a cross between a boar and a pug. Only it now had four eyes that glowed with the blue light of the Aether. It was also naked, its massive flaccid penis the size of a human arm. Out of reflex, Tom used [Agurs Eye].


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Crippled) Pseudo Demon Lord


    Titles: Demon Lord, Boss Monster


    This Pit Fiend came to this world with two other demons. The pact they signed stated that only one of them would live while the essence of the other two was consumed to fuel its ascension. Now, it''s moving to cement its rule over this Lair and evolve into a proper Demon lord. In order to achieve this, it has eaten the elder orb in a moment of weakness, absorbing some of its abilities and kickstarting its evolution, and mending a bit of its crippled status.


    Hp: 10,500


    Mana: 760


    Stamina: 3,250


    Skills: [High Fiend Vitality], [Demonic Armaments], [Demonic Carapace], [Grand Slam], [Perception Filter], [Perception Warp], [Aether Beam], [Shadow Flesh], [Birth Imp]


    STR: 78 / DEX: 8 / AGIL: 17 / CON: 500 / END: 100 / PER: 14 / INT: 76 / WILL: 68 / SPIRIT: 100 / EGO: 75 / CHA: 13 / LCK: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It looked up at them and gave them a monstrous grin, and Tom felt his stomach drop.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 420


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 540


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2160


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 6.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 6.9 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 12.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 31% Soul 21%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1, Water Mage 1, 1 Unassigned


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 36


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 120


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 108


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 96


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 24


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 72


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 36


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 120


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 108


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 96


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 24


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 72


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 25 >> Level 26


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 19


    - [Universal] - Level 10 >> Level 16


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 16 >> Level 18


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 16 >> Level 21


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 5


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 2


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 10


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 11/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 8 >> Level 12


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 7 >> Level 8


    Augur 06/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 20 >> Level 22


    - [Art of Life] - Level 5 >> Level 13


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 8


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 11


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Tactical Leader] - Level 6 >> Level 9


    - [Leadership ¢ñ] - Level 13 >> Level 20


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 9 >> Level 12


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 2 >> Level 5


    - [Logistics ¢ò] - Level 7 >> Level 10


    Water Mage 01/11


    - [Water Magic] - Level 1 >> Level 7</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 19: Highschool from Hell â…¢

    Skippy stared down at the demon as he read its status over the party interface, it was an extremely lopsided build, but that was probably the result of the boss monster title. That title would double the user''s Constitution, Endurance, and Intelligence stat.


    "Everyone assign your levels while I buy time," Tom said as he started casting.


    Skippy pulled up his stats as Tom pulled out a dozen sheets of paper. He fired off a barrage of fireballs at the boss. Skippy quickly ducked under the railing and opened his skill options. Most of the [Dancer] skill options sucked. They were made for actual dancing instead of true combat, but a few were really useful. Like the footwork skill he was looking for. Something to help him stay on his feet and keep him moving.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level up!


    You are now a level 3 [Dancer]


    +10 AGIL +9 LCK +6 PER +4 DEX +3 CON


    You have selected the Skills


    [Swagger] - Historic: Increase your movement speed by 3%. Increase your footwork mastery by 3% per skill level. Your footsteps are always assured, finding solid ground under your feet, allowing you to walk without slipping or tripping. When you walk, you have a 1% chance to inflict either [Taunt] or [Terror] aliments on your enemies.


    [Mirage Step] - Rare: You teleport from one point to another, leaving behind an afterimage in your place, which will be destroyed in a single hit. Increase the range of this skill by 5% per skill level. Cost 20 Mana


    [Gymnast Grace] - Lesser: Your unnatural balance and grace assist you in all things. +3% to your balance mastery per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy shot down the stairs to where the pseudo-demon lord was. The demon fired beams of essence magic from its eyes, erasing all of the magic Tom was dumping on it.


    As Skippy flew down the stairs, Abaddon launched himself from the second floor with a roar.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been affected by [Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum]. You have been afflicted with [Courage]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Abaddon slammed his fist into the demon lord''s face, driving a punch directly into its eye. The demon screamed in agony, stumbling backward toward the kitchen. Skippy hit the first floor running, his legs eating up the distance as he closed in on the demon; bringing his sword around, he activated a [Piercing Strike] as he cut through the demon''s heel. Then he brought his second sword around and stabbed into the demon''s second heel with a combination of [Soul Strike], [Power Strike], and [Venom Strike], injecting the weak poison directed into the demon''s bone. He grimaced at his pathetic strength stat compared to his agility, and it was showing he would need more levels to compensate.


    The demon lord roared in pain, oblivious to Skippy''s inner turmoil, though that might be due to Abaddon punching it in the face repeatedly. Ripping his swords free, he kept hacking away at the demon''s heel. He avoided getting stepped on as the demon lord stumbled around. Then the demon flashed to fire, its entire body turning into a demon-shaped flame. Abaddon fell through the flaming demon before hitting the ground.


    Then, the demon became flesh again. All of the damage Skippy inflicted was gone as the demon reformed. He knew the demon lord had still lost HP, but the demon had repaired the physical damage easily enough. The demon''s face, on the other hand, was a mess; Abaddon had destroyed its two right eyes, and his [Siegebreaker] skill meant that magical creatures couldn''t just magic away the damage he inflicted. They would have to heal the old-fashioned way. Making Abaddon the most dangerous of them all right now.


    The demon lord looked down at him, raising its hand to flatten the two of them when two bolts of lighting hammered into its head. Now that it wasn''t using its eye beams to counter them, Alex and Tom blasted their spells out of the air before the projectiles could even get close.


    "Now this is what I''m fucking talking about," Abaddon cheered as he charged the demon lord.


    Abaddon leaped at the Demon as he was distracted by the barrage of spells from their friends and punched it directly in the dick.


    Unwilling to let Abaddon take all the glory, Skippy charged behind Abaddon and activated [Power strike]. His sword was covered in a red glow as he sliced through the demon''s leg, chopping it off and sending the demon lord to the ground. Then the demon flashed to fire, and the damage Skippy inflicted was gone, but that''s ok because it still took damage.


    As the demon tried to rise to its feet on its reformed leggings, Abaddon distracted it by leaping onto the demon''s nuts and repeatedly punching the demon lord''s balls while Tom and Alex kept up the barrage of spells.


    The demon twisted, kicking Abaddon away as it stood up. Bringing its hoof down, it stomped on Abaddon over and over again with a burning rage that consumed all rational thought.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Party Member Abaddon has Died.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy froze as he saw the notification. Was Abaddon actually dead? The demon lord kicked Abaddon''s broken corpse over Skippy''s head before whipping its tail around to splatter Skippy.


    All of Sudden, Skippy could feel his [Rataskurs Instincts] skill give him a metaphorical slap, snapping him back to attention as the demon closed in on him. Distracted as he was, he realized he wasn''t going to be able to dodge this time. Activating one of his newest abilities [Mirage Step], he took a step forward, disappearing and reappearing out of range of the attack as the demon''s tail smashed into the afterimage he had left behind.


    "You missed shit tits," Skippy called back as another one of his skills activated.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Vicious Mockery of Rataskur] - Legendary


    Trading insults is a time-honored tradition. That is not this skill. While others trade insults to their enemies, Rataskur likes to mess with divine beasts born to bring the apocalypse. What do you think this skill will do to a mortal?


    Your verbal insults now inflict mental damage on your targets equal to the target''s reaction to your insults. Furthermore, your insults may inflict a variety of secondary effects such as [Beserk], [Terror], [Taunt] and [Madness]. Increase the Mental damage from this skill by 5% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The demon lord roared in frustration as he lashed out at him. Skippy didn''t even need to use a skill to dodge the attack.


    "Skippy, buy me some time!!" Tom called out to him.


    Skippy didn''t ask for details. He didn''t need to, Tom asked so he would give.


    Skippy leaped onto and over the demon''s tail letting his swords leave shallow cuts with another dose of [Soul Strike] as he ran towards the demon.


    The demon ignored Skippy as he used his two remaining eyes to fire beams of essence magic at Alex and Tom. The effect was mitigated by the fact the two spell casters were far enough apart that the demon could only shoot at one of them as it rose to its feet. Skippy raced forward with another [Soul Strike] on his blade as he brought his sword directly into the demon balls. The already tenderized organ ripped under his attack, splitting open as he ripped through demonic scutum.


    "Hey, look on the bright side, you weren''t using them for anything!!" Skippy called out.


    The demon howled in agony before flashing to fire again again, partially repairing its balls. Turning, it punched skippy, its fist rocketing towards him, forcing skippy to leap to the left as its fist impacted the wall beside him, turning the brickwork to dust.


    "Holy," Skippy was about to swear when [Rataskurs Instincts] alerted him the demons were about to smack him into the ground.


    He leapt to the side as the concrete he had just been standing on turned to dust behind him, then had to dive back the demon''s other hand as it tried to squish him, and then his luck ran as the demon brought his hands together to crush him.


    He activated [Mirage Step] again. The demon lord clasped his afterimage between its hands as Skippy reappeared on the Demon lord''s shoulder, right next to its neck. Raising his sword, Skippy activated: [Manifold Strike] [Power Strike], [Piercing Strike], [Soul Strike], [Far Strike], and [Venom Strike]. His blade extended, puncturing through the demon''s neck and out the other side, inflicting weak poison and soul damage along the entire length. Then the demon turned its head, and his sword''s extra magical length shattered.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Goddammit, thick dick, you broke my tip," Skippy screeched as he dodged again. Despite being the DPS, he was little more than an insect to the demon lord. All he was managing to do was piss the bloody thing off. On the plus side, the demon was completely pissed off and was now ignoring his friends in favor of trying to kill him. Yeah.


    Then Skippy got a notification.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Party Member (Abaddon) has gone through a Skill Fusion


    Abaddon''s Second Wind & Immortality Skills have fused into the Skill: Second Stage


    [Second Stage] - Epic: For many people, death is when you bow out stage left. For you, dying is when the battle is just getting started. Upon your death, you are resurrected, and all resources are restored, and all stats are doubled for 1 minute per skill level.


    Cooldown: 24 hours


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Get FUCKED!!!!" Abaddon roared as he slammed into the demon''s back leg with an even higher strength stat than the demon lord.


    There was a sickening crunch as the demon''s knee shattered under the impact. The demon lord collapsed, roaring in pain as it fell to all fours. Skippy took the opportunity to run along the demon''s back, leaving ineffective cuts along its back as he tried to whittle away at the demon lord''s health. Then he felt Tom start to buff him.


    "Blades of Water, Speed of Light." Tom chanted


    All of a sudden, Skippy''s speed and strength shot up as his blade was wreathed in water and light magic. Swinging his swords, he began to hack away at the forest of spikes on the demon''s back as Abaddon tried to fuck up its other leg as much as possible. Even with his enhanced swords, Skippy could feel how much resistance the demon lord''s body was putting up, his blades weren''t cutting as deeply as he wanted, and it was infuriating.


    Then the demon rolled, flipping over and knocking both Skippy and Abaddon off of its body. Skippy had to leap off the massive demon''s back as it rolled, his bloodline skill [Great Escape] giving him an edge. Flying off the demon''s back, he bounced off the wall and brought his swords back around with a single [Poison Strike] directly into the demon''s side with the meager mana he had recovered. Skippy realized he could now see green veins start to crisscross the demon''s red skin as the poison started to build up enough.


    "It just hit the 10% mark!!" Tom called out. "Skippy, take out the eye!!"


    "Which one? The tiny one between his legs or one of the ones that looks like pimples on its face?" Skippy asked as he activated his racial skill.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Stamina Burn] - Lesser


    Consume 100 Stamina per minute in exchange for a 1% increase in all physical stats per level of this skill.


    Warning!!!: Rapid stamina loss can induce side effects such as fatigue, fainting, dehydration, exhaustion


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy felt his stats jump up just a little yet again as his stamina started to drop. Unfortunately, he really didn''t have enough stamina yet, so he didn''t have long before he passed out, and then he would be truly fucked. But that just made this more fun. Now, it was a race to see which of them hit the ground first.


    He flew across the demon''s body, leaving shallow cuts all along its body as he danced back and forth.


    Slash, slash, stab. Stab stab stab


    The demon grabbed him out of the air, but with his enhanced state, he slashed through the demon''s figure and leaped at its head. The demon had been trying to blast away Alex''s spells with its eye beams, but Skippy wasn''t having any of that. Using a combination of [Power strike] and [Soul Strike], he slammed his two swords into the demon''s two remaining eyes. Disabling them permanently.


    The demon roared in agony, and skippy lept off, launching himself up to the second floor of the pit, just in time as three massive lances of lighting from Alex impacted the demon''s chest using the opening skippy had created to avoid the eye beams. Then, all three lances exploded, tearing the demon''s chest apart as lighting arced through its body.


    The demon flashed to flame to repair the damage, but that was expected at this point, and it was too little too late as Abaddon slugged the demon in the stomach just as Skippy leapt off the second floor.


    The demon doubled over its neck, perfectly stretched out in front of skippy. Skippy dropped his second sword and gripped his right sword with both hands as he activated a full [Manifold strike] again. [Far Strike] extended his blade with a magical edge, [Piercing Strike] got through the demon''s tough skin, [Soul Strike] increased its staying power, [Power Strike] gave him a 50% increase to his strength stat for this attack, and [Venom Strike] added weak poison to his blade.


    Bringing his sword around as he fell through the air, he chopped down with everything he had as [Stamina Burn] consumed everything he had to power his ultimate strike.


    His blade cut through the demon''s neck like a hot knife through butter before slamming to a jolting stop as his sword impacted the demon lord''s spine, stopping him cold. But not before, he had already torn through the demon lord''s artery. Despite his disappointment, Skippy couldn''t help it as he landed. He raised his right hand in a rock and roll sign and screamed out his victory to the world.


    "DECAPITATION!!!" he yelled. It was slightly ruined by the lack of an actual decapitation and his Alvin and the Chipmunk voice, but it felt so good.


    Then, he felt the energy leave him as his stamina hit zero. He collapsed to the ground, fast asleep, but not before he saw two notifications flicker in front of his eyes.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You and your party have killed the Deeply Crippled Demon Lord (Lair Boss)


    You have gained two levels.


    Title Unlocked: First: +1 Skill Point


    Congratulations: Your Party has earned the Settlement Reward Demon Lord''s Blood.


    Congratulations: Your Skill [Power Strike] - level 24, has been upgraded to [Perfect Strike] - Level 12.


    [Perfect Strike] - Epic: You spot a flaw in your opponent¡¯s defense, instantly lunging forward to strike with all of your strength and precision to score a critical hit, inflicting triple damage as if it is a critical hit. Increase all damage inflicted by critical hits by 1% per skill level until you double all damage from critical hits. In other words, a crit will have a multiplier of six instead of three.


    Quest Completed: High School from Hell


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    That was all he got before his vision went black, and he fell into the world of dreams.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skippy


    (Sawyer Owens)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Theirinthrope


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Squirrel


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 375


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 525


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 300


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 4.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 6.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 3.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 8%, Elemental 8%, Magical 8%, Vitality 8%, Mind 8%, Soul 8%, Crit 16%, Poison 16%, Disease 16%, Insta-Death 16%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Beastslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Swordsman MAX, Dancer 5


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 195


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 105


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 135


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 195


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 105


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 135


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK


    Racial: +3 AGIL +2 DEX +2 PER +1 CON


    Bloodline: +5 AGIL +5 LCK


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Ratatoskr] - Legendary: The Blood of the Legendary Squirrel who runs up and down the length of the world tree carrying insults from the dragon Nidhogg at the roots to the great eagle at the top of the tree.


    - [Ratatoskr''s Tongue] - Level 3 >> Level 4


    - [Ratatoskr Instincts] - Level 13 >> Level 18


    - [Ratatoskr Vicious Mockery] - Level 17 >> Level 20


    - [Nidhogg''s Gift] - Level 6 >> Level 7


    - [Ascending Yggdrasil] - Level 11 >> Level 15


    - [Aura of the Divine Beast] - Level 6 >> Level 12


    - [Defiant Regeneration] - Level 8 >> Level 16


    - [Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 10 >> Level 16


    - +5 to AGIL per level


    - +5 to LCK per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Stamina Burn] - Level 8


    - [Rataskurs Pocket] - Level 10 >> Level 14


    - [Mapping] - Level 10 >> Level 17


    - [System Wiki] - Level 5 >> Level 8


    - [Blades] - Level 22 >> Level 27


    Swordsman 6/6


    - [Perfect Strike] - Level 12


    - [Piercing Strike] - Level 12 >> Level 26


    - [Soul Strike] - Level 6 >> Level 16


    - [Far Strike] - Level 9 >> 20


    - [Venom Strike] - Level 7 >> Level 19


    - Capstone: [Manifold Strike] - Level 4 >> Level 13


    Dancer 03/6


    - [Swagger] - Level 1 >> Level 22


    - [Mirage Step] - Level 1 >> Level 18


    - [Gymnast Grace] - Level 1 >> Level 12


    - [Empty]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 20: Settlement Established

    Tom let out a breath as he received the notification that the demon was dead. They had won; they had a guild building and a settlement. Hopkins was theirs.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You and your party have killed the Crippled Pseudo Demon Lord.


    You have gained two levels.


    Bonus XP from the quest.


    You have three levels to assign.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Tactical Leader] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Leadership ¢ñ] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has Reached Level 7>


    <...>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Logistics ¢ò] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Logistics ¢ò] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Water Magic] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Water Magic] has Reached Level 9>


    <...>


    <[Water Magic] has Reached Level 15>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Title Unlocked: First


    Within the first week into the initiation, you have led your party into victory against an opponent that, at full strength, would have used your bones as toothpicks and your testicles as jew-jew beans. Instead, you killed that fucker and were amongst the first to claim a settlement


    +1 Skill Point


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    For your actions in defeating the Pseudo-Demon Lord, the following skill has been upgraded: [Leadership ¢ñ]


    Skill Upgrade: [Leadership ¢ñ] - Inferior ¡ú [Leadership ¢ò] - Lesser


    [Leadership ¢ò]: everyone in your party gains +1% to their mental resistance per level of this skill.


    The level of this skill has been reduced by 50%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, Quest Complete!!


    You have successfully slain the Demons that had taken over your high school before they regained their power and slaughtered you all. And be honest with yourself. You would be dead right now if they had been at full power. The remaining imps have fled the school and surrendered it to you.


    You have successfully claimed ownership over the settlement (Hopkins High School). You have gained the following benefits.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You have gained access to (Hopkins High School''s settlement seed and may use it to control, upgrade, and modify your new settlement.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You may now form your own guild/kingdom/faction.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">As the owner of the (Hopkins High School settlement, you may grant your subjects access to the (Squire, Apprentice, Pupile, Trainee, Devotee, and Student) Classes even if they don''t meet the qualifications.</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom watched as a white eight-sided crystal the size of his head formed over the demon''s corpse. Scrambling up the demon lord''s dead body, Tom reached out and grabbed the settlement seed.


    They had done it. They had a home¡ªa base.


    "That was fucking awesome!!" Abaddon roared as he held up the Demon lord''s severed head.


    "You died." Tom pointed out bluntly.


    "I got better," Abaddon countered. "No, I got better than better. I got [Second Stage]."


    "I noticed. Thanks for giving me a panic attack. By the way, I was worried you died. Nice pick, by the way." Tom said


    [Second Stage] was one of those skills that seemed designed to piss people off. It resurrected a person after they died and then doubled your attributes. It was a pain in the ass to deal with as killing your opponent became little more than the warm-up. Unfortunately, it also meant Abaddon had to give up the only two skills in the entire game that could restore his stamina.


    "Skippy, could you go and bring Chloe and the rest of them in ¡­ Skippy?" Tom looked around, finding Skippy passed out on the floor. Tom quickly checked the party interface as he dumped another healing spell on his friend. Fortunately, he wasn''t injured. His stamina had just bottomed out. He let out a sigh of relief before getting annoyed.


    "God dammit skippy. Alex!!" He called out.


    "What?!" she called back down to them from up on the second floor.


    "I need you to go and get Chloe and bring her in!!!" he called up to her.


    "On it!!" she called down as she raced off to the front door.


    "Abaddon, take care of Skippy. I''m going to set up the base."


    Abaddon slung Skippy''s unconscious body over his shoulder as Tom activated the settlement seed.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Welcome to the Settlement Interface


    You have claimed the Level 1 Settlement (Hopkins High School). You have taken your first step to building your kingdom; please select a name for your faction: __________


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom typed in the name Awoken Myths without a second thought before adding everyone in his party, including Chloe, as part of the faction. He placed himself as the Primary Administrator and gave admin rights to Alex, Skippy, and Abaddon. They wouldn''t be playing around with this stuff as much as he would be, but that was fine.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Welcome Awoken Myths


    You have 100 Settlement points to spend. Would you like to spend them?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New Title: Awoken Myths


    You have joined one of the first factions of the new world. The Awoken Myths guild prides itself on excellence above all else.


    +1 Skill point


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New Title: Guild Master


    As the only member of your party with a leadership-type class, you are now the guild master of Awoken Myths by default. However, this title is contingent on your remaining the guild leader. All people in your personal party will share xp equally.


    +1 Skill point


    Skill upgrade: [Tactical Leader] - Uncommon ¡ú [Nascent Guild Leader] - Rare


    [Nascent Guild Leader] - Epic: you are the leader of a Nascent Guild. You can create a party of 6 people per skill level to hunt, raid bosses, or lead your men into battle.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom immediately selected yes and got to work, giving their new home the bare minimum amount of upgrades.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Purchased Monster Repellent ¢õ for 15 Settlement points


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Level 50 Monsters and below won''t come within 25 meters of the boundaries of your territory.</li>


    </ul>


    You have Purchased Monster Bait ¢ñ for 1 Settlement points


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Level 10 monsters and below will be attracted to the 1-mile area around your territory.</li>


    </ul>


    You have Purchased Animal Bait ¢ó for 6 points.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Level 30 Animals and below will be attracted to the 3-mile area around your territory.</li>


    </ul>


    You have Purchased Lookout ¢ô for 10 points.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Everyone in your faction with a Map skill or a similar ability will receive real-time updates for everything within 12 miles of your settlement''s seeds location.</li>


    </ul>


    You have Purchased Restore and Repair for 10 points


    Stolen story; please report.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">All of your manmade structures in your territory have been repaired</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Warning: this purchase cannot clean up the dead demon or all of the blood. You will have to do that yourself.</li>


    </ul>


    You have Purchased Perfect Architecture ¢ú for 55 points


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Your settlement has been reinforced with settlement magic, ensuring it won''t be casually destroyed by a monster falling on it or from your own troops trading blows inside of its halls. </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Any damage will slowly (very slowly) repair itself over time</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">This ability does not affect construction workers and allows them to make repairs, tear down old structures and make modifications without having to have a maxed-out strength score.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">New structures will gain the benefits of Perfect Architecture ¢ú </li>


    </ul>


    You have Purchased Personal Growth ¢ñ for 1 Settlement point


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+10% to all XP Gains for all residents within your settlement</li>


    </ul>


    You have Purchased Health ¢ñ for 1 Settlement point


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+10% to the Health Pools for all residents within your territory</li>


    </ul>


    You have Purchased Mana ¢ñ for 1 Settlement point


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+10% to the Mana Pools for all residents within your territory</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom sighed as his settlement points dropped to zero. But that was fine. When the settlement hit level 2, he would get another one hundred settlement points, and he could make more modifications. But he would need to have at least a population of 200 people in his settlement, and without the in-game NPCs, he wasn''t sure how long that would take.


    Taking another moment, he assigned the rest of his levels.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Leveled up: You are now a Level 1 [Aquamancer] - Lesser


    As the only member of your party with a leadership-type class, you are now the guildmaster of Awoken Myths by default. This title is contingent on you remaining the guild leader. You have selected the skill [Aquamancy] - Inferior


    [Aquamancy]: +1% to your Water Magic Mastery per skill level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Leveled up: You are now a Level 1 [Geomancer] - Lesser


    As the only member of your party with a leadership-type class, you are now the guildmaster of Awoken Myths by default. This title is contingent on you remaining the guild leader. You have selected the skill [Geomancy] - Inferior


    [Geomancy]: +1% to your Earth Magic Mastery per skill level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Leveled up: You are now a Level 1 [Earth Mage] - Common


    As the only member of your party with a leadership-type class, you are now the guildmaster of Awoken Myths by default. This title is contingent on you remaining the guild leader. You have selected the skill [Earth Magic] - Inferior


    [Earth Magic]: +0.5% to your Earth magic Mastery per skill level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "TTTOOOOMM!" Chloe screamed like a hurricane as she ran up to the corpse of the demon lord to give him a tackle hug.


    "Oof," Tom felt his breath leave him as Chloe slammed into him, pressing into him as she hugged him.


    "Hey, peanut," Tom said as he hugged his little sister.


    "Too loud," Skippy moaned as he woke up.


    Lucy, Betty, and Alex followed in. Lucy looked a little skittish but fine.


    "Did you guys kill this monster?" Chloe whispered as if they were not standing on the demon''s corpse.


    "It''s a demon, and yes, we killed it," Tom said. "Skippy, could you stick all this stuff into your inventory"


    Skippy shrugged, touched the demon lord''s severed head, and dumped it into his inventory.


    "Is it safe?" Betty asked as she started with wide eyes at the carnage.


    "It''s perfectly safe. So Tom, what do we do now?" Alex asked.


    "We should set up our rooms. A bed sounds really nice right now. We could unload all of Alex''s stuff and set up some living quarters. As for the settlement, we have enough points to activate the beacon and draw in some more players. But before that, I got a couple of items from the tutorial. We can set those up, then clear up all the demons."


    "Um, I still need to get my bloodline," Abaddon said.


    "Which bloodline?" Tom asked.


    "Bloodline of the Lesser Hydra," Abaddon said.


    Tom considered blowing Abaddon off. He was tired and felt like he could topple over at any moment, but on the other hand, the Lesser Hydra wasn''t too hard to get their hands on or deal with. And they really needed all the power they could get.


    "Fine, I guess." Tom shrugged. We can knock that out before the end of the day.


    Tom could summon a bunch of wild lesser hydra from the nether pretty easily, and it wasn''t too high level for their group, as long as none of them got loose.


    "Alright then," Tom said as he pulled out his loot from beating the tutorial and started adding them to the settlement.


    "What''s that?" Abaddon asked.


    "I got a bunch of settlement seeds from the tutorial. I was originally just going to sell them, but now."


    "Hold on, I got some settlement seeds as well," Alex said.


    "Same," Skippy said.


    Tom watched as they loaded the settlement seed with smaller, colorful crystals, each representing a different reward from the tutorial boss.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations on adding Settlement Templates to your Settlement Core. These seeds, once integrated, allow the player to place fully formed constructs anywhere within the bounds of their settlement.


    You have added a [Arnolds Millstone] to your settlement. You can now place [Arnolds Millstone] within your settlement.


    You have added a [Torch Dragon Egg] to your settlement. You can now place a [Torch Dragon Fetus] within your settlement.


    You have added a [Purifying Onsen] to your settlement. You can now place [Purifying Onsen] within your settlement.


    You have added an [Enchanters Table] to your settlement. You can now place [Enchanters Table] within your settlement.


    You have added a [Adamantite Anvil] to your settlement. You can now place an [Adamantite Anvil] within your settlement.


    You have added a [Broken Energy Condenser] to your settlement. You can now place [Broken Energy Condenser] within your settlement.


    You have added a [Mana Converter] to your settlement. You can now place [Mana Converter] within your settlement.


    You have added a [Pit Arena] to your settlement. You can now place [Pit Arena] within your settlement.


    You have added a [Deep Mine Crafting Table] to your settlement. You can now place [Deep Mine Crafting Table] within your settlement.


    You have added a [Alchemist''s Cauldron of Avaricious Wisdom] to your settlement. You can now place [Alchemist''s Cauldron of Avaricious Wisdom] within your settlement.


    You have added a [Dreamers Pillows] to your settlement. You can now place [Dreamers Pillows] within your settlement.


    You have added a [GreenHouse] to your settlement. You can now place [GreenHouse] within your settlement.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What are settlement templates?" Chloe asked.


    "You can create Special rooms or buildings in a settlement," Tom said. Abaddon, where are your settlement seeds?"


    "I have no agility or dexterity. How was I supposed to loot a chest in ten seconds?" Abaddon asked.


    Tom had to admit that was as good a reason as any.


    "Did you guys get anything else?" Tom asked.


    "A few skill books, a lot of junk weapons," Skippy said.


    "Same," Alex and Abaddon agreed.


    "Pretty much the same here." Tom noted as he opened their inventory, "Let''s just see what skill books we have: Smith, Alchemist, Enchanter, Farmer, fisherman, another farmer, a cook, a hunter, a crafter, another enchanter, another smith, a jeweler, a gambler, bard, prostitute, and an Arena master skill book. I''ll be honest, that''s a lot."


    "Tom!!" Chloe cut in. "Are we going to live here now?"


    "Yes, peanut."


    "Does that mean no more TV?" she asked.


    Tom blinked. "Why wouldn''t you watch any TV?"


    "Because we aren''t allowed to watch TV at school," Chloe said.


    Tom chuckled. " Don''t worry, peanut. You can watch TV as soon as we set things up."


    "Alex, could you and skippy take Chloe and our guest up to the third floor and start setting things up. Abaddon and I will head out back and grab him a bloodline."


    "Sure, come on, pumpkin. We get to set up your new room," Alex said as her magic reached out and took over Tom''s levitation spell.


    "Really?!" Chloe cheered as Alex took Skippy from Abaddon and walked towards the third floor.


    "Are you sure the two of us can beat a lesser hydra?" Abaddon asked. "I don''t have anything to stop their regeneration."


    "It''s fine. I''ve got enough fireball scrolls to kill at least three lesser hydras," Tom said.


    Abaddon shrugged as they turned and headed to the back of the school. Tom sighed as he looked down at his clothes.


    "I''m going to need a change of clothes after this," Tom said.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 525


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 675


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2700


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 7.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 9.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 15.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 32% Soul 21%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1, Water Mage 1, Earth Mage 1, Geomancer 1, Aquamancer 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 45


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 150


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 135


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 120


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 45


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 150


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 135


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 120


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 26[Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18[Library of Akashic Records] - Level 19[Universal] - Level 16[Wordsmith] - Level 18[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 21[Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 5[Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 2[Soul Forge] - Level 10+5 PER per level+5 INT per level</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 17/60: Skill Points: 3


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 12


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 8


    Augur 06/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 22 >> Level 25


    - [Art of Life] - Level 13 >> Level 15


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 8


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 11


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 9 >> Level 10


    - [Leadership ¢ò] - Level 20 >> Level 11


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 12 >> Level 15


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 5 >> Level 10


    - [Logistics ¢ò] - Level 10 >> Level 12


    Water Mage 01/11


    - [Water Magic] - Level 7 >> Level 15


    Aquamancer 01/11


    - [Aquamancy] - Level 1


    Earth Mage 01/11


    - [Earth Magic] - Level 1


    Geomancer 01/11


    - [Geomancy] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 21: Bloodline of the Lesser Hydra

    It didn''t take them long to get to the back of the school. The school itself was backed up against a steep slope covered in trees, and only a single road separated the trees from the school. Abaddon looked up; the sun was already setting. He looked over at Tom.


    "Could you get us some lights, please?" he asked.


    "Sure," Tom said.


    Tom cast a few glow lights that hovered in the air, providing them with plenty of light.


    Abaddon wasn''t really looking forward to getting covered in Hydra''s blood.


    "This is going to suck. Hydra blood is stupid poisonous," Abaddon said.


    "What are you talking about? Your [giant] type is immune to poison," Tom said.


    Abaddon frowned.


    "What are you talking about? Hydras have [Corrosive Poison], remember? That will bypass my immunity."


    "You''re thinking about proper Hydras. Lesser Hydras don''t have that skill." Tom pointed out.


    "They don''t?" Abaddon asked, confused. "Why don''t I remember that?"


    "Because most people don''t have poison immunity this early in the game, so unless you actually study monsters, most people wouldn''t care enough to learn the difference. Hell, I only remember the difference because I have a memory skill."


    "Huh," Abaddon nodded. "You learn something new every day."


    Abaddon watched as Tom started to draw lines in the air, a summoning circle. Hydras existed in the nether realm. They couldn''t go to the Nether, so Tom was going to call one. A magical spell that allowed a creature to show up if it answered the call. Of course, it wouldn''t be controlled. This would be a wild hydra. Abaddon had no idea how Tom managed to keep all of those glyphs and symbols in his head, though it was probably the knowledge skill he had.


    As Tom finished the ritual, a three-headed hydra the size of a car dropped out of the air and landed on the pavement. Its four legs scrambled as the three heads hissed at them in outrage. Abaddon got ready to rumble, but Tom pulled out three scrolls and activated them simultaneously.


    "Fireball," Tom called out.


    Instantly, the lesser hydra was consumed in the fire as three fireballs detonated center mass. The fire immediately roasted the hydra''s flesh, stripping it from its body as it writhed in agony. The hydra immediately charged at Tom, but Tom was already casting two more spells.


    "Water Blade, Solar Lance," Tom said without an ounce of care.


    His water blade decapitated two of three heads, while his lance impacted the hydra''s center of mass before exploding, killing the hydra instantly.


    "What the hell? You just ¡­ anti-climatic." Abaddon protested.


    "Really, you want to waste hours fighting a lesser hydra? Its bane is fire magic, with three fireballs that do about nine hundred points of damage," Tom said.


    "Just feels like you''re sucking all the fun out of it," Abaddon said.


    "Now check the corpse and move it aside. I want to take [Master Aquamancer] and [Master Geomancer] classes before we activate the beacon. So I need at least one more level."


    Abaddon shoved his hand into the lesser hydra''s gaping chest. He forced his hand through the bloody chest wound, his fingers digging towards the hydra''s heart. When he was up to his elbow, his hand met the stringy tissue of the heart. Grabbing the organ, he ripped it out. He stared at the heart, looking for a small crystalline core anywhere on the heart, but found none.


    "Dud," Abaddon said.


    "Fuck" Tom said. "Alright, we need to move it. So, where do we put it?"


    Abaddon looked around. Quickly spying on a dumpster.


    "Dumpster," Abaddon said, pointing it out.


    "Really? We''re going to be infusing you with hydra blood. Do you really want garbage mixed in with that?" Tom asked.


    "Then wash it out," Abaddon said.


    "Ok, yeah, that works," Tom said.


    Abaddon moved over and picked up the dumpster. He was a little surprised that he could just pick up a freakin dumpster. Walking up to the ledge that sat at the back of the school, he dumped the contents of the dumpster out, sending bags of garbage down the hill, bouncing off trees, and painting the snow in a myriad of colors.


    "My turn," Tom said.


    Tom held up his hands, and two streams of water shot out of his hands as he hosed down the inside of the dumpster. They made sure to get all of the nasty crevices. When the Dumpster was completely soaked, Tom stopped.


    "Good enough?" Abaddon asked.


    "Hydra blood is poisonous. It should be good enough," Tom said.


    Abaddon nodded and dragged the dumpster back to the lesser hydra''s corpse. Picking up the corpse, he dumped it into the dumpster.


    "Alright, next hydra," Tom said as new lines of light magic began to form.


    Abaddon stepped back and waited as Tom summoned another Hydra. They started to get into a routine. Tom summoned a lesser Hydra, killed it, and then Abaddon checked for a magic core before he placed it in the dumpster. They did this eight more times before they found a magic core.


    "It''s got a core!!" Abaddon said as he tore out a small red orb from his massive reptile hand.


    "Finally," Tom cheered. At least we''ve got twice as many corpses as we needed. Alright, dump the corpses on the ground, get out of your clothes, and I''ll do the ritual again."


    Abaddon quirked his eyebrow as he pulled an additional four lesser hydras from the dumpster and placed them in a pentagram set up on the ground. He then sat in the center with the hydra''s magic core in his hand.


    "This would have been so much easier if we had the harvest skill," Tom muttered.


    "I''m more surprised you picked up a ritual skill for bloodlines," Abaddon said.


    "Oh, I didn''t," Tom muttered as he started to draw a circle above him.


    That caused Abaddon to pause.


    "Then how are you planning on doing this ritual? You normally need a bit of help getting a bloodline ritual to work."


    "The ink heart bloodline helped with rituals, and the bloodline of the keeper of akashic records makes this painfully easy. I can remember how the ritual is supposed to look, and I can feel any mistakes I make."


    "Really?" Abaddon asked, surprised as he pulled off his shirt.


    "Chloe has the same bloodline, somehow. While I''m not sure, I want her to try to write out a bloodline ritual without any help. She might actually be able to do something a little less complex on her own."


    "Damm, that''s cool." Abaddon nodded.


    "Says the guy who''s about to be able to regrow limbs." Tom snorted.


    Abaddon watched as the ritual circle turned crimson, the seven lesser hydras now each at the seven points of the ¡­ It wasn''t a pentagram, but he didn''t know what it was called. Regardless, angry blood-red glyphs started to appear along the lines of the pentagram, almost bleeding into reality. Abaddon immediately felt his ¡­ hair ¡­ scales. Something stood up on end. Abaddon could hear his own heartbeat quietly at first, but it started to get louder as Tom''s first blood ritual began.


    The blood of the hydras started to rise up off the ground, vibrating and bouncing as the drops of blood started to orbit his body. Tom started to chant words of power, energizing the ritual, words Abaddon couldn''t understand even if he knew what they were. The drops of blood started to spin around him faster and faster in a crimson vortex. The lesser hydra''s body broke apart as more and more blood joined the ritual. At this point, Abaddon''s heart was beating so loudly in his ear that it was deafening, and his nose was filled with the stink of sour iron.


    The magic core in his lap started to sink into his skin painfully. It was like someone had dropped a molten orb of glass into his lap as the core fused into his body. He tried to scream but couldn''t; he was frozen as he fused with the orb.


    When the orb finally finished integrating with him, all the blood swirling around him stopped before rushing toward him. The blood went up every orifice his body had as the blood tried to change him. Eyes, nose, mouth, ass, It even seeped into his scales and into his skin as his bone marrow was changed and altered at the most fundamental level. In the meantime, Abaddon was literally drowning under the literal ocean of blood as it tried to force its way into him.


    Then it was over; he was lying on the ground with a notification in his vision.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, you have acquired a Bloodline.


    [Bloodline of the Lesser Hydra] - Rare: Those with the Hydras Bloodline exemplify the traits of the Hydra regenerating from gruesome wounds, surviving having critical organs damaged, killing people just by bleeding on them, and being immune to and enjoying the consumption of poison.


    [Regeneration] - Level N/A[Redundant Organs] - Level 56 >> Level 78[Toxic Blood] - Level 25 >> Level 31[Poison Conasuir] - Level 32 +3 CON per Level</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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


    "Hey, are you ok?" Tom asked. His friend''s voice cut through his mind as a golden light surfed his body, trying to heal him and failing. His new regeneration had already repaired all the damage he had suffered from the ritual.


    "I feel great," Abaddon said. "I think I''m going to buy some skills, then I''m going to bed. I need [Heavy Blow], [Power Strike], and [Inflated Muscles] eventually."


    Tom looked at him in confusion.


    "Doesn''t [Inflated Muscles] cut your Agility and Dexterity in half for a 50% boost in your Strength? That skill is a joke."


    Abaddon rolled his eyes.


    "Yeah, but if I upgrade it to [Enlarge], I can grow bigger, and once I do that, I can combine it with [Monster lifeforce] to unlock [Lesser Colossus]. Unfortunately, I don''t have enough skill slots, so I''m going to take [Power Strike] and [Heavy Blow] first and combine them into [Giga Impact]."


    "Alright, I will take back my complaints," Tom apologized. "Also, here are your pants."


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!! You have acquired the Skill: [Heavy Blow] - Uncommon


    [Heavy Blow]: Increase the weight behind your next attack equal to 3% multiplied by your skill level. This skill can be stacked with other strike skills. Cost 45 stamina


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!! You have acquired the Skill: [Power Strike] - Lesser


    [Power Strike]: Increase Strength stat by 0.5% per skill level for your next attack. Cost: 12 Stamina. This skill cannot be stacked with multiple strike skills.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <hr>


    Tom''s teeth chattered as he and Abaddon made their way back to the third floor. He had needed to hose them both down in the middle of winter due to all the blood. They came back inside shivering, but they wouldn''t decadently position anyone.


    When they got up to the third floor, they found Alex had arranged their rooms. She had picked the classrooms overseeing the courtyard from the east side, all four of them. She had removed all of the desks and chairs into the hallway before setting up their new rooms. Unfortunately, her parent''s house only had two beds and a pull-out couch, so Abaddon and Skippy would be sharing the pullout for the forcible future, and Tom was sharing with Chloe. Alex might have been the luckiest as she had been able to transport the entirety of her old room into her new room.


    But Tom was fine with that. He looked around his new room, which had somehow also become the group''s meeting room. He and his sister had a massive king-sized bed in one corner of the room, with a living room set up for the rest of the room, with furniture from Alexis''s living room. All of his friends were currently in his room.


    Alex had kept the teacher''s desk but switched out the old computer with Tom''s own upgraded rig, the wifi was still working, and Skippy was sitting at the desk.


    "What are you doing, Skippy?" Tom asked.


    "I''m on the Legend of Noralon Forms," Skippy said. "Seeing how the rest of the community is doing."


    "Anything interesting?" Tom asked.


    "I''m not sure how to answer that question," Skippy said hesitantly. "The system seems to be everywhere. Sultans fighting Racsasha in India, Artemis is texting in from the Tower of London, and I''ve got messages from a few other people we know around the North American region. The message is the same: system this, monster that, we claimed this settlement, lots of celebrating, lots of concern."


    Tom sighed. "Well, I can''t complain, especially considering we did literally the same thing. See if you can set up a proper chat. We want to start sharing information as much as possible. The last thing we need is to find out we''re sitting on a ley line."


    Skippy jerked at his mention of a ley line and started typing rapidly.


    "Loving the setup, by the way," Tom said as he turned to Alex.


    "Thanks; I figured you would, " Alex said as Betty kept trying to get the TV from Alex''s house to work.


    Abaddon had crashed in the lazy boy chair and had almost instantly fallen asleep.


    Someone even managed to plug in some appliances, such as a fridge and microwave, which now occupy the room like a loft apartment.


    Tom looked over to Chloe. She had been burning through paper and pens they had brought for her before she crashed and fell asleep on the bed with Princess.


    Tom took a few moments to go over to the room''s bookshelves. He removed all of the old textbooks and replaced them with what he had regarding the Legend of Noralon. He also went ahead and added a few other books. He had managed to grab mostly a lot of fictional stuff, like Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson, and Harry Potter, stuff he could read to Chloe. He had also grabbed a bunch of movies and stashed them on the shelves.


    "I''m pooped," Tom muttered as he lounged on the couch next to Alex. He was completely exhausted. He had managed to get the levels in aquamancer, earth mage, and geomancer, but he was way too tired to combine them at the moment.


    "Same, but it feels good. Right?" Alex asked


    "Yeah, I know that this was probably the end of the world for a lot of people, but I think today was the best day ever," Tom said as he leaned against his friend.


    "I got it," Betty said as she finally got the TV working. The new channel clicked on the TV. The news was talking about the appearance of screens and animal attacks. No one appeared to be using the word system apocalypse. In fact, It didn''t appear as if it was an apocalypse. There have been lots of animal attacks so far, even plenty of chaos. But nothing truly apocalyptic yet. Tom couldn''t help but notice that there had been no mention of the Wyvern they had seen earlier, and from what Tom knew about Wyverns, that thing was definitely bulletproof.


    "So this is happening everywhere?" Betty asked, horrified.


    "Yep, welcome to Noralon," Tom said.


    Betty just sat down next to Tom and Alex, not saying a single word. Tom wasn''t sure what he could do for her. She was traumatized, and other than giving her time, Tom couldn''t do anything for her.


    "So, should I activate the beacon now or later?" Tom asked, bringing up the option in the settlement interphase.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Light the Beacon


    You light the beacon, sending out a signal to all nearby players and drawing them towards your settlement. This purchase is a one-time effect, notifying everyone in range once before it needs to be purchased again.


    [Beacon ¢ñ]: Range of the Beacon: 10 miles: 1 Settlement points


    [Beacon ¢ò]: Range of the Beacon: 20 miles: 3 Settlement points


    [Beacon ¢ó]: Range of the Beacon: 30 miles: 6 Settlement points


    [Beacon ¢ô]: Range of the Beacon: 40 miles: 10 Settlement points


    [Beacon ¢õ]: Range of the Beacon: 50 miles: 15 Settlement points


    [Beacon ¢ö]: Range of the Beacon: 60 miles: 21 Settlement points


    [Beacon ¢÷]: Range of the Beacon: 70 miles: 28 Settlement points


    [Beacon ¢ø]: Range of the Beacon: 80 miles: 36 Settlement points


    [Beacon ¢ù]: Range of the Beacon: 90 miles: 45 Settlement points


    [Beacon ¢ú]: Range of the Beacon: 100 miles: 55 Settlement points


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Set it up to activate in the morning," Alex said sleepily.


    "Shouldn''t we do it now?" Tom asked.


    "Hell no, it''s going to be dark soon. If you activate it now, people will be wandering around in the dark. "


    "I hate it, but you''re right," Tom muttered sleepily to her.


    But Alex was already asleep against his shoulder. Tom signed the cheapest and set it to activate at 9 a.m. tomorrow. He used the settlement interphase to lock down the school, and then he fell asleep, wondering how the rest of the world was doing.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Abaddon (Hector Fortane)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Lizard-Man


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Giant


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Crocodile


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 2010


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 3120


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 300


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 16.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 29.7 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 4.5 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Poison


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 50%, Disease 50%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 50%, Frost 50%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Scaleslayer, Giantslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Giantslayer 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 45


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 135


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 132


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 45


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 45


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 135


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 120 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 45


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 END, +3 STR, +3 CON, +2 PER +2 SPIRIT


    Racial: +3 END, +2 STR, +2 CON +1 PER


    Bloodline: +3 CON


    Giantslayer Skills: +2 AGIL


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Lesser Hydra] - Rare: The distilled essence of what makes a hydra a hydra: regenerating from gruesome wounds, surviving having critical organs damaged, killing people just by bleeding on them, and being immune to and enjoying the consumption of poison.


    - [Regeneration] - Level N/A


    - [Redundant Organs] - Level 1


    - [Toxic Blood] - Level 1


    - [Poison Conasuir] - Level 1


    - +3 CON per Level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 16/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Natural Arms and Armour] - Level N/A


    - [Aquatic Predator] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Storage] - Level 22 >> Level 23


    - [Mapping] - Level 6 >> Level 11


    - [System Wiki] - Level 7 >> Level 10


    - [Siegebreaker] - Level 22


    Giantslayer 10/16


    - [Immortal Fists] - Level 23 >> Level 25


    - [Monster Lifeforce (Giant)] - N/A


    - [Giant Slayer] - N/A


    - [Secound Stage] - Level 8


    - [Endless Bralwer] - Level 9 >> Level 17


    - Capstone: [Legendary Strength] - Level N/A


    - [Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum] - Level 1 >> Level 9


    - [Charge] - Level 1 >> Level 5


    - [Power Strike] - Level 1


    - [Heavy Blow] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 22: Tales of the System Apocolypse â… : Luke Graceson

    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Welcome to the System, Luke Graceson!!!


    As you did not take advantage of the extensive guide the system provided six years ago, your muggle will now be initiating your world to the system without the tutorial.


    Cliff notes version: You get a system, classes, and skills. Most of your landmarks and population centers will be turned into Dungeons or Settlements to soak up the excess mana and prevent everyone from dying from mana poisoning.


    If you want any additional advice, please find a settlement, avoid the dungeons, as they produce monsters, and try not to die. Maybe try to find a [Beta-Tester] who actually knows what they''re doing.


    Peace the Fuck Out.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Luke groaned as his free hand swiped at the blue box in front of my face, as he cracked his eyes open. He was pretty sure he hadn''t drunk anything last night, so why the hell ¡­ Almost as soon as the box disappeared, another appeared, obscuring the small two-person tent that I was sleeping in.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline Detected


    Bloodline of Poseidon - Legendary


    Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following skills.


    [Power of the Sea God] - Level 1


    <ol>


    <ol>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Channel the immense might of the sea to enhance your magical prowess. This skill boosts your Water magic Mastery by 5% per skill level. Additionally, gain a 3% increase per skill level in the effectiveness of your Earth, Air, and Life magic Mastery. Harness the ocean''s boundless energy to fortify your elemental control and amplify your spellcasting capabilities.</li>


    </ul>


    </ol>


    </ol>


    [Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 1


    <ol>


    <ol>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Embrace the power of Poseidon¡¯s domain and master the depths. You can breathe underwater effortlessly, enhancing your survival in aquatic environments. Gain +0.5% resistance to physical and elemental attacks per skill level. Additionally, your regeneration rate while submerged increases by 1% per skill level, allowing you to heal faster in the water. </li>


    </ul>


    </ol>


    </ol>


    [Kin of Horses] - Level 1


    <ol>


    <ol>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You gain an empathetic link with all horses; they recognize you as family and inherently trust you while you are riding them. This improves your relationship with and Mastery for riding horses by 2.5% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    </ol>


    </ol>


    [Born Sailor] - Level 1


    <ol>


    <ol>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Enhance your innate understanding and skill in sailing and navigating the seven seas. Gain +2.5% proficiency in sailing and navigation per skill level. Additionally, your movement speed in or on water increases by +5% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    </ol>


    </ol>


    [Natural Born Leader] - Level 1


    <ol>


    <ol>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Form a party with three members per skill level. Your party gains +0.5% Mental Resistance per skill level. You can communicate clearly across any medium, even in noisy environments or space.</li>


    </ul>


    </ol>


    </ol>


    [Master of Death] - Level 1


    <ol>


    <ol>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gain +1.25% Mastery with all weapons per skill level, applying universally to any weapon. Further, enhance your understanding of weaponry and its uses by 1% per skill level. Mastery of death extends to all tools of death, making you a formidable force in any battle.</li>


    </ul>


    </ol>


    </ol>


    [Greek Tragedy] - Level 1


    <ol>


    <ol>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gain +2% to all skill and XP gains per level, accelerating your growth. Increase the chance by 1% per level to tempt a monster to try and eat you. Your journey mirrors the dramatic rise and fall of ancient Greek heroes, filled with both rapid advancement and peril.</li>


    </ul>


    </ol>


    </ol>


    [Divine Assistance (Guide)] - Level 1


    <ol>


    <ol>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Your father has arranged for a guide to assist you in these troubled times. Increase this skill in order to allow your guide to access more of its own skills and levels.+</li>


    </ul>


    </ol>


    </ol>


    +5 STR per level


    +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What the ¡­?" Luke muttered.


    RRRROOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!


    Luke flew out of bed as an ear-shaking roar shook his room. Literally shaken, pictures of him and his mom fell off the shelf and crashed to the floor as Luke fell out of bed and tried to scramble to his feet. He looked out his window just in time to see a dragon strafe his house.


    "What the hell?" Luke muttered as he jerked forward and nearly fell to the ground. He was still tangled up in his bed sheets, and the fact that he hadn''t even bothered to change out of his clothes from last night or take off his shoes didn''t help.


    He ripped it off, pulling his 6''2" frame to a standing position. Swiping his sandy hair out of his eyes, he stared at the dragon flying off into the distance.


    "Alright, I¡¯m awake, and this is not a dream. This can¡¯t be happening. I mean, sure, it¡¯s happening, but how?" Luke muttered to himself.


    Luke reached out to touch the screen. He could feel something, a slight tactile sensation. He stared at his hand as he started manipulating the screen, navigating it like an iPad, which made no sense since it was just a screen hanging in the middle of the air. He flicked it away, watching the window shrink.


    "This made no sense," Luke muttered to himself as he paced the room.


    "Ok, ok, let''s review this," Luke said as he re-read the information. "So. I have Bloodline. And there¡¯s a system providing the skills and classes. There are also going to be dungeons and monsters, and I¡¯m in a frigging video game without a damn manual. So I need information, a wiki or maybe a guide?"


    "You called?" a voice cut in.


    "Gah!" Luke screamed as he leapt into the air and twisted around to see who had spoken.


    A one-foot-tall man sat on a cloud before him, hovering two feet off the ground. He had slicked-back black hair and wore a purple toga. The cloud covered his entire lower half.


    "Who the fuck are you?" he screamed.


    "Not so loud, godling, I''m right here. I am your guide. Names Theo, didn''t you read the notification, dumbass?"


    "Well, I," Luke began.


    "You know what doesn''t matter. Give me a minute while I check your status."


    A window appeared in front of Theo, a window that had Luke''s name on it.


    "Hey, what are you doing?" Luke asked.


    "My job, godling," Theo said as he looked through floating screens.


    "Why do you keep calling me that?" Luke asked.


    "Keep calling you what godling?" Theo asked


    "That, godling. Why?" Luke asked.


    They raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.


    "Because that''s what you are godling. Little god or demigod. Son of one of the gods.


    "Wait, you are telling me god is real," Luke asked, perplexed.


    "No, I said, gods. Let me repeat myself in case you''re deaf: gods. Lowercase g with an s at the end of the plural. Great beings that can control the weather and shit."


    "This doesn''t make any sense," Luke muttered.


    "You can make sense of it later, godling. My job is to keep you alive. It''s really simple, kid: Run, fight, or hide. Make your mind up before the monsters show up," Theo said.


    "Um, what do you recommend?" Luke asked.


    "Run. Your [Greek Tragedy] skill makes you monster bait. Until you can find a safe place, you will be hunted by monsters."


    "Alright then lets run." Luke decided.


    "Finally!" Theo exclaimed. It took the kid thirty minutes just to get us here. Let''s take a look at your class options."


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Options available:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fighter Class Options


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">As a fellow son of Poseidon, you hear your half-brother''s call to take up his mantle as the Rider of Pegasus.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">As a fellow son of Poseidon, you hear your half-brother''s call to become the Slayer of the Minotaur.</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Warrior - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Diver - Uncommon</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Water Enhancer - Rare</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Heir to Belephon - Legendary</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Heir to Theseus - Legendary</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Spellcaster Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aqua Mancer - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Water Mage - Common</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Rouge Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Swashbuckler - Epic</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ranged Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pirate - Rare</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ship Captain - Epic</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Support Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">None</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Crafter Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Sailor - Basic</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fisher - Basic</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "Ow, my gods, all water-based classes. What a surprise. I recommend one of the Heir classes," Theo said.


    "Why?" Luke asked


    "You want a class that would help you survive. Legendary class skills almost always give you a stat bonus. On top of that, your normal goal would be to upgrade your class to mythic or legendary anyway, so this means less work for both of us."


    "What do rarities mean anyway?" Luke asked.


    Theo sighed.


    "You really are dumb. All right, so rarity starts at Inferior, Lesser, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Historic, Ancient, Mythic, Legendary and Forgotten. You can ignore the last one because you''ll never see one.


    For classes, each increase in rarity increases the pool of possible skills you can pick from, while a skill''s increase in rarity increases the number of effects from each skill. Legendary and Mythic skills almost always give stat bonuses. But be warned: almost all Legendary classes and skills reference someone or something. So, if you pick [Heir to Theseus], then your class is going to focus on being a carbon copy of Theseus, even if it''s not helpful.


    So, little demigod, can you please choose between the king of Athens and the guy who rode a flying horse? I would recommend [Heir to Theseus] as his skills are better suited to your immediate situation," Theo said.


    As much as Luke was tempted to take Bellerophon and fly around, but Theo warned him that he would need to max out the class before he could fly anywhere, he decided to take Theo''s advice and pick [Heir to Theseus].


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level up!


    You are now a level 1[Heir to Theseus]


    +14 free stat points


    Please select a [Heir to Theseus] skill.


    You have selected the skill [First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippling Strike]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Heir to Theseus] - [First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippiling Strike] - Legendary


    The first labor of Theseus was to slay the bandit Periphetes.


    Periphetes'' Cripple Strike is the pinnacle of devastating precision. As you unleash this technique, your weapon undergoes a momentous transformation, increasing in length and size. Your strength surges, granting you a 1% boost in STR per skill level when you attack


    +10% to your STR


    Stamina costs: 75 Stamina


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Instantly, Luke felt his muscles bulge as what felt like liquid heat surged through his muscles.


    "This was the best one I could find," Theo said.


    "Why didn''t you let me choose?" Luke asked, annoyed.


    "Remember how I told you we needed to get out of here before monsters showed up?" Theo asked.


    "Yeah," Luke said, not liking where this was going.


    "Well, there is a level 2 cat downstairs that is coming up here to kill you," Theo said.


    Before Luke could say anything, there was a bang as something slammed into his bedroom door.


    "What the fuck!!" Luke cried out.


    "Grab that sword on your wall," Theo ordered, pointing to his replica of the master sword from the Legend of Zelda game.


    "It''s just a replica," Luke muttered as he pulled the sword from the wall.


    "Well, if you want to fight it bare-handed, you''re welcome to try," Theo said smugly as he examined his fingernails.


    The door to Luke''s room burst open, and a house cat, the size of a large dog, leaped into his room hissing.


    ¡°What the fuck!¡± Luck hissed at his so-called companion.


    He had no time to do anything beyond berating the floating ass since the cat noticed him. Turning, the cat began to stalk towards him. Bringing his sword up between them, Luke started to back up as he kept the naked blade between them.


    The cat lunges at him, catching Luke by surprise as he clumsily swung his sword at the cat. The blade bites into the cat''s shoulder at an odd angle, failing to penetrate very deeply. The cat landed on top of him, its claws digging into his flesh. With a roar, Luke tossed the cat off him with surprising ease.


    Bringing his sword around, he slammed the blade into the cat like it was a baseball bat. Over and over again, he brought the sharp metal stick down onto the monster cat in a panicked assault. He wasn''t sure when it stopped moving, but by the time he calmed down, the cat was a bloody smear on his bedroom floor. Luke just sat there, feeling the cat''s splattered blood roll down his face.


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Divine Assistance (Guide)] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 2>


    <Level up>


    "What the hell was that?!" he shouted at Theo.


    "A house cat that thought it could eat a little demigod for some easy level," Theo said with a shrug. "It turned out ok. You got some much-needed experience. So stop complaining."


    "So what do I do now?" Luke asked in shock as he stared down at what had apparently once been a house cat.


    "Put on some proper clothes, pack a bag with whatever you have, and get outside," Theo said. This isn''t a suggestion to do that; get some armor, food, water, and maybe a few more weapons."


    <hr>


    Luke left his home an hour later, and a fresh winter cloth covered his body. Under his clothes sat his football equipment. Theo said it was nearly worthless, but it was an improvement compared to the nothing he had been wearing. In his backpack, some space changes were made to clothes, water bottles, and food. The sword was slung over his shoulder as he left his home. Unfortunately, the car wasn''t in the driveway, so he was going to have to walk.


    Police cars raced by, heading east as he started down the road heading west.


    "So, little demigod, where are we going?" Theo asked.


    "Isn''t that your job?" Luke asked as he trudged along.


    "Technically, I''m only here to help you. But if you want my advice¡­" Theo looked at Luke pointedly.


    "Well?" Luke asked.


    Theo let out a sigh.


    "We need to find a settlement. Settlements have the ability to put up fields that repel monsters. So finding one of those will give us time to work on your skills. Unfortunately, I don''t know where any of the settlements are. Fortunately for you, little demigod, your class offers a skill that can tell us where the nearest settlement is at level 17. So, for now, we just need to get you some levels. Since we can do that anywhere, lead on, little demi-god." Theo said.


    Luke rolled his eyes and walked through the thick snow to Sam''s house. If it didn''t matter where he went, he would go to his friends.


    As he ran through the snow, he looked around, waiting for something else to jump out of the snow and try to kill him. People were in their cars and seemed to be going somewhere. Some people looked like they had their entire lives in their vehicles as they drove off.


    Luke wondered if he should follow but dismissed the idea. Right now, he would only hinder them because he apparently had a skill that attracted monsters to him.


    When he finally arrived at Sam''s house, he immediately noticed the collection of giant rats trying to bust down her door. Arrows stuck out of the rats'' sides at odd angles, even killing a few of them.


    "Well, godling back into the breach." Theo laughed as Luke charged forwards.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Demigod


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 2


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 315


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 485


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 480


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 3.2 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 4.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 1.3 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: None


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 1%, Elemental 1%, Mental 0.5%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 6


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 2


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 20 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 6


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 2


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 8 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary: Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    - [Power of the Sea God] - Level 1


    - [Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Kin of Horses] - Level 1


    - [Born Sailor] - Level 1


    - [Natural Born Leader] - Level 1


    - [Master of Death] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Greek Tragedy] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Divine Assistance (Guide)] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - +5 STR per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 3/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Endless Brawler] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Storyteller] - Level N/A


    Heir to Theseus 04/11


    - [First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippling Strike] - Level 1</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 23: Tales of the System Apocolypse â…¡: Samantha Mato

    Luke panted as he stabbed downwards into the giant rat.


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 4>


    "Well done, little godling, you managed to kill a couple of oversized rodents," Theo said.


    "Ok, Luke, what the hell is that thing?" Sam asked, looking at Theo as she yanked yet another arrow out of one of the dead rats.


    "He''s my guide, I guess." Luke panted. "Apparently, he''s here because of my dad."


    "Your Dad? I thought your dad left your mom before you were even born." Sam said, a note of concern entering her voice.


    "Gods tend to do that." Theo scoffed. "Come down to the material plane, make some babies, and then fuck off without even paying child support. Bunch of dipshits if you ask me."


    "Gods?" Sam asked.


    "Yep. Godling here is the son of the god of the sea, father of horses, shaker of the earth blah blah blah." Theo yapped.


    "Wait, hold on a second. Are you saying that Luke is the son of Poseidon?" Sam asked.


    "You got it, toots," Theo said as he looked at another one of those system screens.


    "Call me toots again, and I will shoot you," Sam warned.


    "You are welcome to try. Just make sure to join the godling''s party first." Theo said.


    "What part .. oh ok," Sam muttered.


    <Samatha North has Joined the Party>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 2>


    "Can we talk about this later, please?" Luke begged.


    "I''d rather talk about you being a discount Percy Jackson now," Sam chuckled.


    "I think the monsters are more important," Luke said, trying to change the subject.


    It only half worked.


    "Fine, but we are talking about this later," Sam said.


    "Let''s see if we can find the rest of the guys," Luke said.


    "Look at the little demigod playing the hero. Here, this should help keep you alive." Theo said.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level up!


    You are now a level 4 [Heir to Theseus]


    +42 free stat points


    Please select a [Heir to Theseus] skill.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Your Racial skill: [Storyteller] has been upgraded by a skill point into the Class skill: [Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Heir to Theseus] - [Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Legendary


    Politicians, managers, hucksters¡ªall kinds of people have all sorts of insights into the human condition. Theseus was perhaps more gifted than others in this field. When Theseus faced Sinis, he figured the man out and tricked the bandit into stepping into his own trap. Then, he had sex with the serial killer''s daughter and fathered his first child. Now, you, too, can take part in Theseus'' amazing charisma.


    +5% chance per level to accurately determine a person''s true intentions, actions, and even thoughts based on body language


    +5% chance per level to detect when your opponent is lying


    +0.25% chance to [Charm] a person per level


    +10% CHA


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Luke blinked as he felt his pants become significantly tighter despite the cold weather. His injuries hurt less, and the burning in his lungs lessened. It wasn''t like he was well rested, but more like what he had just done became less draining.


    "Why the hell did you give me that skill?" Luke said.


    Theo rolled his eyes.


    "Witch skill?" he asked.


    "The [Second Labor]," Luke spat angrily. "Why did you just give me ¡­"


    "a bigger penis?" Theo asked loudly in full hearing range of Sam.


    "What this about you getting a bigger penis?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "Kill me," Luke groaned.


    "Maybe later," Sam said as he patted his back.


    "Boys and their toys, am I right, girlfriend," Theo asked as he flew over to Sam.


    Sam swiped at him as he tried to get closer.


    "I can see you trying to look down my shirt perv. Maybe you should go back to fapping in the dark where no one can see your ugly mug."


    "I like this one. At least she fights back." Theo chuckled.


    "Come on, let''s find the rest of the guys," Luke said, already done with this conversation.


    "It shouldn''t be too hard. I was texting them to meet up at the park nearby before the rats showed up. We can get there quickly enough."


    Luke nodded and started to jog after Sam through the deep snow as they left the area. Theo flew after them as dark clouds started to gather overhead.


    "Hey, toots. You have three levels in Ranger, yes?" Theo asked.


    Sam frowned at him. "How do you know that?"


    "I am a system guide. One of my skills is [Identify]. It lets me see your status page, among other things. Anyway, you''re going to want to take a couple levels of rouge as well."


    "Why?" Sam asked suspiciously.


    "Classes have a rarity. Increasing the rarity of your classes is one of the easiest ways to increase your personal power. Godling over here gets to cheat and starts off with a legendary class. You need to increase the rarity of your class in the old-fashioned way. The easiest and safest way to do this is to take complementary classes and combine them." Theo explained.


    "Hmm, well, my dad always told me to listen to spirits. Not sure if he meant assholes like you, though." Sam said begrudgingly.


    "Where did all your snark go?" Luke asked.


    "I''m only rude to self-entitled little demigods," Theo said. "By the way, there''s a group of humans getting attacked up ahead."


    Luke''s words cut off as they rounded the corner, coming across their friends. They were in their sports uniforms, helmets, gloves, arm and shin guards. Some of them had hockey sticks, some had baseball bats, and a small few had axes. And they were fighting a giant black hippo. The thing was easily six feet tall and almost twenty feet long.


    Even as Luke ran towards the hippo on instinct, the monster slammed one of his friends into the ground as it trampled over him. Pure rage coursed through Luke Viens as he charged at raising his sword as he activated [First Labor] for the first time. His Legend of Zelda sword glowed orange, growing into a massive two-handed blade. The muscles in his arms bulged as he brought his now enlarged sword down on the hippo''s back, the blade slicing into the monster''s fatty flesh.


    "You idiot, you''re supposed to aim for the leg!!" Theo screamed. "Run you moron!!!"


    "Wha?" Luke began, but faster than he could react, the hippo twitched and body-slammed him, sending him tumbling across the ground for a dozen feet. He got his head up just in time to see the hippo charging him faster than he thought it would be capable of moving. It was bearing down on him, and he quickly realized he couldn''t escape before the hippo''s massive jaw snapped down on him.


    "[Power Strike]!!" Issac''s voice cut through the noise as he slammed into the hippo.


    Unlike the hippo''s own attack, Isaac''s didn''t send the hippo flying, but it was enough to cause it to stumble.


    "[Power strike]," Issac called out again, his pickaxe glowing red as he slammed it into the hippo''s side, not nearly as deeply as Luke''s own attack, but more than enough to piss it off.


    The hippo turned and bit into Issac''s leg with a sickening Crunch.


    Issac screamed in utter agony as his leg shattered.


    "Issac!" Gareth screamed as he charged towards his little brother.


    Luke got to his feet and raced alongside his friend as they closed in on the hippo.


    "Aim for its leg this time, Godling." Theo''s voice cut through the sound of his own blood pounding in his ear.


    This time, Luke brought his sword around and swung directly at the hippo''s front left leg as he activated [First Labor]. His augmented sword cleaved into the hippo''s leg with a sickening crack of its own.


    This time, it was the hippo''s turn to scream as it threw Issac from its mouth and moaned in pain. It writhed back and forth, its mouth open, as Luke backed off.


    "There you go, godling. Now circle around and get the other leg." Theo cheered.


    Luke didn''t need to be told twice as he moved to hippo''s back leg and hit it with another [First Labour]. This time the hippo''s entire left side collapsed to the ground, both legs too crippled to support its weight.


    It can''t fight back, so kill it!" Chad screamed as he picked up Issac''s pickaxe and lept at the hippo.


    Luke noticed that Chad started to hack at the hippo''s ass with the pickaxe, making sure to stay well away from the hippo''s head as it tried to bite at them.


    More people started to attack the hippo as well. Sam unleashed arrows at the head while other people started to attack the body. For a moment, Luke felt a little guilty; the hippo was helpless, and they were just beating it to death.


    "Don''t feel guilty." Theo''s voice cut into his thoughts.


    "What?" Luke asked stupidly as he looked up at his floating companion.


    "It''s dungeon born. Dungeon-born monsters have a built-in compulsion for high aggression. This hippo would have attacked and killed anything that wasn''t a hippo on sight, and even then, you wouldn''t want a dungeon born in your bloat." Theo said.


    "Why would a dungeon do that?" Luke asked.


    "Dungeons are alive, too. They''re kind of like pitcher plants. They use the treasure to lure in victims and then unleash enraged monsters on them in the hopes of consuming them."


    "But this isn''t a dungeon." Luke protested. "Why is it here?"


    Theo shrugged.


    "A dungeon breakout, probably. It''s pretty common. No one clears out the old monsters, and the dungeon just keeps producing them until the weakest of them are pushed out. That''s our friend over there."


    Luke looked back to the hippo; its body was bloody and beaten but alive even as people pounded away at its body. Gareth and Sam were trying to help Issac. But there were other people on the ground crying out in pain. People tried to help them with their injuries.


    "This thing was one of the weaker ones?" Luke asked.


    "Yep," Theo said. "Probably got pushed out by something a lot bigger."


    "I need to get a lot stronger," Luke muttered. "Can you do anything for the injured?"


    Theo shook his head, looking almost sad.


    "Sorry, godling. I''m a spirit of wind and lighting; healing magic isn''t my specialty. You''ll have to help your friends on your own."


    "Alright, can the system give me something to help them?" Luke asked desperately.


    "Nope, you don''t qualify for any healer-based classes," Theo said.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Do something. I don''t care what, just help them!!" Luke ordered angrily.


    "Fuck you too demigod. I''ll go and check to see if any of your people can qualify for a healer class." Theo said with a sneer as he flew off to look around.


    Luke turned back to the hippo''s bruised body and started hacking into it as if he could cleave all of his issues with his prop sword. He used [First Labour] over and over again as he hacked away at the Hippo.


    He didn''t know how long he had been attacking the hippo, but by the time he finally stopped, the hippo''s head had been cleaved from its shoulders.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations: you have killed Peranga, the deposed boss of the safari dungeon.


    You have earned the following reward:


    Amulet of Stabilization


    You can stabilize the injuries of any person until they can get help later for the low price of two hundred mana.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Theo!!" Luke called out, looking around wildly.


    "What?!" Theo asked as he flew over.


    "I just got loot for killing the hippo ¡­" Luke began.


    "I know I already gave it to your girlfriend while you were having a tantrum," Theo said.


    "Oh," Luke said.


    "I actually had to return the initial rewards to get the amulet," Theo said. "You were actually supposed to get a sword."


    "Wait, you can do that?" Luke asked.


    "It''s not as good as you think," Theo said. "Doing so means we lost half the value of your reward for killing the hippo. System rules."


    "I ¡­ you know what? It''s fine; we needed the amulet more," Luke said as he sat down.


    He was covered in blood now. One side of the blade of his prop sword was chipped from slamming it into the hippo''s neck over and over again. He felt exhausted. How had he gotten here this morning? He was just a kid with a single parent and teenage issues, and now ¡­ he ¡­ he didn''t know what he was now.


    "He''s gone," Gareth whispered, tears streaming down his face. The big guy looked like he was going to implode.


    "I''m sorry, Gareth." Sam apologized.


    To Luke, it felt like the crack of gunfire as he turned to look at Issac. Gareth''s little brother had bled out at some point. Even as Sam had tried to bandage the injury, Issac''s leg had nearly been bitten off, and the femur shattered under the hippo''s jaw.


    "It''s getting late. We should find somewhere to spend the night," Sam said as she wandered over.


    "Good idea," Luke said as he got up to follow her.


    "So what did you put your experience into?" Sam asked.


    "What?" Luke asked.


    "We got exp," Sam said, confused. "What did you do with it?"


    "Um," Luke looked towards Theo.


    "Yeah, the demi cheater here has three levels of experience. So congratulations, you are now level 7 godling."


    Theo waved his hand, and notifications popped up in his vision.


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 6>


    <...>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 8>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 2>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Divine Assistance (Guide)] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Divine Assistance (Guide)] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 4>


    <...>


    <[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 8>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Heir to Theseus] - [Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Legendary


    Theseus hunted the Crommyonian Sow, a massive pig that ate everything. Now, you, too, can hunt the great beast with triple damage against all beast types. You can also sense danger just before it strikes you. You know all of your surroundings in a sphere equal to 1 centimeter per point of Perception.


    Your attacks now inflict Beast Slayer: Triple Damage against enemies of the Beast type.


    +2% increase to the size of your sphere of perception per skill level


    +1% chance to sense an attack approaching you per skill level


    3% chance to sense an attack when it enters your sphere of perception per skill level


    +10% to LCK


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Heir to Theseus] - [Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Legendary


    Theseus was known for many things: his great strength, his powerful intellect, and his ability to bag women left, right, and center. One of Theseus'' most important abilities was to tell when someone was trying to kill him.


    Pierce the veil of deception, unraveling lies, illusions, and obfuscation skills to reach the truth. Your eyes can spy hidden treasures, traps, and compartments. Reduce the effectiveness of illusions and obfuscation skills by 3% per level. Increase your chance of finding hidden treasures, traps, and other compartments by 1% per level. You can now see mana and read a person''s full status unless they have [Privacy] skills


    +10% to PER


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Luke could immediately feel the difference as the world became sharper and clearer. It was like he had been half-blind before, and now he could see. Despite that, Luke felt a pit of annoyance in his stomach.


    "Why the hell did you do that?" Luke asked angrily.


    Theo rolled his eyes.


    "Do what?" he asked.


    "You''re just assigning my skills without even giving me a chance to look them over," Luke spat out angrily.


    "Oh that, Cool your fucking nickers godling, its part of a set of six. I needed to get [Third Labor] to get [Fourth Labor], and then you need to get [Fifth Labor] and [Sixth Labor]."


    "Maybe next time you can let me choose instead of just ¡­ just," Luke asked angrily.


    "Saving time?" Theo asked sarcastically. "Why shouldn''t I?"


    "Because it''s my status, my life." Luke pointed out.


    "You know what? You''re right. Let''s spend three hours debating back and forth before you pick what I suggested in the first place," Theo pointed out.


    "What makes you so sure I would make a bad choice? Do you even know me?" Luke shot back.


    Theo looked like he was about to combust as his face turned red and his cloud darkened. Then, all of a sudden, he stopped and let out a long breath as he calmed down.


    "You know what? I''m not going to say anything. When you hit level 9, you can pick the next skill," Theo said.


    Luke frowned. "You gave up too easily."


    "I believe in letting moronic godlings make their own mistakes even if it kills them, especially if it kills them," Theo said with an evil grin. "Now turn around. Your friends are coming back."


    Luke turned just in time to see Sam, Gareth, and Chad walk up to him.


    "How is everyone?" he asked worriedly.


    "Theo gave us a necklace, saying it was the reward for killing the hippo. We saved six; Issac and a few others didn''t make it." She spoke the last part very quietly so Gareth wouldn''t hear her.


    "What the hell is that thing anyway?" Chad asked, gesturing to Theo.


    "Unfathomably handsome, all-knowing spirit of the storm," Theo said. "Or just better than you."


    "You little shit," Chad snarled.


    "Knock it off, Chad. We have bigger problems." Luke cut in. What are we going to do? Nights are coming, and people are injured. Has anyone called an ambulance?"


    "I did. The phones are still jammed." Sam said.


    "It''s not just that," Gareth said, his voice horse as tears rolled down his face. A Lot of people are leaving. On our way here, Isaac and I saw a line of cars all heading south to the States."


    "So what do we do?" Chad asked. "We can''t carry them to the hospital."


    "Let''s grab the injured and find somewhere to hunker down. Keep calling 911." Luke said.


    "How are we supposed to carry them?" Chad scoffed.


    "There are some small trees here. Let''s chop them down and make a stretcher," Luke said, placing his sword on his shoulder.


    It took them nearly two hours to hack down the nearby trees and tie them together with loose clothing before they managed to get everyone moving again. They were attacked a few more times by low-level creatures. This time, Theo told Luke to stay back as he instructed his friends with lower levels on where the monsters were and how to kill them.


    "Why are you being so helpful?" Luke asked him at one point as they approached a holiday inn that appeared to be mostly empty.


    "I''m always super helpful, godling," Theo said. "You''re just too stupid to realize my genius. Like the fact that if you ever want to have another peaceful night, you need other people to watch your back."


    Luke raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn''t I eventually reach a point when my level is high enough that I won''t need to worry about anything?"


    "Hahahahahahahahahaha," Theo laughed, full-on belly laughs that went on for far too long.


    "I''m sorry, but that was the single dumbest thing you ever said." Theo chuckled. "And you have said some truly stupid shit. Godling, the level cap is 100. And even if you reach that point, you won''t even be close to being the strongest. There are monsters out there that will eat your balls as ju ju beans no matter what level you are."


    On that ominous note, Luke and his group walked into the Holiday Inn. There were a handful of other people there, but no one bothered them as they set up in what had once been the breakfast area. Luke sat down next to Gareth and Sam.


    "What are we going to do next?" Sam asked.


    Thanks to Theo, she reached level 6, the highest level in the group, second only to Luke.


    "Wait to die," Gareth moaned.


    "Don''t say that," Sam said. "Well, get through this."


    "Luke stared at Gareth. The big guy looked less without his brother.


    "Theo, any ideas?" Luke asked.


    "No idea," Theo said with a shrug. We should get a system notification of the local settlements within the first month. I was hoping sooner, but I shouldn''t count on luck when godlings are concerned. I''m going to fly around and keep an eye out for any monsters. I''ll call you if I find anything."


    Theo flew off as an awkward silence descended on the group.


    "Ok, let''s talk about this godling thing," Sam said.


    Luke felt like he wanted to shrivel up and hide.


    "So, according to Theo, my dad is Poseidon," Luke admitted he felt stupid saying.


    For a long minute, no one said anything, not even Issac.


    "I''m trying to think of something that isn''t just a giant question mark," Sam said. This feels like you''re just ripping on the Perry Jackson books."


    "I wouldn''t believe it myself, but I have something called a bloodline that says I''m his kid, and I get tangible abilities from it, so I don''t think it''s fake. In fact, Theo is one of the bonuses I get from the bloodline."


    "Can I see this bloodline?" Sam asked.


    The next few minutes were occupied by Luke trying to figure out how to share his status, but once he did, everyone took a long moment to look it over.


    "Damm, I think I can understand why Theo called you a cheater. This is bullshit," Sam said. "You have +5 to Strength and intelligence per level and a 10% bonus to strength, constitution, perception, and charisma. Where is my power fantasy?"


    "Yeah, why don''t we get bloodlines," Gareth grunted, clearly still focused on his brother.


    "Shouldn''t we be more worried about that [Greek Tragedy]? It says it attracts monsters. Shouldn''t we try to turn it off or something?"


    Luke shook his head. "I already asked Theo. He said it couldn''t be turned off."


    "How are you doing with the news?" Sam asked him.


    "I don''t know. What am I supposed to do? I mean, my dad is supposed to be a god. What the hell does that even mean?" Luke asked.


    They talked for a while longer before they eventually fell asleep. When Luke woke up the next morning, it was to Theo yapping in his ear.


    "What?" he moaned, annoyed.


    "We found a fucking settlement," Theo said, shoving the notification in his face.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    The Beacon has been lit!!!


    [Awoken Myths] have lit a beacon welcoming newcomers to their settlement [Hopkins High School].


    This settlement offers a safe zone, a +10% bonus to skill growth, +10% to XP gains, +10% to HP, and +10% to MP.


    Making it the perfect refuge in these tumultuous times. But be careful: while settlement offers great security, none of these apply to your fellow man.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Demigod


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 7


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 280


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 525


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 700


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 3.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 4.9 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 1.4 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: None


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 2%, Elemental 2%, Mental 1.5%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 77


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 21


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 35


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 7


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 70 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 21


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 28 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 35


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 7


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 28 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary: Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    - [Power of the Sea God] - Level 1


    - [Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 2 >> Level 4


    - [Kin of Horses] - Level 1


    - [Born Sailor] - Level 1


    - [Natural Born Leader] - Level 1 >> Level 3


    - [Master of Death] - Level 2 >> Level 8


    - [Greek Tragedy] - Level 2 >> Level 5


    - [Divine Assistance (Guide)] - Level 2 >> Level 4


    - +5 STR per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 5/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Endless Brawler] - Level 2 >> Level 8


    Heir to Theseus 04/11


    - [First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippling Strike] - Level 1 >> Level 11


    - [Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 1


    - [Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 1


    - [Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 24: Tales of the System Apocalypse â…¢: Penny & Eve

    Penny woke up as the window to her bedroom was smashed open. She screamed as little green men flew through her now open window with gusts of icy air. She scrambled to grab something but didn''t get 2 feet before the little green men were on there. Their nasty clawed hands wrapped around her hair as they yanked her backwards painfully.


    The goblins, for she couldn''t think of any other name that could suit them better, bound her hands together with twine. She tried to struggle, but one of the goblins placed a wicked sharp knife against her throat, forcing her to stop struggling lest the foul creature slit her throat.


    When they finally had her wrists bound, they dragged her out of the bedroom window by her hair, forcing her to stumble. She screamed as they pulled her out of her warm room and out into the frozen world outside in nothing but an oversized t-shirt and her underwear. The cold air and freezing snow immediately snapped the warmth from her body.


    Her thin clothes were nowhere near enough to keep her warm, and she immediately started to shiver as she was pulled to the road where a huge carriage of all things was sitting. The back was covered in a metal cage, and two massive wolves were carefully pulling it. Already, the carriage was full of people; some of them she recognized as her neighbors and others she didn''t know.  Most of them were in their pajamas, and few were naked. All of them were shivering.


    "The fuck is this shit!!"


    Penny turned around to see her foster father screaming as his flabby naked body was dragged over the snowy ground by six goblins. The flabby man kicked one of the goblins in the face. Then, one of the other goblins stabbed him in the leg. He screamed as he stumbled to the ground. The goblin he kicked screeched in outrage.


    This earned some snickers from the other goblins. The kicked goblin''s eyes went red as it pulled his own knife and stabbed into the foster parents'' chest over and over again. Each time, the blade sunk into him with a wet thunk. As blood splattered across the fresh snow.


    Penny looked on in shock; someone was screaming. She only realized it was her when one of the goblins hit her, and she shut up. The goblins holding her hair yanked her back towards the carriage. She was shoved unceremoniously into the rough-made carriage. She sat next to a man in pajama pants and slippers.


    Penny sat there in shock as the goblins fed her foster father to the wolves. His body was ripped apart, his organs dropping to the road with a wet squelch as the wolves tore him in twain. Then, something appeared in front of her eyes.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Welcome to the System, Penny Miller!!!


    As you did not take advantage of the extensive guide the system provided six years ago, you muggles, and you will now be initiating your world to the system without the tutorial.


    Cliff notes version: You get a system, classes, and skills. Most of your landmarks will be turned into Dungeons or Settlements to soak up the excess mana and prevent everyone from dying from mana poisoning.


    If you want any additional advice, find and conquer a settlement, avoid the dungeons, as they produce monsters, and try not to die. Maybe try and find a [Beta-Tester] who actually knows what they''re doing.


    Peace the Fuck Out.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What the hell is going on?" she asked, her teeth chattering.


    She started navigating the menu; she didn''t have anything better to do. She looked over her options. She pulled up the small help menu and went over all the information. It was sparse, and most of it was only useful if she had a class. That led her to the class option menu.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Options available:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fighter Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Dancer - Basic</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Spellcaster Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Biomancer - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Life Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Air Mage - Common</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Rogue Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Whore - Basic</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Prostitute - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Courtesan - Uncommon</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ranged Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Driver - Lesser</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Support Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Singer - Basic</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bard - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Priest - Common</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Crafter Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Musician - Common</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    She was pulled from her study when the carriage went over a speed bump. She looked up in shock, not even realizing that she had been moved. But she quickly realized that they were heading towards the university. Unfortunately, she was already shivering heavily; it was so cold.


    As they slowly approached the university, Penny trembled, and not just because of the cold. The Kwatline Poly tennis court was covered in corpses, and bodies littered the parking lot as they pulled into the university.


    The moment the cart stopped, the cage opened, and the goblins returned to drag them out. This time, Penny couldn''t even fight back if she wanted to. She was so cold that her limbs were numb, and she felt it was a minor miracle that she didn''t already have frostbite.


    The goblins dragged her through the university along with the rest of her captured neighbors. They pulled them through the ground. Taler muscled green men, orcs, she guessed, milled around in chainmail¡ªlarge cream-white weapons in their hands.


    A fat goblin walked up to them, sputtering in a language Penny didn''t even try to understand. The fat goblin was covered in bones and feathers, and he held a strange staff in one hand.


    The fat goblin held up a rough shard of diamond as big as a person''s head. Penny felt her eyes bulge out of her head. Even if the diamond was unrefined, it was huge.


    The fat goblin waved the massive diamond in front of the first person in line. The man tried to back away, but the orc grabbed his arms and forced his head forward. Motes of light lit up in the crystal¡ªtwo types. One type looked like little embers, while the other motes looked like the blue of the ocean.


    "Sainouge," the fat goblin said. The orcs dragged the man.


    "Hey, what are you doing to me? Stop!!" the man called out. But the orcs didn''t seem to care as they dragged him away. Then, they moved on to the next person. Penny quickly learned to recognize that there seemed to be eight different colors. The embers and ocean blues were the most common. But there was also a vibrant pale green that seemed to dance in an invisible wind, a gray-brown that looked specs of dust, little motes of pale yellow, almost white light shone inside, deep grape purples, a sickening black and a golden mote of light that made her feel a little better even as she shivered in the cold surrounded by orcs. Every person who was tested had motes of every color that appeared in the diamond. But it wasn''t balanced. Some people had a balance, while others seemed to favor one mote over any other.


    After they tested them, they were dragged off. Most of the people were dragged off to the left to a large cage overstuffed with humans. Aynone, who triggered an abundance of the golden motes, was taken into a nearby building. Anyone who tried to resist was beaten or killed.


    When it was finally her turn, Penny wasn''t sure which she would prefer. The fat goblin waved the massive diamond over her head, causing her to hold her breath. As the diamond lit up, gold and green motes of light dominated the crystal.


    "Fic-narn," the fat goblin called out, and the orcs dragged her trembling body away.


    They dragged her into a first-floor room in one of the buildings. Metal bars were placed over the windows, and two massive orcs with spears stood guard at the door.


    "Stay here, slave. If you leave, I kill you," the Orc snorted


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    By being enslaved by the Bloody Teeth Goblin Horde, You have earned the Title: Slave


    You have earned 1 Skill point.


    As a Slave, you have unlocked additional classes.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Penny blinked at the notification, stunned. At some point, she began to take in her surroundings. Dozens of other women sat in the room, dressed a little better than she was.


    "Are you ok?" a woman in sweats with the university logo asked.


    She was short and plump, with brown hair, but what caught Penny''s Attention was that she seemed to be slightly glowing and giving off a lot of heat.


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


    "I don''t know," Penny admitted.


    "I''m Eve," Eve said.


    "Penny," she responded, her teeth chattering in the cold. "Do you know what''s going on?" she asked.


    Eve''s face somehow turned even whiter.


    "They''re kidnapping and killing people," Eve said, her eyes downcast. "You''ll see soon enough. For now, let''s get you some clothes," Eve muttered as she dragged her over to one wall.


    Penny immediately realized the wall was filled with the university''s merchandise, including the sweats. She immediately tried to tear open a pair of sweatpants, but her trembling fingers prevented her. Eve took the bag from her and ripped it open for her.


    Penny ripped the pants out and shoved her numb feet through the leggings. She almost cried in joy when she pulled on the socks. She ended the ensemble with two sweaters before she broke down and started to cry. She had been shivering in the cold for god knows how long, and now she was at least starting to feel warm again.


    Eve hugged her as she sobbed. Rubbing her back as other people were led into the room. As Eve held her, Penny felt her body warming up as all of her aches and pains disappeared.


    Some of the people tried to look around, tested the windows, and generally tried to escape. Unfortunately, the bars had been forced into the window, and the door was guarded by two huge orcs with large, wicked-looking axes.


    "How are we supposed to escape?" Penny asked.


    "I don''t know," Eve admitted. "My skills don''t lend themselves to escaping."


    "Skills?" Penny asked.


    Eve shrugged. "When you pick a class, you can get skill points and use them to buy skills. You can also get them if you get a title ¡­"


    "like a slave?" Penny asked.


    "Yeah, it seems so. Anyway, I picked [Healer] because I wanted to be a doctor, so healing magic sounded like a good idea," Eve said as she huddled down next to her.


    Penny opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but that''s when the screaming started. People, women, eight of them were being dragged from their cells into the center plaza. Against the protests of the captives.


    Then they stripped off their clothes and started to rape them. Penny covered her mouth in shock and horror As the scene played out in front of her, unable to look away. People screamed in rage and anger, and goblins laughed at them. Then, the goblins grabbed a limb and crushed them. People recoiled as dozen of people who had just been threatening to kill the goblins were now on the ground with at least one limb broken, screaming in agony along with the women being raped. Then, the orcs grabbed a few more women and brutalized a few more men just for the fun of it.


    The goblins, who were not actively involved, stood around, jeering while the prisoners sobbed and begged.  One of the women lay unconscious on the ground.  Her lack of awareness didn¡¯t save her from being abused just as horribly as the others.  Two Orcs were using her at once.  One group of goblins had decided to make a game of it.  A naked and bleeding woman stood in a circle of them.  One of the goblins chased her with a smile on his face and a dagger in his hand.  She already bled from at least five different places, the worst of which was a ragged cut across her left breast.  As she begged, the goblins only hooted louder, aroused by her pain.


    Penny finally tried to tear her eyes away from the living nightmare playing out just outside her cell. She clapped her hands over her ears and closed her eyes, trying to block out the horror that was happening outside.


    She didn''t know how long she had been there, but at some point, people stopped screaming, not because the goblins had stopped but because they couldn''t scream anymore.


    As much as she didn''t want to admit it. A part of her was glad that they had stopped screaming just so she wouldn''t have to hear it. Even as that thought surfaced, she felt guilty. Guilty enough that she had to look again.


    Then, a new flavor of nightmare began. The fat goblin ordered the orcs to grab one of the victims and dragged her to an altar in the middle of the courtyard. The fat goblin held up a massive blood-red ruby the size of a soccer ball. Then, it plunged a dagger directly into the woman''s chest. She violently screamed as blood exploded out of her chest, ripped from her body as if a bomb had just gone off in her chest, before her lifeblood was dragged into the massive blood ruby, filling the bottom of the blood ruby with glowing red color. Then he moved on to the next human and the next, and the next, sacrificing them one by one.


    "What''s happening?" Penny asked. "How did all this happen?"


    "It was early this morning." Eve began. "I was just waking up to go for a class on ---"


    "Wait, you''re a university student?" Penney asked.  "How old are you?"


    Penny had honestly assumed Eve was no older than sixteen, maybe fourteen. She was that short.


    "I''m twenty," Eve protested.


    "You don''t look it. You look like a busty teenager," Penny said.


    "Blame my genetics," Eve said, rolling her eyes.


    Then the light went out of them as Eve''s eyes traced over the orcs by the door.


    "When we all got the system message, it was chaos. Some people started larping right away. Others freaked out. In the end, it didn''t really matter. The goblins, goblin orcs, and a troll showed up. I don''t know where they came from, but they showed up and started killing people. The larpers seemed to have figured things out sooner than the rest of us, and they started to evacuate."


    "And they just left you here?" Penny asked in horror.


    But Eve just shook her head.


    "The goblins cut the university in half in the first five minutes. The larpers tried to get everyone out of the north end, but everyone on the south end was trapped. They rounded us up and captured us. Even the larpers stood no chance against them," Eve said with a sniff. The funny thing is this is exactly the type of thing my boyfriend would have loved. And now I don''t even know if he''s alive."


    Eve broke down crying, and this time, it was Penny''s turn to comfort her new friend. Penny felt a chill go down her spine at the defeated tone in Eve''s voice.


    "Then they brought out that crystal and started to separate us. Anyone they didn''t like got fed to the rock," Eve said with a shudder.


    Penny felt herself shiver at the casual brutality of it all.


    "I was looking over the classes and trying to figure out which one to pick," Penny said. Do you have any ideas?"


    Eve shook her head.


    "My skills are [Diagnosis], [Medical Lore], [Aura of the Sun], and [Slaves Focus]," Eve said. "[Diagnosis], [Medical Lore] just help me scan patients and remember stuff. [Slaves Focus] helps with my ¡­ focus, but it also lets me ignore pain. But the only skill that is really useful right now is my [Aura of the Sun]," Eve admitted.


    "Is that why you''re glowing?" Penny asked


    Eve nodded. "It passively heals and calms everyone around me. As a side effect, it also turns me into a heated nightlight. What about you? What class and skills have you picked."


    "I haven''t decided," Penny admitted, looking over the list again. The first thing she noticed was that every class now had the word enslaved in front of it.


    "You should pick something. You can''t gain levels if you don''t pick a class," Eve said as Penny looked over her options again.


    "They all say enslaved now," Penny muttered to herself.


    Eve shrugged.


    "Yeah, that happened to everyone. I used to be a [Healer]; now I''m an [Enslaved Healer]. I think It makes us more useful to our owners, " she said bitterly.


    She paused when she got back to the description of [Enslaved Courtasian]


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Enslaved Courtesan - Rare


    The rogue can specialize in many ways: assassins kill, thieves steal, and spies observe. The Courtesan, on the other hand, charms and beguiles their way to success. Why work yourself to the bone when you can get a sugar daddy to obey your every whim?


    As a Slave, your skills will have double the effect on slavers.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    At first glance, Eve might have been right, especially as all of her skills were helpful. But what if you had a skill that inflicted damage? Would that mean inflicting double damage?


    An idea she had heard about in a story trickled into her mind. She didn''t want to do it, especially after what she had just seen, but she didn''t have a class option that offered her a better chance of escaping this hellhole.


    Turning to Eve, she explained her plan. To her credit, Eve listened to her. Eve even agreed that Penny''s plan could work, but she also pointed out how it could go horrifically wrong and end with her potentially getting raped to death. But what Penny took away was that if it didn''t work, she would just be horribly murdered sooner. Mustering up her courage, Penny took the [Enslaved Courtesan] class.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Eve


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Caucasion


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 24


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 250


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 400


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 2.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 3.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 2.5 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Slave


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Enslaved Healer 5


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 10 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 INT +3 WILL +3 DEX +2 PER +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 6/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuit Hunter] - Level 1


    - [StoryTeller] - Level N/A


    Enslaved Healer 4/6


    - [Diagnosis] - Level 6


    - [Medical Lore] - Level 14


    - [Aura of the Sun] - Level 11


    - [Slaves Focus] - Level 8


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 25: Tales of the System Apocolypse â…£: Eve & Penny

    Penny watched as the fat Goblin killed a total of fifty people before he finally stopped. I had already been dark for hours, and the goblins lit up torches instead of using the lights. They dragged the dead bodies to the center of the area and just set them on fire, letting the corpses burn.


    At around six in the morning, the fat goblin dragged himself into the same building as Penny, retiring to the third floor. During the night, the goblins didn''t stop sending out raiders; in fact, most of the goblins left the university to raid the surroundings for more humans. In essence, the university had the fewest goblins it had ever had.


    "Are you sure you want to do this?" Eve asked.


    "What''s the worst that could happen?" Penny asked, "They rape and kill us?"


    The fact that was what would be their fate if they failed killed any humor Penny tried to put into the joke. Of course, that was their fate anyway, so Penny didn''t see an issue.


    "Let''s put this plan into motion," Eve muttered.


    Penny took a deep breath before she sashayed her way up to the door. Despite the circumstances, she put on her best smile as she spoke. Activating her only skill, which was [Charm Speak].


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Charm Speak] - Uncommon


    The cornerstone of any charlatan''s toolkit. 1% chance per skill level to inflict anyone you are talking to with the [Charm] aliment. The cost is equal to 1 mp per minute per target, and you may increase the mana expenditures to increase the effectiveness of the ability.


    [Charm]: Your target will treat your every word as if it came from their best friend, and the more you compliment and flatter them, the deeper under your spell they will fall.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    She had dumped half of her stat points into charisma and the other half into intelligence to give her the best chance.


    "Good evening, gentes. My, what big muscles you have." she started awkwardly.


    The orcs snorted, not responding to her provocations. Penny gave them her best winning smile. She kept talking, pushing her mana into [Charm Speak] all the while. She had no idea how she was doing it, but her mana was going down rapidly.


    "I mean, two impressive Orcs such as yourselves hardly need to guard a room full of helpless women. I mean, your sheer size, those tusks, they''re...majestic,"  she said, starting to get worried as her mana got to the halfway point.


    The orcs were preening under the flattery she was laying on them.


    "It''s not really fair, is it?" Penny asked, pushing even harder. All of those goblins out there having fun while you''re stuck here?"


    The orc guards started to nod along with her words.


    "Why don''t you boys head out and have some fun? I''ll keep an eye on the girls here when you get back," she whispered loudly enough for both orcs to hear.


    The orcs looked at each other for a moment, then looked around before starting to walk away. One of them turned around and whispered.


    "Thanks," before the two orcs walked away from their post.


    <[Charm Speak] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Charm Speak] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Charm Speak] has Reached Level 8>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    For a few moments, no one said anything, and then Eve broke the silence.


    "I can''t believe that worked," Eve muttered.


    "Didn''t we need the keys to the door," one of the other women asked.


    "Why? They didn''t they lock the door?" Penny said as she pushed open the door the orcs had just been guarding.


    "What about the others?!" one of the taller women, Penny, who thought her name was Elizabeth, asked. We can''t just leave them there."


    "There on the other side of the university. I''m not sure how you expect to make it all the way over there without getting caught." Penny shot back.


    "I''m not going to give up," Elizebeth stated.


    Penny looked at Elizabeth. Her hair was hot pink, she had at least three piercings, and her glasses didn''t have a lens. Penny immediately decided to avoid her on principle.


    "Fine, just give the rest of us a head start," Eve said as she cautiously poked her head through the door.


    "Where can we even go?" one of the other girls asked.


    "East," Penny said. "We head towards Langley. Find the cops and tell them about this hell. Maybe they can do something."


    Then she got an idea: a bit of petty revenge. Some of the girls started to get ready to leave.


    "How are we going to get out of here?" some asked.


    "There''s a shuttle bus in the lot." Eve pointed out. "Anyone who wants to leave can park their ass there."


    "What about the keys?" another person asked.


    "If they''re not on the bus, they''ll be upstairs," Eve said.


    With the fat goblin went without saying.


    "I''ll do it," Penny said.


    "What?" Eve hissed.


    "Get everyone into the Bus, I''ll grab the key," Penny said.


    Eve bit her lip, but Penny clasped her hands.


    "I''ll be fine. Now go," she ordered.


    Eve looked like she wanted to protest, but the other girls were already dragging her away.


    Penny turned and opened up her options for her new skill.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Courtesan Skill Options


    Skill Points: 2


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Slaves Privacy - Common</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Everyone has a right to basic privacy. But as a Slave, you need privacy; otherwise, your master might kill you. Now, you can block one skill level of [Appraisal], [Inspection], and [Analysis] per level of this skill. Any skill you block will instead see a status you can prepare to make yourself appear far weaker than you actually are.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Slaves Poisoned Nails - Rare</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Your nails naturally produce a paralytic poison. If the constitution check fails, the target will be completely immobilized. If it succeeds, the target will suffer a penalty to their agility and dexterity scores.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Toxicity of poison increased by 5% per level of this skill</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">If you apply a poison to your nails, this skill will then empower that poison rather than supply its own.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pheromone Control - Rare</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attempts to inflict 1 of the following status effects on all targets within range: [Anger], [Arousal], [Calm], [Depressed], [Excited], [Terror], [Nauseous]. Increases the effectiveness of this ability by 2% for every skill level and every 10 points of the CHR Attribute. Has no effect on creatures without a sense of smell.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Slayer of Men - Epic</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Your armed attack always counts as [Manslayer] and inflicts triple damage to creatures of the [Humanoid] type.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Walk of Shame - Rare</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">When you wake up the next day, you realize you need to walk back to your home after spending the night with someone. No one wants to be seen during the dreaded walk of shame, but with this skill, you do not have to be. </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You are 2% harder to notice per skill level</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Your movement speed is increased by 1% per skill level</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    [Slaves Privacy] was an option left over from when she first acquired the class, and she immediately dismissed it along with [Slayer of Men]. She didn''t know if goblins and orcs counted as men, and [Slaves Privacy] didn''t seem to have any immediate benefit to her current situation. That just left just [Walk of Shame], [Pheromone Control] and [Slaves Poisoned Nails]. If it had been before Orcs, she would have grabbed the [Pheromone Control], and she might even pick it up in the future. But right now, she needed a weapon, and she needed to go unseen. So she picked up [Poisoned Nails] and [Walk of Shame]


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    She could immediately feel the difference. Looking down at her nails, they now looked like they had been dipped in emerald nail polish. It looked amazing. But she could instinctively feel that her nails were now weapons, and she would have to be careful with them.


    Reminding herself of where she was, she started up the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible as she moved up the stairs. She was almost startled by new notifications.


    <[Walk of Shame] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Walk of Shame] has Reached Level 3>


    She ignored the notifications even as they kept coming. She made her way upstairs to the office, and skill notifications went off every now and again. As she arrived at her destination, she froze. The fat goblin was sleeping on one of the desks like a fat sultan, right next to the keys. She held her breath, not willing to make a sound.


    <[Walk of Shame] has Reached Level 7>


    Penny made her way as carefully as possible to the wall of keys as the fat goblin snored next to her. The bus was number two, so she needed to find the associated key.


    "No, no, found you," she whispered as she plucked the key off the rack. She turned around, ready to leave, and then everything went to shit.


    BOOOOM


    A massive explosion rocked the building. Penny stumbled backwards as the keys fell off the rack and fell to the floor in a cacophony.


    "GAAAAH!" the fat goblin cried as he fell off the desk he had been using as a bed.


    Panic gripped Penny''s heart as she lunged at the fat goblin. The fat goblin''s eyes opened wide as she stabbed her fingers into the fat fucks gut.


    "Gah," the fat goblin groaned as it doubled over.


    But it wasn''t paralyzed, so she jabbed him again and again. She didn''t stop even after the fat goblin''s body turned stiff. Spying the wicked-looking knife he had used to kill all those people, she snatched the twisted knife from the fat goblin''s belt and shoved it into the fat goblin''s chest.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have used the Sacrificial Dagger of Asmodeus to slay the [Paralyzed] Goblin Shaman. You have earned the Attention of Asmodeus.


    New class available: Warlock


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Poisoned Nails] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Poisoned Nails] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Poisoned Nails] has Reached Level 4>


    <Level Up>


    <Level Up>


    <Level Up>


    <Level Up>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have unlocked the Regional Quest: Bloody Goblin Horde


    Goblins have invaded Kwantlen University. Despite only being here for a day, they have already kidnapped, raped, enslaved, and ritually sacrificed any humans they could get their hands on. Bring the fight to them and destroy the Bloody Horde.


    Objectives:


    ???


    ???


    Bonus Objectives:


    Kill all of the Goblins: ??? / ???


    ???


    ???


    Kill Goblin Shaman: 1/1


    ???


    ???


    Tips:


    Much of this quest has been hidden due to a lack of information. Expand your knowledge to gain further insights into the quest.


    Rewards:


    2 Levels for everyone involved, Bonus XP for Everyone, a Title: Goblin Killer, 5000 Settlement Points, Winter Event Guild Token


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Penny blinked in surprise, but she ignored all the notifications as she looked at the goblin''s body. It had withered and died. But his items were still intact. She snatched up the large diamond she had seen him using earlier but couldn''t find the massive blood ruby. A second BOOOM reverberated through the building.


    She took that as her time to leave. Stashing both the diamond and the knife in her sweater, she raced down the stairs two at a time. At this point, orcs and goblins were screaming as they fought with whatever was attacking them.


    When she arrived at the parking lot, the sky was already brightening. As dawn approached, she sprinted across the frozen ground, the ice seeping into her new socks. She leapt up onto the bus, handing over the key to Eve.


    "What the hell is going on?" Eve asked.


    "Don''t know! Drive!!" Penny shouted.


    BOOOM


    Eve didn''t need any more incentives as she started the bus and drove directly over the curb and onto the street. Penny looked around. The bus was overstuffed. The normally fourteen-person bus had almost fifty women stuffed inside. However, one person was missing.


    "What about Elizebeth?" Penny asked.


    "She said she was going to save the rest of the prisoners, and she didn''t need us or the patriarchy," Eve said exasperatedly as she looked at her.


    "Are you bleeding?!" Eve asked in a panic.


    "What?!" Penny looked down at herself. The front of her sweater was covered in blood.


    "It''s not mine," she said. Pulling out the Sacrificial dagger. "I killed that fat fuck"


    Then she brought out the massive diamond. It was covered in blood now but no less impressive.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    For freeing yourself from slavery, you have earned a Title Upgraded: Slave title upgraded to Free*


    You have earned 1 Skill point.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    For freeing your fellow slaves, You have earned the Title: Breaker of Chains.


    You have earned 1 Skill point.


    Thanks to your title, you have unlocked additional classes.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Damn girl. You went all medieval on his ass." Eve said with a smile on her face as they drove away.


    "You took so long, so we grabbed some spare clothes from the room they were keeping us in. You can get changed if you want," Eve said.


    "Yeah, I think I would like that," Penny said.


    She found the clothes in the back of the bus. She pulled off her bloodied clothes and used them to clean her knife and the diamond. She tossed the bloody clothes out of the bus''s window before putting on fresh clothes from the pile at the back of the bus. Then she noticed something moving out of the back of the window. She rubbed away the fogged-up window and screamed.


    "EVE!!!" Penny called out. "We''re being followed?!"


    "WHAT!!" Eve called back.


    "Orcs, orcs on giant wolves?!" Penny said, unsure of what the wolves were called.


    "Wargs or maybe dire wolves," Eve hissed. "Shit."


    At least a dozen orcs on dire wolf back were chasing after them, and they were gaining fast. Penny immediately felt it when the bus started to accelerate even faster as Eve put the pedal to the pedal.


    "Eve, they''re not getting closer, but they''re not getting farther away," Penny warned.


    "I don''t think this bus can go any faster," Eve said.  "Does anyone have any magic? Fireball? Magic missile anything?"


    Penny looked around, but the rest of the girls were shaking their heads.


    Penny made her way back up to the front of the bus again.


    "We need to find someone to help us. Are there any police stations nearby or something?" Penny asked. She looked around at the other girls on the bus.


    "Come on, Eve. We can''t be the only ones to come up with ideas," Penny said.


    Penny was scrambling for an idea as the first rays of dawn broke across the skyline.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    The Beacon has been lit!!!


    [Awoken Myths] have lit a beacon welcoming newcomers to their settlement [Hopkins]. This settlement offers a safe zone, a 30% bonus to skill growth, and access to a skilled healer, making it the perfect refuge in these tumultuous times. But be careful: While settlements offer great security, none of these apply to your fellow man.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Penny and Eve looked at each other.


    "You know that''s my school," Penny said.


    "It works for me. We''ll turn off by King George and head down Fraser Highway," Eve said as she tried to outrun the orcs.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    Name: Penny Noel


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    LVL: 7


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    SubRace: Caucasian


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    Age 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    Health: 160


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    Stamina: 200


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    Mana: 140


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    Health Regen: 2.0 per min


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    Stamina Regen: 2.8 per min


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: left">


    Mana Regen: 0.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Free*, Breaker of Chains


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>N/A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>N/A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>N/A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Courtesan 4 / 4 Unassigned


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 7


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 49


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 7


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 49


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    +49 CHA +7 INT


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 17/60: Skill Points: 5


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuit Hunter] - Level 1


    - [StoryTeller] - N/A


    Courtesan 3/11


    - [Charm Speak] - Level 1 >> Level 8


    - [Poison Nail] - Level 1 >> Level 4


    - [Walk of Shame] - Level 1 >> Level 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 26: Tales of the System Apocolypse â…¤: Ignis & Graves

    Micheal shot up from his bed. What the hell had just happened? He had been trashing that stupid tutorial, and then ¡­


    After beating the tutorial, he couldn¡¯t remember anything. He absently looked down and paused; his skin was green. He patted himself down, feeling the rippling muscles of his chiseled jaw, his pointed ears, and the tusks.


    With bated breath, he raised his hand, a ball of fire forming within at the slightest pulse of his will. A laugh, a true laugh of unadulterated joy, burst out of his chest as he realized that Michael was dead and Ignis, what had just been his game character, a level 10 half-orc Master Pyromancer, lived!!!!


    Standing up, Ignis kicked open the door to his bedroom. The door didn''t explode like he had been hoping.


    "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING YOU UNGRATFUL BRAT!!!" Micheal''s mother screamed as she raced up the stairs. "If you have damaged the wall."


    Ignis felt his lips draw back in a snarl. All of Micheal''s anguish and self-loathing came back even as Ignis tried to crush it down. He wasn''t going to be pushed around. He thought as flames licked up and down his body. Not anymore.


    The door was flung open, and a woman in ratty clothes with disheveled hair stepped into what had once been Micheal''s room. Her teeth were rotting, and her eyes were cloudy. The veins in her arms were black, with multiple injection sites dotting her arm like mosquito bites. She held up the knife she liked to threaten him with.


    "I AM GOING TO CUT OFF YOU EAR, YOU LITTLE SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOIN ¡­. What?"


    Ignis unleashed a wave of fire. The flames immediately engulfed his one-time mother, and she screamed. Ignis was a little stunned at his own actions. They were an instinctive reaction, not something he had intended, but he didn''t regret them.


    "This is retribution, you hag, for everything," Ignis snarled, his entire focus on the fire as it danced and twirled around her.


    The flames were already spreading, but they didn''t even harm him. Grabbing his valuables, he tossed them into his inventory as his room started to burn. Soon enough, his mother was dead, consumed in the fire. He didn''t care as he walked out of his burning home.


    The air was freezing, and he immediately shivered. Activating his bloodline, the flaming wings of the vermilion phoenix emerged from his back. Spreading out his wings, Ignis launched himself into the air.


    For the first time in both lives, Ignis felt free. He flew on wings of fire and shot through the air with an ease that made him think he was dreaming.


    Flying through the crisp winter air on his wings of fire was exhilarating. Looking at people wandering about on the ground like ants was surreal. If nothing else, he promised himself that he would fly regularly in his new life. The frigid air contrasted with the heat of his wings, giving him goosebumps as he looked down to see his house burning. Black smoke rose up into the sky in a beautiful cloud against the white backdrop.


    "This is amazing," Ignis said softly to himself as he basked in a moment of peace.


    The roar shattered the peace of the winter dawn¡ªa very familiar roar. Ignis spun in a panic, his spells ready, as he searched the skyline for the source of the roar. Then he spotted it, and his worst fears were confirmed.


    A Dragon, not one of its lesser cousins, a Wyvern; it didn''t have front legs. A full-on Frost Wyvern flew through the sky miles away from him, but it was clearly a Wyvern. The only good news was that it was a frost Wyvern instead of a fire Wyvern, which would have been problematic for a pyromancer. Of course, a Wyvern was still a Wyvern, and at his current level, he had no illusions about surviving an encounter with it.


    Deactivating his wings, he immediately started to fall to the ground. He just hopped. The Wyvern hadn''t seen him flying around. He decided to do a quick review of his notifications as he skydived to the relative safety of the earth. Ignis'' eyes hardened as he examined his notifications. A settlement would be a good start. His wings snapped out when he got close to the ground, and he shot off. He altered the trajectory of his wings, flying towards his friend''s house. Pulling out his phone, he sent off a text.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    IGNIS: LoN is real, flying 2 u


    Graves: I know the reaper is alive.


    IGNIS: There is a frost Wyvern towards the river B carful


    Graves: fck, we are so dead man


    IGNIS: im coming to your house before we search for a settlment


    Graves: K. ive got cool stuff to show u


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Ignis grinned as he soared forward toward Graves''s house. He sent a few more text messages to his other friends as he slowly flew towards Graves''s home. It took him an hour to get there, as he didn''t have enough mana to use his fire magic like an aft burner. When he landed on the secluded lot, he found a man in all black with a massive scythe over his shoulder, watching a fat zombie shambling around.


    "Graves," Ignis called out


    The man in black turned to him, flashing him a knowing grin.


    "Ignis, I see you''re embracing our isekai." Graves said.


    "This your uncle?" Ignis asked as he walked over to the fat zombie.


    "His corpse, I''m keeping his soul close." Graves said, patting his scythe.


    Ignis''s eyes moved to the scythe''s blade. He could see faces flash across the blade, evidence of the souls trapped inside. Ignis felt a grimace spread across his face.


    "Why, I mean, I can''t really judge as I killed my mom, but she was an abusive meth addict. What did your uncle do to you?." Ignis said.


    "Nothing, really. I just wanted to kill him. Mind setting my place on fire. I''d rather not remember this place." Graves commented.


    Ignis flicked his finger, blasting the two-story building with a fireball. Part of him was uncomfortable with the situation, but Graves was one of his few friends, so he wasn''t going to push the issue.


    "So what do you want to do next, Ignis?" Graves asked.


    "Shade is in Surrey. He thinks he''ll be here in a few days, and Aaltan is making his way out of Seattle toward us. He says it will take him at least a few days, so they won''t show up for a while. In the meantime, we need to find a base," Ignis said with a grin.


    "Kwantlen Polytechnic?" Graves asked.


    "There are going to be a lot of people there. Unless the monster killed everyone there, we would have to conquer it," Ignis pointed out.


    "So," Graves shrugged, "we kill some scrubs, and I get my zombie army."


    "And what happens when the cops show up?" Ignis asked.


    "What makes you think the cops will even be around in a week?" Graves countered.


    "If the monster wipes out most of the people, that would be ideal for us. But we can''t assume anything. What are the other options?" Ignis asked.


    "The other options are the Delta Golf Club, Country Club, and the Performing Arts Center," Graves said.


    "I like the Performing Arts Center. It''s not likely to have a bunch of people fighting over it. And it''s positioned away from most of the population. I went there as a kid a few times. It was nice. And I can fly in and conquer it before anyone is the wiser." Ignis said


    Graves gave an evil grin as he unfurled wings that looked as if they had been dipped in tar.


    "Bloodline skill?" Ignis asked


    "No, my Bloodline is of the Corpse-Eating Maggot," Graves said with a cruel grin. "These are the [Wings of Night] from my class."


    "That''s perfect. As long as we stay low enough to avoid the Wyvern, I think we can both fly to the Performance Art Center," Ignis said.


    "Before we go to the Arts Centre, I want to check out the university, just in case," Graves said.


    "After." Ignis huffed as his own wings emerged, and he flew behind graves as they moved through the air. "We get to our home base first, then we can scout," Ignis muttered.


    <hr>


    Ignis stared down at the Doppelganger as it crumbled into a burnt heap.


    "That this was stupid," Ignis said.


    "Oh, come on, we had fun." Graves said.


    "We ran around the entire day having doppelgangers trying to get us to fight each other and mimics trying to eat us. It didn''t even work properly; you''re surrounded by undead, and I''m on fire." Ignis complained.


    "Yeah, but do you know what kind of undead I could make with these things?" Graves asked.


    "Dude, we wasted the entire day just wandering around killing monsters that were pretending to be us or furniture," Ignis said. "Even with the two levels and a title, It doesn''t feel like a victory."


    "Yeah, but Ignis, I''ve got so many undead now," Graves said.


    "Too bad we can''t use those settlement points," Ignis complained. Since neither of us has a leadership class, of course, we''re blocked from the menu. I''ll grab a level in [Noble]. I want to get levels in Bandit Lord later anyway."


    "Nah, don''t worry. I took levels in [Death Knight]. I already have access," Graves said with a smile.


    "Here''s to the rebirth of the [Apocalypse Force]," Graves said as he sent Ignis an invitation to the guild.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Ignis accepted and received his new title. He thought the name was badass, especially as he and his friends always picked up one of the four horseman classes. He already knew he would be Famine and Graves would be Death.


    "First good news since we got here. What do you want to do with the loot?" Ignis asked


    Graves shrugged. "Just stick it in your inventory for now. I want to go."


    Graves spouted wings as he shot up into the air.


    "Wait!" Ignis called out, taking after his friend. "Where are we going?"


    "To the university." Graves said as if that explained everything.


    "Graves, why are you going to Kwantlen Polytechnic at 7 a.m.?" Ignis asked as they flew through the dawn sky. " We just finished getting a base."


    "Yeah, but I want to see the university. Besides, my zombies will hold the fort down for us," Grave said as he soared ahead of him.


    Ignis sighed but followed regardless.


    They flew through the night. Ignis was a bit concerned that his flaming wings probably stood out against the black sky. But Graves wasn''t stopping. They flew all the way to the university, landing on the tallest building''s roof.


    That''s when things turned pear-shaped. The collection of buildings that had once been a temple of learning had transformed into something a touch more familiar. Goblins and Orcs patrolled the campus with moonstone weapons and iron armor. Torches lit the area despite the fact that the lights seemed mostly intact. Humans sat in cages, and Ignis could already see the altar where they had been sacrificed. He doubted that any of the humans down there were aware of it. But that altar was an item.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Damned Altar of Bloody Sacrifice - (Rare)


    Upon the altar of the damned, the victim''s vital energy (Animas) will be improved and energized. This allows the user to get more animas or life force out of their victims when they are sacrificed.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "I want that." Graves said.


    "Hold on a second," Ignis said, but it was too late.


    Graves leaped down into the middle of a patrol of Orcs. His scythe flashed outwards, slicing open the six Orc necks with ease. The patrolling Orcs dropped to the ground, and then Graves cast a spell.


    "Raise undead," Graves whispered.


    All six orcs rose again as zombies.


    "Let''s start recruiting," Graves shouted. "Kill all the goblins."


    Graves launched himself towards the altar, killing anything that came close to him before raising them as an undead.


    Ignis signed he should have expected this. Dropping down to the human prisoners, Ignis allowed them to see the full glory of his wings. That''s when the Troll walked out from behind the cells. Its grotesque, misshapen body was covered in matted hair and filth. With a guttural growl, it charged toward Ignis. It roared at him in rage before charging forward.


    "This is perfect," Ignis muttered as he activated his newest skill.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Scorched Fists] - Rare


    For some people, punching someone with a fist of fire is their ultimate fantasy. Now, you, too, can touch upon that dream. Your fist now inflicts the [Burn] aliment whenever you punch an opponent. On top of that, your unarmed skill is treated at (Double) its current level. Warning: This effect does not count towards unlocking an additional skill bonus.


    Increase your unarmed proficiency by 1.25% per level of this skill.


    Increase your chance of inflicting [Burn] by 1% per level of this skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    [Scorched Fists] roared to life, and cinders orbited his arms as the heat around them increased.


    He punched the Troll directly in its side, and the cinders flashed outwards, searing the troll''s flesh as he struck the blow.


    <[Scorched Fists] has Reached Level 2>


    "I''m sorry, Mr. Troll, but I need a new training partner," Ignis said


    The troll roared in rage as it punched him in the head. Ignis''s [Living Flame] skill transformed his physical body into fire just before impact. The troll screamed as its fist burned within Ignis''s fire form.


    Ignis lashed out at the Troll again and again, and he just flashed to fire every time the troll tried to hit him. Even as the oppressive stench of the troll''s filth clogged his nose, Ignis poured on the flames roasting the troll''s flesh.


    The ground shook under the troll''s immense weight as it tried to kill him. Ignis narrowly avoided the troll''s colossal fist. He landed a solid punch to the troll''s side, and as his fiery fist connected, the troll''s flesh sizzled and smoked. The troll roared in pain as Ignis''s flames seared its skin.


    At this point, its body was more burned flesh. Ignis decided to put the Troll out of its misery by firing a flame lance directly into its skull. The lance penetrated the troll''s skull, and then it exploded, killing the troll instantly.


    Ignis sighed. That had taken more mana than he would have preferred.


    Ignis turned to the cell. Some feminist chick had taken advantage of the situation and was already trying to free people. No scratch. She was trying to free the women and ignoring the men. Of course, she wasn''t making much progress, regardless.


    Ignis walked over to the nearest cell and melted the lock off with a crafting spell. He then proceeded to unlock all three massive cages, much to the dismay of the feminist chick.


    "For those of you who are sick of being stepped on by those in power. I offer you true power. The power to change your fate and become truly powerful. Head to the performing arts center. Head to our fortress against the monsters and join the [Apocalypse Force]." Ignis called out.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have initiated the System Quest [To Glory!!!]


    To Glory!!!


    Found or Join a Guild. Gain levels and become powerful.


    This quest was unlocked due to a player''s action. The [Apocalypse Force] Guild location has been added to your map. If you don''t have a map, you will be given directions.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He realized now that they might need to workshop that name. It didn''t really work in an actual apocalypse, either.


    Ignoring the awkwardness, Ignis turned and flew off after Graves. He noticed some people were already heading south towards the guild. That was good. Then Ignis found Graves. It wasn''t good.


    "Come out here and fucking fight!!" Graves roared as he blasted fireballs into the nearby buildings.


    Arrows thick in ice mana flew out of the windows, impacting Graves over and over again. Graves wasn''t close to dead, but it couldn''t be pleasant. Then one of those arrows hit him. Ignis spasmed, as his elemental form provided no protection against the arrow. No, it wasn''t an actual arrow¡ªa chunk of ice shaped like an arrow.


    Worse, more Orcs, Goblins, and Trolls were marching into the area, and spells started to rain down on both of them.


    "Alright, Graves, it''s time to go!!" Ignis shouted.


    Graves didn''t argue. Instead, his wings popped out of his back and shot up into the air. They flew as far away as they could, Graves''s undead army chasing after them.


    "Was that really necessary?!" Ignis asked as they flew ¡­ west. They had gotten all turned around in the fighting.


    "I got the altar. If it wasn''t for that fucking cryomancer, I could have taken this place." Graves spat.


    "Was it really that bad?" Ignis asked


    "That punk had levels in [Arcane Archer] and [Cryomancer]. I could have totally beaten him if he had come out and fought. But he stayed in stealth the entire time and just kept taking cheap shots," Graves muttered.


    Ignis noticed the sun was rising far off in the distance.


    "Well, come on. I just did some light recruiting, and I want to get back to base." Ignis was interrupted by a new notification.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    The Beacon has been lit!!!


    [Awoken Myths] have lit a beacon welcoming newcomers to their settlement [Hopkins].


    This settlement offers a safe zone, a +10% bonus to XP gains, HP, and MP, and access to a skilled healer, making it the perfect refuge in these tumultuous times. But be careful: While settlement offers great security, none of these apply to your fellow man.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Dude, other players. Let''s go and see if they have any loot!!" Graves called out as he shot off at high speed.


    "STOP!!! At least let your undead army catch up!!" Ignis called out as he chased after his friend.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Ignis Vermilion


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Orc


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Elemental


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: N/A


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 14


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1020


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1140


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 960


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 25.2 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 26.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 22.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, Pyromaniac, First, Apocalypse Force


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Fire, Ageless


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical, Light, Air, Vitality 10%,


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Magic, Water, Dark, Earth, Soul 40%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Goblin Slayer, Elemental Slayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Master Pyromancer 11, Fire Enhancer 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 36


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 96


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 66


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 156


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 24


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 36


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 96


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 60 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 156


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 24


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 WILL, +4 SPIRIT, +3 INT, +3 PER


    Racial: +3 SPIRIT +2 AGIL +2 CON +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 CON +5 SPIRIT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Vermilion Phoenix] - Legendary: The Bloodline of the Vermilion Phoenix grants you a profound connection to the mystical firebird, embodying its resilience, purity, and fiery power. This bloodline''s effects make you a master of fire, capable of withstanding the most intense flames while harnessing them for your own benefit.


    - [Fire Conasuir] - Level 16


    - [Vermilion Guard] - Level 10


    - [Purifying Flame] - Level 15


    - [Regenerative Flames] - Level 30


    - [Perfect Form] - Level 2


    - [Burn Brightly] - Level 16


    - [Wings of the Phoenix] - Level 19


    - [Rise from the Ashes] - Level 1


    - +5 CON per Level


    - +5 SPIRIT per Level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 15/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Endless Brawler] - Level 14


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 6


    - [Storage] - Level 10


    - [Mapping] - Level 10 >> Level 17


    - [System Wiki] - Level 7


    - [Zen Master] - Level 14


    Master Pyromancer 07/16


    - [Art of Fire] - Level 22 >> Level 25


    - [Consuming Fire] - Level 19 >> Level 21


    - [Mana burn] - Level 20 >> Level 22


    - [Funeral pyre] - Level 20 >> Level 21


    - [Incinerat] - Level 20 >> Level 21


    - Capstone: [Living Flame] - Level 15


    - [Tempered Flame] - Level 1 >> Level 5


    - [Reignition] - Level 1


    Fire Enhancer 02/6


    - [Scorched Fists] - Level 2 >> Level 9


    - [Flash Fire Step] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 27: Tales of the System Apocolypse â…¥: Firehall 8

    Before today, Deputy Fire Chief Bailey Adams thought he had led an interesting life. He had joined the military right out of high school and spent nine years overseas before coming home. He had tried joining the police department, but after two years, he realized it wasn''t for him. He then joined the fire department and had been there for another seven years. A few of his subordinates had even followed in his footsteps. Chester, his group''s medic, and Casey, one of his platoon Mechanics, had both joined him in the fire hall.


    During those thirty-six years, he honestly thought that he had seen everything. He had seen a woman open fire on a family barbecue in defense of the cows. He had seen people call 911 for a free ride to the hospital so they could snack at the bar across the street. He had seen good men and women broken by war. Then he woke up this morning to see something completely new.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Welcome to the System, Major Bailey Adams!!!


    As you did not take advantage of the extensive guide the system provided six years ago you muggle, you will now be initiating your world to the system without the tutorial.


    Cliff notes version: You get a system, classes, and skills. Most of your landmarks will be turned into Dungeons or Settlements to soak up the excess mana and prevent everyone from dying from mana poisoning.


    If you want any additional advice, find a settlement to avoid the dungeons, as they produce monsters. Try not to die. Maybe try and find a [Beta-Tester] who actually knows what they''re doing.


    Peace the Fuck Out.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    If that had been all that had happened, he could have managed it without a fuss. Unfortunately, it now seemed that everyone had screens in their faces. With the fire chief on vacation, he was in charge.


    "Fire Service Hall 8, shut up and form up immediately!!" Adams ordered, snapping everyone out of their panic and getting them to stand up.


    Everyone on duty was ex-military, and the order immediately caused them to fall in.


    "Just to confirm, you all see a blue screen in front of your face saying welcome to the system, yes?" Adams asked.


    "Yes, Sir!" Everyone responded.


    Everyone confirmed it, and Adams even read out his own notification to see if there were any differences between names and titles. There weren''t.


    "Um, sir?" Casey, the fire hall Mechanic, spoke up. "It''s asking us to pick a class. What should we do?"


    "Pick a class before the monsters show up." Chester cut in, staring off into space, poking at something only he could see.


    "What do you mean?" Adams asked.


    "Well, I mean, this is like those system apocalypse books I like to ¡­ um, I mean my daughter likes reading, yeah? Monsters and shit are going to start showing up, so we should start leveling now." Chester said.


    Chester was a veteran like him. Unlike him, Chester was a native American and much larger than Adams, almost seven feet tall. Despite that, the big guy had a heart of gold. The big guy quickly went on to explain the importance of getting a class and skills and leveling them as quickly as possible. Adams gave in and opened up his status at Chester''s instance.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Options available:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fighter Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lieutenant - Inferior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Corporal - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Sergeant - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Captain - Uncommon</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Major - Rare</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fire Fighter - Rare</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Infantry - Epic</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Spellcaster Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aquamancer - Inferior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Umbramancer - Inferior</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Death Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Water Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fire Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Dark Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ice Mage - Uncommon</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ash Mage - Uncommon</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Rouge Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Assassin - Rare</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ranger Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pet Owner - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Sharpshooter - Rare</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Police Officer - Rare</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Support Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Survivor - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Wither - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Paramedic - Common</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Crafter Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Labourer - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Scribe - Common</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The choice of class was relatively easy. Most of his people picked the [Firefighter] class. Adam had picked the [Toolkit] Ability. It allowed him to store his gear in some kind of pocket and then summon the gear directly into his hands whenever he needed it. It sounded useful enough, so he chose that one over the others. Before they left the building, Adams went to his locked room and pulled out the gun he had stashed inside. With a flick of his hand, the gun disappeared into his [Toolkit]. He felt like he could summon it back at any time. He tried it a few times, stashing his Haligan away into thin air before calling it back to his hand. The Haligan just appeared in his hand with a small pop of displaced air.


    "Neet right, sir?" Chester said.


    "It''s interesting¡­" Adams said as he checked the Haligan over.


    "I picked up Life Mage in case anyone gets injured," Chester said. "Lots of magical healing."


    "I''ll take your word for it. Personally, I''m not sure if I trust this system," Adams muttered. "What about your wife & kid?"


    Chester shook his head.


    "I tried to reach Sam, but the phone line was clogged. I''m not too worried yet. I taught her how to take care of herself, and the house has guns and other supplies inside. Sam should be fine.."


    "What about her mother?" he asked.


    "She''s out on the reserve for the week. I expect her to be fine."


    Further discussion was interrupted by the alarm


    RING!!! RING!!! RING!!!


    And just like that, the atmosphere shifted as they all moved in sync toward the trucks.


    "Alright, regardless of what''s going on, we''re still firefighters. Grab your gear and get to the trucks!!" Adams ordered.


    "Yes, Sir," Chester roared as they moved into the locker.


    They quickly donned their turnout gear¡ªpants, boots, jacket, helmet, gloves, and SCBA masks. Adams also took an extra moment to grab his 9 mm and place it inside his [Toolkit]. He wasn''t supposed to have it, but today felt like one of those days he wanted to keep it close.


    He double-checked his gear, ensuring everything was in place. Casey and Chester followed suit, gearing up and performing their checks with practiced efficiency.


    "Report!" Adams barked as he fell back into his old role as a Warrant Officer.


    "Engine 1 ready," Casey responded, checking the status of their primary engine.


    "All set here," Chester echoed, excitement coloring his every move. While he didn''t have a pistol, he was holding onto his Ax with a white-knuckled grip.


    They moved towards the fire engine, the heart of their operation. Casey took the driver''s seat, Chester the officer''s seat, and Adam and another firefighter, Jen, jumped into the back. The engine roared to life, and with the blaring siren and flashing lights, they sped out of the fire hall.


    "Dispatch, this is Engine 1. We''re en route to the scene," Adams radioed in, maintaining communication as they navigated the streets.


    "Copy that, Engine 1. Be advised: it''s a pile-up on 220 St and Fraser Highway. Police are already on the scene. There are multiple reports of injuries. Be advised that wild animals have been spotted on scene," the dispatcher replied.


    As they approached the scene, the pile-up became visible. The


    Casey brought the engine to a safe distance, assessing the situation. At least a dozen vehicles were piled up at the crossroads, and a few blood stains were splattered around the place. But the truly strange thing was the lack of damage. There were four cars at the crossroads that looked like they had been in a crash. The rest of the cars didn''t look like they had crashed into each other.


    "What the hell is going on with that?" Casey muttered to herself before he turned to address his team.


    "No one leaves the vehicle. Chester grabs the Thermal Camera. Scan the area for wild ¡­ animals. They should stand out against the snow on the thermal."


    "You mean monsters, sir?" Chester asked as he did as instructed.


    "I''m not saying that," Adams said as Chester scanned the area. Casey, if anything pops out of the snow, get us out of here. Understand?"


    "Yes, sir," Casey said nervously.


    "Engines are still hot. No sign of monsters. There are bodies in the pile-up."


    "Alright. We''re heading in, so just remember that safety is our top priority. We don''t want any more casualties today. Casey, you stay here and keep the engine warm."


    Adams stepped out of the fire truck and moved towards the pile-up. A single police car was at the scene. The door practically ripped off the vehicle. As they got closer, Adams noticed metal casings and blood decorating the asphalt. A police officer''s body lay on the ground. His entire body had been ripped to shreds.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "Fire department! Call out if you can hear us!" Adams called out.


    There was no response, and that wasn''t a good sign. Adam could feel his hair standing on end as he felt the tension notch up a bit.


    What could have done this? He glanced at the cop''s Glock, which sat on the ground. If it didn''t work out for him, his nine-millimeter wasn''t going to cut it. Police cars should have both an AR-15 and a 12-gauge in their trunks, and the police car''s trunk was already open. He moved to the vehicle''s trunk. The Ar-15 was missing, but the 12-gauge was still inside, along with plenty of ammo for both.


    Tossing his Haligan into his [Toolkit], he picked up the shotgun and loaded it. He would only get off five shots before he needed to reload, but it was better than the 9 mm.


    "Jeffery. Grab the ammunition and transport it to Eignine 1."


    "Yes, sir," Jeffery said. Grabbing the spare ammunition and quickly transporting it.


    "Hey, Major," Chester called out. "We found survivors."


    Adams turned and walked over, finding Chester, his hands glowing gold as he performed first aid on a police officer, someone he immediately recognized.


    "Sgt.Thorn is reporting for duty, sir," Thorn said, her body covered in blood, her hands gripping the Ar-15 with a death grip.


    Sgt. Thorn had been the sniper assigned to his platoon when he was still in the army. And right now, she was in the worst condition of her life. Her stomach had large gashes on it as if something had clawed at her stomach. A chunk of flesh had been torn off of her thigh.


    Adams rushed to her side in a panic. She looked half dead.


    "Sgt, report what happened here?" Adams said as he found himself slipping back into his role as a Major.


    Sgt.Thorn didn''t say anything, just mumbling.


    "Lions!" someone said.


    Adams turned to find another man he hadn''t seen in his rush to Sgt.Thorn. He had been dressed in a good suit, now covered in blood. He was gripping his arm. Shallow claw marks allowed blood to stain his suit. It looked painful but superficial.


    "Hey buddy, what''s your name?" Adams asked.


    "Hanze, Hanze Burg. she saved my life." Hanze said.


    "Alright, Hanze, what happened here." Adams pushed.


    "Lions. I came here just before she did. A pack of lions showed up, and they ate people. I tried to run, but they cut us off. Then the cops came. They shot at the lions, but they didn''t die. By the time she pushed me under this car, we were the only ones left. We need to leave now. Before they came back," his words started to become more hectic.


    "Chester, how are they?" Adams asked.


    "He''s having a panic attack, not a priority. Sgt. Thorn was in more danger. The vest stopped her from being disemboweled barely, and my healing magic seemed to be fixing the issue. The thigh wound is more concerning. She lost a lot of blood. We should take her to the hospital. Before the lions come back." Chester stated


    "What about the other survivors?" Adams asked.


    "All dead, sir," Jeffery said nervously.


    Adams briefly considered staying here; according to procedure, that was the proper thing to do. However, given the current circumstances and Thorns'' current condition, he decided to head to St.George Hospital.


    "Alright, load them into the firetruck," Adams ordered as he helped Chester lift up Thorn. Jeffry didn''t so much pick up as push Hanze to the firetruck.


    After moving her, Adams could already see her stomach was in far better condition than they got here, as pink skin was already growing over the injuries. Her mangled leg had already stopped bleeding and even looked like it had just started to heal.


    They had just started moving towards Engine 1 when a ROAR Interrupted them. Adams turned around just in time to see a pride of lions climb up one of the cars. Their claws pulled up slivers of metal the same way cats did when they pawed your furniture.


    Hanze took off like a rocket, running towards the firetruck in a panic.


    "Oh fuck" Adams muttered as he made eye contact with the lioness. They Roared again before charging them.


    "Someone get to the truck and hose them down," Adams called out as he leveled the twelve gauge.


    He blasted the lioness, sending them sprawling, but just as Sgt. Thorn had warned there was no blood, and the moment the lioness stopped rolling across the ground, she stood back up and resumed her charge, seemingly uninjured.


    "How the fuck is this possible?" Adams cursed as he blasted another lioness, sending her to stumble backwards.


    Unfortunately, Jeffery was lagging behind, and one of the lionesses lept on top of him. Its claws tore through the turn-out gear. Adams turned, blasting the lioness off of Jefferys''s back. Adams grabbed Jeffery by the arm and started dragging him back to the firetruck. Chester was already pulling out the hose.


    "Turn it on!!" Adams called out as he dragged Jefferies behind him.


    Pressurized Water shot out of the hose and sprayed one of the lionesses. Between the water pressure and the intense cold, the lioness leapt away from the stream of water as Chester hosed them down. Turning the hose on the other nine lionesses, he forced them to back up.


    "Everyone gets in the truck. We''ve only got a minute of water in this thing!!" Adam ordered.


    Thorn and Jeffery were loaded into the back of the truck. The lioness made sure to stay out of the hose''s range, but only just. They quickly began to circle the group as they retreated to the fire truck. Just as it looked like they might be able to get out of this with no further casualties, the hose lost pressure.


    "Shit," Chester swore as he turned and ran back to the truck. The lions growled as they lunged at him.


    "MINE!!" someone roared.


    Adam stumbled, turning to see a man leaping through the air, bringing a staff down the lead Lioness''s head with a crunch. Adam froze as the man slept through the air with an absurd amount of speed as he engaged the lions. He looked like a guy in a bad monkey costume.


    Even as the lioness clawed and bit at the man, his body healed from the damage faster than they could inflict it. His staff shattered bone and broke apart the lioness''s skin despite their bullets being useless. Despite all this damage, the guy in the monkey costume was gleefully laughing as he decimated lions, not caring about the injuries he was taking one bit.


    "Who the hell is that?!" Chester asked.


    "Doesn''t Caseyer. We''re leaving." Adams ordered as he loaded Jefferies into the firetruck.


    Chester didn''t even try to load the fire hose back into the truck. He just got in, and Casey drove, not even waiting for Adams'' orders; instead, he threw the fire truck in reverse and speeded away. The hose is dragging after them.


    "What the hell was that?" Adams asked.


    "Monsters, and maybe a cultivator something," Chester said as he went back to shooting golden light from his hands onto Jeffery and Sgt.Thorn.


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <[Pursuite Hunter] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Pursuite Hunter] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Toolkit] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Toolkit] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Toolkit] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Toolkit] has Reached Level 5>


    "Sweet levels," Chester cheered. "I''m grabbing three levels in [Death Mage] and two more in [Life Mage]."


    "I have no idea what that means," Adams stated.


    "Just put levels into whatever you think will be useful," Chester said.


    Adams shrugged, and he decided to put two levels into [Fire Fighter], one in [Police Officer] and one in [Paramedic]. He grabbed [Toughness], [Turngear], and [Lifesafe]. He didn''t really understand this system, but he figured resistance to physical, elemental, and vitality damage could only be a good thing. For some reason, he had an extra skill point. He had gotten one for each of his new classes, and reaching level 3 in [Fire Fighter], he wasn''t sure where the last one came from. But he used it to pick up the [Police Officer] skill [Danger Sense].


    He considered assigning his stat points, but he wasn''t sure where to put them, and Chester had claimed that he wouldn''t be able to reassign them after the fact, so he was loath to spend them.


    He was just about to turn to Chester to ask his opinion when there was a knock at the window. Adams turned and froze, finding the monkey guy who had been fighting the lions holding onto the side of the firetruck.


    The monkey guy gestured for them to roll down his window. Adam briefly considered refusing or even shooting him, but I reconsidered. This guy had just decimated the nine lionesses that had shrugged off gunfire and then caught up to a speeding fire truck. Better to be diplomatic, he completed his request and rolled down the window.


    Now that he was closer, Adams realized the guy was a kid, maybe sixteen or nineteen years old. He had golden eyes and some strange tattoos across his forehead. He was Asian, maybe Korean, with large sideburns that made him look a bit like a gorilla.


    "Hey, fireman, you owe me one, agree?" the boy asked, raising his staff towards him.


    "Uh yeah, sure," Adam said, agreeing to whatever the crazy super monkey kid said.


    Then, a screen appeared in front of his eyes.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Doom Contract Set


    You have made a deal with [Starkiller] - (Beta-Tester, First). You have agreed to owe [Starkiller] a favor in exchange for your life. If you do not follow the terms of this contract, you will die.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What the hell is this?" Adam asked as the monkey kid ¡­ Starkiller laughed uproariously.


    "Hey, don''t hate the player; hate the game," Starkiller chuckled. He turned and leaped into the air like Peter Pan.


    "What the fuck just happened?" Casey asked.


    "I think that kid just tricked me," Adams said as he chewed his lip, considering this new development. "Let''s get to the hospital. I want some normalcy."


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Baily Adams


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: British


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 36


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 250


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 2.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 3.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 1.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Major


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 0.5%, Elemental 0.5%, Vitality 0.5%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Firefighter 3, Police Officer 1, Paramedic 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: 70 Unassigned


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 07/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuite Hunter] - Level 1 >> Level 3


    - [Storyteller] - Level N/A


    Fireman 02/11


    - [Toolkit] - Level 1 >> Level 5


    - [Turnout Gear] - Level 1


    Police Officer 02/11


    - [Toughness] - Level 1


    - [Danger Sense] - Level 1


    Paramedic 01/11


    - [Life Guard] - Level 1</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 28: Tales of the System Apocolypse â…¦: Major Adams

    Adams stared at St.George Hospital. The once bustling building was painfully quiet. Just yesterday, this place had a constant cacophony of activity. Now, nothing. Even if it was the middle of the night, this place should have been bustling. And yet Ambulances sat unattended in the parking lot. No one was coming in or out.


    "Somethings wrong," Adams said as he surveyed the scene.


    "Agreed, sir." Sgt. Thorn groaned as she tried to sit up, Chester pushing her back down.


    "Amanda, what do you think you''re doing?" Chester asked.


    "Reporting for duty." Sgt. Thorn or Amanda said.


    "I just finished burning through my entire mana pool, putting you back together. I don''t even know if you actually healed." Chester protested.


    "The little boxes say I''m fine." Amanda protested.


    Nope, Adam can''t even think of her as ''Amanda'' in his head. It felt weird, almost disrespectful to her service. To him, she is Sergeant Thorn, a decorated officer and a sniper who had saved his ass more times than he could count. If the world was going to hell, turning into a video game, or whatever was actually going on, he trusted the people with him more than any other. He was snapped out of his musing by Chester''s shouting.


    "That may be, but I still want to take you inside for a full check-up!" Chester argued.


    "Specialist Chester, report on the general health of our patients," Adams said, cutting through the argument.


    Chester immediately stopped talking and turned, giving his report in an official manner.


    "Sir, they are stable. Mr.Burg had only superficial injuries. The other two required extensive first aid and then healing magic to repair their injuries. Corporal Tennesyon and Sgt Thorn look fine ¡­ As a side note, applying basic first aid reduces the mana costs for healing injuries."


    "Given what you can confirm right now, can they return to active duty?" Adams asked.


    "Well ¡­ yes. The leg and stomach wounds are visibly healed, look fine, and report no pain. The system gave me an extra level of ''perfectly healing.'' But this is all my best guess based on visual inspection and the system. I can''t confirm that they passed that inspection," Chester said.


    "Acceptable. Thorn, don''t push yourself, but keep that rifle ready." Adams said.


    "Sir, yes sir," Thorn snapped as she reloaded the AR-15 again.


    "Great. Casey stays here with the truck with Mr.Burg. Chester, Tennyson, and Thorn are with me. We will enter the hospital to determine what happened here before leaving. Given what''s happened, this hospital should be the busiest building in the city, but it''s dead quiet."


    Adam led Chester, Thorn, and Jeffery into the building. As he walked into the empty hospital, he gripped the 12-gauge tightly in his hand. It was so unnaturally quiet that Adams could hear every breath taken. Jeffery and Chester both held Glocks, while Thorn had her AR-15 at the ready.


    The sterile, white halls of the hospital were eerily silent, their footsteps echoing off the linoleum floor. Sunlight filtered through the dirty windows, casting long shadows and illuminating the dust motes that floated through the air.


    "Keep your eyes peeled," Adam muttered, mostly just to hear something else as he was scanning the corridor ahead. Something was itching at the back of his mind, almost like he had left the stove on at home.


    "This place gives me the creeps," Jeffery said.


    "How is the hospital empty?" Chester asked. "I just picked up a [Life Sense] skill, and I can''t feel anything. This place is dead."


    "I''m just going to ignore that [Life Sense] comment," Adams muttered. This is a major hospital. How can it be empty?"


    "Maybe everyone got out," Jeffery suggested, unconvincing.


    "Or maybe something got in and ate everyone," Chester added grimly.


    "Are you suggesting they''re all dead?" Adams asked.


    "I''m sure some people managed to escape. But I won''t be surprised if we find some monsters inside." Chester said


    They continued down the corridor, past empty rooms and abandoned medical equipment. There was a clear sign of a fight but not a speck of blood. The silence was oppressive, and each creak of the building caused them to tense up.


    Suddenly, they heard a faint sound¡ªa squelching noise, like someone playing in a puddle.


    "Did you hear that?" Chester whispered, his grip tightening on his Glock.


    "Yeah," Adam said, nodding. "Stay sharp."


    They followed the sound to a room at the end of the hall. The door was ajar, and a flickering fluorescent light cast a sickly glow inside. Adam signaled for the others to cover him as he pushed the door open with the barrel of his shotgun.


    A man was inside on all fours, bent over his face in a pool of blood, slurping it up. The itching in the back of his head seemed to increase as he stared at the man.


    "Um," Jeffery said


    The man''s body jerked its back, curling up in a way that would have shattered a human spine as it turned to face them. Its mouth was covered in blood, and its eyes were completely bloodshot. Small worms were wriggling out of its eyes, noses, and mouth.


    SCHREEEEEEEE


    The thing let out an inhuman screech, sending chills down Adam''s spine. He immediately pulled the trigger. The 12-gauge peppered the thing with buckshot, sending it rolling across the floor. The itching in his head had transformed into full-on alarm bells as [Danger Sense] screamed at him.


    The creature twisted its limbs, scuttling to all fours before it charged towards him. It unleashed a guttural roar. Adams pulled the trigger again. As he started backing away, the buckshot barely slowed it down. Instead, the flesh started wriggling as more of those red worms started to emerge from the thing that used to be human.


    "Back!!! BACK!!!!" Adams ordered as eyes of every shape and color, along with red tentacles, emerged from the corpse, reaching for him as he ducked out of the room, firing buckshot after buckshot. This time, it was even less effective. Even as it ripped apart tentacles and popped eyeballs, the grotesque monster reformed almost instantly as the creature picked up speed.


    The monster was little more than an amorphous blob composed almost entirely of pulsating, blood-red biomass resembling raw meat, with vivid blue veins snaking across its body. Other body parts will grow from or vanish into its central mass at random regardless of its size: round, bulging eyeballs of varying colors, gaping mouths lined with misshapen teeth, and numerous whip-like tentacles constantly stretching and shrinking.


    All four of them turned and ran down the hall as the now tentacled horror ripped its way out of the broom closet, its size having blown up to that of a small car. It was a massive, twisting thing of flesh and tentacles. Its many gleaming eyes decorated its body with no regard for reason or sanity. Thorn fired a dozen bullets into the mass as they ran to no effect.


    "Why is everything immune to guns now?" She shouted as they raced down the corridor.


    The technical mass behind them was spitting and hissing as it slithered after them.


    "Shut up and Run!" Adam shouted, firing his shotgun again, still to almost no effect.


    They sprinted down the hall, the monster in pursuit, its tendrils lashing out and tearing through walls and doors.


    "We need to find a way to slow it down!" Chester yelled, glancing back.


    "We should split up!!" Jeffery said desperately, turning and running down a different hall.


    "Corporal Stop," Adams roared.


    But it was too late, and the horror turned and lept at Jeffrey. The horror lept on Jeffery as he tried to peel away from the group. Jeffery screamed as the creature latched on to him. Its flesh melted and fused into Jeffery''s body. His clothing was ripped away.


    "HELP ME!!" Jeffery screamed in a dozen different voices as his arm split open into five tentacles, whipping around.


    Adams makes a snap decision, shooting Jeffery in the head to end his suffering. Jeffery''s head snaps backwards before it snaps back to face Adams. Jeffery''s head was a ruined mess of flesh. gurgling incoherently


    "HELP ME!!!!"


    Jeffery''s flesh ripples and convulses. His features distorted even further, becoming grotesque. His bones snap, realigning as something under his skin wriggles. By this point, everything below the torso is gone, and Jeffery sticks out of the thing like a Lovecraftian centaur.


    "HELP ME!!!!" the nightmarish replica of Jeffrey screams as it lungs for Adams.


    Adams blasted the horror with the 12 gauge over and over again to almost no effect again, but too late, he realized he was not going to be able to get out of the way in time. He had made a rookie mistake of standing around instead of running away. And now he was going to suffer a fate worse than death.


    But just as the creature started to get close, the buckshot did something. The places where it was shot began to rot, turning from red to black as its flesh necrotized. The replica of Jeffrey screamed as its body started to rot. The creature recoiled, backing away from the group and disappearing down a corridor with a speed that suggested it hadn''t truly been trying to catch them earlier.


    Adams turned back to find Sergeant Thorn halfway down the hall and Chester practically next to him.


    "What the hell just happened?" Adams asked as he felt the cold sweat drip down his back.


    "It was rotting?" Thorn asked.


    "Sir, That might have been my fault," Chester said.


    "What do you mean?" Adams asked.


    "Well, I picked up [Death Mage], and I have the skills [Death Magic] and [Aura of Decay]," Chester said. "[Aura of Decay] makes it so any injuries inflicted on an enemy in my aura cause necrotization. My aura wasn''t very big, but once it entered, those bullets started to rot it.l"


    "You could have killed that thing at any time?!" Thorn asked angrily.


    "It''s not supposed to be that powerful. The skill isn''t even level 10 yet. This thing must be just really weak against the rot element. Like in Pokemon, Charmander is weak to water attacks."


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "I miss being able to shoot my problems away," Thorn grumbled.


    "Enough of that. We need to get the hell out of here before that thing comes back." Adams said. "Fastest way out of the building now."


    "Down the hall, we can pass through the cafeteria and out through the loading dock," Thorn said.


    "Good Thorn, take point. I''ll cover the rear. Chester, take the middle. If that thing shows up again, we need your aura thing. What''s its range?"


    "Seven meters now, with me at the center," Chester stated.


    "Don''t allow us to get out of range. Try to keep us within a meter of both of us," Adams said.


    They quickly moved down the corridors. The signs of fighting were becoming more and more obvious. Broken lights smashed up doors. But not a drop of blood or a body. All of them were probably inside of that thing.


    Adams shuddered as he heard the thing banging around on the floor above them as he entered the kitchen.


    "IT''S THE MONSTER!" someone screamed, and someone blasted Thorn with a fire extinguisher.


    "Stop, stop, we''re First Responders, stop!" Adams ordered.


    The fire extinguisher shut down, and Adams could see almost thirty people hiding among the kitchen supplies. They looked absolutely terrified and exhausted. From the smell, Adams doubted they had left this room since this system thing started.


    "Are you here to rescue us?"


    "Yes. We''re going through the delivery area," Adams lied as he adapted.


    "We can''t. The door is locked." one of the nurses said.


    "We have the tools, don''t worry," Adams said despite his anxiety rising.


    "Chester gets the door open," he said, tossing Chester his halligan.


    "Everyone move towards the back door," Adams ordered.


    Chester got to work tearing off the locks¡ªyes, multiple locks¡ªbecause someone thought that was a good idea.


    Above his head, there was a banging as the thing started to move towards them. Maybe it knew they were trying to escape. Regardless, [Danger Sense] was already acting up again.


    "Thorn, turn on the gas on all the stoves," Adams ordered.


    Adams grabbed a metal bowl and shoved as much metal as he could find into it before shoving the entire thing in a microwave and setting it for six minutes. Gas was already starting to fill the room. Thorn and Adams pulled down their masks just as Chester opened the door. People immediately started racing out of the hospital space, and the banging got louder and louder.


    "Move! Now!" Adam commanded as he hit the start button on the microwave.


    The sound of Jeffery''s ''HELP ME!!!'' echoed through the kitchen as the monster burst into the room. Adam and Thorn raced to the door. The monstrosity crawled over them like a slug, its tentacles reaching for them.


    BOOOM


    Adam and Thorn were thrown out of the building as the gas ignited. The monster let out a terrifying screeeeech as it was enveloped in flames. After being thrown by the blast, Adams rolled once and twice across the ground. For a long moment, he lay on the ground.


    "You''ve earned your rest, Jeffery," Adams muttered.


    "HELP ME!!!!"


    Adam''s head jerked back to the building. The thing was still alive. It was horrifically burnt but alive. Writhing at the threshold as if trapped by an invisible wall. Unable to pass beyond the hospital''s perimeter. It roared in frustration, its eyes glaring at them with a promise of vengeance before it disappeared back into the hospital.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have entered and escaped the St.George Lair Monster: [Lair Boss: Shoggoth]


    Lairs are infested with monsters with seeds ready to restart civilization inside. As you are not a Beta-Tester, you will not be informed if you are entering a settlement until January 1st.


    As you have failed to kill the boss or claim the settlement, no additional rewards will be granted.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <[Pursuite Hunter] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Pursuite Hunter] has Reached Level 5>


    <...>


    <[Pursuite Hunter] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Toughness] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Toughness] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Toughness] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Turnout Gear] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Turnout Gear] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Turnout Gear] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Lifeguard] has Reached Level 1>


    <[Danger Sense] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Danger Sense] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Danger Sense] has Reached Level 11>


    "We made it," Chester panted, collapsing to the ground.


    "For now," Adam said, looking back at the hospital. "But we need to find a way to kill that thing for good. For Jeffrey"


    "Can''t we just burn the hospital down?" Thorn asked.


    Adams honestly considered the question. Normally, that would be out of the quest. But he would rather burn the building down than face that thing again.


    "Is the hospital even flammable?" he asked.


    "I don''t think so. It''s mostly brick and mortar," Thorn admitted.


    "Do we have any gasoline?" he asked.


    "There''s a gas station down the road." Chester pointed out.


    "Good enough. Once we get these people to safety, we''ll come back here and set the building on fire." Adams said


    As they caught their breath, the weight of what they had just survived began to sink in. They had escaped the monster, but the battle was far from over. How many more places had something like that inside? He needed to prepare, and he needed to understand how all of this stuff worked.


    Adams let out a sigh. "Chester, I don''t understand how this entire system works. I think I need some help."


    Chester nodded. "Alright, give me a look. ¡­ Hmmm. You have a lot of defensive skills but nothing that does damage."


    "I have a shotgun." Adams countered. "I''ll stick with what I know before I pick up something completely different."


    "Far enough. But everything else in your build makes you pretty tanky. In that case, [Fancy Feet] and [Thermal Vision] would be your best choices.


    "[Fancy Feet]?" Adams asked, confused.


    "It''s a movement skill. But [Thermal Vision] and [Danger Sense] will help you identify threats to us and make it harder to sneak up on you. It''s all useful without locking you into a specific path." Chester said.


    "Thanks, Chester. Go around to everyone and see if you can help them while I consider this stuff." Adams said as he reviewed his options


    He ended up taking Chester''s Suggestion. He trusted Chester''s judgment over his own ignorance.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Fire Fighter] - [Thermal Vision] - Rare


    [Thermal Vision]: Allows the user to see in the infrared spectrum, detect heat signatures, and provide some form of visibility even in complete darkness. Increase the range of this skill equal to 1% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Police Officer] - [Fancy Feet] - Uncommon


    [Fancy Feet]: Enhances evasion, footwork, and balance by 2% per skill level. Allowing you to move with grace and agility.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Adam leaned back. Dawn was just peeking over the horizon when yet another message popped up in his face.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    The Beacon has been lit!!!


    [Awoken Myths] have lit a beacon welcoming newcomers to their settlement [Rivendale]. This settlement offers a safe zone, a 30% bonus to skill growth, and access to a skilled healer, making it the perfect refuge in these tumultuous times. But be careful: While settlement offers great security, none of these apply to your fellow man.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Before Adam could even finish comprehending what he was saying, Starkiller all but teleported in front of him.


    "Hey, fireman. Want to pay off your debt?" he asked.


    "Where the hell did you come from?" Adams asked.


    Starkiller shrugged. "Not important. I want you to head to this settlement and give the owners a message," Starkiller said.


    "I need to take these people to a Fire Department." Adam protested.


    "You want to take them to Hopkins, trust me," Starkiller said with a smile.


    Starkiller started to swing his staff around, and every time it hit something- asphalt, cars, dead bodies- it smashed chunks out of it with ease.


    "Besides, you don''t want to break your contract so soon, do you?" Starkiller asked with a cruel smile. "Who would protect your men?"


    Adam looked back to where his people were sitting in the truck. He wasn''t sure if Starkiller would kill his crew if he didn''t comply, but he wasn''t willing to test this maniac.


    "What''s the message?" Adam asked.


    Starkiller grinned.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Baily Adams


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 9


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: British


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 36


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 360


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 450


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 4.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 6.3 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 1.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Major


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 3%, Elemental 3%, Vitality 1%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Firefighter 5, Police Officer 3, Paramedic 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 27


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 9


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 27


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 9


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: 126 Unassigned


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 09/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuite Hunter] - Level 3 >> Level 10


    - [Storyteller] - Level N/A


    Fireman 02/11


    - [Toolkit] - Level 5


    - [Turnout Gear] - Level 1 >> Level 6


    - [Thermal Vision] - Level 1


    Police Officer 02/11


    - [Toughness] - Level 1 >> Level 6


    - [Danger Sense] - Level 1 >> Level 11


    - [Fancy Feet] - Level 1


    Paramedic 01/11


    - [Life Guard] - Level 1 >> Leve 2</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 29: Wednesday

    BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP


    Tom tried to smack his phone as he got up, groaning at what he felt was too early. He didn''t want to wake up; he had been having the most fantastic dream. He and his friends had been transported into their favorite game, and then ¡­


    <[Prophetic Meditation] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Prophetic Meditation] has Reached Level 10>


    <...>


    <[Prophetic Meditation] has Reached Level 27>


    Tom suddenly realized he wasn''t in his bedroom. The notifications snapped him out of his stupor. He looked down to see the pornstar elf version of Alex sound asleep on top of him, her new oversized breasts pressed into his stomach.


    He was trying really hard not to sexualize someone he had hung out with since kindergarten. This hadn''t been this issue before when she was more ¡­ plain. Maybe he was just shallow? That felt like a sour taste in his mouth. Pushing his mental tangent, he tried to shake Alex awake.


    "Alex, Alex, get up."


    "Yes," she moaned softly as she started to grind against him


    "ALEX!!" Tom shook


    "Wha?" she grumbled as she fell off the couch.


    "Ooff," she grunted as she hit the ground.


    "That hurt," she groaned.


    "The massive funbags on your chest didn''t help?" Tom quipped.


    "You know, before I got tits, that would have been hilarious, but now you just mean. They''re sensitive." she moaned as she massaged her chest.


    Then she froze and looked down at her oversized breasts.


    "Is it real? It''s real!! I''m still beautiful," she cried out in glee as she touched her own face.


    BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP


    Tom was dragged from his thoughts and looked around for his phone, only to discover that his phone wasn''t what was making that noise.


    "Where is that sound coming from?" Tom asked


    "What sound?" Alex asked, looking at him confused as she kept examining herself.


    "That ¡­. Ow, it''s my notifications," Tom said, realizing his mistake as he pulled up the notification, bleeping for his attention.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Settlement Notification


    Your settlement is under attack! People are attempting to break into your settlement.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Everyone up!!" Tom called out as he sent the notification to everyone in the party.


    "Tom," a sleepy Chloe groaned from the bed. "What''s going on?"


    "Don''t worry about it, peanut," Tom said. Someone was knocking at the door, and we needed to go answer it all. Go back to sleep."


    Chloe let out a yawn as she laid down "ok."


    Alex was already kicking Abaddon awake.


    "What''s going on?" Abaddon asked.


    "One moment," Tom said as he moved over to wear Skippy slumped over the desk and shook him awake.


    "What''s going on?" Skippy asked.


    "Barbarians at the gates," Tom said. Someone is trying to break into Hopkins, and we have to deal with it."


    Skippy''s eyes shot wide open.


    "Well, shit just got interesting," Skippy said as he drew his twin moonstone swords from his inventory. "Let go kill some fools."


    "Shouldn''t we be diplomatic about this?" Abaddon asked. "They could be in trouble."


    "Until proven otherwise, we''ll assume the worst," Tom said with a sign. "I need to finish things up. Give me a minute."


    Sitting down, Tom immediately entered meditation, the familiar nebula of his soul appearing before him. He got to work immediately using the [Soul Forge] in what was becoming a familiar pattern.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have Combined [Earth Mage] - Common and [Geomancer]- Inferior ¡ú [Master Geomancer] - Historic


    You have Combined [Water Mage] - Common and [Aquamancer] - Inferior ¡ú [Master Aquamancer] - Historic


    [Earth Magic] - Lesser + [Geomancy] - Inferior ¡ú [Art of Earth] - Uncommon


    [Water Magic] - Lesser + [Aquamancy] - Inferior ¡ú [Art of Water] - Uncommon


    [Art of Earth]: You have pushed your understanding of Earth to your limit. Increase your mastery of all Earth magic by 2.5% per level of this skill.


    [Art of Water]: You have pushed your understanding of Water to your limit. Increase your mastery of all Water magic by 2.5% per level of this skill.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He immediately moved over to his Master Aquamancer and his Master Geomancer.


    He really should have done this last night, but he was bloody tired.


    "[Sunder Class]," he ordered.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Warning!!!


    Do you wish to sunder your class? You will lose all attributes gained from levels lost.


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Pressing yes without a second thought, He watched as the two classes broke apart.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have received the Buff: [Build yourself Back up]


    [Build yourself Back up]: You have been wounded, but what doesn''t kill you makes you stronger. +500% XP gains. This Buff will fade at the rate of 1% per hour until it is gone. Should you reach your previous level, this Buff will disappear.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Do you wish to Sunder the Ability: [Art of Earth]


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Do you wish to Sunder the Ability: [Art of Water]


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom hit no. He wanted the skills, but he didn''t need the classes.


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 12>


    <...>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 18>


    <[My Mind is a Temple, the Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 22>


    Tom exited his meditation. His body was left heavy and stiff, and he stumbled as he got up.


    "What the hell?" he muttered.


    "Are you alright?" Alex asked, helping him stabilize himself.


    "I''m fine. I just lost four levels and am feeling the difference," Tom said. I just need to regain some levels."


    Betty was still asleep, somehow, her shirt completely open for all the world to see, and Alex was enjoying the view of the perfect teardrop breasts as much as Tom was. Shaking his head, Tom grabbed a blanket and draped it over Betty. He didn''t want Chloe to see that.


    He would note for future reference that sundering your levels was, if not painful, it was uncomfortable as all hell. Just another reason not to screw up his build the first time.


    "You guys ready?" Tom asked, turning to his team.


    His friends nodded.


    "Alright, let''s go find out who is at our gates," Tom said.


    <hr>


    Tom walked to the front of the school doors to find six people in firefighter gear trying to bust through the main door. Tom immediately started to sweat nervously. Sure, according to the rules of Noralon, this was their home. But would anyone respect that?


    Tom let out a breath. He needed to calm down.


    "Abaddon, open the doors!" he ordered, hoping his voice didn''t betray his nervousness.


    Abaddon shoved open the door, startling all of the firefighters.


    "What the fuck?!" the guy in front shouted as he raised his axe.


    "I would like to ask you the same thing," Tom said, walking out around Abaddon. "Why the hell are you trying to break into our base?"


    "Uh," one of the firemen strutted.


    "Do you think they''re scared of us?" Abaddon tried to whisper, but he failed to manage it because he was so big.


    "I think it''s your ugly mug," Skippy said as he and Alex walked out to join them.


    Chloe hung back from the group just inside the school, just in case something happened and she needed to take cover.


    "What the ¡­ what are you?" one of them asked.


    "Go on, Tom, you''re the face of the party," Alex said.


    Tom rolled his eyes before Abaddon pushed him forwards. He had never been so nervous in his life. He almost wished they would start shooting at him. He knew how to deal with that.


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


    "I am the guild leader of the Awoken Myths guild. We have claimed the Hopkins settlement as our own, which you should have seen when you walked over the border. We are also the ones who sent the beacon message that notified you of the safe zone." Tom explained


    Then, unexpectedly, one of the firefighters stepped forward. Or at least Tom assumed he was a fire chief because everyone seemed to defy him.


    "Are any of you Lance, Skippy, Alexandra, or Abaddon?" he asked


    Tom felt his face go blank, and he looked at the rest of his group, who were looking at him dumbfounded.


    "My name is Tom, not Lance, but yes, that''s us. Why?" Tom asked as he gathered a spell in his hand in case this was a trap.


    "I''m supposed to give you this." The fireman said. "Names Major Bailey Adams, by the way."


    Tom snatched the letter out of Adam''s hand. His curiosity peaked before it was replaced by unyielding rage.


    Dear Awoken Myths


    Hello Lance, I know you''re the one reading this. LOL, you''re so predictable. You know I love you. Anyway, as I''m sure you have noticed, the world is now known as The Legend of Noralon. As the resident mercenary of Noralon, I would like to offer my services to the Awakened Myths Guild for a price, of course.


    Now I know you are all probably still pissed after the Scylla incident, so I''ll give you some free information as a respected college. The Vancouver Zoo has become a dungeon, and it is closed to intruders, so I can''t get in. It produces a monster breakout every six hours, and the locals aren''t doing so well against them, but you gotta love their moxie. I''ve been farming the escaped animals and already claimed a settlement, mostly for the title.


    Anyway, if you want to hire me, I have a drop-off point at Aberdeen Street. Meet me on Friday at 9 a.m. The address is enclosed below.


    Your favorite Merc Starkiller luvs and kisses


    P.S. I am using my system token to buy the [Heir to Sun Wukong] class. Suck my enlarged dick.


    "FUCKING STARKILLER!" Tom swore loudly, causing the fire chief to stumble backwards as if he were afraid that he would lash out at him.


    "Why didn''t I think of grabbing [Heir to Sun Wukong]? This is bullshit!!" Tom muttered to himself.


    That class was a peak legendary class with a heavy focus on being unkillable. Honestly, the information was helpful. The information about the dungeon was critical, and having a way to contact Starkiller would be helpful. Still, goddammit, it had to be Starkiller, of all people. The guy was a fucking migraine. Worse was his class. If he was telling the truth, they were low-key screwed. He passed the letter off to his friends.


    "You''re one of those beta testers, right?" Major Adams asked.


    "Yes, anyway, thank you for playing messenger for Starkiller, Mr.Adams ¡­ sorry, Major Adams. Is there anything I can do to thank you?" Tom asked, exasperated.


    "Yeah, as a representative of the Canadian government, I would like to formally request that the building be used as a refugee center. Could you please unlock the doors?" Major Adams said.


    "Hey, um, why are we asking instead of just calling the police?" one of the firemen asked.


    "Do you remember what that monkey kid did? Look at these people. You think they''re normal?" Adams asked.


    "I know you''re trying to help us, but that was extremely insulting," Alex said.


    "And Racist," Skippy cut in.


    Tom wanted to facepalm. Were his friends capable of any decorum?


    "Look, we need a place to put these people. I would like to call in that favor." Major Adams said.


    The way he said it, Tom was expecting some karmic ability, but he already knew the Major didn''t have any such ability. Then again, Starkiller might have something like that from the premium rewards from the tutorial. He was a Mercenary at heart.


    "We can open the gymnasium; we can easily cut it off from the rest of the school," Tom said as he pulled out the building core.


    "Great, come on, let''s move the injured and children into the gym," Adams said, turning around and racing down into the parking lot.


    "Children?" Tom asked. He froze as he felt icy fingers clenched his heart as he thought of Chloe.


    He looked out into the parking lot. The lot that had been empty the day before was now swarming with people, and for some reason, it was also free of ice.


    "What the hell is going on?" Tom asked.


    The parking lot had completely transformed from when he had last seen it. Injured individuals limped around the massive empty parking lot, their faces etched with pain and fatigue. Some clutched makeshift weapons bandages while others lay on the ground, their clothes stained in blood.


    Lost children, with tear-streaked faces wandered around looking for family members as they clung to tattered blankets or stuffed animals. Groups of people huddled together as they watched the people around there wearily as if they were expecting to be attacked. The sounds of sobbing echoed through the parking lot, punctuating the air with heart-wrenching cries of despair.


    Their arrival hadn''t gone unnoticed; people were looking in their direction, well, in Abaddon''s direction.


    "This is horrific," Alex said.


    "Tom, What should we do about this?" Skippy asked.


    "We''re going to help," Tom said in a way that brooked no argument. "Or would you prefer we just leave everyone out here to die?!"


    Skippy held up his hand''s placatingly.


    "Alright, dude, just don''t bite my head off," Skippy said.


    Tom shut his mouth. His reaction wasn''t purely a result of moral being. He had spied a child abandoned and covered in dried blood. He didn''t know who the kid was, but all he could imagine was what if that was Chloe.


    Walking over to the nearest group, he saw one person with a busted leg, and the rest were scratched up by animals.


    "Mass Heal," Tom chanted.


    All of the scratches and cuts closed up instantly. Unfortunately, the guy with the busted leg took more work. The broken leg was infected, so he had to cast less purification, lesser mend, and revitalization to repair the damage.


    "How did you do that?" asked one of the people he had just healed.


    "Magic, no, go be useful and have the injured brought to me," Tom said dismissively.


    He might not know how to be a public speaker, but he knows how to play the game.


    "Um, ok," the guy nodded.


    "How much can you heal?" Major Adams asked.


    "All of them, eventually," Tom said.


    "I''ll try to organize things with the Fire Department," Alex said as she started talking to the Major.


    Tom and Alex started moving from group to group casting healing spells with Abaddon and Skippy trailing behind them as bodyguards. Alex was organizing things for people to stay in the gymnasium, and the Major seemed to be making phone calls.


    Soon enough, people realized what was happening and started bringing over their injured bodies to be healed. Even the firefighters who were brought over there were injured, and he healed them in short order.


    The kids were the worst. Most of them were asking where their family was, and the ones who didn''t had a hollow look in their eyes. He was just healing up another scraped knee when Abaddon spoke up.


    Abaddon said, "We''re going to need to grab some food soon. I don''t think we have enough in our inventory to feed everyone. Actually, I don''t think we have enough to feed me."


    "We''ve got the stuff in the school kitchens," Tom said.


    "How long will that last? A day, two?" Abaddon pointed out.


    "So what do you want to do?" Tom asked.


    "There''s lots of people here. Maybe we could find some suckers, form a raid party and have them go down and rob the supermarket or something," Abaddon said.


    "Hey, Tom." Luke''s voice cut into their conversation.


    Tom felt his nerves stand on end.


    "Speak of the devil," Tom muttered. Luke, what do you want? And why should I care?"


    Luke flinched backwards as if he had been physically struck.


    "Are you really still on about that? Now, during all of this? Can we put this behind us? How many times do I need to say I''m sorry?" Luke asked.


    "When I stop feeling angry, you can stop apologizing," Tom stated.


    "People are injured, and you''re being petty?" Luke asked.


    "No, I''m healing people. You''re standing here wasting my time. So I ask again, what do you want?"


    A tiny man flickered into existence over Luke''s shoulder.


    "Alright, godling. It''s time for you to fold and walk away from the table before you dig an even bigger hole," the flying man said.


    Tom activated [Thirst for Knowledge] on the little creature.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Theo


    Level: 7


    Classes: Guide 7


    Race: Tempest Spirit


    A spirit of wind, rain, and lighting, this spirit has been bound by a god and forced to serve its prodigy as a guide as a penance for its actions.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 7>


    <[My Mind is a Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 23>


    Tom blinked before turning his eye on Luke.


    "Demigod," Tom stated bitterly. "Even in an actual apocalypse, you''re the golden child."


    Theo looked white as he coughed.


    "I apologize for whatever my charge did to upset you, but I beg you don''t kill him. We have come to ask for the boon of healing from you, Guild Master," Theo said placatingly.


    Tom raised his eyebrow. The spirit was talking like one of the NPC from the legend of Noralon. That was interesting. He would need to talk to Theo about this situation. Despite his expertise in the system, he didn''t actually understand the real system. Yet.


    "Alright, then, spirit. Let me tend to your injury; in exchange, I expect to speak to you later," Tom said.


    The spirit bowed his head before leading Tom over to another group of people. They were mostly his old classmates. Most of them were the jocks that Luke hung out with. But he recognized a few. Chad, Kevin, and a few others he knew. He would have to talk to them soon enough. But right now, there were too many people with more advanced injuries that he required more in-depth healing. Legs needed to be straightened out and the bone repaired. Wounds cleaned and repaired. He didn''t know how long he spent just healing people before they were carted off into the gymnasium. But he was broken out of his work when a familiar voice cut into his thoughts.


    "You see, my brother is magic." Chloe''s voice rang out across the parking lot.


    Tom turned to find Chloe and Princess. They were surrounded by a bunch of children who were currently petting Princess beside the fire truck in the parking lot.


    "Chloe!!! What are you doing out here?!" Tom asked as he stomped over away from everyone else.


    He cast another mass heal, emptying his mana as he walked up to the group of kids. Tom couldn''t help but notice that some of the kids seemed to relax as their injuries healed. It almost made up for the fact that he had just emptied his mana pool.


    "Um, actually, you just told me to go back to sleep," Chloe said.


    "Chloe is not¡­ you know what, Chloe? Why don''t you take your new friends to the gym and you can play there? You can even go into the storage area and grab ---" Tom''s voice was cut off as a screaming fireball shot toward them. Tom felt his mind speed up as he realized what was about to happen. He couldn''t move away without exposing Chloe; he was out of mana and didn''t have time to pull out a spell scroll.


    He suddenly realized he was about to be in a lot of pain. Leaping forwards, he raised his hand and caught the fireball with his left hand. For a split second, nothing happened, and for a really long second, Tom dared to hope it was just an illusion. Then the fireball exploded, and Tom''s world became searing agony.


    The very last thing he did before he hit the ground and became incoherent was to send an invite to every person on the school grounds to join Awoken Myths.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 380


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 490


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1980


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 5.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 6.6 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 11.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 34% Soul 23%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 33


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 99


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 88


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 33


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 99


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 88


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 26


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 19


    - [Universal] - Level 16


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 18


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 21 >> Level 23


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 5 >> Level 7


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 2


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 10 >> Level 18


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 15/60: Skill Points: 3


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 12


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 8


    - [Art of Water] - Level 7


    - [Art of Earth] - Level 1


    Augur 06/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 25


    - [Art of Life] - Level 15


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 8 >> Level 27


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 11


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 10


    - [Leadership ¢ò] - Level 11


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 15


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 10


    - [Logistics ¢ò] - Level 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 30: Vermilion Phoenix vs Siegebreaker Hydra

    "Goddammit, Graves, wait!!!" Ignis called out as Graves attacked the other beta testers.


    The fireball impacted the healer, sending him tumbling backwards. Things had been going so well. They had taken a detour to level off some more goblins before coming to the settlement, and then Graves ran off half-cocked.


    "Dammit, no-kill notification." Graves cursed, lining up a second shot as his zombies moved forward.


    Ignis grabbed his scythe and slammed it into the ground.


    "What the hell do you think you''re doing?" Ignis roared.


    "Winning," Graves replied cheekily. How much better off will we be if we have two settlements?"


    "Yeah, except this isn''t the game anymore, you idiot," Ignis said.


    "So," Graves said with a shrug.


    "So we don''t respawn now. Do you think those guys won''t come after us? On top of that, guns are a thing now. What did you get a bulletproof skill and didn''t tell me?" Ignis asked. You just made us the bad guys. What do you think is going to happen next?"


    ROOOOOOOAAAAARRRR


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been hit with [Fee-fi-fo-fum]


    You have been taunted


    You have been terrorized


    Your position has been highlighted for your enemies


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Great, now we''re up shit creek," Ignis cursed as his eyes were forcibly dragged towards the biggest lizard man he had ever seen as the thing vaulted out of the parking lot charging right at them.


    "Newt, kill it!!" Graves ordered


    The large undead Graves had created from the orc corpse charged the lizard man.


    "You called it newt?" Ignis asked as the lizard man''s fist glowed with [power strike].


    "I can name my ---." Graves was cut off as the lizard man drove Newt into the asphalt with a single [Power Strike]- infused punch, leaving cracks in the road as Newt died.


    "Fuck!!" Ignis swore as he launched a fireball at the lizard man.


    "YOU!!!" The lizard man roared as he ducked the fireball and activated the [Charge] skill, shooting towards Ignis with impressive speed.


    "Graves, if we survive this, I am going to kill you!!" Ignis swore as he turned into his fire form.


    The lizard man''s fist impacted his chest as expected, but instead of going through his intangible body like he was expecting. Ignis was sent flying backwards as pain erupted from his entire being. He crashed into a car, flashing back to flesh; his entire body was covered in cracks as if he were made of glass, and they went deep. Organs had been ruptured, and bones split apart.


    He vomited up more blood than he thought was healthy before he flashed to flame and back again. His injuries were gone, but his hp bar had dipped to around half with that one attack.


    "What the fuck?!" Ignis spat blood again as he activated [Body of the Fire God].


    His body immediately started to heal the lost health, but he didn''t have time to rejoice, as the lizard man was already on him again. He rolled to the left as the lizard smashed a hole through the car door with his bare hands.


    "[Pugilist], or maybe [Spirit Warrior]?" Ignis wondered aloud as he unfurled his wings and tried to take off to put some distance between him and the lizard man.


    The lizard man ripped the car door off the car and threw it at him. Ignis dodged it with ease and then fell to the ground as the car door sliced through his wing of fire.


    "Shit!!"


    Ignis tumbled to the ground as he tried and failed to recreate the wing with magic. He slammed into the ground with a meaty thump. He tried to get up, only to be kicked away. As he was sent tumbling backwards, he felt a section of his [Body of the Fire God] shut down with the impact.


    "So that''s it," Ignis spat. "You have [Siegebreaker], dammit Graves. I''m fucking screwed."


    The lizard man didn''t answer, a red aura of the rage skill having already overtaken him. Ignis cursed as he realized he wouldn''t be able to escape this fight. His wings would take time to fix themselves. His [Living Flame] and [Flash Fire] skills had just become liabilities against this target, and the lizard man was fast enough to close the distance with him, so long-range was out of the question. That just left close quarters.


    "What''s that old saying? If you can''t go around a problem, you''ve got to go through it!" Ignis said as [Scorched Fists] came alive.


    He dodged one of the massive lizardman''s fists as he dived in closer, slipping between the big reptile''s clumsy blows. Ignis unleashed a wave of flame, blinding the lizardman before sinking a flaming dagger into his chest.


    Rather than dodge, the lizardman followed through with his attack, punching Ignis with enough force that Ignis felt his bones threaten to break under the force. But it was still better than the hit he had suffered in his elemental form.


    Ignis dodged the next attack as he vaulted backward. With his back bent like he was trying to win the world championship of limbo, he pushed off the ground with his hand and landed a solid kick on the Lizard man''s face.


    The Lizard Man barely reacted to his attacks, but it gave him room to breathe as the lizard continued to lash out at him. He bit his lip as he realized the lizard''s man wounds were healing at a near-visible rate. His own healing was fast, but it was dependent on his mana. He suspected the lizard''s man''s healing was based on a bloodline and wouldn''t stop until he was dead.


    Focusing his mana on his hands, Ignis leapt forward to meet the Lizardman with all his strength. The two of them started to savage each other. Blow by blow, they chipped away at each other''s health as they blocked, parried, and clipped each other with every exchange.


    Ignis felt sweat pouring down his face as he danced around the lizard man''s wild swings, barely managing to stay ahead in the fight. Despite how close he was to death, he felt strangely calm. This was something he had done a thousand times before in Noralon, and that gave him some strange comfort as he started to refine his technique. His stance improved, his motions became cleaner, the cinders flying around his hands coalesced into claws, and the temperature of his new claws started to rise until his hands turned into incandescent claws of burning fire.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Upgrade


    [Scorched Fists] ¡ú [Scorched Claws] ¡ú [Claws of the Vermilion Phoenix]


    [Claws of the Vermilion Phoenix] - Mythic


    Your hands and feet transform into the piercing claws of a phoenix. Your claws can pierce armor with unyielding sharpness and the fury of an inferno. Your physical attacks now do fire damage.


    You gain +1.25% Unarmed Mastery per level of this skill


    When striking your opponent with your unarmed attacks, you bypass a portion of their armor equal to 0.5% per level of this skill.


    You have a chance to inflict [Burn] with your unarmed strikes equal to 1% per level of this skill.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    +10% to your STR


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Ignis felt a wave of relief wash over him as his body surged in strength. He lashed outwards, his incandescent claws scoring a mark on the lizard man''s scaley hide. The fight wasn''t guaranteed. In fact, this fight had been a tightrope from the start, with no guarantee of victory, even if he didn''t fuck up. It was going to be close.


    As the fight entered its final stage, Ignis gave up any pretense of fighting conservatively. He gave up all defense and unleashed every fire magic spell upon the lizard man he could. He punched, kicked, and slashed away at the other player as his own HP plummeted.


    Then the lizard man stumbled, and Ignis lept forwards, shoving his clawed hand directly into the lizard''s chest and piercing his heart. The lizard man spat out blood as the light died from his eyes.


    "I won," Ignis panted as he ripped out the lizard man''s heart and stood there half-dead, his head held up in victory. "Holy shit. That was close. I am so fucking lucky."


    Ignis roared his victory to heaven as he stood among the burning houses of what had once been a normal neighborhood. He was never going back to what he was. He would be ---


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Abaddon has Activated [Second Stage]


    All of Abaddon''s stats have been temporarily doubled, and all of his resources have been restored.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "No," Ignis muttered, his exhaustion hitting him hard. His body was too tired to move.


    As the lizard man''s body was consumed by light, he was back up on his feet.


    "Yes," Abaddon said, no trace of the rage in his voice as he rose up again, his injuries gone.


    "Since you got a skill upgrade from that fight, I think I deserve one as well," Abaddon said with a cruel reptilian smile.


    Ignis watched as the lizard man drew back his fist. His hand first turned red, then darkened, going from red to purple. Ignis didn''t even bother to try to dodge. He knew he didn''t have the reserves for more than a paltry effort.


    "[Giga Impact]," Abaddon said before his fist impacted Ignis directly into his chest.


    Ignis''s rib cage shattered under the impact, and his organs ruptured as Abaddon activated a skill that increased his strength by at least 25% for one attack.


    Ignis''s shattered body was sent flying backwards fast enough that when he impacted a car, what was left of his spine shattered from the impact. Then he flipped over the car and smashed into the house behind it. For a long moment, as the last of Ignis''s HP drained from his body, he was in utter agony.


    BOOOM


    Then, the pain was washed away, and Ignis was reborn in fire.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline Skill - [Rebirth of the Phoenix]


    Upon your death, your body explodes in a fireball before reforming into that of a Vermillion Phoenix for a time equal to one minute per skill level. After this, you will return to your natural form, and all resources will be fully restored.


    During this time, you will be a Vermillion Phoenix, and your status will change to match.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Ignis rose from the ashes of his body, a massive, beautiful, majestic phoenix almost two stories tall. His body was made of fire; burning cinders floated off it, and his eyes were sapphires as he stared down at Abaddon.


    For a long moment, they both just stood there. Then, at once, they both moved. Abaddon lept at him, his hands outstretched, as Ignis turned and shot away from the battlefield as fast as he could.


    He had no delusions about beating Abaddon now. While they had been mostly equal before, that wasn''t the case now. His body was primarily that of an elemental, and while that normally meant he could ignore physical attacks, the [Siegebreaker] skill not only negated that effect but also meant that all of Abaddon''s physical attacks would now devastate his new body. Yeah, this was not a fight he could win, and he suspected they were both fully aware of the fact.


    Ignis flew towards Graves at max speed as Abaddon chased him. His friend was not doing well; the undead they had brought had been cut to pieces. Graves himself was facing down the Squirrel Beast Kin. The Bimbo Witch and the normies had already cut down the undead army they had brought. Another reason this was stupid: in another minute, they would have been able to focus all their attention on Graves.


    Realizing a deafening screech, Ignis dived, scooping up his friend before immediately gaining affection. A spell shot after him, impacting his phoenix form as he retreated.


    "What the hell are you doing?!" Graves shouted at him as he flew away.


    "That''s my question," Ignis hissed in his bird form as they flew west. Until we get back, you''re going to explain to me in detail why you thought it was a good idea to pick a fight with the other beta-tester, considering our current situation. And you better make it good?" Ignis squawked.


    "I was trying to expand our kingdom, Eric, and I might have succeeded if you had not pulled me out."


    "I would be dead by now if we didn''t retreat. You weren''t far behind." Ignis shot back.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Ignis Vermilion (Eric)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Orc


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Elemental


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: N/A


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 14


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1360


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1520


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1280


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 36.6 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 35.2 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 29.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, Pyromaniac, First


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Fire, Ageless


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical, Light, Air, Vitality 18%,


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Magic, Water, Dark, Earth, Soul 32%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Goblin slayer, Elemental Slayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Master Pyromancer 11, Fire Enhancer 5


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 128


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 88


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 208


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 16 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 128


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 80 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 208


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 WILL, +4 SPIRIT, +3 INT, +3 PER


    Racial: +3 SPIRIT +2 AGIL +2 CON +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 CON +5 SPIRIT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Vermilion Phoenix] - Legendary: The Bloodline of the Vermilion Phoenix grants you a profound connection to the mystical firebird, embodying its resilience, purity, and fiery power. This bloodline''s effects make you a master of fire, capable of withstanding the most intense flames while harnessing them for your own benefit.


    - [Fire Conasuir] - Level 16 >> Level 20


    - [Vermilion Guard] - Level 10 >> Level 18


    - [Purifying Flame] - Level 15


    - [Regenerative Flames] - Level 30 >> Level 31


    - [Perfect Form] - Level 2 >> Level 3


    - [Burn Brightly] - Level 16 >> Level 18


    - [Wings of the Phoenix] - Level 19 >> Level 22


    - [Rise from the Ashes] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - +5 CON per Level


    - +5 SPIRIT per Level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Endless Brawler] - Level 14 >> Level 16


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 6 >> Level 8


    - [Storage] - Level 10 >> Level 12


    - [Mapping] - Level 17 >> Level 20


    - [System Wiki] - Level 7 >> Level 8


    - [Zen Master] - Level 14 >> Level 16


    Master Pyromancer 08/16


    - [Art of Fire] - Level 25 >> Level 27


    - [Consuming Fire] - Level 21 >> Level 23


    - [Mana burn] - Level 22 >> Level 25


    - [Funeral pyre] - Level 21 >> Level 22


    - [Incinerat] - Level 21 >> Level 22


    - Capstone: [Living Flame] - Level 15 >> Level 17


    - [Tempered Flame] - Level 5 >> Level 12


    - [Reignition] - Level 1 >> Level 6


    Fire Enhancer 04/6


    - [Claws of the Phoenix] - Level 9 >> Level 5


    - [Flash Fire Step] - Level 1 >> Level 6


    - [Rocket Launch] - Level 1 >> Level 7


    - [Afterburner] - Level 1 >> Level 3


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 31: Undead Horde

    Luke was rooted to the spot as Tom blasted off his feet, tumbling to the ground. People screamed out in horror. Luke looked up to see zombies, actual zombies, making their way down into the parking lot.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, you have joined the Awoken Myths guild


    As a member of the guild, you gain all of the benefits and responsibilities of the position. The Awoken Myths guild aims for the peak, ensuring that its members display excellence in all things.


    You gain the following benefits as long as you maintain the Title: Awoken Myths.


    Guild Leader Bonuses


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Mental Resistance +11%</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You have a 15% chance to inflict the [Terror] Ailment when attacking an enemy</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You can access the [Supply Chain] of Thomas Bruner</li>


    </ul>


    Guild Bonuses


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+10% to all XP Gains within the Territory of Awoken Myths</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+10% to your total HP within the Territory of Awoken Myths</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+10% to your total MP within the Territory of Awoken Myths</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Luke Blinked at the unexpected message.


    "Come on, Godling!!" Theo shouted. "Get your head in the game before you become a corpse''s chew toy."


    Theo turned to the other people.


    "Join the guild now!! It could be the difference between Life and death," he shouted.


    People started to shake themselves, and then there was a roar. Luke turned to find Hector or maybe Abaddon? Launch himself up the ramp, smashing through the zombies with ease. He charged whoever had attacked them. Skippy chased after him, his weapons glowing as follows.


    Luke shot a glance towards Tom. He saw Alex casting golden spells over his burnt body while the firefighters tried to apply first aid to him. Chloe was crying. Luke felt angry. Anger and rage made him turn and charge towards the undead, even as Theo tried to shout at him. Skippy was already hacking through them with ease as Luke arrived at the fight.


    This time, he didn''t hesitate as he smashed the head of what he thought might be an undead goblin. Its body crumbled to the ground with the blow before Luke turned again as another undead came at him. He swung his blade around, taking off its head, but then another undead charged him, and another, and another.


    Then, an arrow flew by his ear, stabbing into one of the undead and dropping it instantly.


    "What?" Luke turned to see his friends charging up the ramp to help him. Issac and Gareth raced up behind him as Sam took potshots at the undead. Even a few firemen and police officers were coming up behind them to help. Smiling, Luke turned back as he continued to hack at the undead horde. Skippy made them all look like rank amateurs as the anthropomorphic squirrel man practically teleported between the undead and destroyed them one after another.


    As they were hacking through the undead horde with relative ease, a fireball shot towards them


    "Oh shi--" Luke swore just before a wall of water rose up to intercept the fireball.


    Before Luke could process the information, five more fireballs shot past him into the undead horde, devastating the zombies.


    Luke turned around. This time, it wasn''t his friends coming up behind them to help; it was Alex. She was flying over their heads as she rained down death and destruction on the undead, forcing the entire army back all on her own.


    "STOP!!" someone shouted.


    Luke turned back to the undead army and saw some guy dressed up as an edge lord with a scythe in his hand. Raising his Scythe, he fired a bolt of lightning straight towards Alex. She deflected it with ease before spears of lightning appeared around her, shooting towards the edge lord.


    The edge lord didn''t even dodge away as the spears of electricity impacted his chest; the man didn''t even flinch, but Luke noticed more than a few of the undead around him dropped to the ground, turning to dust.


    "I am not going to lose to some bimbo witch!!" the edge lord shouted as he exchanged spells with Alex.


    The edge lord was so busy dueling with Alex that he failed to notice Skippy until the jackass was right on top of him, his sword stabbing into his chest and causing two of the nearest undead to turn to dust.


    "FUCKING WEAK," the edge lord swore as he brought his scythe around to try and kill Skippy.


    But the squirrel man had already lept back to dodge the attack before dashing forward again to slash at the edge lord. Unfortunately, this time, the edge lord was ready. He parried Skippies'' attack and tried to counterattack, but Alex was already hammering away at him again with magic. Every time she did, another undead turned to dust.


    This time, it was obvious that the edge lord''s undead were somehow taking the damage for him.


    "The edge lord is healing himself using the zombies. Kill all of the zombies!!" Luke called out as he redoubled his efforts to cut away at the seemingly endless number of zombies.


    He appeared to have touched a nerve because a more intact-looking zombie than the others, covered in armor with a sword and a shield, charged towards him.


    Twisting his body to face his new challenger, activating [Periphetes'' Crippling Strike], he brought his enlarged glowing sword down on the undead shield. The flimsy wooden shield was smashed into splinters, and the zombie''s left arm was a ruined mess. But the zombie didn''t even react as it lashed out weakly with its sword. Luke tried to parry, knocking the blade away sloppily.


    Luke thrust out with his replica of the master sword, turning just in time to guide the length of steel deep into the armpit of the undead. With a grunt of effort, Luke wrenched his sword out, pulling the zombie''s left arm with it and a good chunk of its shoulder off with it. Despite that, the zombie didn''t even react to the attack as it clumsily stabbed at his retreating form, missing by an inch.


    Bringing his sword around, Luke slashed across the zombie''s torso, causing the zombie to stumble backwards before he stabbed the undead again, then kicking the rotting thing to the ground. The zombie stumbled, falling to the ground before Luke brought his sword around and stabbed it in the creature''s head. The blue light in the zombie''s eyes flickered out as it died.


    Looking up, Luke scanned his surroundings as his friends cut down the weak zombies with relative ease. The Scythe-wielding edge lord was a different case. Alex had switched targets back to the undead horde and was busily setting them all on fire.


    Skippy and the edge lord were disappearing and reappearing as they swiped at each other at high speeds like they were characters in a dragon ball manga. Both of them were already covered in injuries but even could tell that Skippy was winning.


    "FUCK, fuckety fuck fuck fuck!!!" The edge lord swore.


    "What''s the matter, shitlord?!" Skippy called out. "Can''t keep up? Or is the poison finally catching up with you?"


    "Fuck you, you fucking coward! Fight me fair and square!!!" the edge lord shouted.


    "Says the pot to the kettle. Now shut up and die!!" Skippy shot back.


    Before the fight could continue, a massive flaming bird appeared out of nowhere, snatching up the edge lord and flying off. Abaddon appeared hot on the bird''s heels chasing it.


    ""GET BACK HERE, SHITLORD"" Abaddon and Skippy shouted as they tried to attack the retreating bird.


    Luke watched as Alex launched dozens of spells at their retreating forms.


    "God fucking dammit!!" Skippy said. "I''m going to fucking kill that shit stain."


    "I killed my''n," Abaddon boasted.


    "Then why is he still alive?" Skippy asked.


    "[Rebirth of the Phoenix]" Abaddon said. "I think it''s a bloodline ability; the guy is a pure-fire user. What about your guy?"


    "Reaper class, he has some version of [Parasite] and [Way of the Reaper] pain in the ass to fight," Skippy said. "Might have a bloodline"


    "Any idea what he wanted?" Luke asked as he walked up to the two of them.


    Skippy and Abaddon turned to him. Luke had never been friends with either of them before. Abaddon''s dislike of him seems to be based on Tom''s dislike of him. Skippy, on the other hand, didn''t seem to dislike him more than he disliked anyone else.


    "No idea. In the game, I would have said it was for bragging rights, or maybe they wanted to conquer the settlement. But now I''m not so sure." Skippy said.


    "In-game?" Luke asked, confused as fire chief Adams walked up beside them.


    "This system was based on a game called the Legend of Noralon. Or maybe it was the other way around. Regardless, we logged into the game for the new expansion and woke up as our characters." Skippy explained. "Or did you think I was always a four-foot-tall anthropomorphized squirrel?"


    ""Seriously?"" Luke and Fire Chief Adams asked.


    "Yep, even got a nice title of beta-tester for it."


    "That''s why you guys are handling this so well," Adams muttered. "The monsters, the power, even the school. For you, this isn''t all that much different from what you were expecting to be doing."


    Skippy squired up Abaddon''s body to sit on his shoulders.


    "Pretty much," Skippy said.


    Abaddon looked up at his friend.


    "Why are you sitting on me like a parrot?" Abaddon asked.


    "I lost like Two feet. Give me this." Skippy said.


    Abaddon signed before going back down the ramp.


    "Come on, let''s go check up on Tom," Abaddon said.


    Luke felt the blood drain from his face.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "Do you think he''s still alive?" Luke asked.


    "Of course, he''s still alive," Skippy said. "We''re still getting the bonuses from his class, so of course, he''s still alive."


    <hr>


    Adams looked around at the sea of dead Zombie bodies. None of them were human, but he wasn''t sure if that made him feel better. Though if he was being honest this entire situation left him feeling confused. Especially the fact that his entire world hadn''t just become a video game. But a video game that had already been in circulation. He was still trying to decide if that was better or worse. He looked around at the devastation five people, what five beta testers had unleashed on day two of the system. The only reason no one had died was because they had all been focused on each other instead of them.


    Adams shook his head. Until they properly understood the situation, he would need to keep on these people''s good side. He needed them a lot more than they needed him or anyone else, for that matter.


    <hr>


    Tom''s mind swam in and out of consciousness. His arm was in sheer agony. He tried casting lesser heal on himself but he kept fumbling the spell. Each time he failed the spell, another lance of burning agony shot through him.


    "How bad is it?" someone familiar asked.


    "Third-degree burns on most of his left arm," someone else said. "I''m not sure if he''ll regain use of the arm. But he''s stable."


    "Lesser heal," the familiar voice said.


    Relief washed through Tom''s body as some of the pain disappeared.


    "What did you do?" the unfamiliar voice asked.


    "Healing magic. Tom is really the person who should be doing this. But I can get him back on his feet, at least. Then he can take care of the rest," the familiar voice said.


    "I know it''s healing magic. I grabbed [Life Magic] myself, but I can''t do what you''re doing." Chester said.


    "They''re more than one healing spell. I''m using a combination of different spells to address the issue. You''ve been trying to brute-force your healing by restoring their HP, and that''s why it''s so expensive. I can show you some better spells later."


    Waves of healing magic started to bombard his body, the agony in his arm fading with each casting until he could open his eyes again.


    "Hey," Alex said, tears streaking down her face


    "What did I miss?" Tom asked painfully.


    He looked down at his arm. It was horrific. His arm was already bandaged up, but the bandage was soaked red with his blood, and worst of all, it still felt like he was burning. He would be in far more pain if his stats weren''t so much higher than he expected.


    "Thank god for Ego," Tom signed as he tried to get up.


    "Wow, wow," one of the larger firefighters tried to stop him from getting up.


    "You''re injured; you can''t just get up. I would have taken you to the hospital if it wasn''t filled with monsters." Alex said


    Tom shot her a look.


    "Sir, I''m in a lot of pain right now, so let me make this brief. I am going to heal myself. If you try and stop me, I''m blasting you with water, and then I''m going to leave you out here in the cold for the night." Tom warned as he pulled himself to his feet.


    The firefighter looked like he wanted to argue even more, but the fire chief. Tom had to double-check his status to remember his name, Bailey Adams. Mr.Adam pulled the woman away and allowed Tom to walk into the parking lot. Zombie corpses decorated the ramp leading out of the parking lot.


    "Going to need to clean that up," Tom muttered.


    Reaching for his magic, he started to write out a ritual mid-air designed to fire off a bunch of Life spells in sequence. He first had to dull the pain, then strip off all of the burned flesh, restore the flesh, restore his HP, fix the nerve endings, fix his muscles, and restore his skin. He followed that up with a powerful Mend spell to cover any of his mistakes.


    Once it was finished, he shoved his arm into the ritual, activating the magic. What happened next was gruesome. His arm was ripped apart as golden life magic flowed into his limb. Muscles and skin regenerated over his arm in a grotesque display. The entire thing took less than a minute.


    Tom screamed as his restored arm came to Life. His body jerked as he collapsed to the ground as he was inundated with pain.


    "Ow." Tom groaned. "I think I mistimed the pain nullification."


    The pain was already disappearing as he pushed himself to his feet. He absently noticed that his left arm was far paler than his right now. Like painfully white, he had also forgotten to grow his fingernails, so it was going to be fun to grow those back.


    "Couldn''t you have just sliced off the arm and then grown it back?" Alex asked.


    Tom froze.


    "Shit, why didn''t I think of that?" Tom groaned. "That would have been way easier."


    "Tom?" Chloe''s voice cut into his thoughts.


    He sat up to see his little sister standing on the pavement with Alex. Looking at him, hopefully. She looked upset.


    "Chloe, what''s wrong?" Tom asked, getting up and walking over to her.


    "I''m sorry," Chloe sobbed.


    "Sorry? Chloe, you''ve done nothing wrong." Tom placated her as he scooped her up in his arms.


    "But you got hurt," Chloe cried into his chest in big heaping sobs.


    "And I got better," Tom said as he rubbed her back.


    Then, surprisingly, Alex wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. She almost gave off a sense of desperation, as if she wanted to make sure he wasn''t about to disappear, as she embraced him so tightly it almost hurt. But he didn''t say anything.


    "You''re not allowed to get injured like that again. You understand me?" Alex said her voice was raw. "We were so worried."


    "Right next time, I''ll make sure to keep Abaddon around as a human meat shield." Tom half-joked.


    Then his face turned serious.


    "What happened while I was out?" Tom asked.


    "Five more minutes," Alex pouted as she hugged him.


    Tom rolled his eyes, but he waited. Finally, after more than five minutes, Alex let him go. Chloe was wrapped around him so tightly that Tom expected he wouldn''t get her off of him until she fell asleep.


    "Ok, we drove them off. One of them was a pure [Reaper] build, while the other one was a [Master Pyromancer] and [Flame Enhancer]. At least, that''s what we think. We think they both have bloodlines, but there is nothing on the [Reaper]. But we think the pyromancer took the Vermilion Phoenix bloodline. Abaddon killed him, and he came back on top of that he had wings of fire." Alex stated.


    "So a classic [Pyromancer] build. And a [Reaper]," Tom noted. "First Starkiller, now these jokers. How is today worse than yesterday?"


    "Come on inside. We can talk in the pit."


    Tom followed her up to the main entrance as he fiddled with his status with his new levels. He had a few things he wanted to purchase.


    <Level Up>


    <Level Up>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You are now a level 1 [Pro-gamer]


    Chess, checkers, GO, shogi, dungeons, and dragons. These are the bread and butter of your afternoons. Now, you can leverage those skills in the real world.


    [Spell Trap] - Rare: you can cast a spell and then activate when certain conditions are met, allowing you to counter surprise attacks ot be an asshole with a bunch of trap cards.


    The number of spell traps is equal to 1 spell trap for every ten skill levels. Improve the power of your [Spell trap] by 1% per skill level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You are now a level 1 [Scribe]


    The pen is mightier than the sword. You are a scribe, a recorder of history, a keeper of knowledge, and the guardian of wisdom.


    [Contact] - Uncommon: You can create a system-enforced contact. Both parties must agree to this contract. Breaking this contract will enforce a system penalty on the breaker. The severity of the System penalty is equal to your skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have Learned the Augur Skill [Quest Giver]


    [Quest Giver] - Rare: People have often been sent on quests to kill ten rats, retrieve an ancient artifact from a tomb, toss a cursed ring into a volcano, or escort a peasant across a blasted hellscape. Now, you, too, can send a bunch of unprepared children on an epic quest that might kill them.


    The number of Quests you can give out is equal to 1 quest per skill level.


    One quest can be given out to multiple people. Quests cannot be canceled; they can only be completed or failed.


    The system determines Quest rewards based on difficulty, though you may choose to sweeten the deal with your own resources. Failure to pay a quest will result in extreme penalties.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom grinned. He had everything he needed to deal with other people now.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 455


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 585


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2340


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 6.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 7.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 13.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 34% Soul 23%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1, Scribe 1, Pro-gamer 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 39


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 130


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 117


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 104


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 78


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 39


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 130


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 117


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 104


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 78


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 26


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 19


    - [Universal] - Level 16


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 18


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 23


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 7


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 2


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 18


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 2


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 12


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 8


    - [Art of Water] - Level 7


    - [Art of Earth] - Level 1


    Augur 07/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 25


    - [Art of Life] - Level 15


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 27


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 11


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3


    - [Quest Giver] - Level 1


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 10[


    - Leadership ¢ò] - Level 11


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 15


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 10


    - [Logistics ¢ò] - Level 12


    Pro-Gamer 01/11


    - [Spell Trap] - Level 1


    Scribe 01/6


    - [Contract] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 32: The Major

    The cafeteria was a loud, buzzing pit of activity. Hundreds of people, mostly high schoolers, had fallen into their familiar cliques, a small comfort amidst the chaos of the last few days.


    Major Adams sat in the middle of it all, arms crossed, surveying the scene. At this point, the school was the only safe zone for the ongoing crisis. Every other public building or evacuation site was overrun with monsters.


    Adams took another bite of the pork sandwich he had been eating. He had needed to organize for lunch to be served, as no one else had considered doing anything about the situation. Unfortunately, there wasn''t enough food in the school, so Sgt. Thorn had gone hunting with a few others and brought back a dozen boars¡ªboars in Surrey. It was ridiculous. The meat was pretty good, though, and he ended up eating three servings.


    He had already tried to contact ¡­ anyone else he felt could help with the situation¡ªthe military, the government, even emergency services. Unfortunately, everyone was dealing with the same problems he was¡ªmonsters, the system, and these beta testers. It made him want to take up smoking again.


    The one silver lining was this ''settlement.'' He had read about the field effects when they had entered the area. Monster repellent and the reinforced structure made this school the single safest building in Surrey. But then there was the issue of the beta testers who claimed ownership of the settlement.


    Adams had read the system notification when entering the school, declaring the place as belonging to these kids. Legally, that didn¡¯t mean a damn thing, but he doubted they would give it up without a fight. And given the damage they¡¯d unleashed when the undead attacked, he wasn¡¯t about to force go down that road without real need to. Honestly, between the magical healing and the information on the system they offered him, he was inclined just to let them have the school so long as they behaved.


    His musings were cut short when Tom, along with his witch companion and his little sister, entered the cafeteria. Adams¡¯ eyes went straight to Tom''s arm, which had been charred to the bone maybe three hours ago. Now, it looked perfectly healed¡ªthrough paler and pinker than before. Yeah, that kind of healing was definitely worth giving these kids a school to play in.


    "Are you ready, Thorn?" Adams asked as the lizard man and the squirrel man joined Tom as they made their way to his table.


    "Yes, sir." Sgt.Thorn answer.


    The plan was simple: Adams would play good cop while the Sgt. would play bad cop. It wasn''t an original plan. But he wanted to know where the line in the sand was before things got out of hand.


    "So, you''re the leader?" Thorn asked, her face screwed up into a scowl.


    Tom cleared his voice. He was trying hard to avoid it, but the Major could see that Tom was nervous.


    ¡°As I was trying to say before, I was so rudely interrupted.¡± Tom began, ¡°I am Thomas Bruner. I am the guild leader of Awoken Myths and the new landlord of Hopkins. How may I help you?¡±


    "How did you heal your arm?" Major Adams asked, deciding to go with a safe question first. "Those were third-degree burns. How can your arm be healed?"


    "Magic," Tom said as he inhaled his pulled pork sandwich.


    In hindsight, that might have been a stupid question.


    "Wow, this is terrible. I don''t think you guys even added salt." Tom muttered around a mouthful of food.


    "Well, we didn''t have enough spices for five hundred people, your royal nibbs." Abaddon bemoaned.


    "500? Already?" Tom asked.


    "More keep showing up all the time," Alex said.


    "We''re going to have to start organizing things," Tom muttered.


    "We would have started already, but someone got blown up." Alex shot back.


    "Well, now we have to set up a bureaucracy. Yeah." Tom said sarcastically


    ''They are very at ease with each other,'' the Major thought.


    "Excuse me." Thorn cut in.


    "What is it, officer?" Tom asked as he ate another sandwich.


    "It''s Sergeant Thorn. I would like to know how you think you own this school," the Sgt said.


    "Well, we cleared out the demons that had been inhabiting this place, claimed the settlement and then spent the settlement points to bring this place up to snuff, and we defended it from two assholes who tried to claim it. Finally, if that isn''t enough, anyone who enters the property will receive a system notification notifying you of the name of the place and organization that owns it. It is Ours." Tom said, his hands twitching.


    "That hardly means anything. You''re just a punk kid. Just because a window pops up in your head doesn''t mean you own anything. We can remove you if need be." Sgt. Thorn stated as she placed her hand on her gun.


    Abaddon let out a low crocodilian growl. Skippy gripped both of his swords as he stood in his chair, and Alex''s hands glowed. Tom smirked at them, that nervousness he had seen earlier evaporating as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.


    "You are welcome to try," Tom said darkly.


    Adams gave Thorn the signal to back off. He had been hoping they could just bully Tom and his friends into falling in line. That hope just went out the window with just how eager they appeared to get into a fight.


    "Thorn, I think that''s enough.¡± Adam¡¯s cut in.


    Officer Thorn took her hand off his pistol, and the rest of Tom''s friends relaxed.


    ¡°What my friend here is trying to say is that we would like your help with the current situation,¡± Adams said, trying desperately to change the subject. "We could use some technical support for this crisis, among other things."


    "Have my friends here explained the whole Legend of Noralon thing?" Tom asked.


    Major Adams nodded. "This was all a video game originally? One that you all have experience with?"


    Tom smiled as he nodded, almost like a little kid excited to tell his friends a secret. Then Adams remembered that Tom was a kid, barely eighteen.


    "Yes. However, we are having some trouble with that," Sergeant Thorn stated. We can''t find any evidence of this Legend of Noralon game."


    "What?" Tom asked, his mask breaking.


    "The game is gone. So, is anything even related to it." Skippy explained. "There''s no wiki, no Reddit guides, nothing. Any information on the net about Noralon has been wiped. We''re stuck with working off of our memories."


    "Do we still have the books?" Tom asked.


    "Those seem intact," Skippy said.


    "While technical information on the system is helpful, that''s not what we need right now," Adams cut in. He had already had this conversation with Skippy before and wasn''t interested in a repeat.


    From what I gather, the two biggest issues we have right now are what you call a dungeon to the east and all of these Lairs. Those are infested with monsters."


    "According to the note Starkiller gave you to give me, the dungeon is closed right now, so we can''t help with that until it opens up. We can help clear out lairs and turn them into settlements, but that begs the question, what''s in it for us?" Tom asked.


    "You''re really going to be selfish in a crisis?" Thorn asked.


    Personally, Adams was just happy they were at the bargaining stage already. Compared to some of the people he needed to negotiate within the middle east, the kids were practically surrendering to them.


    "Really, are we going to get all the settlement cores after we''re done? How are you going to pay us for risking our lives? Why would we help create new settlements if they''re just going to be in competition with us?" Tom shot back as he inhaled another sandwich.


    "Pretty sure you''re the one being selfish here," he mumbled around a mouthful of meat.


    "Yeah, Selfish," Chloe, the little sister, chimed in as she fed her dog a sandwich.


    "I''m sure we can come to an arrangement," Adams said as he tried not to smile. "For the time being, Mr.Bruner, we''re hoping to use Hopkins as a base of operations for the police and firefighters to hub out of and a place to bring the wounded. The nearest hospital is home to something called a Shoggoth.


    Adams noticed the slight way Tom shuddered, indicating he knew exactly what he was talking about.


    "We would also like to start funneling refugees to this location until we can get more settlements under our control. We would need your expert help in clearing out lair locations; if I understand this correctly, we would need the core. Finally, we would like to consult you regarding information about the system. What would we need to do in exchange for this?"


    "Why not use your own stations? Or the police precincts?" Tom asked.


    "More than a few of them are now lairs, as you call them. We need to clear them in the first place. Worse, the ones that haven''t been infected with monsters don''t seem to repel them like Hopkins does."


    "Who''s in charge of the police and the firefighters then?" Tom asked.


    "Major Adams is currently in charge." Thorn cut in this time.


    "Major?" Tom asked, turning to a firefighter.


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


    "We served in the military, and old habits die hard," Adams said with a shrug as if Thorn hadn''t been expressly told to drop that information. "On that note, I would like to make a deal."


    Tom smiled as he opened up his new [Contract] skill.


    "For starters, I would like to recruit some of your RCMP into the Awoken Myths. I want to fill out our ranks with individuals capable of both guarding the school and keeping the peace. However, if they do, they will operate under our rules, not yours.


    Second, we need food, beds, and other utilities. I understand that you might not be able to acquire all of these things, so we would also like to scavenge from stores and abandoned residents. I know there are laws against looting, so I would like my guild to be able to acquire supplies without getting shot at.


    Third, we have the right of refusal for any lair, monsters, or anything that could potentially get us killed. We don''t work for you, and we aren''t your suicide squad."


    Fourth, if you get the core, then we get all of the loot from any settlement we clear.


    Finally, I will share all basic information regarding the system. That means a basic understanding of the monster''s classes and skills. All other information, such as builds, information on events and bloodlines, will be traded on a case-by-case basis." Tom said.


    The next moment, a contract similar to the one Starkiller had created appeared in front of him, stating the terms. Adams wasn''t sure if he liked it. It seemed reasonable; hell, the kid all but allowed law enforcement to take over. so much so that there had to be a catch. Either the kid didn''t realize what he was offering them, or he knew something Adams didn''t.


    "We can only allow scavenging with law enforcement members'' onsight," Major Adams said. As he did, the [Contract] altered itself to reflect his words.


    "Fine, but then I''m adding that either one of us can end the [Contract] at any time," Tom stated.


    "I can agree to those terms," Adams said, agreeing to the [Contract].


    "Great. In that case, I would like to trade the following in exchange for a ham radio and police scanner." Tom began. "The [Firefighter] class offers elemental resistances and numerous close-range skills. On the other hand, the [Law enforcement] classes offer physical resistance, long-range identification, and investigation skills. These two classes would not only complement each other, but they would help keep your people alive."


    Adams didn''t find that information useful, considering he might have learned it on his own, but he was willing to give the kid a radio regardless.


    "Thanks for the information," Adams said. I''ll arrange to have those items delivered to you. In the meantime, we have a list of settlements we want you to capture."


    "If you can, Give me a list including the location as well as a description of the monsters guarding it. The more information you provide, the better. We can start hitting them tomorrow. Today, I need to deal with the people who joined the guild, including you. If the people who joined the guild are unwilling to follow orders, they will be kicked out of the guild, and then I need to arrange for all of them to receive basic training." Tom said excitedly.


    "Can I remain part of the guild while I perform my duties?" Adams asked.


    This was a bit of a rub. He was loyal to his country. Not Tom. In fact, the only reason he considered remaining in the ''guild'' was the benefits.


    "Before you ask, those benefits are things I provide, not something inherent to a guild. As for your question, the guild doesn''t micromanage, though, during events and raids, you will be expected to follow orders," Tom stated.


    He could work with that for now. He may need to leave the guild later. But in the meantime.


    "Ok then, can I have the rest of my people join the guild?" he asked.


    "Sure. Have them come and find me after lunch," Tom said as he kept eating.


    That was when another boy walked in on their conversation and cut in.


    ¡°Can you actually bring back the dead?¡± the boy asked. "You have a skill called [Hand of Mercy]. My skill says it brings back the dead."


    "Of course, he can. My brother is amazing. He brought back Skippy and Ms. Lewis," Chloe said proudly as she hung off his arm.


    Adams felt like he might not have heard that right.


    "Hi Luke, nice to see you again. Why don''t you speak louder? I don''t think everyone has heard you yet,"


    Adams opened his mouth to say something, but Tom cut him off.


    "Before you ask, I need the body,"


    Luke, Adams, and Thorn all had the same look spread across their faces, though in Thorn''s case, she looked a lot more suspicious.


    "This is the part where you all leave to bring me the corpses of your dead friends. In the meantime, I need to talk to my sister about the importance of secrets." Tom said, around a mouthful of food.


    <hr>


    Adams walked back to the fire truck as Thorn walked beside him. Even though they weren''t in the same chain of command, it was all too easy for them to slip back into their roles, especially given the current circumstances.


    "Sir, I take it we aren''t going to push for more control over this situation," Thorn asked.


    "Sergeant, at this point, we are operating completely blind. Right now, I''m concerned that any decision I make could be the wrong one. While these kids aren''t soldiers, they understand how all this ''system'' stuff works. More importantly, they are willing to help us, and given what they''re asking for, they''re doing it for cheap. Hell, they''re asking us to put our own people in and around the school. That tells me they''re either ignorant of the position that puts them in, or they''re more concerned about the monsters on the outside," Adams said.


    "And because of that, we''re going to let them play king of the castle, Sir?" Thorn asked.


    "Yeah, if they can help us fight things like the shoggoth, they can have the school. That''s a small price to pay," Adams said. "Besides that, if what Tom said was true, we might even be able to get some of our people back. I want you to round up every corpse we find and start bringing them to the parking lot. Let''s see if Mr.Bruner can raise the dead."


    He paused and looked around, losing his smile. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, Thorn. I don¡¯t think any of these kids have thought beyond the next twenty-four hours. They¡¯re keyed up, excited, and a little stressed, but they¡¯re still thinking of it as a game. If they''re thinking about the future at all, they¡¯re thinking in a day or two, they¡¯ll all be back at home. Or residence. Whatever. I don''t think that''s what''s going to happen. From what I''ve managed to get out of Chester, I should expect this is our new normal, and we just have to get used to it."


    Thorn opened her mouth to argue when the PA system came on, and Thomas''s voice came over the PA.


    "Hello, everybody. This is Tom. I am the leader of the Awoken Myths; some of you may know me, some might not. Some of you were allowed to join Awoken Myths during a crisis. If you wish to remain in the guild and retain the bonus, or if you want to join the guild properly, please complete the following quest."


    "Quest?" Thorn asked.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have received the Quest: Meta-Gaming ¢ñ.


    The Awoken Myths Guild expects its members to truly use and abuse the system, reaping the greatest rewards and achieving the greatest results. Go to the gymnasium and follow the guild leader''s instructions to meta-game the system or be kicked from the guild.


    Objectives:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Go to the main gymnasium to attend a lecture by Guild Leader Thomas Bruner on proper leveling, skill activation, and stat distribution. 0/1</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Speak to Guild Leader Thomas Bruner 1 on 1 to get some advice 0/1</li>


    </ul>


    Bonus Objectives


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Learn the Skill [Storage] from Tom 0/1</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Learn at least one spell from Alex 0/1</li>


    </ul>


    Failure Conditions:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fail to get to the gym before the 2-hour mark</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Leave the gymnasium before speaking 1 on 1 with the Guild Leader</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: 1000 XP


    Penalty: removal from the Awoken Myths Guild


    Time Limit: 2 Hours: 59 Minutes: 59 Seconds to reach the gym


    Tips: Go to the gym and follow the guild leader''s instructions


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "That''s interesting," Adams muttered out loud.


    He was curious about just how Thomas had managed to do this. He had a lot to learn about the new dynamic the system had brought to their world.


    "Thorn, make sure to get them a ham radio and a police scanner. We need to pay those kids back for the information they gave us." Adams said.


    "Is it really that valuable, sir?"


    "No, but it''s a great opportunity to set up a communications line here," Adams said.


    "Yes, sir. Is there anything else?" she asked.


    "Yeah, anyone who isn''t doing something should go to the gym," Adams ordered.


    "Do you really want all of us to join this ¡­ guild?" Thorn asked.


    "Thorn, Thomas isn''t willing to let anyone who doesn''t go through this horse and pony show in his guild. That should tell you how important this is. Even if our people decided not to join, this could be helpful," Adams said as he turned and marched towards the gym.


    Maybe he would finally assign all those stat points.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Baily Adams


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 9


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: British


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 36


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1,425


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2,340


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 300


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 24.9 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 6.9 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 0.5%, Elemental 3%, Vitality 0.5%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Firefighter 5, Police Officer 3, Paramedic 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 27


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 9


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 27


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 9


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: 126 Unassigned


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 09/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuite Hunter] - Level 10 >> Level 16


    - [Storyteller] - Level N/A


    Fireman 02/11


    - [Toolkit] - Level 5 >> Level 10


    - [Turnout Gear] - Level 6 >> Level 8


    - [Thermal Vision] - Level 1 >> Level 7


    Police Officer 02/11


    - [Toughness] - Level 6 >> Level 8


    - [Danger Sense] - Level 11 >> Level 13


    - [Fancy Feet] - Level 1 >> Level 4


    Paramedic 01/11


    - [Lifeguard] - Leve 2 </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 33: Drill Sergeant

    Tom watched as the Firefighter and the police officer wandered off, never losing his posture. However, the moment the Major walked out of sight, he slumped back, collapsing into his chair completely boneless, his back covered in sweat and completely exhausted.


    "Oh my god, that was intense. I am never doing that again. You assholes can try being the face of the party!" Tom muttered.


    His friends chuckled at his outburst. Chloe hadn''t even noticed she had completely lost interest in the conversation and was now enjoying feeding Lucy pieces of meat and giggling as the dog ate them. Tom ignored the ribbing of his social skills as his actual social skills leveled up.


    <[Contract] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Contract] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Contract] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 9>


    "So why do we need to be in charge? Why not just dump the job on Major British and Sgt. Killjoy? While we go adventuring?" Skippy asked.


    "Fuck that," Tom said as he tried to steady his heart. "I''m not leaving myself at the mercy of assholes who fucked up the world in the first place. Do you really trust them to do anything other than a half-assed job? How many hours are we going to have to spend getting them to do basic in-game tasks that we know we need to do? Do you think they''ll help us with the next event? A blood moon? Will we even be able to make it to the next event with them in charge?"


    "Okay, okay, I get it. Don''t bite my head off. What do we do now?" Skippy asked.


    "We''re building up our base," Tom said as he slumped against the chair. Abaddon gathered up all of our alchemy supplies, not just the Noralon stuff but stuff from the chemistry labs as well. Find a place for an alchemy lab."


    Abaddon nodded, cracking his knuckles before he got up to leave.


    "Skippy, I want you to go scavenging, grab as much as you can, and rob as many stores as you can. We are going to need food, medicine, clothes, weapons, and supplies. So scavenge whatever you can before it''s all gone. No fighting. This is a smash-and-grab. If there is too much heat, you leave." Tom stated.


    "Oh, come on," Skippy groaned. "I''m trying to get away from the rogue thing. This isn''t even Noralon stuff. It''s just normal stuff."


    "Well, that''s too bad. We can handle the apocalypse ourselves, but they can''t. We need people to upgrade the settlement, and right now, we can''t feed those people," Tom said.


    "Ugh," Skippy groaned but stopped arguing; instead, he got up and walked away.


    "Well, now that that''s beans decided, I think I''m going to go help skippy with ---"


    Tom cut off Alex with a look.


    "No dice, Alex. I need help with managing all of ¡­ this. These two couldn''t get past the Iron Age in civilizations. So you''re helping me with the shit show."


    "I hate you," Alex huffed as she sat back down. "Couldn''t you just stab me? Honestly, that sounds less painful than dealing with other people. We''re going to be so under-leveled if we spend all our time managing noobs."


    "Actually, I''ll probably get some XP for it," Tom said. You could always take a few leadership classes."


    "Find me one that isn''t worthless for me," Alex shot back.


    Tom rolled his eyes at her. Despite Alex''s position on combat-only classes, every class had the potential to be dangerous. While not every class needed combat to level up, every class could level up through combat.


    But she was right about one thing. Doing all of this management work would slow them down, but they needed to keep control of Hopkins. Owning a settlement presented too many opportunities and dangers. They can''t afford to wait for someone to learn how to do it the right way, and if they needed to waste time on the responsibilities, they would need the opportunities to keep up.


    "Alright, the first thing we''ll do is teach people a couple of spells from your grimoire. That will help settle people down," Tom said.


    That perked Alex up.


    "I might get a level or two from that."


    "You could pick up the [Pharaoh] class. It''s the magic leadership class."


    Alex rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I could do that, but then I wouldn''t be able to pick up more levels to blow stuff up. You''re the one who''s going full [Words of Power] build. My build is focused on overwhelming magical powers. I can''t really take inspiration from your build for my own."


    Tom sighed, and their conversation ended as they reached the gym doors.


    "Alright, now remember the plan. Alex, you''re going to be handing out spells. I''ll use [Augurs Eye] to record everyone''s status in [Library of Akashic Records], at least until I have enough paper to keep everything on. This is going to be mandatory for everyone to get a [Appraisal] once a month so we can know if anyone is going in a dangerous direction with their build," Tom said as he fired off his quest.


    "Did you say all that for my benefit or your own?" Alex asked.


    "I honestly have no idea," Tom admitted as he entered the gym.


    <hr>


    "This might have been a mistake," Tom muttered to himself as he sweated bullets.


    Tom found himself in front of a crowd of people with a beautiful woman at his side. If he had a choice, he would have preferred to be fireballed again. Anything was better than doing a speech. He was an antisocial nerd. He wasn''t supposed to be in these kinds of situations. Part of him found it funny how the Demon Lord had been less intimidating than the crowd of people.


    Of course, the Demon Lord would have slaughtered everyone in the room; most of them had yet to push past level 5. The highest-level people were Luke, Major Adams, and Sgt. Thorn and the larger medic who had helped him, he was pretty sure his name was Chester. They were the only people level 7 and above. Based on the class''s rarity, he could see only Chester and Luke had anything worth mentioning.


    Practically speaking, they were a bunch of noobs with no idea what they were doing, and most of them were going to have to [Sunder] their classes. He just needed to remember the formula for speeches: introduce himself, give them the bad news, give them good news wrapped in hope, and give them a choice of his way or to do it on their own. He let out a steady breath as he prepared himself.


    Tom stood up straight and did his best to project as much authority as possible. He hoped no one would notice the sweat stains he was developing. The armor he had gotten from the tutorial had received a slight upgrade. The white robes and black leather chest pieces contrasted with each other nicely as he stood above the crowd. Before he said a word, he cast two spells. The first was a small fireworks display to grab their attention. The second spell was a simple air cantrip to turn his voice into a megaphone.


    "Alright, everyone. I am Tom, the guild master for Awoken Myths." Tom said as he tried to hide the tremor in his voice.


    "The world as you knew it is gone. Welcome to the system apocalypse. If you don''t know what that is, look it up. The simple fact is the world is now a video game, complete with quests, monsters, and classes¡ªspecifically from the MMO Legend of Noralon." Tom said.


    That caused a round of murmurs as people started talking to each other.


    "Let me be clear here. Outside of the Hopkins field effects, the world is a dangerous place. It''s filling up with monsters and psychos, and it''s only going to get more dangerous as the mana levels continue to increase. Today, you''re fighting level 5 monsters; in two months, you''ll be fighting level 20. If you don''t believe me, check the news channel. It''s going to start escalating, and anything pre-system is going to be destroyed," Tom said.


    The atmosphere of the gymnasium quickly turned grim, and people started to become scared. That was his cue to reel them in.


    "But you do not need to be afraid. We know how this game works. We know the cheats and the exploits. We know not only how to keep you safe, but more than that, we are going to show you how to use the system to become strong." Tom raised his hand, letting two pillars of ice form to his sides like two great arms reaching for the roof.


    "It doesn''t matter if you''re a [cook], a [janitor], a [hunter], a [scribe], a [soldier], a [doctor], a [gamer], or whatever. With magic, levels, and hard work, you can become great if you join the Awoken Myths guild." Tom said as he captured the imagination of the crowd.


    "For those of you unwilling to put in the hard work or expecting the government to save your ass, you can stay here until the guild can clear additional settlements for you to move into. For those of you who want to work hard, join the Awoken Myths guild and embrace power. Stick around, and we''ll be getting into the technical details of how you can cheat the system for power."


    A few people actually cheered, but no one else left so Tom started in on the technical information.


    "Alright, the first rule of the Legend of Noralon: You need to allocate your free stat points in specific groupings for optimal results. Aim for groupings of either +4, +4, +3, +3 or +4, +3, +3, +2, +2. Which stats you choose depends on your classes, but you must consistently assign the same number of stats to the same attributes at every level. Let me say this again. The same stats every level; otherwise, you''re going to have to start over." Tom could already see some people shuffling their feet, clearly afraid they might have already screwed themselves up.


    "If you didn''t do this, that is fine. You can [Sunder] your class. Just say the word [Sunder]. You''ll get the option to be reduced back to level 1. But you do not need to lose your skills, and we will help you build yourselves back up better than before," Tom explained.


    "What if we don''t want to do that?" Chad''s voice echoed across the room.


    "Well, then, Chad, you can accept mediocrity. I wish you the best of luck, but if you don''t fix your foundation, you can no longer participate in this event," Tom said dismissively as he removed the Awoken Myths title from Chad, causing Chad to go red.


    "You can''t do this?!" Chad shouted.


    "We already did," Alex said. "Now fuck off, asshole."


    Chad looked at Alex in confusion.


    "You''re the Bitch?! How the fuck are you hot?! You were a fucking fugly bitch before. What did you do? Scrap off the --- GAAAAAAAAY."


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Tom blasted Chad with a Flash spell to his face.


    Chad dropped to the floor, screaming as he held his face in his hands.


    "My eyes. The bitch burned out my eyes!!"


    "Actually, the nerd blasted you, you moron. Don''t worry. You''re fine. You''re just blinded temporarily. Would someone please remove him from the gym?" Tom called out.


    Chad was dragged out by his friends as they gave him dirty looks.


    Alex leaned in close, giving him a quick side hug.


    "Thanks for that," Alex said. That hurt more than I thought it would."


    "Don''t worry. I got your back, fam." Tom said.


    Alex leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Tom felt himself go completely red as a tomato. He turned to find Alex was equally red and looking away from him.


    That scene seemed to put the rest of the audience at ease, and Tom quickly tried to control them.


    Once most people returned to level 1, Tom moved on to the next part. He needed to bribe them as much as possible, so he spent one of his skill points.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!!


    You have Upgraded the skill: [Logistics ¢ò] - Lesser ¡ú [Logistics ¢ó] - Common


    Logistics ¢ó - Common


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Storage]: You can store items in an extradimensional space. Space equal to your skill level multiplied by 1 meter cubed.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Supply Chain Master]: You can now teach people the [Storage skill]. Anyone in your party with the [Storage] or equivalent skill can connect the inventories of your party members, creating a shared network of inventories. This skill allows the members of your party to transport supplies between their inventories for a distance of up to 10 yards per skill level.</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Alright then. Everyone form up a line. You will first meet with me, and I will record your status and grant you the [Storage] skill. Then, you can meet with Alex, who will help you pick up some magic spells for self-defense. Then, you can talk to one of us, and we will work with you to help you plan out your build based on what you want. Finally, if you need additional help, I have the skill to let me further help you with your classes if you need it." Tom said with a grin on his face. Now, who wants to go first?"


    There was almost a rush as people tried to form a line. Tom created three tables and chairs out of earth magic, which cost a lot of mana. This way, everyone could move from one table to the next one, and they would have a place to take notes.


    Tom gave them a few moments to sort themselves out as the notifications came in.


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 21>


    <...>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 17>


    <...>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Art of Earth] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Art of Earth] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Art of Earth] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Leadership ¢ò] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Leadership ¢ò] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Nascent Guild Leader] has Reached Level 11>


    Tom silently basked in the wave of skill growth notifications. He had managed to get through that speech without falling on his face. Thank the gods he had pulled this off. If it weren''t for his enhanced stats, he would have collapsed to the floor then and there. Even if he was still standing, he wanted to go upstairs, hide under a bed and sleep for a week.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t have time to think of a way out of the mess he had placed himself in as two people approached him. He recognized both of them, even if he had never seen them together. When he used [Augurs Eye], he realized why they were together as Chester and Samatha Mato walked towards him as a father-daughter duo.


    "Hello," Chester said as they approached him. "Before anything else, I just want to express my gratitude. Your beacon helped reunite me with my daughter."


    "Dad," Samatha hissed at him as Chester held her close.


    "I won''t apologize for being happy about you being safe," Chester stated.


    "Don''t worry about it," Tom said as he reached out and shook each of their hands while teaching them the [Storage] skill.


    They blinked at the new notification.


    "Now then, I noticed Samatha here already assigned your points properly," Tom said.


    She was level 6, and her point distribution was good for a ranger build.


    "It''s just Sam, and yeah, you can thank Theo for that," Sam said. He was insistent.


    "I''ll need to do a reset," Chester said apologetically.


    "Let''s put that off for now, Mr.Mato. I want to combine your [Life Mage] and [Death Mage] into the class [Arbiter of the Cycle] this class ---"


    "Why?" Chester asked concerned.


    "Combining and then sundering the class will unlock it in your menu. That way, you won''t have to gain levels in Life and Death Mage class in order to regain the [Arbiter of the Cycle]," Tom pointed out.


    "I mean, why that class?" Chester clarified.


    "Oh, well, I guess I should have asked this first: What do you want to be? What do you want to do? You picked [Life Mage] to heal people. At least, I assume you did. Are you trying to become a [Necromancer] or ¡­" Tom trailed off as Chester shook his head.


    "No, nothing like that. I live in harmony with the land. I won''t destroy it."


    All right then, but unless you want to ditch the [Death mage] class, I would still recommend [Arbiter of the Cycle]. This class focuses on the natural cycle of life and death, returning the dead to the land so they can nourish the natural world. It''s good for healing and killing. It''s also a good class to pair with a [Healer], [Druid], or [Shamen] class.


    "That sounds pretty good," Chester admitted


    "That''s great. Do you want to do it now? We can sunder your class afterwards, and you can just pick it."


    "I''ll do it now," Chester said, offering his hand.


    Tom took it and activated [Soul Forge]. He was immediately drawn into Chester''s soul space, with the common nebulas and stars coming into view. He dragged everything together, allowing them to fuse.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You have combined [Life Mage] - Level 5 + [Death Mage] - Level 3 ¡ú [Arbiter of the Cycle] - Level 8


    [Art of Death] + [Art of Life] ¡ú [Art of Life & Death] - Uncommon


    [Aura of Growth] + [Aura of Decay] ¡ú [Aura of Growth and Decay] - Uncommon


    [Art of Life & Death] - Uncommon: Life and Death are two sides of the same coin. A coin you have since mastered. +3% per skill level to all Life and Death magic


    [Aura of Growth and Decay] - Uncommon: All life is invigorated within your aura, whether complex sentient life or simple flesh-eating bacteria. Increase the growth of all non-sentient life in your aura by 5% per skill level and increase the rate of decay for any dead creatures in your aura by 5%. Any enemies in your aura have a chance to contract [Necrotic Rot] when injured, equal to 1.5% per skill level per minute. All allies have a 2% increase in their natural HP regeneration.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Damm," Chester muttered as he looked at his hand.


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 19>


    "Great, now you''re going to want to sunder your class. You''ll drop back to level 1, and it will suck. Trust losing stats suck. But you''ll be able to get those levels back quickly." Tom said.


    Chester nodded and tapped at the air a few times before he collapsed to the ground.


    "DAD!!!" Sam grabbed her father, catching him before he hit the floor.


    "I''m okay," Chester wheezed as he tried to stand up properly. "I just wasn''t expecting that."


    "What happened?" Sam asked.


    "He just lost all his stats. It sucks a lot," Tom said as Chester stood back up.


    He seemed to be handling it better than Tom had expected.


    "It feels like gravity just got worse," Chester groaned.


    "Now Sam has levels in [Rouge] and [Ranger], yes?" Tom asked as he turned his attention to her.


    "Yeah, but that''s not why we''re here. You see, my dad and I have the bloodline of the Ursa Nox in the system ¡­ Do you know what that means? I know Luke''s Bloodline is from his dad, but I don''t think I have any bears in my ancestry," she asked.


    Tom froze his mind, screeching to a halt as he looked at her using [Augurs Eye]. Then he remembered that [Identity] skills like [Augurs Eye] couldn''t see bloodlines, so Tom activated [Thirst for Knowledge] and [Visions of Akashic Records] for good measure. He immediately regretted it as his mind seemed to shatter from the endless stream of information.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 455


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 585


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2340


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 6.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 7.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 13.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 36% Soul 23%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1, Scribe 1, Pro-gamer 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 39


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 130


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 117


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 104


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 78


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 39


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 130


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 117


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 104


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 78


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 26


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 19


    - [Universal] - Level 16 >> Level 17


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 19 >> Level 23


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 23


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 7


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 2


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 18 >> Level 19


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 2


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 15 >> Level 20


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 9 >> Level 10


    - [Art of Water] - Level 7


    - [Art of Earth] - Level 1 >> Level 4


    Augur 07/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 25


    - [Art of Life] - Level 15


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 27


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 11


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3


    - [Quest Giver] - Level 1


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 10 >> Level 11


    - [Leadership ¢ò] - Level 11 >> Level 13


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 15


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 10


    - [Logistics ¢ó] - Level 12 >> Level 6


    Pro-Gamer 01/11


    - [Spell Trap] - Level 1


    Scribe 01/6


    - [Contract] - Level 9


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Announcment

    All right, so I''ve been hearing alot of complaining about my grammar for a while. Unfortunately, I don''t have much time to fix them, so I''m taking a quick week off from publishing to backtrack and fix the grammar.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    It will probably take less time than that, and if I do finish early, I will resume early, but I''m working and haven''t had proper time to review everything without interrupting the schedule. So, I''m taking a quick break to improve my work.


    I''m adding the addition of second place for the books cover

 Chapter 34: Thirst for Knowledge

    Later, when Alex asked Tom what [Thirst for Knowledge] felt like when combined with [Visions of Akashic Records], his only response was that it felt like having his brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick. His mind was flooded with more information than it could possibly handle. His hands smacked into the side of his head as if his hands could somehow stop his head from exploding.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Samatha Mato


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 6


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Native American


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 19


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 525


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 860


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 140


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 4.9 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 8.2 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 2.1 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 4%, Elemental 4%, Vitality 4%, Crit 8%, Poison 8%, Disease 8%, Insta-death 8%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Rouge 3, Ranger 3


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 54


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 48


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 24


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 6


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 54


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 48


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 24


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 6


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 STR +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR +5 CON


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline: Bloodline of the Ursa Nox - Historic


    (Warning: This name has been translated from its original language due to [Universal])


    Going back generations, the Lillooet were originally a group of powerful mystics deeply in tune with the spirits of the land. The Ursa Nox, in particular, favoured the mystics and lay with them, creating the bloodline of the Ursa Nox. Generations later, the bloodline has started to fade, no longer matching the glory it once had.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Senses of the Ursa Nox]: </li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Allows the user to detect and identify herbs, poisons, and natural treasures just as the Ursa does. It increases range by one meter per point of perception and accuracy by 5% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Black Hide of the Ursa Nox]: </li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Your skin has taken on the properties of the Ursa Nox, reducing the effect of physical and elemental attacks against your person by 0.5% per skill level. You also increase your ability to remain hidden by 2% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Immortal Organs]: </li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Increase your resistance to Crit, Poison, Disease and Insta-death by 1% per skill level</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Increase your resistance to vitality damage by 0.5% per skill level</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Hibernation]: </li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">When meditating or sleeping, increase your natural resource regeneration by 3% per skill level</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">When meditating or sleeping, your HP regeneration changes to [Regeneration]. HP restoration increases to per minute instead of per hour, and lost limbs and damaged organs will grow back.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Spirit of the Ursa Nox]</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Summon the Spirit of the Ursa Nox to protect you</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ursa Nox''s level and skill levels are equal to the level of this skill</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Skills: [Bear Claw], [Shadow Claws], [Ursa Protector], [Ursa Guardian], [Restoration]</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+5 STR per Level</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+5 CON per Level</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table style="width: 89.9758%">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 98.9224%">


    Skill Slots 4/60


    Personal Skills 02/??


    - [Storyteller] - Level 7


    - [Pursuite Hunter] - Level 10


    - [Storage] - Level 1


    Rouge 1/6


    - [Subterfuge] - Level 4


    - [Assassination] - Level 2


    Ranger 1/6


    - [Bows] - Level 4


    - [Silent Steps] - Level 6


    - [Eagles Eye] - Level 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Options available:


    Fighter Class Options


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Leader - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Monk - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Squire - Common</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Spellcaster Class Options


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Life Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Dark Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Air Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Apprentice - Common</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Rouge Class Options


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Nobel - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bandit - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Tracker - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Trainee - Common</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Ranger Class Options


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Driver - Basic</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Hunter - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pupile - Common</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Support Class Options


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Medicine Man - Common</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Crafter Class Options


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Trader - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Leather Worker - Basic</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Student - Common</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Magic Affinities


    - Fire: 25


    - Water 57


    - Air: 76


    - Earth: 48


    - Light: 16


    - Dark: 77


    - Life: 96


    - Death: 48


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Spells:


    None</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Pre-existing Expertise:


    - Archery


    - Survival


    - Tracking


    - Herb Lore


    - Driving


    - Hunting


    - Dissection


    - Knife Fighting


    - Knife Throwing


    - Ax Fighting


    - Ax Throwing


    - Pet Training


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Background & Cultural Information:


    - Cultural Heritage: St''¨¢t''imc Nation (also known as the Lillooet people) For the St''¨¢t''imc and many other Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, the bear (particularly the grizzly and black bear) holds deep spiritual significance. Bears are seen as powerful beings that represent strength, healing, protection, and introspection. The bear is revered as a spiritual guide or totem animal, often embodying qualities such as courage, leadership, and wisdom. The St''¨¢t''imc believe that the bear¡¯s ability to hibernate in the winter and awaken in the spring represents the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, a central concept in their spiritual worldview.


    - Personal Philosophy: Samatha Mato believes in the natural harmony of the world. Following the cycle of life, death and rebirth


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Mental State


    - Determined


    - Hopeful


    - Anxious


    - Relief


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Physical State


    - Healthy


    - Abrasive knees


    - Twenty-Seven minor cuts


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Physical Characteristics


    - Height: 6 ft 0 Inch


    - Weight: 154 pounds


    - Gender: Female


    - Biological Age: 19


    - Chronological Age: 19


    - Sexual Interest: Male


    - Body Fat: 9%


    - Damage: None


    - Tattoos: None


    - Blood Type: O+


    - Hair Length: Shoulder Length


    - Hair Color: #000000 / Black


    - Eye Color: #50C878 / Green


    - Skin Tone: #CC9A8B, #D4A99C, #DCB7AD, #E3C6BE and #EBD4CF / Light Brown


    - Breast Size: D-cup¡­


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom stopped digging through Sam''s metadata. He was actually a bit disturbed at how much more information he could pull out of Sam alone. The worst part was the fact that the skill force-fed the information into his head. He didn''t read the information. He just remembered something he hadn''t known before. There were pages about everything, mental status, physical status. The system even kept a log of everything they had done since the system started, and it had a live feed of what she was seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and even tasting in real-time. And then there was the blinding headache along with the list of notifications.


    <You have suffered 310 points of mental damage>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Vision of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Vision of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 4>


    <...>


    <[Vision of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 10>


    <[My Mind is a Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Leadership 2] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Leadership 2] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Leadership 2] has Reached Level 16>


    "You ok, kid?" Chester asked as he placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him.


    "Yeah, I''m fine, just skill feedback," Tom muttered.


    He didn''t bother to use [Thirst for Knowledge] on Chester. That would be too painful as he pushed the darker implications of why the system had all this information aside as he focused on what was immediately important.


    "You two have the Bloodline of the Ursa Nox? It''s not bad for a rogue or druid build. But I didn''t know you played Legend of Noralon." Tom said, testing the waters, hoping that what he had seen was wrong.


    "Legend of what?" Sam asked, confused, causing Tom to be confused.


    "Okay, how did you two get the bloodline?" Tom asked, cutting to the heart of the issue.


    "We woke up to the system notification, and it told us about our bloodline," Sam said with a shrug.


    Tom felt his mind churn at the news. It wasn''t just Sam who had a bloodline; her whole family line probably had the same bloodline. Or maybe someone in her family did play the Legend of Noralon, and the system propagated his bloodline to his family like his bloodline had been propagated to Chloe. No, even if that were true, they would have picked up a legendary bloodline, not a historic rarity bloodline, which left just one terrible possibility.


    Bloodlines were already a thing before the system showed up. That meant that anyone could have a bloodline. Which meant anyone could have a crap bag of skills, and unless he used [Thirst for Knowledge], he wouldn''t know.


    "Are you ok?" Sam asked


    "Yep," Tom said. I just realized that anyone on the planet could have a bloodline, and I''m going to have to look out for them." Tom said as he clutched his head, casting mend to try and heal the damage.


    Tom wanted to kick himself. How could he have missed the possibility? Worse, he missed it twice with Luke but overlooked the fact because he hated Luke. Great, that''s another thing to watch out for on top of the other beta-testers'' random bloodlines. Demigods. The list was just getting bigger.


    "Is this a problem?" Sam asked nervously.


    Tom put his head in his hands as he felt a migraine coming on. "No, I just realized that now I''m going to have to watch for people with bloodline. Fuck."


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 455


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 585


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2340


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 6.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 7.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 13.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 40% Soul 24%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1, Scribe 1, Pro-gamer 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 39


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 130


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 117


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 104


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 78


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 39


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 130


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 117


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 104


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 78


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 26


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 19


    - [Universal] - Level 17


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 23


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 23 >> Level 24


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 7 >> Level 9


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 2 >> Level 10


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 19


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 2


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 20


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 10


    - [Art of Water] - Level 7


    - [Art of Earth] - Level 4


    Augur 07/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 25


    - [Art of Life] - Level 15


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 27


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 11


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3


    - [Quest Giver] - Level 1


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 11


    - [Leadership ¢ò] - Level 13 >> Level 16


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 15


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 10


    - [Logistics ¢ó] - Level 6


    Pro-Gamer 01/11


    - [Spell Trap] - Level 1


    Scribe 01/6


    - [Contract] - Level 9</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 35: Class Fusions

    Now, shifting back to what you originally came here for, what do you want to be?" Tom asked curiously as he tried to ignore the larger implications of his discovery.


    "Um, what?" Sam asked, confused.


    Tom let out a sigh. He expected this was going to be a recurring problem.


    "What do you want to be? Do you want to be a sniper hidden in the trees? A hunter roaming the world. Do you want to be an assassin striking from the shadows? Or maybe you want some magic? Be a healer like your dad here. Maybe you want to be a pure crafter? It doesn''t matter if you change your mind later. But having a proper idea to build yourself around is helpful."


    Tom watched as Samtha rolled the idea over in her head as he copied down her status. He was pretty sure steam was pouring out of her head as he tried to wait patiently for her answer.


    "Right now, I''m more concerned about being alive. So what can you do to improve that?"


    "Do you have any preference for a build?" Tom asked.


    "Not really," Samatha admitted.


    Tom wanted to roll his eyes. Min Maxing wasn''t nearly as useful if the person didn''t want to grind out the skill levels.


    "How about you tell me what your favorite games are, and we can go from there." Tom cut in.


    She listed them off: "Assassin''s Creed, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, The Legend of Zelda."


    Tom nodded. He could work with that.


    "I can help you unlock the [Monster Hunter], [Bounty Hunter], or [Treasure Hunter] classes. Each one would be an improvement over your current build. I would recommend [Treasure Hunter]."


    "Theo said the same thing," Sam muttered, "but Why [Treasure Hunter]?"


    "It''s mostly a class about finding valuable stuff. Detection abilities, personal storage skill, tracking, and stealth. It''s about avoiding trouble, not getting into it."


    "Wouldn''t [Monster Hunter] be more useful?" she asked, confused.


    "For fighting monsters, sure," Tom admitted. "but there are two problems with your logic. First off, there are only two ways to get a class. The first is to meet the qualifications and directly grab the class from your menu. The second option is to fuse two classes of a lower rarity in order to unlock that class. As long as you keep fighting monsters, you''ll eventually get the [Monster Hunter] class because we''re battling monsters. But for, say, [Bounty Hunter], you would need to hunt down actual people, and for [Treasure Hunter], you would need to find real treasure. I don''t really see you doing either of those things, so now is a great time to get a class you might not normally be able to pick up."


    "You aren''t taking [Bounty Hunter]," Chester cut in.


    "Why not?" Sam asked


    "I don''t want you to go around hunting other people. I understand taking classes to protect yourself, hunt animals, or look for treasure, even if I would prefer you to stay here and be safe. But you are not going to take a class based around hunting and killing people," Chester said in a tone that brooked no argument.


    "Ok, Dad. Ok," Sam said, surrendering to her father''s judgment.


    Tom patiently waited for Sam to make her decision as more people started to line up behind her.


    "Alright, then I think I''ll pick up [Treasure Hunter]," Sam said.


    "Great, now do you want to wait until you unlock [Meditation] to fuse them yourself? Or can I use my [Soul Forge] skill to fuse them myself right now? " Tom asked.


    "You can do it now?'' she asked.


    "Yes. Would you like me to?" Tom asked.


    "Sure," Sam said nervously.


    "Hand, please," Tom asked as he fired up his [Soul Forge].


    The moment he touched her hand, he entered her soul space. He had never used this part of his bloodline on someone else, and he was understandably nervous.


    Samatha''s soul space was almost identical to his in some ways and completely different in others. The black void of space with nebulas and stars was the same. Instead of his nebulas and stars, there were only two nebulas, one of black and the other of dark green. With his bloodline skills, he could see the beginnings of the constellation.


    He could see how he could put them together in different ways to achieve different results. All of that potential was just sitting there, calling him to be used. He carefully angled them to combine them to unlock the treasure hunter class.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Fusion: Level 3 Rogue - Common + Level 3 Ranger - Common ¡ú Level 6 Treasure Hunter - Rare


    Skill Fusions:


    [Eagle Eye] ¡ú [Magpies Eye for Treasure] - Epic


    [Subterfuge] + [Silent Steps] ¡ú [Silent Explorer] - Epic


    [Bows] + [Assassination] ¡ú [Deadly Aim] - Uncommon


    [Magpies Eye for Treasure] - Epic:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You can read the status of any item you come across. Increase the amount of information gained by 1% per skill level </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Treasure is highlighted in your vision.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You can also telescope your vision. Increase maximum zoom by 5% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    [Silent Explorer] - Rare:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+1.25% to your Acrobatic & Sneak Mastery per skill level. </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+1% increase to your rogue-type skill gains</li>


    </ul>


    [Deadly Aim] - Epic:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+1.25% to your Bow, Crossbow and Firearm Mastery per skill level.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You are 1% more likely to hit your target per skill level.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">When attacking with a ranged weapon in sneak or stealth, increase all damage by 9% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom exited the soul space bombarded by notifications as Samatha staggered at the sudden change.


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 20>


    "Wow," Samatha breathed as she looked at her new skills. "That''s new. Are these better or worse?"


    "Better," Tom said with a shit-eating grin. "Way better, [Magpie Eye for Treasure] and [Silent Explorer] are straight-up improvements. [Deadly Aim] is brutally basic, but it makes you aim better. It can be upgraded to a form of aimbot, but it''s good enough for now. Anyway, you have an affinity for Dark and Fire, with the subelements of Ash. Ask Alex for those spells. If you want to learn other spells, you can come back later." Tom said.


    "Magic, like I''m going to learn real magic?" she asked in awe.


    "Yep, you can practice on the field outside and avoid needlessly blasting the building. NEXT!!" Tom called out to the person behind her.


    "Um, Thanks," Sam said. She looked like she was going to say something, but then she moved on to Alex without saying anything.


    Tom just shrugged. Her shit was her shit. He moved on to the next person as the notification popped up.


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 22>


    <...>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Vision of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 11>


    <...>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 13>


    <[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 25>


    <[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 26>


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    <...>


    <[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 30>


    <[Logistics ¢ó] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Logistics ¢ó] has Reached Level 8>


    <...>


    <[Logistics ¢ó] has Reached Level 12>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    To help people understand their paths forwards and help them grow, you have learned the Personal skill [Teacher] - Common


    [Teacher]: when you are attempting to teach someone, their skill and XP gains are increased by 1% per skill level. Information you impart is retained within your student''s brains by a factor of 0.5% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Teacher] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Teacher] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Teacher] has Reached Level 9>


    Tom let out a sigh. He had spent over three hours talking with nearly two hundred prospective new guild members, going over what they wanted to be and what was available to them. Some of these ideas were plausible, and a few were even interesting. He had only been able to upgrade a few of their classes, as most of them had just [Sunder] their classes due to bad stat placement.


    But he had been able to give everyone advice on where to go with their builds and how to achieve their dreams, and Alex had taught them some low-level magic, so the general mood was looking pretty good, considering most of Hopkins could now blast people with magic.


    He was sure people would be annoyed when they realized that you needed intelligence to use magic. Most of them had not bothered to add any to that stat and would end up having to wait until level 10.


    When they had gone through everyone in the room, Alex turned to him.


    ¡°Alright, Tom, how are we looking in terms of recruits?" Alex asked.


    "We have two dozen potential cooks, twenty people with some kind of pet class, fifteen potential hunters, thirty-seven potential scavengers, thirteen life mages, fourteen people with experience in construction, five people with technical experience, at least thirty menial laborers, seventeen people interested in pure crafting, maybe a dozen guards, twenty fighters, forty mages, ten rouges, five clerics, And maybe twenty people with misalliance classes like lawyer or scientist." Tom rattled off his list.


    "Well, that''s disappointing," Alex said. "We were hoping for more bloodlines. Maybe some proper gamers. By the way, we need to recruit more admins."


    Tom looked at her. "Why?"


    "He asks why?" Alex rolls her eyes. "Tom, this school and its one thousand residents are currently administered by the two of us. Even if we could manage that, you and I won''t be here full-time. And let me make this clear: I would rather burn this place to the ground than end up stuck doing admin every day. We will have adventures, and we will have fun. Understand?"


    "Understood," Tom said, holding up his hands in surrender.


    "So what do we need to do first?" Alex asked, looking at him expectantly.


    "Umm," Tom fumbled at the sudden change in topic.


    "You don''t know what to do? Do you?" she asked exasperated.


    "I do, I do. Just give me a second," Tom said as he took a proper moment to consider what they needed to do next.


    "We need to start getting people out there today. According to the ''How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse'' book, cities will only have enough food for three days. We don''t know what state the planet''s supply lines are in, so we have to assume they''re all busted. We need to buy, scavenge and steal everything today. We need to become self-sustaining as fast as possible."


    "What about food?" Alex asked. "We should start with food. Thanks to the dungeon, we''ll have plenty of meat. We should get someone to head up both the hunters and scavengers first. Fed people are happy people." Alex reminded him.


    "And starving people are angry mobs," Tom said. "Yeah, we all played civ."


    "Exactly," she said. That being said, who should we put in charge of the hunters? I was thinking of Samatha. She won those archery trophies, and supposedly, she went hunting regularly before the system, and she was popular, so they''ll listen to her."


    "I would have thought the scavenger class with her Treasure Hunter class," Tom said.


    "Perhaps, but we have a lot of people who are willing to and able to scavenge from stores. The same can''t be said of our hunters." Alex pointed out.


    "Far enough. Besides, she''s friends with Luke." Tom said.


    "Why does that matter?" Alex asked, confused.


    "Luke has access to two legendary classes and a Legendary bloodline. Unfortunately, if we remove the beta-testers, he''s probably the strongest person here. If we can get him some more levels, all the better." Tom said.


    "Hmmm, ha, do you think Luke would lead a rebellion against us?" Alex asked.


    Tom looked up at her in confusion.


    "That''s a dark thought," Tom said.


    Alex rolled her eyes. "Come on, Tom, intergroup issues are a staple of apocalypse stories. Just look at The Walking Dead."


    "I mean, we have issues, but I don''t see how that''s going to be a problem, not violently anyway. He''s not that kind of person," Tom said.


    "People change," Alex pointed out. "This could go very Lord of the Flies"


    "I doubt that will be a problem," Tom said as he shook his head.


    "Why''s that?" Alex asked curiously.


    "Do we remember what we saw when the apocalypse started?" Tom asked.


    "The big fucking Wyvern," Alex said with a snap of her figures. "That thing''s strong enough to take us all out if it can be bothered to."


    "Yeah, monsters like that will keep people focused on the fact that the world is full of monsters now, and they will treat us like heroes." Tom said, "We''ll give them food, safety and levels, and they will love us for it."


    "Alright, but how are we going to do that?" Alex asked.


    Tom rolled his eyes.


    "First, we need to get some staff¡ªpeople we can trust to dump some of the organizational and management things onto so we can focus on the big picture. We should start with [Lawyers], [Administrators], etc." Tom said.


    Alex stared at him, her head cocked in confusion.


    "What?" Tom asked.


    "I just, I wasn''t expecting you to be that smart," Alex admitted.


    "Well, that''s rude," Tom stated.


    "You''re not paying me to be polite." she countered.


    "I''m not paying you at all," Tom pointed out.


    "Exactly," she said as she elbowed him.


    Further conversation was cut off as Sgt. Thorn showed up.


    "Hey, kid. Time to put your money where your mouth is," she said.


    "What?" Tom asked


    "I think she wants you to bring a bunch of people back from the dead," Alex said


    "Oh, right. Let''s get on with it." Tom said, rising to his feet.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 455


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 585


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2340


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 6.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 7.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 13.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 40% Soul 24%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1, Scribe 1, Pro-gamer 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 39


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 130


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 117


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 104


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 78


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 39


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 130


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 117


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 104


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 78


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 27


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 19 >> Level 20


    - [Universal] - Level 16 >> Level 17


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 18 >> Level 22


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 24 >> Level 30


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 9 >> Level 13


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 10 >> Level 11


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 17 >> Level 25


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 2


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 20


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 10


    - [Art of Water] - Level 7


    - [Art of Earth] - Level 4


    - [Teacher] - Level 1 >> Level 9


    Augur 07/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 25


    - [Art of Life] - Level 15


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 27


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 11


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3


    - [Quest Giver] - Level 1


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 11


    - [Leadership ¢ò] - Level 13 >> Level 16


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 15


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 10


    - [Logistics ¢ó] - Level 6 >> Level 12


    Pro-Gamer 01/11


    - [Spell Trap] - Level 1


    Scribe 01/6


    - [Contract] - Level 9


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 36: Penny the Warlock

    Penny looked out of the back of the bus. Nearly two dozen orcs on giant wolves were chasing after them.


    "Does anyone have any ideas?" she asked. "Any skills or something?"


    The rest of the girls on the bus shook their heads. No one had any offensive skills to speak of. But she might. Penny pulled up her interface. She had three levels to assign.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Options available:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fighter Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Dancer - Basic</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Freedom Fighter - Rare</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Spellcaster Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Biomancer - Lesser</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Life Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Air Mage - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Warlock - Epic</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Rogue Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Whore - Basic</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Prostitute - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Assassin - Uncommon</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ranged Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Driver - Lesser</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Support Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Singer - Basic</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bard - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Priest - Common</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Skald - Epic</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Artisan Class Options</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Musician - Common</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Penny¡¯s heart raced as she glanced through the skills. There were too many options and not nearly enough time. She had a few new options, but she quickly narrowed it down to [Warlock] and [Air Mage].


    "Does anyone know how any of the Mage classes work?" she asked desperately.


    "You select a mage class, grab a magic skill and then you get a couple of spells to choose from," Eve shouted from the front.


    Penny nodded before she was sent flying into someone else''s chair as Eve rammed through another car as they raced onwards.


    "Watch it!!" Penny hissed as she got up from someone''s lap.


    "Hey, you want to drive? Be my guest!" Eve shouted as the bus shot up onto the sidewalk to avoid a pileup.


    "Do you know anything about the [Warlock] Class?" she asked.


    "It''s something to do with demons," Eve said.


    Penny briefly considered her options before picking the [Warlock] class. While [Air Mage] might be what she would have picked normally, right now, she needed power and a lot of it.


    She put three levels into [Warlock] and one level into [Enslaved Courtesan], bringing her total free skill points up to Eight


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Warlock Skill Options


    Skill Points: 8


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Summon Demonic Familiar - Epic</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You can call forth demons from the Abysse with your mana and bend them to your will. A summoned Familiar will last until it dies or the Warlock dismisses it.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Demons Level is equal to 1000 MP per level +2% per skill level </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Beware! While a Demon is bound to follow your orders, a Demon''s only true loyalties are to its own interests. Fiends want to fight, Succubus want to fuck. Of course, these are all generalizations, and every demon is an exception to the rule. Be careful, or the demon might kill you and run off to do its own shit. </li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Blood Conversion - Inferior</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Use HP instead of MP for Spells</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Chant Reduction - Lesser</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Reduce the chant requirements of all spells and skills by 0.2% per skill level.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Air Magic</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gain a 0.5% increase to all Air magic per skill level</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Art of Life</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gain a 2.5% increase to all Life magic per skill level</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Channel Magic</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You are able to extend the cast time for spells, allowing you to regulate the mana flow so you can cast spells requiring more MP than you would normally be able to provide in a single sitting. Increase the cast time by 5% per skill level. </li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Demonology</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+1.25% to your mastery of rituals</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Demons level is increased by an additional 3% per skill level </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gain knowledge of several standard and Infernal Rituals</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Increase the number of demons you can summon by 1 for every ten levels in this skill you have for a total of 11 demonic familiars. </li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Courtesan Skill Options


    Skill Points: 8


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Slaves Privacy - Common</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Everyone has a right to basic privacy. But as a Slave, you need privacy; otherwise, your master might kill you. Now, you can block one skill level of [Appraisal], [Inspection], and [Analysis] per level of this skill. Any skill you block will instead see a status you can prepare to make yourself appear far weaker than you actually are.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pheromone Control - Rare</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attempts to inflict 1 of the following status effects on all targets within range: [Anger], [Arousal], [Calm], [Depressed], [Excited], [Terror], [Nauseous]. Increases the effectiveness of this ability by 2% for every skill level and every 10 points of the CHR Attribute. Has no effect on creatures without a sense of smell.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Slayer of Men - Epic</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Your armed attack always counts as [Manslayer] and inflicts triple damage to creatures of the [Humanoid] type.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Get Naked - Epic</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You target one or multiple individuals and then cause all of their clothing to fall off.</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Upgrade!!! Storyteller ¡ú Fertile Fascination - Historic</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gain true control over your reproductive rights. With this skill, you can alter your fertility, allowing you to turn reproductive organs on and off with a thought. </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Increase the general fertility of the user by 5% per skill level</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Increase disease resistance by 1% per skill level until it becomes Disease immunity.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+10% CHA</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Penny was briefly overwhelmed by her choices, but the howls of the wolves snapped her out of it again. She was going to die if she didn''t figure this out. She needed to think. She really wanted to take [Summon Demonic Familiar], but she didn''t have the Mana to even summon a level 1 demon, which also ruled out [Demonology]. She considered if [Get Naked] might do something. [Pheromone Control] might work against the nose of the wolves. [Fertile Fascination] sounded incredibly useful for her sex life but not for surviving today.


    "Um, Penny, if you''re going to do something, we could really use it now!" Eve said.


    "Give me a minute," Penny said.


    The three skills she could think of that could be useful were [Summon Demonic Familiar], [Get Naked] and [Pheromone Control]. But how to make them work? [Air Magic] would boost [Pheromone Control], but what would she need for [Summon Demonic Familiar]? Then she felt the warm sensation of Eve''s [Aura of the Sun]. What if she also picked up [Blood Conversion], [Channel Magic] and maybe [Demonology]? She immediately assigned her skills and put everything into Intelligence.


    Intelligence felt weird. She had taken drugs before, and this was a bit like that. Her mind felt cleaner, bigger, and sharper, like she was shaking the imaginary rust off her brain. She checked her mana pool, noticing she now had enough mana for at least a level 1 Demon. Then, the entire bus lurched to the side of the road. They bounced off a parked car, smashing the windows on the left side of the bus.


    "PENNY, we just lost a tire?!" Eve called out.


    "Everyone, I need you to heal me as fast as you can!!" Penny said as she activated her new skills.


    Her mana and health started to drop. Fortunately, her health was dropping a lot slower than her mana. Unfortunately, [Channel Magic] was next to worthless at level 1. Penny looked up, noticing that the wolves were nearly on top of them. The orcs were maybe a meter behind the bus, getting ready to pop a second tire, but her skill was fully charged.


    "Eve hit the brake," Penny called out.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "What?!" Eve screeched. "Are you out of your mind?"


    Eve¡¯s knuckles whitened as the wolves loomed closer. Penny¡¯s eyes darted between the rear of the bus and her dwindling mana.


    "Don''t argue, just do it!!" she shot back.


    Eve slammed her foot on the brake. The tires screeched in protest just before they crashed into them like a wave of fur and fury. Their bodies broke against the back of the bus like a bunch of crash test dummies. There was the sound of metal ripping as the back of the bus seemed to drop by another foot, but it was the sound of bones cracking that made Penny want to throw up. But she had just hit 2000 points of mana. Releasing her skill, she prayed for the biggest and meanest demon to appear on top of the pile of orcs.


    She didn''t quite get her wish; rings of Infernal script appeared at the back of the bus, and a Demon dropped on top of them. The Demon was painfully thin with no skin, its muscles completely visible, and two horns rising from its head. Its eye sockets were empty. It had sharp black bone claws on its fingers and toes and large knee and elbow spikes, almost looking like the Shredder was only made out of meat and black bones instead of metal. Two massive blades of black bone emerged from its wrist as every single spike across its body started to glow molten red.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have Summoned (Des - Lesser Fiend)


    Due to Summoning in combat, the system determines your summoning. For further summons, we recommend you take the time to pick your summons from the list. The system will determine your summon based on immediate needs, not long-term needs.


    If you wish to change your summon, please refer to the [Demonology] skill for the correct ritual or sunder this skill.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    All the other girls on the bus immediately moved towards the front and away from the literal murder demon at the back. It stood there just staring at her as the orcs got back to their feet. Penny realized it was waiting for orders.


    "Kill the orcs!" she screamed.


    The demon didn''t even acknowledge the order. Instead, it just turned and ripped through the back of the bus, tearing apart the metal with its superheated bone before it started to hack and stab at any Orc in range. It danced through the orcs, sliding past them as its spiky body ripped open flesh.


    "Holy shit," Penny breathed.


    "Go go, go." someone said.


    "I can''t. The gas pedal isn''t doing anything." Eve screamed.


    "Everyone off the bus," Penny called out.


    She led the way as she opened the bus door and lept out into the winter air. An Orc stood there, knife at the ready.


    "[Get Naked]!!" Penny screamed.


    The Orcs'' heavy furs all flopped to the ground like a bad porno. The orc was so startled it tried to cover up its genitals, which was when Penny shoved her bronze dagger into its neck. The orc spat blood as it grabbed her. Penny raked her nails across the demon''s arm as she kept frantically stabbing at it with her knife.


    She wasn''t even sure if it was the poison or the neck injury that caused the orc to drop to the ground. She didn''t even care. Eve was already directing the other girls to run east past 152 St and down 56 Ave.


    Penny didn''t have time to think. She just followed after them as the Orc and the Demon battled each other behind her. Penny turned to see what was going on and nearly stopped as she spied the demon. It was a creature of pure mayhem, yet it was weirdly elegant, almost like a dancer mixed with a superheated blender. It didn''t so much attack the orcs as dance among them, allowing its many super-heated bone spikes to drag across their bodies, leaving painful burns and cuts.


    Penny tried not to focus on it. As she raced to catch up with Eve


    "How long do you think it will last?" Eve asked.


    "No idea. But we should be as far away from that fight when it ends as possible." Penny said as the scene of carnage disappeared, and they made their way down 56 Ave and into the freezing cold of the night. Everyone huddled around Eve, and her [Aura of the Sun] was their only heat source in the winter night.


    Penny took a moment to look at some of her notifications. She found out she could learn three air spells. She picked up the spell wind shell. It created a sphere of wind around her and the other girls. It protected them from the wind but not much else. Normally, it would only take five kilometres, not even an hour, to get to Surrey. But it was dark, freezing cold, and the ground was covered in a carpet of snow.


    If that wasn''t bad enough. Some of the other girls were having difficulties keeping up. Their clothing was taken from the kwantline gift shop. So most of the group were shivering around Eve and her [Aura of the Sun] for warmth, their faces pale and exhausted. Penny tried to wipe the blood from her clothes. But she realized that, at this point, her sweater was permanently dyed red. Her heart was still racing. She had killed things. Orc and goblins, maybe. But it was still murder, right?


    ¡°We need to keep moving,¡± Eve said, ushering them onwards like a mother hen. That demon can''t last forever. When they kill it, they''ll be hunting us again."


    Penny glanced at the faces of the girls walking beside her. They looked exhausted, their eyes hollowed. Every step seemed a struggle, but what choice did they have? They couldn''t go back. Penny gritted her teeth. She had been gambling with their lives about what would happen if the orcs came again. She was basically out of mana. She wasn''t sure if she could pull off a third miracle. She didn''t even know if they would make it through this death march.


    "We should''ve grabbed a car," Penny said bitterly, her teeth chattering.


    "Well, we didn''t. If we find one on the road, we can try to get it working. In the meantime, keep moving," Eve said.


    She came around to each of them tapping them on the shoulder. When she came to Penny and tapped her on the shoulder, she felt like she had just drunk a cappuccino with six shots of espresso.


    "It''s my level 11 skill called [Caffeine]," Eve explained. "I''m hoping it will be enough to get us the rest of the way."


    Penny nodded as they managed to pick up the pace.


    ¡°We head east,¡± she said, her voice firmer now, trying to push down the fear gnawing at her gut. ¡°We find a safe place and bunk down for the night?¡±


    There were nods, though no one spoke. They didn¡¯t need to. The only sound was the crunch of snow beneath their boots and the distant howls of wolves that sent a chill deeper than the winter air.


    It took them nearly an hour to cross into Surrey proper. One of the girls had the keys to get into the McDonald''s by 180 St. Apparently, she worked there. They all clambered when Penny got the notifications she had been expecting.


    <Your Demonic Familiar (Des) has Died>


    <[Pursuit Hunter] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Pursuit Hunter] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Pursuit Hunter] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Get Naked] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Summon Demonic Familiar] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Summon Demonic Familiar] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Summon Demonic Familiar] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Channel Magic] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Channel Magic] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Channel Magic] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Demonology] has Reached Level 2>


    <Level Up>


    <Level Up>


    Penny gripped her knife as she tried to stay awake. But as time ticked on, her eyelids got heavier and heavier until she fell asleep.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Penny Noel


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 320


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1260


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 4.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 4.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 1.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Free*, Breaker of Chains


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Courtesan 4 / Warlock 4 / 2 Levels Unassigned


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 24


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 63


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 53


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 24


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 63


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 49 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    +56 INT


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 12/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuit Hunter] - Level 1 >> Level 10


    - [StoryTeller] - Level N/A


    Courtesan 5/11


    - [Charm Speak] - Level 8


    - [Poison Nail] - Level 4


    - [Walk of Shame] - Level 7


    - [Pheromone Control] - Level 1


    - [Get Naked] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    Warlock 5/11


    - [Summon Demonic Familiar] - Level 1 >> Level 5


    - [Blood Conversion] - Level N/A


    - [Air Magic] - Level 1


    - [Channel Magic] - Level 1 >> Level 4


    - [Demonology] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 37: Penny the Murderer

    Skippy moved back outside. The frosty winter air scraped at his lungs as he snuck through the snow, each step crunching as he walked forwards.


    Crunch Crunch Crunch


    Regardless of how nice of a winter day it was, Skippy was still grumbling as he marched through the snow by Highway 10. He was only partially annoyed. He was actually pretty happy with his latest skill purchases.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Feather Steps] - Rare


    [Feather Steps]: You possess an ethereal grace, moving with silent, effortless precision. Your steps are unheard, and you never slip or trip, always finding perfect footing. Gain +1.25% to your Stealth Mastery, Sneak Mastery, and Footwork per skill level.


    Additionally, you partially defy gravity, allowing you to perform gravity-defying feats, such as running over walls, balancing on narrow surfaces, or sprinting across water. Your weight is reduced by 0.33% per skill level, making you lighter and more agile, as if you walk on air.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Focus] - Uncommon


    [Focus]: This skill grants a 5% increase to your ability to ignore distractions, including all-consuming agonizing pain. Also, this skill allows the healing of brain damage and can even restore damaged memories without requiring specialized Skills on the part of the healing individual.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The list of passive skills would help build his foundation. However, he was annoyed at having to go out into the snow on his own. He was a little annoyed that his current build wasn''t meeting his expectations, but he was mostly annoyed at having to waste his day robbing stores.


    He would have much rather spent his time grinding out skill levels, but Tom had ordered him to go and rob grocery stores, so that was what he was going to do. Unfortunately, he looked like he wasn''t the first one to have that idea. The shopping area was flooded with people trying to buy food, water, and toilet paper. It reminded him of Black Friday, only the people were somehow even more violent.


    "Ha," Skippy chuckled as he looked at the people killing each other. "What a bunch of assholes. I mean seriously. We''re not even into the shit storm, and you''re already this bad?"


    Skippy shook his head. Those preppers were right. People were fucking sheep.


    "Regardless, we need food, and I''m not going to swim in that pile of dicks." Skippy muttered to himself as he saw some fat asshole punch out of a woman over a box of toilet paper.


    Skippy''s eyes slid away from the people rioting and moved over to the A&W just next door. The building was empty.


    "Well, it''s not the no-frills. But there should be plenty of food." Skippy muttered to himself.


    Activating [Mirage Step], Skippy teleported across the street he landed in the snow just in front of the building. With a quick activation of [Piercing Strike] he broke the lock on the doors and was inside.


    As he had expected, the building was empty. Leaping over the counter, he rushed into the back room and into the refrigerator, where he promptly started to loot everything. Eggs, fries, condiments, vegetables, cheese, and a dozen different sodas- and god knows how many burger patties were all thrown into his inventory without so much as a second thought.


    "Free food, free food," Skippy muttered to himself as he stuffed the last box of patties into his inventory.


    <[Rataskurs Pocket] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Rataskurs Pocket] has Reached Level 16>


    <...>


    <[Rataskurs Pocket] has Reached Level 20>


    "I wonder if the Dairy Queen is well stocked." Skippy wondered.


    Then he decided against it. The Dairy Queen was practically right next to a food riot. Better to hit up the Tim Hortens and Mcdonalds up the road. Skippy left the building just as someone yelled.


    "MONSTER!!!"


    Skipppy froze and turned, finding himself staring down the barrel of a gun.


    "Shit," Skippy said as he activated [Mirage Step].


    The gun exploded, blasting apart the after image skippy left behind as he teleported nearly thirty feet backwards. Then Skippy leaped into the snow in order to hide himself.


    "Did you get it?" someone asked.


    "I shot it in the face. Of course, I got it." the man who shot him said.


    Skippy used [Mirage step] two more times again to gain more distance from the two gun nuts.


    <You have Acquired [Sneak]>


    <[Feather Steps] has Reached Level 2>


    "Hello, old friend." Skippy chuckled as his form became slightly harder to see as he entered the Timmys and made a repeat of his smash and grab. This one was a little healthier than A&W, but it was still fast food.


    After he was done, he moved to the McDonald''s near the corner of the intersection. That''s when things got decidedly weird.


    <hr>


    Penny found herself running through a twisted city. The buildings were warped like faces waiting for her to get closer so they could eat her. The ground beneath her feet was slick with mud and blood, slowing her down, but the chanting behind her never stopped. Goblins. Dozens of them, eyes glowing red in the darkness, teeth bared in wicked grins as they closed in. Her legs burned with exhaustion, but every step felt heavier than the last. She stumbled, falling face-first into the muck, only to feel tiny, clawed hands grab her ankles, dragging her back. She screamed, but the sound was swallowed by the night as they swarmed over her, biting, clawing, pulling off her clothes as they prepared to ¡­


    "NO!!!!"


    Penny screamed as she shot upwards, slamming her head into the underside of the table. A loud thud rang through the room as pain exploded in her skull.


    "Fuck," she groaned, rubbing the knot forming on top of her head. Crawling out from under the table, she squinted against the daylight, streaming into the fast-food restaurant as a knot formed on top of her skull.


    "Hey, did we wake you?" Eve asked as she sat down next to her.


    "No," Penny mumbled, her fingers still massaging the lump on her head. "What happened? I remember stumbling into a building and then ¡­"


    "We got here, then you passed out in one of the booths," Eve explained with a small smile. "Honestly, we were all pretty out of it by that point, so we just slept here for the night. Come on¡ªthe kitchens are still working, and the other girls made you breakfast to show their appreciation."


    "Appreciation?" Penny echoed, confused.


    "Well, yes. Penny, you got us all out of there."


    "I ¡­ I didn''t know what I was doing, and I''m still amazed it went as well as it did, " she admitted.


    Breakfast, as it turned out, was McDonald''s pancakes followed by a small mountain of bacon and French fries. She all but inhaled the meal, and the one after that, and the one after that.


    "God, you''re hungry," Eve chuckled.


    "I swear I''m not normally like this," Penny said as she ate her fourth helping of pancakes. "I''m going to end up so fat later."


    "I don''t know about you, but I haven''t eaten since dinner on Monday. Mama is eating until she''s full," Eve said, chowing down on her ninth egg McMuffin.


    Before Penny could respond, a few other women from the group tentatively approached. One of them, a girl Penny vaguely remembered from the chaos last night, stepped forward first. She had short, spiky hair and nervously twisted her fingers together as she spoke.


    "Hey, uh, Penny? I just wanted to say thank you," the girl said, her voice quiet but filled with emotion. Another girl, who had been lingering just behind, nodded in agreement. She had tear-streaked cheeks, and dark bags under her eyes came up and hugged her.


    "Yeah, seriously. What you did¡ªit saved us. I don¡¯t know how you stayed so calm."


    Penny blinked, glancing down at the remains of her food as a knot of unease formed in her stomach that had nothing to do with hunger. She hadn¡¯t felt calm or in control yesterday, and every moment had felt like a desperate scramble, her heart in her throat the whole time as she tried not to vomit or piss herself.


    "I¡ª" Penny started, but her voice caught.


    She didn''t feel like a hero. She had acted to save her own ass, driven by fear more than anything else. But they were looking at her like she was something more, someone, strong.


    A third girl, older than the others, came up and hugged her, cutting off any other words.


    Penny just stood there. What was she supposed to do?


    Further musing was cut off as the door crashed open. Penny spun around in a panic to find five men with guns all but rushing into the building.


    "EVERYONE ON THE GROUND!!!" The lead man was short with a thick neckbeard and was dressed like he was going to a Renaissance fair, with only his stomach sticking out of his grease-stained shirt.


    "Wait, we"


    BOOM


    Neckbeard fired his shot into the ceiling, blowing apart a chunk of plaster and cutting Eve off.


    "GROUND NOW!!! Or I give you more holes for me to fuck!!" neckbeard screamed.


    Penny and the other girls lowered themselves to the ground.


    "Christ, Randy, relax," the man behind him said.


    "Shut up, Nico. You three get the food now," Randy said, spittle flying from his mouth the entire time.


    The three other people who had come into the building with them ran into the back of McDonald''s, tossing aside any girl who was in their way as they started pulling the frozen food out of the walk-in freezer. Each one then raced back outside to meet a truck that pulled into the parking lot, dumping their food into the back before racing back into the kitchen to do it again.


    "Alright, once we finish getting the food, we need to get back to the bunker. I don''t want to stay out here longer than we need to," Randy said.


    "Are there any other supplies we need?" Nico asked. "Anything you might have forgotten."


    Penny shivered as Randie''s eyes landed on her.


    "Hey, what about the girls?" Randy asked


    "What about them?" Nico asked


    "We should take some with us."


    "For what, Randy?"


    "You know, for company," Randy said, making hip thrusting motions.


    Penny shuddered in revulsion. She immediately started draining her mana into [Summon Demonic Familiar].


    "Your fucking sick, Randy," Nico said. "We''re not raping people."


    "Hey, the entire planet is going to shit in a handbasket. If we leave them here, we might as well just put them out of their misery. And I don''t want to be stuck in a bunker with a bunch of dudes. I''m being generous by offering them a chance to join my harem and have my babies."


    "Jesus Christ, man, you need help."


    "Hey, if you don''t like it, you can stay out here and get eaten by monsters. My bunker is for me, my friends, and our girls. You guys aren''t even Beta-testers. You''re only here because Barry vouched for you!"


    "I''d rather take my chances with the monster than stay in the bunker with you. You sick fuck."


    Randy held up his shotgun at Nico.


    "Are you disobeying me?! Grab the girls and put them in the truck. Or I will blow your fucking brains out."


    "What the fuck?! You''re going to kill me because I say no to you?!"


    "You know where the bunker is; if you aren''t with us, you''re dead." Randy spat.


    "You know what, Randy, go fuck yours ---"


    BOOM


    Nico didn''t finish as Randy blew his head off with the shotgun.


    The other girls screamed as Nico''s brains splattered across the restaurant and his body hit the ground.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "SHUT UP OR I"LL KILL YOU TOO!!" Randy screamed.


    Everyone stopped screaming, but they were all shivering in terror as he glared at them.


    "Jesus Christ, Randy, what the fuck!?" one of the men transporting food dropped the crate and stomped over to Randy


    "He was a traitor, Zach and if you don''t want to join him, you will do as you''re told!!" Randy ranted, causing the other four men to come inside to surround their apparent leader


    Penny saw her opportunity and activated [Summon Demonic Familiar].


    "Now grab the girls and put them in the tru -- HOLY SHIT!!!" Randy swore as Des popped into existence in his full demonic glory.


    "Attack," Penny ordered.


    The demon''s claws ripped into Zach''s belly, disemboweling him in an instant.


    "Kill it!!" Randy screamed as he tried to shoot Des.


    Des ducked under the attack and charged at the other men, its blades glowing hot red as it slashed across the stomach of one man, leaving a deep cauterized cut across his stomach. "Oh my god, it''s killed me!! It killed me!!!" the man screamed as he dropped his gun, clutching his ruined stomach.


    The demonic form twisted and spun, a blur of red and black as it danced between the bullets. As Des moved in closer, he almost seemed to be toying with them.


    "Kill it!! Kill it!!" Randy¡¯s panicked shouts were all but drowned out by the chaos of gunfire and screams.


    The eight men unloaded their guns at the demon, but even when they hit Des, it seemed like he was barely affected at all. The demonic form moved with terrifying speed; his movements were fluid and precise, ducking under bullets and weaving through their line of fire as his claws ripped through a second person. Tables splintered, windows shattered, and a spray of bullets ricocheted wildly off the walls.


    Unfortunately, they were still in the line of fire, and some of the girls screamed as they were hit. Penny quickly grabbed Eve and dragged her under the nearest table for what cover it could offer


    "Fuck" Eve swore as she grabbed her leg.


    There was a hole going in one end and out the other.


    "Are you ok?" Penny asked.


    "I''ll live." Eve cursed as she ripped off her sleeve and started bandaging her leg.


    Penny took a moment to peek out from behind the table. Two more men had died when she wasn''t looking, leaving only five people and Randy.


    One of the men had caught Des in his sights, but before he could pull the trigger, the demon''s burning bone blade cut off his arm, cauterizing the limb as it did so. The man fell, writhing on the ground, screaming in agony as he gripped the stump of his right arm¡ªthe smell of cooked flesh filled the air.


    "Why can''t you idiots hit it!!!" Randy screamed, his voice cracking as he tossed aside his shotgun in disgust.


    Another man rushed Des, aiming point-blank at the demon¡¯s head with a shotgun, but Des sidestepped; instead of taking his head, the slug ripped off the demon''s left arm.


    "I got it. I got ---" The man''s words were cut off as Des''s blade pierced its neck.


    The man crumpled; he didn''t so much scream as spew blood across the greasy floor.


    "How isn''t it dead?!" Randy screamed


    "Randy, we gotta get out of here!" one of the men yelled, backing toward the door.


    "Shut up and kill it!!!" Randy screamed again. "Crystal Buckshot"


    Des lunged at another man, blade raised to strike¡ªbut a loud blast echoed through the room, and finally managed to stagger the demon. Randy had ditched the shotgun and sent shards of gemstones shooting from his hands. The unexpected attack sent Des skidding backwards.


    "Dammit, I didn''t want to waste my mana." Randy cursed. "Crystal Spears"


    Spears made out of what appeared to be pure diamonds shot towards Des. But the demon wasn''t finished. Snarling, Des charged towards Randy.


    One of the other men tried to get in the way, but Des cut him down without a second thought.


    "Got you!!" Randy cheered as a spear of diamond stabbed through his friend and impaled Des.


    Des froze its head, turning to see the crystalline spear sticking out of his chest before the demon collapsed to the ground like a sack of bricks, its body evaporating into nothing.


    "Ha, you see," Randy screamed to the ceiling. "I might even get the [Demon Slayer] class for this."


    "You killed Carl," the one-armed man screamed.


    "So what? That''s why we have a healer at the Bunker so that we can resurrect the dead."


    Randy''s eyes flicked to the girls, and he licked his lips, sending shivers down Penny''s spine.


    "You girls killed a lot of my men, and I''d say you owe us for that," Randy said, smiling as he stalked towards them, his hand going to unbuckle his pants. Penny''s found her hand reaching for her dagger as he stalked closer to her.


    "Randy, I want to go first." One of the large men said, licking his lips as his eyes stared at her chest.


    "You already ruined that other girl, Lee. If you keep breaking your toys, I won''t give you new ones. Though, since she summoned the demon, I guess you can have the blonde. I''ll take the short one." Randy chuckled.


    Thump


    Randy froze and spun around, a wall of crystal coming up just in time to stop a sword from taking off his head. But it was the thing holding the sword that drew everyone''s attention. An anthropomorphized squirrel dressed up in kid''s clothes was smiling at Randy.


    "You know, when I got here and saw the demon, I wasn''t sure who the good guys were. I''m not wondering that anymore."


    The squirrel chuckled as he disappeared, bullets ripping through the air where he had just been. The squirrel reappeared next to one of the gunmen and nearly bisected him with his sword.


    Penny didn''t let the opportunity disappear. Gripping her knife, she swung at Lee. The big mana didn''t even see her before she buried the knife in his neck. Wet, hot blood spurted out across her face as she stabbed him again and again as she screamed at him. Her knife never stopped making holes in the rapist''s body.


    The squirrel was making quick work of the other rapists, but Penny wouldn''t stop, or maybe she couldn''t stop. When she finally stopped stabbing Lee, she took his gun and raised it at Randy as he missed the squirrel with yet another spell.


    "Don''t move," she ordered.


    Randy froze and stared at her carefully, raising his hands in surrender as he started backing away.


    "I said don''t move," she shouted at him.


    Her heart was racing in her chest so loudly she could barely hear anything.


    Then Something moved off to her left. Swinging around, she squeezed the trigger.


    BANG


    She stopped staring at the one-armed man she had just shot; his hand was raising a gun, but now he was looking down at the massive bloodstain running down his shirt. He didn''t say anything. That was the worst part, the silence as he slumped over, dead.


    "[Waypoint]," Randy called out, disappearing in a flash.


    Penny barely even noticed her ears were ringing from the shot. She had killed a man. Not an orc or some monster, but a human being.


    Penny felt her stomach churn, and before she knew it, she was kneeling on the ground as she threw up her breakfast. She didn''t know when she started crying, but she was. Even as she tried to regain control over herself as she was taking deep gulping breaths for air as she tried to steady her sobbing.


    Eve and the squirrel man came over to her. Eve held her hair as the squirrel rubbed her back.


    She didn''t know how long she sat there, but eventually, she was able to talk again.


    "Hey, you ok, Penny?" the squirrel asked.


    "How ¡­ how do you know my name?" Penny asked, tightening her hand around her dagger''s hilt.


    "What do you mean how do I ¡­ oh right, I changed my race. Eh, hem. I am Skippy the magnificent," Skippy said.


    "Who?" Penny asked


    Skippy looked crestfallen.


    "Skippy? Sawyer Ownes? ¡­. I''m Tom''s friend." Skippy said.


    "Hector?"


    "The other one!!" Skippy said in mock outrage.


    "Oh," Penny said as she finally put two and two together. "Sorry."


    "You know him?" Eve asked concerned.


    "I think so," Penny admitted.


    "I''m right here, you know." Skippy quipped.


    "Why are you a squirrel?" Penny asked in confusion.


    "I apparently made a poor choice," Skippy grumbled, clearly annoyed, as he started to collect the food the men were carrying. He just picked it up, and then it disappeared.


    "More importantly, what the fuck happened to you guys?" he asked.


    "We were attacked by goblins." Penny started.


    She told him everything: how she had been kidnapped, meeting Eve, escaping the goblins the demon, and even how the men had broken in. Once she started, she couldn''t stop.


    "Alright, alright. Once I collect everything here, I''ll take you all back to Hopkins. My guild owns the school. We even have police guarding the place. We''re still building the magic defenses, but it''s probably the safest place in the Vancouver area right now. You''ll be safe there." Skippy said.


    Penny was tired, exhausted even, so she just nodded. It wasn''t a long trip¡ªthe school was just around the block. But the moment Penny entered the school, it felt like a weight had been dropped from her shoulders. She fell asleep in the cafeteria as they were waiting for food.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Penny Noel


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 320


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1260


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 4.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 4.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 1.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Free*, Breaker of Chains


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Courtesan 4 / Warlock 4 / 3 Levels Unassigned


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 24


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 63


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 53


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 24


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 63


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 49 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    +56 INT


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 12/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuit Hunter] - Level 10


    - [StoryTeller] - N/A


    - NEW!!! [Knives] - Level 1


    Courtesan 5/11


    - [Charm Speak] - Level 8


    - [Poison Nail] - Level 4


    - [Walk of Shame] - Level 7


    - [Pheromone Control] - Level 1


    - [Get Naked] - Level 2


    Warlock 5/11


    - [Summon Demonic Familiar] - Level 5 >> Level 7


    - [Blood Conversion] - Level N/A


    - [Air Magic] - Level 1


    - [Channel Magic] - Level 4


    - [Demonology] - Level 2 >> Level 3


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skippy


    (Sawyer Owens)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Theirinthrope


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Squirrel


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 425


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 595


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 340


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 5.1 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 6.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 3.4 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 12%, Elemental 12%, Magical 12%, Vitality 12%, Mind 12%, Soul 12%, Crit 24%, Poison 24%, Disease 24%, Insta-Death 24%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Beastslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Swordsman MAX, Dancer 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 221


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 102


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 34


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 119


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 153


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 221


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 102


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 34


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 119


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 153


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK


    Racial: +3 AGIL +2 DEX +2 PER +1 CON


    Bloodline: +5 AGIL +5 LCK


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Ratatoskr] - Legendary: The Blood of the Legendary Squirrel who runs up and down the length of the world tree carrying insults from the dragon Nidhogg at the roots to the great eagle at the top of the tree.


    - [Ratatoskr''s Tongue] - Level 4 >> Level 6


    - [Ratatoskr Instincts] - Level 18 >> Level 26


    - [Ratatoskr Vicious Mockery] - Level 20 >> Level 24


    - [Nidhogg''s Gift] - Level 7 >> Level 11


    - [Ascending Yggdrasil] - Level 15 >> Level 20


    - [Aura of the Divine Beast] - Level 12 >> Level 16


    - [Defiant Regeneration] - Level 16 >> Level 23


    - [Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 16 >> Level 24


    - +5 to AGIL per level


    - +5 to LCK per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Stamina Burn] - Level 8 >> Level 12


    - [Rataskurs Pocket] - Level 14 >> Level 20


    - [Mapping] - Level 17 >> Level 20


    - [System Wiki] - Level 8 >> Level 10


    - [Blades] - Level 27 >> Level 30


    - [Sneak] - Level 1 >> Level 13


    - [Assassination] - Level 1 >> Level 5


    Swordsman 6/6


    - [Perfect Strike] - Level 12 >> Level 16


    - [Piercing Strike] - Level 26 >> Level 27


    - [Soul Strike] - Level 16 >> Level 19


    - [Far Strike] - Level 20 >> Level 23


    - [Venom Strike] - Level 19 >> Level 21


    - Capstone: [Manifold Strike] - Level 13 >> Level 15


    Dancer 05/6


    - [Swagger] - Level 22 >> Level 27


    - [Mirage Step] - Level 20 >> Level 24


    - [Gymnast Grace] - Level 12 >> Level 18


    - [Feather Steps] - Level 1 >> Level 14


    - [Focus] - Level 1 >> Level 4


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 38: The Day of Miracles

    Tom & Alex walked towards the parking lot.


    Tom let out a long breath.


    "Oh my god, that was awful. We need to find someone to do this stuff for me."


    "Nope, you''re the face of the party. Deal with it." Alex shot back.


    Her smile faded as they came to the parking lot. Bodies were lined up on plastic sheets. They were slashed, burned, shot, bitten, and crushed to death. He was really glad Chloe wasn''t with him right now. She had gotten bored and gone off to play with the other kids. He turned to Major Adams and Sgt.Thorn.


    "Major Adams, that is a lot of dead people," Tom said.


    "It''s been a bad two days. We keep turning up bodies. We have about a hundred here so far and more coming every hour."


    Tom approached the nearest person. The guy was wearing a chef''s outfit and appeared to have had his thoughts ripped out. Tom activated [Thirst for Knowledge].


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Will Thawne


    Titles: None


    Race: Human


    Type: Humanoid


    Bloodline: None


    Level: 0


    Immune: None


    Resist: None


    Weak: None


    Bane: Manslayer


    HP: 0/150


    Stamina: 240


    MP: 180


    Skills: StoryTeller, Pursuit Hunter


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Somehow, that just made it worse. Knowing that this was a person and not background art. A mix of guilt, shame, and anxiety all bubbled up inside of his stomach. Had he been right to head straight to Hopkins? He could have done something ¡­ done what? Run around trying to save people like Iron Man? No, Hopkins was the best move. He probably should have sent up the beacon earlier, but he wanted to sleep without an army of people trying to break into his new home.


    Tom pushed away all of his meandering thoughts as he activated [Hand of Mercy]. It was time to show what he was worth.


    Just like Skippy, Will''s injuries disappeared as his body was restored to its original condition.


    <[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 4>


    "Holy shit," Adams muttered


    "I can''t believe it, I ---" Thorn began when Will jerked.


    Will''s entire body contorted as he unleashed a blood-curdling scream as he grasped his throat, his hands searching for an injury that was no longer there. Tom pressed his hands to his ears as he waited for Will to stop freaking out.


    "Well, this is new!" Tom shouted. "The other two people weren''t this noisy!"


    Alex cast a spell, and suddenly, the noise cut off as a silencing barrier surrounded the man.


    "That''s better," Alex said. "Too loud."


    Sgt.Thorn shot her a look that might have melted steel, and then someone joyfully shouted out, "WILLIAM!!"


    Tom turned to see a man running towards Will, wrapping him up in his arms and peppering him with kisses as tears rolled down his face. Alex cautiously dropped the barrier.


    "What happened? Where am I?" Will asked as he started to calm down


    Will was also crying, but it was less relief and more, ''I just suffered through something awful, and suddenly it''s over, and now I''m freaking out.''


    "Your back." the other man said.


    "Well, sir, it''s a bit of --" Major Adams began.


    But Tom was already tired of this. There were at least a hundred bodies in the parking lot, and he wasn''t going to spend all day waiting through tearful reunions.


    "You died. I brought you back, end of story." Tom cut in, his ability to socialize having long since dried up. Now, could you please move so I can resurrect the next person?"


    Everyone looked at him, flabbergasted.


    "You realize this is going to become a weekly, if not daily, thing, right? Abbadon has already died twice. So move out of the way and let me resurrect the next person in the room, please." Tom said.


    Will and his brother, lover? He wasn''t sure which. Regardless, those two stood up and shuffled out of the way, their faces a mix of shock and relief.


    "That was unnecessary cold," Adams said.


    "Have you ever played an MMO? You die a lot. If I let everyone who comes back from the dead have a breakdown, I''m going to be here all day," Tom said.


    In truth, he was going to be here all day, simply due to how little mana he had. Opening up the guild interphase, he issued a new quest.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Issued the Quest: Resurrection Duty ¢ñ


    The Awoken Myths guild has been asked to help bring a bunch of people back from the dead. Unfortunately, the mana cost involved is not cheap, and a ritual has been devised to share the burden. Join the guild leader in the Parking lot and participate in a ritual to bring your loved ones back to life.


    Objectives:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Report to the Guild Leader and participate in the ritual to share the mana costs of resurrecting the dead. </li>


    </ul>


    Failure Conditions:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Don''t show up</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: 1000 XP per person you help resurrect.


    Penalty: None


    Time Limit: End of the day


    Tips: If you die, then you better pray that a bunch of people show up to donate their mana for your resurrection costs, so get out here and help.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom nodded as he activated the quest. The reward would allow people to get at least one level, maybe four. Turning to Alex, he snapped off his instructions.


    "Alex, make sure everyone lines up by the doors. I need them to come in groups of roughly one thousand mana. Once we resurrect them, I need the patient to be removed as quickly as possible so we can start on the next person, victim, or corpse."


    "Sure. Do you want coffee with that?" she asked cheekily as she moved to deal with the influx of people.


    "Hold on, these people just went through trauma." Major Adams began.


    "I don''t care at the moment. Time is our most valuable commodity right now, and I am not wasting it on people''s emotions. They are alive; they can complain about that on their own time, not mine," Tom said.


    Tom didn''t want to argue. He just wanted to resurrect people and then move on to the next project. He tried to use earth magic on the asphalt to carve the runes into the ground for a permanent ritual. But nothing happened.


    "What the?" Tom muttered as he tried to pull on the earth again.


    There was clearly some kind of reaction he just couldn''t.


    CRUNCH


    Two chunks of asphalt ripped out of the ground.


    "Huh," Tom muttered. "Hey, does anyone know what asphalt is made out of?"


    "Gravel and Bitumen," The Major said.


    "What''s Bitumen?" Tom asked.


    "Byproduct of petroleum," the Major said. "Why?"


    And now Tom understood.


    "Ooh, ok. That explains it. I can use Earth magic to control the gravel but not the Bitumen. So I can''t make a permanent ritual on the asphalt."


    "Is this a problem?" Major Adams asked.


    "It''s inefficient. I can''t make a permanent ritual circle, so I will have to make a temporary one for every ritual, which will increase the mana cost and slow us down." Tom said disdainfully.


    Even as he was talking, he was conjuring glyphs with light magic, creating a beautiful glowing circle humming with magic.


    Despite how much mana this was going to cost, it was still the easiest ritual he had ever done in the real world. Mainly because it did little more than turn the other participants into mana batteries. Within ten minutes, the ritual was set up, and Ling had organized a line outside. She had also arranged for four people to move bodies into position.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Alright, let''s start!" Tom called out. "First group!"


    Two people came up first. Tom remembered them as two of the intrepid wizards. They quickly made their way into the circle that would allow him to siphon off the mana, and then he activated the ritual. He filled their mana directly into [Hand of Mercy]. A few moments later, the corpse twitched to life. Before that, the woman started to scream as she came back to herself. Then Alex silenced her again.


    "Alright, pick her up and take her inside. Put a new corpse in the circle and call in the next group of people!!!" Tom said as he created a brand new circle.


    This was going to be a long day.


    <hr>


    <[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 6>


    <...>


    <[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 17>


    <...>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 20>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 27>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 28>


    <[Words Will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Words Will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 16>


    <[My Mind is a Temple The Soul the Altre] has Reached Level 31>


    <[My Mind is a Temple The Soul the Altre] has Reached Level 32>


    <...>


    <[My Mind is a Temple The Soul the Altre] has Reached Level 34>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 12>


    Tom felt drained. People had been arriving all day, and some of them had brought their dead with them, so he ended up needing to resurrect over a hundred fifty people. The worst part was how everyone freaked out after coming back from the dead. He would have to add a silence effect so that the next time, they wouldn''t make any noise. Regardless, the skill growth had been fantastic.


    Tom & Alex slumped against the railing as he looked out on the now semi-empty parking lot. Most people had gone inside to get away from the winter air. But Major Adams and Sgt. Thorn was still outside, just staring at him in awe.


    "Are you ok?" Major Adams asked. "That looked kinda taxing."


    "Yeah," Tom said. "Just having a migraine. I just forced a stupid amount of mana through my body. At least [Hand of Mercy] leveled up. Honestly, at this rate, it might be the second skill to hit 100."


    "What is the first skill?" Sgt. Thorn asked.


    "[Meditation] you can literally grind that skill in your sleep, so it almost always hits level 100 first ¡­" Alex trailed off as she stretched.


    Tom walked back into the school, finding dozens of people waiting at the door for him. He immediately recognized some of them as people he had healed or resurrected. The moment he walked in, the room fell silent as everyone turned to face him. One of the men he had resurrected came forward.


    "You saved my life. I don''t know how to repay you," Will said.


    Tom gave his best fake smile as he shook Will''s hand. "It was my pleasure, Will."


    A woman approached him, her eyes red from crying. "My daughter...you brought her back. Thank you."


    Tom said awkwardly. "I''m glad I could help."


    Tom was suddenly overwhelmed as more people and more people came forward. Some shook his hand or hugged him, and a few even kissed him, but many more reached out to touch him reverently, their hands brushing against his arms, shoulders, and neck as he passed. Whispered words of gratitude echoed in his ears. And he tried to smile at them warmly despite how uncomfortable this made him feel.


    They looked at him with utter adoration as if he were a savior. He could see their blind faith, the belief that he could make everything right. They seemed to hang onto his every word, worshiping the very ground he walked on.


    Tom hated it. It was deeply uncomfortable, and a part of him just wanted to blast them all back with a spell. But he didn''t. He needed to keep the school, and these people would be useful, even if their worship was extremely undesirable. For him, resurrecting all those people was a task, a chore that he had to do because they had failed to remain alive. He hadn''t been expecting this almost fanatical worship.


    Eventually, he got through the crowd, but only after his personal space had been violated way too many times. People had shaken his hands, hugged him, and touched him like he was the second coming of Jesus. A small part of him considered just fireballing the entire group so he could get some space. But no, he persevered, and he reassured dozens of people that he would keep them safe from the monsters.


    "We''re not just surviving. We''re building our community, our new lives. And we can do it together," Tom said, trying his best to make the people go away.


    The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, but Tom just felt a lump in his throat. He just wanted them to leave. He wasn''t special. Hell, he definitely didn''t deserve praise for something so basic. He just wanted his guild to prosper, build up his settlement, go on adventures, and have fun. Was that too much to ask for?!


    When he finally managed to get away from the crowd, Tom made his way to a quieter corner of the school where the Major found him.


    "Tom," Major Adams said, approaching him. "Are you okay?"


    Tom chuckled, but the exhaustion was evident in his eyes. "The next time that happens, just shoot me. Seriously, I got blown up by a fireball, fought my way through an undead dungeon, healed my arm from kindling, watched my friends die and come back to life, fought off an army of imps, killed two higher demons plus a demon lord, and somehow this was more stressful than all of that. I''m honestly reconsidering just blowing this whole settlement shit off and leaving you guys to deal with it yourselves."


    The Major smiled, and Tom could easily tell he was relieved that he wasn''t letting the near fanatical worship feed his ego thanks to [Analyze Person].


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 22>


    ''Thanks system.'' Tom thought sarcastically


    "Take a break, Tom," Major Adams said firmly. "You''ve done more than enough for today."


    Tom rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because I don''t have anything better to do than take a nap. Nah, I still need to do a few things before I hit the hay. Don''t worry; this is something I actually like doing."


    Tom walked off, but despite what he said to the major. He didn''t immediately move off to deal with the other items on his to-do list. First, he found a quiet spot to sit down and pull out his phone to play a few games. He started with Hearthstone, and he needed some normalcy. Unfortunately, the servers were down, so he switched over to Solitar and started to play a few hands. After a few hands, he started to feel normal. He was just getting through his sixth game when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He whipped his head around to find Alex looking down at him.


    "Playing anything good?" she asked


    "Just solitaire," he admitted sheepishly. "I needed a break after ¡­ that."


    "Yeah, I think I need one of those as well," she said as she sat down on the bench next to him.


    "Hey, after we finish all of the shit, you want to play civ five tonight?" Tom asked sheepishly.


    "Fuck yes," Alex responded. "Civ five was way better than six."


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 455


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 585


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2340


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 6.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 7.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 13.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 50% Soul 34%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1, Scribe 1, Pro-gamer 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 39


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 130


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 117


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 104


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 78


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 39


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 130


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 117


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 104


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 78


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 26 >> Level 28


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18 >> Level 20


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 20 >> Level 21


    - [Universal] - Level 17 >> Level 18


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 23 >> Level 24


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 30 >> Level 34


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 13 >> Level 16


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 25


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 2


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 20 >> Level 22


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 10 >> Level 12


    - [Art of Water] - Level 7


    - [Art of Earth] - Level 4


    - [Teacher] - Level 9


    Augur 07/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 25


    - [Art of Life] - Level 15 >> Level 20


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 27


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 11


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3 >> Level 14


    - [Quest Giver] - Level 1


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 11


    - [Leadership ¢ò] - Level 16


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 15


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 10


    - [Logistics ¢ò] - Level 12


    Pro-Gamer 01/11


    - [Spell Trap] - Level 1


    Scribe 01/6


    - [Contract] - Level 9


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 39: The Foundry of the Adamantine Torch Dragon

    Tom walked away from the crowd, with Alex following closely behind them. Tom did his best not to notice how bouncy her new figure was with every step she took.


    "So, where did you go? You disappeared after the first dozen?" Tom asked.


    "I had marked some of the early people as potentially useful staff members. I had them take over after a while so I could get started on other things," Alex said with a smile that made his cheeks heat up.


    "I was able to gather enough people to get started organizing everything. You''ll need them to sign a contract to ensure their loyalty. Ugh, this would be so much easier with some Bureaucratic Skills," she said.


    "You''re not going to pick anything up?" Tom asked.


    "My build isn''t based around paper and ink like yours," Alex protested. "I am aiming for the pinnacle of magical power."


    Then, her expression shifted to one of contemplation.


    "I could aim for the [Pharaoh] class. It has some great magic skills with some leadership potential. But then I would need to pick up [Magician], upgrade it to [Dark Magician], and then combine it with the [Nobel] Class. Ugh, and with the xp recruitments for each level increasing every ten levels, this is going to be impossible." Alex mopped. "I just want to get [Arcanist] to level 30 first."


    Alex leaned into Tom as she complained, and Tom did his best to hold her reassuringly. While they weren''t saying anything about it, Tom could tell this was actually stressing Alex out a lot more than usual. Tom could sympathize; this was day two of the system, and he just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. He almost wished they had gone with Alex''s idea to go full murder hobo.


    "The kitchens are already set up, fortunately, and the first man you resurrected, Will, he''s a baker, not a system [Baker], a normal one, and he''s already starting to make bread. I also roped off the Communications classrooms after Adams gave us those radios. I think we could turn them into a proper communications center. Abbadon has also roped off areas for Smithing Alchemy, and I''ve identified several rooms for craftsmen. We have two for chemistry or alchemy. The school also has classrooms for sewing, carpentry, butchery. We even have a chop shop for cars." Alex said as she shuddered in Tom''s arms.


    "Are we focusing too much on crafting?" Alex asked nervously.


    "No," Tom retorted. "No matter what the system says, this isn''t Noralon. There are no towns nearby we can fall back on. How long will we have ammunition? What happens when we need to build additional fortifications for the school? Hell, we don''t even have enough weapons to equip everyone. It''s better to get people started on leveling their crafting early than wait until we need it," Tom said as they arrived at the location that Alex had marked out as a potential smithy.


    With all of the people arriving, the settlement was already level 2, giving him 204 settlement points to play with. The room was already a metal workshop, so it had a lot of what he needed already. Opening up the settlement interphase, he went through the options.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Settlement Interphase


    Please Select a Forge Option:


    Designate Smithy - Inferior


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Congratulations, this room now counts as a Smithy</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: 0 Settlement Points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Forge of the Torch Dragon - Rare


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Unleash volcanic ferocity with the Forge of the Torch Dragon. Hot enough to melt any metal, this forge ensures your creations are forged in the heart of a dragon''s fire.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Torch Dragon Egg, 50 Settlement points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Adamantite Forge - Rare


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Craft on an anvil of Adamantine and harness its legendary durability. The Adamantite Forge provides unmatched durability for all your smithing projects.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Adamantite Anvil, 50 Settlement points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Infernal Forge - Rare


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Harness the power of the underworld with the Infernal Forge. Infused with demonic energy, it forges items with unique, fearsome properties.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Demon Lord Blood, 50 Settlement points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Magic Adamantite Forge - Epic


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Combine the strength of adamantine with the versatility of enchantments. The Magic Adamantite Forge allows for the creation of powerful, enchanted items.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Adamantine Anvil + Enchanting Table, 50 Settlement Points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Foundry of the Demon Lord - Historic


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Create items with dark, infernal power. The Foundry of the Demon Lord imbues every ingot with demonic strength and every creation with infernal abilities.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Demon Lord Blood, 100 Settlement Points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Foundry of the Torch Dragon - Historic


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Maintain a constant, intense heat for all your metalworking needs. The Foundry of the Torch Dragon uses dragon fire to ensure optimal melting and forging conditions.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Torch Dragon Egg, 100 Settlement Points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Adamantine Foundry - Historic


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Produce exceptionally durable items with the Adamantine Foundry. Perfect for projects requiring the utmost strength and resilience.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Adamantite Anvil, 100 Settlement Points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Foundry of the Adamantine Torch Dragon - Ancient


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Foundry of the Adamantine Torch Dragon is the ultimate forge for aspiring smiths. The Forge & Foundry burn as hot as the heart of a volcano. The anvil and tools are made out of the strongest natural magical materials on the planet. With this forge, even a complete amateur can forge a weapon of legend.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: 100 Settlement points + Torch Dragon Egg + Adamtine Anvil</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Foundry of the Demon Dragon Emperor - Mythic</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: The pinnacle of infernal smithing. This foundry combines demonic power and dragon fire to forge items of unparalleled might and dark enchantments.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: 100 Settlement points + Demon Lord Blood + Torch Dragon Fetus + Adamtine Anvil</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Before you do anything, remind me how settlement points work?" Alex cut in.


    "You don''t remember?" Tom asked. "Don''t you have a [Knowledge] skill?"


    "It''s for magic, not system stuff like yours. Besides, I''m ultra stressed right now and can''t remember at the moment, so just tell me," Alex said as she poked him in the side.


    Tom let out a sigh as he started to explain.


    "Settlement points allow me to make any number of modifications to Hopkins. The field keeping monsters away, the animal lure, and even the durability enhancement are all purchased using settlement points. Right now, I''m spending them to get us a working Foundry as opposed to waiting God knows how long to build it ourselves."


    "What about the other options?" she asked.


    Tom briefly considered blowing her off and just buying the Foundry. But she was really pretty.


    "Alright, what were we thinking of?" Tom asked as he tossed her the settlement interphase.


    Alex blinked as she started surfing through the interphase. She had full admin privileges after him.


    "We could use it for this Mana converter," Alex pointed. "I don''t really want to live without my computer."


    "Already on the list," Tom said.


    "Better rooms for people to live in," Alex suggested


    "We have people. What we need are resources," Tom said. "It would be much more efficient to just rob a few Ikeas or home depots and just build more rooms."


    "Right," Alex muttered as she rubbed her eyes. And we can''t just max out the monster repellent field because it doesn''t work half the time."


    "That''s why I maxed out the durability bonuses instead of the monster field." Tom pointed out.


    The two of them started relaxing as they got into the minutia of min-maxing their settlement.


    "What about a greenhouse then?" She asked.


    "I''m combining that with the Cauldron and the energy condenser for the alchemist Cauldron. Should be worth plenty of bonus settlement points."


    "Right, we get, I think, a 5% bonus for every level of rarity, right?" Alex asked.


    "yep. We went from level 1 to level 2 when we hit a population of 500. Level three requires us to build three special buildings or, in this case, rooms. We need three rooms that are not residents. More than that, by increasing the rarity of the Foundry by using special materials, we can get bonus points on our next level up. Hence, we''re getting the Foundry of the Demonic Dragon Emperor," Tom explained.


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


    "Hmm, I''m going to say no. The Foundry of the Adamantine Torch Dragon would be better," she asked matter-of-factly.


    Tom frowned.


    "But The Foundry of the Demonic Dragon Emperor will allow us to make Infernal gear with special effects against magic. On top of that, we can augment the crafts with [Blood sacrifices], [Demon summons], and [Infernal Corruption]... OK, I can see your point." Tom admitted as he heard himself speak.


    Alex chuckled. "Don''t you know, I''m always right. You should listen to me more often."


    From a game sense, Tom hadn''t been wrong to pick the demonic dragon emperor. The downsides could be ignored or even embraced. In the real world, that would be bad. Tom bit his lip. He really needed to alter his perception of his new reality. He would not come back if he died. He needed to remember that, especially as it was his job to resurrect everybody else.


    "Yeah, you''re right. The extra points aren''t worth having if we need to supervise the forge 24/7," Tom said as he purchased the [Foundry of the Adamantine Torch Dragon]


    Tom immediately felt the Torch Dragon Egg and the Adamantine Anvil leave his inventory, appearing in the center of the room. The surface of the anvil began to ripple. Then, the ripple started to spread across the room like a drop of wine into a cup of water. The alterations leached into the floor around the anvil. Before either of them could react, the transformation spread beneath their feet and climbed up the walls, up in an expanding wave until the edges met again on the ceiling as they did. The room itself expanded, and the floor sunk into the ground as they got an extra story worth of height out of the room as it changed, expanding and swallowing up the two nearby rooms as it became a proper Foundry.


    At the same time, the dragon egg sunk into the floor as the Foundry rose up out of the corner of the room. The Foundry was a square made out of black brick and decorated with metallic dragons. A staircase led up to the lip of the foundry formed on the side as taps appeared at the front of the Foundry, ready and able to pour out any molten material inside. A woosh signified the Foundry coming to life.


    "Holy," Alex gasped as she looked around in surprise and wonder. The classroom had completely changed. The basic gray of the concrete floor had turned rough and black, and veins of magma stretched out across the floor as if they were about to erupt, but they were only warm to the touch.


    The walls had turned into gleaming obsidian, and the windows, which were now high above them, appeared to have specks of color embedded within them.


    The other anvils had become smaller versions of the main one in the center of the room. Each was now composed of the same clear reddish-black metal as the first. Even the metal shop tools and machines that had been in the room beforehand were no longer mundane steel but instead transformed into Adamantine. Decorations of coiled Dragons and erupting volcanoes decorated the room and tools. Almost as an afterthought, a Forge popped out of the ground from one side of the room and started burning happily. The entire Foundry had become a place of utility and beauty.


    "I didn''t expect it to be so beautiful!!" Alex breathed out as she looked around the room.


    "Meh," Tom said, unimpressed.


    "Meh?" Alex asked in shock.


    "It''s only level 1," Tom said as he looked around his new Foundry. It''s a good start."


    "You need to appreciate beauty more often," Alex chastised him as the notification popped up.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!


    You have created [The Foundry of the Adamantine Torch Dragon] - (Historic) - Level 1


    Step into the Foundry of the Adamantine Torch Dragon, where the fiery forge and dragons might come together to produce legendary items with unparalleled attributes. Watch as your creations gain power and prestige, reflecting the ancient strength and enduring legacy of the Dragon.


    Level 1 Foundry Bonuses


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Enhanced Durability]: +10% to the Durability of all items</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Hopkins Bonus]: +1% to all XP gains in the Foundry</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Dragons Horde]: Your Foundry will often collect random bits of crude, which will be superheated and pressurized into small gemstones. Efficiency rate: 10%</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Volcanic Forged]:</li>


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Equipment can now grant +10 to STR, CON, or END </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">All Equipment gains Fire Resistance.</li>


    </ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Warm]: the internal temperature of all equipment can be raised by 10 degrees</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Strength of Ages: Dragons Continue to get larger and Stronger as they age. This Foundry will do the same. New characteristics may appear as the Foundry ages. Items created within the Foundry will gain additional characteristics and increase in quality as time marches onwards. </li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "I''m not sure how this is meh," Alex stated. "This was amazing."


    "More amazing than the Texadons Great Reef?" Tom asked.


    Alex suddenly grabbed his arm.


    "Oh my god. Do you think the Texadon Reef is real? Like it might actually be in the world now?!" she asked excitedly.


    "That was a part of the game. It wasn''t real." Tom protested.


    "It was a part of the game, but now the game is real!" Alex pointed out.


    "The Texadons Great Reef, the Crystal Caverns on top of Gyrian Tomb, Mirror Lake, the shop with a thousand doors, Lumo''s palace¡ªthose places might be real now. Hell, the Skylord palace might be floating over our heads right now. We could go there for real," Alex said as she beamed.


    "Assuming they''re real and were transplanted onto earth with everything else." Tom pointed out.


    "Wow, just kill all the fun, put the fun in camps, why don''t you, you fun Nazi."


    "Very funny."


    "I''m just saying, I just want to have a picnic in the real sky-hold parks."


    "You know what, fine, it''s a deal, if it exists, I will take you there for a picnic with dragon steaks and golden apple cider," Tom promised.


    "It''s a date, then," Alex said. Then she froze and blushed as she realized what she had said.


    Tom blushed but tried to brush it off.


    "Alright, Alex. Let''s go deal with the Alchemy room next," Tom said as he led the stunned Alex out of the room.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Alex Ling


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Solalfar


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Unlife


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Sun Elf


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 400


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 720


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1760


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 6.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 11.2 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 17.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Vitality


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Corpseslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Wizard 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 128


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 80 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 128


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 INT +4 WILL +3 EGO +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 CHA


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Spector] - Epic: This bloodline endows its bearer with an ethereal connection to the spirit world, blending the boundary between life and death. Those who possess this bloodline gain ghostly abilities, allowing them to move unseen and untouched through the physical realm.


    - [Haunting Presence] - Level 12 >> Level 15


    - [Ethereal Form] - Level 9 >> Level 10


    - [Invisibility] - Level 14 >> Level 16


    - [Steal Life] - Level 1


    - [Undying Focus] - Level 22 >> Level 24


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 15/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Solar Metabolism] - Level 1 >> Level 21


    - [Stable Chanting] - Level 15 >> Level 20


    - [Storage] - Level 10 >> Level 16


    - [Mapping] - Level 3 >> Level 14


    - [Mana Supersession (System)] - Level 11 >> Level 17


    Wizard 10/11


    - [Arcane Awakening] - Level 20 >> Level 27


    - [Arcane Shell] - Level 13 >> Level 24


    - [Charged Attack ¢ñ] - Level 11 >> Level 13


    - [Multi-Cast ¢ñ] - Level 10 >> Level 11


    - [Synchronized Chanting] - Level 14 >> Level 21


    - Capstone: [Magic Grimoire] - Level 1 >> Level 33


    - [Mana Sight] - Level 1 >> Level 19


    - [Mana Manipulation] - Level 1 >> Level 14


    - [Arcane Insight] - Level 1


    - [Persistent Casting] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 40: The Cauldron of Molecular Wisdom

    Alex was a bit too stunned to stop Tom as he dragged her away. Internally, she was morbid. She didn''t mean that ¡­ or did she? She didn''t know. Tom and she hadn''t had any kind of tension between them before. But before, they hadn''t looked like their wet dreams. Alex wasn''t unaware of her own changes. But Tom''s changes had been almost as significant. He had broad shoulders, chiseled abs, perfect hair, amazing eyes, pants that didn''t hide anything, and actual biceps. Tom was hot now, and the change was a little jarring but hot.


    She blushed just thinking about it as she followed him up the stairs and through the third floor until they came to what had once been the photography room. Abaddon was already there. He had placed a collection of chemistry equipment throughout the room. That wasn''t the most surprising thing. The most surprising thing was that she recognized some of the equipment from the chemistry labs on the third floor that had clearly been ripped out of walls and dragged down there.


    Abaddon was already hard at work. He was grinding up a bunch of red flowers, wheat, and some kind of root.


    "Hey, Abaddon, how''s the potion-making going?" Tom asked.


    "Still doing the prep," Abaddon said, not even looking up as he carefully ground the red flowers into a red paste that seemed to glow slightly.


    "Well, I''m placing the busted Energy Condenser, the Green House, and the Cauldron in here, so stop what you''re doing and pick your shit up, big guy, and get ready for the new building or room. The system is using those words interchangeably." Tom said.


    "Are we sure we shouldn''t use that to grow food?" Alex asked. "I''m not concerned about our food situation with the dungeon nearby, but people might throw a fit."


    She didn''t actually think turning the greenhouse into a discount farm was a good idea, but she knew someone would complain about it if she didn''t at least bring up the issue. Abaddon looked at her as if she had grown a second head.


    "But that''s so wasteful. We can find food anywhere. But magic plants are really hard to raise outside of the proper environment, especially if you don''t have the proper class. Besides, the dungeons produce plenty of animals. So long as we can hunt, we''ll be fine," Abaddon pointed out.


    "Yeah, I know that Abaddon and I weren''t born yesterday," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "I''m not saying we should use the greenhouse for food. I''m saying people are going to start complaining that we wasted the greenhouse for herbs instead of food."


    "Then we can claim that the greenhouse was part of the alchemy lab. We didn''t waste a greenhouse; we just got one along with our alchemy lab," Tom suggested.


    "And what happens when they find out we lied our ass''s off? Hmm. they''ll be pissed, and they might even attack, and we can''t exactly just kill them all if they rebel¡­ Can we?" she asked.


    "No, we can''t," Tom said with a grimace. "Unfortunately, I don''t see any way to avoid biting the bullet in this case. We can still use the herbs as ingredients in cooking. We could also argue the usefulness of potions. If the dungeon starts creating poisonous animals, we''ll need the lab to remove the poison. So, hopefully, we can appease people long enough to set up a farm."


    Alex narrowed her eyes at him as she considered his explanation.


    "You made all that up on the spot, didn''t you?" she asked.


    "100%. That doesn''t mean I''m wrong, though. More importantly, we have supermarkets full of food. We have nothing equivalent for potions," Tom said.


    "Yeah," Alex admitted. "I just don''t want to deal with more people complaining."


    "I know, but Machiavelli once said, ''Those who acquire a principality with difficulty will keep it with ease. Those who acquire a principality without difficulty will find it difficult to keep''."


    "When did you read Machiavelli?" Alex asked.


    "Um ¡­" Tom trailed off.


    Alex didn''t stop staring at him.


    "I kinda read it from a manga," Tom admitted.


    Alex cracked a smile.


    "Was it any good?" she asked.


    "Yeah, that''s pretty good. Guy gets isekai''d to another world, becomes king, and quotes Machiavelli a lot," Tom said.


    "Send me a link. I think I''m going to need it," Alex said, and then a frown appeared on her face. "We might actually need to read the original book if we''re going to be proper rulers."


    "Ugh," Tom groaned as he brought up the settlement interphase.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Settlement Interphase


    Alchemy Lab Setting


    Designate Trash Alchemy Laboratory - Inferior


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Congratulations, this room now counts as an alchemy lab</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: 0 Settlement Points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Designate Basic Alchemy Laboratory - Common


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Recreate this room into a basic Alchemy laboratory based on what''s already inside of it.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: 50 Settlement Points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Gardners Laboratory - Uncommon


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">While others seek power through pills and elixirs, this laboratory instead focuses on the true foundation of alchemy. Why slave away over a cauldron, making minute improvements in your craft when you can cultivate magical plants capable of competing with even the greatest potions? </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Greenhouse, 50 Settlement Points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Laboratory of the Philosopher''s Stone - Rare


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Unlock the secrets of transmutation in the Laboratory of the Philosopher''s Stone. Transform base materials into precious substances with ease. This is the Lab for those who seek wealth and power through alchemy.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Broken Energy Condenser, 50 Settlement Points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Laboratory of Averourious Wisdom - Rare


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Knowledge is power. Dive into the depths of alchemicals in this laboratory. Study elixirs, potions, pills, and brews, discovering the hidden secrets that alchemists jealously guard, and let no one dissuade you from your path of discovery</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Cauldron of Avaricious Wisdom, 50 Settlement Points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Laboratory of the Demon Lord - Epic


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Embrace power in the Laboratory of the Demon Lord. This lab allows for rapid and potent alchemical creations. Harness the essence of the pure power of alchemy and make the world tremble at your name.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Demon Lord Blood, 50 Settlement Points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Philosophers Cauldron - Historic


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Combine knowledge and transmutation in the Philosopher''s Cauldron. This lab features a powerful ability to analyze and break down materials, allowing you to intricately understand and alter your potions in a Cauldron of boundless possibility.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Cauldron of Avaricious Wisdom + Broken Energy Condenser, 100 Settlement points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Cauldron of the Infernal Garden - Historic


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Combine infernal power with botanical cultivation in the Cauldron of the Infernal Garden. Be the envy of alchemists everywhere. Grow potent herbs and dangerous fruits and cultivate plants normally found only within the hell itself.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Demon Lord Blood + GreenHouse, 100 settlement points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Cauldron of Photosynthesis - Ancient


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Harness the sun''s power as your herb leaps out of the ground. While others may search the forests or spend years waiting for their plants to grow, you will never be without ingredients for your alchemy. </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Broken Energy Condenser + Mana Converter + GreenHouse, 100 settlement points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    The Cauldron of Molecular Wisdom - Ancient


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Achieve alchemical and botanical mastery in the Cauldron of Molecular Wisdom. This lab blends sophisticated equipment with thriving plants, focusing on molecular-level manipulation for unparalleled magical and natural results.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Broken Energy Condenser + Cauldron of Avaricious Wisdom + GreenHouse, 100 settlement points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    Cauldron of the Fourth Circle of Hell - Mythic


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Description: Push the boundaries of alchemy in the Cauldron of the Fourth Circle of Hell. This sinister lab combines demonology, transmutation, herbology, and alchemy for powerful, dangerous results. Create unparalleled potions as you actively draw on the power of the fourth circle of hell.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cost: Demon Lord Blood + Cauldron of Avaricious Wisdom + Broken Energy Condenser + GreenHouse, 100 settlement points</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Huh, that''s weird," Tom muttered.


    "What is?" Alex asked as her eyes roamed over the list.


    Tom bit his lip for a moment before speaking. "My bloodline allows me to see the metadata behind the system windows. Here, the Cauldron of the Fourth Circle of Hell isn''t the real name of the cauldron. Its actual name is something along the lines of an alchemist''s lab transformed into a pseudo-abyssal world of knowledge and greed. Not exactly catchy, but it''s interesting."


    "What exactly does that mean?" Alex asked. "Hell, what does meta-data mean in this context? This is real now, not a computer system."


    "I think there are two levels to the system. One is hyper-specific and very scientific, and the other is a more baby version that we''re using. It''s not lying to us. But it''s dumbing things down enough for anyone to use, like the types. [Beast] types are just mammals, but [Bug] types are insects, arachnids, and maybe all arthropods. It''s helpful from a combat perspective but a little misleading if you''re not a scientist. I wish Duncan were here. He might understand this better."


    Alex chewed her lip. "We can deal with it later. It''s a brain teaser, but it''s not immediately useful. Besides, there was no way in seven hells I was going to pick a demonic alchemy lab,"


    "Yeah, yeah, let''s remove the demonic option first," Tom said.


    "But Master Tom, you did consider a demonic smithy?" she teased him.


    "The worst thing that could have happened in an infernal smithy was people being killed and harvested for parts. It''s nasty but not exactly subtle. But an infernal alchemist? Do we really want flesh golems, diseases, homunculi, and slime factories?" Tom asked as he shook his head.


    "Hey, we can make some pretty cute slimes," Alex teased him again.


    Tom rolled his eyes as he tapped away at the screen in front of him, making their choice.


    The room underwent an immediate transformation. The room began to ripple again as its features distorted and twisted. Abaddon''s scattered items were absorbed into the shifting surroundings as the room shifted and morphed around them.


    Counters and shelves emerged from the floor and walls, seemingly conjured from thin air. Glass beakers, flasks, and test tubes lined the walls. Some equipment was sizable, while others were more modest in scale. A vented hood reminiscent of her tenth-grade chemistry class stood against one wall, and then she realized it was the vented hood from the grade 10 chemistry class.


    The outer wall facing the exterior turned opaque as it was replaced by tinted glass, its surface shimmering like a rainbow in the dying light of the evening sun. Even from here, she could tell the greenhouse stretched out, its size nearly twice that of a two-car garage.


    To the side of the door, a massive black crystalline chest rose from the ground like a fish emerging from the deep. Its surface danced with iridescent blues and purples that seemed to shift as she studied it. At its top, there sat a pedestal for placing the material you wanted to replicate. But its most distinctive feature was the massive crack going right down the center of the chest.


    Simultaneously, at the center of the room, at the center of the chaos, rose a cauldron supported by four waist-high pillars spiraling counterclockwise. It resembled a large pumpkin in size and was crafted from what appeared to be jade, yet its eerie feature was the massive leering face on one side. Or maybe it wasn''t leering, but it was disturbing no matter how she looked at it.


    Much like the Foundry before it, the Cauldron was nothing short of magnificent. However, in this case, there was an unmistakable infusion of technology, with large screens adorning the walls. Caldrons, along with more conventional chemistry equipment, adorned the numerous counters in the room. Lin''s gaze was drawn to the walls, now a deep black, etched with intricate silver inscriptions she didn''t understand at first until she realized they were elements from the periodic table. The floor had turned into white marble with gold inlay.


    The photography classroom had transformed from a ratty basement classroom into something between a witch''s hut, a twenty-first-century lab, and a science show.


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


    Tom placed his hand on the black crystal chest, carefully tracing the massive crack running directly through the middle.


    "Woah," Alex muttered.


    She didn''t care what Tom said. This was amazing.


    ¡°That¡¯s disappointing,¡± Tom muttered.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°The energy condenser. I was hoping the room might fix it, and we could start to transmute stuff,¡± Tom said.


    "Shit," Alex muttered. "Well, I guess we aren''t turning lead into gold or creating a philosopher stone."


    "It wasn''t likely to begin with, but I was still hopeful. Oh well, we''re just going to have to build one then," Tom said.


    Alex had partially tuned Tom out as she pulled up the room''s description.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!


    You have created The Cauldron of Molecular Wisdom - (Ancient) - Level 1


    With its blend of historical significance and cutting-edge functionality, the Cauldron of Molecular Wisdom is the ultimate tool for any alchemist seeking to push the boundaries of their craft and unravel the deepest mysteries of potion-making.


    Affects:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Crafting Speed]: +10% to crafting speed per level, accelerating the creation process of potions and alchemical substances</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Potion Effectiveness]: +10% to potion effectiveness per level, enhancing the potency and impact of crafted potions.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[XP Gain]: +1% to all XP gains within the Cauldron per level, boosting your experience and progression while using the Cauldron.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Energy Condenser (Broken)]: Once a powerful transmutation device, it now serves as an art piece. Despite its broken state, it adds a touch of history and mystique to the Cauldron.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Cauldron Appraisal]: By placing an ingredient, ore, or any raw material into the central cauldron, you can learn more about its potential properties. All helpful information is recorded and displayed on one of the screens.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Cauldron of Wisdom]: By placing an assortment of ingredients into the central cauldron will reveal whether a potion can be created from that combination. All helpful information is recorded and displayed on one of the screens.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Cauldron of Averious]: By placing a potion of alchemical substance in the center of the cauldron allows one to learn the recipe for creating that potion. Similarly, placing a poison, venom, or other toxic substance in the cauldron can reveal potential cures. All helpful information is recorded and displayed on one of the screens.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Greenhouse]: The Cauldron has access to a modular greenhouse that can create any environment needed to grow any plant or insect life, enhancing your ability to gather rare ingredients and resources.</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Alex let out a breath as she reviewed the effects. She had to admit they were rather impressive, though she was still worried about the pushback when people found out about the greenhouse.


    "We''re going to need a [gardener] or [herbalist] to take care of the greenhouse. Make sure to mark that down." Tom said as he finished examining the room.


    "What am I, your secretary? Actually, that could be pretty fun. I will relent to being your secretary if I can wear a slutty secretary outfit." Alex said as she marked down the need for the gardener on her phone. Her to-do list was already flooded, and it was only going to get bigger.


    "Please tell me we''re done?" Alex asked, hoping he would say yes.


    "Yes, this is fine. We don''t have enough setting points to build anything else, so I''m just going to designate the library as the official library and then call it a day," Tom said as he stretched.


    "Before we head out, we can go over what to do with the settlement points from hitting level 3 tomorrow," Tom said.


    "We''re heading out?" Alex asked.


    "Adams has asked for our help in clearing other settlements. We don''t get to keep the settlements, but we get all the loot and the XP," Tom said.


    "Fucking finally, I was worried I would be stuck doing admin all day." Alex sagged with relief. "Did you know that while you were playing Jesus, I was going around finding people to do admin for us? It was exhausting."


    She wanted to slump on the ground, toss all of this work onto someone else, and have fun. Unfortunately, she couldn''t.


    ¡°While you''re still here, I think we need to take a longer view. We need to set up a council of some kind, with representatives from the refugees, so we don''t have to do all this ourselves. We¡¯ll need law enforcement, which I understand the Major is already looking into. But we¡¯ll need to think of long-term needs for food, shelter, and especially, clean water.¡± Alex began


    "You sure we''ll need it?" Abaddon asked.


    "Look, if I''m wrong and things get organized, no harm, no foul. But if we don''t prepare for the worst case. Then when the worst case becomes reality, we''re fucked." she stated.


    ¡°Dammit.¡± Tom put his head in his hands. ¡°This is all getting out of hand. I think you¡¯re right about the council thing, Alex. We should get that in place first. But we can''t just give them all our stuff to be nationalized. Maybe we need to implement some kind of feudalism, with us as the [Lords].¡±


    ¡°Won''t work,¡± Abaddon said. ¡°Four of us can¡¯t hold off nearly a thousand people even with levels.¡±


    Tom looked a little crestfallen but plowed ahead.


    "Yeah, you''re probably right. If they decide they¡¯ve had enough, we would be screwed. So we need to give them enough that they feel in control while we stay far enough in front of this so that we can steer it a little instead of getting trampled." Tom muttered to himself.


    ¡°You sound very manipulative again,¡± Alex pointed out. For now, we can keep it simple with work crews and crew leaders. Let''s just put the leaders on this council, at least until we can have elections.¡±


    "Sure, it will be a hot mess, but it will work," Tom groaned.


    "Great, I''m going to deal with the people I''m trying to dump with admin to find out if anyone is trustworthy. Meet up for dinner?"


    "Sure, once Abaddon and I finish setting up, we''ll grab a bite to eat. I''ll make sure to grab you something," Tom said.


    "I love you right now," Alex said as she turned to leave.


    Then she blushed as she realized what she said. Dammit, what the hell was wrong with her. She left the room as quickly as possible. Walking down the hall to the school''s main office, where she had assembled a team of people. Their sole purpose was to do all the boring admin she didn''t want to do.


    She was still unsure if she and Tom could actually lead an actual settlement. Between magic, resurrection, and some lessons they learned from the Civilization game, she thought they were doing okay. But that could change, and she wasn''t sure what they would do if people tried to take Hopkins from them. It would probably involve a mountain of over-the-top violence and swearing. But would that be the right thing to do? She was confident they would win. But she was unsure about anything after that.


    Her eyes wandered into one of the converted classrooms. The student desk and chairs had been stacked in one corner, and the floor was now covered in sleeping bags as a group of almost twenty haggard people settled in. Her heart ached at the sight, and she had to force herself to turn her head away as she walked past them towards the school office. Once inside, she found the handful of other people she had managed to turn into staff.


    They had initially hammered out housing for everyone on their own, mostly putting people in the gym and the classrooms. The bureaucrats she had required organized people to empty out the math and social studies classrooms and had them salvage beds and sleeping bags from the nearby houses.


    "So, how are we handling things?" she asked.


    One of the [Lawyers] she had managed to find, a man named Hanze, spoke up first.


    "We''ve managed to get most people settled. We don''t have enough rooms for everyone, so we''re mostly housing people in the gymnasium. The police have been helping keep the peace. I should mention that the squirrel."


    Hanze flipped through some papers he had. "Skippy, he came by to make demands that we set up a rotating guard at all hours and to set a curfew for nightfall."


    "Yeah, it''s called a guard. What''s the problem?" She asked.


    "He claimed that the monster repellent field wasn''t perfect and that things would be more dangerous at night, especially for non-combatants. He phrased these as warnings rather than demands. I talked to the police officers about it. They''re alright with maintaining a watch but unsure about the curfew."


    "Yeah, the repellent field only works half the time. That''s why we don''t trust it. Get us guard." Alex punctuated the last few words.


    "We also need to be concerned about the food supply," one of the scribes said. She couldn''t remember his name.


    "The first responders have been bringing back supplies from the nearby grocery store. We should be okay for quite some time," Hanze said. "Unfortunately, the more pressing issue is the number of people coming to Hopkins. We don''t have the rooms for everyone, even if we packed them in like sardines. We''re going to have to put people in the gymnasium."


    "Tomorrow, the guild will be clearing additional settlements in accordance with the deal he made with Major Adams, so you lot will need to handle the basic mundane stuff," Alex said.


    "Oh, thank fuck, at least I won''t have to deal with these fragging nut cases anymore." the scribe muttered under his breath but still loud enough for Alex to hear with her enhanced perception.


    Hanze had also apparently heard the scribes muttering and looked at the man like he was a moron. Alex figured he was probably right.


    Tom had resurrected at least a hundred people, healed nearly five hundred, and given them a personal inventory skill. Abaddon appeared functionally immortal, Alex had taken on an undead army solo, and Skippy was ¡­ well, Skippy''s build still needed work. He was currently underperforming, but she expected him to get his but in gear.


    Hanze had seen what Tom and the other members of Awoken myths could do and was doing his best to prove himself and going all in on the guild. On the other hand, the scribe and people like him were just waiting to leave and return to their mundane lives that didn''t exist anymore.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, Settlement Hopkins has reached Level 3!!


    As a level 3 Settlement Hopkins is now a [Village], you gain 300 settlement points.


    Buildings: Foundry of the Adamantine Torch Dragon - Ancient / Cauldron of Molecular Wisdom - Ancient / The Library - Inferior


    For going above and beyond with your Foundry, You receive a +40% increase to your Settlement points received from your settlement reaching the third level.


    For going above and beyond with your Cauldron, You receive a +40% increase to your Settlement points received from your settlement reaching the third level.


    As a Village, you gain the following benefits: +30% to [Skill Gains], +20% to [Crafting Speed], +10% to [Gathering Speed]. Total Settlement Points: 544


    Requirements to reach level 4 settlement: population 786 / 1000


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Alex smiled. Tom had finished upgrading the school to level 3, which meant more work for her. Joy ¡­she thought sarcastically. At least this would make her job more manageable.


    "Alright then," Alex said as everyone blinked away the notifications on their faces. "Where were we?"


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Alex Ling


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Solalfar


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Unlife


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Sun Elf


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 400


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 720


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1760


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 6.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 11.2 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 17.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Vitality


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Corpseslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Wizard 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 128


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 80 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 128


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 INT +4 WILL +3 EGO +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 CHA


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Spector] - Epic: This bloodline endows its bearer with an ethereal connection to the spirit world, blending the boundary between life and death. Those who possess this bloodline gain ghostly abilities, allowing them to move unseen and untouched through the physical realm.


    - [Haunting Presence] - Level 15


    - [Ethereal Form] - Level 10


    - [Invisibility] - Level 16


    - [Steal Life] - Level 1


    - [Undying Focus] - Level 24


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 15/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Solar Metabolism] - Level 21


    - [Stable Chanting] - Level 20


    - [Storage] - Level 16


    - [Mapping] - Level 14


    - [Mana Supersession (System)] - Level 17


    Wizard 10/11


    - [Arcane Awakening] - Level 27


    - [Arcane Shell] - Level 24


    - [Charged Attack ¢ñ] - Level 13


    - [Multi-Cast ¢ñ] - Level 11


    - [Synchronized Chanting] - Level 21


    - Capstone: [Magic Grimoire] - Level 33


    - [Mana Sight] - Level 19


    - [Mana Manipulation] - Level 14


    - [Arcane Insight] - Level 1


    - [Persistent Casting] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 41: The To-Do List

    Tom sighed as he got the new notification about the library. He was hoping it would be at least a common rarity. Lesser rarity was just insulting. On the plus side, he had gained another two levels in [Scribe], bringing him back up to level 15.


    Signing, he left the library, heading downstairs to the cafeteria. Abaddon had already sat down with a massive feast in front of him. He absently noticed that the TV had been turned on and was on the news channel.


    For a few moments, it was pleasant. Waiting in line for his food was almost peaceful. He could almost pretend that everything was okay and that he didn''t have a million things to worry about. It wasn''t even the work that concerned him; it was the fact that he was dealing with real people now, not just NPCs.


    And then his illusion of tranquility was ruined as people started to thank him.  And thank him.  And thank him.  For bringing them back to life, for protecting the kids, . . . and for helping them get stronger.  It didn¡¯t take long before it was overwhelming. One grown man broke down in tears and thanked him for bringing back his wife. A woman thanked him for bringing her child back and asked him to bless her child, which he couldn''t do yet. Which he vaguely recognized as one of the people he had resurrected. Entire families fell to their knees and sang praises to the gods in my name.  He had no idea how he managed it, but he managed not to have a panic attack as people swarmed him.


    When they finally let him go, Tom felt utterly drained. He would have preferred to fight ten demon lords than deal with whatever that was again.


    Tom moved into the line for food. It was hotdogs with french fries right today. As he moved through the line, whispers rose around him.


    "Did you see him?"


    "Who the hell is that?"


    "That''s Thomas."


    "He brought my sister back to life."


    "Did you see his ears?!"


    "Do you think he''s from another world?"


    Tom tried to ignore the whispers as he moved through the line. He just wanted to eat. When it was finally his turn to get his food, the server froze as he faced him.


    "Two hotdogs, please," Tom said.


    But the man just gaped at him like a fish. He looked familiar.


    "Were you the guy I resurrected today? Bill or something?" Tom asked.


    "Will, sir. My name is Will, sir." Will said. "I just wanted to say thank you. You saved my life."


    "You''re welcome. Though technically, I only restored your life to you. You were already dead." Tom pointed out too tired to care about tack.


    "Um, yes, thank you again, sir," Will said awkwardly.


    "My name is Thomas, by the way, or you can use one of my titles," Tom said as he held out his tray. Two hotdogs, please. Oh, and an apple with chocolate milk."


    Will nodded as he grabbed Tom his food.


    "Also, Will, you have a good affinity for Fire and Dark magic. You should consider picking up and trying to combine the Pyromancer and Umbramancer Classes." Tom suggested as he took his food and walked away.


    Not seeing Will''s face, Tom walked away and moved over to the table where Abaddon sat. As he sat down, he cast his senses out with [Far-Seeing] to observe his ''kingdom.''


    "My hello, Saint Bruner. I am so happy for you to lower yourself to grace my humble form," Abaddon said mockingly.


    "Abaddon, I love you, but you keep it up. I''m going to cast the Brown Note spell on you." Tom groaned.


    "GAH, oh my god, I almost forgot about that spell. Hey, after this, let''s go find Chad. I want to see him act tough while he''s shitting himself!!" Alex laughed.


    Abaddon seemed to shrink in on himself at that suggestion. So Tom changed the subject.


    "How many potions did you manage to make?" Tom asked, changing the subject as Abaddon choked on the three hotdogs in his reptile maw and laughed uproariously.


    Abaddon seemed almost to unhinge his jaw as he choked down his food before answering.


    "I''ve got twenty health potions. Around a dozen mana potions," He answered. "I unlocked the brewer skill. It kinda sucks because everything started going way faster after you set up the cauldron, so I basically just fucked around for most of the day." Abaddon chuckled at himself


    Tom smirked. "Don''t worry about it. By the way, do we have a working energy condenser or ¡­?" Tom asked hopefully, but Abaddon shook his head.


    "I think I can get a basic transmutation table. But we won''t be turning turds into gold anytime soon," Abaddon said.


    "Well, shit. So much for my dreams," Tom muttered disheartened.


    Abaddon shrugged. "Just add it to the to-do list."


    Tom rolled his eyes.


    "Along with all of our other objectives," Tom said. "Side note: Alex seems to be having fun playing administrator. She''s actually pretty good at it."


    "How can you tell?" Abaddon asked.


    "[Far Seeing]. I''m watching her and her underlings. She''s trying to use a privacy spell, but I think my bloodline has just ruined obfuscation for like ever,"  Tom snickered.


    "Is it really that good?" Abaddon asked.


    "Ignore for a second that [Thirst for Knowledge] lets me bypass her privacy spell. [Visions of Akashic Records]  is letting me read the metadata of how the skill is obscuring the conversation. Which includes a transcript of said conversation so the skill can scramble it." Tom couldn''t keep it in anymore; he started laughing at the absurdity of it all.


    "It''s been a really crazy two days, hasn''t it?" Abaddon asked.


    "Two days?" Tom asked. "Has it really only been two days? I thought it was at least three?"


    "You got knocked out by a fireball," Abaddon pointed out.


    "Right, I kind of forgot about that. It doesn''t feel like two days. Honestly, it feels closer to forty," Tom said.


    "So what''s the plan going forward?" Abaddon asked.


    "Hold a second. I''ve been making a list," Tom said as he pulled out a notepad.


    "Let''s see 1. Finish using tutorial rewards. 2. Spend settlement points 3. Clear lairs for Major Adams. 4. Visit the Dungeon. 5. Get people working in the Cauldron, Garden, and Foundry respectively. 8."


    "Wait, you skipped 6 and 7." Abaddon cut in.


    "Well, I listed the cauldron garden and foundry as separate tasks, so we are technically at 8. Now," Tom explained.


    "Alright, continue," Abaddon said.


    "8. Meet Starkiller on December 7th. We might want to hire him. 9. Find the beta-testers who attacked us and grief them. 10. Become self-sufficient. 11. Set up a healers group so I don''t have to do everything myself. 12. Set up a daycare for Chloe so she can hang out with friends and gain levels to keep herself safe. 13. Make an energy condenser and get rich, 14. build a portal to the other planes so we can mine them, And finally, 15. Find and maybe kill the Wyvern." Tom finished up.


    "Dammit, when you put it like that, it''s hard to believe that it''s only been two days," Abaddon muttered.


    "TOM," a voice screeched above the cafeteria cacophony as Chloe appeared next to him, hugging him tightly.


    "Hello, peanut. Did you have a good time?" Tom asked.


    "Uh, hu, we spent the whole day watching my little pony!!" she squealed. "Can I get a horse like Rainbow Dash?"


    Alex met up with them, setting down two plastic trays as she sat down with them.


    "Pumpkin, come here. I need hugs," Alex said as she wrapped her arms around Chloe.


    Chloe hugged her back with childish enthusiasm.


    "That''s so much better," Alex said. "Tom, I''ll introduce you to the admins later. I refuse to keep dealing with them alone. We also need to set up some wards at some point. Just the basics, you know, anti-scrying, general protection, wards against disease, wards against the building burning down, an astral ward to stop anyone just phasing through the wall or teleporting in, physical and magical wards against damage to the building, the normal stuff."


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Yeah, but we need to set up a ritual circle, and you and I are the only people who can do that stuff," Tom muttered as he added it to his growing list.


    "Any idea where Skippy went?" Abaddon asked


    "I was out." the squirrel man said as he arrived with his own platter.


    "Doing?" Tom asked expectantly.


    "I was finding refugees and grabbing groceries," Skippy said with a shrug. "You won''t believe who I found."


    Skippy then told his story about the orcs, Penny''s group, and the Regional Quest. The witch then gave them access to the regional quest. And with every word Skippy said Tom got more and more frustrated.


    "Where is Penny and her friends now?" Alex asked


    "They''re asleep in one of the rooms upstairs. It''s a miracle i got them in building before they passed out."


    "Fucking fuckity fuck." Tom swore as his frustration reached a boiling point.. "Adding number 16 to the to-do list."


    "What the hell are you complaining about?" Skippy asked. "We just get the guild together and do a raid."


    Alex looked at Skippy like he was an idiot,


    "Skippy, these aren''t players. They''ve never been in a raid. It would be easier to coordinate a bunch of wet cats. How do you think they''re going to react when we tell them to fight and die against a goblin horde? They''re going to tell us to go eat a bucket of dicks." Alex pointed out.


    "It can''t be that bad." Skippy protested.


    "The best guide to the system is a couple of videos people took of me in the gymnasium earlier today," Tom said.


    "Seriously?!" Skippy asked.


    "The best one is made by someone called Sunshine 1138. He already has over a billion views of my gym speech on YouTube. And it''s still growing," Tom said, showing the video on his phone.


    "Can we hire him to do more of those? Most people don''t even know how to build a basic synergy. It would be good press for us," Alex said.


    "Hold on, we''re getting off track. If we can''t use the guild, what about the RCMP or the army?" Skippy asked.


    "I''m not sure. I''ve been using them for [Far-Seeing] practice in between other things. I even got six levels out of it. But It''s pretty chaotic there," Tom warned.


    "How so?" Alex asked


    ¡°They thought they could conquer a lair without us. They tried with three different monster lairs I know of, one spider, one overrun by elementals, and one with goblins.¡± Tom explained.


    ¡°I can see why the elementals kicked their ass. They''re immune to physical attacks, but how did they fail to kill the goblins?¡± Alex asked, confused. "Goblins aren''t that different from humans."


    ¡°The boss was a level 20 War Troll,¡± Tom said.


    A massive monster resistant to physical attacks, heavy regeneration, and redundant organs would be functionally immune to gunfire.


    "Yeah, that would do it," Alex said as he leaned back in his chair. "What about the other lairs?"


    "The museum is full of zombies, the horse track has giant horse spiders, and I found an elemental lair in the nearest police station. A lot of goblins'' lairs. It seems to be a theme." Tom explained.


    "Lovely. So we need to clear out the lairs, turn them into settlements, raise an army, and then wipe out the goblins." Tom groaned as he added yet more tasks to the to-do list.


    "Well, it¡¯s a bloody grind out there, a handful of other beta-testers. Everything I found out there is below level 10 right now. I''m not sure there''s enough XP to go around." Skippy said darkly.


    For a long moment, they all just sat there feeling more than a little depressed at their situation. Then Chloe stood up on the bench to whisper in his ear.


    ¡°Can we have a barbecue tomorrow?¡± She whispered loudly.


    ¡°Sure peanut,¡± Tom said as he ruffled her hair as he tried to think of how they were going to handle this situation.


    They had so many things to do, and it all just felt so overwhelming. He had to admit it was less overwhelming than adulthood had been. There, he had felt overwhelmed because he didn''t know what to do or even what he wanted out of life. It had been like being given a million options and being expected to somehow choose the right one without spending the rest of his life in misery.


    Now that real life was the Legend of Noralon, it was actually easier in some ways. Sure, they were at risk of getting killed by the monsters, But he knew exactly what he wanted and how to get there. He wanted to build up his guild, smash the goblins, and grow in power. He already knew how to do all of that. The only problem was getting everyone else to tag along with his vision.


    "Let''s break this down barney style," Tom muttered to himself. We need to hit the lairs for the levels and the resources. We should bring anyone we think has the talent to help power-level them. We should also share the regional quest with the Major at first but not to the entire guild, not until we all hit level 20. Just in case this goes tits up."


    "Seriously, Tom?" Skippy snorted in indignation. "What are they going to do to us?"


    Before either of them could say anything, the nearest TV flickered on as someone got the TVs working, and a news anchor appeared on the screen.


    Breaking News!!! Today, a man killed a senator, Heathcliff, in his home today in full view of his family before disappearing without a trace. Unfortunately, the man is still at large. Fortunately, Ashly Heathcliff, the senator''s daughter, was able to identify the person''s title as a Beta-tester.


    This is the eighth incident involving beta-testers who claim that the world has become a video game. Given how prepared these beta-testers were for the catastrophe, one has to wonder if they aren''t telling us something ¡­


    The news anchor went on to paint the beta-testers as having triggered the system apocalypse and questioning if they should be arrested or even killed on sight.


    "You were saying, Skippy?" Tom asked.


    "Did you fucking plan that?" Skippy asked suspiciously as Tom added yet another thing to his list: public relations.


    "Nope. sometimes, the universe just likes to prove me right." Tom said.


    "So what do we do now?" Abaddon asked.


    "First thing tomorrow morning, we need to have a little get-together with Major and Penny. As for right now, we go upstairs, bust out the Xbox, and spend an hour or two playing Halo 3."


    "Halo Reach is better," Skippy stated.


    "In what world?" Tom asked as the conversation devolved into which Halo game was the best.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 525


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 675


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2700


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 7.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 9.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 15.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 50% Soul 34%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1, Scribe 3, Pro-gamer 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 45


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 150


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 135


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 120


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 45


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 150


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 135


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 120


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 28


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 20


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 21


    - [Universal] - Level 18


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 24


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 34


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 16


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 25


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 19/60: Skill Points: 2


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 22


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 12


    - [Art of Water] - Level 7


    - [Art of Earth] - Level 4


    - [Teacher] - Level 9


    Augur 07/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 25


    - [Art of Life] - Level 20


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 27


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 11 >> Level 17


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 14


    - [Quest Giver] - Level 1


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 11


    - [Leadership ¢ò] - Level 16


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 15


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 10


    - [Logistics ¢ò] - Level 12


    Pro-Gamer 01/11


    - [Spell Trap] - Level 1


    Scribe 01/6


    - [Contract] - Level 9


    - [Empty]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 42: Thursday

    Tom stifled a yawn as he poured himself a cup of coffee in the cafeteria. His eyelids still felt heavy from the early wake-up. Worse, the sun felt like it was trying to gouge his eyes out with its brightness, and the fact that everything was covered in white snow wasn''t helping.


    Tom took his time to savor his first cup of coffee. Unlike some people who drank it like vodka for that quick shot of caffeine, Tom actually liked to enjoy the initial rush of his caffeinated drink.


    "Are you done making love to your cup?" Alex asked from beside him.


    "I haven''t had any since Monday. Let me have this." Tom said


    They sat down just as he took a sip. Alex slid into the seat next to him, her expression more alert than his. ¡°Abaddon¡¯s got Chloe for the morning,¡± she said, offering a quick grin. ¡°So, ready for whatever they throw at us today?¡±


    Tom shrugged a slight smile in return. ¡°Not really, but I¡¯ve got caffeine today, so it¡¯s a start.¡±


    That''s when Skippy showed up with the Major, the Sergeant, Penny, and a woman Tom hadn¡¯t met before, though [Augur¡¯s Eye] told him her name was Eve. His brows raised as he noticed the Sergeant with an assault rifle slung over her shoulder. He felt oddly conflicted about the gun. On the one hand, it was a deadly weapon, and he wasn''t comfortable with her carrying it around, and yet he was ok with Skippy walking around with swords. Hell, Abaddon and Alex were deadly and even in their birthday suits. So ¡­ he guessed the assault rifle was ok. Maybe?


    Penny, on the other hand, looked odd. He had been expecting her to be the same stuck-up popular girl he''d met on Monday, the one who thought she could become a world-famous musician. That wasn''t who he was looking at now. Now he saw someone that looked ready for a fight, maybe even a little haunted. She kept palming the hilt of the knife at her side and glancing around the cafeteria.


    ¡°Morning, everyone,¡± Tom greeted, taking a seat. ¡°I''m sure you''re wondering why I''ve gathered you all here today.¡±


    "Not really. I assumed this was in regards to clearing out the lairs today." Major Adams said.


    "Oh, right. We''re doing that today, too. But no. We have a different problem. I think you''re going to want to hear this," Tom said as he turned to Penny.


    "Penny, I understand this must have been difficult for you. But I need you to tell us again what happened to you."


    Penny took a deep breath as if steadying herself before she got down to telling her story. She told them about the goblin encampment, what the goblins had done, and how she killed the shamen and stole the knife and the diamond. And their escape. Eve sat down next to her, adding in details as needed and seemed to be trying to reassure Penny just as often.


    The Major cut in at a few points to ask some more pointed questions about the goblins'' logistics, military might, etc. Tom was more curious about their magic, but he held his questions for later.


    "So not only do we have an enemy encampment nearby, but they are actively hunting down and killing people." Sgt.Thorn muttered to herself.


    "No," Tom said.


    "No?" the Sergeant asked, confused.


    "It''s worse than that," Tom said.


    "How could a bunch of goblins running around killing people be worse?" Major Adams asked.


    "Because they aren''t just running around killing people," Tom explained. "They are gathering them up and bringing them back to their fortress to be sacrificed."


    "Why does that matter?" Penny asked, confused.


    While she had been there, she didn''t have the context to understand what she had seen.


    "I''m getting there." Tom placated with a smile. "Based on your description, the goblins have what is called a bloodstone. For you see, long ago, when the first god of blood fell to the dread executioner, his blood rained down on Noralon, crystalizing into the first bloodstones. And within those stones remains that god''s eternal hunger for blood, magic, and power.


    These relics of blood magic could turn even the weakest of [Blood Mages] into country-spanning calamities, but without a [Blood mage], it''s basically a just really fucked up battery. When the goblin shaman sacrifices a person, all of their HP and MP in the form of their blood is drained into the bloodstone, waiting to be used for later use. Of course, if you''re not a [Blood Mage], you need a ritual just to get it to work. But you need to understand a bloodstone has the capacity in the millions."


    Everyone looked at him in horror.


    "It''s not as bad as you think," Tom said.


    "How isn''t this catastrophic?" Major Adams asked in horror. "I''ve seen what you people have done, and you don''t have more than a couple thousand points of mana. What can these goblins do with a million?"


    "Alright, let me get back to you first about why this isn''t as bad as you think it is. Since most of their victims aren''t more than level 1, the bloodstone isn''t likely to have much of a charge. Otherwise, we would have been truly screwed." Tom began.


    "I''m not sure if that''s good news." Major Adams pointed out.


    "I''m getting to the second part. First, Penny, could I see the knife you took from the shamen?" Tom asked, holding out his hand.


    Penny gripped her knife, her knuckles turning white.


    "I only need it for a moment; it''s important," Tom promised. He was throwing in his [Contract] skill into the mix as a sign of good faith.


    Penny hesitated but handed her dagger over. Tom gazed at the blade as he activated [Thirst for Knowledge].


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Sacrificial Dagger of Asmodeus


    Damage: 46


    Durability: 1069


    Rarity: Ancient


    Quality: Masterwork


    Enchantment: Ritual Sacrifice, Blood Repair


    Descriptions: An infernal dagger made of celestial bronze and used in the ritual sacrifice of hundreds of sentience. If used on a helpless victim, the dagger will inflict [insta-death].


    This dagger may bypass skill requirements or conditions when used in conjunction with sacrificial-focused items and skills.


    Warning: Using this dagger may attract the attention of the Sin of Lust


    More Details¨‹


    Quality of Leatherwork: Masterwork


    Quality of Metalwork: Masterwork


    Quality of Enchantments: Masterwork


    Overall Quality: Masterwork


    More Details¨‹


    Materials Used: White Tin, Blood Copper, Infernal Ichor


    Enchantments Used: Ritual Sacrifice, Blood Repair


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "You''re sure that the shamen used this knife to kill his victims?" Tom asked, wanting to make sure.


    "Absolutely," Penny said.


    Tom gave her the knife back.


    "In that case, they won''t be able to sacrifice more than four people a day, assuming they really know what they''re doing," Tom said as he handed back the Dagger to Penny.


    "Why is the knife important?" Penny asked.


    "If the [Shamen] were a [Blood mage], he would have just exsanguinated all of his prisoners at once in order to charge the bloodstone. But if he wasn''t a [Blood mage], then he would have needed a ritual or an item to charge the bloodstone. As we just established, the [Shamen] used this dagger. A Dagger that is designed to be used to sacrifice people. That tells me he isn''t, or wasn''t, a [Blood Mage]. And without that knife, they''ll be highly limited in their ability to sacrifice any additional victims. In fact, unless they have another shaman who understands how to set up the rituals, they might not be able to sacrifice anyone at all." Tom explained.


    "What will they do with the prisoners if they can''t sacrifice them?" The Major asked.


    "Eat them, probably," Tom said without blinking. The better question is why and how they had a bloodstone in the first place. Without a blood mage, they can''t use the stone as an effective weapon, only a power source for rituals or items. So what could they need that much power for?" Tom wondered as he scratched his chin.


    "We''ll need to prepare a team to go in and rescue them." Major Adams said.


    Tom winced.


    "You sure about that. From what I''ve seen, the RCMP does great against standard monsters, like goblins or regular animals, but once you have to deal with the more esoteric opponents like trolls or magic users, you could have problems. Of course, that assumes that they don''t have any other surprises. But if they do, you''re going to get slaughtered," Tom said.


    "We''ll talk to whoever''s currently in charge of the RCMP. We haven''t been hit that hard by this crisis, so I think we can pull together at least 500 RCMP," Major Adams said.


    "Huh, I was expecting less?" Tom asked.


    "Unlike an actual disaster, the system hasn''t damaged all of the infrastructure. If not for the dungeons, I don''t think this would even qualify as a disaster."


    Tom winced. Major Adams was a good civil servant. He had helped when the other beta-testers attacked and had been helping people since the start of the system. But he didn''t know just how destructive a player could become. [Plague Doctors], Natural Disasters and Undead Hordes were some of the easier problems to deal with. He doubted they would have been able to keep the school if the RCMP didn''t have a million better things to do.


    Of course, that was only true in the short-term solution. The fight with the other beta-testers proved that PVP was a viable option. It could only become more common as people got a couple of levels under their belts, and the threat of the monsters fell off. So, he needed to solidify their claim on Hopkins before that happened.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Then Tom shook his head and returned to the conversation about the goblin encampment.


    "Regardless, We all need more levels. We aren''t going to attack an army of goblins until we''re at least level 20. Even without surprises, we risk being overwhelmed without proper levels," Tom explained.


    "And how do you suggest we do that?" Sgt. Thorn asked.


    "Simple," Tom began. "After breakfast, I want to start hitting as many additional lairs as possible to get our levels up."


    "What about us?" Penny asked coldly, gesturing to her and Eve. "What''s going to happen to us?"


    "What do you want to do?" Tom asked.


    Penny and Eve looked at each other. In the end, it was Eve who made the first move.


    "I was training to be a doctor before all of this. I don''t know how useful that is in a magic world, but I would like to work with whatever medical department you have here, and I know that some of the other girls might be willing to do the same."


    "We don''t actually have anything right now. It''s on the list of things we need to do," Tom offered.


    "You have nothing?" Eve asked in ¡­ Tom wasn''t sure if it was shock or outrage.


    "What happens when someone gets injured or sick?"


    "Well, we have the paramedics and my resurrection skills to deal with the injured."


    Eve''s face palmed.


    "Alright, I''ll need to make something from scratch then. I''ll need medical supplies, tools, maybe magic or skills could work as a stop-gap. I''ll need additional personnel. I guess I could ask some of the other girls. And, of course, we''ll need a sterilized room to work as a clinic."


    Eve was very clearly in her own world as she began to ignore everyone else as she started to organize Hopkin''s future medical needs in her head.


    "I''ll talk to her later," Alex said. "Hopefully, we can just put her in charge of our medical needs."


    Penny spoke up before Tom could say anything.


    "I want to help clear these lairs," Penny said.


    That stunned Tom a little. He wasn''t expecting that answer. However, after he took a peek at her classes, he understood a little better. She had a very mage/rogue build.


    "No," the Major cut in. "We are doing this because it needs to be done. We aren''t bringing random civilians into a combat setting."


    Tom looked at him.


    "Please tell me you see the irony of that statement?" He asked.


    The Major rolled his eyes. "Yes, I do. But you and your friends destroyed a city block within five minutes. Not to mention that, as you have claimed before, you all have experience with this situation. So, while I don''t trust your abilities as soldiers, I''m not worried about you dying in one of these lairs."


    "Fair enough. She definitely needs to have her build redone. But the settlement is hardly a perfect defense. I''d rather have people learn how to defend themselves before we get attacked by some monster."


    That caused the Major to pause.


    "I thought this place was a safe zone?" The Major asked cautiously.


    Tom considered that question.


    "The Safe Zone won''t work on goblins, event monsters, or even monster hordes. So the settlements will need actual defenses and defenders on top of the safe zone field effect," Tom said.


    "Wait a minute, I thought this place was safe?" Major Adams cut in.


    Tom let out a sign. But before he could launch into an explanation, Skippy cut in.


    "The Safe Zone repels monsters. At level 10, monsters can be repelled at level 100 and below. But that''s only individual monsters. Monster hordes have this weird equation that includes the average level, number of monsters, etc., and then it calculates the hordes'' collective level, which can go over 100. On top of that, there are monsters above level 100 all on their own, so they won''t even notice the zone. That''s why Hopkin''s zone level is only 5. But the durability enhancement is at 10," Skippy explained.


    "So I should be gaining levels then?" Penny asked.


    "Yeah, but first, we need to fix your stats. They''re all over the place." Tom said.


    "How do I --"


    "I can help you out." Skippy offered.


    "Great, so Skippy and I can do some quick training before we hit the lairs," Tom said. "You don''t need to clear the Lair, just hang out by the entrance and kill the low-level mobs."


    Major Adams didn''t look like he fully agreed with them, but he was also unwilling to push the subject. Further conversation was interrupted when Will opened the cafeteria for breakfast.


    "Now, if you excuse me, I think I can smell French toast," Tom said as he wandered over to the school''s cafeteria.


    As he was getting his breakfast, he said hi to Will and the other chefs, all of whom he had resurrected. Saved? He really needed to come up with a term¡ªmaybe recovered? Yeah, that sounds right. Anyway, it turned out most of his kitchen staff were people with whom he had recovered and had joined the guild for the time being.


    He was sure that their population was going to take a hit once alternatives started popping up. He didn''t have a problem with that. In fact, once reality kicked a few of these people in the balls, he expected them to come crawling back to his guild.


    When he returned, he found Chloe and Betty had shown up while he was getting breakfast, and Chloe happily chatted to her about how fun it was playing video games all day yesterday, mostly Animal Crossing. Tom found it a little amusing that his once sinful school teacher was now a sinful babysitter. It was like a bad porn flick.


    "Can I have some?" Chloe asked, breaking away from her conversation. She stared at the french toast and syrup piled up on his tray.


    Tom rolled his eyes, but he placed the tray in front of his little sister, who immediately started to dig in. Alex''s old dog, Lucy, whined until Tom tossed the dog a handful of bacon. Then she settled down as she munched on her food. Tom was really glad he had gotten more than he needed.


    "Can we get back to the matter at hand?" Major Adams asked.


    "Fine. Right now, we have a problem with a burgeoning goblin fortress. Worse, it will only grow bigger as the goblins breed like rabbits. We need to kill them all down to the last goblin; otherwise, we''ll be dealing with them forever," Tom bemoaned.


    "Are they really that bad? I don''t mind killing enemy combatants, but Genocide is a bit much for a sentient species." the Major pointed out.


    "You haven''t seen them." Eve spoke up, "They rounded us all up like cattle. They raped people before they sacrificed them. And they crackled with glee while they did it."


    "Yeah, Goblins are the worst. They''re like cockroaches. If you''re seeing one, there are at least a hundred more you can''t see. Only instead of just being the disgusting plague of insects, they are a band of murdering, raping bandits. There was no making peace with them, ignoring straight-up mind control or slavery. You couldn''t even enter a goblin town in Noralon without getting attacked." Alex explained, with Penny and Eve nodding along with her description. Betty turned white and looked like she was ready to pass out.


    "So we kill them?" Major Adams asked.


    "We grind up our levels, then we kill them all," Skippy said as he nibbled on some French toast.


    "Hey, where did you get my French toast? Did you steal my French toast?" Tom asked aghast.


    "Sticky fingers," Skippy said as he stuffed Tom''s food into his cheeks like a giant squirrel. Which he was. That kind of took some of the fun out of the joke.


    "Skippy, I''m throwing you in the ocean," Tom said.


    Chloe giggled. Tom suddenly realized she was still there for this very explicit topic. His soul cringed at what he had exposed his sister to. He needed to get her away from this stuff.


    "Hey Chloe, can you do something for me?" Tom asked in a loud whisper.


    "Ok," Chloe whispered back to him.


    "I have a super secret quest for you to complete," Tom said as he assembled a baby quest for his little sister and sent it to her.


    Chloe''s eyes went wide as she read the notification.


    "Can you do this for me?" Tom asked.


    "Yes, I''ll do it!!" Chloe cheered as she ran off with Lucy.


    Tom smiled as his sister ran off before turning to Betty.


    "Ms.Lewis, as a school teacher, I was wondering if you could round up the kids and see about keeping them busy for the day in the large gym. If you need any help, you can find some teachers. But I want you to try and set up something to keep the kids too young to help away from the people who need to do stuff. They can just watch movies all day; it doesn''t really matter."


    "Um, ok," Betty said meekly.


    Turning back to the Major, Tom nodded


    "Ready to get started?" he asked.


    The Major nodded and got up to leave.


    Unsaid was the other reason he wanted to hit the settlements. Due to their deal with the Major, they would be taking all of the loot from each settlement, not including the settlement core. That included the special loot that was there for each settlement. They had already used five of the items from the tutorial to make two of these three rooms, and Tom was hoping to augment the rest of their settlement with the trinkets they would claim from the other locations.


    Internally, Tom felt a little guilty about the fact that they were effectively robbing the other settlements of their best assists. But then again, these were the people that left Tom and his little sister with their abusive parents. So he would take care of his first. Everyone else could fend for themselves.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 525


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 675


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2700


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 7.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 9.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 15.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 50% Soul 34%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1, Scribe 3, Pro-gamer 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 45


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 150


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 135


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 120


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 45


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 150


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 135


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 120


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 90


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 28


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 20


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 21


    - [Universal] - Level 18


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 24


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 34


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 16


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 25


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 2


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 22


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 12


    - [Art of Water] - Level 7


    - [Art of Earth] - Level 4


    - [Teacher] - Level 9


    Augur 07/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 25


    - [Art of Life] - Level 20


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 27 >> Level 36


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 17


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 14


    - [Quest Giver] - Level 1


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 11


    - [Leadership ¢ò] - Level 16


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 15


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 10


    - [Logistics ¢ò] - Level 12


    Pro-Gamer 01/11


    - [Spell Trap] - Level 1[Empty]


    Scribe 01/6


    - [Contract] - Level 9


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 43: Zombie Dinosaurs

    Tom walked behind Abaddon as they entered the museum. A small group of zombies shambled towards them, their rotting bodies doing a better job of keeping them away than any ability.


    "Do you think the cops will manage ok?" Skippy asked


    "Do you actually care?" Tom asked.


    "I mean, not really. I just couldn''t think about anything to talk about." Skippy admitted.


    "Really, you can''t think of anything to talk about?!" Tom asked, summoning a collection of glowing butterflies to his hands. That would heal the others.


    "We''ve been talking about this shit for the last ¡­ how long has it been two days? I want to talk about something else, something normal." Skippy said as he stabbed a zombie in the skull.


    "Okay, then I can get on with that. What''s the best snack?" Alex asked, joining the conversation as she caught a cluster of undead in a grease spell. Then he ignited the grease, causing the undead to be roasted as they tried and failed to regain their footing in the grease fire.


    "Potato chips, hands down," Tom said


    "No way it''s Jerky," Abaddon said. He punched a zombie''s head, blasting the skull apart and sending bits of rotting brain matter across the room.


    "Popcorn," Skippy said.


    "I don''t know. I think Candy might be the best." Alex said.


    "Candy? That''s not a proper snack; it''s just a sugar rush," Abaddon said as he kicked an undead that was getting close, knocking it to the ground.


    "Yeah, I''ve got to agree with Abaddon; for someone with a six-year-old sister, candy is not a good snack," Tom said.


    "Alright, how about those granola bars then." Alex pivoted


    "The chocolate-covered ones are so good." Skippy agreed as they moved deeper into the museum.


    "And healthy and tasty." Tom agreed, " Chloe loves those ones. Also, those fruit bars are good, too."


    "Granola bars are boring as hell." Abaddon said, "They''re only good if you add chocolate to them. That''s why jerky is better. It has protein. It lasts a long time. It tastes good, And it''s meat."


    "What about potato chips? We got a million flavors; they''re crunchy, and they taste good."


    "Chips are good as a side," Abaddon admitted.


    "No, you don''t want potato chips. If you eat potato chips, you''ll just end up eating a million chips, and you''ll end up fat," Skippy said. "What about nuts?"


    "I think you''re leaning too much into the whole squirrel thing a bit too hard," Tom said as they moved into the dinosaur exhibit.


    Large plastic dinosaurs littered the ground of the exhibit.


    "Do you think we''ll find real dinosaurs one day?" Tom asked hopefully.


    He never got any responses as gunfire echoed through the museum.


    "I think the cops found the zombies," Skippy said.


    That''s when they heard it.


    Boom Boom Boom


    They felt the vibration more than they heard it as something big moved towards them. Luke quickly cast a barrier to refract the light, basically a group invisibility spell. As they readied for a fight. They watched as a massive Undead T-rex rounded the corner. Its eyes were bloodshot and weeping pus. The saliva dripping from its mouth was frothy, like it was rabid. Its skin was a sickly green color; chunks of skin and muscle looked like they had been torn out, allowing them to see its bones and still functioning organs on the inside of its ruined body.


    Tom immediately used [Thirst for Knowledge], riding through the headache.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: P-Rex (Plague Rex)


    Titles: Lair Boss Monster


    Level: 20


    Race Class: T-Rex 10, Plague Beast 10


    Type: Avian / Undead


    HP: 16,000 / 16,000


    MP: 450


    Stamina:


    Immune: Mind, Disease, Poison, Critical hits, Physical


    Resistances: Frost, Air


    Weak: Lightning, Earth, Fire


    Bane: Vitality, Bird Slayer, Undead Slayer


    T-Rex Skills: Crunch, Top Heavy, Kings Constitution, Charge, Stomp, Tyranny


    Plague Beast Skills: Undying Focus, Biohazard, Touch of Plague, Rotting Body, Scream of Horror, Armored Skin


    A T-Rex has transformed into a terrifying creature of undeath and disease. This creature exists only to spread the disease and infect more people. It is permanently enraged and will try to kill anything it comes across.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "It''s an undead bird?" Tom said.


    "Well, at least we found the boss," Skippy whispered.


    "Resist Disease," Tom whispered, casting it on everyone in their group as he passed the identification along to the rest of the group.


    The P-Rex turned to look at their position, and they moved. Abaddon immediately leapt out from behind the barrier, charging the monster directly. He let out a [Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum] as he charged, buffing them all immediately and drawing aggro.


    Skippy shot out just behind Abaddon, his swords drawn and glowing as he powered up a [Sundering Strike].


    Tom and Alex took a simpler approach. Alex immediately cast a flame lance and then used multicast to fire off two more. Tom meanwhile cast Sunbeam. Before the P-rex even had time to register their appearance, it had three massive spears of flame impact its head before exploding. The P-Rex roared in outrage, not even noticing that Tom had burned a line through its flesh with his sunbeam spell. Abaddon leapt at the monster''s head, punching it directly in its burning face.


    "Charge!!" Skippy roared as he charged the P-Rex''s feet, only to have to block as the thesaurus tail smacked him aside.


    The P-rex roared in outrage, focusing on Abaddon as he punched it in the face. The undead dinosaur turned faster than anyone thought it could, snapping up Abaddon into its rotting jaws. Its putrid teeth sinking deeper and deeper into his friend''s scaly hide.


    "Abaddon!!" Tom called out, immediately switching from attacking to casting healing and purification spells on Abaddon.


    Alex kept pouring on the fire spells while Skippy kept on hacking at the legs as the P-rex turned towards Tom and Alex. Despite being turned into a chew toy, Abaddon wasn''t giving in. his muscles ballooned outwards as he pried the jaws open. He looked ridiculous, in Tom''s opinion, like a cartoonish impression of a strong man with inflated muscles. But he was forcing the P-rex''s mouth open until the jaws glowed black.


    Before Tom could do anything, he opened his eyes wide in panic, and the Rex''s jaw snapped shut with a crunch. It was only a second, but for Tom, it felt like an eternity as the Rex swallowed Abaddon''s broken body before turning to stare at him hungrily.


    "Oh fuck." Tom muttered as the P-rex unleashed a breath attack, carrying with it a disease that would rot their bones while they were alive.


    Tom and Alex threw up a two-layered shield of Fire and Light. Tom really hoped the shields would burn out all of the pestilence. The P-rex stopped exhaling pestilence and instead charged them, each footstep echoing as it picked up speed.


    Alex and Tom immediately did five things: they dropped the shields.


    Alex immediately cast the biggest Pyro Trap spell she could. At the same time, Tom cast invisibility and illusionary copy on both of them. Then the two turned and ran in opposite directions as the P-Rex charged their body doubles. They didn''t even need to speak.


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 27>


    "Well, no time like the present to improve," Tom breathed as the P-rex bit down on the illusions he had left behind.


    Immediately, the trap spells detonated, unleashing three consecutive explosions of fire into the boss''s neck. The P-rex roared in anger as it looked around for its missing prey. Its blacked neck cracked with every movement as it searched for them.


    However, Tom didn''t care anymore. He had finally gotten what he wanted. Pulling the scroll from his inventory, he immediately tried to manipulate the paper and the ink. It took him a moment to convert what he knew in the game into life, and he even got a few levels of earth and water magic for the failed attempts. But finally, he got the notifications.


    <[Art of Earth] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Art of Earth] has Reached Level 6>


    <...>


    <[Art of Earth] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Art of Water] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Art of Water] has Reached Level 9>


    <...>


    <[Art of Water] has Reached Level 11>


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, you have unlocked the Magic Sub element Wood.


    Wood is a sub element of earth and a bit of water magic. Wood Magic skill level is determined by combining your earth and water magic skill levels and then dividing by 2.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, you have unlocked the Magic Sub Sub element Paper.


    Paper Magic is a subelement of Wood Magic. Paper Magic skill level is determined by Wood Magic skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, you have unlocked the Magic Sub element Oil.


    Oil is a sub element of Water and Earth magic. The Oil Magic skill level is determined by combining your earth and water magic skill levels and then dividing by 2.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, you have unlocked the Magic Sub Sub element Ink.


    Ink Magic is a sub element of Oil Magic. Ink Magic skill level is determined by Oil Magic skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The scroll Tom had just pulled from his inventory responded to his magic, floating up into the air at his command. The mana expenditure was barely noticeable. Tom then tried to alter the ink on the page, and he immediately ruined the scroll, causing a small pop as it exploded.


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


    ¡°Shit,¡± Tom swore as the P-Rex turned to face him.


    Alright, maybe he couldn¡¯t alter the scrolls in combat, but he could still fling them around like ninja stars.


    Summoning a dozen scrolls of fireball from his inventory, Tom sent the scrolls flying towards the P-rex as it charged him. The scrolls flew unerringly but painfully slowly towards the beast''s head before the spell forms activated. A dozen fireballs roared into existence before exploding directly in the boss''s face.


    BOOOM


    The P-Rex roared in outrage as its rotten eyes boiled and popped. The flesh on it had mostly been burned away, leaving the white bone exposed as it charged at him.


    Tom leapt to the side as the P-rex barreled past him, its tail clipping him as it charged past him, sending him rolling across the floor.


    One of the groups that Major Adams had brought with him showed up. Four of the officers immediately started to fire at the monster. At the same time, the fifth witch, Chester, raced over to his side and began to apply a low-level healing spell to his body.


    "Don''t worry, I''ve got you," Chester said.


    "Get those morons away from the boss," Tom tried to get out. But it was too late.


    The P-rex roared out in rage as it swung its tail at the officer. There was a sickening crack as all four officers were sent flying with bone-breaking force.


    "You guys can''t group up like that," Tom muttered.


    Tom tossed Chester off of him as he pulled out another dozen scrolls ready when the P-rex suddenly vomited a deluge of blood and other sick. Tom watched as the P-rex''s stomach started to expand, bulging and growing larger and larger as it bloated outwards disgustingly before exploding in a deluge of foul liquids and rot. Abaddon tore himself out of the boss monster''s stomach, completely covered in bile and gore. He all but belly-flopped, and he dragged himself out of the boss''s stomach, gasping and gagging for air.


    Tom cast a splash of water into his friend''s face to give him a breath of fresh air ¡­ water. Abaddon sputtered but was no longer gagging. The lizard man rose to his feet and then kept rising. Abaddon now stood over fifteen feet tall and was proportionally muscled instead of the ballon muscles he had been sporting earlier.


    The P-rex roared in outrage. Completely ignoring the fact that its entire stomach had just exploded open, and it was now trailing its guts behind it as it circled Abaddon. Abaddon leapt at the undead dinosaur. Punching it in the head with a [Giga Impact]. The P-rex head snapped backwards. Before the P-rex could even regain its footing, Abaddon grabbed the head and its jaw and pulled. Since the jaw was barely holding onto the head at this point, it tore with a horrific ripping sound as Abaddon ripped the P-rex jaw straight off before he slammed the massive beast''s head to the ground and began to repeatedly punch it in the face. They didn''t waste any time as Tom, Skippy, and Alex all took the opportunity to pour on the damage as the P-rex struggled to get out of Abaddon''s iron grip.


    Eventually, even the P-rex''s massive HP pool failed, as Abaddon turned its skull into a pool of disgusting slop.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You and your party have defeated the Plague Rex (Lair Boss).


    Congratulations: Your Party has earned the Settlement Reward: Skeleton of the Ancients.


    Skeleton of the Ancients: This Skeleton of a now-extinct creature brings a sense of wonder and adventure to anyone who sees it. It calls the power of the ancients back to life and may threaten to overwhelm anyone who does not respect that power.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Well, that was a bit more exciting than we bargained for," Tom muttered.


    "That fight was bullshit!!" Skippy protested. "None of my attacks worked against that thing."


    "Do you want to be eaten next time?" Abaddon asked, trying and failing to get the muck of his body.


    "Touche. I don''t know about scales, but do you have any idea how hard it is to take care of wet fur? It''s a pain in the ass. I''m siding with the cats, fuck baths."


    Tom cast a wash spell to clean Abaddon as he shrunk back down to his semi-normal height of seven feet. All joking aside, Abaddon was the only person with proper disease resistance and full-on poison immunity. Along with regeneration, a high constitution, and high endurance, he was the only person who could have survived being eaten by the P-rex.


    "What the fuck happened?" Major Bailey Adams asked, running up to them and finding his injured comrades, Tom''s group looking fine and the massive putrefied corpse of the P-rex.


    "Bad match up, immune to physical damage," Tom said with a shrug as he started to cast healing spells on the Majors'' men. Friends? Co-workers?


    Skippy would need to pick an ability to deal with that issue. The officers had it worse. Skippy already knew that he needed them, but guns, or more accurately the bullets the guns fired, were too far removed from the user for their skills to work. So they would need specially made guns or enchanted bullets to kill something like the P-rex.


    "So what do we do now?" Bailey asked as the settlement core appeared above the P-Rex corpse.


    "You can grab the core and give it to someone with a leadership class. Once they own the settlement, they can do what they want with it. My group will clean ourselves up and look around to see if there''s any loot. In the meantime, burn any corpses. Once you feel ready, we can move on to the next place," Tom said


    Tom pulled out his phone and uploaded the video of their attack on the lair.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± The Major asked.


    ¡°Uploading a video of us beating the lair to YouTube. Figured it¡¯s more efficient than giving speeches in the gym all day.¡± Tom said. "Skippy, make sure to grab all the loot."


    "Oh really, I wouldn''t have thought of that." Skippy drawled sarcastically.


    Skippy, Abaddon, and Alex ransacked the museum grabbing anything with a system window attached to it, to the annoyed gaze of the officers. Fortunately, no one on Bailey''s team was willing to pick a fight with them after seeing the P-rex. They scoured the museum for any other loot. They didn''t find much; most of it was some native American-styled weapons, a proper T-rex skull; it didn''t do anything; Tom just thought it was cool, and almost three dozen skill books for various crafting and weapon skills. That was the real prize, and it would help them jumpstart their guild into a proper fighting force.


    When they finally returned to the entrance, they found Major Adams.


    "Hey, Major!" Tom called out.


    Major Adams nodded to him as he walked over. "I''m glad to see everyone walking away from this one alive," Adams said, nodding.


    "Nothing too bad this time, just a disease-infested undead T-Rex," Skippy said sarcastically.


    The Major pointedly ignored Skippy''s comment. "Now, come on, I want you to meet with the new administrator for this settlement."


    He led Tom and everyone else out of the entrance. First responders were already removing the bodies.


    "Do you think these used to be people?" Adams asked. As they walked past a rotting corpse, it was so decomposed that he could see its skeleton.


    "Maybe, but I don''t think they''re from Earth," Tom muttered as a rotund man walked up to them.


    "I have to thank you again, Major Adams, for acquiring us a safe harbor so quickly," a fat man said as he waddled into the museum''s ruins.


    "I once again have to point out that we received this settlement from the Awoken Myths guild, sir." Major Adams pointed out.


    "My boy, there is no need to be so modest." the fat ass said as he wandered around with the settlement core in his hand like he owned the place. Though he guessed that since he was literally holding the Settlements core in his hand, he actually owned the place.


    Tom used [Thirst for Knowledge]


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Mr. Brindley (Lewis Brindley)


    Titles: None


    Level: 1


    Class: Politician 1


    Type: Humanoid


    HP: 130


    MP: 140


    Stamina: 150


    Immune: None


    Resistances: None


    Weak: None


    Bane: Manslayer


    Personal Skills: Pursuit Hunter, Storyteller


    Politician Skills: Center of Attention


    A career politician hoping that everything will return to normal soon.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "So this is the guy you want to put in charge of a settlement?" Tom asked Major Adams as people filed into the museum. "Are you sure about that?"


    "He''s a Legal counselor for the city of Surrey." Major Adams admitted.


    "I see this is the child, yes?" Mr.Brindly cut into their conversation.


    "I''m the guild leader for Awoken myths," Tom said bluntly as he stuck his chest out to try and make himself look big.


    "Yes, I suppose so." Mr.Brindly said snidely.


    Where the hell did this guy get off? He could flatten him with a thought, and this asshole was being passive-aggressive? Tom gave Mr.Brindley a week before someone thrashed him, a month till someone killed him.


    "And what makes you think you can manage a settlement?" Tom asked curiously.


    "I am a duly elected councilor of Surry. And I have been a civil servant for nearly thirty years." Mr.Brindly stated as if that meant something in their current situation.


    "Uh-hu," Tom said. "Well, let''s go over your settlement options, and we can talk about your optio---"


    "Thank you, but I''ve already decided on those. I already have the Safe Zone at rank 10, and then I cleaned up the museum for another five points."


    "You blew sixty points already?!" Tom asked in shock.


    It might seem a bit hypocritical, considering how he spent settlement points like water. But he had built hundreds of settlements and had long since memorized all of the myriad options for purchase.


    More importantly, he knew how to get more settlement points. He somehow doubted that Brindly knew any of this. Even if all the online information about the legend of Noralon hadn''t been scrubbed, he suspected this guy wouldn''t have even checked before he spent the points.


    " I already told you guys not to focus on the Safe Zone. It''s an imperfect defense." Tom protested. "Hell, it doesn''t even do anything against other people."


    "I already have a contingent of officers patrolling the building. Along with the zone. I think we should be more than safe." Mr.Brindly said, dismissing him as he turned his eyes to the rest of his friends.


    Tom was about to argue, but he decided to ignore the idiot. He would wait until he died and then take all his stuff. It was that, or gouge out his eyes for staring at Alex''s chest like a horney teenager. Was it hypocritical to complain about someone staring at his friend, who now looked very hot when he was doing the same things? Probably. Would he let that stop him from flattening someone who messed with his friends? Not in the least.


    "We''ll be outside when you and your people want to head to the next settlement," Tom said, wrapping his arm protectively around Alex as they all walked out of the building.


    Alex leaned into him and smiled.


    "Someone jealous?" she asked.


    Tom blushed and almost let go before he stopped himself.


    "Why are we leaving this settlement in that asshole''s hands?" Skippy asked, breaking into Tom''s thoughts before they could spiral when they left the building.


    "We aren''t," Tom said. "Most of the people Major Adams puts in charge will fuck it up, a monster horde and the blood moon will overwhelm their defences, or they''ll make a mistake with the settlement interphase, or maybe they''ll just become tyrants. And when they do, we can swoop in and add the settlement to our own faction. Once we get big enough, we can pressure the rest to join us." Tom said nonchalantly.


    "That''s pretty Machiavellian." Abaddon pointed out nervously.


    "Hey, now I''ve offered to give them advice. They ignored it," Tom said as they wandered outside. "Alright, new question: What are your top three video games?"


    "Does the legend of Noralon still count? I mean, the game is basically real life now, so ¡­" Alex trailed off.


    "Let''s ignore Legend of Noralon. I''ll go first. Number 1 is Minecraft," Tom said.


    "Everyone loves Minecraft," Skippy said. "Hell, I downloaded the game on every computer in the school."


    "Number 2 is Skyrim," Tom kept going. "Because it''s Skyrim."


    "Oh my god, that was a good game," Alex said. "You remember when we added that mod so we could all run around in the same game."


    "That thing was buggy as all hell," Abaddon chuckled as they sat outside.


    They sat there until Major Adams came out, just talking about video games until they moved on to the next settlement. As they were going, Skippy asked a question.


    "Anyone know where Luke went?"


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Abaddon (Hector)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Lizard Man


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Giant


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Alligator


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 2340


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 3650


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 360


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 21.6 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 36.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 7.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Poison


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical, Disease, Crit 42%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind, Frost


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Giant Slayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Giantslayer 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 118


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 54


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 162


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 144


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 72


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 54


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 108 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 54


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 162


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 144


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 72


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 54


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 END, +3 STR, +3 CON, +2 PER +2 SPIRIT


    Racial: +3 END, +2 STR, +2 CON +1 PER


    Bloodline: +3 CON


    Giantslayer Skills: +2 AGIL


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Lesser Hydra] - Rare: The distilled essence of what makes a lesser hydra, a lesser hydra, regenerating from gruesome wounds, surviving having critical organs damaged, killing people just by bleeding on them, and being immune to and enjoying the consumption of poison.


    - [Regeneration] - Level N/A


    - [Redundant Organs] - Level 1 >> Level 42


    - [Toxic Blood] - Level 1 >> Level 16


    - [Poison Connoisseur] - Level 1 >> Level 29


    - +3 CON per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 17/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Natural Arms and Armour] - Level N/A


    - [Aquatic Predator] - Level 2 >> Level 11


    - [Storage] - Level 23 >> Level 29


    - [Mapping] - Level 11 >> Level 26


    - [System Wiki] - Level 10 >> Level 23


    - [Siegebreaker] - Level 22 >> Level 25


    - [Basic Alchemy] - Level 1 >> Level 7


    Giantslayer 10/16


    - [Immortal Fists] - Level 25 >> Level 33


    - [Monster Lifeforce (Giant)] - N/A


    - [Giant Slayer] - N/A


    - [Second Stage] - Level 8 >> Level 9


    - [Endless Brawler] - Level 17 >> Level 23


    - Capstone: [Legendary Strength] - Level N/A


    - [Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum] - Level 9 >> Level 21


    - [Charge] - Level 5 >> Level 23


    - [Giga Impact] - Level 3 >> Level 18


    - [Enlarge] - Level 5


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 44: Lukes Expedition â… 

    As soon as Luke finished up Tom''s training exercise, he gathered up the rest of the jocks. Now that he knew that Issac and the rest of the people who died could be brought back, they needed to head out and gather their bodies.


    "Alright, Luke, why the hell did you drag us out here." Chad barked.


    "We''re going out again to grab the guys we lost in the park," Luke said. Tom said he could revive them all if we could grab their bodies, so we''re heading out again."


    "Not interested," Chad said as he turned and left the group.


    At least two-thirds of the football team turned to leave with him.


    "Wait, what are you doing? I just said we''re heading out." Luke asked.


    "Yeah, and who put you and that fucking nerd in charge?" Chad shot back as he wandered off. "I''m not risking my life for some corpses."


    Luke quickly relized that most of his so called friends weren''t coming with them as they all walked away from him. Some apologized, some were scared, but many more just weren''t interested. Ultimately, only two people stayed behind with him: Gareth and Sam.


    "Give them time," Sam reassured him.


    "Fuck Chad," Gareth spat angrily. "Issac gave his life for that dude. If he can''t be bothered to help, he can get mauled for all I care."


    "A level 1 [Berserker], a level 6 [Treasure Hunter], and a wannabe level 7 Demigod," Theo said as he floated over his shoulder. "This will be ¡­ interesting if nothing else."


    "Where have you been?" Luke asked as the fat man on the cloud floated into his field of vision.


    "Looking around," Theo said as he pulled a bear out of his cloud and cracked it open.


    "What is that supposed to mean?" Luke asked eagerly.


    "You''ll figure it out, ''oh great master.'' I have to say, for a work in progress, this place is shaping up to be a good base, well, better than the dumpster fire I was expecting. Those Awoken Myths guys actually know what they''re doing. A focus on basic infrastructure, a resurrection skill, and a complete faith that monsters will attack them. You should really try to be nice to them. You''ll live longer." Theo said as he sipped his beer.


    "So that''s true. Tom can actually bring back the dead?" Sam asked suspiciously.


    "Yeah, toots, that''s what the skill [Hand of Mercy] does," Theo said, rolling his eyes before turning to Gareth.


    " Hey, chuckles, join the party," Theo said.


    "Well fuck you too, asshole. Are you going to share those beers or ¡­"


    <Gareth has joined the Party>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 4>


    "Sorry, chuckles. I can only do what the system allows me to do. Free beers are not included."


    Luke, so, let''s see what you pick as your next skill, ''oh great master.'' Show me your magnificent wisdom and grace.


    Luke frowned. "Can you go one sentence without insulting me?" he asked.


    "No. Now, let''s look at your options, and then you can pick what I was going to choose," Theo said.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Options for [Heir of Theseus]


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Sword & Sandals] - Ancient: Theseus lifted a great stone, and underneath, he discovered the sword and sandals his father left for him when he began his journey. You will receive a +1.25% bonus to your Sword Mastery, Footwork, and Athleticism per skill level. </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Nettle¡¯s Bite] - Ancient: Remembering Theseus¡¯s encounter with the deadly plants when challenging the Athenian wilderness. +0.5% resistance to Elemental and Poison per skill level. Your physical attacks now inflict weak poison.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Salt Water Spring] - Ancient: Like your Father before you, you summon up a spring of salt water, providing you with both a source of water for combat and also a source of drinking water. Allows the user to Summon a Salt Water Spring once every 100 days. Reduce the cooldown by 1 day per skill level. Increase the water production by 1 liter per skill level. This skill renders you immune to the negative effects of drinking salt water. Water from this spring counts as seawater for the purposes of skills or rituals.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[World Wanderer] - Mythic: Theseus first walked to his father''s palace across miles of uneven terrain and then sailed to Crete to slay the minotaur. +5% to all movement speed. +1.25% to Sailing and Footwork Mastery. Furthermore, this skill allows the user to Fast Travel rapidly, covering vast distances in minutes.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Theos first choice ¡ú [Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Legendary: as the father of wrestling, the heir to Theseus, transforming you into a master of close-quarters combat. +1.25% bonus to your Unarmed Mastery per skill level. +5% to Footwork, Athleticism, Evasion, and Balance per skill level. +10% CON</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[select for previous options]</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "So ''oh great master,'' what are you going to pick?" Theo asked sarcastically


    Luke paused for a moment. "I think I understand what Unarmed and Sword Mastery are, but what are these bonuses to footwork, athleticism, and balance stuff?"


    Theo rolled his eyes. "Those are special attributes. Their impact is a lot more subtle but important, especially for a melee fighter. Footwork, for instance, keeps you on your feet, subtly helping you correct your stance but also reducing the chances of losing your footing. Athletic, on the other hand, is more about moving around and reducing stamina costs. Like I said, It''s subtle enough that I doubt you''ll notice it until you don''t have it. Now please hurry up and pick [Father of Wrestling]."


    Luke rolled his eyes. "Why would I pick [Father of Wrestling]? That skill seems to be all about ¡­ well, wrestling. Hell [Sword & Sandals] at least boosts my swordsmanship. [Nettles Bite] gives me poisons, and [World Wanderer] lets us fast travel."


    "[World Wanderer] lets you fast travel, only you. And once again, you miss the point. It''s a chain of skills, first through sixth labors. [Father of Wrestling] isn''t as useful, sure, but it doesn''t really matter because [Sixth Labor] makes up the difference. Of course, you can only get [Sixth Labor] as a capstone skill. So you either do as I say and get it now, or ignore me and fuck up your build when you have to waste the level 20 capstone to pick it up. You choose"


    "But ¡­" Luke was cut off.


    "But you''re going to ignore your guide. You''re going to ignore my advice and do whatever you want to do because of your extensive knowledge of the system." Theo said mockingly.


    "Did anyone ever tell you, you''re an asshole?" Luke asked.


    "I''m a spirit of the air enslaved to a demigod who doesn''t know anything. I''m not paid enough to care about your opinions," Theo said, rolling his eyes.


    "Fine, fine, are you happy?" Luke asked as he selected [Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling].


    He immediately felt the difference. He felt more solid, healthier, and less tired.


    "To be fair, Legendary Classes tend to railroad a lot more than other classes. You''re not making something yourself; you''re borrowing someone else''s legend," Theo explained, "especially in your case, as you haven''t done anything special yet.


    "As fun as it is watching you two argue until the heat death of the universe. I literally have a million better things to do, so can we please get a move on?" Sam grunted as she hefted her compound bow.


    "Right off, we go to retrieve your dead friends." Theo looked at them expectedly.


    Luke was about to smack the sarcastic little spirit. He had questions about his mom and dad and about the whole demigod thing, and he wanted answers, too. Unfortunately, they needed to go get Isaac and the other who had died. Afterward, he would throttle the little imp for proper answers when they had a free moment.


    <hr>


    Luke led the group through the snow towards the park where they had lost Isaac. Cars were constantly driving down the road, heading to Vancouver proper or heading south to the US. Luke could already feel the effects of his two new Skills. [Father of Wrestling] had him gliding across the snow-covered ground with ease. At the same time, he was using [Vision of Sciron] on anything and everything they came across.


    <[Fourth Labor: ] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Fifth Labor: ] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Fifth Labor: ] has Reached Level 3>


    When they finally came to the mall area, Luke was expecting to do something familiar. His friends had come here at least once a week to browse the stores, eat fast food, and just hang out. Now, however, the parking lot that was normally nearly empty was now full of cars. People were running around screaming at each other as they fought over toilet paper as they tried to empty the food market. Luke [Vision of Sciron] instantly told him that most of these people were hostile to anyone and anything that got close.


    "Come on. Let''s keep moving," Luke said, doing his best to usher his friends past the rioters.


    They met people from time to time. Luke gave anyone who set off [Vision of Sciron] a wide berth. He was less paranoid than everyone else. All of them, even the nasty ones, seemed to be heading towards Hopkins. This was confirmed when they were asked for directions towards Hopkins more than once. They gave what they could before continuing onward to the park.


    They moved further down the road, moving slowly because of the snow, and it was another hour before they finally arrived at the park, where they fought the hippo. They were greeted with the sight of a hippo carcass picked clean, and there were no human bodies in the area.


    "What the hell?!" Luke shouted as he ran out to look around. "They were right here."


    "I''ve found prints," Sam called out. They''re large and cat-like. I''m seeing three, four, six, seven different prints."


    "Hey asshole," Gareth called out to Theo.


    "What''s up, roid rage?" Theo shot back.


    "What kind of monsters does the dungeon create?" Gareth asked.


    Luke turned. That was a very good question.


    Theo shrugged.


    "The dungeon can recreate anything that''s already eaten. Right now, it can mostly only reproduce creatures from its birthplaces. Somewhere called ¡­ the Vancouver Zoo."


    Gareth pulled up his phone.


    "Okay, the Vancouver Zoo had lions, tigers, cougars, cheetahs, and Snow Leopards," Gareth said.


    Sam nodded. "Lions then."


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    "So how does that work anyway?" Gareth asked. "Is the dungeon like forcibly breeding the lions or something?"


    "No. Dungeons kill anything they can get their hands on. If an animal dies in a dungeon, then the dungeon can learn that animal''s template and can recreate it. Basically, it can spawn in dungeon monsters, though those dungeon monsters can also breed with each other. That leads us to another problem. Dungeons can mix and match monster templates. These prints could just as easily come from a pack of chimeras or some lion hybrids." Theo explained


    "Well, ain''t that just great," Sam said as she hefted her bow over her shoulder.


    "So, did something eat them?" Gareth asked, his voice cracking.


    "Maybe not. Big Cats like to store their prey in trees. If they filled up on hippos, they might have stashed the guys in trees," Sam said. "Let''s follow their tracks back to see if we can find anything."


    Luke nodded in agreement.


    "Alright, lead the way," Luke said.


    They followed Sam as they followed the tracks. They moved across the field and into a creek surrounded by trees, where they found the dead. Six people, their bodies placed up high in the trees, their bodies hung up over branches. Gareth didn''t hesitate. He clambered up the tree with ease thanks to his enhanced strength, pulling Issac''s body from the tree before returning to the ground.


    Issac''s eyes were milky, and his body would have been snow white if not for the splattering of blood. His left side was savaged.


    "So how do we do this?" he asked. "Are we going to drag him all the way back to Hopkins? I don''t think we can stash a body in our [Storage] space."


    "No, I''ve got a Skill for it," Sam said, touching Issac''s body. Then, he disappeared into her thin air.


    "What was that?" Luke asked.


    "When Tom ¡­ taught us that [storage] skill, I was offered the chance to upgrade it into the [Vault] skill. It''s like [Storage] but bigger and harder to break into."


    It wasn''t too long before they had stored all six people inside of her [Vault] and were moving away.


    Luke trudged through the snow with the ease he had managed before becoming level 9. He could already tell it was going to snow again, and he wanted to get back to Hopkins before that happened. That''s when he heard a crunch of snow.


    Luke turned around to find a group of three lions stepping padding through the snow towards them.


    "Oh fuck." Gareth muttered.


    Luke activated [Vision of Sciron].


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Nemean Lion


    Race Class: Lion 3, King of Beasts 6, Nemean Lion 3


    Lion Skills: Pouncem Camouflage


    King of Beasts: Aura of the King, Lion Pride, Aegis of the Pride


    Nemean Lion: Skin of the Nemean Lion, Claws of the Nemean Lion


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Lioness * 2


    Class: Lioness 5 Man Eater 3,


    Lioness: Pouncem Camouflage, Coordinate ¢ò


    Man Eater: Manslayer, Subterfuge


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Luke, you should run," Theo said.


    Something about that sentence sounded off.


    "Did you just call me by my name?" Luke asked as the Lions approached.


    "Yes, now run you idiots. A nemean lion''s hide can''t be pierced. It''s going to kill you." Theo screamed.


    Then the Lioness pounced. Luke sidestepped the first one, slashing at her as she sailed past him. Gareth''s woodcutter ax flashed outward, digging into the lioness''s flesh as a spurt of blood erupted from her flank. Sam pulled out her pistol and shot round after round at the Nemean lion.


    Luke had to do a double take as Sam''s bullets deformed against the Nemean Lion''s golden hide.


    Unfortunately, Luke didn''t have time, as the second lioness attacked him, swiping at him with her claws and forcing him to back up.


    "What do we do?" Luke asked Theo.


    "Run away, idiots. Fight your way through the Lions and RUN!!! You can''t beat the male; you can''t even hurt it!" Theo called out as he flew around the Nemean lion''s head.


    The lion was immediately distracted by the little man on the cloud flying around his head, and he tried to smack him out of the air like a cat with a bird.


    Luke slashed at the face of one of the Lionesses as she turned to face Theo. His replica sword destroyed one of the Lioness''s eyes with a sickening pop. The lioness didn''t even have time to be angry as Sam shot it one, two, and three times. This time, the bullets actually penetrated the big cat''s hide.


    Luke immediately charged her, activating [First Labor]. His sword immediately grew to a two-handed blade, and he brought it down on the lioness. His sword cleaved through the lioness''s spine with ease.


    The second lioness yelped as aGareths ax slammed into its shoulder. It scrambled to try and get away, but Gareth was relentless, smashing the lion into the ground with his ax as he messily tried to cut off her head. He failed, but the bloody mess of bone he had transformed her shoulders into was lethal enough.


    For a moment, Luke basked in his victory. That was why, when something heavy slammed into him from behind with enough force to knock Luke off his feet and onto the frozen ground forward, his shoulder exploding in pain, he dropped his sword and was sent stumbling.


    ¡°Gah!¡± Luke yelped loudly as a vicious growl echoed through his ear.


    He reached up at the creature, now biting his shoulder, his hands finding purchase on a thick pelt of fur. Digging his fingers in, Luke did the only thing he could have done in the situation: lean into his fall as he slammed the beast''s body into the ground, his elbow stabbing into the beast''s stomach with everything he had.


    "FUCK" Luke growled as the teeth came free, leaving him scrambling to get his footing. He snatched up his sword and spun around to face his new opponent.


    Reacting as fast as he could, he didn¡¯t let the big cat regain the initiative, and he lunged forward to slam the hilt of my sword into its nose.


    But that was as far as he was able to get before the cat finished shaking off its rough landing and lunged towards him, a scything paw mauling over Luke''s thigh with enough force to knock him down to one knee. Shouting in pain, Luke swung at the creature in hopes of keeping it at bay, but to no avail. The lioness¡¯s leap was already taking it into the air by the time his sword was halfway into poston.


    A heartbeat later, the two of them were down on the ground again in a heap, with his sword nowhere to be found. Luke had only his hands and fists to try to keep it from biting down on his head. All of a sudden, he was very grateful for his [Fifth Labor] skill.


    To his credit, though, he did a well-enough job holding the lion''s head back. A lucky swing connected with its jaw, even knocking a single tooth out of its maw. But as successful as it was, it came at the price of Luke losing track of one of its paws, which promptly slammed down on his chest with enough force to wind him as its claws dug in and through his football chest piece.


    "No, no, no," Luke exclaimed as his mind tried to stave off panic.


    Where was his sword? If he only had it, he could¡ªthere! He spotted it lying on the ground just a few feet away from him, his free hand immediately launching itself towards it, fingers grazing the hilt.


    Just a little more! Luke thought desperately, gritting his teeth at the pain in my chest. I pushed against the cat, shifting us enough so that my questing fingers were able to wrap themselves around the sword¡¯s hilt. Letting out a roar of triumph, Luke hefted the replica sword and began to stab out at the lion¡¯s ribs, landing three solid thrusts before the fourth and final one found something important, causing it to collapse on top of him in a heap.


    "Fuck you, you stupid cat." Luke huffed as he shoved the cat off of him.


    Luke looked around, realizing things weren''t looking good. The Nemean lion was ignoring Theo now, while four other lionesses had appeared out of nowhere and were now playing with Sam and Gareth like a bunch of cats with a mouse. Gareth was making some progress with his Ax, but the lioness was healing just as quickly as he injured them. Sam was having even less luck with her bow, her guns nowhere to be seen. Luke took a step forward when Theo''s voice cut in on his left.


    "Alright, godling. It''s time to run. They''re ignoring you right now so we can run away. I''m terribly sorry you can''t save them, but we can get you out of here," Theo said as he floated over his shoulder.


    "Fuck you, Theo, there, my friends," Luke said, struggling to his feet as he readied his replica sword.


    "ugh," Theo groaned. "Stupid godling, do you know how much trouble I''ll get in if you die?!"


    "Theo, I''m going to save my friends. Help me or leave; I don''t care, witch!" Luke said half angrily, half pleadingly with the obnoxious spirit.


    He really didn''t think he could get them out of this.


    For a moment, Theo said nothing, then spoke very quickly: "This is so stupid. I am going to get in so much trouble for this."


    "Are you going to help or not?!" Luke asked worriedly.


    "You need to kill one more lioness to reach level 8. Aim for the one farthest away from the Nemean lion. Once you kill one, you need to grab your friends as quickly as possible. Tackle them, wrap your body around them, shove them up your ass. I don''t care, which just keep them as close to you as possible. I''ll handle the rest; now go!" Theo ordered


    Luke didn''t need to be told twice as he charged the lioness on the far left. He panted with the exertion as His feet ate up the distance. Even with his injured shoulder, he was on top of the lioness faster than he expected. Bringing his sword around, he activated [First Labor]. His blade hacked into the lioness''s back with ease. The lion yowled in pain as she tried to get away from the pain. But Luke didn''t let up activating [First Labor] again; he brought it down on the lioness and cleaved her in twain.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level up!!


    You are now a level 1 [Heir to Belerephone]


    You have selected the Skill: [Legacy of Misfortune] - (Legendary)


    [Legacy of Misfortune]: Belephon led a life of misfortune. When he was younger, he killed his brother Deliades. As a man, he was falsy accused of raping Queen Anteia by Queen Anteia. Before being shot out of ¡­


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Luke didn''t even have time to skim over the information before an ear-shattering roar interrupted his thoughts. He spun around [First Labor], flashing to light just in time as the blade smacked into the Nemean lion dinner plate-sized paw. Luke felt the blow reverberate back up through his arm. The Lions claw cut through the light of [First Labor] and sliced through the metal underneath with ease. Luke stumbled backwards. His gaze pulled to his sword. Well, half of his sword that remained the metal had been torn apart like Playdough, and he was now wielding a short sword.


    "Stop standing there and run!!!" Theo screamed.


    The lion let out a low growl. Luke decided it was time to go. Luke turned and ran straight for Sam and Gareth, not even trying to interact with the lioness, and the Nemean lion chased him.


    "Grab each other idiots!!" Theo screamed.


    Sam and Gareth sprinted towards him. When Luke reached them, they tackled each other, wrapping themselves around each other as the lions lept at them. And then it happened.


    Then the world twisted and warped around them, breaking down into fractal patterns of white and brown as he felt himself flung far, far away from lions to who knows where.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Samatha North


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 6


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Native American


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 540


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 895


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 240


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 6.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 7.2 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 1.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 13%, Elemental 13%, Vitality 11%, Disease 22%, Poison 22%, Insta-death 22%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Treasure Hunter 6


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 59


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 24


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 48


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 6


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 54 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 24


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 48


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 6


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 STR +3 DEX +3 PER +2 INT +2 LCK


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR +5 CON


    Treasure Hunter: +4 AGIL


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Ursa Nox] - Historic: Going back generations, the Ursa Nox were originally a group of powerful mystics deeply in tune with the spirits of the land. The Black Bear Spirits, in particular, favored the mystics and layed with them, creating the bloodline of the Ursa Nox. Generations later, the bloodline has started to fade, no longer matching the glory it once had.


    - [Sense of the Ursa] - Level 29


    - [Black Hide of the Ursa Nox] - Level 26


    - [Immortal Organs] - Level 22


    - [Hibernation] - Level 18


    - [Spirit of the Ursa Nox] - Level 1


    - +5 STR


    - +5 CON


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 6/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuit Hunter] - Level 11


    - [Storyteller] - Level N/A


    Treasure Hunter 04/11


    - [Deadly Aim] - Level 17


    - [Magpie''s Eye for Treasure] - Level 21


    - [Silent Explorer] - Level 15


    - [Vault] - Level 10


    - [Snatch] - Level 1


    - Capstone: [Legendary Strength] - Level N/A


    - [Hidden Treasures] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 45: Lukes Expedition â…¡

    Luke groaned as something wet and soft rubbed against his head. He tried to push it away with his hand, but something licked it.


    "Gah," Luke gasped as he woke up.


    He opened his eyes and found ¡­ A horse? Staring down at him as it nuzzled his hand like he was an old friend.


    "Hello there," Luke muttered as he petted the horse''s head.


    His shoulder hurt. He rolled himself to his feet.


    "Where am I?" he muttered to himself.


    He looked around, realizing he was in a barn¡ªa horse stable, more accurately. How did he get here? Where were his friends? Where was his sword? He dug around in the warm straw, looking for his sword. His hands touched the cold hilt of his sword. Pulling it up, he found what remained of his sword. The blade had been snapped in two, turning his master sword into a short sword.


    Luke was sad, even though it was just a replica of the master sword from the Legend of Zelda and really wasn''t meant for actual combat. It had kept him alive since the beginning of the system, which was admittedly only two days ago, but still. He stuffed the broken blade into its [Storage] as the notifications arrived.


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 7>


    <...>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 9>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 12>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 13>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Divine Assistance (Guide)] has Reached Level ErR0R#4!!*!%!$>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Forth Labor] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Forth Labor] has Reached Level 3>


    <..>


    <[Forth Labor] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 10>


    Blinking away the notifications, he walked out of the stall with his new horse friend close behind him. He found Sam and Gareth just outside of the door, sprawled out across the barn, groaning.


    "I really wish I could cast magic," Luke muttered. Unfortunately, he needed at least 1 in WILL, but he wouldn''t get any points in WILL until level 10, according to Theo.


    Sam and Gareth rose from the ground, groaning as they cradled their heads like they were nursing a massive hangover.


    "What happened?" Sam asked as she stumbled to her feet. "I feel like my brain just went through a blender."


    "I don''t know. Theo just told me to grab hold of you, and he would do the rest," Luke muttered.


    "Where is the little shit?" Gareth groaned as he pulled himself to his feet.


    "Don''t know," Luke said, looking around. I haven''t seen him since I woke up."


    Sam looked at him and froze.


    "Jesus Christ, Luke. Did you go to the spa or something when we were knocked out?" she asked.


    "What?" Luke asked, confused.


    "Well, um, you just." Sam stuttered.


    "You are objectively hotter than you were this morning." Gareth cut in. "no homo."


    "What?!" Luke asked.


    "It''s kinda like when you got that charming skill, whatever it was called. The one where it talks about Theseus killing some guy and fucking his daughter." Gareth said.


    "[Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis]?" Luke asked.


    "Yeah, that one. This is kinda like that when you get really pretty practically overnight."


    "But I didn''t¡­ no wait. Theo said I needed to get an extra level before I came for you guys, and then I got some skills. I didn''t get the chance to read it in all the confusion."


    "Well, let''s see it," Sam said.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Heir to Bellerophon]


    Skill - [Legacy of Misfortune] - (Legendary)


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bellerophon led a life of misfortune. When he was younger, he killed his brother Deliades. As a man, he was falsy accused of raping Queen Anteia, by Queen Anteia, before being shot out of the sky by Zeus. In the end, Bellerophon''s downfall resulted from his immense beauty and oversized ego. Nevertheless, bellerophon always managed to avoid death right up until he pissed off a god. Now, you, too, can optimize these traits. </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Your attacks will now inflict [Kinslayer], allowing you *3 damage against your own type: [Humanoid]</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You may also now activate this skill once per day to escape up to 1 mile per skill level away from your current position.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+5% bonus to both CHA and EGO stat </li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Well, that explains why you keep getting better looking," Gareth said, punching Luke in the shoulder.


    "This just isn''t fair," Sam complained.


    "It doesn''t seem that useful," Gareth said. "I mean, what does EGO even do?"


    "No idea, but I''m pretty sure this is what we used to escape," Luke said. "I still don''t understand what happened to Theo."


    "I think I do," Sam said, biting her lip.


    Gareth and Luke turned to her.


    "This says you can escape once per day, not you and your friends. I don''t think we were supposed to come with you. Whatever Theo did must have let us cheat. I think he''s still back at the park with the lions," Sam said.


    "Do you think he''s ok?" Luke asked.


    "I think he''s fine. I''m more concerned about us." Gareth said. "Where are we?"


    Luke moved towards the barn''s exit. Pushing open the door, he quickly found a sign covered in freshly fallen snow.


    "The pegasus stables," Luke said, chuckling. "I''m kind of surprised there isn''t an actual pegasus here."


    "You realize we have phones, right?" Gareth asked, holding up his own phone. "We are about seven miles from Hopkins. It''s going to take forever."


    "Yeah, but now we''ve got horses," Luke said.


    "You can''t be serious. I don''t know how to ride a horse." Gareth said.


    "I used to go riding as a kid," Luke said, "and I know Sam goes riding on the reserve at least once a year."


    "This is a terrible idea," Gareth muttered.


    Luke ignored his friend as he grabbed one of the nearby saddles and started to hook up the horse that had been following him. He was slightly embarrassed to admit he had checked, but it was a she. She stayed perfectly still, allowing him to hook her up. He absently noticed that one of the straps had been cutting into her shoulder, so he adjusted it for her.


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 2>


    "How did you do that?" Sam asked.


    "Do what?" Luke asked as the mare he decided to call his horse Hope. Hope nuzzled her head against his as if agreeing to her unspoken name.


    "Saddle a horse. I didn''t know you knew how to do that. When did you learn how to do that?" Sam asked.


    Luke froze.


    "Um, I didn''t. I just knew." Luke said.


    It was creepy. He hadn''t even realized he was doing something he shouldn''t have known how to do. It all felt so natural. Even if he knew it was because of [King of Horses], it was still weird.


    "Doesn''t your dad have something to do with horses?" Gareth asked.


    "My dad?" Luke asked.


    "Poseidon. The god of the sea. Father of horses. The reason we have to deal with Theo?" Sam asked


    "Right," Luke said. "Honestly, I''ve been trying not to think about it. It just feels unrealistic. You know what I mean?"


    "As compared to living in a video game?" Sam asked, one eyebrow raised in amusement.


    "Believe it or not, that is the most realistic part of my week," Luke said with a soft chuckle.


    He was just about to mount Hope when he felt something. Sadness: The other horses were sad that they were leaving and staying. They didn''t want to stay here alone. They wanted to come with him.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 4>


    He moved over to the horses'' carrales and opened the doors, letting the horses exit their homes.


    "What are we doing now?" Gareth asked.


    "Um, well, they wanted to come with us," Luke said apologetically.


    "And how did you know that?" Gareth asked.


    Sam rolled her eyes, and she started shoveling the horses'' tack, bridles, saddles, and even the stacks of hay into her [Vault].


    "What are you guys going to do with your new levels?" Gareth asked as they gathered up everything of value. "I''m level 5 now."


    "I''m level 10 and have three new skills. I grabbed [Snatch], [Legendary Strength], and [Hidden Treasures]. [Snatch] lets me teleport small objects into my hand. But [Legendary Strength] gives me +4 to AGIL and +10% to my strength."


    "Why all this emphasis on strength?" Luke asked.


    Sam looked at him like he was dumb.


    "Have you ever practiced archery? It''s a strength-based sport. I can have all the accuracy in the world, but if I can''t draw back that bowstring, I''m worthless."


    "What does the other skill do?" Gareth asked.


    "[Hidden treasures] lets me loot dead bodies for ¡­ loot." Sam said with a shrug.


    "Can''t you do all that already?" Luke asked. "I''ve seen you skin animals before."


    "It wasn''t my idea. Tom said that it was one of the skills I needed to get. Something about magic cores? I can''t really remember. He also said I needed [Legendary Strength] because it helps you even out your STR and AGIL while being able to commit to one or the other."


    "Well," Gareth began. "I finally got the [Rage]."


    "And?" Luke asked.


    "And now I have Hulk smash powers, dude," Gareth said. "Hulk smash. power"


    Luke rolled his eyes as he finally mounted Hope. The moment he was in the saddle, he found himself adjusting the way he sat to ensure that he and Hope would be comfortable.


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 5>


    Sam leapt onto her horse with practiced ease, while Gareth leapt onto his horse with the grace of a beached whale. He flopped around for a full minute before he managed to get his leg on the other side.


    They left the warm barn and moved out into the softly falling snow of the third day of the system apocalypse. Luke''s good mood was almost instantly ruined as they approached the ranch, where they thought the actual owners of these horses might be.


    "Oh my god." Sam covered her mouth in horror.


    There weren''t any bodies, but the building was half destroyed, pools of blood so large that there was no way any single person could survive donating that much blood.


    "What happened here?" Gareth asked.


    "I don''t know," Luke said.


    Luke could feel the horse''s anxiety and sadness. They knew these people, and losing them hurt, but now the horses were on the verge of bolting. Luke didn''t really understand how, but he pushed calmly towards the horses, trying to keep them steady.


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 6>


    "Let''s get out of here," Luke said as he pushed for the horses to move on.


    The horses didn''t even need much of a push as they immediately started moving away from the scene of death.


    They headed north. They chose to go north once they realized that the blood trail moved south. They were carefully and steadily making their way through the suburbs when Luke finally spoke up.


    "What do you think happened to Theo?" he asked.


    "No idea. Maybe the lions ate him?" Gareth asked half-jokingly.


    "I don''t think so. He acted like he was breaking some kind of rule or something," Luke said.


    "Let''s ask Tom when we get back," Sam suggested. He understands all of this stuff."


    "Yeah, that''s a good idea, lets--" Luke was cut off as a blood-curdling scream spit the morning air.


    Luke turned his head, urging Hope up to a gallop as he raced down the street. He turned the corner immediately, spying on the problem.


    A group of what he thought were Orcs and a troll were harassing a group of people in Renaissance fair outfits. The Renaissance guys weren''t doing badly¡ªquite the opposite. They were going toe-to-toe with the orcs, giving as good as they got. But the troll was the problem.


    The 9-foot-tall, gangly, warty green skin was facing off directly against a guy in wizard''s robes. He was ducking and dodging the troll attacks, but he didn''t have a single opening as the troll pressed him. Instead, he didn''t seem to be able to do more than dodge.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Duncan (Coffee House)


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First


    Class: Settler MAX


    Level: 20


    Race: Human


    HP: 1400


    MP: 4000


    Stamina: 1800


    Personal Skills: Pusuite Hunter, Storyteller, Storage, Mapping, System Wiki, Zen Master


    Settler Skills: Fang of Man, Aura of the Sun, Weather the Storm, Forman, Heartseeker Legendary Strength, All-Seeing Eye, Quest Giver, [Empty], [Empty] Create Settlement


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Luke blinked. Another beta-tester? He shook his head as he charged forward, Hope gliding across the ground as they closed the distance with the troll. Luke drew his sword and immediately remembered it had been split in two.


    "[First Labor]," Luke said, his sword growing to what it had previously been instead of the two-handed weapon he was used to [First Labor] creating. But it would do.


    He brought his sword around as he reached the troll, slicing into the beast''s upper thigh and causing the troll to stumble forwards. The troll turned to him, its bloodshot eyes sending a chill down his spine.


    BOOOM


    Luke and the troll flinched as both of them looked down at the troll''s torso. Duncan had apparently used the troll''s moment of distraction to leap in close, press his hand against the troll''s chest, and then he blasted a nearly four-foot hole in its chest.


    <You have assisted in killing a troll. You earn 20% of the experience>


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 7>


    <[First Labor: ] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 11>


    The troll toppled over dead. Duncan didn''t even say a word before turning towards the orcs and unleashing a blast of wind magic, knocking over the orcs and allowing the rest of the people to stab the orcs to death as they lay on the ground.


    "Thanks for the help!" Duncan called out to him. "Much appreciated."


    "Um, ah sure," Luke stuttered.


    Any question about whether or not this man was like Tom and the rest had been answered. Why the fuck were all the beta-testers so fucking terrifying? He thought his legendary class was supposed to be badass. But he had no trouble admitting to being a rank amateur compared to this guy.


    "You really shouldn''t be out here on your own, by the way. The orcs and goblins are attacking anyone they can get their hands on, and you should, " Duncan said.


    Luke looked back at the people in Renaissance outfits. They had already mopped up the rest of the orcs and were now looting the dead while people cast healing spells on the injured.


    "Luke, what the hell ¡­" Sam''s voice cut in before fading out as she and Gareth came around the corner.


    "What the fuck? I thought these guys were in trouble." Gareth asked.


    "Less than you think, more than we like," Duncan said.


    Luke noticed it wasn''t just the combatants. Further behind are a crowd of non-combatants, six adults and 13 kids, and at least a dozen people with actual weapons. He traced his [Vision of Sciron] across them. Most of them hadn''t even reached level 6 yet.


    That was amazing,¡± Gareth muttered as he got off his horse and approached Duncan. How did you do it?"


    "It''s not that hard. [Kitchen sink] for a mana boost and then a Pyroclap at point-blank range. Since fire is a troll''s bane, it''s pretty effective." Duncan happily explained, and then a frown crossed Duncan''s face.


    "Unfortunately, I didn''t have enough agility to really make it work. But then you all showed up. I have to thank you for your assistance. Good form," Duncan said, taking off an imaginary hat toward Luke.


    "Hey, Duncan, we need to move," one of the members of Duncan''s group said.


    Luke realized they had finished looting the dead orcs. Fresh chain mail and cream-coloured weapons now adorned everybody.


    "Here, you guys helped, so at least allow us to give you some proper gear," Duncan said.


    "Um, thanks," Luke said as he got off of Hope.


    Luke quickly found himself in a chainmail shirt and a cream-colored long sword to replace his master sword. It was a bit smaller than the master sword, but this one was clearly made for combat and not to be hung up in his room.


    Gareth grabbed a large cream-colored ax. While Sam had gotten herself a new bow and quiver full of arrows.


    "That''s a moonstone sword," Duncan explained as Luke held up the cream-coloured blade. It''s kind of like steel, only a lot weaker. Still, it''s better than pig iron."


    "Thank you," Luke said, giving the sword a few test swings.


    "Ok, we need to head back to base now before the orcs attack again. Do you want to come?" Duncan asked.


    "Sure," Luke said, unsure.


    "Great, come along then," Duncan said as he started leading the group northwards. Luke followed after Duncan. Some of the kids gravitated to the horses that followed after Luke, petting them as they walked. Samem took it upon herself to put the slowest among them on horseback to help them keep up the pace.


    "What are you guys doing out here?" Luke asked.


    Duncan let out a sign. "The goblins have been kidnapping people all over Newton. We''ve been trying to gather up as many people as possible and get them to Ridge Secondary School. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, we''re finding a lot of children. Unfortunately, we''re a bit too close to the goblin''s stronghold. We''re going to need to move soon, or we''re going to be under siege." Duncan said.


    "How did this happen?" Luke asked, aghast.


    Duncan looked at him as if he were a moron. "Where the hell have you been?"


    "I was in Surrey. We got cornered by dungeon monsters, used an escape skill, and ended up over here," Luke admitted sheepishly.


    "Dungeon monsters? By the fragging gods, this is getting chaotic," Duncan said, rubbing his eyes.


    "You know, when I woke up with the status on my face, I was a little excited. You know, this system is actually based on a game I used to play¡ªat least as far as I can tell."


    "The Legend of Noralon?" Luke asked.


    "You played it?" Duncan asked excitedly. "It was a great game, a little over-complicated for a multiplayer game, but honestly, until the goblins showed up. This was freakin great."


    "Uh, no." Luke admitted, "But my friend Tom did and ---"


    Luke was cut off as Duncan spun to face him. A serious look on his face.


    "Tom? You mean like Alex, Tom, Abaddon, and Skippy?"


    Luke stared at him in shock. "You know them?"


    "Know them? I''m their bloody crafter." Duncan laughed. "Now, why don''t you tell me exactly what the hell you''ve been through? And more importantly, what the hell have those four assholes been up to." Duncan said cheerily.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Demigod


    </td>


    <td>


    Type Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    Subrace: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 520


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1000


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 700


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 6.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 7.6 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 1.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths Member


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 3%, Elemental 3%, Mental 2%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 7, Heir to Beleiraphone 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 24


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 44


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 35


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 35


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 36


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 80 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 24


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 40 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 32 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 35


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 8 +5%


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 32 +15%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary: Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    - [Power of the Sea God] - Level 1


    - [Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 4 >> Level 6


    - [Kin of Horses] - Level 1 >> Level 7


    - [Born Sailor] - Level 1


    - [Natural Born Leader] - Level 3 >> Level 4


    - [Master of Death] - Level 8 >> Level 11


    - [Greek Tragedy] - Level 5 >> Level 10


    - [Divine Assistance (Guide)] - Level 4 >>> ErR0R#4!!*!%!$


    - +5 STR per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots 08/60: 1 Free Skill Point


    Personal Skills 02/??


    - [Endless Brawler] - Level 8 >> Level 9


    - [Storage] - Level 10


    Heir to Theseus 04/11


    - [First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippling Strike] - Level 11 >> Level 15


    - [Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    - [Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 1 >> Level 11


    - [Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 1 >> Level 7


    - [Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Level 1 >> Level 10


    Heir to Bellerophon 1/6


    - [Legacy of Misfortune] - Level 1 >> Level 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 46: Lukes Expedition â…¢

    Luke spent the entire trip back to Duncan''s base explaining his own experience of what happened during the system, especially the parts concerning Tom and Awoken Myths, which was what Duncan appeared to actually be interested in. Duncan also quizzed him on the dungeon and the general response to the system. Duncan also taught them all the [Meditation] skill as thanks for their help. But It wasn''t until they arrived at the school and people broke up to go about their own businesses that Luke''s story finally ended.


    "So Tom''s got another school set up as the Awoken Myths settlement already. That explains why the guild name wasn''t working," Duncan muttered. "And he has a resurrection skill already?"


    "Yeah, I saw him resurrect an entire room''s worth of people," Luke said.


    "All at once? That''s impossible at our level." Duncan said.


    Luke shrugged. "I don''t know what to tell you. He brought them back. That''s actually why we''re out here. Our friend died, and we left him because we didn''t think we could bring him back." Luke said.


    Duncan nodded. "I''ve been trying to collect the dead for the same reason. But my class doesn''t offer that ability until I''m at least level 20, and it is a mana hog. Tom must have set up a ritual or something to harvest the mana."


    Duncan shook his head as they walked past a group of people sitting in the school''s halls, shivering in clothes too light for winter. The windows had been smashed in, and the floors were already filthy. Despite how nice and new the school seemed, the lights weren''t on, and the air wasn''t much warmer than the outside.


    Children roamed the school, looking sullen and worried even as they played. But what really disturbed Luke was how many more kids there were than the adults. There were at least three kids for every adult.


    "If you don''t mind me asking. What happened to you, guys?" Luke asked.


    Duncan''s face fell, and his eyes glistened with unshed tears.


    "In the beginning, it all seemed so innocent. We were up by the university when it started. When I got the notification, I didn''t waste any time and just started having fun. Jaime and his friends ¡­ you met them earlier there full-on larpers, so they joined me too. For the first two hours, it was fun. Then, the goblins showed up. There were so many of them we never stood a real chance. For everyone we killed, at least ten more showed up. Fortunately, by this point, enough of us had our builds going, and we could fight back.


    Anyway, We were forced to leave the university, and we lost a lot of friends that day. A lot of people got left behind, and a lot of people died. We tried heading north at first, but we got pushed back down south by a giant crocodile who had decided a winter urban environment was its new home. We hit up Costco for all it was worth on the way down. We have plenty of people who qualified for the [Pro-gamer] class, so we have plenty of storage space.  We tried to keep heading north, but the Fraser River is spitting out monsters, so we headed back down south and ended up here. We''ve been trying to fortify the place and gather as many people as we could, but the goblins have been quickly spreading out since day two. They raided us last night and destroyed the electrical system and the plumbing." Duncan said.


    Luke winced.


    "Oh yes, the bathrooms need to be sealed, shit everywhere," Duncan said with a shit-eating grin of his own.


    Then his grin fell away.


    "The goblins have been killing, capturing, and raping their way through Newton. Thankfully, a lot of the kids were smart enough to hide under their beds, and the goblins were too stupid to check for them. Until we came for them." Duncan explained.


    "That''s awful," Luke muttered.


    "Tell me about it. We have an entirely new world to explore, and instead, we''re all stuck here fighting fragging goblins!"


    ¡°GOBLINS!!!!¡± Someone screamed.


    Duncan''s face turned ashen white.


    ¡°Point in case,¡± Duncan muttered as he took off running. ¡°Shit shit shit shit¡±


    Luke raced after drawing his new moonstone sword. Duncan raced through the school, and they quickly made it to the main entrance, which had become a battlefield.


    Luke''s eyes instantly fell upon at least a dozen goblins attempting to swarm over a makeshift barricade of piled tables and chairs.


    Behind them, a group of people who looked straight out of a Renaissance fair wielded a collection of moonstone weaponry as they tried to keep the goblins at bay.


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New Quest: The Goblin Raid ¢ñ


    During your adventures, you have encountered a tribe of goblin scouts assaulting what looks to be a helpless village! While these goblins will most likely lose if even one escapes, they will return in even greater numbers and kill everyone here.


    Intervene. It seems likely that the goblins will overcome the villagers within, yet at the same time, the goblins have yet to spot you, giving you the chance to escape unscathed. What will you do?


    Objectives: Option 1: Save the Refugees by defeating all the goblins. Refugees Alive: 364/364 Attacking Goblins: 104/130


    Option 2: Escape the village without being killed.


    Difficulty: Average


    Reward: Experience


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have unlocked the Regional Quest: Bloody Goblin Horde


    Goblins have invaded Kwantlen University. Despite only being here for a day, they have already kidnapped, raped, enslaved, and ritually sacrificed any humans they could get their hands on. Bring the fight to them and destroy the Bloody Horde.


    Objectives:


    ???


    ???


    Bonus Objectives:


    Kill all of the Goblins: ??? / ???


    ???


    ???


    Kill Goblin Shaman: 1/1


    ???


    ???


    Tips:


    Much of this quest has been hidden due to a lack of information. Expand your knowledge to gain further insights into the quest.


    Rewards:


    2 Levels for everyone involved, Bonus XP for Everyone, 1 Skill Upgrade, 5000 Settlement Points, Winter Event Guild Token


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Holy crap," Luke muttered.


    Luke felt his heart begin to thunder as he charged. Gareth was already at the line, his new moonstone ax hacking through the neck and shoulder of one of the goblins, carving through its neck in a spray of blood.


    "Fucking finally!!" Gareth called out as Luke ran up next to him, stabbing one of the goblins before it could attack his friend.


    "Do you know how frustrating this has been?" Gareth asked as he ripped through the goblins on the barricade like Tissue paper. "First, it was that fucking hippo that killed Issac, then the lions, and then you guys one-shot the troll before I could do anything."


    Gareth was smiling ear to ear as he slaughtered the goblin, his body starting to glow red.


    "Now, this is a fight!!! This is how it''s supposed to be. Come and get some, you green fucks" Gareth called out as he launched himself over the barricade.


    Luke was just about to follow him. A blast of wind rushed past his left, sending the goblins flying away from the barricade and giving Gareth some space. Luke turned to find Duncan next to him, punching a goblin that had been about to stab him in the face, his fist wreathed in Lightning.


    "We can''t fight them on the barricade. It''s going to collapse. We need to push them off and bring this fight outside." Duncan called out. "Follow the [Berserker]!!!"


    Luke roared as he followed after. He didn''t know why, but he was learning that sometimes it was just better to shut up and follow orders. Luke charged over the shoddy barricade. Bringing his sword around as he closed with the goblins, he crashed into them. Using the fact that he was double their height to its fullest, Luke all but trampled the first two goblins, bowling them over with his weight. The lucky ones were sent sprawling into the other behind them, sending the entire group to the ground in a tangle of limbs.


    Gareth had already disappeared into the sea of green. Goblin limbs and gore were being sent flying as his friend cut loose and butchered the three-foot-tall monsters. All the while, his friend craved more.


    Duncan and the rest of the Larpers didn''t hesitate to take advantage. The Larpers dove into the ranks of goblins, and every single one of them used a different style: axes, spears, baseball bats, swords, and shields. Everyone had their own style, which was reflected in the fact that they were fighting more like a group of individuals rather than a true party.


    Duncan put them all to shame, however. He shot out from behind the barricade on a sphere of wind, skating into the middle of the groups of goblins. Every goblin he touched died¡ªfrom lightning, fire, or just dropping dead. Any time the goblins started to swarm him, he unleashed a gust of wind, flinging the goblins across the asphalt. He was like if Jackie Chan was the Last Airbender, tall and blonde, with glasses.


    Unfortunately, it was at that point that reality caught back up with him as something sharp scraped across his ribs.


    "Gah," Luke hissed as he snapped his attention towards the little goblin that had managed to slash him with a spear.


    Feeling his adrenaline spiking in response to pain, Luke didn''t give the goblin a chance for a follow-up attack. Luke snatched the spear just under his head before the goblin could pull it back. He sharply yanked the spear towards him, pulling the goblin off balance. Luke then introduced the goblin''s face to his knee. There was a sickening crunch as the goblin was sent reeling backwards in a daze, the effects lasting more than long enough for his sword to flash out and send it joining its friend on the ground.


    ¡°where the hell has that guy been hiding?¡± one of the larpers asked.


    ¡°I found him wandering around,¡± Duncan shouted. In the meantime, kill them all. If any escape, they''ll be back with reinforcements!¡±


    Luke wanted to ask about these reinforcements, but he was cut off and nearly dropped his sword as an azure blue lizard man dressed in Victorian England style popped into existence next to him.


    "Holy," Luke swore as the lizard man lunged forward faster than Luke had ever seen, squared a goblin on his sword, and shot a bolt of lightning from his hand, sending half a dozen goblins stumbling to the ground.


    "Hello, friend. I''m the Lizard Wizard," the Azure Blue Lizard said before he teleported away again.


    Luke opened his mouth to say something but shut it as he blocked another goblin spear. The goblins that had survived his bull rush were already regaining their footing and were now throwing themselves at him.


    Luke''s world quickly descended into chaos as he fought wide, swinging his sword and fist at goblin after goblin. He even had to block a spear thrust by grabbing hold of one of the goblins and using its body and an impromptu shield. Even still, his chainmail blocked dozens of attacks and probably saved his life.


    But even with their success, the battle was taking its toll. At least six people were injured and forced to be dragged back to the school for healing.


    Luke found himself fighting side by side with the Lizard wizard. The wizard was blasting goblins using a rapier coated in flames as he cut through the goblins. When they finally cut apart the last enemy, the two of them looked around for the next enemy, only to find nothing.


    Taking a breath to regain his senses, Luke glanced around the battlefield. There were easily a hundred dead goblins littering the ground. Gareth was standing over a mound of dead goblins, an Ax in each hand, his entire body covered in blood, cheering his victory to heaven. It was enough to prompt another wave of text to fill his vision.


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    The Goblin Raid ¢ñ: Failed


    Despite your best efforts and your success in defending the fortress, four goblins have escaped to report back to their dark masters. They will raise an army of Goblins, Orcs, and Trolls to attack the fortresses.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <Level up!>


    <Level up!>


    <Level up!>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 3>


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 4>


    <...>


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Forth Labor] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Forth Labor] has Reached Level 9>


    <...>


    <[Forth Labor] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 8>


    <...>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 6>


    <...>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 8>


    <You have 3 Unassigned Levels>


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New Quest: The Goblin Raid 2


    The army of darkness will be on your doorstep at 3 o''clock. Will you stand and defend this settlement, or will you take your people and flee from the coming horde?


    Objectives: Option 1: Stand and Fight


    Option 2: Flee


    Difficulty: Hard


    Reward: Experience


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Fuck" Lizard Wizard said.


    "You can say that again." Luke breathed.


    "Names," the Victorian wizard Travis said.


    "Luke," Luke said, shaking the Lizard man''s hand.


    Despite looking superciliously like Abaddon, the Lizard Wizard was smaller and a lot thinner. If Abaddon was a massive crocodile, this guy was more of an iguana.


    "You did pretty well. Not as good as your friend over there, but pretty good," the lizard wizard said.


    Luke turned to see Gareth stomping over to them.


    "I got eight levels," Gareth said.


    "Holy shit, how? I only got three?" Luke asked.


    "Remember, leveling gets harder the higher you go. I didn''t get any levels, but I''m already at level 20. What level were you before this started?" Lizard Wizard asked.


    "8," Luke said.


    "4," Gareth said.


    "You were at level 4?" Luke and Lizard Wizard asked in shock.


    "You did all that at level 4. How?" Lizard Wizard asked.


    Gareth shrugged. "Git gud scrub"


    Lizard Wizard nodded sagely as if that made sense. "far."


    "Ah shit," Gareth said.


    "What?" Luek asked.


    "I maxed out [Berserker], and now it''s asking me if I want to evolve it into [Barbarian] or [Viking]. I don''t know what to pick." Gareth admitted.


    "That depends on what you want." Dunan''s voice interpreted their conversation as the large man wandered over. Luke noticed Duncan purposely trying to ignore the large red puddle in the snow, despite the fact that his jeans were already splattered in blood.


    "The [Barbarian] class revolves around the rage skill. It can also evolve into a [Jarl], and that one includes some leadership abilities, or you could push it into an [War Machine]. Which is exactly what it sounds like, but you won''t really be able to control yourself, and unless you''re directly in a fight, it will be useless. I would recommend [Viking]. It''s a more generalized warrior build, but it''s a higher rarity class, and it has a few potential legendary evolutions. Even if you don''t get those options, you can still become a [Jarl]. Definity is a good pick." Duncan said.


    Gareth nodded. "Vikings are cooler anyway. Any suggestions for skills?"


    "What do you have so far?" Duncan asked.


    "[Axe Warrior], and [Rage]"


    "What can you get?" Duncan asked.


    Gareth made his status screen visible to them.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Berserker Skill Options


    [Power Strike] - Lesser: Your next attack will hit with 50% more STR along with an additional 0.5% per skill level. Cost 12 stamina


    [Raider ¢ò] - Lesser: you have a 1% chance per level of this skill to inflict the [Terror] ailment. If you do inflict the [Terror] aliment, you have a 0.5% chance per skill level to inflict the [Insta-death] effect.


    [Toughness] - Lesser: You gain 0.5% resistance to all physical attacks per skill level


    [Discipline] - Lesser: You gain 0.5% resistance to all mental attacks per skill level


    [Frenzy] - Lesser: Gain 1% to all stats for every 1% of HP lost


    [Battle Sense] - Rare: You have an innate sense of the position of your allies and enemies in conflict. You have an innate sense of how to position yourself to the greatest effectiveness during a conflict. This effect is increased by 1% per skill level.


    [Aura of Slaughter] - Rare: You project an aura of Slaughter and Mayhem. Any time someone is injured within your aura, you gain (0.1% per skill level) of the damage back as restored health.


    [Disciple of War] - Epic: You gain insight into your opponent''s capabilities relative to your own. While you won''t get specific numbers, you can sense if their strength is higher, lower, or similar to yours. This skill is especially adept at providing rough information about your foes, including their overall affinities, skills, and skills. This effect increases by 1% per skill level. The longer you fight any single opponent, the more you grow accustomed to fighting them, and the better you can predict their next move, making it easier to anticipate and counter them with increasing ease at a rate of 3% per skill level.


    Capstones: Capstone skills are only available when you cross the thresholds for levels 10, 20, and 30 in each class.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Capstone: [Legendary Strength] - Mythic: For every 2 points you add to your strength, you add 1 point to your agility. This skill does not apply to the Level Bonuses. +10% STR</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Capstone: [Warhorse] - Epic: +1% to all stats per skill level when in combat</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Penetrating Physical] - Ancient: Ignore 0.5% of the target''s resistance to physical attacks per skill level. </li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Grab [Toughness], [Aura of Slaughter], [Discipline], and [Legendary Strength] before you take the upgrade. [Aura of Slaughter] will restore your HP when you''re in battle. [Discipline] will be upgraded to [Eternal Vigil], and then you can add the benefits from [Frenzy] into your build without spending any points. [Legendary Strength] is great as it allows you to neglect your agility in favor of your strength stat. No idea what [Rage] will upgrade into, so good luck with that." Duncan said.


    "No, no, no. You should grab [Disciple of War] and [Battle Sense]. Those skills help you optimize your fighting style," Lizard Wizard said.


    Duncan rolled his eyes. "Travis, these are noobs. They don''t need a hyper-optimized build that requires hundreds of hours of practice. They need a build that will keep them alive. Besides, he can get all of those benefits from the [god of war] capstone skill at level 30.¡±


    "Wait, Travis? You told me your name is Lizard Wizard?" Luke asked, confused.


    Duncan rolled his eyes even harder somehow.


    "Goddammit, Travis, you''re worse than Abaddon. His name is Travis. He just likes to call himself the Lizard Wizard. Just call him Travis. He''s also a member of Awoken Myths. He''s our resident [Spell Sword]," Duncan said.


    Luke wanted


    "Call me Lizard Wizard," Travis said as Duncan got close to them


    Luke immediately felt something roll over them, and though he couldn''t see anything different, a notification appeared.


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have entered Duncan''s [Aura of the Sun].


    While inside this aura, you gain 14 hp per minute. You have been afflicted with [Calm]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "That''s bloody fantastic," Luke said as his bruises and cuts started to heal.


    Duncan shrugged. "It''s not as helpful as you think. When you''re given HP, you''re not actually healing. Your body just has more resources to heal."


    "It''s literally saved our lives more than once," Travis said, and then his face turned darker.


    "Duncan, I don''t think we can handle another raid. The last time they attacked us, we lost almost fifty people. We can''t survive another attack."


    "You''ve lost fifty people?" Luke asked.


    "We lost fifty fighters. We''ve been stealing any car that people leave behind. Most of the people take their cars and drive off in the hopes of finding their loved ones, running for the stats, or whatever dumb idea they have. The smart ones and the kids have been staying with us," Travis said.


    "Relax, Travis, thanks to our new friends. I have a plan." Duncan said.


    "This should be good," Travis said.


    "Lance, or Tom, has created the Awoken Myths guild a couple of miles from here. He''s already gotten the basic setup running, and we know it''s run by my old guild mates from the Legend of Noralon, so they know what they''re doing. More than that, according to Luke, my friend Tom already has a resurrection skill, so he can bring back everyone we''ve lost so far."


    "Well, that would have been great, but we''re about to be attacked by a horde of goblins, and we don''t have time to get everyone out of here!" Travis said.


    "We''ll buy time," Duncan said. "If we can get the rest of the Larpers and Luke''s friends, we can buy enough time to get everyone out onto the road. Then we just need to follow after them."


    Travis stroked his beard. "It should work. We''ll have to take the highway to avoid the nut jobs at the Arts Centre, but it''s manageable."


    "Great. Get inside and start getting everyone organized to leave. We can load them in the vans like sardines if we have to, too, but everyone is leaving in an hour." Duncan said.


    Travis nodded, moving back towards the building.


    Duncan turned to Luke. "I really need your help here. If you want to run, though, I understand."


    The thought of just leaving all of those people, the kids that he had seen in that school, yeah, no, leaving them to the goblins, caused bile to rise in the back of his throat.


    "No, I''m staying. I''m not letting all these people get killed." Luke said.


    "Thank you. Is there anything I can do to help you? Just ask."


    Luke was just about to say no when Theo came back to his mind.


    "Actually, I used to have this companion. He was a spirit I got from my bloodline. He did something, and now we can''t find him," Luke said.


    "Alright, go back to the beginning, tell me everything," Duncan said


    So Luke did. He told Duncan about Alexi, the Bloodline, even the skill, and what he thought Alexi had done to let them escape the Nemean lion. Duncan didn''t commit. He just listened.


    "Bloodline of Poseidon? You''re sure." Duncan asked.


    "Yes, I can read," Luke said. "I''m not even sure if I believe it myself; it feels like a cruel joke."


    "Oh, it''s not that I don''t believe you, but that''s troubling for another reason. The Pantheon in the Legend of Noralon didn''t include Poseidon or any of the Greek gods."


    "So what does that mean?" Luke asked, concerned.


    "I have no idea. As for your friend, the only way I can describe what he did would be that he somehow hacked the system or maybe tricked it. That skill isn''t supposed to bring anyone with you. Hell, you aren''t even supposed to gain levels until you are out of combat. I think that whatever he did, he might have been flagged by the system the same way a hacker would have been in-game."


    "What does that mean in this context?" Luke asked.


    "No fucking idea. He could be dead. Maybe he''s in time-out. Normally, I would call the customer support line at this point. But I just don''t know. We''re going to have to talk to Alex and Tom. They''re the magic experts."


    "And you''re not?" Luke asked, chuckling.


    "Nah, my specialty before this was a full-on craftsman, and in college, I was actually trying to become an engineer with a minor in computer programming. My current class is [Settler]. It''s a generalist class, and I only picked it because I wasn''t really sure what was going on, and it covered both crafting and combat." Duncan said with a joke.


    "Now, make sure to assign your levels. The goblins are going to be coming soon."


    Luke nodded and opened his status. He assigned all of his levels to [Heir of Theseus]. The skill option jumped out of him before he had the chance to even read the list. A small smile flashed across his face.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Theo''s choice (if you don''t pick this godling, I swear I am going to kill you) ¡ú Level 10 Capstone - [Sixth Labour: Procrustes Just Deserts] - Legendary


    [Sixth Labour: Procrutestes Just Deserts]: For Theseus'' sixth and final labor, he killed the bandit Procrustes by forcing him to suffer the same torture he inflicted on others. In each of Theseus Labors, he inflicted the bandit''s own torments back on them. Now, you can give your enemies a taste of their own medicine.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+5% chance to Block or Parry any incoming attack per skill level</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Absorb 1% of the damage you blocked or parried per skill level</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">When activated, all of the absorbed power is added to your next attack</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+10% to DEX</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Gareth Brown


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Canadian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 935


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1510


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 220


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 9.9 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 15.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 4.4 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths, Rambo


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 0.5%, Elemental 0.5%, Mental 0.5%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Viking 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 66


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 55


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 55 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 66


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 55


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 11 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 STR +3 DEX +3 PER +2 CON +2 END


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    Viking Skills: +2 AGIL


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 10/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuit Hunter]: - Level 20


    - [Storyteller] - Level N/A


    - [Storage] - Level 10


    - [Meditation] - Level 1


    Viking 06/16


    - [Nordic Arms] - Level 16


    - [Battle Fury] - Level 6


    - [Weather the Elements] - Level 1


    - [Eternal Vigil] - Level 1


    - [Aura of Slaughter] - Level 1


    - Capstone - [Legendary Strength] - Level N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 47: Lukes Expedition â…£

    Luke, Sam, and Travis watched as people were forced into the minivans Duncan and Travis had been collecting.


    "How long until everyone is out of here?" Luke asked Travis.


    "Duncan thinks it will take another thirty minutes to get all the cars we need and load everyone into them. The goblins will be here in five." Travis hissed as he smacked his tail into the ground.


    "Can we hold them off for that long?" Luke asked.


    "We have to, so we will," Travis said, smiling. Then he smiled, "Unfortunately, we need to send some of the weaker fighters with them to make sure they don''t get killed en route."


    "Don''t let Gareth hear you saying that," Luke said.


    "Hey, now I''m the great and powerful Lizard wizard. I''m not a complete battle maniac." Travis said strictly.


    "Does that great and powerful Lizard wizard have a plan?" Sam asked.


    "Duncan''s planting magical landmines between the goblins and us. Anyone with a [Rouge] or [Ranger] build is going to harass them all the way here."


    "Why aren''t you helping with the magical traps?" Sam asked.


    "I don''t have the skills," Travis admitted. "You need specific system skills or an understanding of glyphs. I don''t have either."


    "But Duncan doesn''t have any kind of magical trap skill." Luke pointed out in confusion.


    "True, but he does have a bloodline with a lot of crafting skills," Travis said with a grin. His class also gives him some good crafting options. And more importantly, he remembers enough about glyphs that he can figure out the rest."


    Luke''s eyes went wide.


    "Do you have a bloodline?" he asked.


    "Sure, honestly, I suspect most beta-testers came into this with a bloodline."


    "How is that possible?" Luke asked. "Tom made them seem rare."


    "Well, they are rare, normally. But we all got a system token when the apocalypse happened, so we all had to pick up something special for the end of the world. A bloodline is an easy choice. You get eight extra skills, and the stat bonus helps put you ahead."


    Luke bit his lip, wondering if he should ask about his own issue.


    "What?" Tavis asked.


    "I''ve got a bloodline. So does Sam," Luke began.


    "Holy shit, you got a bloodline?! Congrats, I guess you lucky buggers," Travis said, surprised.


    "It says I''m the son of Poseidon," Luke said sheepishly as he rubbed his head.


    "Oh ¡­ wait, that would mean ¡­ you''re a demigod?" Travis muttered to himself.


    Luke absently wondered if he had broken his new friend. But he did confirm that his race was demigod.


    "Alright, let me get this straight. You''re saying that your dad is the sea god Poseidon, and he porked your mom before the system, or Legend of Noralon came out? Mind you, the legend of Noralon didn''t have Greek gods. Your life is weird, dude." Travis said.


    "Thank you. Everyone else is just teasing me for it. But I honestly don''t know how to react to this shit."


    "Honestly, dude. I would recommend just pacing yourself. Wait until shit calms down a bit, then we can dig into this shit. You should really talk to Tom, or better yet, if we can find Connor, he would really know all about this shit."


    "Connor?" Luke asked.


    "Another Awoken Myths member. He specialized in religious classes. He said they spoke to him. If anyone would have more information about your situation, it would be him," Travis said.


    Luke opened his mouth to ask more questions, but before he could get another word, the relative silence was broken by the howling of what Luke felt like was a thousand goblins screaming in outrage.


    "I guess our five minutes are up," Travis said.


    Luke nodded as they raced through the school to where the goblins were attacking from.


    "Remember the plan. We hold off the goblins, and then we retreat into the school and ride those horses out of here." Luke called out as they ran through the building.


    They both nodded to his instructions. Sam unslunging her bow as she moved upstairs. The truly ranged fighters were going to the second floor, while those who focused on mid and close-range combat would be on the ground.


    Luke and Travis moved towards the front entrance. Wrecked cars had been placed around the parking lot as cover. According to Duncan, the plan was to engage them at the edge of the parking lot and then slowly retreat backwards into the school before they lept onto the horses they had stored inside and ran out the back of the school, where they were loading up all of the kids into cars.


    Luke arrived in the parking lot just in time to see Gareth butchering a dozen goblins in quick succession.


    "They''re coming!!!" Gareth called out.


    Travis pulled out his sword and started firing spells from the tip left, right, and center as the goblin horde descended on them. Each spell exploded, sending the goblins scattering. And then Luke''s focus narrowed down to the goblins in front of him. He parried the goblin''s spear thrust with ease. The moment he did, however, he felt something, a kind of pressure coming off his sword. Slamming his blade into the goblin, the pressure vanished, but his sword bisected the goblin with an unnatural ease that he hadn''t been expecting.


    "[Sixth Labour]," Luke muttered as he realized just what had happened.


    This was going to be fun. Luke started to carve through the oncoming goblin horde. His blade whipped out as he


    At some point, Luke found himself next to Gareth. His friend was covered in blood and laughing like a maniac as he hacked apart the goblins with unbridled joy.


    "This is the best day of my Life." Gareth cheered as he decapitated three goblins simultaneously.


    "When did you become a battle maniac?" Luke asked as he deflected an incoming arrow and then used the power from that attack to kill another goblin.


    "Why do you think I joined the football team, the wrestling team, karate classes, Judo, and the boxing team?" Gareth chuckled as he kicked a goblin hard enough to send it flying. "I like contact sports."


    "TROLLS!!!" Sam''s voice echoed across the battlefield.


    Luke looked up. He immediately spotted two trolls making their way towards him.


    "I can take the one on the left," Travis said. "Can you two handle the one on the right?"


    "Why do you get one to yourself?!" Gareth asked aghast.


    "Trolls are weak to fire. Can either of you use fire magic?" Travis asked as his sword burst into flames.


    "Come on, Gareth, let''s go kill a troll," Luke said.


    "Fuck yeah!!" Gareth cheered as he followed Luke in carving a bloody path towards the troll.


    The troll roared in rage as it charged towards them. Gareth slammed his ax into the troll''s body without a second thought. The troll roared in pain, throwing Gareth off of its warty body, but not before Luke brought his own [First Labor] around.


    The [First Labor] smashed into the troll''s knee, the massive orange, great sword his original moonstone sword had transformed into dug halfway through the troll''s meaty leg. Luke felt his sword impact and crack the troll''s massive femur.


    The troll roared out in utter agony as Luke ripped his sword free. Even as he did, Luke noticed the troll''s body was already healing the damage. He brought his sword around and slashed at the troll''s arm. The small cut he made on the troll''s arm started healing immediately.


    The troll growled, its over-muscled fury arm smacking him away. Luke tried to block the attack, but the troll tossed him aside with ease. Luke stumbled across the asphalt before he came to a stop against a car.


    Luke leaped to his feet, ready to jump back in. Suddenly, he felt something. Raising his sword up just in time, an arrow made out of pure ice bounced off of his sword and punched into the metal of the car like tissue paper.


    "What the actual fuck?!" Luke muttered.


    His eyes traced the path of the arrow back to where it had come from. What looked like an anorexic albino elf. It was bald, with bright red eyes and skin so white it seemed to be glowing. The pale elf casually drew another frozen blue arrow out of seemingly thin air as he lined up a second shot. Luke felt his instincts take over his sword, moving on reflex as the second arrow bounced off his blade a second time. [Sixth labor] started to hum as the charge built up.


    Luke launched himself to his feet, deflecting a third ice arrow. He stared at the pale elf. He could feel his abilities working. [Second Labor], [Third Labor], and [Forth Labor] were all working together seamlessly to break down how the pale elf was moving. Its body language, the movement of mana in his body, and his own danger sense all working together to perfectly show him where the elf was going to fire.


    Luke noticed this in an almost trance-like state as he deflected a fourth, fifth, and sixth arrow with ease as he stepped forward. But it wasn''t just that. No, even with those Abilities, that wouldn''t have been enough to help him without his other skills. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    [Fifth Labor] and [Sixth Labor] were working together to help him put his sword where it needed to be to avoid getting pierced by an arrow. All the while, energy kept building up in his sword, and with every arrow he knocked away from himself gave him more power. That gave him another idea. Theo had all but forced him to pick up these Abilities, and right now, all of them were working together in perfect unison¡ªall of them except for one.


    As Luke walked past the front line of defenders and into the ranks of goblins, he deflected another arrow and brought his sword around as he activated [First Labor] and [Sixth Labor], and he felt it all click together. The familiar enlarged orange blade was now covered in blue frost and glowing brighter than ever. The blade had grown in length to be at least two stories tall, but to Luke, its weight was unchanged. A manic grin as he finally understood why Theo had been so insistent about these abilities finally clicked for him. Labor''s two to four were all about observing his enemies, while five and six were for deflecting the attacks while building the charge. Before he finally released everything in the [First Labor].


    Luke swung his now-building-sized sword horizontally through the encroaching army of goblins. The massive blade didn''t so much cut as blast through the seemingly endless ranks of the goblin hordes. The goblin fodder exploded, their bodies blasted apart by his abilities, and their insides froze from the stolen ice magic that had been inhabiting his sword. The goblins screamed in pain and anguish as they died. The remains of their exploded frozen organs have been scattered over the ground. The goblins just beyond the range of his blade stopped cold at the sea of frozen gore in front of them.


    "Holy shit," Luke muttered as he looked at the scene of carnage in front of him.


    Gareth and the Larpers were still fighting the trolls behind him, but he had just managed to buy them a lot of breathing room. Then Luke felt his Danger sense scream at him. Luke''s sword shot up to block another frozen arrow. Only this time, the arrow changed course mid-flight and embedded itself into his shoulder, punching through his new chainmail with ease.


    "What the actual fuck?!" Luke shouted out in shock.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been afflicted with the frost affliction: [Stagnation]


    Your AGIL, DEX, and PER have been decreased by 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "That''s fragin cheating," Luke muttered as he tried and failed to deflect the second arrow, as it defied the laws of physics to change its trajectory mid-air before impacting his arm.


    "GAH!" Luke hissed in pain as the ice-cold tips chilled him to the bone as if he had been standing outside naked. His hp dropped to around 80%, but the cold coming from the arrows was all-encompassing.


    Luke bit his lip as he ripped the ice arrow out of his body. He lept behind one of the wrecked cars as two more arrows zipped through the air like they were alive. The arrows embedded themselves in the car wreck an inch from his face.


    Then Duncan showed up next to him.


    "Hey, thanks for that little trick with the sword," Duncan said as he cast two spells back to back.


    The first spell caused the ground to become shiny. Any goblin who stepped into the shiny puddle slipped like they were in a comedy. The second spell sent a spark of electricity directly into the shiny puddle. Then Luke realized what the puddle was¡ªgrease. The grease immediately combusted, creating a line of fire. The goblins that were already in the grease trap started to scream as they were burned alive.


    "Holy frag," Luke swore as the goblin line devolved into panic. The goblins in the front tried to avoid being pushed into the grease fire, while the goblins in the back tried to push them forward.


    "Ha. enjoy that, you green shits!!" Duncan called out.


    Then Duncan lept to the side as a frozen arrow shot through where his head had just been.


    "How is that pale elf curving his shots?" Luke asked.


    "It''s actually a pretty common archer skill," Duncan said. "Also, it''s a drow. Not an elf. There is a difference."


    Luke frowned. "Arnt drows supposed to be well ¡­"


    "What? Evil?" Duncan asked as he cast another grease spell. This time, the grease spell overlapped with the already existing one, causing the flame wall to expand.


    "Well, yes, but that''s not what I mean. Arnt, they supposed to be, you know?" Luke tried to think of a better way to say it. Then he gave up. "Black?"


    "Ok, I know you''re not trying to sound racist. But you sound racist. Also, the drow is an albino. I thought you had a [identify] skill?" Duncan asked.


    Luke looked out from behind cover quickly using [Fourth Labor of Theseus] before he had to duck behind the car again as an ice arrow nearly stabbed through his head.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Seraphel


    Race: Drow Subrace: Albino


    Affliction: Soul Damage


    Current Level: 14


    True Level: ???


    Classes: Harbinger of Fimblewinter ?? / ??? / Brother of the Wild Hunt ?? / ???


    Skills: [PRIVATE]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Um, what''s Soul Damage?" Luke asked.


    "Uh, I think It means he''s been forced down to a lower level. Yeah, unfortunately, he''s still going to have all of his skills, but he doesn''t have the stats to support them. He''ll be tough, but he shouldn''t be able to keep it up for long before he burns through his mana pool," Duncan muttered as ice arrows began to fly overhead, forcing the larpers back as the frozen arrows peppered them.


    "We need to get rid of him," Luke said, dispatching a goblin as it tried to sneak up on him.


    "Agreed, that [Stagnation] debuff is going to slow us down until we can''t move," Duncan said.


    "How would you guys fight him in the game," Luke asked.


    "Well, we can wait for him to run low on mana, or we can try to get in close somehow. We need to change the game, removing his advantages while promoting our own."


    "We need to lure him inside," Luke said as inspiration struck.


    "What are you nuts? We are out here to specifically buy time to get everyone out." Duncan protested.


    "We stay out here. He''s going to pick us off one by one until we''re too slow to defend ourselves. You said so yourself," Luke said. "If we''re in the school, he can''t use his bow, especially if all the goblins crowd inside."


    Duncan looked like he wanted to argue for a second. Then he nodded.


    "Alright. We''ll retreat inside the school." Duncan said.


    Duncan raised his hand, launching a red flare up into the air. Immediately, the other larpers started to retreat back to the school.


    "How did you do that?" Luke asked.


    "Pure skill," Duncan whispered conspiratorially as they raced back towards the school.


    Travis and the rest of the Larpers were already at the door, barricading it.


    Luke quickly found Gareth at the door, completely covered in blood and gore, with an oversized intestine wrapped around his neck like a scarf.


    "What the fuck happened to you?" Luke asked in shock.


    "I killed the troll!" Gareth said with utter glee. "It was magnificent."


    "It''s disgusting," Travis said. I don''t even know how you are alive; that troll had its claws in your stomach."


    "It''s the [Aura of Slaughter]," Duncan said. It heals him for every wound he inflicts."


    "Oh right, I forgot about that," Travis muttered.


    "Why did we retreat?" Gareth asked. "I thought we were winning."


    "There''s a high-level archer out there. If we stayed out in the open, he would have picked us off. We need to lure them in here. How much longer until everyone is on the road?" Luke asked.


    "At least another five minutes. Like actually five minutes." Travis said.


    "What''s taking them so long?" Luke asked indignantly.


    "You try loading up a bunch of recently orphaned kids into a myriad of minivans while also stuffing it full of supplies and sharp weapons that you also have to keep away from the kids. Also, you know most of us are college kids, and most aren''t parents. It''s not easy. Trust me, I''m watching them with [Scy]. It''s a miracle they''re moving as fast as they are." Duncan said


    Luke felt his heart drop as the goblins raced towards the school.


    "Alright then. Let''s buy them five minutes," Luke said as the goblin horde charged over the barricades.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Travis Lizard Wizard


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Lizard Man


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Dragon


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Iguana


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1500


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2960


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2800


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 18.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 28.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 22.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Crit, Insta-Death, Disease, Poison


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 11%, Magic 61%, Elemental 11%, MentalVitality 23%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Scale slayer, Dragon slayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Spellsword MAX


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 192


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 100


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 140


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 160 +20%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 100


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 140


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 STR +3 DEX +3 PER +2 CON +2 SPIRIT


    Racial: +3 STR +2 END +2 PER +1 CON


    Skills: +3 AGIL


    Bloodline: +5 INT +5 WILL


    Bonuses: +2 to all stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of The Aether Warped Wyrm] - Legendary: Specialized in consuming magic, the Aether Wyrm Bloodline allows you to absorb and convert magical energies from spells and enchanted objects.


    - [Mana Leech] - Level 30


    - [Consume Magic] - Level 9


    - [Mana Void] - Level 7


    - [Ether Venom] - Level 30


    - [Dragon Breath (Magic)] - Level 10


    - [Ether Dragon Heart] - 12


    - [Immortal Organs] - Level 24


    - [Dragonscale Mantle] - Level 22


    - +5 INT per level


    - +5 WILL per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots 18/60: Free Skill Points 2


    Personal Skills


    - [Dark Vision] - Level 19


    - [Ocean Adaptation] - Level 9


    - [Storage] - Level 11


    - [Mapping] - Level 9


    - [System Wiki] - Level 6


    - [Bullet Time] - Level 10


    - [Meditation] - Level 1


    Spellsword 11/11


    - [Kitchen Sink] - Level 15


    - [Blink Step] - Level 24


    - [Perfect Motion] - Level 23


    - [Toughness] - Level 20


    - [Elemental Strike] - Level 21


    - Capstone - [Legendary Strength] - Level N/A


    - [Resonance Strike] - Level 8


    - [Bullet Time] - Level 13


    - [All-Seeing Eye] - Level 9


    - [Relentless Onslaught] - Level 12


    - Capstone - [Mageblade] - Level 9


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 48: Lukes Expedition â…¤

    "This might have been a terrible idea," Luke swore as a dozen small frozen blades tried to stab through his chainmail.


    "You think?!" Duncan asked as he unleashed a pyroclap on Seraphel. The drow elf stood against five of them, covered in ice armor with a sword of ice in each of his hands. Seraphel''s ice construct was a beautiful bright blue, or it had been until it had been covered in blood.


    As Gareth lunged forwards with his ax, Seraphel ducked to the side. A spike of ice grew out of his armor, stabbing into Gareth''s leg as Seraphel wiped his sword towards his friend''s head.


    "Mother fucker!!" Gareth swore as Luke parried Seraphel''s sword strike, or at least he tried to.


    As the blades encountered each other, Seraphel''s bright blue sword changed from a large, broad sword into a thin rapier. Luke stumbled at the change in weight and balance, and Seraphel''s blade stabbed into his shoulder.


    "Frag," Luke swore as he smacked away the ice blade.


    Seraphel kept up the pressure as he pressed the attack, forcing Luke to go completely on the defensive. Seraphel proved himself to be leagues ahead of Luke when it came to swordsmanship. Even with his skills, it was all Luke could do to stop Seraphel from striking his vital points. Even still, he was quickly collecting shallow cuts and instances of [Stagnation] as he was pushed backwards.


    Gareth quickly rose to his defense, shouting out a battle cry as his Axe descended at Seraphels head. The drow quickly broke off his attack on Luke, his ice swords shifting into a massive two-handed weapon that was almost two meters long as he blocked Gareth''s attack.


    Instantly, icicles blasted out of his armor in all directions as he changed his focus to Gareth. Luke had to leap backwards as two icicles shot through the air wildly as they attempted to screwer him. He deflected the first one from piercing his liver and narrowly dodged the second one as it grazed his head, opening up a small cut on his forehead.


    Two icicle arrows shot out of Seraphels armor, forcing Luke to leap back as he deflected the attacks.


    "This guy is even worse at close range," Luke muttered. "How is he worse at close range?"


    Luke''s eyes drank in the situation as he reoriented himself. Duncan, Gareth, and Travis had joined him in trying to pin down Seraphel while Sam and the rest of the Larpers focused on holding back the goblin horde as they were steadily pushed back through the school by the unending horde.


    "Ok, this guy is just annoyingly good," Travis hissed as he swung his blazing sword at Seraphel. The drow twisted his body beyond what Luke thought was possible as more icicles shot out of his armor to keep Travis away from the Drow.


    "Hold still," Travis called out, ignoring Seraphel''s attack.


    "Travis, I love you, but stop the commentary, please!!" Duncan called out as he let out a spray of fire towards Seraphel as Gareth tried to chop the drow in half.


    Seraphel clearly was used to fighting multiple opponents. He leapt backwards, kicking Gareth into Duncan''s attack. He sent out more icicle arrows at both men. He transformed his massive sword into a katana as he attacked Travis.


    "Don''t let him gain distance!!" Luke called out as he activated [First Labor]


    His skill-empowered attack stabbed into Seraphels chest before he could slice through Dustin, cracking the drow''s armor as he was knocked backwards. For a second, Luke almost thought he had managed to hurt Drow. But Seraphel managed to bounce back to his feet with ease as he parried Traivs descending sword before a dozen spikes of ice shot out of his armor and into the paladin''s chest, knocking him backwards as Seraphels armor repaired itself from the damage Luke had inflicted. At this point, Seraphels look like a bright blue porcupine made out of sharp edges.


    "Enough, [Consume Magic]," Travis called out. All at once, Seraphel''s ice armor slid off his body and was swallowed by Travis.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Consume Magic] - Legendary


    [Consume Magic]: You consume a source of magic in its entirety, devouring all of the magic and restoring your MP, be it a spell, a skill, an enchantment, or even a summons. Cooldown 11 minutes. Reduce the cooldown by 6 seconds per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "My turn," Travis said, holding up his sword.


    A massive fireball shot out of his blade, forcing Seraphel to dodge. The fireball sailed over his head, impacting the goblins that had been coming up to help him. The explosion nearly knocked Luke off his feet. The goblins caught in the blast were so lucky. Their flesh melted off their bones, and they were not even able to scream as their throats had been severed.


    Seraphel jumped back up, his ice armor reappearing on his body.


    "He''s been burning through his mana to compensate for a four-on-one, but he''s already below 20%. He needs to retreat now, or one way or the other, our next clash will be our last." Duncan said


    Seraphel seemed to agree with Duncan. He leapt towards the group, and his katana held high. Luke charged forward to meet him, and then Seraphel''s armor exploded off his body. The chunks of ice flew at them at high speed, impacting their bodies like a rain of hail as they and everyone else was fumbling with chunks of ice. Luke was sent tumbling backwards as his body was pelted with chunks of ice the size of baseballs. He could already tell his body would be covered in bruises the next morning.


    As the barrage of ice finally came to a stop, Luke forced himself back to his feet, readying his sword. He expected a follow-up attack, but there was nothing. Seraphel had disappeared in the explosion of ice and mist, leaving them alone in a hallway with chunks of ice and the goblins picking themselves up off the floor.


    The ice was already creating a deep mist as if it had all been turned into dry ice. Fortunately, it seemed that Seraphel didn''t care about the goblins, as they hadn''t been spared the explosion of ice. Nor had he tried to take advantage of his final attack; instead, he had just disappeared.


    "Assshole!!" Travis called out as he was helped back to his feet by another Larper as Sam reached him.


    "We need to go. We''re about to be overrun."


    "Makes sense," Duncan said.


    "How does that make sense?" Luke asked, confused as the Larpers turned the tide of battle and pushed the goblins back, giving some of them breathing room.


    "He had us dead to rights. He could have killed us while the goblins swarmed us. Why didn''t he?" Luke asked.


    Duncan shook his head.


    "Goblins aren''t human. If he had kept up the attack, he would have left himself vulnerable to the other goblins, and they would have killed him to gain more experience. [Goblinoids] power structures are top-down. With the absolute strongest in charge and everyone else beneath them, as opposed to human societies that are more diverse. Because of this, [Goblinoid] leadership tends to have a massive degree of overturn as the subordinates kill their leaders to gain more power. They don''t have friends or family, only temporary allies and enemies. And because of that, they must always strive to gain more power lest they be unseated." Duncan explained.


    Luke wasn''t sure how he felt about that. On the one hand, his sympathy for the goblins was low and getting lower by the second. On the other hand, their society sounded exhausting. To live like that, constantly paranoid about who was going to betray you while always scrambling to remain the strongest.


    "Hey, no lollygagging; it''s time to go!!" Duncan called out. Everyone was loaded up and ready to go; it was time to leave!


    Travis raised his sword, mana undulating across the blade so thick Luke didn''t think he would need [Second Labor] to see it. Travis brought his sword down with a Swish, and the roof of the school collapsed with the movement. The goblins inside of the school screamed as the building came down on top of their heads.


    That gave the larpers more than enough breathing room to kill the last of the goblins before they all turned and fled. Luke followed as the crowd made their way outside. Dozens of minivans were lined up on the grass behind the school. They were full of the many kids the larpers had found, all of the noncombatants, and the supplies they hadn''t managed to stuff into all the numerous inventories.


    Luke raced over to Hope and the rest of the horses they had liberated from the Pegasus ranch. Sam, Gareth, Dustin, Travis, and a few larpers who had real-world experience or system classes that worked with horses joined him as he mounted Hope. Duncan leaped into the lead Mini-van as they started to drive south towards Highway 10, at which point they would head east until 180 St.


    "Oh, this is bullshit!!" Travis muttered.


    "What is it, Lizard wizard?!" Gareth asked.


    "We have warg riders incoming," Travis said.


    "Wargs," Duncan called out from the lead minivan''s shotgun seat as they started to gain speed.


    "Goblins and Orcs on wargs making their way around the school," Travis warned.


    Luke swore as the horses followed the cars as they made their way with the cars, the sound of canine yips and snarls coming into earshot.


    "Everyone, assign your levels now. The people on horseback are going to have to screen the ¡­ caravan, I guess, while we make our way out of here!" Duncan called out.


    Luke pulled up his stat sheet as he considered what to do.


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 8>


    <...>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 6>


    <...>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 11>


    <...>


    <[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 15>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 15>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 16>A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    <...>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 4>


    <...>


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 13>


    <...>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Fourth Labor] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Fourth Labor] has Reached Level 9>


    <...>


    <[Fourth Labor] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 12>


    <...>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Sixth Labor] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Sixth Labor] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Sixth Labor] has Reached Level 20>


    <Level Up!!>


    <Level Up!!>


    <You have two levels to assign>


    Luke ignored most of the notifications as he considered dumping his levels into [Heir of Theseus] but quickly dismissed it. That class didn''t have anything related to mounted combat. Instead, it seemed to be more focused on counters, and he wasn''t sure he could do that on horseback. He needed something more direct. He needed an actual combat ability like the [First Labour], only with less setup than [Sixth Labour]. His eyes were drawn to the [Heir of Beleraphone] class. He didn''t know much about the legend, but he knew that Beleraphone rode on the flying horse Pegasus. It seemed good enough, considering his current circumstances.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Heir to Beleraphone skill Options


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Molten Lead Lance] - Legendary: Beleraphone''s second greatest feat was the slaying of the Chimera. He did not do this through strength but through cleverness. He shoved a lead spear into the monster''s maw when it attempted to breathe fire at him¡ªmelting the spear and pouring molten lead down the monster''s throat. Now, you can tap into that power. When you wield a spear, you can superheat the blade of the weapon without dulling the tip, inflicting additional fire damage, and leaving the [Burn] aliment at the cost of 30 mana per minute. When you throw your spear at a target, the weapon will transform into a spear of compressed molten lead and explode when the spear impacts the target for 500 mana. You also gain a +1.25% boost to your Spear Mastery per skill level. +10% INT</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Poseidon''s Lure] - Legendary: Poseidon was associated positively with many animals, horses, bulls, and almost every single sea creature. As an heir to his son, your aura now releases a calming and charming effect on many beasts and almost all sea creatures. This skill draws animals to you and gives them a friendly disposition towards you and your species. +10% CHA</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Soul Stable] - Ancient: within your soul, you possess a stable where you may store your mounts until such a time you need them. All of your mount''s needs will be met in your [Soul Stable]. Any mount in your stable will be marked and can be summoned to your position from wherever the mount is in the world. (inter-dimensional realms may interfere with this effect.) You also gain a 1.25% boost to your riding mastery per skill level. (this does not affect skill level bonuses) </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Chimera Slayer] - Legendary: Beleraphone slayed the dread chimera, and now you have gained a portion of that power. Whenever you attack a creature with more than one type, you gain the [Slayer] buff for the second [Type], inflicting triple damage on your target.</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Luke immediately dismissed [Chimera Slayer] and [Poseidon''s Lure]. They didn''t offer any immediate benefits to his current problem. [Soul Stable] seemed semi-useful. However, the main benefits came from the mastery bonuses. The main effects, however, wouldn''t be redundant currently. [Molten Lead Lance], on the other hand, was exactly what he wanted right now; his six labors were great but too focused on defense instead of offense. It even used mana, which he had an overabundance of and no outlet for.


    He selected [Molten Lead Lance] for his second skill for [Heir of Beleraphone].


    "Does anyone have a spear for me?!" Luke called out.


    Duncan pulled out of the minivan and held it out the window like a jouster.


    "Will this do?" Duncan asked.


    Luke nudged Hope towards Duncan''s car, picked up the spear, and twirled it around with an ease he was pretty sure he hadn''t had thirty seconds ago and knew he hadn''t had four days ago.


    "Yeah, this will do," Luke said as the spear tip started to glow like a hot poker.


    At this point, the people on horses were weaving through the cars like a biker gang as they started to get up to around 50 mph. Luke was pretty sure horses shouldn''t be able to run this fast. But he also shouldn''t be capable of half of the things he had done over the last three days, so he did what he normally did nowadays and just ignored it.


    When the wargs started to close in on the caravan, they leaped through backyards and over cars with ease, allowing them to gain on them quickly.


    Sam, Travis, and anyone with a ranged attack started to open fire at the incoming orcs. Those on horseback tended to shoot wide, missing their marks entirely, while those in the vehicles had better luck.


    "Switch to fireballs and area of effect spells!!" Luke called out. "You don''t need to hit them. Just catch them in the blast!!"


    Travis launched a fireball, catching two wargs at the same time. The rest of the mages quickly followed suit, unleashing area-of-effect spells into the wargs. The warg riders immediately dispersed, making sure to avoid clumping together so as not to all get wiped out by a single spell.


    Luke assumed that Travis must have riding skills, as they were doing better than Gareth, who appeared to barely be holding on as his horse galloped beside Luke.


    "I am officially against mounted combat. Fighting should be done on the ground," Gareth grumbled as his horse snorted at him in amusement.


    Luke rolled his eyes.


    "LUKE!!" Travis called out. "We can''t keep this up forever!!"


    Luke quickly realized what he meant. The spells coming from the vehicles were already thinning out as the mages burned through their mana.


    "Get ready for mounted combat!!" Luke called out as the wargs closed in on them.


    "DIE!!" Gareth called out as he threw his ax.


    It flew through the air and slammed into the chest of one of the orcs faster than the eye could track. The orc was launched off his mount with enough force that he bounced when he hit the ground.


    "YES!!"


    Then the orcs Warg lept, and its jaws snapped around Gareth''s leg. The warg immediately started to savage Gareth''s leg, shaking its head back and forth.


    "FUCK" Gareth screamed in pain as he slammed a new axe he had gotten from somewhere into the warg flank over and over again.


    Luke was about to move to help his friend when he was intercepted by another orc. Luke raised his spear to block the orc''s sword, knocking it aside. To his surprise, he felt the [Sixth Labor] gain a charge from that. Apparently, that ability worked regardless of his weapon. That was good to know.


    Luke thrusted his spear outwards, trying to stab at the massive orc, only to be surprised when his own attack was deflected with ease. Luke struggled as his actions quickly devolved into a cacophony of actions. Parry, counter, block, parry, every one of his attacks was blocked as he defended himself from the orc.


    All the while, [Sixth Labor] kept charging, getting stronger and stronger. Then Luke felt a spike of fear from Hope, and his foot lashed out in a purely instinctively action. His foot slammed into the head of the warg just before it bit into Hope''s neck.


    In a mix of rage and fear, Luke activated [First Labor]. His spear grew, turning into something more like a ballista bolt as he stabbed at the warg. His spear punched into the warg''s body like an actual ballista bolt, going through the warg and anchoring it to the ground. The warg jerked to a stop, and the orc that had been riding it was sent flying as Luke pulled his spear from the warg.


    Fortunately, his weapon had been protected by his own ability. Unfortunately, there were more orcs.


    Luke raced up along the caravan, driving a burning spear into the back of an orc as it was moving towards one of the minivans.


    Luke didn''t give the notification any thought as he stabbed the warg with the burning spear tip. The warg snarled in outrage as it tried to get away from him. Luke stabbed the warg again and again until the overgrown wolf ran away from the caravan. Diving back into combat, Luke''s world devolved into a constant struggle of metal, meat, and notifications.


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 9>


    <...>


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Molten Lead Lance] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Molten Lead Lance] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Molten Lead Lance] has Reached Level 12>


    Luke didn''t know how long they had been fighting when there was a horrendous guttural screech. Luke looked up to see massive, grotesque birds descending on them from above as a familiar man with a scythe descended on them from above.


    "Frag," Luke muttered.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Demigod


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 985 / 1045


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2025


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1700


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 12.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 16.3 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 5.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 10%, Elemental 10%, Mental 8%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 10, Heir to Beleiraphone 3


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 157


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 57


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 85


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 71


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 85


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 27


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 74


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 14


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 143 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 52 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 78 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 65 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 78 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 26 +5%


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 65 +15%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary: Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    - [Power of the Sea God] - Level 1


    - [Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 6 >> Level 20


    - [Kin of Horses] - Level 7 >> Level 16


    - [Born Sailor] - Level 1


    - [Natural Born Leader] - Level 4 >> Level 16


    - [Master of Death] - Level 11 >> Level 16


    - [Greek Tragedy] - Level 10 >> Level 13


    - [Divine Assistance (Guide)] - ErR0R#4!!*!%!$


    - +5 STR per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots 11/60


    Personal Skills


    - [Endless Brawler] - Level 9 >> Level 15


    - [Storage] - Level 10


    - [Meditation] - Level 1


    Heir to Theseus 06/11


    - [First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippling Strike] - Level 15 >> Level 21


    - [Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 2 >> Level 19


    - [Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 11 >> Level 21


    - [Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 7 >> Level 18


    - [Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Level 10 >> Level 22


    - Capstone - [Sixth Labor: Procrustes Just Desserts] - Level 1 >> Level 20


    Heir to Bellerophon 2/6


    - [Legacy of Misfortune] - Level 2


    - [Molten Lead Lance] - Level 1 >> Level 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 49: Lukes Expedition â…¥

    Luke cursed helplessly as the man named Graves unleashed a hail of fireballs down on the caravan.


    "SHIELDS UP," Duncan called out.


    Immediately, dozens of glowing magical shields popped up around the vehicles. The fireballs impacted the shields, waves of fire washing over them all. Luke felt the sudden change from the biting cold winds to blistering heat as the hair on his arm burned. Hope cried out, terrified as she tried to move away from the flames.


    "Shoot them down." Sam''s voice cut through the chaos as she unleashed an arrow directly into the murder of undead crows.


    Luke was distracted as [Third Labor] went off. Spinning around, he blocked an orc''s attack with his spear. Smacking the attack away, Luke stabbed into the orc''s chest, his spear tip catering to the wound as he shoved it into the orc''s heart.


    "Duncan!! This guy is a beta-tester. Any ideas!? Duncan?!"


    WOOOSH


    Luke turned around just in time to see a gout of fire shooting out of Duncan''s hands and into the swarm of undead crows. But what really surprised him was that Travis was standing on the roof of the van, motioning to Graves to come at him.


    "How the hell are you doing that?" Luke asked in astonishment as he kicked the warg away.


    "Using magic to make my feet stick to the roof," Duncan shouted over the whistling wind as he launched another burst of fire into the undead crows.


    "HELP!!!" Duncan screamed.


    Luke turned around, finding Duncan no longer in the vehicle but hanging on to it for dear life as two undead crows tried to pull him out.


    Giving Hope a nudge, Luke slowed down, coming abreast with Duncan. His spear shot out, impaling the side of one of the attacking crows.


    The bird didn''t even react as it started to burn, but that was fine with Luke. Swinging his spear around, he slammed the bird he had impaled on his spear into the remaining crow. The two crows were knocked to the ground quickly, and the minivan behind them ran over them.


    Luke reached down, grabbing Duncan and pulling him up so he could resaddle his horse.


    "I officially hate this," Duncan muttered as he tried to get back into the car.


    Luke looked around them. The undead birds were attacking the minivans and the mounted combatants indiscriminately. Graves didn''t seem to be distinguishing between the orcs and humans. Instead, he was just trying to kill everyone.


    "Keep the birds away from the vans!" Luke warned as he skewered a third bird as it tried to descend on them. We need to keep the fighting away from the caravan!"


    Luke raced over to one of the vans being attacked. The children inside were screaming as the bird ripped and tore at the roof of the van. Luke stood up in the saddle, stabbing the bird with his spear before pulling the bird off the roof and flinging it to the ground. The crow screeched as its bones shattered and was then turned into road kill by the minivan behind him.


    He rode over to where an orc was trying to reach into one of the van windows, and he hamstrung the warg''s back legs. The orc''s mount collapsed, leaving the orc clinging to the window. Luke shoved the spear tip into the orc''s side, piercing the orc''s heart and killing him instantly.


    A scream tour through the cold winds, causing him to look up just in time to see one of the horses get their throat torn out by a warg, and the rider, Gareth, was sent tumbling onto the frozen road. Without a thought, Luke all but fell out of his saddle as he leaned over to catch the man''s collar as they rode past him.


    "Hazay, I''m saved," Gareth cheered as Luke strained to pull him upwards.


    With a grunt and a shove, Luke tossed Gareth through the minivan''s broken window, throwing the heavily armored paladin into the passenger''s seat.


    "What the fuck?" the people inside screamed as a man was tossed inside.


    "Take care of him!!!" Luke called out as he charged towards the Warg rider who had killed one of his horses.


    He charged forward, stabbing forward with his spear. The orc blocked his strike with his shield. The wooden circle was blackened as his incandescent spear tip impacted the surface.


    The orc knocked aside his spear and tried to stab him. Luke brought the butt of his spear around and knocked away the blade. He then brought around his spear, the burning tip, scouring a nasty hit across the orc''s sword arm. The blazing tip caused the orc to drop its sword with a snarl.


    The orc warg tried to jump up to bite him when he was off balance. Then Hope moved. She pulled them both back from the Warg, then leaned down and bit the Warg, tearing out a chunk of flesh from the Warg''s neck.


    "What the fuck?!" Luke asked, staring at what he thought was a peaceful animal.


    Was the system turning even the horses into bloodthirsty monsters? Hope didn''t give him much time to process the information before she leaned back in, taking another bite out of the Warg''s neck even as the orc tried to stop it.


    The orc broke off from Luke, turning away from the stunned Luke and a blood-soaked Hope.


    "You aren''t going to try and eat me, are you?" Luke asked.


    Hope whinnied something at him that sounded like, ''Of course not.''


    The orcs retreated as the undead started to swarm the caravan.


    Luke had to block and attack as one of the undead crows tried to scratch his eyes out. Grabbing the bird''s claw, he tossed the bird under one of the minivans, turning it into roadkill.


    He looked around, trying to find the next fight, when he found Graves. The edge lord was standing on the roof of the leading van, facing off against Travis. The two beta-testers showed off what actual mastery of the system could unlock, and even Luke had to admit he was out of his league compared to those two.


    Graves wasn''t just faster than Travis. His movements were savage, and each attack was aimed at being lethal. The guy was constantly moving, dancing on top of the roof of the car like a madman as his scythe spun around his body like a windmill. The weapon itself seemed to glow with ghostly echoes, with faces and hands pressed against the inside of the metal, as if the scythe were a pane of glass looking into purgatory. If he wasn''t so cringy, Graves might have looked like death incarnate.


    Travis, on the other hand, was just better. He was a bit slower, but he made up for it with the ability to teleport. Any time Graves started to gain the advantage, Travis would just teleport out of the way and attack him from the rear.


    Travis was also a lot stronger than Graves. His blows sent Graves staggering backwards while he didn''t move at all. It took Luke a moment to realize that it wasn''t just stats but skill. Travis was anticipating and predicting Graves''s moves.


    Every time Graves attacked, his scythe missed Travis by the barest of margins, almost looking like Graves had been trying to miss. More than that, every time Travis dodged, he counterattacked, his sword blasting with flame and lighting strikes as he anticipated Graves'' movements and got closer and closer to a direct hit.


    Luke quickly realized what he was looking at. While Graves was an example of the power someone could get from the system, Travis the lizard wizard was an example of what someone could be when they mastered the system. This was a battle of stats vs. skill, and right now, that fight was an effective stalemate as the two beta testers danced around each other.


    "Why can''t you just all die." Graves shouted as he swung at Travis''s head.


    "This is a refugee caravan, you dolt. We have kids with us. I understand that you might want to edge lord, but you realize that this is really right?" Travis shouted as he launched a burst of fire towards his face. "No respawn, no making a new character. Hell, we got kids here!!"


    Graves sneered as he brought his scythe down, ripping through the roof of the minivan.


    "Of course, I know this is real; that''s what makes this great!" Graves said, a purple aura starting to grow around his body. "I can kill whoever I want, and they stay dead. And I am going to enjoy killing each and every one of you!!!"Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Travis''s reptilian blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "You actually want the infamy titles. You ssick fuck. You actually want the Child Murderer title? The Butcher of Humanity? Serial Killer? That''s what you want to be?!"


    "Of course. Blood for the blood god and skulls for the skull throne," Graves laughed like a madman as he leapt up into the air, his black wings snapping outwards to keep him aloft as he pointed his scythe down at Travis''s mana gathering at its head.


    Luke didn''t need his skills to know what would happen next. Nore, was he going to wait? Now that Graves was away from Travis, he could attack. Flipping his spear up into a javelin position, he activated both the [First Labor], [Sixth Labor], and [Molten Lead Lance]. His spear quickly turned into the ballista shape, energy from [Sixth Labor] causing the orange construction to hum with power as [Molten Lead-lance] swallowed his entire mana pool, turning the entire thing into a bomb. No, scratch that. He was holding a God''s damned missile in his hand now. With all his strength and minimal skill, Luke launched his attack. The first sign something was wrong was when his abilities forced his arm to move. It yanked his arm forward with more force than he could take as his skills pushed the javelin to its maximum speed. There was a sickening crack as he felt his right arm break under the force of his own throw. He cradled his arm as he watched The Javelin streaked through the air towards its target like an actual missile straight into Grave''s undefended backside.


    BOOOOOOOM


    Luke realized then that calling it a missile had been accurate, painfully so. The blast shattered the nearby windows. The heat and pressure nearly knocked Luke off of his horse, and the blast left spots in Luke''s vision as molten lead splashed onto the asphalt.


    "What the fuck was that?!" Sam''s voice cut through the ringing in Luke''s ear.


    Luke looked around for Graves but was distracted as all of the undead crows fell out of the sky as if they had all had their strings cut. Luke looked around, finding they were finally free of attacks.


    <Level Up!!>


    <Level Up!!>


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 18>


    ¡­


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 20>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 22>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Fourth Labor] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Fourth Labor] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Sixth Labor] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Sixth Labor] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Molten Lead Lance] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Molten Lead Lance] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Molten Lead Lance] has Reached Level 15>


    "We''ve Won!" Gareth called out.


    Luke let out a whoop, and then a house they had passed exploded.


    "God dammit!" Luke swore as Graves shot out of the rubble, his black wings snapping outwards ominously. Luke braced, ready for another fight, then Graves turned and flew away at top speed.


    "What the hell?!" Luke wondered. "Why?! How the hell did he even survive that?!"


    "Bloodline of the Corpse Eating Maggot!" Travis called back.


    Luke and Sam rode up near the van Travis was standing on.


    Travis wasn''t nearly as uninjured as Luke had thought. His body was littered with small cuts, and his clothes were stained with blood as he looked like he was ready to pass out.


    "He has a bloodline!" Travis called out over the whipping wind.


    It was a struggle to talk while the horses galloped to keep pace with the vehicles, but it was doable, especially as the horses seemed to be gaining abilities to increase their top speed.


    "What do you mean?" Luke called out over the wind.


    "That man has the Bloodline of the Corpse-Eating Maggot," Travis explained. "It''s a common choice for necromancers because one of its effects is the ability to displace damage to their undead. That''s why when you threw that javelin at him, all of the birds died. They took all of the damage for him, and he just needed to deal with the secondary effects like getting knocked out of the sky."


    Sam turned on her horse to look at him in stunned silence.


    "You did that? How? That thing looked like a god''s damned missile."


    Luke gave a pained shrug. "I combined [First Labor], [Sixth Labor], and my newest perk, [Molten Lead Lance]. I think I broke my arm in the attempt, though."


    "You need more endurance. It''s a short-term problem. Good combo, though. On any non-Beta tester, it would have been lethal. At this level, at least." Travis said


    "Wait a minute. Are you saying you could survive an attack like that?" Sam asked, amazed.


    "No, of course not. Taking a direct hit from that attack would have killed me," Travis said with a twinkle in his eye. Luke got the hint that he would actually need to hit Travis in order to kill him. As they moved out of Newton and towards Surrey, Travis let out a sign.


    "You know, for all the horrors of this new world, I really do love it," Travis chuckled as they rode onwards to the Awoken myths guild.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Demigod


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 985 / 1045


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2020


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1700


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 12.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 16.3 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 5.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths Member


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 10.5%, Elemental 10.5%, Mental 9%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 10, Heir to Beleiraphone 3, 2 Unassigned


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 156


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 57


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 85


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 71


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 85


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 27


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 74


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 14


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 142 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 52 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 78 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 65 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 78 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 26 +5%


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 65 +15%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary: Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    - [Power of the Sea God] - Level 1


    - [Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 20 >> Level 21


    - [Kin of Horses] - Level 16 >> Level 20


    - [Born Sailor] - Level 1


    - [Natural Born Leader] - Level 16 >> Level 18


    - [Master of Death] - Level 16 >> Level 17


    - [Greek Tragedy] - Level 13 >> Level 14


    - [Divine Assistance (Guide)] - ErR0R#4!!*!%!$


    - +5 STR per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots 11/60


    Personal Skills


    - [Endless Brawler] - Level 15


    - [Storage] - Level 10


    - [Meditation] - Level 1


    Heir to Theseus 06/11


    - [First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippling Strike] - Level 21 >> Level 23


    - [Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 19 >> Level 20


    - [Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 21


    - [Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 18 >> Level 20


    - [Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Level 22


    - Capstone - [Sixth Labor: Procrustes Just Deserts] - Level 20 >> Level 22


    Heir to Bellerophon 2/6


    - [Legacy of Misfortune] - Level 2


    - [Molten Lead Lance] - Level 12 >> Level 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 50: Refugees and Reunion

    Tom signed as they drove back towards Hopkins. They had spent the entire day going from one settlement to the next, killing the lair boss and clearing out the regular monsters. Not to say it hadn''t been worth it. They had all reached level 20 and had gotten a not-small mountain of skill experience.


    <[Pro-Gamer] Class has Reached Level 2>


    <[Pro-Gamer] Class has Reached Level 3>


    <[Pro-Gamer] Class has Reached Level 4>


    <[Tactician] Class has Reached Level 2>


    <[Tactician] Class has Reached Level 3>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 29>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 30>


    <[Words Will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Words Will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 22>


    <...>


    <[Words Will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 28>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 29>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Earth Arts] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Earth Arts] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Earth Arts] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Water Arts] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Water Arts] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Water Arts] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Nascent Guild Leader] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Nascent Guild Leader] has Reached Level 13>


    <...>


    <[Nascent Guild Leader] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Leadership ¢ò] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Leadership ¢ò] has Reached Level 18>


    <...>


    <[Leadership ¢ò] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 17>


    <...>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has Reached Level 12>


    <...>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Logistics ¢ò] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Logistics ¢ò] has Reached Level 14>


    <...>


    <[Logistics ¢ò] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Spell Trap] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Spell Trap] has Reached Level 3>


    Unfortunately, this was also likely to be the end of their leveling frenzy. Grabbing ten levels was relatively easy¡ªmost people could do it in a day. Level twenty took maybe an extra week if they took it easy. But after that, anyone who wasn''t actually trying to level would start to stagnate. Pushing up to level thirty would take actual work and effort, giving them a chance to raise their skill levels.


    Tom was going to take some time tonight to combine his [Scribe] and [Pro-gamer] classes into the [Exorcist] Class.


    Tom looked back at the Major and the rest of his group. The police, swat, and turnout gear looked like it was going to fall apart. The actual people looked ready to pass out and were covered in blood and gore. Some of them needed to be resurrected during their excursion today, and all of them had needed major healing at one point or another. On the plus side, they were all at least level 10 now. So, he considered this to be an acceptable form of training for them. Of course, they would have been at a higher level if they hadn''t insisted on going in groups of ten. At least Major Adams had grabbed a leadership class. Of course, it would have been better if he had picked [Second Lieutenant] and focused on upgrading that instead of jumping straight to [Major]. More upgrades. But the situation was what it was.


    And that was to say nothing of the loot.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Settlement Assets


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Awoken Myths</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Demon Lord Blood - (Historic)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Arnolds Millstone - (Rare)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Purifying Onsen - (Epic)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Enchanting Table - (Rare)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Mana Converter - (Rare)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pit Aerna - (Rare)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">The Deep Miners Crafting Table - (Historic)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Dreamers Pillows - (Historic)</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Museum </li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ancient Skeleton - (Ancient) </li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Race Track </li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Luxurious Stable - (Rare)</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">YMCA</li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Basic Bathhouse - (Uncommon)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Refreshing Spa - (Epic)</li>


    </ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cineplex Cinema </li>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Illusion Chamber - (Historic)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Media Centre - (Epic)</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    ¡­</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    They had also gathered a bunch of other settlement loot. Unfortunately, those items were a mix of redundant, too dangerous to use, too incompatible with his long-term plans, or just too low quality to justify the expense of using them. He had already decided that all of the rooms needed to be at least in the (Historic) rarity. So he was going to sell them all back to the system for a giant pile of settlement points.


    He already had seven hundred and four settlement points from the last two levels up, so now he could actually fix up some of the settlement. When they arrived at Hopkins, Tom was surprised. The parking lot was stuffed full of cars, and he thought he could see horses milling around as well. He could also see people in chainmail walking around with moonstone spears.


    "What the hell is going on now?" Tom wondered aloud. "I know we didn''t get invaded; I would have gotten a notification."


    As they stopped the car, Abaddon got out first, covering them as they approached the group of armed and armored men at the front entrance. Major Adams and the rest of his team also approached with their guns at the ready but pointed downwards. None were threatening, but they were ready for a fight.


    "Who are you guys?!" Abaddon asked as he towered over the guys in armor.


    Despite Tom''s expectations of Abaddon intimidating the shit out of them, the guards in armor only seemed mildly rattled.


    "Um, we''re the larpers from Newton. Are you people, Lance, Alex, Skippy, and Abaddon?" the guard asked.


    Abaddon cracked his knuckles as Skippy, Alex, and Tom got ready for a fight.


    "Who''s asking?" Tom asked.


    "The bloody asshole who maintains your gear, you filthy animals!!" the familiar voice of Coffee House, Duncan, called out.


    Tom''s eyes went wide as the large man with blond hair and glasses walked out of the school, followed by the familiar form, Travis, the Lizard Wizard.


    "Dudes, you''re alive!" Abaddon cheered as he hugged both Travis and Duncan, lifting the two guys in a bear hug like they weighed nothing.


    Major Adams and his men relaxed.


    "Tom," Major Admas began. Are you okay with us leaving you guys for now? The Newton precinct is calling for all of the first responders and anyone with any militia experience to call in. We need to go if for no other reason than to share with them what you told us. Are you sure you can deal with this?"


    "Yeah, we''ll be fine, Major. Duncan''s a friend. We''ve been playing Legend of Noralon together for almost six years."


    "Well, Abaddon, I''m glad to see you''ve joined the ranks of scaled superiority," Travis said as he patted Abaddon on the shoulder.


    "Let''s get inside first," Skippy said. "We have been clearing settlements all day, and I need a warm meal."


    Major Adams and the rest of his team turned and left as Tom''s group moved inside.


    Duncan & Travis gave them all a proper look over their eyes, nearly popping out of his skull as he examined his old guild mates.


    "Um, sure, skippy. Oh, add us to the guild." Duncan said.


    Tom added Duncan and Travis to the guild without a thought as they wandered inside. Hopkins was getting crowded at this point, but he could smell food. He started to explain to Duncan what had happened.


    "We went through character creation on November 30th. The character creation was a little weird, stuck on hard mode bullshit. We got some free stuff, [Storage], [Mapping], [System Wiki], and a [System Token]. The tutorial was also rigged. It was set up for pro players, but I''m not sure if anyone who didn''t play Noralon hardcore could have survived that. On the plus side, we got a ton of settlement loot from the tutorial. When we beat the tutorial, we blacked out and woke up on December 1st, and we woke up as our characters." Tom said with a shrug. "What about you guys?"


    "Well, as you know, I stopped playing The Legend of Noralon a while ago to focus on my engineering courses. I woke up on December 1st with the notification that the world was a system now, blah, blah, blah. Despite not having logged in, I woke up in character creation, picked up human, used [System Token], and picked up the Bloodline of the Arn Battle Cyborg." Duncan said.


    Tom didn''t remember the bloodline, so he brought up the information with his own bloodline. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline of the Arn Battle Cyborg - Legendary


    Your ancestors were part of the great Arn Empire as a front-line Battle Cyborg. These cyborgs were not only devastating shock troops, but their ability to self-repair and self-improve Transformed them into one of the most adaptable, durable warriors in the galaxy. It also led to the fall of the Arn Empire when their cyborgs rebelled.


    - [Kitchen Sink]: allow the user to imbue mana into any object or even your hands. Increase the power of all mana through the hands by 1% per skill level. Grants an increase to all martial masteries equal to 1.25% per skill level.


    - [Upgrade]: enhances your crafting mastery, increasing proficiency by 1.25% per skill level. When this skill is activated, it provides a chance to upgrade an item''s quality by one level, calculated as your luck stat multiplied by 0.001% per skill level, though failure results in the item''s disintegration. This upgrade effect has a chance to activate during any crafting session equal to your luck stat multiplied by 0.0001% per skill level.


    - [Techno-path]: grants you the unique ability to communicate with machines, allowing you to understand their functions and states intuitively. You can ''feel'' the presence and condition of nearby technology as if it were an extension of your own senses and even capable of taking remote control of technology with your mind. Increase the range and power of this skill by 5% per skill level.


    - [Machine Mind]: enhances your cognitive abilities, allowing you to focus on tasks without distraction while allowing you to reduce pain by up to 1% per skill level. It also enables you to speed up your perception of time by 5% per skill level, consuming one mana per second of perceived time. Additionally, this skill provides a safeguard against external intrusions, preventing detection by divination magic of any skill below its level. Lastly, it offers a 0.5% resistance to mental effects per skill level.


    - [Machine Learning]: enhances your skill experience by 2% per skill level, allowing you to learn from your mistakes and never repeating them. This skill also incorporates predictive learning, enabling you to anticipate and adapt to challenges more effectively over time.


    - [Work Horse]: Increase all stats by 1% per skill level when crafting


    - [War Horse]: Increase all stats by 1% per skill level when in combat


    - [Nanite Heart]: Convert your HP into nanites, which can be used to enhance crafting, providing a 1.25% bonus to all crafting-related activities when utilizing nanites. These nanites can repair physical or mental damage, though they do not restore HP directly. This skill also grants the user the Secondary Type [Artificial]


    - +5 STR per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Anyway, I went back to basics, grabbed [Arcane Awakening], and then gave myself the [Settler] class." Duncan kept talking, snapping Tom out of his musings.


    "Not very useful in a fight." Alex pointed out.


    Duncan shrugged. "It worked out for me."


    "Hold on a second. I thought you weren''t going to be online for the tutorial, but you got the beta-tester title. Did you go online?" Tom asked.


    "Nope," Duncan said, shaking his head. "I went to bed and woke up in character creation. I couldn''t log out, so I just played the game."


    "Ok, so what? Anyone who played the legend of noralon ended up in the tutorial?" Alex asked.


    "Looks like it," Tom said.


    "Well, there is one thing that''s different," Travis cut in. "I was awake, passed out when the clock struck twelve and showed up in character creation. I used my token for the Bloodline of Ether Wyrm."


    "Ow, wow, what a surprise!" Tom said sarcastically. "You''ve only taken that bloodline every single time for the past five years."


    Despite his screen name as the Lizard Wizard, Travis was not actually a proper Wizard. His preferred playstyle was an [Arch Magus]. He would dump most of his mana for heavy-duty attacks up front, and then he would get in close and use [Mana leech] to rapidly recharge before teleporting back and nuking his target again and then starting the entire process all over again. Because he was so in love with his own style of fighting, he had found a perfect bloodline for him. The Ether Wyrm Ate magic. Like bite into a ley line and suck on it. Tom suddenly realized his mind was wandering and returned to the conversation at hand.


    "We had goblins spawning at the university grounds, and people were freaking out. Duncan and I were pushed to limit keeping them alive." Travis said. "Do you know how hard it is to fight without a tank?"


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Regional Quest: Bloody Goblin Horde


    The Sanguine Monarch has been defeated, the bloodstone captured, and the portal destroyed. While your actions today might not be called a total victory due to the thousands of goblins roaming through the area and two goblin chiefs you failed to kill, you have, nevertheless, ended the threat of further goblin incursions into this part of the world.


    Objectives:


    ???


    ???


    Bonus Objectives:


    Kill all of the Goblins: ?????


    ???


    Kill Seraphel: 0/1


    Kill Goblin Shaman: 1/1


    ???


    ???


    Rewards:


    2 Levels for everyone involved, Bonus XP for Everyone, a Title: Goblin Killer, 5000 Settlement Points, Winter Event Guild Token


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "A regional quest?" Tom asked.


    "Yeah," Duncan said. "We''ve all got it. I''m guessing we''re in competition with the Goblins for the area. Hence the quest."


    "Great," Tom groaned. "Now we have more shit to do."


    Further discussion was halted as Luke''s party walked up to them.


    "Good to see you''re back," Luke said.


    "What is Luke doing here?" Tom asked as his friends also sat down. Except for Abaddon and Skippy, those two immediately headed towards the school cafeteria.


    "Luke actually found us and about two thousand larpers," Duncan said, placing a hand on Luke''s shoulder.


    "We went looking for our friend Issac''s body. We got attacked by monsters and ended up near Duncan''s group." Luke said, clearly hiding something.


    "He was critical in helping us get everyone out, and more importantly, he gave us your address. But we can talk about that later. Right now, I want to talk about goblins," Duncan said.


    "How bad," Tom asked.


    "We got pushed around a lot until we ended up at a high school near Highway 10. We got waves of a couple hundred goblins," Duncan explained sullenly. The goblins were gathering slaves at that point, and we dug in and tried to save as many people as we could. We mostly ended up with a lot of kids who managed to hide from the first wave of raiders."


    "We found some escaped slaves from Kwantlen," Alex said. "Mostly women. According to them, the two other beta-testers who attacked us attacked Kwantlin as well. A lot of slaves used the opportunity to escape."


    "That''s great!! We had to accommodate so many people when we left that I was afraid we wouldn''t see anyone again," Duncan said quietly.


    "Unfortunately, we don''t know where most of them are. We''ve only been getting small groups since I set up the beacon. Speaking of how did you get so many followers?" Tom asked nervously.


    "They call themselves the larpers. These are people who played a lot of video games, DnD, or just read system apocalypse stories before this all happened. So when the notifications appeared, they knew what to do. Duncan and I were the tentative leaders, though I suspect that may change in the future now that we aren''t under constant attack." Travis started. "Speaking of which, we have a problem. The goblins are well on their way to conquering Newton."


    "What?!" Tom asked in astonishment. "According to Penny, they didn''t have any shamen or even a troll. How are they conquering Newton?"


    "When we were still in Newton, an albino drow showed up. His name was Seraphel. I only know that from identity. He didn''t say a word, but he was good, very good. He would have killed me if we didn''t outnumber him the two times we fought. On top of that, the first time I met him, he had a bloodstone and was able to rally the goblins into pushing us out. I don''t know where the trolls, shamans, and orcs came from, but the larpers started encountering them the next day. I trust you can understand what I''m suggesting."


    Tom felt like his heart was encased in ice as everything clicked together.


    "Um, I don''t. What are we talking about?" Luke asked, completely confused.


    Alex also understood; her face was a cold mask as the realization came to her.


    "What Duncan is suggesting is that the lair boss for Kwantlin was this Seraphel. And he somehow brought a bloodstone with him, which he is now using to summon not only more goblins but also orcs, trolls, and shamans from his place of origin." Tom said


    An all too familiar Ding accompanied his words!


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Regional Quest: Bloody Goblin Horde


    The Sanguine Monarch has been defeated, the bloodstone captured, and the portal destroyed. While your actions today might not be called a total victory due to the thousands of goblins roaming through the area and two goblin chiefs you failed to kill, you have, nevertheless, ended the threat of further goblin incursions into this part of the world.


    Objectives:


    Destroy the Gate 0/1


    Capture or Destroy the Bloodstone 0/1


    Bonus Objectives:


    Kill all of the Goblins: ?????


    ???


    Kill Seraphel: 0/1


    Kill Goblin Shaman: 1/1


    ???


    ???


    Rewards:


    2 Levels for everyone involved, Bonus XP for Everyone, a Title: Goblin Killer, 5000 Settlement Points, Winter Event Guild Token


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "And there''s the confirmation, this is bad, very bad," Tom said.


    "Perhaps we should summon Major Adams?" Alex suggested. "Let him deal with it."


    "He just left to go to the Newton precinct," Tom muttered. "See if any of the cops here will go after him or, better yet, call 911, do whatever you have to do to warn them."


    Alex quickly opened up her phone and started snapping off texts.


    "Do we finally have a council set up?" Tom asked.


    "We should be able to manage something the others have been going through our population and seeing who''s interested and who can do the job, though, with the addition of the larpers, we may need to do some additional shuffling," Alex said.


    "Gather whoever you need, and make sure to grab Penny and her friend. We might as well deal with some internal settlement development at the same time. Duncan, Travis, Grab anyone you trust or has skills a new settlement might need as well. We can meet up in the library to discuss our options. We meet up in thirty minutes. I want to get some food before we do this," Tom said.


    Alex nodded. "Alright, I''ll micromanager this shit."


    Luke was about to follow but spoke up.


    "Duncan didn''t mention this, but we''ve got a lot of dead people in our inventories. When can we expect them to be brought back?"


    Tom signed: "I''ll start the mass confirmation after the meeting. Make sure to remind me and inform everyone who has any dead in their inventory to wait in the large gymnasium."


    Luke nodded and wandered off.


    Skippy and Abaddon finally came back with the food. Tonight, it was an entire mountain of cheeseburgers on three separate trays. They were clearly from some fast food restaurant, but Tom didn''t care right now.


    He grabbed one of the burgers off of one of Abaddon''s trays and started eating, shivering in pleasure as the grease touched his tongue.


    "What was that all about?" Skippy asked.


    "Kwantlin is overrun with goblins, and we were going to have a council meeting," Tom said as he snatched his own dinner from their pile.


    "First event of the new expansion?" Skippy asked.


    "Pretty much," Tom said as he bit into his burger. I wonder how Chloe''s doing?


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1000


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4000


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 18.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 24.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 58% Soul 34%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 3, Scribe 3, Pro-gamer 4


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 28 >> Level 30[Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 20 >> Level 25[Library of Akashic Records] - Level 21[Universal] - Level 18[Wordsmith] - Level 24[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 34[Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 16 >> Level 17[Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11[Soul Forge] - Level 25+5 PER per level+5 INT per level</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 4


    Personal Skills


    [Analyze Person] - Level 22[Best of Both Worlds] - Level 12[Art of Water] - Level 11 >> Level 14[Art of Earth] - Level 11 >> Level 14[Teacher] - Level 9


    Augur 07/16


    [Augurs Eye] - Level 7[Bright Arts] - Level 25 >> Level 27[Art of Life] - Level 20[Prophetic Meditation] - Level 36[Far Seeing] - Level 17Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 14[Quest Giver] - Level 1


    Tactician 05/6


    [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 11 >> Level 22[Leadership ¢ò] - Level 16 >> Level 24[Raider ¢ñ] - Level 15 >> Level 20[Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 10 >> Level 21[Logistics ¢ó] - Level 12 >> Level 19


    Pro-Gamer 01/11


    [Spell Trap] - Level 1 >> Level 4[Empty]


    Scribe 01/6


    [Contract] - Level 9[Empty]</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 51: Council Meeting

    Tom entered the library. The destroyed sections had been swept into a corner, while bean bags and chairs had been placed in a large circle in the center of the room. The first thing he noticed, however, was Duncan.


    Duncan sat holding Eve firmly as he kissed the top of her head. Eve, who looked like she had been crying, was clinging to him so tightly that Tom was surprised Duncan wasn''t taking damage. Tom raised an eyebrow quietly at his friend.


    "Do you two know each other?" Tom asked.


    Duncan winced. "Tom, this is Eve, my girlfriend. We got separated when the goblins attacked. I''m just glad you''re alive."


    "ME?! You''re the one who ran off to fight those things!!" Eve shot back, punching him.


    "Ow," Duncan said. "I said I''m sorry!!"


    "Jerk," Eve said as she punched him again. "The next time you do something that stupid, I''m putting laxatives in your tea for a week!!!"


    Tom decided not to intervene as Eve started in on Duncan.


    Tom sat down on one of the bean bags next to Travis as he looked around the circle of people around him. He had some of Alex''s administrators, mostly Hanze, along with Eve, who was apparently the closest thing they had to a doctor, Duncan as the lead craftsman. Penny by popular vote. Luke, Sam, and Gareth were in here for some reason. A couple of random people, a few members of the Larpers, Alex, Skippy, and Abbadon. He reflected that Major Adams and his group were the only people missing from this meeting.


    Alex spoke to him silently. "I managed to reach the Newton Precinct and warned them about the bloodstone, Seraphel, and the Trolls. But I couldn''t reach the Major."


    "Well, shit. Guess we''re starting without them." Tom sighed.


    Tom got everyone''s attention by banging his coffee mug on the table like a gavel.


    ¡°All right, let¡¯s bring this council meeting to order. This is our first, admittedly informal meeting of the Council of Hopkins.¡±


    People just looked at him blankly.


    "Let''s start with the Intros. We''re going to go around this circle, and everyone is going to identify themselves, what they do, and why they are here. Then, we have several issues to discuss. I''ll start. I''m Thomas Bruner, the Guild Leader of Awoken Myths, a healer and a Beta-tester."


    Tom looked to his left.


    "I''m Alex, I''m a beta-tester, I''m a [wizard] and one of the original founders of Awoken Myths, and I''m currently doing the Admin for Hopkins. It sucks," Alex said, not even getting up.


    That earned a nod from the beta testers, who saw her mentioning her class as a good move.


    "Hello, my name is Eve. I''m in charge of the ¡­ medical team. I''ve completed pre-med at Kwantlen, and according to Duncan, I also have the perfect affinities for a life mage and am already a [Biomancer]." She said this as she settled back down next to Duncan.


    "My name is Samatha North, but my friends just call me Sam. My friend here is Luke, and we''re apparently in charge of the scavenging crew. I also have the [Treasure Hunter] class," Sam said.


    That surprised Tom a little; it was not that Sam would be useful but that she had volunteered to be in charge.


    "Will Thawyne, I''m currently the head cook for the kitchens. Yes, I''ve heard the joke a hundred times. I''m also in charge of our food supplies," Will said.


    Tom recognized the guy as one of the people he had resurrected the previous day.


    "Joey Mack, I''ve been asked to oversee the kids who want to hunt. My qualifications are all informal. I''ve been a backwoodsman all my life. Before this, I actually owned a restaurant where I hunted and cooked wild game for my customers."


    The next person was Alex''s assistant, Hanze, a lawyer both in class and presystem.


    Abbadon, Traivs, Skippy, and Duncan all introduced themselves as founders of Awoken Myths. Travis and Duncan both represented the interests of the Larpers on the council. Tom would have thought there would have been a conflict of interest, but apparently, the larpers were comfortable with them in charge. However, they admitted that most, if not all, of the Larpers would be joining the guild based on Duncan''s suggestion and Tom''s promise of resurrection of their fallen.


    Luke, Sam, Gareth, and Penny had no real reason to be here, but they were respected enough for their actions that no one tried to kick them out. After that, things got more interesting.


    Tom turned his head towards Alex. "Nobody for the Foundry or the Cauldron?" he asked, confused.


    Alex shook her head. "We have like one person in the foundry who might be able to run it. Unfortunately, he''s one of only three people who have used that room so far, so I thought it would be better to hold off until we had a larger selection of candidates. As for alchemists, no one actually knows how to make potions yet."


    Tom shrugged. He was annoyed they didn''t have someone to represent the crafters, but he couldn''t really argue with her point. He would need to spend some time setting those up, especially if he was going to add more special rooms.


    Tom sat back in his chair and picked up his tablet to resume his talk. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve got a list of items to discuss that¡¯s going to take several days to go through. I don''t even know how long we''ll be able to use electronics, so try to make the batteries last."


    Once he got confirmation, he moved on to the meeting properly.


    "Alright, I think we need to discuss two main topics for today''s meeting. That''s what we need for our immediate future: the goblins and spending the settlement points. Also, if you have any questions, concerns, or issues that all of you will want to bring up later, is that alright?" Tom asked as he looked around the table.


    "Before that," Sam cut into the conversation. I would like to know what exactly we can expect for the future. With all of the craziness, we haven''t really dealt with what having a system actually means."


    "I agree. Most of our population is on the younger side. Right now, the shock, and let''s face it, the novelty of the situation, is keeping everyone distracted. But I''m expecting a lot of anxiety, anger, fear, and depression over the next little while," Eve said.


    "Oh my god," Tom groaned as he tried to re-explain this situation again.


    "I''m not looking for the Legend of Noralon speech," Sam cut him off. "At this point, we''ve all heard that speech, no offense. What I want to know is what having the system, dungeons, Monster, and everything else actually means. Could we go back to the way things were? What is the long-term purpose of this council? What are the chances that the government will step in and solve these problems?" Sam asked.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    "Oh yeah, I guess I see your point. Here''s the thing ---" Tom was cut off as Skippy spoke up.


    "We have no idea what''s going to happen!" Skippy spat out.


    Everyone just stared at him.


    "What?! The Legend of Noralon was a fucking fantasy game, and we didn''t have any of the shit we do now. I mean guns, nukes, the internet, we have no idea how this is all going to interact with Magic. Between that and the fucking level of dungeon monsters has been steadily increasing. We have a fucking goblin horde in Newton. There are two beta-testers treating this like it''s still a game and killing fucking anything that moves, and there is a god damned frost Wyvern in the area that could wipe us all out on its lonesome. So when you say everything is going to be fine, I don''t know what shit you''re smoking, but I want some." Skippy shot back


    Travis did a spit-take.


    "Wyvern in the area?" he asked.


    "Yeah, we''re pretty fucked." Alex admitted.


    "Even if none of that wasn''t a problem, we also have all of humanity gaining levels and becoming more dangerous." Skippy pointed out.


    "Yeah, ok, when you put it like that, it sounds bad, and as levels increase, it''s only going to get worse, but we can keep ahead of the problem. You don''t need to fight monsters to get stronger; you can get experience for using the class as intended. When we took Hopkins, it was for the express purpose of building a home for ourselves in the new world, and that is what we are doing," Tom said, trying to steer the conversation away from the wyvern.


    At their level, They couldn''t do anything about that monster. Even making preparations would be a waste of time until they at least hit level 30.


    "So ¡­ it''s an actual apocalypse?" Penny asked.


    "Not quite," Duncan began as he took notes of the conversation. The mana levels are anemic at this point, but as it builds up, the problems will start to multiply. The real danger will be proportional to how close we are to a ley line. Unfortunately, we don''t know where the ley lines are. Some parts of the world will be better off than us. Some will be worse. We could be lucky and be one of the safest on earth, or we could be on top of a leyline and need to leave the area."


    "Wait a second, why would we need to leave?" Joey cut in.


    "Have you ever seen those Godzilla movies?" Alex asked. "I want you to imagine being inside a town as Godzilla fights with King Gediora. Buildings are getting knocked over while the entire place is on fire. Now imagine that plus a zombie apocalypse every day forever in a never-ending competition for food and mana. That is what living on top of the ley line is like. You either leave, or you die."


    "We aren''t on a ley line," Duncan said. "Probably. Going back to the question at hand, yes. It''s not as bad as Skippy suggested, ok, so can we all just calm down for two seconds."


    No one looked convinced, but they let Duncan talk.


    "Look, we already know everything we could do with magic and everything we could do with technology. Is the world going to be the same? No. But it never is. We are all going to be fine. The main problem is that we do, in fact, need to rebuild everything. Without skill levels or enchantments, anything built pre-system can be ripped apart by the first asshole who feels like it." Duncan pointed out.


    "You know what, remind me never to let any of you guys do any public speaking. You guys suck at it," Tom cut in. "Look, Hopkins is a full-on frontier settlement run and owned by the Awoken Myths guild. We took it so it could be a safe home base for us to operate out of. That plan hasn''t really changed. Now, though, it''s looking like we''re the seed of a new city instead of something smaller, and that''s fine. We can manage that."


    Joey smothered. "This has to be a joke. A bunch of teenagers are going to found a city? Yeah, right."


    "Better than the old fogies who think you can get through college on minimum wage," Eve shot back.


    Tom ignored them both.


    "Our safe word needs to be quality. We can scavenge from the Vancouver area in the short term, but we¡¯re going to have to think about building our own industry, our own agriculture, and so on. If you don''t want to be a part of it, then you can go join one of the other settlements. While I would like to say they are as safe as Hopkins, they aren''t. The simple fact is the strongest people you''re likely to find are right here. But more than that, there are ways to bypass the safe zones, and they do nothing against other people. And I need to make this clear: the goblins are considered other people by the system. So if you choose to leave, remember to be careful."


    That sparked a round of careful conversation as people considered their options. In the end, no one left, though he wasn''t sure if it was because of his speech or if they actually wanted to be here.


    "Moving on, we''ll need to discuss setting up the essentials. Food, water, shelter, waste disposal, hygiene, entertainment, and electricity, just to mention a few." Alex began


    "Hold on, we can''t go around acting like this is a free-for-all. I mean, we have elected officials and the military. Why not just wait it out?" Joey asked.


    "Try saying that to the goblins," Penny scoffed.


    "Well, that, in all likelihood, those people are all dealing with the same problems we''re having. Until they get their feet under them, they aren''t going to help anyone, so we need to help ourselves now," Travis said.


    "No one came to help us with the goblins. We had to deal with it even if we dealt with it poorly." Duncan admitted.


    ¡°We also have some immediate concerns.¡± Will made sure he had the floor, then continued. He motioned to Sam and Luke. ¡°You two will need to bring any bottled water you find, but that¡¯s just a stopgap. We need a well, or maybe just proper filtering and disinfection. I have a list for you.¡±


    ¡°And look for containers of bleach. Anything with sodium hypochlorite listed as the main ingredient, as long as it doesn¡¯t have perfumes or colorants. One jug can disinfect hundreds of gallons of water. You¡¯ll need to make this a priority.¡± Duncan said.


    ¡°Medical supplies will be a major priority,¡± Eve said. "If what Tom said is right, we''ll need to make our own way going forward. If we can get a stockpile of drugs now, we''ll be better off when people start getting sick. Unfortunately, I''m not sure how many we''re going to recreate ---"


    "What about the people?" Luke cut in. "Is it not our duty to save as many people as possible?".


    Sam''s brows furrowed. "I think we''re going to have to focus on scoping out vehicles and fuel supplies first so we aren''t stuck with a bottleneck."


    "Alright, just stop." Tom cut in. "Let¡¯s not start arguing about priorities. Luke, Sam, any formal plan is just going to get argued to death. Your time is better spent going out there and actually getting supplies and equipment. You¡¯ve heard the discussion here, and everyone will hand over their wishlist later. Right now, focus on gathering as much as you can and using your best judgment.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I think we''re going to need more people,¡± Sam replied. ¡°We only have my group and a few eager volunteers. We also need somewhere to stash the horses we''ve acquired. They were extremely useful not just for running around but also because they could go off-road with ease. On top of that, between the goblins and the mobs from the dungeon, we''re going to need at least as many people guarding the scavengers as we have people scavenging."


    "The Larpers could help, '''' Travis offered. "I can''t speak for everyone, but I, for one, would enjoy some more standardized adventures. Seriously all this goblin and apocalypse shit is just depressing. I just want to wander around adventuring, getting into trouble and shit."


    Tom nodded.


    "Um, how about system stuff," Sam asked.


    "What do you mean?" Alex asked.


    "I mean, I know the beta-testers are just cruising through all this system stuff. But for the rest of us,¡­ I''m constantly second-guessing this stuff. I have no idea how any of this works, and whatever wiki exists is gone. You guys are our only source of information on this stuff, and most of the time, you only tell us about it when we ask. We have pieces of advice, but we don''t really understand it. Like you''ve told us, Strength is better than Agility. But how many people actually know why? If we have to live with this stuff, then we need to understand it." Sam said vehemently


    Tom frowned.


    "That''s a good point. I''ve been adding as much stuff as I can to YouTube, but maybe I need to do some Q&A, " Tom admitted.


    "I can do some of that," Duncan said. I''m a craftsman, and I''m not heading out to fight monsters, so I should have more free time than you, Tom. I can set up a nightly thing. Maybe we can have a lecture at lunch."


    "Just make sure to record it all and put it on the Awoken Myths YouTube channel," Tom added.


    "That would help a lot," Sam said, nodding.


    "Well, that''s another item on the to-do list. Now, before anything else, I want to cross out one of our big ticket items for this session so we can, you know, actually say something. So unless anyone else has any other topics, I really want to move onto this." Tom looked around, and since no one talked about anything


    "Great, now, we have just spent the day clearing out settlements and grabbing settlement templates. We can use those and the points we''ve gathered to acquire specialized rooms or buildings. So it''s time to spend those settlement points, shall we?" Tom asked.


    You may skip to the next chapter.

 Chapter 52: Settlement Upgrades

    Tom''s announcement was met with blank stares and one startled face.


    "Oh shit," Duncan said as he pulled out two settlement seeds and a core.


    "Forgot I had these," Duncan said, handing them over.


    "And just like that, Duncan, you are my favorite person," Tom said as he grabbed the seeds and the core.


    DING!!!


    <table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to sacrifice the level 3 Conquered settlement core for 6000 settlement points?


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom pressed yes immediately, dissolving the core into dust. He had considered using the core to set up a secondary settlement; however there seemed to be dozens of settlements just in the immediate area. Expansion would require them to take over nearby settlements no matter what he might want to do. Regardless, Hopkins was overpopulated, and he could use those points to buy at least an extra floor to the three-story building.


    "Alright, then, let''s go over our options for customized rooms we can build. Then we can use the rest of the points to make some improvements to the structure," Tom said as he gave them all access to the structure interface¡ªwell, viewing access.


    And just like that, the entire council devolved into a debate on how best to spend the points. Arguments were made, people had their preferences, a few deals were made, concessions were made, a few bribes were pushed, and there were even a few low-key threats as people tried to figure out what magical rooms to add.


    Tom entered the discussion early on, stating that any option below [Epic] rarity and any room that could potentially be dangerous to the settlement, such as a torture chamber, a summoning room, or anything that could go cataclysmically wrong, were off the table.


    When they asked what qualified as dangerous, Tom created some illusions of what the Cauldron of the Demon Lord could have been used for. Then Tom warned him that these were just the low-level options, and it could get worse, a lot worse. After that, they agreed that giving the five founding members a veto on the rooms was acceptable.


    <table>


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    Would you like to Create the Room: Demon Lords Generator - (Historic)


    The original [Mana Converter] was an item that pulled ambient mana from outside the settlement to generate electricity for your settlement. Now that it has been infused with demon blood, its efficiency in collecting and converting mana to electricity has been increased by a factor of 4.


    The demon lord''s generator also increases the ambient mana in a settlement, giving everyone inside a +25% to mana regeneration while inside of the settlement.


    On top of that, the Demon Lords Generator can consume magic items, natural treasures, or other things to increase the generation of electricity or mana.


    Costs: 100 Settlement Points + Demon Lord Blood - (Historic) + Mana Converter (Rare)


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This was one of the easiest options. At the same time, the electricity hadn''t shut down yet. Everyone was expecting it to. Also, most of the uses for Demon Lord''s blood were bad, so getting rid of it like this was helpful.


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    Would you like to Create the Room: Arena of the Ancients - (Ancient)


    A vast arena made out of the skeleton of some ancient creature and reinforced with countless other bones, each one representing a warrior or a monster who fell in battle within this space.


    This is the Arena of the Ancients, each additional bone containing the power and knowledge of a specific opponent so that the user may fight them over and over again. Whether you put your life on the line or you put the safeties on like a sissy is up to you.


    Anyone choosing to battle each other within the Arena of the Ancients will be forced to abide by the terms of the duel less they face the wrath of the Ancients.


    Warning: any non-lethal battles within the arena of the Ancients will have no XP rewards, though skill XP can still be gained.


    Costs: 100 Settlement Points + Illusion Chamber - (Historic) + Pit Arena - (Rare) + Ancient Skeleton - (Ancient) + Parking Lot


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This one had been mixed. No one really wanted to fight. Well, except for Gareth, Abaddon, and Skippy. But at the same time, they didn''t see a problem with creating the Arena beyond the fact that it was seen as a waste of points. But Tom knew they needed it. If nothing else, helping people overcome their fear of death would help them stay alive. Tom could see the irony.


    <table>


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    Would you like to Create the Room: Cleansing Pools - (Ancient)


    This room is the epitome of good hygiene and relaxation. You have access to multiple pools within the sprawling halls of the pools. There are sections for men, women, and families. All are surrounded by mineral rocks that help the bathers'' health.


    More than that, the cleansing waters not only purify and remove afflictions such as disease and poison but also self-clean and rejuvenate, making those who step inside the pools appear healthy and younger.


    Costs 100 Settlement Points + Purifying Onsen + Bathhouse + Cleansing Spa + Golems Mineral Heart + Courtyard


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This was one of the easiest rooms to sell to the others. No one had taken a shower, let alone a bath, since the apocalypse began. Penny and Alex had nearly strangled him when he jokingly suggested buying something else.


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    Would you like to Create the Room: Modular Workshop - (Historic)


    Description: Welcome to the Modular Workshop, a cutting-edge crafting hub designed to enhance the efficiency and quality of your creations. This dynamic workshop can adapt and transform to accommodate its users'' evolving needs, ensuring that your crafting process remains streamlined and effective.


    [Mass Production]: Boosts crafting speed by 50% for any member of Awoken Myths working on an item they''ve previously created. Efficiency increases with each room level.


    [Refinery]: Speeds up the refining of raw materials by 10% per room level. Additionally, all refined materials have a 10% chance of being upgraded by one quality tier, and you gain 10% more materials from the refining process.


    [Blueprint Station]: Facilitates the creation and testing of blueprints, allowing for meticulous planning and experimentation.


    [Recycling]: Enables the breakdown of materials to recover most of the original resources while providing access to the item''s blueprints for future use.


    [Advanced Sorting System]: Automatically sorts and categorizes all materials within the workshop. Moving and sorting all materials into an alphabetized storage unit.


    [Modular]: Allows the workshop to shift and reconfigure itself, adapting to the needs of its residents and ensuring optimal functionality.


    Costs 100 Settlement Points + Deep Miners Crafting Table + Industrial factory + Woodman Workshop + Logistical AI - (Epic) + Hopkins Storage room


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The modular workshop was Duncan''s baby. He had near total control over the design and setup. He was the only Engineer they had who was also a Noralon craftsman, so no one could really argue against him about this stuff. He also reformated the notification for his benefit.


    <table>


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    Would you like to Create the Room: Library of the Digital Dreamer - (Mythic)


    The Library of the Digital Dreamer is a nexus of information. Through digital and paper media, any information within the settlement will be gathered and added to the library.


    The Library of the Digital Dreamer will slowly catch dreams and convert them into dream essences for crafting at the rate of 1 essence per week.


    All those who work in the Digital Dreamers Library gain an Increase in information retention by 30%, an Increased chance for inspiration by 5% and Sleeping inside the library will be 80% more restful.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    The Library of the Digital Dream will produce a Wi-Fi signal that allows anyone with a device to connect to it. The Wi-Fi signal ends at the settlement''s border. Anyone connected to Wi-Fi may connect to the library server, which contains all of the library''s information.


    Costs 100 Settlement Points + Dreamers Pillows + Media Center + Hopkins Library


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom had added the dreamer''s pillows. But it was Sam who added the Media Center. He was honestly surprised at the result. The entire internet and Wi-Fi thing was new. That wasn''t a part of the original Noralon. So, this room was technically a shot in the dark. Nevertheless, it looked good, so it got the vote.


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    Would you like to Create the Room: Premium Menagerie - (Historic)


    Step into the Premium Menagerie, an elite haven designed to provide exceptional care and comfort for all animals under your stewardship. Within this luxurious environment, animals experience a significant boost in fertility, increasing their reproductive rate by 50%. The Menagerie also ensures that all food provided is of superior quality, elevating it by one rank to offer optimal nutrition and taste.


    Maintaining cleanliness is effortless with the Menagerie¡¯s self-cleaning feature, which activates in exchange for 1000 mana and keeps the space pristine and hygienic. Animals housed within the Menagerie benefit from the effects of [Regen], [Calm], and [Bliss], promoting their overall health and well-being. Additionally, the Menagerie reduces damage to all domesticated animals by 50%, enhancing their safety and protection.


    The Premium Menagerie offers a refined environment where every aspect of animal care is meticulously optimized, creating the ultimate sanctuary for your cherished creatures.


    Costs 100 Settlement Points + Luxurious Stable + Rat Kings Warren + Sanctum + Portable Cubicle Classrooms


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The cubicle that had been left outside would be converted into the [Premium Menagerie] for the horses. Luke had argued vehemently for those horses, claiming that the animals needed a place of their own. They didn''t have any farm animals yet, so Tom just surrendered.


    <table>


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    Would you like to Create the Room: Weavers Den - (Epic)


    The Weaver''s Den is a specialized workshop where the art of creation intertwines with the threads of fate. This unique room facilitates the crafting of exceptional clothing and offers glimpses into the future, merging the mystique of spiders with the power of destiny.


    Within the Weaver''s Den, you can produce spider silk at the rate of one hank per 1000 mana, providing a versatile material for your grand creations. An ever-shifting tapestry, displayed prominently within the room, meticulously records all events and has the potential to predict future occurrences. This dynamic tapestry serves as both a historical record and a prophetic tool, ensuring that the Weavers Den remains a place of both artistry and foresight.


    Costs 100 Settlement Points + Spider Queens Spinnerets + Witches Tapestry + Hopkins Sewing Room


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This room was a bit mixed. It was somewhat useful, as it allowed people to quickly pick up the skills needed to create clothing. But if Tom was honest, he was building this room for one of the original members of Awoken Myths, Midus, who specialized as a weaver.


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    Would you like to Create the Room: Enchanted Crystal Garden - (Epic)


    The Enchanted Crystal Garden is a flourishing hub dedicated to the cultivation and utilization of magical crystals. This room continuously grows a variety of crystals, which enchanters can harvest for use in enchanting or gem cutting, ensuring a steady supply of valuable resources.


    The space boosts the charge of all enchanted items by 10%, enhancing their effectiveness and longevity. Additionally, it provides significant improvements in all skills related to jewelry-making, allowing for more refined and powerful creations. The room also supports the development of mercantile skills, making it an essential location for both crafting and trading. With its blend of magical growth and practical benefits, the Enchanter''s Crystal Shop is a cornerstone for any Enchanter¡¯s endeavors.


    Costs 100 Settlement Points + Enchanting Table + Crystal garden + Jewellers Shop + Hopkins classroom


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The Enchanted Crystal Garden was there to complete the triumvirate of smithing, alchemy, and enchanting.


    They spent hours reviewing the design until Eve suggested they call in some of the larpers who had been taking courses in architecture and civil engineering. That was probably the best idea they had all day, especially as the enchantment that improved Hopkins''s durability was based on its base mundane structure, so having that as strong as possible was ideal.


    The first surprise of the day came when he found out that Travis had a major in architecture and a minor in civil engineering. He had been able to point out who else would have the skills for the problem at hand. And despite the heavy roleplay of the lizard wizard, he made excellent points and averted a few problems Tom and Duncan hadn''t even considered.


    Once they brought in the rest of the architects and engineers, things got a touch out of hand as the group of college kids took to the task with a religious fervor. Once they had a budget and Travis explained the rules, they immediately started to redesign the entire school. However, they couldn''t move away from the school design. If their designs could no longer be recognized as a school, then the point cost would jump.


    Bathrooms were expanded and adjusted for efficiency. Space was created for utilities, and some of the areas Tom had pointed out as potential weak points in the structure were removed or reinforced.


    They needed to make the school large enough to support a large population but flexible enough for their projects.


    Next, they split the school into three sections. Section 1 included the gymnasium, parking lot, football field, theater, and cubicles, which were for training, animals, and entertainment. Section 2 included the cafeteria, tech, and shop classes, which were the crafting area. Section 3 was the primary residential area.


    The first thing they did was expand the residential area. They turned the U-shaped section of the school into a square, closing off the courtyard from the outside. Then, they added an additional five floors, bringing the height of section 3 to seven or eight stories, depending on where you stood.


    Tom found it a bit funny that all the new hallways still had lockers, even though he understood their function.


    They also added a second basement floor to the entire school as a storage space and an extra floor for sections 1 and 2 to give them more room to grow. At Tom''s instance, they also made sure to reinforce all of the entrances to the school. What was left were steel doors with a bar they could lower in an emergency. They also altered the windows on the ground floor, adding bars and making it so monsters would have a harder time getting in.


    Duncan''s favorite part, the [Modular Workshop], took up almost a third of the bottom floor, or what had been Hopkin''s storage room. It needed to be at least that big, especially if it was going to handle all of their industry in the long run. Not just defenses, but even something as simple as furniture would need to be built with skills.


    Unfortunately, since the new workshop would take up the entirety of their current storage space, they needed to add a second basement. A Lot of people were really excited about the library upgrades, and while most people didn''t understand the dreamer aspect, but the part about downloading everything on the internet onto a hard drive that they could then access whenever they wanted before the internet went dead made people happy.


    The [Arena of the Ancients] would be placed outside in the corner of the parking lot next to the concrete wall. At the same time, the other rooms would be placed in the crafting section. Unfortunately, they didn''t have anything for a hospital, much to Eve''s disappointment.


    They also didn''t have any combinations for the kitchen staff or the hunters. Instead, they would have to stick with the school''s three pre-existing kitchens and one butcher''s room. To give them more room, they tore down the wall between the kitchen and the staff room and expanded the kitchen to handle the increased requirements. Even then, it looked like the kitchen was going to have to cook 24/7 just to feed everyone.


    They would also add an extra floor to both the crafting and the gym sections to provide additional housing or crafting rooms as needed.


    But the single greatest expense was the infrastructure. They needed to call in plumbers, electricians, and engineers to help them map it out. They had needed to add in more bathrooms, pipe in the water from out of the [Bathhouse of Cleansing Water], and electricity needed to come from the [Demon lord Generator]. However, waste was going to be a problem they would need to deal with. While the plumbing worked for now, that might not always be the case. Fortunately, They would still have some form of internal wi-fi now thanks to the [Digital Dreamers Library].


    It wouldn''t help their ability to connect to the Internet, but it would create a digital library for everyone to use.


    Tom was hopeful that it would stave off the worst of the grumbling, and Alex was already cueing up a daily movie night for the school theater. By the end, Tom had heard so much about plumbing, infrastructure, and construction that he was just sick of it. The worst part was the fact that thanks to [Library of Akashic Records], it was stuck in his head forever.


    "Alright, then. Can we agree to these changes?" Tom asked as they looked over their purchase sheet.


    "I still think we should put some greenhouses on the gym roof," Will said.


    "Yes, and I told you it''s a good plan, but we''re already over budget," Tom said. This plan is only going to work because we''re going to level up the settlement in the attempt. So I ask one more time: Is everyone satisfied with these changes?"


    While most of the people didn''t look happy, the plan passed. Tom executed the command code, and the world around them changed. In hindsight, changing the library while they were all still inside might not have been the best idea.


    The bookshelves grew upwards, the aluminum shelves turning into beautiful mahogany bookshelves carved with intricate designs. The carpet under their feet grew upwards, turning soft and inviting them to lie down and take a nap. The ceiling overhead and the walls changed the white popcorn texture to a midnight black as golden lines started to trace their way over the material. Tom realized that the ceiling was turning into a massive circuit board, but it didn''t look like a circuit board. It looked like they were staring up at the night sky.


    The desks had been replaced with Kotatsu tables. The chairs had all become beanbags, and the handful of bean bags that had existed before they upgraded the room had been replaced with a pile of stuffed animals. The only thing that looked mostly untouched were the computers, but even those appeared to have received a significant upgrade. But what Tom was most excited about was the council room. It was a large room just above the library that overlooked the now-expanded cafeteria for important meetings. He thought it would look cool.


    "You know," Gareth began as he leaned back on his new bean bag. Whatever you want to say about the system, it''s got style."


    Alex looked up, concerned. "If the changes were this drastic, the rest of the school must be in a panic."


    "Infernal Feces," Tom groaned. "Let''s go make sure they don''t start a riot."


    Tom followed after the council members as Tom checked his last notification.


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!! Settlement (Hopkins) has reached Level 6!!


    Congratulations!!! Settlement (Hopkins) has reached Level 7!!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, as a level 7 Settlement (Hopkins) is now a [Village], you gain 600 settlement points.


    For going above and beyond in creating your rooms, you gain +335% for all settlement point gains.


    You have gained 2610 settlement points.


    Buildings: Foundry of the Adamantine Torch Dragon - Ancient / Cauldron of Molecular Wisdom - Ancient / The Library of the Digital Dreamer - Mythic / Enchanters Crystal Shop - Epic / Weavers Den - Epic / Premium Menagerie - (Historic) / Modular Workshop - (Ancient) / Bathhouse of Cleansing Waters - Historic / Demon Lords Generator - Historic / Arena of the Ancients - Ancient


    JOBS: Awoken Myths Guild Leader - Thomas Bruner


    As a Village, you gain the following benefits: +30% to [XP Gains], +20% to [Crafting Speed], +10% to [Settlement Fertility]. Total Settlement Points: 544


    Requirements: to reach level 8 settlement: population 786 / 1000


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 53: Fallout

    It turns out that suddenly altering the building, which had nearly five thousand people stuffed inside without warning or notice, was a bad idea. People freaked out when the entire building started shifting and contorting.


    "What''s going on?"


    "Why are the walls moving?!"


    "Is the school going to eat us?"


    "Bobby, what drugs did you give me!?"


    "Could you all please calm down?" Tom called out to the people who were freaking out.


    No one heard him over the noise. Tom let out a sigh as he took a deep breath.


    "Can I please have your attention?" Tom bellowed at the top of his lungs as he summoned a light above his head.


    The people below barely noticed, so Tom decided to escalate. He cast a simple sound-amplifying spell.


    "Alright, everyone calms your tits," Tom called out with volume so loud that people grabbed their ears in pain.


    That got everyone to shut up real quick.


    "Listen, we can''t get the PA system working, so you''re going to have to be very quiet and listen. If your neighbors start a side conversation, please punch them as hard as you can." Tom said, the magic carrying his voice as he spoke at a normal volume.


    There were laughs and a few loud ouch noises.


    "If you really, really feel the need to have a chat, leave the cafeteria so the rest of us can get this done."


    Tom waited. When there was no movement and no sign of anyone talking again, he resumed.


    Tom lowered the volume of his voice as he spoke his next words.


    "Now then, we''ve recently remodeled the school with the system. Perhaps you''ve noticed?" Tom asked. That got a few chuckles.


    "How did you do this?!" someone asked in shock.


    "Settlement interphase and magic," Tom said. Before we start digging into that, I would like to apologize for not informing everyone that we were using the system to make alterations to the school. The process is safe, and more importantly, it has allowed us to expand the school so we can give people some proper housing."


    Someone raised their hand.


    "Yes?" Tom asked


    "Yeah, um, who are you?" the guy asked.


    "Oh," Tom said, a little stunned. I''m sorry. My name is Thomas Bruner. I am the leader of the Awoken Myths Guild and this settlement."


    "Do you know what''s going on?"


    "What''s a settlement?"


    "Why are there three moons?!"


    "What''s happening?!"


    Just like that, the floodgates opened, and Tom was suddenly bombarded with questions.


    "Alright, so I''ve been hearing a lot of different theories about what''s going on. So, I''m going to take this time to lay it all out for everybody so there is no confusion. My name is Thomas. I am the leader of the Awoken Myths Guild. We originally claimed Hopkins as a settlement from an army of demons, and as far as the system is concerned, we own it. We think what is currently happening is something we call a system apocalypse, an apocalypse where Earth becomes a video game, specifically the Legend of Noralon MMORPG video game, if the system itself is anything to go off of. Finally, the reason the building looked like it turned into liquid was because we just used a lot of settlement points to upgrade and expand the school''s facilities. Are we all caught up?"


    "Why do we need a settlement?!" Someone asked. "Why can''t we just go home?"


    Tom looked at him, confused. "I''m not sure you have a choice. The safe zone that keeps the monsters away is only available to settlements. If you want to claim a settlement, you need to kill a level 20 boss monster. Otherwise, you''re going to need to be ready and able to repel monsters at any time because they can attack at any time."


    "Where are the monsters coming from?!" someone asked.


    "Great question. As far as we can tell, the Vancouver Zoo has become what we call a dungeon. It produces monsters and treasures inside of its depths in hopes of luring people inside and eating them. Unfortunately, no one is doing that, so the dungeon just keeps producing monsters, forcing the weaker ones out of the dungeon. Unfortunately, dungeon monsters are highly aggressive and will attack anything on sight."


    "Why is this happening?"


    "If you''re asking how real life turned into a video game, I have no idea. I just work here," Tom admitted.


    One guy stood yelling incoherently at Tom. Tom wasn''t entirely sure what the guy was saying, but he figured out that the guy blamed Tom and the rest of the guild for the system apocalypse. A few people were trying to calm him down unconsciously.


    "How do we know that? How do we know they didn''t cause it?"


    "How do we know you didn''t cause it?" someone yelled back.


    Tom realized it was Duncan with his arms wrapped around Eve like she was a life preserver with her.


    "What?" The heckler sputtered, derailed.


    "Maybe you are responsible, or easter bunny, or maybe Santa Claus got tired of delivering presents this year. I mean, as long as you want to throw around wild, baseless accusations at people, I figured I''d throw my theory in," Duncan said.


    The heckler stood for a few seconds more, his mouth working like a fish trying to breathe. Then he balled his fists, sat down, put his head down, and started to sob. There were a few seconds of sympathetic silence.


    "Is it true you can bring back the dead?!"


    That question caused the entire school to come to complete silence. All of a sudden, everyone''s attention was squarely on him. Even Chad dropped everything to hear his answer.


    "Yes, I have a skill that lets me resurrect people. But I can only resurrect a person if I have their corpse, so my ability isn''t foolproof," Tom explained.


    That wasn''t technically true. He could also resurrect a person if he had their soul, but unfortunately, he didn''t have any way to contain a soul at the moment. The next question shocked him out of his inner monologue.


    "Can you resurrect people who died a long time ago? Like last year?" some asked.


    It got so quiet at that question that Tom could have heard a pin drop.


    "I have absolutely no idea," Tom admitted. Bring me some, and we can find out."


    People looked agitated, so Tom did his best to settle them down.


    Tom sighed. "Look, I understand that this is stressful and scary, but we need to start taking steps now to ensure we don''t get overwhelmed by monsters because the monsters will get stronger."


    "With you guys in charge?" Chad called out.


    "We are in charge of Hopkins, Chad," Tom said.


    "And what if we don''t agree to that?!" Chad cut in.


    Tom rolled his eyes.


    "Then you can leave. Let me be clear. Major Adams and I have gone around town and claimed additional settlements. These settlements have government officials in charge, and they have no connection to Awoken Myths, so that we won''t be in charge of any of them. You might have noticed the beacons they''ve been activating throughout the day. They are already securing these locations with local law enforcement and will be coming around tomorrow to take people to the new location, so you won''t have to be stuck in here like sardines." Tom explained.


    This was met with a round of cheers.


    "Bullshit," Chad cut in, silencing the crowd.


    "Why the hell should we listen to you." Chad shot back.


    "As I''ve said before, you are free to go to one of the other settlements," Tom said. And in Chad''s case, you are not part of the guild and never will be, so feel free to leave."


    "What if we don''t want to leave?" Chad sneered.


    "Then we''re tossing you out on your ass, you shit stain," Skippy called back.


    "I don''t recognize your right to make those decisions," Chad shouted.


    "I don''t recognize your right to ignore reality, and yet you persist." Tom shot back.


    He was getting tired of this conversation.


    "Look, let me get to the bad news. We have recently heard from our friends from Newton that a goblin horde is on the move there. They have been kidnapping and attacking the residents there. So, starting tomorrow, we are going to start preparing for war when the goblins eventually make their way to our door. If you want to remain at Hopkins long-term, you will need to be a member of Awoken Myths. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    If you want to be a member or want to stay a member of Awoken Myths, you will be expected to help out with the goblins. If you don''t want to fight goblins, don''t panic. It takes all sorts of things to make a community run. We will be providing proper signup sheets for tomorrow morning, including but not limited to scavenging, hunting, admin, training for combat, and perhaps most importantly, crafting. The RCMP will also be joining us, so please do not belittle this problem.


    For people who do not want to work or be part of the guild, this settlement, we''re putting up a list of locations next to the entrance tomorrow morning. I hope you have a good night," Tom said, ending his spell.


    It wasn''t quite the high note he had been hoping for, but no one was panicking. So, he considered it a win.


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 23>


    Alex nodded as he ended the message. "It was not your best speech. I give you a 6/10. Try taking your shirt off next time. Add in some sex appeal."


    "Thanks, Alex, I''ll be sure to do that. Luke, make sure you gather all of the dead in the small gymnasium. I also need people to come by to donate their mana," Tom ordered.


    Alex nodded. "You''ll need to issue a quest to get people to come over and help with the set-up."


    "Joey and I are going to start recruiting people for our teams," Sam said.


    "Try to get people who are members of the guild, and remember that everyone needs to complete the basic training quest line. I''m setting it up as a standard guild quest, so I don''t need to keep handing it out to everyone," Tom said.


    "I want to see Isaac come back. After that, I''m going to check up on the horses," Luke said, wandering off.


    "Let''s get to the small gymnasium," Tom said, leading Alex down the hallway.


    They marched down the stairs in silence, spying on Duncan along the way, holding hands with Eve.


    "Are those two a thing?" Alex asked as she pointed out the duo.


    "Yes, didn''t you see them before the meeting?" Tom said as Eve showered Duncan with affection, her hands roaming over his body.


    "So do they have like a size fetish thing? I mean, Duncans was pushing seven feet tall before this, and Eves like four feet tall," Alex asked.


    "How would I know?" Tom asked.


    "You could use your [Visions of Akashic Records] skill." Alex pointed out.


    "Oh yes, I''m going to bleed from my eyeballs just so I can spy on my friend''s theoretical kinks," Tom said sarcastically.


    "There''s almost three feet between them. I think this is more than a kink. It''s a full-blown fetish. Come on, let''s at least follow them," Alex whispered in his ear, her hot breath tickling his ear.


    "Um, ok," Tom agreed sheepishly as he tried not to blush.


    The two of them cast an invisibility spell as they stalked after their friend and what had been the most popular girl in school. They exited the back of the school together, hand in hand.


    "Do you think they''re gonna do it?" Alex asked excitedly, nudging Tom with her elbow.


    "You really want to watch our friend get it on with his girlfriend."


    "Too Kinky?" Alex asked.


    "You think." Tom snorted.


    They watched as Duncan and Eve looked around, making sure no one was watching, before slipping outside. Tom and Alex exchanged a knowing glance.


    "Come on," Alex whispered, grabbing Tom''s hand. "Let''s get closer."


    Tom hesitated for a moment, but Alex''s enthusiasm was infectious. They crept forward, moving as quietly as possible until they were crouched just behind the door with a perfect view of the two.


    Duncan and Eve were sitting close together, their heads tilted towards each other. They were talking, but Tom could barely make anything out through the door. Duncan reached out and tucked a strand of Eve''s hair behind her ear, a gesture that made Alex''s heart flutter.


    "They''re so cute," Alex whispered, her eyes wide with fascination.


    Tom rolled his eyes. "Cute? Not sexy?"


    Alex shot him a look. "I can be romantic."


    Tom snorted softly, but he couldn''t deny that there was something wholesome about the entire thing. He watched as Duncan leaned in, his lips brushing against Eve''s. They just sat there for a moment, eyes closed. Then, with gentle pressure, their lips met in a tender kiss.


    Alex sighed, resting her chin on her hands. "I wish someone would kiss me like that."


    Tom glanced at her, surprised by the wistfulness in her voice.


    "You want to kiss someone three feet taller than you?" he asked.


    "Wow, just kill all my fun. Put the fun in camps, you fun nazi." Alex said


    They turned their attention back to Duncan and Eve, who were now fully engrossed in their kiss and completely oblivious to the world around them. Alex and Tom just kept watching until the couple started to get handsy. Very handsy


    "This just feels wrong now," Tom said, breaking the silence when Duncan removed Eve''s pants.


    "Yeah. I was expecting this to be hot, but it just feels a bit weird." Alex admitted


    Turning around, they shuffled away until they were sure they couldn''t be seen, and they dropped their inviability.


    "I still can''t believe Duncan is with her, of all people," Alex said. "I mean, I was not expecting her to make out with our favorite gentle giant. But I have to give Duncan credit for getting babe. Give that man a medal."


    "Tell me about it, right? How did we get from playing video games in your house to here?" Tom asked.


    "We drove. Duh," Alex pointed out.


    "Oh geez, I didn''t realize that," Tom said sarcastically. "I mean, how did we end up in charge of a burgeoning settlement in an apocalypse While Duncan makes out with the short-stack doctor? It feels insane."


    "It kinda feels like wish fulfillment," Alex admitted.


    "Maybe you''re secretly dreaming, and this is all just inside your head ¡­ Nah, I would expect more nudity if that were the case," Tom ribbed her.


    "You know we have had a surprising amount of nudity. I mean, we got to see Ms. Lewis''s knockers." Alex said.


    "And you''re back to being a perv." Tom shot back. "Honestly, this is nice. I need more moments like these."


    "Why? Are you ok?" Alex asked, concern filling her voice.


    "Do you know how many people I''ve resurrected?" Tom asked haun¡ªover two thousand at this point. [Hand of Mercy] is already at level 26. I''m personally responsible for bringing back at least two-fifths of the entire population of this settlement. And now we''re going down to the gym to resurrect, what almost half that again? That is not a great indication for the future."


    "But those people are alive because of you," Alex placated him. "You saved those people. Do you really think a single person you brought back isn''t grateful for what you''ve done to them?"


    "I know you''re right, and honestly, they''re not dead right now, which is probably the only thing making this all bearable. I''m just starting to realize how much work it is going to take to make this settlement, and I''m not sure if I can manage it. Maybe we should have just roamed around killing monsters like you suggested." Tom ranted.


    "You don''t have to," Alex said. "That''s why we set up the council, so we don''t have to do any of this shit ourselves while we do what we want."


    Tom snorted as they walked into the gymnasium, and he practically ran into Luke.


    "What took you so long?" Luke asked as Tom wandered into the room.


    "Bathroom break," Tom said as he stared out at the rows of bodies lined up in the gym and the many people waiting to be his mana batteries. " Let''s get this started."


    ¡°Hi Tom, look what we did!¡± Chloe shouted at him from behind


    Tom felt the corners of his mouth turn upwards in a grin as he turned around, coming face to face with a literal hellhound.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Alex Ling


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Solalfar


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Unlife


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Sun Elf


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 800


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2640


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 12.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 20.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 27.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Vitality


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Corpseslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Wizard 20


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 132


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 198


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 120


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 120 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 120


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 INT +4 WILL +3 EGO +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 CHA


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Spector] - Epic: This bloodline endows its bearer with an ethereal connection to the spirit world, blending the boundary between life and death. Those who possess this bloodline gain ghostly abilities, allowing them to move unseen and untouched through the physical realm.


    - [Haunting Presence] - Level 15 >> Level 21


    - [Ethereal Form] - Level 10 >> Level 11


    - [Invisibility] - Level 16 >> Level 19


    - [Steal Life] - Level 1


    - [Undying Focus] - Level 24 >> Level 25


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 16/60: Skill Points: 2


    Personal Skills


    - [Solar Metabolism] - Level 21 >> Level 28


    - [Stable Chanting] - Level 20 >> Level 23


    - [Storage] - Level 16 >> Level 17


    - [Mapping] - Level 14 >> Level 15


    - [Mana Supersession (System)] - Level 17 >> Level 20


    Wizard 11/11


    - [Arcane Awakening] - Level 27 >> Level 30


    - [Arcane Shell] - Level 24 >> Level 26


    - [Charged Attack ¢ñ] - Level 13 >> Level 15


    - [Multi-Cast ¢ñ] - Level 11 >> Level 15


    - [Synchronized Chanting] - Level 21 >> Level 24


    - Capstone: [Grimoire] - Level 33 >> Level 39


    - [Mana Sight] - Level 19 >> Level 24


    - [Mana Manipulation] - Level 14 >> Level 19


    - [Arcane Insight] - Level 1 >> Level 4


    - [Persistent Casting] - Level 1 >> Level 3


    - Capstone: [Meta-Magic] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 54: Chloes Day

    Chloe wandered away from Tom''s table as she finished eating her French toast.


    "Sticky hands." Chloe giggled as she held out her hands to Lucy.


    "Lucy, clean?" Chloe asked, holding out her hands to Lucy.


    Chloe giggled as she started to lick the syrup from her hand.


    "Stop it, Lucy, stop it!!" she giggled as she pushed the black dog away from her. She moved over to one of the faucets and washed her hands. The sinks were made for adults, so she needed to jump up to wash her hands.


    Then she pulled up Tom''s super secret mission.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Quest: Super Secret Mission for Chloe


    Your older brother has issued you a super secret quest. You must draw a piece of art to place on your fridge and make a friend.


    Objectives:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Make a piece of Art for your Brother 0/1</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Make a friend 0/1</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: A Magic Cloak


    Failure Conditions: Leaving the school


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Chloe ran back up to her room, which was the room she had shared with Tom. The floor was empty, and the sounds of her footsteps and Lucy''s scrambling echoed through the halls. When she arrived at the room, her eyes lit up as she saw the pile of paper. The TV was still on, but Chloe ignored that as she sat on the living room floor, a set of colorful markers and crayons scattered around her like a vibrant palette. Her eyes glittered with excitement as her hands moved over the paper. She started drawing and then stopped. She tried to figure out what she wanted to draw, and then inspiration struck her, seemingly out of nowhere.


    She began sketching two colossal monsters¡ªone was a red bat that was undulated and twisted like it was made of water, and the other was kind of like a giant Komodo dragon. It was massive, with emerald green scales that shimmered in the light and pearl-white teeth and claws. She tried to add wings, but they didn''t look right, so she erased them.


    She started filling in the background, adding destroyed houses and large buildings. With vibrant strokes, she drew two armies clashing around the monsters. The side that helped the red bat was green, while the other side wore bold blue uniforms. Tiny stick-figure soldiers brandished swords, shields, and guns, engaged in a chaotic mess.


    She liked it, though it needed something. She drew a little figure of Tom in the corner overlooking the battle.


    As she continued to add details, Chloe''s imagination ran wild. The monsters roared louder, and the armies clashed with newfound intensity. She drew the sun with a brilliant red crayon, and it shone overhead, threatening to swallow them all up.


    When Chloe finally put down her markers, she stared at the drawing in awe. The battle on paper seemed to come alive, and for a moment, the room echoed with the sounds of battle.


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations on your achievement, Chloe Bruner


    You have created a Masterwork art piece [The Glimpse of Future Conflict] - Rare. Anyone who sees this drawing will receive +10% to STR and AGIL for one day. This item contains the concepts of [War], [Fate], and [Blood] inside. Seeing this painting may cause enlightenment.


    You have earned the title [Child Prodigy] for creating a Masterwork item before reaching your age of majority (18)


    The title [Child Prodigy] has earned you one free skill point and awarded you the personal skill: [Prodigy]


    [Prodigy]: +1% increase to all XP gains per level of this skill


    As you have predicted one possible future in your art, you have unlocked new classes.


    You have leveled up!!


    You have 1 level to assign.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 10>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 11>


    <....>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 18>


    Chloe didn''t really understand the message, so she said she would ask Tom about it later. Instead, she held up her artwork with pride.


    "Look at it, Lucy, it''s amazing," Chloe said as she stared down at her art.


    Lucy looked up at her in curiosity, looking at the painting with an odd level of interest that Chloe hadn''t expected. Lucy''s eyes seemed to swirl with an unknown inner light.


    She suddenly realized she was hungry. Getting up, she moved towards the door. But Lucy wasn''t following; she was still looking at the painting.


    "Come on, Lucy," Chloe called out.


    Woof


    Lucy barked out in acknowledgment as she followed after her.


    They moved down two flights of stairs to the cafeteria. She liked the school; it was huge. When she got to the cafeteria, she found a bunch of kids her own age wandering around. There were also a bunch of cats and dogs hanging around, waiting for a chance for some food. Excitedly, she entered the crowd of other kids as they lined up for food.


    "Hi," Chloe said. "I''m Chloe."


    "I''m Emma," one of the other girls greeted her when she approached. "Are you from Newton?"


    "No, I''m from here. My brother said this place is our new home. This is my dog Lucy," Chloe said, bringing Lucy''s large form up next to them.


    Emma approached Lucy and started petting her, a smile slowly blooming across his face.


    "She''s so fluffy," Emma said, grinning.


    Emma hugged Lucy hard. She leaned her head into the dog, rubbing her face into Lucy''s side. Lucy leaned into the girl as she hugged him.


    "She''s just like Popo," Emma said wistfully.


    "Who''s Popo?" Chloe asked. She could tell Emma felt sad, so she walked up behind her and started rubbing her back.


    Tom did that for her when she was sad.


    "Popo was our dog. He ¡­ he ¡­ he''s gone." Emma wailed as she shoved her head into Lucy.


    Lucy turned her head towards Emma and began to nuzzle against Lucy.


    "I''m sorry," Chloe said as she kept rubbing Emma''s back, trying to comfort her.


    "He saved me, you know." Emma wept as she hung on to Lucy. "When the goblins came, I hid in the closet. When the goblins opened the door, he leapt out, and they chased after him. They are all gone now, mom, dad, even Popo."


    Emma started to cry.


    "Don''t worry; my brother will keep us safe," Chloe said as she hugged the girl. He can even bring people back to life."


    "Really?" Emma asked hopefully.


    "Of course," Chloe said proudly. "He brought the guy who makes our lunch back to life. His name is Will. Come on, we can go meet him when we get lunch."


    Chloe then dragged Emma along towards the cafeteria line. She ignored all of the people in front of her. Her brother owned the place, which means she owned the place.


    "Hey!!" someone called out, but Chloe ignored him.


    "Hey, Will," Chloe called out as she came to the front of the line.


    "Hello, Chloe. We''re serving hotdogs today. Would you like one?" Will asked as he tried to placate the complaining person.


    "Yes, one for me, one for Emma, and three for Lucy," Chloe said.


    "Five hotdogs coming up," Will said as he grabbed her the food.


    "Will, Emma here wants to hear about how you came back to life. Can you please tell her?" Chloe begged.


    "Oh," Will said, freezing suddenly.


    "Did you really come back to life?" Emma asked.


    "Well, yeah, I got attacked by a guy with the crowbar. He hit me on the head, and then I died. Then I woke up with Tom standing over me. Honestly, I''m not sure if I can say it was the luckiest day of my life," Will said as he handed her her food.


    "Now, would you guys mind leaving so I can serve lunch to everyone else?" Will asked as kindly as possible.


    Chloe nodded as she wandered off, Emma and Lucy following after her as they moved into one of the hallways. Chloe took a big bite of her hotdog, the juices running down her chin as she savored her lunch. Lucy was gobbling back her two hot dogs with gusto.


    "Thanks," Emma said as she slowly ate her hot dog.


    "For what?" Chloe asked.


    "For making me feel better," Emma said. "You want to go explore the school."


    "Yeah!!" Chloe said, getting up and taking Emma''s hand as they ran off to explore.


    "Hey, wait for me!!" Emma called after them as he stuffed his hotdog down his throat.


    Then Emma tapped her shoulder.


    "Tag your it!" she screamed as she ran ahead.


    "No fair!!" Chloe called out as she chased after her.


    They played for hours, running around the school and hanging out with some of the other kids. They played with the dogs and cats that were hanging around the school.


    Then the building started to rumble, Rumble, RUMBLE. The entire school was shaking.


    "What''s happening?!" Emma screamed.


    Chloe watched in amazement as the room rippled and expanded. Wisps of reddish-black energy swirled around the room as a massive statue of the demon lord that her brother had killed appeared on one side of the room. Its four orange eyes glared at them. Its body was in the lotus position, but this one had six arms instead of two. It was just as muscled as the original. Its head was dominated by the massive horns sitting on top of its brow. The spade''s tail wrapped around its body like a snake, and its goat legs sat crisscrossed at the end of the room.


    The air in the room quickly became heavy as the demon lord''s eyes started to glow.


    "What was that?" Emma asked,


    "What''s happening to Lucy!?" Emma screamed.


    Chloe spun around to find Lucy changing. Her fur turned black¡ªnot a little black, but black as in the absence of light, as if her fur were a void in the world. Her eyes turned into smoldering rubies, and her teeth and claws turned into gleaming white that seemed to be glowing slightly blue in the low light. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    And she got bigger and bigger. Lucy grew until she was the size of a small pony.


    "Lucy, are you ok?" Chloe whispered.


    Lucy growls a low, rumbling snarl of spring-coiled menace. The sort of growl that starts in the back of one throat and ends up deep in someone else''s.


    WOOF


    Lucy barked, loud enough that it cut the air like gunfire. Then she licked Chloe''s face.


    "Gah," Chloe squealed as Lucy began to smother her in sloppy doggy kisses.


    "Stop it, Lucy, stop it." Chloe flailed as Lucy pressed her face up against her.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, Lucy is evolving.


    Please Select an evolution Option. Alert: This evolution will replace Lucy''s dog levels with new ones.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Wolf</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Tundra Wolf</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">War Dog</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Guardian Dog</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bargauhst</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> </li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Lucy looked over the options, but she felt like something was missing. Without really understanding what she was doing, she pushed at the screen, tilting it this way as she tried to see what was just below the surface. Finally, she found the silly option it had been hiding. It was only one more option. But it had the word puppy in its name, so Chloe was instantly sold on the idea and chose to evolve Lucy into a puppy.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations on your achievement, Chloe Bruner


    Your animal companion, Lucy, has ERROR the requirements for evolution.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Exposure to the concept of [War]</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Exposure to the concept of [Fate]</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Exposure to Infernal Magic - Demon Lords Generator</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bloodline of the Bargrauhst (Will be consumed for Evolution)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">|-|@$ K!113d @ |-|um@N: ERROR 666</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Has tasted the blood of humans</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Exposed to primordial Magic</li>


    </ul>


    Lucy has evolved into a Hellhound Puppy Type: [Beast/Evil].


    True hellhounds are the spawn of where hell and the abyss meet. These immortal hounds have slaughtered Demon Lords, dethroned gods, hunted down Princes of Hell, and like to use angels as chew toys.


    They can easily traverse the planes of existence, turn invisible intangible, and never lose their targets. Despite all of their power, they are still dogs, and while they have a much lower tolerance for abuse, their capacity for loyalty, love, and affection remains unchanged.


    Pity those that upset a hellhound, for not even the devil may pry those poor souls from this monster''s jaws.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    Your pet has gained 4 levels.


    Your pet has evolved, and its skills have evolved into a new form, transforming its skills.


    [Guard Dog] ¡ú [Guardian of the Underworld] - Legendary


    [Hunting Dog] ¡ú [Hells Debt Collector] - Legendary


    [Beastial Instincts] ¡ú [Supernatural Instincts] - Legendary


    [Stealth] ¡ú [Abyssal Subterfuge] - Legendary


    [Fluffy Fur] ¡ú [Hide of Nyx] - Legendary


    [Fire Magic] + [Dark Magic] ¡ú [Abyssal Hellfire] - Legendary


    [Bite] ¡ú [Soul Wrecker] - Legendary


    [Tooth & Claw] ¡ú [Magekiller] - Legendary


    [Guardian of the Underworld] - Legendary: the hellhound can pierce all obfuscation skills. You cannot sneak past a hellhound. For every level of this skill, it becomes harder to get past the hellhound without first placating the beast. +10% END


    [Hells Debt Collector] - Legendary: when the Hellhound scents, sees, or in some way identifies its target, it can always find you later. This ability cannot be blocked. +10% PER


    [Supernatural Instincts]: The hellhound can sense its surroundings perfectly within a sphere of perception. Increase the size of the sphere equal to 1 centimeter per point of perception. The hellhound also has a sixth sense, allowing it to detect danger, incoming attacks, or intruders despite the fact it shouldn''t be able to.


    [Abyssal Subterfuge] - Legendary: The hellhound can shapeshift into any kind of canine and will appear to all senses as if it is a normal canine. +1.25% to Sneak mastery per skill level It can also turn invisible +10% DEX.


    [Nyx Hide] - Legendary: the hellhound fur transforms into pure darkness. +1.25% to Sneak Mastery. +0.5% resistance to Physical, Elemental, and Mind effects per skill level. +10% SPIRIT


    [Soul Wrecker] - Legendary: +1.25% to the Hellhound Combat Mastery. The hell-hound attacks inflict soul damage. On top of that, ignore 0.5% of the target''s soul resistance per skill level +10% STR.


    [MageKiller] - Legendary: +1.25% to the Hellhound Combat Mastery. The hellhound''s attacks inflict magical damage and will drain the target of mana to restore its own pool. Also, any magical attacks against the user of this skill will be used to regenerate their own mana pool and will inflict no damage. +10% AGILE


    Capstone - [Abyssal Hellfire] - Legendary: The hellhound can blast abyssal hellfire out of its mouth. Abyssal hellfire is like regular fire, but it also uses mana and souls as fuel for the fire. If you are hit by abyssal fire, you will lose mana and take soul damage, on top of burning alive. +10% INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 1>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 2>


    <....>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Visions of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 1>


    <[Visions of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 2>


    <....>


    <[Visions of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 10>


    Chloe dismissed the notification as she looked into Lucy''s big glowing red eyes.


    "Sit," she said.


    Lucy sat down, shaking the room slightly.


    "Shake," Chloe said.


    Lucy placed her paw in Chloe''s hand. The paw was larger than Chloe''s head.


    "Good Girl," Chloe said.


    "Wow, she''s so much bigger!" Emma said as she pressed herself into Lucy''s side, all but disappearing into her fur.


    "What happened?" Emma breathed out.


    "She evolved," Chloe said.


    "Like a Pokemon?" Emma asked


    "Yep, she''s a hellhound puppy now," Chloe said.


    "Wow, what do you think this means?" Emma asked.


    "I don''t know, let''s go find Tom," Chloe said.


    "Can we ride her?!" Emma asked as she popped out of Lucy''s fur, stars dancing in her eyes.


    Chloe gasped in amazement. That was an amazing idea. She was a little annoyed, and she didn''t think about it.


    "Can we ride you, Lucy?!" Chloe asked.


    Lucy nodded, lying down. Chloe and Emma scrambled up onto Lucy''s back. Emma was a little slower, but she quickly sat behind Chloe.


    "Mush Lucy, bring us to Tom," Chloe said.


    Lucy rose to her feet with an ease that belied her size. Chloe gasped as she was suddenly almost four feet in the air. Even as Lucy walked out the door and carried them through the hallways, Chloe was absolutely thrilled.


    "This is amazing!!" Emma said as Lucy casually walked through the now much larger school.


    Everyone stared at them as they rode the massive dog through the school. For some reason, people seemed to be getting out of Lucy''s way as she walked down the halls. Then, everyone her own age ran up to Lucy to pet her and ask to ride her. Lucy was very careful around the other children, making slow and careful steps so as not to hurt anyone.


    Chloe promised them they could ride her tomorrow. But right now, they needed to find her brother. Lucy walked all the way to the gym. She found Alex, Luke, and Tom in the gym next to a bunch of bodies.


    "Hi Tom, Look what we did," Chloe called out.


    Tom turned to look at her, his eyes immediately drawn down to Lucy, and he screamed.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Chloe Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 160


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 260


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 400


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 2.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 2.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 0.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths, Child Prodigy


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Tamer 4


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 8


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 12


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 4


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 16 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 8


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 CHA +3 STR +3 AGIL +2 DEX +2 LCK


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 9 >> Level 18


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 3


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 3


    - [Universal] - Level 6


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 4


    - [My Mind is My Temple My Soul the Altar] - Level 6


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 1


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 1 >> Level 10


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 1 >> Level 10


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 6/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuite Hunter] - Level 4


    - [Storyteller] - Level N/A


    - [Prodigy] - Level 1 >> Level 6


    Tamer 03/11


    - [Animal Companion] - Level 1 >> Level 17


    - [Nurturing Touch] - Level 1 >> Level 6


    - [Obedience Training] - Level 1 >> Level 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Lucy


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Canine


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Beast / Evil


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Doddle


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 3


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 575


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1065


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 660


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 8.2 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 13.1 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 7.9 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Crit, Poison, Disease, Insta-Death


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 5%, Elemental 5%, Magic 50.5%, Mind 55%, Soul 50.5%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Vitality 50%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Beastslayer, Demonslayer, Hellslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Race Class: Legendary Beast: Hellhound 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 49


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 33


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 49


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 82


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 49


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 33


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 45 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 60 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 30 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 60


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 45 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 75 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 30 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 45 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 30 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Hellhound: +5 PER, +4 CON, +4 AGIL, +3 STR, +3 END, +3 SPIRIT +2 DEX, +2 INT, +2 WILL +2 EGO, +2 LCK, +1 CHA


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 8/60: Skill Points: 0


    Legendary Beasts: Hellhound Skills


    - [Guardian of the Underworld] - Level 15


    - [Hells Debt Collector] - Level 11


    - [Supernatural Instincts] - Level 12


    - [Abyssal Subterfuge] - Level 9


    - [Hide of Nyx] - Level 10


    - Capstone - [Abyssal Hellflame] - Level 3


    - [Mage Killer] - Level 1


    - [Soul Wrecker] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 55: Luke Meets a Dog

    Luke watched as Tom''s little sister showed up on a giant black dog. The dog was massive; its eyes glowed ruby red, and its teeth and claws gleamed white. Then Tom screamed. Luke jumped at the noise in complete shock. Why the hell was the man screaming?! Sure, his sister was on a really big dog. But they were here to bring people back from the dead. A big dog wasn''t even in his top ten of crazy shit that had happened this week.


    "Chloe, what are you doing on that?!" Tom whispered. A piece of paper flew from his hand and into the corridor.


    Luke also realized that Tom was slowly making his way behind him.


    "It''s Lucy," Chloe called out.


    "That''s Lucy?!" Alex asked. "Why is Lucy a hellhound pup?!"


    "She evolved like a Pokemon," Chloe said. "Are you guys upset?"


    "Um, no pumpkin, of course not," Alex said tentatively as she tried to put on a good face.


    Alex held her hand out to the massive dog, who immediately sniffed and started to lick her hand.


    "Good girl, Lucy," Alex said, calming down as Lucy''s standard behavior appeared intact.


    "Oh, thank god," Tom said, letting out a breath.


    "What the hell got you so worried?" Luke said.


    Tom shot him a look that said ''moron.''


    "I thought you had an identification ability. Why aren''t you using it? In fact, why aren''t you using it constantly?" Tom asked pointedly.


    Luke shrugged sheepishly before turning his abilities on the giant dog. The moment he did, all of the comedy of the situation died as he got feedback.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Lucy


    Race: Hellhound Pup


    Type: Beast / Evil


    Levels: (11) Legendary Beast (Hellhound) 11


    Immune: Magic, Soul, Mind


    Resistance: Physical, Elemental


    Weakness: Vitality


    Bane: Beastslayer, Demonslayer, Devilslayer


    Legendary Beast (Hellhound) Skills: [Hells Debt Collector], [Abyssal Subterfuge], [Guard Dog of the Underworld], [Soul-Wrecker], [Mage Killer], [Abyssal Hellfire]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Fourth Labor] has Reached Level 21>


    The feedback from [Third Labor] was worse. It was something like asking what he would like his tombstone to look like. The demon lion, Graves, and even Seraphel didn''t set off [Third Labor] this much.


    Only [Second Labor] gave him any hope. All of his supernatural ability to read people told him this ¡­ was just a dog.


    WOOOF


    Lucy''s bark was almost a physical attack. Luke almost grabbed his ears.


    "Wait until it levels up some more," Tom said. "Then its bark will be almost as bad as its bite."


    Then, the gym door and Abaddon rushed into the room.


    "Tom, I got your note. What''s HOLY FUCK!!" Abaddon stopped and immediately tried to backtrack as he saw Lucy, the hellhound


    WOOOF


    Abaddon fell on his ass.


    "Abaddon, don''t move, " Tom started.


    Then skippy walked in. "Dude, where are you, UNHOLY FECES!!" Skippy squealed as he drew his swords.


    "STOP STOP," Tom called out, racing over to his friend, tackling Skippy to the ground.


    Then Duncan and Travis came in.


    "What''s all the shouting about, oh frag." Duncan and Travis went pale as they saw Lucy.


    WOOF


    "So your sister has tamed a hellhound?!" Skippy asked in shock.


    "Evolved," Tom corrected


    "Geez, and I thought I was a failure before this," Skippy said.


    "You''re not a failure, Skippy," Tom said.


    "Dude, I''ve been sorta useless." Skippy pointed out.


    "Skippy, you made your build based on the assumption that we would be playing a game, not living it. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself."


    ¡°Easy for you to say, you got pointy ears. I lost my top two feet and got turned into a furry!!¡± skippy shot back.


    "Anyone want to clue us in," Luke asked. "Why are you guys freakin out?"


    "Luke," Travis began shakenly. "Hellhounds are end-game monsters. Lucy here could kill everyone in the building, and we wouldn''t be able to stop her. Magic doesn''t work on them, so only You, Abaddon, and Skippy could even damage her, and to be clear, I wouldn''t bet on you to win. This is kind of like finding a dragon in the gym."


    "It''s also the fact that she can kill you permanently," Skippy said.


    That, more than anything else, drove home the point that the dog with two kids draped over it was dangerous.


    ¡°Lucy wouldn¡¯t kill anyone. She¡¯s harmless.¡± Chloe protested.


    Tom and Alex shared a look that told Luke that Lucy was anything but harmless.


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 21>


    "So what do we do?" Luke asked.


    "Nothing," Tom said as he scratched Lucy''s ears.


    "Nothing? Really?" Duncan asked.


    "Lucy is already Chloe''s Tamed Beast," Tom said. The system has confirmed that this is still the case, and before that, she was Alex''s dog. Honestly, I don''t even know how she managed to get a hellhound as a pet without the [Dungeon Breeder] Class."


    "So it should be safe?" Luke asked.


    "Well, having a literal incarnation of murder around my sister isn''t exactly great. On the other hand, having a literal incarnation of murder guarding my sister is definitely lowering my stress meter."


    "Well, I''m glad we could waste ten minutes on not a problem," Skippy said sarcastically.


    "Guys, I understand this might be shocking, but can we bring these people back?" Luke cut in.


    "Right, right, sorry." Tom apologized.


    Luke got into position behind Tom as he started the ritual. Luke nearly stumbled over as Lucy, the massive black dog with ruby-red eyes, sat down in the circle next to Luke.


    Luke was stunned, and that evolved into shock as the massive dog supplied the mana to Tom''s ritual all on its own. Issac''s body was restored to pristine condition.


    "Holy!" Luke was cut off as Issac screamed.


    ''''My leg! my leg! ¡­ Where am I? What happened? My leg?!" Issac was grasping at what had once been his shattered leg, which is now fully restored.


    "You died, Luke brought your body to me, I brought you back," Tom said in a flat tone.


    "I died!" Issac asked despondently.


    "But you''re back," Luke called out as he walked over to his friend and pulled him up to his feet.


    "You won''t believe what happened the last few days. Gareth has been worried sick," Luke said.


    "Days?" Issac said in a daze.


    Luke led Issac away as the Larpers started trickling into the room to see their own people coming back to life. Outside, Gareth and Sam were waiting for them.


    "Dude," Gareth called out, tackling Issac in a bear hug.


    "Your back!!!" Gareth cheered.


    "You''re wearing armor?" Issac said.


    "It''s been a few days," Sam said.


    "Actually, it''s only the third. You died on the first." Tom pointed out.


    Luke blinked at that. They had only been at this for three days? It felt longer¡ªmore like fifty-four days!


    "Oh," Issac said.


    Gareth immediately started telling Issac about their advantages: the Nemean Lion, the goblins, Seraphel and Duncan, and the larpers. Luke couldn''t help but notice that Isaac''s expression seemed to be dipping.


    "Hey, Gareth. Maybe you want to show Issac around the school?" Luke asked. "I want to go and check in on Hope."


    "Hell yeah, come on, Issac, they turned the library into some kind of trippy rec room, and they have this really cool forge downstairs. You liked doing that stuff, right?" Gareth continued to steamroll his little brother as they wandered off.


    "What''s wrong?" Sam asked.


    "I think Isaac is just a bit overwhelmed," Luke said. "And I really do need to go and check on Hope."


    He turned to walk out the door, and a cat shot past him.


    "Been a lot of those," Sam said.


    "What cats?" Luke asked as they walked outside and towards the new Premium Menagerie. The horses that had been standing around outside were gone, and the prints in the snow showed they made a b-line straight for the menagerie, which was the only reason he wasn''t panicking.


    "Oh yeah," Sam said, oblivious to his internal monologue. I''m not sure if you noticed, but there are a ton of animals in the school. I''m not even talking about cats and dogs. I''ve seen birds, mice, and even a few eagles."This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Luke absently noticed the snowflakes starting to fall as they approached the door, and they spoke as they exited the building.


    "Hu that weirrrr--" Luke trailed off as he looked inside.


    "Hey, what''s¡­ oh," Sam gasped as she peaked inside.


    Inside the barn, sorry, Premium Menagerie weren''t just the two dozen horses but an entire farm''s worth of animals. Besides the horses, there were cows, chickens, pigs, cats, dogs, goats, sheep, eagles, owls, Bats, and a dozen other birds he didn''t recognize.


    "Is this place ¡­ is it bigger on the inside?" Sam asked.


    Luke blinked, closed the door, walked around the menagerie, and then opened the door again. Yep, this place was way bigger on the inside, at least three times the size. It was basically a small farmstead inside. Only he got the feeling he couldn''t grow anything in this room.


    "Damm, this place is nice," Sam said as they wandered inside.


    "It''s definitely warmer than the outside," Luke said.


    "Alright, hands up," a sharp voice cut through the air, and the distant click of a gun had both Sam and Luke freeze.


    "Turn around slowly," the voice said.


    Luke and Sam turned around and found a girl with a mop of red hair, in large overalls and a winter coat, with a shotgun pointed directly at them. Almost a dozen other people were holding pitchforks, and smaller caliber guns were gathered around her.


    "What the hell did you do to our animals?" she asked.


    "Um, what?" Luke asked, confused.


    "our animals!!" she said, gesturing towards the cows and sheep. "They started getting rowdy thanks to this whole system thing, then they broke out of their pens and came here, and I want to know what you people did to them," she said


    "Okay, okay. I can see you''re upset. Let''s just calm down," Luke said as he started to lean on [Second Labor: Charming of Sinis].


    These people were more scared than angry and utterly exhausted. He looked over some of the farm animals; some of them were injured as if attacked by wild animals. These people must have been defending their animals since initialization day.


    "Sorry. My name is Luke, and I''m sorry, but I''m not quite up to date. Are you saying that all, or I guess most of these animals here belong to all of you?" Luke asked.


    "Yes, they belong to us now. What did you do to them?" she asked. Pointing her gun at him.


    "Nothing. I''m sorry to say that we don''t have any idea why they came here. However, that doesn''t explain where they came from. I was wondering about that," Luke said.


    The girl with the gun looked crestfallen, and Luke could tell she was on the verge of falling over.


    "Are you ok, ms. ¡­" Luke asked, trying to push at her just a little with [Second Labor]


    "Anni," Anni said.


    "Look, Anni, I can tell you''ve all had a rough time of it, and I''m sure you noticed this is a safe zone. So, no monsters are going to attack you here. Here''s what I propose: I''ll go get Tom. He''s the leader of this settlement, and he understands this whole system thing, and we can see if he can explain what is going on with your animals, and even if he can''t, you guys can just stay here with your animals for the night and if you want to, you can leave in the morning."


    Luke was pushing pretty hard with [Second Labor], and he was hoping he didn''t fuck this up. Anni looked like she wanted to pass out, but she bit her lip and kept her focus on them.


    "One of you can go. The other stays." Anni said.


    "Sam," Luke began. "Can you go get Tom? I want to check up on Hope."


    "Uh, sure," Sam said as she carefully made her way out of the menagerie.


    "Hope?" Anni asked.


    "My horse, sort of," Luke said carefully and slowly, moving over to Hope, who was standing in a horse stall.


    "We rode all the way here from Newton, and I want to check up on her and make sure she''s okay."


    Anni kept the gun on him but didn''t stop him as he moved towards Hope. The other kids, who were not farmers, meandered through the menagerie, going over to their animals and making sure they were well-fed.


    "What happened?" Luke asked as he got to Hope.


    The brown mare nuzzled him as she considered killing Anni. Luke was pretty sure horses were not supposed to be this bloodthirsty.


    "Monsters," Anni said with a blank expression on her face. "They started attacking the farms the same day the system came. They killed animals and people. We''re not from the big farms, just the small stuff around Surrey. By the second day, we started consolidating, doing what we could to keep them alive."


    "Why didn''t you come to Hopkins when the beacon activated?" Luke asked kindly as he grabbed a brush and started to brush Hope absent-mindedly. The menagerie was apparently fully equipped to meet the needs of the animals. Maybe that''s why it was called the premium menagerie.


    "We couldn''t leave our animals behind," she said as if that made perfect sense.


    Then the barn door opened. Luke and Anni turned, finding Abaddon''s tall form in the door.


    "MONSTER!!" Anni screamed, turned, and fired her shotgun.


    "No!!" Luke called out as he wrestled the gun from her with ease, but it was too late. The other Abaddon''s chest exploded as he was impacted by a slug, and a dozen smaller calibers slammed into his chest.


    "Dammit," Luke swore as the gunfire quieted.


    For a long second, they all stared at Abaddon as the lizard man stood there, and then he spoke.


    "OUCH," Abaddon swore as metal casings were pushed out of his chest.


    "That fucking hurt," Abaddon growled as his injuries healed itself before their eyes.


    "And that''s why you went first." Tom''s voice drifted through the room from behind Abaddon.


    "Now, everyone in this room is going to surrender and lay down your arms." Tom''s voice carried through the room with a confident ease.


    "And what if we don''t?" Anni asked.


    "Then I send my bulletproof friend here in after you. He takes all of your guns, arrests you for trespassing, and breaks your arms for attempted murder," Tom said calmly.


    "I''m not bulletproof." Abaddon protested.


    "No, you''re just mostly bulletproof and can regenerate from all damage," Tom said sarcastically.


    Anni looked around her for a moment. Luke was still holding her shotgun, and he gave her a nod and gestured for her to do what Tom asked.


    "Alright, we surrender," Anni said.


    "But Anni," one of the farmers hissed.


    "Do you want to fight that thing?!" she spat back. "I''m too tired to deal with this."


    The other farmers threw down their weapons, at which point Tom and Sam walked in.


    "Alright, then, why the fuck are you guys here?" Tom asked pointedly. "And why is the menagerie already full? I know for a fact that animals did not come included."


    "Our animals ran here like they were possessed. What did you do to them?!" Anni demanded.


    "Nothing," Tom said, rolling his eyes. "The school has a field designed to attract animals. I''m guessing they all made their way here about half an hour ago."


    "So you did do something?" Anni accused.


    "Technically, no. When we built the premium menagerie, that translated into the field, but the field wasn''t a compulsion; it was designed to attract animals. When we built the menagerie that turned the field into something along the lines of an advertisement, come here for premium treatment and safety. The animals came here because their instincts told them they would be safe there. I''m guessing they were getting attacked by monsters, and you were having trouble keeping your animals alive. So when the field got an upgrade, they decided to ditch their old homes and come here." Tom said.


    "So what? You stole our animals and were just supposed to be okay with it?" Anni asked.


    "Lady, relax. No one is stealing your animals. If you want, you can take them and leave. We won''t stop you or even hold this incident against you. Just understand you won''t have the anti-monster field to help keep you safe." Tom said.


    Despite the kindness in Tom''s words, the farmers flinched at the mention of leaving. Luke didn''t need a skill to see that the idea of leaving and returning to their homes was unappealing.


    "Or," Tom said his words like a fishing hook dangling bait in front of Anni and the farmers. "Or you could choose to stay here, join the awoken myths guild, gain protection, and have one of you represent the animal husbandry workers of the awoken myths guild. You guys can raise your animals in relative peace while you are protected by our defenses."


    His statement was met with silence.


    "You want us to stay and join you?" Anni asked in confusion.


    "Or you can leave, or we can even discuss an alternative deal," Tom stated. "But this is the best offer I will be making."


    "Can we talk about it?" Anni asked.


    "You have until dawn to come to me with your answer," Tom said. In the meantime, you''re free to stay here or find a place in the school to stay for the night. I think the kitchens are still open if you want to eat something."


    Luke just starred as the fight seemed to leave the farmers. They weren''t that much older than he was, but he could see it in them. Just like the larpers, their nerves were frazzled, and all they really wanted was a safe place to rest.


    "Come on, Luke. Let''s give them some privacy while they talk amongst themselves," Tom said, waving him towards him.


    Luke gave Anni her shotgun back as he raced over to Tom.


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 22>


    "Why haven''t you assigned your levels?" Tom asked as the four of them walked outside into the snow.


    Luke was surprised but quickly shook it off. Tom must have an ability like his [Fourth Labor] so he could see his status.


    "I don''t know where to put them," he admitted. I was planning on talking to Duncan about it, but if you want to help," he trailed off, hopeful that Tom would finally forgive him.


    Maybe work past their shit.


    "I''m not going to forgive you," Tom said bluntly, as if reading his mind.


    Did Tom have a ¡­


    "Yes, I have a skill like [Second Labor]. Back to the point, I don''t blame you for moving away and enjoying the good life when your mom got rich and powerful. I blame you for forgetting about me, Alex, and Chloe the moment we were out of sight. You wouldn''t even return our calls. But you are competent. You helped Duncan and the larpers, and because of that, I''m at least willing to bury the hatchet."


    Luke sighed as the snowflakes danced around them. He didn''t mean to abandon Tom, but he got busy and kind of just forgot. Yeah, it sounded bad, even in his own head.


    "So, can you help me with my build?" Luke asked pleadingly.


    "Of course," Tom said before turning to Sam. "Do you want some help as well, or are you sticking with what I originally suggested?"


    "I''m sticking with aiming for a Tomb Raider. I still can''t believe that''s an actual class."


    "I''m pretty sure there was a lawsuit about it, but I don''t think it ever went anywhere," Tom said before turning back to Luke. "Let''s get started."


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Demigod


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 985 / 1045


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2020


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1700


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 12.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 16.3 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 5.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths Member


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 10.5%, Elemental 10.5%, Mental 9%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 10, Heir to Beleiraphone 3, 3 Unassigned


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 156


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 57


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 85


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 71


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 85


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 27


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 74


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 14


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 142 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 52 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 78 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 65 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 78 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 26 +5%


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 65 +15%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary


    Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    - [Power of the Sea God] - Level 1- [Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 21


    - [Kin of Horses] - Level 20


    - [Born Sailor] - Level 1


    - [Natural Born Leader] - Level 18


    - [Master of Death] - Level 17


    - [Greek Tragedy] - Level 14


    - [Divine Assistance (Guide)] - ErR0R#4!!*!%!$


    - +5 STR per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots 11/60


    Personal Skills


    - [Endless Brawler] - Level 15


    - [Storage] - Level 10


    - [Meditation] - Level 1


    Heir to Theseus 06/11


    - [First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippling Strike] - Level 23


    - [Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 20 >> Level 22


    - [Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 21 >> Level 22


    - [Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 20 >> Level 21


    - [Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Level 22


    - Capstone - [Sixth Labor: Procrustes Just Desserts] - Level 22


    Heir to Bellerophon 2/6


    - [Legacy of Misfortune] - Level 2


    - [Molten Lead Lance] - Level 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 56: Lukes Problem

    Abaddon moved back inside, claiming he wanted to work on his potions. Luke and Tom sat in one of the small brick gardens as they chatted about the fresh snow falling all around them.


    "Your biggest problem is that you have two legendary classes. Legendary classes are almost always built around the subject of their legends, not a concept like other classes. [Heir to Theseus] is a warrior class built around examining your foes and then using their strength against them, like the hero it''s named after. [Heir to Beleraphon], on the other hand, is a legendary version of the Pegasus knight. While they aren''t incompatible, they aren''t supporting each other as much as they should," Tom said.


    "Alright, then, what should I do?" Luke asked.


    "Two ¡­ three things," Tom said. "First off, you need an actual [Warrior] class so you can grab [Legendary Strength]. Your Agility is way too low. I''m guessing every fight feels like you''re moving through molasses, barely able to keep up and having to anticipate your opponent''s every move or get stabbed."


    Luke winced. That description was a bit too close to the truth for his liking.


    "Also, grab a swordsmanship skill. [Master of Death] is good for everything, but it takes forever to level. You have [Power of The Sea God], but you don''t use magic, so you''re wasting it. Let''s pick up [Water Enhancer]. It will allow you to leverage your water magic while still being a melee class. Or you could dump your entire build and be a water mage." Tom offered.


    Luke frowned. He didn''t like the idea of taking another class before he finished his first one, and hell, dealing with his two classes felt too complicated. He just wanted things to be simple.


    "Um, okay¡­ why didn''t Theo suggest any of this?" Luke asked, looking for any reason not to pick up a third class.


    Tom shrugged. "I don''t know Theo, but if I had to guess, he didn''t know what you would become and decided to cover all his bases. Maybe he just wanted to get you through to the next day. Or he just didn''t know how to min-max. But that''s neither here nor there. If you really want to change everything about your build, now''s the time to do it. What do you want to be? Warrior? Mage? Assassin?"


    Luke thought about that. He really liked riding around on Hope. It had been fun, and he wanted more of that. On the other hand, Luke''s mind went back to the battle with Seraphel. Even with four other people helping him, the albino drow had owned his ass. He had felt like he couldn''t land a hit on the sucker. Even in the fight on the road, he hadn''t felt all that pressured when he was attacking, but the thing that really scared him was that Seraphel didn''t exude any hostility like the other goblins. As far as Luke could tell, the only reason he and the larpers were still alive was because Seraphel had let them leave.


    "I like wielding a sword. I like being in the thick of it as a warrior," Luke admitted. "But Seraphel and the goblins are still out there, and I don''t want to let them win. But I don''t know which of my two classes offers the better option to help with that."


    "How about [Water Enhancer], the class that I recommended." Tom pointed out.


    "What if I wanted to max out [Heir to Theseus] and [Heir to Beleraphon] first?" Luke asked.


    "Seriously?" Tom asked, dumbfounded and annoyed. "I just told you, you need to take and Max out [Water Enhancer] to balance out your shit."


    "Yeah, but I''d rather finish off [Heir to Theseus] and [Heir to Beleraphon] first," Luke said stubbornly.


    "Oh, for the love of ¡­" Tom looked like he was about to smack him. "Look, just take [Water Enhancer] and get [Legendary Strength]. It will make your life easier, okay? So just trust me."


    Luke rolled his eyes. "Look, I''m not against the class; I just don''t want to pick it up until I''m done with these two, okay?"


    "Yeah, and you''ll be level 30 then. It will take even longer to level up. And you''ll be struggling in every fight due to your low agility, even with the bonuses."


    "What bonuses?" Luke asked.


    Tom rolled his eyes this time.


    "How many times do I have to explain this? Take a look at my stats. How many points do I have in strength?"


    Luke looked at Tom''s status.


    "40?" Luke said, confused.


    "Uh hu, and how many points do you think I''ve been putting into strength?" Tom asked.


    "Um ¡­ 40?" Luke scratched his head.


    "The answer is none," Tom said.


    "When you get to level 10, you get 1 point to all stats retroactively. At each level, you should already know this. At level 20, you get 2 points per level. So I have 40 points in a stat I haven''t touched. And when I get to thirty, it will go up to 3 points per level, and I''ll have 90 in strength, and on and on until we hit the level cap of 100, at which point each base stat will be 1000," Tom explained.


    Luke blinked. He was already doing some pretty crazy shit now. How much more powerful would it be with a 1000 in strength?


    "Your problem is that you''re a melee fighter. You''ve come this far because all of your perception skills are compensating for your lack of speed. But your ability to stay in a fight is going to drop off with every level."


    Luke grimaced; he wanted to argue, but he was sure Tom would just slap him down again.


    "Look, Tom, it --"


    "Wait a second. Why do I care if you kill yourself? You''re not my friend anymore. You''ve made that very clear once we got to high school. So you know what? Do whatever you want, Luke, take my advice; don''t go die in a pit somewhere I don''t care." Tom said.


    "Come on, Tom, don''t be like that," Luke begged.


    "Like what? I''m just reminding myself that it''s not actually my problem if you succeed or fail. I did that for every job I didn''t like. You''re no different," Tom said as he got up to leave.


    Luke felt his lips curl in a snarl.


    "You know what? I understand that this is all so easy for you, but it''s not so easy for the rest of us," Luke shot back.


    "Easy?! I fought a Demon Lord, battled my way through what a dozen lairs today, and let''s not forget I''m managing the only real settlement in the area while the bloody cops second guess my every move. How the fuck is this easy?!" Tom spat


    "Oh please, you love this. Don''t deny it, Tom. My skills still work. Deep down, you love that the world has gone to shit. You love watching the rest of the world struggle to wrap our heads around your world. Hell, you love being the center of attention, having people hang off your every word. Because you know that if this apocalypse didn''t happen, if you didn''t have such an advantage over everyone else. No one would even notice you."


    Tom threw up his arms in frustration.


    "Seriously? Coming from you, that is hilarious. Everything I have now I worked for, my skills, my levels, my knowledge, hell even my bloodline, is the result of playing the legend of Noralon for six years. You, on the other hand, get dropped into this shit show as a freakin demigod. You get four extra stat points at every level. You started out with a high-tier bloodline through no efforts of your own, not to mention those legendary classes. Not because of what you did but because of who your daddy is. If that''s not a privilege, I don''t know what is."


    "What''s the matter, Tom? Afraid to share the spotlight?!" Luke shot back.


    Tom laughed.


    "Luke, if you think you can match me, you have another thing coming."


    "Why not we''re on the same level?"


    "Levels aren''t everything. Didn''t your little guide tell you about that?"


    Luke froze mid-movement. In the chaos of everything, he had forgotten to even talk to Tom about Theo.


    "You forgot about him, didn''t you?" Tom asked accusingly. "Because that''s what you do to the people who aren''t important to you. You forget about them."


    Luke felt his cheeks go red. "It wasn''t like that."


    "Really? Let''s take a look." Tom said as blood started dripping from his eyes.


    "Well, well, well. He sacrificed himself for you, saved you from the Nemean lions, saved Gareth and Sam, and then you forgot about him," Tom taunted.


    "That''s not ¡­ how do you know any of that?!" Luke asked angrily.


    Tom looked up at Luke with a smile. "Your bloodline is all about your dad. Mine is all about information, system information in particular. I can read your logs, every skill use, every hit, everything. I can read deeper into your logs than you can so I can see and review what happened to you. When you grabbed your friends and activated [Legacy of Misfortune], Theo messed with the escape skill. He fed it false information, claiming you were over seven hundred pounds. That''s why the skill let you take Sam and Gareth with you; it thought you were a single person. Then he made sure you three didn''t all fuse into some abomination. Even still, it''s a minor miracle you three came out with all your limbs attached. Regardless, he broke the rules, and he got punished because of you!¡±


    "Wait a minute. Your bloodline lets you find out stuff?" Luke asked.


    Tom paused in his gloating.


    ¡°Really, that''s your takeaway from all this?! I just told you that the system is punishing your bloodline-given spirit guide, and you don''t even care?!" Tom asked angrily


    "Can I honestly do anything for Theo?!" Luke asked. "Were you just waiting to get to the part where I can help him? Is there an appeals board or something?! Do I have to kill a demon lord or some shit to get him back?" Luke asked.


    "Far point," Tom admitted begrudgingly.


    "So you can tell me about my dad." Luke pushed.


    Tom rolled his eyes.


    "Dude, your dad is Poseidon¡­ according to your bloodline. Anyway, it''s not like he was even in the Legend of Noralon. If you want to learn about your godly heritage, you can go to Wikipedia. I don''t recommend Rick Roedean. He kinda glosses over the really fucked up stuff."


    "No, I mean." Luke struggled to find the words. "Mom always said he had to leave for a good reason, but he would be back."


    Tom looked at him like he was crazy. "Yeah, that''s called walking out on you. Bad parents do it all the time, I know."


    "Yes, but we don''t know that," Luke said, "maybe there''s some godly rules or something that means he couldn''t stay. Or or"


    "I''m going to stop you there." Tom cut in, "Just because your daddy is a god doesn''t make him any less of a shitty parent. He knocked up your mom and then fucked off. His reasons for doing so shouldn''t matter because he wasn''t there."


    "It''s more complicated than that." Luke shot back


    "Why aren''t you more angry at this?" Tom asked. "Your dad was a god. He could have set your mom up for life. Instead, he fucked off. Shouldn''t you be pissed off?! I''m pissed off for you, and I don''t even like you anymore."


    "Look, it''s a lot to take in, okay? I mean, when I found out I was getting attacked by an overgrown cat, okay? So I just pushed it aside. I mean, how are you even supposed to react to something like this?!" Luke asked frustratedly.


    "The same way any kid reacts when they find out that their rich daddy slept with mommy and then kicked her to the curb. You get angry. I mean, you are literally making excuses for your deadbeat dad. You realize that, right? Have you forgotten the nights you had to spend at my house because your mom couldn''t afford to pay for food? I do! Do you remember nights we would find your mom crying over the mountain of bills?"


    "Don''t throw that shit back in my face. I was there, I remember.


    "Then why are you so obsessed with your deadbeat daddy all of a sudden?!"


    "Because I need to know."


    "Need to know what?!"


    "Why did he abandon us!!" Luke screamed. "You don''t know what it''s like. To go to bed and wonder why you''re not good enough. Why you weren''t enough reason for him to stay? You at least had a dad who was fucking there for you."


    Luke didn''t even see Tom cast the spell, but the next moment, a spear of light was sticking out of his leg.


    "Fuck!!" Luke swore in pain and frustration.


    "Now, you listen to me. My father is a bully who likes to beat on people who are smaller than him. The only time he wasn''t terrorizing me was when he was terrorizing that tub of lard that calls herself my mother." Tom snarled


    Luke glared at him as he curled his hand into a fist.


    "You grew up with a mom who cared about you, who gave you a good life, and a shitty dad who you never met. You had it infinitely better than I did, and if you try and tell me otherwise, I will nail your ass to the wal ---" Tom never finished his sentence before Luke slugged him.


    Tom went tumbling backward before crashing into a snow drift. He hadn''t even come to a stop when the familiar glow of healing magic surrounded his body.


    "That''s it!!" Tom roared as he pulled out a sword and charged him.


    Luke pulled out his own sword and activated [First Labor]. His blade elongated as he swung at Tom. Then, an earthen spike shot out of the earth, impacting his sword and sending his blade high over Tom''s head as he slammed his sword into Luke''s shoulder.


    "Fuck!!!" Luke screamed as he felt the iron blade dig into his bone.


    "Weren''t you paying attention?!" Tom catcalled as he kicked out Luke''s leg, sending him stumbling to the ground.


    "You''re living in my world now." Tom spat as he punched him in the face, his hand glowing with magic.


    "I know everything you can do and everything you''re going to do before you do it. Worse, you know nothing about what I can do." Tom said as he tried to punch him again.


    But this time, Luke caught the punch and slammed his fists into Tom''s nuts. Or at least tried to. Tom exploded in a wave of fire. The explosion slammed him into the school wall, his clothes scorched and tattered.


    "Wow. Real mature and predictable." Tom said. "My turn again."


    A magic circle appeared over Luke''s head, and suddenly, he was falling upwards. Once he got ten feet up, gravity switched again, and he was slammed into the ground. And then again, and again, and again. Luke pulled out his spear and chucked it at Tom, but Tom merely deflected the exploding spear with a blast of water. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "You need to do better than that." Tom yawned as Luke was slammed into the ground for a fourth time.


    It wasn''t the last, and by the time Tom stopped, every inch of his body was bruised. And he was pretty sure a couple of his ribs were cracked, and the shoulder Tom had stabbed had dislocated, but his headache was the worst. His ears were ringing, and his vision was blurred. He felt like he was in a fog.


    "Whaatss haaappening?" he slurred.


    "Whoops, can''t leave you with a concussion now, can I."


    Tom cast a healing spell, and the fogginess lifted from his mind. Unfortunately, the pain came back with a vengeance, and Luke was gripping his sides, trying not to cry out in pain.


    Tom just stood over him as snowflakes gathered in his hair as if Luke wasn''t bleeding on the ground. Tom let out a sigh as if he was disappointed.


    ¡°Now, Luke, I think we can agree things got a bit heated. We both made some mistakes here. Lines have been crossed. Things better left unsaid have been said. But I¡¯m willing to let bygones be bygones. We were both in the wrong. In fact, let¡¯s just call this ¡­ a learning experience and move on with our lives. Alright?" Tom asked.


    Luke nodded his head in response, not willing to say anything.


    "Alright, let''s get you to Eve," Tom muttered as Luke''s body levitated off the ground.


    "Oh. Do me a favor: There''s a book on Greek mythology in the library. If you''re not going to take the [Water Enhancer] class, it would be good for you to read up about your current classes." Tom kept talking to him as he dragged Luke to Eve''s clinic.


    <hr>


    Luke winced as Eve tightened a bandage around his shoulder. A scowl was on her face as she forced his dislocated joint back into position.


    ¡°What the hell did you morons do out there?¡± she snapped, her voice low but fierce. ¡°Look at you! You¡¯re lucky you didn¡¯t get yourself killed!¡±


    Luke managed a weak grin, but it vanished as She dabbed antiseptic on his scraps and burns.


    "Ow, that stings!!" he swore.


    ¡°Oh, shut up,¡± she warned, cutting him off before he could muster a response.


    "What happened to your bedside manner?" Luke asked.


    ¡°Sorry, I must have missed that class with the goblins attacking.¡± Eve quipped.


    Tom chuckled, causing Eve to turn her glare on him.


    ¡°And What *exactly* happened here, Tom?¡± she demanded, crossing her arms. Her voice had the kind of edge that could slice through stone.


    Tom shrugged. ¡°Just a minor disagreement,¡± he replied smoothly as if describing a minor spat over lunch choices. ¡°Got a little out of hand, I guess.¡±


    Eve¡¯s eyes narrowed further. ¡°A disagreement? He¡¯s bruised from head to toe, Tom. His shoulder was dislocated, and half his ribs were cracked. That¡¯s a little more than a ¡®disagreement.¡¯¡±


    "Eve, we can bring back corpses and heal just about any damage magically. Honestly, at this point, anything that doesn''t cause lasting harm could barely be considered an injury," Tom pointed out.


    Eve¡¯s mouth pressed into a thin line.


    "Oh, would you look at the time? I''d better be going now, Eve. I don''t want to crowd your clinic. Bye," Tom said as he rushed out of the room.


    Eve turned on Luke.


    "What really happened?!" she demanded.


    "You know I''m feeling better. Maybe I should get go --" Luke''s words were cut off as a stab of pain shot through his abdomen, and he collapsed back onto the bed.


    "I don''t care what plans you had; you are staying here for the night. Do you understand?!" Eve glared at him.


    "Yes, ma''am," Luke surrendered.


    "So what really happened?" Eve asked again.


    Luke grimaced.


    "Tom and I got into a fight," he admitted.


    Eve didn''t say anything, but a thoughtful look crossed her face.


    "Maybe you should avoid that from now on." Eve pointed out.


    Eve moved on to her other patients. There weren''t many, as trauma victims tended to be healed quickly, leaving her with only the sick to cure.


    Luke considered his ''fight'' with Tom, which had been painfully one-sided. Up until now, he had felt like he had a good handle on all of this system stuff. And now he was left wondering what the hell he really knew. More than that, he still had skill points to spend, and Tom wasn''t likely to give him any advice. He could talk to Travis or Duncan, but he didn''t really want them to see him in this position. Maybe he could do this himself.


    Yeah, how hard could it be?


    Luke considered. What did he know about his so-called half-brothers? Nothing. But he did have a phone. He pulled it out and looked them up. Bellerophon was a pegasus rider who killed the chimera. Theseus was a lot, but he was more of a fighter than Bellerophon. He would put his levels into Theseus. But Travis said, ''There isn''t actually any rule that you need to spend the skill points on the class that earns them.'' so he would consider both classes for spending his points.


    Luke nodded along with himself as he opened up his skill options to help him narrow down what he wanted. He would keep Theo''s stat point distribution, but when it came to the skills, he would decide for himself.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Heir to Theseus skill Options


    <ul>


    <li>[Nettle¡¯s Bite] - Ancient: Remembering Theseus¡¯s encounter with the deadly plants when challenging the Athenian wilderness. +0.5% resistance to Elemental and Poison per skill level. Your physical attacks now inflict weak poison.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Salt Water Spring] - Ancient: Like your Father before you, you summon up a spring of salt water, providing you with both a source of water for combat and also a source of drinking water. Allows the user to Summon a Salt Water Spring once every 100 days. Reduce the cooldown by 1 day per skill level. Increase the water production by 1 liter per skill level. This skill renders you immune to the negative effects of drinking salt water. Water from this spring counts as seawater for the purposes of skills or rituals.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[World Wanderer] - Mythic: Theseus first walked to his father''s palace across miles of uneven terrain and then sailed to Crete to slay the minotaur. +5% to all movement speeds. +1.25% to Sailing and Footwork Mastery. Furthermore, this skill allows the user to Fast Travel rapidly, covering vast distances in minutes.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">UPGRADE [Endless Brawler] ¡ú [Vitality of the Cretan Bull] - Legendary: Your organs have become redundant, allowing you to lose organs while others pick up the slack. At the same time, your ability to overstress your body has increased. Practically speaking: passive stamina costs are reduced by 0.99%, and active stamina costs are reduced by 0.5% per skill level. Gain +1% resistance to critical hits, instant death, poison, and disease per skill level and +0.5% to your vitality resistance per skill level. Additionally, increase your END by 10%.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Medea''s Poisoned Goblet] - Mythic: Medea once tried to poison Theseus but was thwarted when Theseus''s father recognized his son. Now, you, too, can detect poison, curses, magic, and other inorganic sources of danger to your person. +10% to Perception per level[Monomachia] - Mythic: Theseus fought and dueled some of the most dangerous men in Greece and even the minotaur in single combat. Now, you can enclose yourself and your enemy in an area of space-time where only one may live. Your attacks now carry the manslayer enchantment, allowing you to inflict *3 the damage against [humanoid] types +10% DEX[Leader of Athens]¡ªAncient:  ERROR: pre-existing [Party Leader] skill found. This skill cannot be purchased.</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Heir to Beleraphone skill Options


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Poseidon''s Lure] - Ancient: Poseidon was associated positively with many animals, horses, bulls, and almost every single sea creature. As an heir to his son, your area now releases a calming and charming effect on many beasts and almost all sea creatures. This skill draws animals to you and gives them a friendly disposition towards you and your species. +10% CHA</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Soul Stable] - Ancient: within your soul, you possess a stable where you may store your mounts until you need them at such a time. All of your mount needs will be met in your [Soul Stable]. Any mount in your stable will be marked and can be summoned to your position from wherever the mount is in the world. (inter-dimensional realms may interfere with this effect.) +1.25% increase to your Riding mastery. +10% to EGO</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Chimera Slayer] - Historic: Beleraphone slayed the dread chimera, and now you have gained a portion of that power. Whenever you attack a creature with more than one type, you gain the [Slayer] buff for the second [Type], inflicting triple damage on your target. +10% to STR</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Sex Magnet] - Ancient: Your presence naturally inspires desires and horniness in those you find attractive. Those who are not attracted to you will not be affected by this skill. The range of this effect is 10 centimeters per point of Ego. Further, increase the range of this skill by 5% per skill level +10% CHA.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Presence of a Demigod] - Legendary: A Demigod is a force of nature capable of destroying a city on their own. Any who stand against this man will tremble in terror, and those who stand with them will find their courage. Enemy combatants will have a 1% chance to be stricken with [Terror] per skill level. Those stricken with [Terror] have a 0.5% chance of being afflicted with [Insta-death]. Allies have a 1% chance to gain the [Courage] buff per skill level. Those who have been afflicted with [Courage] have a 0.5% chance of receiving the [Enhanced Strength] buff. The range of this effect is 10 centimeters per point of Ego. Further, the range of this skill is increased by 5% per skill level. +0.5% to your mental resistance per skill level. +10% EGO</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Dumb Luck] - Uncommon: +10% to LCK</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[World Wanderer] - Legendary: Beleraphon flew across the Greek Isles +5% to all movement speed. +1.25% to Sailing, Flying, and Footwork Mastery. Furthermore, this skill allows the user to Fast Travel rapidly, covering vast distances in minutes.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Athena''s Bridle] - Legendary: You can tame and ride any mount as if you had been lifelong friends with your mount. Also, the moment you place the Bridle on a mount, the mount is immediately covered in an appropriate set of armor, increasing your mount''s defense while maintaining its mobility. +1.25% to your Riding Mastery per skill level +5% increase in armor durability and defense of summoned armor per skill level +10% INT</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    For a long moment, Luke just considered the screen. There were a lot of options.


    He would start with [Heir to Beleraphone]. [Poseidon''s Lure] and [Soul Stable] sounded cool, but they were more gimmicky. Having a portable stable and attracting animals to him didn''t seem useful. [World Wanderer] was out for the same reason as last time; it only affected him. He considered [Chimera Slayer], but Seraphel didn''t have a second type. [Dumb Luck] just felt underwhelmed, and he wasn''t taking [Sex Magnet].


    That just left him with two good options: [Presence of a Demigod] and [Athena''s Bridle].


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Presence of a Demigod] - Legendary:


    A Demigod is a force of nature capable of destroying a city on their own. Any who stand against this man will tremble in terror, and those who stand with them will find their courage. Enemy combatants will have a 1% chance to be stricken with [Terror] per skill level. Those stricken with [Terror] have a 0.5% chance of being afflicted with [Insta-death]. Allies have a 1% chance to gain the [Courage] buff per skill level. Those who have been afflicted with [Courage] have a 0.5% chance of receiving the [Enhanced Strength] buff. The range of this effect is 10 centimeters per point of Ego. Further, increase the range of this skill by 5% per skill level. +0.5% to your mental resistance per skill level. +10% EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Athena''s Bridle] - Legendary:


    You can tame and ride any mount as if you had been lifelong friends with your mount. Also, the moment you place the Bridle on a mount, the mount is immediately covered in an appropriate set of armor, increasing your mount''s defense while maintaining its mobility. +1.25% to your Riding Mastery per skill level +5% increase in armor durability and defense of summoned armor per skill level +10% INT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    [Presence of a Demigod] would be great in combat. It might even have given him the edge if he got into another fight with Tom. Then again, maybe it wouldn''t.


    [Birdel of Athena], on the other hand, would be less directly helpful. Well, the intelligence boost would help, but the main benefit would be armor for his horse. Hope had been good to him, and he had already seen a couple of the horses die. If he could armor them up, it would be a game-changer.


    He was already thinking of leading an armored charge of horses like in Lord of the Rings. That decided it, and he decided to pick up the [Birdel of Athena]. Even if it might not have been the best option, he wanted to give something back to Hope, and it still boosted his mana.


    That just left [Heir to Theseus]. He quickly dismissed all of the old options. [Nettle Bite] and [Saltwater Spring] didn''t seem very useful, so he ignored them. He couldn''t even purchase [Leader of Athens]. Apparently, you could only have one party leader skill.


    [Monomachia] sounded interesting, but trapping himself alone in a room with Seraphel after he had fought them five-on-one sounded like suicide with extra steps. [Medea''s Poisoned Goblet] was just his [Second labor] except focused on items instead of people. Maybe it would have been useful if Luke had been in a world of magical items. But he wasn''t. That just left one skill [Vitality of the Cretan Bull].


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    UPGRADE [Endless Brawler] ¡ú [Vitality of the Cretan Bull] - Legendary:


    Your organs have become redundant, allowing you to lose organs while others pick up the slack. At the same time, your ability to overstress your body has increased. Practically speaking: passive stamina costs are reduced by 0.99%, and active stamina costs are reduced by 0.5% per skill level. Gain +1% resistance to critical hits, instant death, poison, and disease per skill level and +0.5% to your vitality resistance per skill level. Additionally, increase your END by 10%.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It would upgrade one of his pre-existing skills, grant him a ton of resistance, and even some more Endurance. It wasn''t a very sexy skill¡ªit was completely passive¡ªbut it looked like the best option. So he assigned his levels and picked up [Vitality of the Cretan Bull] and [Athena''s Bridle].


    The moment he did, he immediately felt different. His body relaxed as his mind expanded. It was as if he had been walking on a floor made of glass, and he had to be constantly careful not to cut himself. But now, he could just relax. He didn''t even realize how much he had been tensing until he let out a breath.


    "Oh my god, that is so much better," Luke breathed.


    "Are you on drugs?." Eve asked as she came back over.


    "Nope, just got some extra endurance," Luke said as he got out of bed and swung his arms.


    He could move faster, easier.


    "Get back into bed, you moron, before you aggregate your injuries," Eve screamed, shoving him back into the bed.


    He could test out his limits tomorrow.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Demigod


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1235


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2385


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1980


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 19.3 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 6.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 10.5%, Elemental 10.5%, Vitality 0.5%, Mental 9%, Crit 1%, Insta-death 1%, Poison 1%, Disease 1%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 12, Heir to Beleiraphone 3


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 181


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 99


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 49


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 82


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 99


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 45


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 31


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 86


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 165 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 60 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 90 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 45 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 75 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 90 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 45


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 30 +5%


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 75 +15%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 15 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary


    Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    - [Power of the Sea God] - Level 1


    - [Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 21


    - [Kin of Horses] - Level 20


    - [Born Sailor] - Level 1


    - [Natural Born Leader] - Level 18


    - [Master of Death] - Level 17


    - [Greek Tragedy] - Level 14


    - [Divine Assistance (Guide)] - ErR0R#4!!*!%!$


    - +5 STR per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 11/60


    Personal Skills 01/??


    - [Storage] - Level 10


    - [Meditation] - Level 1


    Heir to Theseus 07/11


    - [First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippling Strike] - Level 23


    - [Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 22


    - [Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 22


    - [Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 21


    - [Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Level 22


    - Capstone - [Sixth Labor: Procrustes Just Desserts] - Level 22


    - [Vitality of the Cretan Bull] - Level 1


    Heir to Bellerophon 3/6


    - [Legacy of Misfortune] - Level 2


    - [Molten Lead Lance] - Level 15


    - [Athena''s Bridle] - Level 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 57: North Newton Precinct

    Adams examined his status page as they rode towards Newton. Thanks to Tom, he finally got around to assigning his stat points. On top of clearing the lairs, he was doing well for himself. Even if it had been exhausting, Tom hadn''t been wrong about claiming the Lairs.


    The levels and, more importantly, the acquisition of safe zones for the civilians had been more than worthwhile. He looked around at his friends, people he had known for more than a decade. Thorn, Chester, and Casey were all talking and joking with each other like they had been back in the Middle East.


    Adams was also happy to start assigning his stats. He had gone with agility over strength. He had guns, and he didn''t need to hit harder; he needed to keep his distance from the monsters while he shot them.


    "Alright, my turn. What''s white on top and black on the bottom?" Chester asked.


    "No idea," Casey said.


    "Society," Chester said as he started to laugh uncontrollably.


    Adams smiled with everyone else as the bad jokes were thrown around. He missed this: somehow, after they came back from the Middle East, they had lost something, something that they had regained with the system.


    "Do you think my family is ok?" Casey asked. "I know I shouldn''t be, but I''m worried."


    "Don''t worry," Chester brushed her off. Your dad was a heavyweight champion, and all of your brothers are there with him. Your parents will be fine."


    "They also own a chop shop, Hun," Thorn pointed out. "If nothing else, they''ll be able to get out of the Los Angeles area."


    Thorn reached over, holding her wife''s hand in her own. Casey squeezed Thorn''s hand as she kept her eyes on the road ahead.


    Adams just sat back and tried to enjoy the normal conversation as it washed over him. Or maybe that was one of Chester''s new aura things. Regardless, this was nice. It didn''t last very long, as they quickly arrived at the Newton police station.


    The building was swarming with RCMP¡ªhundreds of police officers around the precinct. An elementary school just across the street from the station provided plenty of room for the officers to park their cars and prepare. Adams could already see a few people loading magazines and cleaning their guns¡ªunfortunately, too few, as he counted most of the officers more concerned with their coffee than their weapons.


    "What the hell is going on?" Casey asked.


    "Nothing good," Adams warned as they walked towards the precinct.


    They walked inside to find dozens of people discussing maps and talking with each other. Adams grabbed one of the LTs who was walking by.


    "Major Adams, what is going on here?" he asked.


    "Sir," the Lt. saluted, "you are supposed to head further in. The Chief is waiting for you inside. Your men are to restock any supplies they need before we move out."


    Adams nodded, heading inside as Thorn took everyone else to start preparing. Adams walked inside, giving a crisp salute to the chief on board.


    "Sir," Adams said as used [Identify] on reflex


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Jeric Cross


    Titles: First


    Level: 17


    Classes: Chief of Police 5 / Fighter 12


    Resistances: Physical, Elemental, Mental


    Personal Skills: Pursuit Hunter, Storyteller


    Police Chief Skills: Teamwork, Respect, Freeze, Police Lore


    Fighter Skills: Aim True, Weather the Elements, Eternal Vigil, Warriors Presence, Discerning Eye, Legendary Strength


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Captain Cross was bald, looked angry, and appeared to need to eat fewer doughnuts. Adams was mildly surprised at Cross''s relatively high level. Most of the people he had seen so far hadn''t reached level 10 yet. That was another thing he needed to talk to the chief about. Tom''s group had already reached level 20 in less than a week. First responders would need to keep up or risk being under-leveled when they needed to help. He would need to talk to the Chief about the training Tom had put them through and work on putting their own officers through the same training.


    "You''re Baily Adams?" the chief asked as he flipped through some papers. "You''re ex-military, but you didn''t stay with the force."


    "Couldn''t get out of the military mindset, sir," Adams admitted.


    Cross nodded. Adams had really tried to become a police officer, but he had problems. Mostly, he had a nasty habit of sliding back into the mindset of a soldier. He kept expecting his squad car to be blown up by an IED or expecting a kid to try and throw a grenade at him.


    It was when he had nearly blown off the head of a civilian that he realized that he needed real help. Fortunately, he hadn''t discharged his weapon, but it was close, too close. He had realized that if he didn''t put down the gun, he was going to kill someone.


    So he got into therapy and switched careers to become a firefighter as a compromise. He was still helping people, but unlike being a cop, being a firefighter didn''t bring back old memories, and more importantly, he wasn''t walking around with a gun.


    "Sir, if I may ask, what exactly are we doing here?" Adams asked.


    "Before we get into that, what can you tell me about this Awoken Myths guild?" the Chief asked in a way that Adams didn''t like. It was almost hostile.


    "They''re, kids, Sir. The core group are Beta-Testers. These are people who played a game called Legend of Noralon, which they claim was the tutorial that the system mentioned in its first notification.


    Thanks to the system, they''ve managed to rapidly acquire a lot of power. Unlike the rest of us, they aren''t wasting time reacting to or figuring out the system. They already know how to exploit it for the best results, and they''re using it as such.


    That being said, they were not hostile. In fact, they helped us clear multiple settlement locations, allowing us to protect numerous refugees from what they call monsters. I''ve also encountered other beta testers. Two of these beta-testers attacked the Awoken Myths guild. Their battle wrecked nearly an entire block around Hopkins High School. One of the Awoken Myths members even appeared to die, only to pop back to life. Fortunately, the Awoken Myths have been extremely reasonable and willing to share information with us. The only thing they seemed interested in was keeping Hopkins High School as their ''territory.''" Adams explained.


    "Interesting, we''ve encountered one ourselves. He took out fifteen good officers before we managed to drive him off." Captain Cross said.


    Adams winced as he figured out why the chief didn''t seem to like them


    "If I could inquire, Sir, where is this conversation going?" Adams asked.


    "As you know, settlements bring monsters with them when they appear. The one in Kwantlen University brought with it goblins, or at least that''s what the blasted system calls them. Unlike every other settlement, however, these goblins seem to roam about Newton, attacking people at random. I''ve been calling in the RCMP so we can put this problem down."


    "Yes, Sir," Adams said, nodding.


    "I''m concerned about this ''guild'' because we''re seeing ordinary people in the news setting themselves up as kings and despots. If we have another problem in Surrey, I want to know about it now," Chief Dara Cross stated.


    Adams nodded in agreement.


    "We can figure out what to deal with them later. Tomorrow morning at 0900, we''re going to head south to attack these goblins."


    "Sir, I have a deal with Awoken Myths. I believe they would be willing to assist."


    "I won''t bring civilians into this. We already have enough fucking problems with people thinking they''re superheroes. If people start actually seeing them as heroes, it would set a bad precedent for the future. We need to maintain the people''s trust in our institutions, not erode it with civilians playing fucking Lord of the Rings."


    "Sir, is that really the bes--" Adams was cut off by Cross''s next words.


    "Mr.Adams, I am in charge of this operation. If you cannot follow the chain of command, I will have you removed from my sight. Is that understood?!" Cross demanded.


    Adams shut his mouth. He had dealt with enough assholes in his life to know that sometimes you just had to shut up and embrace the suck. He would have preferred to do the job right rather than the optics. But he wasn''t going to argue with a superior.


    "It shouldn''t be too difficult," Captain Cross said. "The goblins are primitive, and they use spears and arrows. Even if there are a few hundred of them, we can easily beast them with firearms."


    "What about trolls or mages?" Adams asked. "Some of the people who escaped Kwantlen made it to the Awoken Myths guild. On top of that, the guild leader Tom claimed those monsters would be particularly problematic for our men."


    "We haven''t encountered anything of the sort. In truth, if it weren''t for their numbers, we wouldn''t need so many officers." Captain Cross stated. "We are getting off-topic, Adams. I want to go over everything you know about the system before we go into battle. I want to make sure we are prepared."


    So Adams explained everything he knew about the system to the Captain to the best of his ability. He made sure to mention that Tom and the guild would have better information, but he insisted on keeping the guild at arm''s length.


    When he was finally let go, it was nearly midnight. He found where the rest of his group was sleeping and found Sgt. Thorn was standing by the firetruck.


    "Have you heard what our orders are?" Thorn asked as she leaned against his red firetruck.


    "We''re heading south to Kwantlen University to clear out goblins. " Adams asked.


    "Head down south to the university, kill a bunch of goblins. Are we going to go and get our new friends?" she asked hopefully.


    "No, the chief doesn''t seem to trust them," Adams said.


    "It''s a shame. I really liked the big one. He stood between us and the monsters. He''s a really nice guy, a bit shy," Lt. Thorn said.


    "I liked the one that healed our injuries and resurrected our dead." Adams snorted as he leaned up against his red fire truck.


    "Did either of them mention that we''re technically part of the guild?" Thorn asked.


    "Are we, though?" Adams asked, unsure if something as simple as a system title actually meant anything.


    "We have that title. I think that means we''re part of the guild." Thorn said.


    "Yeah, I guess we are. But no, it never came up," Adams admitted. But he has [Identified], so he''ll figure it out soon enough."


    "We should probably tell him soon. Better to enjoy the suck now." Thorn pointed out with a yawn.


    "Get some sleep. I''ll take the first watch. I''ll wake Casey at 0300," Adams offered.


    Thorn didn''t need to be told twice. She grabbed a blanket and a pillow and was out like a light in less than thirty seconds. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Adams chuckled as he took over the job of keeping a lookout for people he considered his family. He was just about to wake up Casey for her shift change when everything went wrong.


    BOOOOM


    Thorn jerked up, her rifle materializing in her hands. Adams was right behind her as his 12-gauge popped into his hands. Shouts and screaming started up as explosions rocked the area. Adams looked out at the elementary school across the road, where one of the police cars, the school was already on fire, and the flames were spreading to anything nearby. But [Thermal Vision] showed him dozens, maybe hundreds of heat sources that were neither the fire nor the officers.


    "Thorn, what do you see?!" Adams asked as his Lt. looked towards the carnage through her scope.


    Thorn had sundered her build when they were at Hopkins and became a pure [Markswoman] as a result.


    "Little green men, presumably goblins. They''re swarming over the officers positioned by the school," she reported.


    BANG


    Thorn took a shot at reloading and lining up a second shot.


    "SGT., get on top of the firetruck and give us some cover. Chester, you''re coming with me. Let''s help the injured," Adams said as he moved toward where the goblin horde was attacking. He had no plans to get too close to the goblins, but plenty of people were running out of the now-burning school and towards him, who were badly burned, bleeding, or lying on the ground dying, and he could do something about that.


    Adams grabbed one of the injured officers as ash floated down around them. The officer was covered in blood after being stabbed in the gut with a small spear. Unfortunately, the officer had already pulled out the spear and was bleeding profusely. He immediately cast a healing spell on him, burning through over a third of his mana in an attempt, but he stopped bleeding. Grabbing the man under the arms, he pulled him back towards the firetruck, where a proper firing line was forming.


    Chester had grabbed two others and was already back at the truck, laying them down for Chester. His paramedic was already administering first aid to the two as Adams carried back his own officer. Adams placed the injured officer next to the other two.


    Chester was already heading back to get more, and Thorn and Casey were already up on the fire truck''s roof, picking off targets one after the other. Adams followed after Chester, charging behind the big man as they made to retrieve the injured.


    "DIEE!!!!" a goblin screamed as it lunged at him.


    Adams summoned his halligan, swinging his weapon around to meet the goblin''s crude ax. He swatted away the weapon before bringing the halligan around and slamming it into the goblin''s skull, sending the gangly green creature to the ground. Not even taking a second to catch his breath, he used [Toolkit] to switch to his 12 gauge. His weapon was raised as the goblins reached his position. Adams opened fire, each press of the trigger releasing a burst of bullets, ending the seemingly endless goblin horde.


    Chester''s arms lit up with magic, and a small bear made out of purple magic popped into existence. The thing grabbed two of the goblins in its paws and slammed them into the ground with a splat before it started to slaughter any goblin that came close.


    "I love magic," Chester called out as he chucked a tire at a goblin caving in its skull.


    "Chester, be careful," Adams called out, concerned, as his friend unleashed a wave of decay on the goblins, causing necrotic welts to appear on their skin.


    Adams watched as Chester charged into the fire and smoke. Adams cursed as he chased after Chester. Leaping into the fire. That''s when he noticed an oddity, despite how large the flames were and how close he had gotten. He didn''t feel the scorching heat he had been expecting. Oh, he could tell it was hot, hot enough to burn. It just wasn''t burning him. He was wandering through fire without burning.


    "[Turnout Gear]," he muttered as the realization hit him. Grinning, he zipped up his actual turnout gear and pulled down his mask as he entered the school. Between [Thermal Vision] and [Turnout Gear], he quickly figured out how far he could push his heat resistance and started zipping through the school with ease.


    The school was burning. Embers were raining from the ceiling as flames licked up the walls. Children''s paintings and posters on the walls were burning and turning to embers. Over the sound of cracking wood, he could hear Chester as he navigated the burning school.


    "Chester!! Where are you?" Adams called out. He switched out his 12-gauge for his Haligan because he didn''t want the bullets going off in the extreme heat.


    There was a crashing sound as a roof collapsed somewhere in the school. Keeping his eyes open, he quickly began to move through the school, searching for anyone who might still be alive.


    "Help!" a voice called out weakly. "Help"


    Adams immediately moved towards the voice. He found two people huddled under a desk. Grabbing them, he hauled ass out of the building, barely even noticing the two people under his arms as he emerged from the burning school.


    Bodies were lined up on the street outside. Some were squirming and moaning. Adams was more worried about the ones who were doing neither. Chester was doing his best to organize the first responders as they tended to the wounded. The goblins were gone; only the green corpses gave any indication they had ever been here.


    Captain Cross walked among the injured, barking orders at the few medical personnel who could move.


    ¡°Tend to the higher-ranked officers first!¡± shouted Captain Cross. ¡°Somebody get a head count!¡±


    Chester ran out of the front entrance with a body tucked under each arm. He was hacking and coughing. He set the bodies on the ground and turned away to throw up. No sooner did he spill his guts than he was running back inside.


    "Chester," Adams called out, tossing the big man a gas mask.


    Chester snatched the mask out of the air and pulled it down over his head before running back into the building.


    One of the front windows exploded into a billion glass shards as a desk sailed out through it. The window vomited yet another plume of black smoke. Chester poked his head out through the smoke and sucked in some air. Then, a person flew out of the same window and landed hard on the ground among the broken glass. Adams winced immediately, moving over to help the victim.


    Unfortunately, the victim, a woman, was already dead, not from getting thrown through the window but from smoke inhalation, as far as he could tell.


    "Goddammit," Adams swore as he moved on to someone else.


    The next person he found was covered in heavy burns. Adams Immediately activated his [Stabilize] skill to ensure he didn''t die from his injuries. Then he followed through with casting a spell Alex had shown him and cast Lesser Mend. It took almost thirty seconds for him to cast and a third of his mana pool. But the injured man''s skin started to return to pink. The moment he was sure the man was going to live, he moved on to the next victim.


    Adams ran up to the first body he came across¡ªa paramedic.


    ¡°Help me,¡± gasped the woman, reaching a hand out to Adams.


    Adams could feel it when his heart dropped into his stomach as he moved past her. She looked to be in a lot of pain, but his [Identify] and his experience and the fact that he could call out for help at all put him at a lower priority than a lot of the people lying around here. He found a firefighter, his face black with soot except for the stream of blood that flowed out from his forehead. This guy wasn¡¯t moving.


    Adams ripped off the Firefighters¡¯s shirtsleeve and wrapped it tight around the wound on his head before casting another lesser mend. He winced as his mana pool dropped even further. He hoped it would be enough as he only had enough mana for one more lesser mend. Then, another window in the side of the school exploded outwards. The chair responsible didn¡¯t fly out this time.


    Instead, it swiped back and forth a couple of times against the bottom of the frame, removing any jagged pieces of glass. The chair then disappeared into the smoke, and a human body fell backward out of the window and landed unconsciously on the ground. Chester poked his head through the newly formed avenue of smoke, checked on the person he had just checked through the window, and then ducked back into the burning building. Adams scrambled up to the burning school. Two other firefighters were talking to the person Chester had dropped out the window away from Chester.


    When he reached the front of the school, he found Chester. This time, he was inching towards the door, a woman under his arm, and he was dragging at least two limp people behind him. Adams hurried toward him. Chester handed the woman under his arm to Adams and then dragged the two men out of the smoking building. The fires were thinning out, and it was just a massive plume of smoke floating up into the sky.


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Chester said. ¡°There¡¯s nobody else in there.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Adams.


    ¡°[Life Sense] remember,¡± Chester said as he ripped off his mask, his eyes red and watery. "No other life signs inside."


    Adam helped Chester take the last of the injured to the line of paramedics as the notifications came in.


    <[Toolkit] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Turnout Gear] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Turnout Gear] has Reached Level 11>


    <...>


    <[Turnout Gear] has Reached Level 18>


    <.....>


    Adams tuned out the notifications and turned back to one of the paramedics tending to people.


    ¡°How bad is it?¡± asked Adams.


    The man frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not good,¡± he murmured. ¡°One hundred and thirteen injured. thirty-six unconscious but stable.¡± He hung his head. ¡°Fifty-two dead.¡±


    Adams shook his head. "That''s about a third of the people gathered here."


    "Closer to forty percent," Paramedic said, clearly depressed.


    "We can arrange for the dead to be brought to Hopkins. Tom can bring them back. We might also want to send the injured person there. I''m not saying you guys can''t handle it, but ¡­"


    Chester waved his hand dismissively.


    "Hey, I saw the kid heal over two hundred people within thirty minutes and bring back the dead. I''m happy to just be mediocre in comparison to that."


    "I think we need to call off this attack on Kwantlen. We need to get the guild involved in this and ---"


    "Absolutely not," Major Cross cut him off. "We are ending this invasion tomorrow morning, and it will be done by the RCMP, not by a band of jumped-up civilians. We already have enough problems before this ¡­ system. What happens when some disturbed kid decides to go on a killing spree because he suddenly has superpowers."


    "With all due respect, sir, nearly half of our people are injured or dead. We can help the injured, but Tom is the only person we know that can bring back the dead. As the highest-ranking medical officer, I am ordering these people to be immediately delivered to Hopkins. So you can either get on board or shoot me." Chester said as he loomed over the captain.


    "Fine," Cross literally spat out the words.


    "But we attack at first light. This changes nothing," Captain Cross called out. "We need to eliminate this threat immediately. We move out at dawn, am I understood?"


    "Yes, sir," Adams said.


    Captain Cross walked away, and Adams looked at Chester, who was already talking to the paramedics.


    "I know this isn''t a normal medical procedure, but I want you to Send the seriously injured and the dead to Tom. Even if they die in the process, he can bring them back. Right now, I want you to get as many people in fighting condition as possible," Chester said. We can help the rest with magic."


    "You know how many regulations that would break, right?" the paramedic asked.


    "True, but everyone will come back in perfect condition. So I think they''ll forgive us. Besides, we need every healthy body man available for what happens next," Chester said as he glanced around at the destruction the goblins had inflicted on them.


    Adams sighed as he looked at the world around him. He hoped that Tom and the others were handling this better than they were. Opening up his stat sheet, he assigned his levels and got back to work.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Bailey Adams


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: British


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 36


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1200


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1520


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 320


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 19.2 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 6.4 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Major, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 10%, Elemental 9%, Vitality 3%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Firefighter 7, Police Officer 5, Paramedic 3, Major 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 96


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 52


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 96


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 48 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL, +3 DEX, +3 PER, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 15/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuite Hunter] - Level 16 >> Level 21


    - [Storyteller] - Level N/A


    - [Storage] - Level 1 >> Level 19


    Fireman 04/11


    - [Toolkit] - Level 10 >> Level 19


    - [Turnout Gear] - Level 8 >> Level 18


    - [Thermal Vision] - Level 7 >> Level 22


    - [Greater Detection] - Level 1 >> Level 14


    Police Officer 05/11


    - [Toughness] - Level 8 >> Level 20


    - [Danger Sense] - Level 13 >> Level 21


    - [Fancy Feet] - Level 4 >> Level 17


    - [Identify] - Level 1 >> Level 4


    - [Freeze] - Level 6


    Paramedic 02/11


    - [Lifeguard] - Level 2 >> Level 6


    - [Stabilize] - Level 1 >> Level 9


    Major 01/11


    - [Military Leader] - Level 1 >> Level 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 58: Friday

    Tom flopped down onto one of the chairs. Another day, another round of level up for his [Meditation] skill. They had another early morning council meeting. This time, they weren''t meeting in the library. Instead, they were in one of the new rooms just above the library that looked down into the pit and, by extension, the cafeteria.


    It was a good compromise between getting a good view and ensuring the safety of the council. With the new change, it was a good place


    above what was now the crafting section of the school. It was one of the new rooms they had created. Despite not having any real furniture inside, Alex had already arranged for some of the school desks to be placed inside.


    Tom was a touch bit early. He was taking some time to set up some helpful quests for the Awoken Myths Guild. Some were repeats of the first time he gave out quests, while others were new.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    The Mandatory Guild Quest: Meta-Gaming ¢ñ has been completed.


    You have received skill experience.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have created the Mandatory Guild Quest: Find Your Path.


    The Awoken Myths guild expects its members to be the best of the best. But you''re not there yet. As you are just starting on your path, this quest is here to help give you a start-up in your new life. This quest has identified six classes that can give you the best start in your new life. If you already know what you want to be, you can get to level 10 and ignore this quest.


    Objectives:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Become a level 1 [Squire] and gain the skill [Aura of Cleanliness] 0/1</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Become a level 1 [Apprentice] and gain the skill [Magic Missile] 0/1</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Become a level 1 [Trainee] and gain the skill [Dash] 0/1</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Become a level 1 [Pupile] and gain the skill [Subterfuge] 0/1</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Become a level 1 [Devotee] and gain the skill [Healing Hand] 0/1</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Become a level 1 [Student] and gain the skill [Eager Student] 0/1</li>


    </ul>


    Else:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Reach level 10 in whatever classes you want</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: Gain an additional four levels


    Else Rewards: Gain an additional one-level


    Tips: every class and skill is useful if used correctly. So pick a class based on what you would like to do and then try to figure out which combinations or skills can make you the very best version of who you want to be.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have created the Repeatable Guild Quest: Feed the Masses


    Your settlement needs food.


    Objectives:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Bring a pound of food back to your settlement.</li>


    </ul>


    Rewards: Inferior Xp gains


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Quest Giver] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Quest Giver] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Quest Giver] has Reached Level 12>


    Tom sighed. He needed trainers to get people up to snuff. He needed to hire a bunch of people to copy the scrolls he was creating so he could start improving the spell repertoire of the mages. He would also need those scrolls when he finally got around to fusing his [Scribe] and [Pro-gamer] classes today.


    "Hey, you''re okay." Alex''s voice soothed him as she sat down next to him. Now that her assets were so much larger, the desk was a bit snugger, but Tom tried not to gawk at his friend.


    "Are you listening?" Alex asked, tapping him on the head.


    "Hmm. oh yeah, sorry, just getting lost in thought," Tom said.


    "I heard you got into a fight with Luke last night. What happened," she asked.


    Tom sighed. "Lukes has the bloodline of Poseidon."


    Alex scrunched her face in confusion, then realization, then horror. "That would mean his dad was ¡­"


    "A god." Tom nodded.


    "Like Percy Jackson?" she asked.


    "I don''t think that''s Canon, but yeah, Luke is our discount Percy Jackson," Tom said.


    "But that would mean Posdien was on earth before the system came." Alex pointed out.


    Tom froze and threw up his arms in rage.


    "Gods dammit. I hadn''t even considered that. I just thought he got it in the lucky draw in character creation. But Luke ¡­ ugh, This is all getting needlessly complicated, and I''m already making mistakes." Tom groaned. "I''m half tempted to try and contact one of the gods from Noralon just so I can get some answers. Lucy has somehow turned into a hellhound, Poseidon was wandering around banging Luke''s mom before the system, Chloe and I have a Forgotten Rarity bloodline now, I''ve already found a half dozen other bloodlines that shouldn''t exist, and somehow a simple goblin lair seems to be turning into the beachhead for an invasion." Tom muttered.


    "I disagree," Alex said. "This wouldn''t be any fun if there wasn''t any mystery. I mean, isn''t this what we always wanted? Mystery, Glory, Adventure! Sexy adventures with naked nymphs!!"


    Alex held up her staff. She looked ready to take on the world.


    "You''re a perverted adrenaline junkie, you know that, right?" Tom asked.


    "No kink-shaming in the guild," Alex shot back a smile on her face. "If I want to go on adventures and sleep with the princess, that is my thing. Seriously, though, I can''t wait for the dungeon to open up. Yesterday was okay, but only the lair bosses were worth any real XP. But let''s take a step back. What the fuck actually happened with Luke? I didn''t think you would have gotten into a fight with him just because of who his dad was. What did he try and take over Hopkins?" she asked, her voice turning cold.


    "No. He was ¡­ he touched a nerve. I kinda lost it," Tom admitted.


    Alex winced. "I''m not sure if I agree with you lashing; I get it. I definitely don''t agree with Luke trying to justify his deadbeat dad."


    "I''m just worried. I''m projecting my issues onto everyone else and letting that get in the way," Tom said as he placed his head on her lap.


    "Don''t worry about it. You are doing fine. I hate every moment of my life in these meetings, but you seem to be having fun, so go get them, tiger." Alex said. "Conquer them with your big dick energy."


    "Oh my god, you are so awful," Tom said, chuckling as cheeks turned red. "I don''t even have ¡­"


    "You didn''t have a big dick, and I didn''t have giant knockers," Alex said cheekily as she pushed out her chest, causing Tom to redden completely. "Now we have it, so flaunt it."


    They didn''t get to say another word as the door clicked open, and the rest of the council walked in. Sam, Joey, Will, Duncan, Travis, Anni, Eve, Penny, Luke, Gareth, Hanze, and a few other people Tom didn''t know all walked into the room. Not everyone had a position. Penny was only here to represent the women who had escaped the goblins. As such, they didn''t technically have a say unless Tom let them. This was made all the clearer as Tom levitated documents to each member of the council with his new paper affinity. They immediately started to read them.


    "Everyone, first, let me introduce you all to our newest member, Anni Harkness. She''s in charge of a group of farmers whose animals have made themselves at home in our barn. So tell me, Anni, what are you offering in exchange for using our barn?" Tom asked.


    Anni scowled. "It''s winter. This is normally when we breed our animals for the spring. We aren''t harvesting them. In spring we can offer milk, eggs, wool and maybe meat. But right now, we need animal feed. We had to leave everything on our farms,"


    "That sounds like a lot of long-term benefits but nothing in the short term." Joey pointed out.


    "It also adds more items to the stuff we need to get," Sam said.


    "What about meat?" Joey asked. "Can''t we kill the animals for food now?"


    "Our animals were under constant attack. We don''t have enough stock to butcher them now. We need time to build up our herds," Anni protested, looking like she was ready to throw down there and then.


    "It''s fine," Tom interrupted. We aren''t starving at the moment, and we should start getting plenty of meat from the roaming monsters. More importantly, if we don''t get livestock now, we''re going to have to get them later. Anni will be in charge of the animals until an official decision is made. Sam here has already used it to save our friends, the Larpers. We can revisit the barn animals when it becomes an issue," Tom said.


    That was met with some grumblings, but no one could argue the point.


    "Our other new member is Travis, our resident [Spellsword]. Duncans told me you''ve been voluntold to be put in charge of construction?" Tom asked.


    "I got the [Ritual Architect] class, and now I''m in charge of construction somehow," Travis complained.


    "What''s [Ritual Architect]? I don''t know that one." Alex asked.


    "It''s a combo of [Architect] and [Ritualist]. It focuses on using rituals to build stuff," Travis explained. "I can basically build a building for a massive mana cost instead of using manual labor. It''s like how you build stuff in Age of Empires."


    "Age of Mythology was better. But that''s good news," Tom said as he opened up his notes.


    "Now, Sam, we have almost a thousand people who want to join the scavengers."


    "Jesus," Sam muttered.


    "Yeah, it''s unbalanced. I guess the idea of running around robbing stores sounds safer than fighting monsters. Go figure. I''ve got a few ideas for quests we can give out to help organize them. Please review them." Tom said as he sent them the quests before continuing.


    "The two main things we want, and Joey, this next part will apply to the hunters as well. The two big things we want are looting powers and storage abilities. Fortunately, the [Pro-gamer] class is a pretty common class option despite being labeled as Rare and has both of those options. We''re going to want to have at least one person with that class in every group." Tom said.


    "Tom," Joey began. I see here you have us moving in groups of five on foot. That''s unacceptable with how dangerous things are right now. I would prefer having people move in groups of thirty with enough cars between them that they can move quickly in case of trouble."


    Tom sighed. "I''ll defer to your opinion, in this case, Joey, but swarming monsters like that will result in less growth overall. You won''t gain as many levels, and your skills will fall behind."


    "I can understand that, Tom, but right now, I think safety is more important than levels. Even if you can bring people back, I don''t think most people would risk dying in the first place. Most will simply take the slow road to levels," Joey said before leaning back in his chair.


    Tom nodded.


    "Like I said, it''s your department. If you think you''ll work better this way, I''m not going to argue with you. Unfortunately, we only have five hundred people who want to focus on hunting, so you''ll have fewer people than Sam. Just remember, you want as many people as possible to have looting and storage power. With my logistics ability, we can have people in Hopkins unload the kills as soon as you place them in your inventory."


    "That would be great. If we don''t have to come back to offload our kills, we can spend more time hunting." Joey said, "But why the looting ability?


    "That brings me to our next problem. Duncan, do you want to take this?" Tom asked.


    Duncan shrugged. "Sure."


    Standing up, Duncan pulled out what looked like an apple-sized gemstone polished smooth into a perfect sphere.


    "This is what is called a core. Sometimes, it''s called a magic core or a beast core. It doesn''t really matter. What you need to know is that these cores are used for almost everything in regard to magical crafting. We can turn them into aspects to give you additional abilities and stats. We can turn them into soul stones to enchant your items. Or we can turn them into essences, which are kinda like enchantments, but it''s a different system." Duncan explained.


    "I feel like there''s a but coming." Will joked.


    Every beta-tester winced.


    "It''s a big but. Unfortunately, we have two problems. First, there''s only one way to get these cores, and that''s by using looting skills. Or a looting ritual, but those clunkers are unrealistic. The second is that taking the core means sacrificing all of the loot. So, if you use it on an animal corpse, the entire thing will rot into nothing. To be clear, we can get a core or everything else, but there is no middle ground." Duncan said. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    "Wait a minute." I will cut in desperately. I understand that these cores might be useful, but we have people to feed. We don''t have enough food for the rest of the week as is. We can''t let people starve for these cores."


    "It gets worse," Tom said. Higher levels mean higher caloric requirements. Abbadon eats enough for five as is. I''m eating double proportions, and the caloric requirements of everyone in Hopkins are only going to grow with every level."


    "Hold on," Anni cut in. You said we could keep our animals, and now you''re telling me we''re all going to have to eat them?!"


    "We''re doomed," Eve muttered.


    Everyone started talking over each other.


    "Everyone, everyone, stop!!" Tom said, getting everyone''s attention.


    "We aren''t doomed. Sorry if I gave you that impression. Leveling up your cooking skills adds to the calorie count. So as long as Will and the other cooks work their asses off to level up, we will be fine. I should also mention that meat from higher-level creatures has more calories. So, as long as we keep leveling, everything will balance out. Joey, Sam, we''re not telling you to prioritize cores, but I''m guessing no one wants to eat a goblin?" Tom asked, looking around.


    That was met by a round of subtle nodding.


    "Use your best judgment. I''m sure some creatures will have valuable corpses, but as a general rule, if it''s not going into the stew pot, it''s getting turned into a core. Is that acceptable?" Tom pushed.


    Joey and Sam tentatively agreed to his proposal.


    "The other benefit of the looting power is that it will give you 80% of the meat, the skin, the organs, and the bones all separated, cleaned, and then placed into your inventory if you have one. This, combined with my logistics skills, makes this an ideal way to transport food, even if we''re losing 20% of the materials," Tom said. Do you have any other questions?"


    "Well, due to the influx of nearly a thousand orphaned children, I had to arrange for several kindergarten and elementary school teachers to take care of them for the day in the large gym. Unfortunately, we don''t have any real long-term plan for them rather than just housing them. Please do not burn down the orphanage," Alex said.


    "Why did you feel the need to mention that?" Luke asked, aghast.


    "It comes up a lot in Dungeons and Dragons," Alex said.


    "She means all of our dnd group tends to set them all on fire," Tom said. "Seriously, every orphanage somehow ends up on fire. It''s almost a meme."


    "What the fuck is wrong with you people?" Luke asked.


    "Let''s put a pin in the burning orphanages for now. We need to set up some actual schooling, but we''re not getting that done today. I''m not saying it''s not important, but it''s a long-term issue. It''s not something that can be dealt with right now. So for the time being, we can have the kids earn as many skill levels as possible," Tom said.


    "I''ve wrangled Skippy into handling training," Alex said. "He''s tossing the dead Lesser Hydras into the [Arena of the Ancients], so we''ll be able to start training. Abbadons in the [Cauldron of Molecular Wisdom] he''s our only alchemist, so he''ll be spending the day making potions."


    "Do we know anything about what is happening in the rest of the world?"


    "Yeah, I had Hanze record it for me," Alex began flipping through her notes.


    "How bad is it?" Tom asked, expecting the worst.


    "It''s been a mixed bag. Some places are clearly better off than us. That''s most of the East Coast. Washington D.C., New York, and Florida seem almost normal. The West Coast, on the other hand, seems to be ¡­ suffering. Seattle, Oregon, and Los Angeles are all suffering extreme civil unrest and a higher rate of monsters. They were already suffering due to their stance on drugs and the large homeless population, and now that the homeless are superhuman, those problems are starting to snowball. We think Vancouver is suffering a similar problem, at least based on what some people have managed to find on the internet. I also think that Alberta might also have a dino-themed dungeon. Unfortunately, that''s the only other dungeon we''ve identified. My biggest concern is Langley. As far as we can tell, Langley seems to have gone completely dark." Alex explained.


    "God dammit," Tom muttered.


    "On that note, we''re going to need another two, maybe three more departments." Alex began. "One will be focused on surfing the net for information. While the other will be a news channel. Hopkins already had a classroom that handled the morning news. We can take it a step further and report on the news here before putting it on the net. The departments would also be in charge of managing Awoken Myth''s online footprint. We could also put some of your lessons online to earn ourselves some goodwill. Dear god, I sound so boring. Someone kill me."


    "I can do it," Penny offered.


    "Is this really important?" Will asked. "I''m not trying to be a dick, but this seems kinda meaningless when we have monsters on our doorstep."


    "Knowing what''s going on in the world is important," Alex said. "More than that, presenting ourselves as a positive force in the new world is better than allowing others to paint us as the villains. Tom''s been posting help videos all day, but we can do more. More than that, people are scared and worried. They''re desperate for any tidbit of information. If we can provide that to them, we can help maintain order in Hopkins."


    "I think I''ll give the idea of my tentative agreement. We''ll need to make sure we don''t reveal anything that can be used against us, but I like the idea. It''s not something I would have ever considered," Tom said.


    "On to the next issue. This one is going to feel really narcissistic. Where do you, as members of the council, believe I should focus my build?" Tom asked.


    "How is this relevant?" Penny asked.


    "Right now, I have two options for my build. I can max out the [Tactiction] class, upgrade it to [Commander], and then to [Marshel], gaining more passive bonuses for every member of the Awoken Myths guild. Or I can unlock the [Exorcist] class and get the [Soul Lantern] capstone ability." Tom explained.


    "SOUL LANTERN!!!" Duncan & Travis blurted out.


    "I''m sorry, what''s a [Soul Lantern]?" Penny asked.


    "The description claims I will gain an ethereal lantern on my hip that can guide souls in the afterlife. In practical terms, it will allow anyone, and Awoken Myth members in particular, to place their souls in the Lantern after they die, allowing me to resurrect them without their body." Tom explained.


    "It turns you into a mobile respawn point," Duncan said. "If we die now, someone needs to bring back our bodies. But with a [Soul Lantern], Tom can just resurrect everyone at the end of the day."


    That caused a round of wide eyes as everyone looked at each other in astonishment. Tom wasn''t sure why they were so much more surprised since two of the people here had already returned from death.


    "I think I can speak for everyone when I say that not having to worry about dying would be a major boon," Sam said.


    "Agreed," Joey said.


    "There''s a catch," Tom said, cutting off further discussion.


    "The [Exorcist] class offers no passive bonus to the guild. It''s not useless, but I''m the only one who''s going to benefit from each level up. I should also mention that I won''t have the [Soul Lantern] skill for at least another 13 levels, as I''m already level 20, so if my math is right, that''s at least two months out. On the other hand, it''s only 7 levels to upgrade [Tactiction] to [Commander]. In the long term, I intend to max out both classes, but I''ll be at level 60 by then, so this is a question of priorities. Thoughts?" Tom asked.


    "Your combat style is going to be the Paper Angel, yes?" Duncan asked.


    Tom nodded.


    "Then you should still take [Exorcist]," Duncan said. I know we won''t benefit directly from it, but you getting stronger isn''t nothing, Tom. Your other classes are [Augur] and [Tactician]; those don''t lend themselves to direct combat. If you intend for [Exorcist] to be your primary combat class, I would rather you get it now than later. We don''t need a paper general."


    "I''m sorry. What''s a paper, general?" Eve asked.


    "It''s someone with only leadership classes," Travis explained. "They offer a ton of buffs, but their army lives and dies with them. In some cases, the army literally dies with them."


    "We''re getting off track again," Alex warned.


    "Sorry," Duncan said.


    "Alright, can we please decide so I can stop agonizing over this issue?" Tom begged.


    "Let''s take a vote," Alex suggested. "All in favor of the [Exorcist]?"


    Everyone who hadn''t been a part of the original Awoken Myths guild and Duncan raised their hands.


    "Well, there''s your answer," Alex said smugly.


    Tom rolled his eyes. "Any other questions?"


    "What are we going to do about the goblins?" Penny asked. "They''ll come for us. It''s only a matter of time."


    That caused another round of murmurs.


    "Right now, we''re going to be focusing on leveling everyone up as much as possible. We''ve got six thousand people here, and most of them haven''t even hit level 4," Tom said.


    "Alright." Penny nodded. "I''ll be there, as will the other girls."


    Tom nodded before continuing.


    "In the meantime, Travis, there''s a tower structure at the front door of the school. It''s mostly there, so we don''t get rained on when we enter the school. However, I want you to turn it into a proper guard tower,"


    Travis frowned. The idea had been floated around yesterday, but they only had so many settlement points, and they had decided that additional bathrooms were more important.


    "I want you to recruit as many cooks as possible. Understand that I want your new and improved kitchen to be operating 24 hours a day. You need additional skill levels, so don''t be afraid to push yourself. The cafeteria is too small as it is, so we''re going to have to set up a rotation so we don''t have everyone crowding you at once."


    Will paled but nodded.


    "I''ll manage the scheduling," Hanze promised.


    "Thank god for Hanze," Alex said, almost weeping in joy.


    "Eve, I want you to grab everyone who has a life affinity, who was training to be a doctor, is a doctor, or is a veterinarian, and start practicing your skills. With the hunters and scavengers heading out, you should have a steady supply of subjects to practice with. We might even need to send some of your healers out with hunters and scavengers. More than anyone else, your people need levels. If for no other reason than I don''t want to be the only person with a resurrection skill." Tom stated.


    Eve looked him straight in the eye and nodded.


    "Also, unlike other spells, I''ll be giving the healers every healing spell I can remember. It will help you guys bridge the gap to deal with the lack of proper facilities," Alex offered.


    "Thanks," Eve commented.


    "Duncan, you know what you need to do. Alex, we need at least thirty people with the [Scribe] class for a project. Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Tom asked.


    "A few more specifics," Hanze said quickly, pulling out his notes. "We have concerns about Hygiene." he began, but Tom cut her off.


    "One of the classes I''m going to be giving out is Squire. It has an ability called [Aura of Cleanliness]. If that doesn''t work, we can look at hiring some people to clean."


    "That''s another problem. What do we pay people with?" Alex asked. "We can get away with asking people for help or even giving them paper money for a while, but eventually, people are going to wonder what value money has in a world where people can throw fireballs. No better question: how do we get them to pay us for doing all of this boring shit?"


    "Cores," Tom said. Eventually, the plan is to pay people in cores. It''s a hard currency that''s worth the same as the entire corpse of the animal it came from. The other option is to build a bank, which we can''t do at the moment."


    "Alright, next issue," Tom started when the door to the council room was opened with a bang.


    "Tom get your ass outside, we''ve got hurt people coming in," Skippy said.


    "God dammit. You all have your tasks for today. We''ll meet tomorrow at the same time," Tom said as he rose to his feet to leave as he got more notifications.


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 27>


    <[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 28>


    <[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Universal] has Reached Level 20>


    Eve stood up to leave at the same time he did.


    "Looks like I''m getting in some early practice," Eve said as she followed him out of the room.


    "What happened?" Tom asked Skippy as they raced down the hall.


    "No idea, but Major Adams is here, and he looks like he got his ass kicked," Skippy said.


    "Fuck" Tom muttered as he flung [Far Sight] ahead, finding dozens of emergency vehicles, all of them loaded up with the dead and the dying. What the hell had Adams been doing?


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1000


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4000


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 18.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 24.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 58% Soul 34%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 3, Scribe 3, Pro-gamer 4


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    - [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 30


    - [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 25


    - [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 21


    - [Universal] - Level 19 >> Level 20


    - [Wordsmith] - Level 25 >> Level 27


    - [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 34


    - [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 17


    - [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11


    - [Soul Forge] - Level 25


    - +5 PER per level


    - +5 INT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 4


    Personal Skills


    - [Analyze Person] - Level 23 >> Level 24


    - [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 12


    - [Art of Water] - Level 14


    - [Art of Earth] - Level 14


    - [Teacher] - Level 9


    Augur 07/16


    - [Augurs Eye] - Level 7


    - [Bright Arts] - Level 27


    - [Art of Life] - Level 20


    - [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 36 >> Level 44


    - [Far Seeing] - Level 17


    - Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 26


    - [Quest Giver] - Level 1 >> Level 12


    Tactician 05/6


    - [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 22


    - [Leadership ¢ò] - Level 24


    - [Raider ¢ñ] - Level 20


    - [Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 21


    - [Logistics ¢ó] - Level 19


    Pro-Gamer 01/11


    - [Spell Trap] - Level 4


    - [Empty]


    Scribe 01/6


    - [Contract] - Level 9


    - [Empty]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 59: Rescue Ranger

    Major Adams felt his stomach twisting into knots as they drove towards Kwantlen in the early dawn light. The massive caravan of police cars, RCMP, and a dozen emergency vehicles that had been converted for ¡­ Adams wasn''t sure he wanted to say it, but the emergency vehicles, including Casey''s fire truck, were now closer to military vehicles. Something about this entire situation felt wrong. It felt like they were marching to their deaths, and yet he couldn''t identify why he felt like that as his sleep-deprived brain struggled.


    "Hey, Major," Chester nudged him from the side.


    "What''s up, Chester," Adams asked.


    Chester tapped him on the shoulder, and Adams felt like pure coffee was injected into his veins. His drowsiness was banished, and he was now wide awake.


    "Holy crap," Adams said.


    "Like it? It''s my level 10 capstone skill [Caffeine]," Chester said. It''s apparently one of the only skills that restores stamina."


    "How is that helpful?" Adams asked, a little curious.


    "According to Tom, the only way to restore stamina is through taking care of yourself¡ªfood, sleep, etc. So this is pretty unique," Chester said proudly.


    "Don''t take this the wrong way, Chester, but how do you know all this stuff?" Casey asked.


    "I played a lot of D&D when I was a kid. My dad was a big fan, and this isn''t that different. I talked to Tom about this stuff, and I think I got the basics down," Chester said.


    "I''m glad to hear someone is enjoying this insanity," Adams said.


    "Yes, sir."


    "Casey, are you sure we''re okay with bringing a fire truck into battle?" Adams asked.


    "It''s a bit late to be asking, sir." Casey pointed out.


    Adams shrugged.


    "Better late than never,"


    "Well, thanks to my class, right now she is almost as tough as the humvees I worked on in the Middle East and almost as quick. But again, that''s my [Driver] class doing all the heavy lifting. I''d love it if we could get an actual Humvee. Then we could really see what I could do." Casey chuckled good-naturedly.


    Thorn reached over to hold Casey''s hand.


    "I''m just hoping we can get back to some semblance of normal after this," Chester said.


    That''s when the radio crackled to life. "We''re coming up on Newton Park. Hostiles are milling around. Be ready to dismount and engage." Captain Crosses''s voice cut through their conversation.


    The crack of gunfire echoed out in the early morning air.


    "Alright, halt the truck," Adams ordered.


    Chester, I want you two to set up an Evac position towards the back. People are going to get injured, and we''re going to need someplace to treat them. Casey, does this fire truck have a bucket on the end of the ladder year?"


    "Yeah," she said.


    "Thorn, I want you up in the Bucket doing what you do best," Adams ordered.


    "Yes, sir," Thorn said mechanically, slinging her rifle and moving to get out of the truck.


    "Casey, don''t extend the ladder all the way. We might need to move quickly," Adams said.


    Casey nodded as Chester pulled out his medical supplies along with a 12-gauge.


    "Chester, you''re with me. Let''s secure the perimeter. We don''t want those goblins coming around behind us," Adams ordered as they got out of the fire truck.


    They were already at the back of the mob of police vehicles. He pulled out his own 12-gauge as he surveyed the scene. Thorn was already making her way up into the bucket as the ladder extended upwards. She should have a good line of sight in all directions. Chester was already setting up an area to address the injuries with the other paramedics. Thorn just looked bored as she handled the Ar-15. The sound of gunfire intensified quickly, turning as consistent as the sound of hail.


    "Thorn, how does it look?" Adams asked over the interpersonal radios his group was using for communications.


    "There are a lot of goblins, hundreds, maybe thousands. They''re just running at us like a horde of zombies. Cross is handling them well enough, but I think we''re going to run out of ammunition before we end the horde, Sir." she snapped out.


    "Alright, keep me updated. We can¡ª" Adams''s next words caught in his mouth as he turned to look at the road they had just driven down. Goblins, followed by a hulking figure covered in fur, were already circling around behind them, cutting off their escape. No, this was too soon. This was planned.


    Adam dialed his radio to the general and shouted. "IT''S A TRAP!!! There behind us, this is a trap!!!"


    Adams raised his 12-gauge and opened fire. Thorn, Casey, Chester, and the other officers in the back line also opened fire. The child-sized goblins dropped on impact, but the hulking figure seemed to ignore the bullets. He immediately tried to use [Identify] on the thing.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Ug-tug


    Race: Troll


    Subrace: Swamp


    Level: 7


    HP: 1095


    MP: 75


    Stamina: 1945


    Type: Goblinoid / Giant


    Immune: Water, Poison


    Resistance: Physical, Disease


    Weak: Mind, Cold, Lighting


    Bane: Goblin slayer, Giantslayer, Fire, Acid, Rot


    Skills: Keen Smell, Regeneration, Water Breathing, Strong Arms, Hide Presence


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Fuck we''ve got a troll in the rear!!" he shouted through his radio.


    Tom had warned him about trolls. Their resistance to physical attacks meant bullets would be less effective; worse, their regeneration would render firearms functionally useless even if they did hurt them. That didn''t stop him from uploading his entire clip into the troll''s center of mass. The green-skinned monster stumbled backwards, gripping its bleeding torso, the injuries were shallower than he expected, but he was already reloading as the thought crossed his mind, but as the troll''s hand dropped from its torso, Adam felt his stomach drop as the damage he inflicted was already gone from the hairy chest, and It looked pissed.


    "Fuck, any ideas?!" Adams called out. Only then did he realize that the others were holding back the goblins.


    The troll let out a cruel smile as it charged at him, its massive arms outstretched like oak trees.


    Tom''s words echoed in his mind as he raised his shotgun. "Trolls are resistant to physical damage and can regenerate from almost anything. A bullet just won''t do enough damage to kill a troll unless you get a much bigger caliber. If you have to fight a troll, spread out the damage across the troll''s body as much as possible. First, it will hurt a lot. Second, the troll can only regenerate so much damage so fast, and it''s not something it can control. It can''t ignore a minor injury in favor of a critical one. It''s all or nothing, so by spreading out the damage, you can slow the regeneration."


    Adams sprayed the troll with shells hitting its torso, face, arms, legs, and its dick. The troll roared in pain as it raced towards him, its movements turning ragged and ungainly. Adams lept to the side, rolling with the movement as the troll tried to body slam into the ground.


    "Aim for the joints, eyes, testicles. Regenerating muscle and bone is easy. Regenerating a complex organ isn''t." Tom''s voice echoed in his ears as he reloaded


    Taking aim, he blasted the troll in both knees, causing it to roar in anger. Its arm flung up at him, smacking him away like a child. He landed on the sidewalk with an umph. He rolled backwards, trying to absorb the impact, but his chest hurt. He was sure his rib was bruised, if not broken.


    The troll didn''t stop. It started to drag itself towards him on its arms, its legs dragging behind it uselessly as it regenerated its kneecaps. Adams blew out the troll''s right eye first, and then its left. The troll howled but didn''t stop dragging itself bulkily towards him. Its eyes started to bubble, slowly regenerating.


    Then, the last part of Tom''s advice drifted into his mind, almost like an afterthought.


    "Alex already taught you the fireball spell, so if you run into a troll, just chuck a few of those at them. It will die in no time." Tom had said almost flippantly


    Adams scrambled backwards as he conjured a fireball. The spell took 2 seconds to cast. During that time, the troll was already getting to its feet. Before it could do more than rise to its full height, he flung the spell directly into the troll''s face. The troll lit up like it had been doused in oil. The troll screamed, not howled, screamed as its hair caught on fire and its skin peeled and burned, turning what had been a living creature into a funeral pyre. Adams got to his feet, trying to ignore the horror of what he had just done as he refocused on the battle.


    "Hold our exit," Adam called out as he raced to the frontline.


    He needed to warn Cross about the danger before their exit was cut off. What he saw when he got to the front of the group shocked him. An endless sea of green surged forward as the officers gunned them down. Trolls peeked out from the sea of goblins, slowly making their way towards them. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    "We need to leave." Adams cursed as he felt his panic try to rise.


    Years of experience made him shove that fear down as deep as it could go as he keyed his radio, calling for an immediate response.


    He was found by a police officer. He was bleeding from half a dozen injuries and an arrow made out of ice in his leg, his face beet red. Racing over, he grabbed the officer and tossed him over his shoulder as he turned and ran for the firetruck.


    "Thorn, we need to go. What does it look like up there?!" he called out over the radio.


    He looked up to the bucket just in time to see Throne boots smack into the top of his head and they both went tumbling to the ground.


    "SGT, what the --" Adam''s words were interrupted as a red steak blew apart the fire truck''s bucket. It wasn''t the only one. Dozens of other explosions sounded out, accompanied by the secondary explosions of fuel tanks igniting. Men and women screamed as they were sent flying by the blast or killed outright.


    "What the hell is going on?" Adams demanded.


    "Artillery fire made out of blood, sir," Thorn said straight-faced.


    "How bad is it?" Adams demanded as they scrambled back to his feet.


    "At least a dozen trolls are coming in from the front. They are managing, but if they kill the trolls, they have to let the goblins get close. We''re losing, sir." Thorn spoke as quickly and clearly as possible.


    Adams was about to respond when more trolls came to attack them from the back. Adam swore as he prepared another fireball, tossing it into one of the advancing trolls. Thorn had already brought her rifle up and was shooting into their ranks.


    "Major permission to engage," Chester called out.


    "You think it would help?" Adams asked.


    "Leave the trolls to me!" Chester said.


    Adam unleashed his last fireball, killing another troll. "Do it. We need to get out of here before anything else goes wrong."


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been affected by the blood magic spell: Vasoconstriction


    Your blood flow has been slowed. - 30% to STR and AGIL - 15% PER. HP and stamina regeneration have been reduced by 20%


    You have been afflicted with [fear]. You have resisted [fear]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Adams immediately felt sluggish and short of breath. But that wasn''t what scared him. What had him utterly terrified, regardless of the notification, was the fact that this message indicated that the goblins had a blood mage.


    "I had to open my mouth," he cursed.


    Then Chester charged the troll, blasting it with his gun as the purple bear apparition tackled it.


    "Wait, that won''t --" Adam''s words died as he realized that the Troll Chester was engaging wasn''t healing; in fact, its skin was starting to necrotize already. Adams watched in morbid fascination as Chester danced around the troll, leaving small injuries on the beast as the entire thing started to slowly rot. The purple bear apparition did the rest, ripping out chunks of flesh as the troll''s own attacks passed right through it.


    Adams snapped himself out of his inattention as another scream broke through his stupor. Turning away from the carnage, he really hoped Chester could handle the troll. Keying his radio to the general channel, he shouted out orders.


    "All units, this is Major Adams. I am ordering an immediate retreat. I repeat I am ordering an immediate retreat. All units rendezvous at Hopkins High School."


    "Get off this channel, Adams." Captain Cross'' voice cut through the static, but Adams didn''t care. Tom had been very clear that if the bloodstone had a blood mage operating it, they were dead.


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been affected by the blood magic spell: Blood Harvest 3


    As you are still alive, Blood Harvest 3 does not affect you.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    For a single moment, everything seemed to go silent, and then everybody, every dead goblin troll and human exploded as every drop of blood was ripped out of them and dragged into the sky. A river of blood rose into the sky, descending behind the line of goblins who were still dying and feeding the ever-hungry river of blood.


    Adam was transfixed by the Red River until he heard a scream. Turning to the side, Adams found one of the paramedics being disemboweled by a goblin. He kicked the goblin hard enough to send it flying.


    "Help," the paramedic gasped.


    Adams picked him up and dragged him over to Casey, who was trying to treat a dozen people with her meager healing magic.


    "Alright, everyone. It''s time to go!!!" Adams called out. Casey, get us out of here!!!"


    "We''ve still got injured!!" Casey called out.


    "Toss them in a vehicle; we don''t have time!" Adams said, picking up a person and tossing them into the truck. Tom had said it again and again: The bloodstone was a battery that used blood as its power source, so what the hell could the goblins do with that much blood?!


    Turning, he found at least a hundred officers running toward them. Casey had already turned the fire truck around and was slowly driving away as Chester packed the injured people into the fire truck like sardines.


    Adams wasn''t done, though. He could still save a few more people. Turning, he moved to go and help another person. It was another police officer. This one was nursing a broken arm. He picked the man up as he turned to leave, But he was too late. There was a blinding red light, and the world around him erupted in pain. Cross was torn from his arms as he was sent skidding across the asphalt as he came to a stop. He absently wondered why he was still alive. Some small part of his brain pointed out he was now resistant to physical damage.


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <[Toughness] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Turnout gear] has Reached Level 28>


    <[Life Safe] has Reached Level 10>


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    For rescuing multiple people from large-scale war magic and surviving said magic, you have unlocked the class Rescue Ranger.


    Class Fusion Detected: [Fire Fighter], [Police Officer], and [Paramedic] have combined into [Rescue Ranger] - (Mythic)


    The Rescue Rangers are the first on the scene of natural disasters. Unlike normal rescue operations that save lives after a crisis, you are there to save lives during a crisis. Leap into the eye of a hurricane to help an old lady, travel to the bottom of the sea to save a submarine crew, race into an erupting volcano to save a puppy, or walk into a reactor to stop a meltdown, the Rescue Ranger can operate in any environment they need to in order to save lives.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">UPGRADE!!! [Toolkit] ¡ú [Bound Weapons] - Ancient: Allows the user to bind up one weapon to your soul and an additional weapon every ten levels of this skill for a total of eleven. Each of these weapons will be bound to your soul, becoming a soul-bound weapon. Bound weapons can be summoned into your hand from any distance and safely stored within your soul, where they slowly regenerate durability and self-repair over time. Provides a 1.25% increase to weapon mastery per skill level, but only for bound weapons. A Bound weapon may be unbound, but the slot will be locked for one month, and you will be unable to bind a new weapon until the month is over.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">FUSION!!! [Turnout gear] + [Toughness] + [Lifesafe] ¡ú [Hazmat] - Epic: You Gain 0.5% resistance per skill level to Physical, Elemental, and Vitality effects.</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">FUSION!!! [Identify] + [Greater Detection] + [Danger Sense] ¡ú [All-Seeing Eye] - Ancient: You can see a person''s status. Through continued use, you have gained the ability to see through techniques to obscure your sight, allowing you to see through environmental factors attempting to reduce your vision, such as fog, smoke, and darkness. You can also see at a glance how dangerous other people are to you. You can sense incoming danger. Finally, you have a sphere of perception around your body that is equal to 1 centimeter per point of perception. +10% PER</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fusion!!! [Freeze] + [First aid] ¡ú [Stasis] - Rare: Your experience as both an officer of the law and a medic has coalesced into this skill. You can now place a person in temporal stasis, locking all movements and metabolic functions. The person may then be placed in your [Storage] to be taken out later to heal them or take them prisoner. While the person in stasis cannot be harmed, buffs and debuffs may be placed on the subject, though they will remain frozen in time until [Stasis] is removed. This is a time effect. </li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He kind of wished he could enjoy the upgrade, but he was pretty sure he had a concussion. Despite getting thrown into the air, everything just felt great. He stared up into the red dawn as snowflakes fell down around him. It was so beautiful, so amazing. Chester''s face appeared over his head, looking down at him.


    "Chester?" Adams whispered as he reached up to touch his face.


    The big guy ignored his hand as he kept moving. Adam tried to suppress his chuckling as Chester picked him up and raced towards the fire truck. Adam''s head lolled to the side. His eyes traced to where he had been standing just before the blast.


    Half of the vehicles were still there, wholly wrecked by whatever had blasted them; bodies littered the ground, human, goblin, troll. It didn''t matter; the blood was drained from all three of them into the awful red river.


    Adam felt a jolt as Chester leapt onto the truck, holding onto the back of the fire truck as they drove away. Even as they drove away, Adam couldn''t take his eyes off that red river.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Bailey Adams


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: British


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 36


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1200


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1520


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 320


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 19.2 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 6.4 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Major, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 7%, Elemental 7%, Vitality 7%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Rescue Ranger 15, Major 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 96


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 70


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 52


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 96


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 64 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 48 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL, +3 DEX, +3 PER, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 11/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    - [Pursuite Hunter] - Level 20


    - [Storyteller] - Level N/A


    - [Storage] - Level 19


    Rescue Ranger 07/16


    - [Bound Weapon] - Level 19 >> Level 9


    - [Hazmat] - Level 14


    - [Snake Eyes] - Level 22


    - [All-Seeing Eye] - Level 13


    - [Fancy Feet] - Level 17


    - Capstone: [Empty]


    - [Stasis] - Level 7


    - [Empty]


    Major 01/11


    - [Military Leader] - Level 1 >> Level 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 60: Modular Workshop

    Duncan raced out of Hopkins''s front door. After Eve and Tom had run out of the council meeting, he got up to follow. Even if he wasn''t a proper healer, he did have two skills that could help.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Aura of the Sun] - Epic


    [Aura of the Sun]: The Aura of the Sun radiates a powerful and nurturing energy, healing everyone within its reach by 1 HP per minute per skill level. The aura extends to a range of 1 centimeter per point of EGO, ensuring comprehensive coverage. It bestows the [Calm] buff every 100 minutes, with the interval between instances decreasing by 1 minute per skill level, promoting a continuous state of tranquility. Additionally, the skill allows the user to glow, with light intensity increasing by 1% per skill level, and exudes heat, raising the temperature by 1% per skill level to provide warming effects that are generally harmless.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Zen Master] - Historic


    [Zen Master]: The Zen Master skill enhances your ability to regenerate and maintain focus. While meditating or sleeping, it increases all regeneration rates by 2% per skill level, effectively tripling the rate of recovery. The skill allows the user to focus intensely on tasks, blocking out all pain and distractions. Additionally, the user gains the [Calm] buff, promoting a serene state of mind. Moreover, the Zen Master enables the user to teach the skill [Meditation] to others, sharing the benefits of deep focus and recovery.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Meditation] - Uncommon


    [Meditation]: While meditating or sleeping, this skill enhances all regeneration rates by 2%, accelerating the recovery of health, mana, and stamina. The focus and tranquility achieved through meditation amplify the body''s natural healing processes, providing a significant boost to overall recovery.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As Duncan reached Tom and Eve, he froze at the sight in front of him. It was a sight that was becoming increasingly familiar, and people were bleeding all over the parking lot as officers and first responders were unloaded from the vehicles.


    "Where the hell is Major Adams?" Tom called out as he moved towards the deluge of refugees. Duncan followed after him, preparing his own spells as he went.


    "Help," some called out.


    Tom blasted the man with a deluge of healing magic.


    "Get up. You''re fine," Tom said as he walked past the now-healthy man.


    Tom didn''t spare anyone an ounce of bedside manner, just blasting anyone who looked slightly injured with a heal spell.


    There were gasps as people found their injuries closing up and their bodies restored. Duncan was a little jealous of that level of skill. His aura was passively healing everyone who came in range. Unfortunately, it was only general healing. Its range was just under a meter, and it wasn''t focused. Duncan expected that he was doing little more than saving Tom and Eve some work. The [Meditation] skill he was handing out would be more useful in the long run.


    "Adams?!" Tom called out.


    "Over here!" someone called out.


    Duncan turned and found a large Native American man racing up to Tom ¡­ Chester. He had to check his status to remember the man''s name¡ªor maybe he didn''t know the man''s name in the first place.


    "Chester, what the fuck happened?!" Tom punctuated his question with another wave of healing. "What is this?!"


    Chester came to a stop in front of him; he was covered in blood, but Duncan hadn''t seen any injuries on his status.


    "We tried to clear out the goblin base. We found trolls, and I think they have a blood mage."


    "Yeah, I know. We called you guys about it yesterday," Tom said. We reached the North Newton Precinct."


    "What?! We didn''t hear anything about this!" Caset spat.


    "Have you confirmed the presence of a blood mage?" Tom asked.


    "Well, all of the blood on the ground rose up into a river of blood in the sky," Chester said pointedly.


    "Yeah, that''s a blood mage." Duncan agreed.


    "Where is the Major? He didn''t die?" Tom asked.


    "Died on the way here," Chester admitted. "He was helping with the retreat when we got hit with a big blast of red light. I think he bleeds into his brain."


    "Dammit," Tom muttered. "At least I can bring him back."


    They spent the next two hours healing people. Eve had worked with Chester to set up a full triage station, and people were being attended to. Duncan had to remind her multiple times to use her magic instead of relying purely on her medical skills. Still, by the time it was almost 10 in the morning, things finally started to calm down, at which point Tom finally cornered him to ask some pointed questions about Kwantlin becoming a settlement.


    "So you''re telling me that the original boss was this Seraphel?" Tom asked.


    "Yeah," Duncan nodded. Now I''m wondering if he didn''t bring the bloodstone over with him."


    "What good would that do?" Tom asked. "A bloodstone isn''t very useful without a blood mage."


    "True," Duncan said.


    "I''m sensing a but coming," Tom said.


    "But," Duncan said with a smile. "The bloodstone can be used as a power source for something like, say, a portal."


    Tom swore. "Fuck, that makes too much sense. Seraphel wouldn''t even need to understand what he was doing. A [Knowledge] skill would have allowed him to recreate a basic runic gateway and plug in the bloodstone. All they would have really needed was some way to draw in the gateway, some kind of targeting system on the other side, and they would have had thousands of shamans for that."


    "At this point, they would have been sent through a vanguard to build the other side of a permanent gateway and collect more sacrifices on this side of the portal. All of which matches what Eve and I experienced." Duncan said.


    "But why not just send the bloodstone with a [Bloodmage]?" Tom asked, then he froze. "In game balance, a [Bloodmage], even one with extensive soul damage, would be nearly unbeatable. So they sent someone who couldn''t use the bloodstone. The stupid thing might even have been registered as loot."


    "And now they can bring as many goblins over as the gate can handle, and since goblin hordes can be in the millions ¡­" Duncan trailed off.


    The goblin horde would have to kill everyone in the Vancouver area to bring their entire horde over. The system seemed to agree with their theorizing.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Regional Quest Update: Bloody Goblin Horde


    You have discovered the goblins'' purpose and how they''ve been managing to bring so many of their kind to Noralon. To remain in this region, you must remove their ability to call in more troops and their leadership.


    Objectives:


    Destroy or Capture the Bloodstone: 0/1


    Destroy or Capture the Gate: 0/1


    Bonus Objectives:


    Kill all of the Goblins: 8,942 / ?????


    Kill the ????: 0/1


    Kill Seraphel: 0/1


    Kill Goblin Shaman: 1/1


    Kill ???: 1/1


    Kill ??? 0/1


    Rewards:


    2 Levels for everyone involved, Bonus XP for Everyone, a Title: Goblin Killer, 5000 Settlement Points, Winter Event Guild Token


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Fuck" Tom said. "We need troops, weapons, supplies. None of which we have. We''re basically a bunch of glorified babysitters."


    Duncan shook his head.


    "I can''t help you with troops or supplies, but I can still help craft weapons and armor. I''m not that useful out here. I''m heading inside and getting us some proper crafters," Duncan said.


    "Yeah, sure. I''m going to try to find the major in this mess. He might have some ideas," Tom said, stomping off.


    Duncan didn''t know why, but something caused him to speak up.


    "If you could go back to the way things were, would you?" Duncan asked as Tom made to leave.


    Duncan had considered that question on and off since the goblin attacks. Before the goblins, he would have said hell no, but now he was less sure. Tom smiled despite having his clothes covered in blood.


    "Honestly, no. For all of the responsibility I have on my shoulders now, I don''t think I would want to go back," Tom admitted.


    "Well, you better enjoy it then," Duncan said, a little surprised by those words.


    But he didn''t let Tom see what he was feeling. Turning, he moved back into the school. He ended up going to the first floor, or maybe it was the first basement? It was hard to tell as the school was built into a hill, and since his workshop technically didn''t have windows, he supposed it would be considered a basement.


    He shrugged as he made his way down to where the craftsmen were supposed to wait for him. He had asked Tom for this job because he had been going to school to be an engineer. While he was primarily the group''s healer, he had also done plenty of playthroughs as an artificer. But more than that, the first few days of fighting and fleeing from the goblins were haunting, and he wasn''t ready to jump back into combat.


    As he made his way to the doors of his workshop, his train of thought was banished as He found at least a couple hundred people milling around outside of the [Modular Workshop]. It would appear that a truly stupid number of people had wanted to at least try crafting, and he was expecting to lose at least half of the people here. But he was ok with that.


    ¡°Alright then, for those of you joining us today, you have decided to join the awoken myths crafting division. Congratulations on your fantastic choice. For those of you feeling sorry because you are incapable or unwilling to fight, don¡¯t. This division will be the backbone of the guild, and if you can¡¯t take some basic pride in your work, I¡¯ll throw you out. Now saying that, let me make this clear: none of you have the skill levels needed to be useful at the moment, so don''t worry about the string of failures we are about to make in order to help you grind your way into making common rarity items. We''ve got some people with experience in tailoring, smithing, alchemy, carpentry, jewelers, masonry, and runes. I recommend you learn a bit of everything before you specialize because, trust me, it will all come into play at some point.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "What about enchanting?" someone asked.


    Duncan thought it looked like that guy Gareth, only a stranger. Duncan quickly double-checked. Not Gareth, but Issac, Gareth''s brother? They had the same last name, so he assumed so.


    "We have no soul stones, so we can''t do any enchanting," Duncan said as he led the group inside the now massive workshop. The area had been extended under the road in front of the school to provide them with a truly enormous space. Now, Do you know what makes this workshop so useful?¡±


    Everyone shook their heads.


    Duncan commanded a section of the workshop to transform into the black stone of the [Foundry of Adamantine Torch Dragon], much to the shock of the gathered people. Then he commanded another section of [Cauldron of Molecular Wisdom]. Soon, the entire workshop became a patchwork of every other specialized crafting room in Hopkins.


    ¡°This workshop allows us to borrow the abilities and functions of the other rooms without directly affecting the room. On top of that, we can customize the layout to account for whatever project we are doing. Right now, we''re going to be working on leatherworking, blacksmithing, and Caprety. We''re going to be smelting ingots, working with leather, and making bunk beds. The first few are going to be failures, so don''t worry about them. For those of you who have unassigned levels, pick the [Student] class and the [Eager Student] skill. It will make this go faster. Once you do that, grab a measuring tape, and let''s get to work." Duncan said.


    The first thing Duncan needed was to reduce the pelts and skins they had into raw leather, and then the raw leather needed to be further reduced into leather straps. Unfortunately, they didn''t have a leather shop, so he altered the workshop into the [Weavers Den]. It would help them get started.


    The learning curve was steep. They didn''t have enough pelts for everyone, so they had to share, and most of the pelts were mangled. Alot of People didn''t prepare them properly or sliced them into pieces. But Duncan considered the rewards worth the cost.


    <You have Acquired [Leatherworking]>


    <[Leatherworking] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Leatherworking] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Upgrade] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Upgrade] has Reached Level 3>


    After they finished mangling the last pelt, Duncan altered the workshop to a foundry, and they got to work smelting scraps from cars, broken armor, and broken weapons. It was mainly car parts.


    Fortunately, the Adamantine Dragon Foundry could separate different metals even if they were all chucked in at once despite the fact that they had steel, aluminum, chromium, and a dozen other trace metals. They ended up with hundreds of steel and aluminum ingots. All of these had to go right back in the foundry due to their inferior quality, and unlike the leather, they could practice. A few people burned themselves, but Duncan quickly healed them and allowed them to get back to work. Issac surprised him. The kid was a natural smith and was already creating Lesser rarity ingots. Of course, the vast majority of people ended up needing to resmelt their ingots at least six times before the quality got out of the trash rating. At that point the average blacksmithing skill rose high enough that he could start to shift people onto other tasks.


    <You have Acquired Blacksmithing>


    <Blacksmithing has Reached Level 2>


    <Blacksmithing has Reached Level 3>


    <¡­.>


    <Blacksmithing has Reached Level 8>


    <[Upgrade] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Upgrade] has Reached Level 5>


    <...>


    <[Upgrade] has Reached Level 7>


    Within an hour, they had finished the first step of refining all of the gathered material and were ready to start on the next job.


    Last night, Travis asked him to help him with his [Ritual Architect] Class. Travis had purchased two abilities; the first was [Construct], and the second was [Raze]. [Construct] allowed Travis to dump a bunch of raw materials and a blueprint into a ritual circle, and then a bunch of people with the right skills could just hammer on the circle like they were workers in an age of empire''s game and the building would be constructed in minutes. Unfortunately, they learned that Travis needed at least one more ability called [Blueprint] to actually be able to make anything. There was a slight oversight on Travis''s part. [Raze], on the other hand, dismantled a building and left it with the raw materials. That one cost a lot of mana upfront, but after razing a dozen of the abounding buildings in front of the school, they had gotten their hands on a good supply of construction materials. Travis was using a small portion to build the new watch tower.


    The rest of the wood was going to Duncan''s students. And he had plans for them.


    "Alright, everyone. I''m happy to say I''m pleased with the work you''ve done so far. Our next project is going to be both a training exercise and an increase in the defenses of our school. We''re going to be creating Cheval de Frise. Basically, we''re going to be making two thick spears, tying them together in an X shape, and then we''re going to be lashing those Xs together into walls to fortify the school further. Do you have any questions?" he asked.


    "Are we really in that much danger?" Issac asked. "I thought we were safe here."


    "Safety is an illusion. No defense is perfect. So we''re going to add to our defenses while we train your carpentry skills. Let''s get to work."


    The excuse was the most successful out of everything he had them doing so far. It was hard to fuck up sharpening a piece of wood. The slightly harder part was grabbing a larger piece of wood, generally a log, and drilling a hole through the logs in order to place the spears in the log.


    <You have Acquired the Skill Carpentry>


    <Carpentry has Reached Level 2>


    <Carpentry has Reached Level 3>


    ¡­.


    <Carpentry has Reached Level 9>


    <[Upgrade] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Upgrade] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Upgrade] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Fang of Man] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Work Horse] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Work Horse] has Reached Level 8>


    <...>


    <[Work Horse] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Teacher] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Foreman] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Foreman] has Reached Level 10>


    <...>


    <[Foreman] has Reached Level 12>


    When they got their skill level into the double digits, Duncan had them move on to furniture. They had enough beds for everyone, but a dozen beds in a single room didn''t leave people with a lot of personal space, so they were going to work on creating bunk beds to help free up space. Most of the time, they took two pre-existing beds of the same size and made some minor changes to turn them into a single bunk bed. People with more experience worked on creating new beds from scratch.


    Duncan was impressed that some of the people who had done Carpentry before the system were shooting up the levels. One guy was already at level 45 despite having only earned the skill an hour ago.


    "Hey Duncan!!" someone called out.


    Duncan turned around to find Gareth walking up to him.


    "Have you seen my brother?" Gareth asked.


    "Yeah, he''s been working with me all day. He''s average at carpentry and leatherworking and good at smithing." Duncan said, offering his honest praise.


    "I''m about to head out with Luke, and I want to bring him with us," Gareth said.


    Duncan frowned. "Are you sure about that?"


    "You guys have been saying it since day one: We need levels. Issac is already three days behind everyone else," Gareth said as he walked off to his brother.


    "Issac, come on, we''re going hunting," Gareth said as he tapped Issac on the shoulder.


    Issac waved him off.


    "Give me a minute; I want to finish this," Issac said as he whittled down a spear point.


    "You can do this later. There is only so much light in the day, and it''s already snowing. We''re heading out to get medicine in five minutes; it''s time to go," Gareth said, picking up his younger brother in one hand.


    "Hey," Issac swore as he dropped the tools he was working with. "Put me down!"


    "You need to learn how to protect yourself," Gareth said. "If you don''t like it, make me stop."


    Gareth carried his brother by the scruff of his coat as he walked out of the workshop. Duncan signed. He wasn''t sure if he should offer Isaac his help. He could see where Gareth was coming from. But he also knew that failure was often a better teacher than anything he could offer. So he kept silent. He just hoped he wouldn''t come to regret that decision.


    "Alright, everyone. We need to finish up the wood crafts, and then we can move on to some basic alchemy," Duncan called out as he resumed teaching.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Duncan Coffeehouse


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Artificial


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 25


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1470


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 3045


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4200


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 18.9 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 27.3 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 16.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 65%, Mind 50%,


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Elemental 35%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Artslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Settler 20 MAX, 1 Unassigned


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 231


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 126


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 126


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 105


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 92


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 210


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 84


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 63


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 210 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 126


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 126


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 105


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 84 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 210


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 84


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 63


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 42 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal:+4 DEX +3 STR +3 INT +2 PER +2 WILL


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR +5 INT


    Skills: +4 AGIL


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Arn Battle Cyborg] - Legendary: Your ancestors were part of the great Arn Empire as a front-line Battle Cyborg. These cyborgs were not only devastating shock troops, but their ability to self-repair and self-improve Transformed them into one of the most adaptable warriors in the galaxy. It also led to the fall of the Arn Empire when their cyborgs rebelled.


    <ul>


    <li>[Kitchen Sink] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Upgrade] - Level 1 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Work Horse] - Level 6 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[War Horse] - Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Techno-path] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Machine Mind] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Machine Learning] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Nanite Heart] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 STR</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 19/60: Skill Points: 5


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 29</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Zen Mastery] - Level 33</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Arcane Awakening] - Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Teacher] - Level 16 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leatherworking] - Level 1 >> Level 3</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Blacksmithing] - Level 1 >> Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Carpentry] - Level 1 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    Settler 11/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Fang of Man] - Level 25 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Aura of the Sun] - Level 33</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Weather the Storm] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Foreman] - Level 8 >> Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Heartseeker] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Legendary Strength] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[All-Seeing Eye] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Quest Giver] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty] </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Create Settlement] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 61: Daily Grind

    Tom and Chester sat beside Major Adams as he woke up.


    "My head," Adams groaned. "What happened?"


    "You died," Tom said.


    "What?" Adamas asked, startled. "How?"


    "You bleed into your brain. I think. Now, what the hell happened out there." Tom asked, pushing Adams for more information. He needed this information.


    Chester looked a little sheepish but didn''t argue.


    "We were ambushed," Adams admitted. The moment we arrived, they tried to cut off our escape. The trolls let them get too close, and they had artillery. I think it was that blood mage you warned us about," Adams said.


    "It may be worse than that," Tom said.


    The major looked up at him in concern.


    "Just after you guys left, I got to talking with Luke and Duncan. Duncan was at Want University when the system was initiated. According to him, an albino drow was originally the boss of the Want in settlement. We believe this drow had something called a Way Stone, an item that gave his horde his spatial quartets, allowing his tribe to create a portal here and start moving their forces ."


    "What the hell do they want?" the Major asked.


    "Dominance," Tom stated. "In the game, goblins and humans fought for territory. If one side took the area, they either pushed out or wiped out the other population. According to the flavor text, we''re competing for the same ecological niche, so this is very much a ''there can only be one'' situation." Tom said


    "You can''t be serious," Major Adams said. "We have to kill them all?"


    Tom shook his head.


    "Goblins are hostile to everyone. These ones have already committed mass murders, rape, and human sacrifices. The only humanoids that can join the goblin faction are orcs. And I''ll tell you right now that unless these goblins are completely different from the game, it will come down to them or us. I don''t think I need to tell you which side we''re taking." Tom said.


    "I take it you have a plan?" Chester asked hopefully.


    "The beginnings of one, regardless. Right now, I need your help, Major. We have first responders, larpers, and civilians, and I need someone to wrangle them all together into something resembling an army," Tom stated.


    "You''re not going to try yourself?" Adams asked.


    "Would the RCMP listen to my instructions? How many civilians would I be able to get to volunteer? I could get the larpers to help, but that''s a mob, not an army. And I have things to do, people to resurrect, deals to make, and admin things to do, so I won''t have time to help."


    "You''re also not a soldier." Adams pointed out.


    "It doesn''t matter," Tom said arrogantly. I''m probably not qualified to be an overlord either, and yet here I am."


    "Start grabbing low-level groups of people and have them run through the nearby lairs. I know we hit up most of the close ones, but we have enough vehicles to go to other places. I want this part made clear. Anyone using a gun is going to focus on the goblins. The larpers and volunteers are going to focus on the trolls."


    "Alright then." Adams groaned as he got back up.


    "Chester, I want you to go around to everyone and ask them about what injured them. I want to know if there are any actors I need to be concerned about," Tom said as he got up to leave.


    Chester said. "What about the other dead?"


    "We can do them after Lunch," Tom said flippantly. I''m going to need a lot of help to bring back this many people, so we might as well do it after lunch, which is less disruptive."


    Tom pulled up his system and knocked out a quick system quest, informing everyone that they were doing a mass resurrection after lunch and that they needed to show up to donate mana.


    "You could stand to work on your bedside manner, you know," Chester said.


    "Oh yes, sir, let me take some time out of my ever-shrinking schedule to be nice to you as I magically fix what ails you. You''re living in a video game now, Chester. The video game rules say to heal them and move on. If you don''t like it, then you won''t get healed."


    Chester winced.


    "I''ve got stuff that needs doing today, then I''ve got meetings tomorrow. Trust me, you guys have the easier jobs. Head to the media center on the other side of the cafeteria. You can make an announcement there."


    Tom jogged away as his mental checklist grew ever larger. He pulled out a notepad and tried to write out his to-do list with mana alone. He was partially successful.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Toms To Do''s


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Take Chloe to (not school)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Set up Scroll Factory</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Do admin stuff with Alex</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Combine Scribe and Pro-gamer Classes into Exorcist</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Train Larpers</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Use bloodline to give everyone upgrades</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Pay off Starkiller to help with Goblins</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Convince Player killers to help with Goblins</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He ran to his room, finding Chloe putting on a fresh pair of oversized clothes as Lucy sat beside her.


    Tom gulped when he saw the hellhound again. If Lucy hadn''t been Chloe''s tamed pet before she evolved, he would have had to kill her. Well, he would have gotten Abaddon and Skippy to kill her while he and Alex buffed the shit out of their friends. The only thing even more dangerous than a hellhound was that frost wyvern they had seen on their first day in the system.


    On the plus side, he was no longer concerned for his sister''s safety; now, he was just concerned for everyone else''s safety. Progress.


    "Come on, Chloe, it''s time to head out," Tom said.


    "Where are we going?" Chloe asked


    "You''re going to the gym so that you can hang out with the other kids there. They''ve got snacks, games, and pads. And the theatre is going to be playing movies all day, so you guys can just sneak down there to watch a movie," Tom said.


    "Can Lucy come?" Chloe asked.


    "Of course, she can," Tom said. He was pretty sure he couldn''t stop Lucy from doing anything. The bloody dog was immune to all magic and could dig through concrete.


    Tom led Lucy down to the Gymnasium while Chloe sat on her canine mount. Lucy''s abyss-black fur, ruby eyes, and glow-in-the-dark teeth and nails drew some eyes, but most people were placated by the fact that a little girl was riding him like a horse. The only people who weren''t placated were the ones who scanned the dog. Those people looked like they were about to have a heart attack as they realized just what his sister was riding.


    "Tom, What if I want to hang out with you?" Chloe asked.


    "Ah, well, as much as I would love to, I''m going to be spending a lot of the day talking to people. You''re going to have a lot more fun with your friends. It''s going to be just like school," Tom said.


    "I don''t like school," Chloe said.


    "No one likes school, Chloe. It''s school. Besides, this isn''t school, and you''re still going."


    When they arrived at the gymnasium, Tom was slightly stunned. Over a thousand children, from preteens to kids as young as five, were running around the gym, and they very clearly didn''t have enough adults.


    Tom let out a sign as Chloe and Lucy ran off into the crowd.


    "Good evening, Mr.Bruner," Ms.Lewis said as she wandered over to him.


    "How bad is it?" Tom asked as he looked at the sea of children.


    "It''s not great, but it''s not impossible. We have about one adult for every forty-five children. It''s not ideal, but I''m grateful not to have to deal with those monsters," Ms.Lewis said.


    "Thanks. Look, we can set up a proper system later. Right now, just try and get them as many skills as possible. You should have a list of some basic exercises they can do. Alex will need to set up a meeting later to discuss creating a lesson plan, but I trust you for now,¡± Tom said as he wandered off to find Alex.


    He took a little extra time to grab her some coffee from the cafeteria before he moved towards her new office in what was originally the old school counselors'' room.


    The original school office had been turned into Eve¡¯s Triage Center. It wasn¡¯t ideal, but they needed to reroute the PA system and the TV screens to one of the computer labs that had run the morning announcements.


    When Tom arrived, Alex was sitting at her borrowed desk.


    "Morning," Tom said.


    "Only if you have coffee for me?" Alex asked


    Tom offered her a cup, and she snatched it out of his hands like a golem before sipping, savoring the caffeine as it hit her veins.


    "That''s the stuff." Alex moaned as she slumped into her chair.


    "Don''t worry about it. We''re in this admin war together," Tom said as she nursed her life-giving coffee.


    Alex shook her head.


    "You saved people''s lives. I''ve just been doing admin¡ªmind-numbing admin. I want to fight raid bosses again," she moped.


    "Maybe one day. Did you find the scribes like I asked?"


    "Most of them," she said. "Hanze got the [Job-Board] skill, and it''s been more useful than I thought it would be. I managed to find twenty-seven people who have or are willing to take the [Scribe] class. I might have been able to get more people, but the job had no listed pay. I have them waiting in one of the rooms in the crafting sections on the third floor."


    Tom groaned as he realized the error. They really needed the cores or a bank. It was fine for now, though, as he still had enough for his plan.


    "Alright, I''ll go talk to the scribes. I need them to get to work," Tom said, rising from his chair to leave.


    "I''ll come with you, anything to get away from this," Alex gestured to her desk disgustedly. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    "Alright then," Tom said.


    They walked up to the crafting section in an awkward silence. Neither one of them spoke. Tom wasn''t sure what he was supposed to say to a friend without it being weird. Alex seemed equally awkward as they roamed the halls, each of them shuffling through their notes. The silence was broken as they came to one of the new rooms they had built with the interphase yesterday. Almost thirty people sat at the desks chatting.


    "Hello, everyone. I suppose you''re wondering why I''ve hired you here?" Tom said.


    That got a few chuckles from people who got the reference.


    "Alright, here''s the deal. I need a large supply of magic scrolls like the ones I''ve been handing out to people. Unfortunately, I don''t have time to make enough of these scrolls. So, I''m hiring you guys to do it for me. We don''t have money at the moment, but we''ll pay you back as the cash comes in. On top of that, you are free to learn any spell I give you, and you can make your own scrolls on your own time. If you don''t already have them, you will want to grab the [Copy] and the [Magic scroll] skills. Otherwise, this isn''t going to work. You''ll also need to sign a [contact] that will cover non-disclosure as well as the terms we have already discussed. Any questions?"


    "We''re going to be making and learning magic?" one person asked.


    "Glyphs are a subset of magic. If you want to learn magic spells, you will need to use the scrolls I give you as payment, which is part of our deal. So yes, you will be learning plenty of magic. But I will expect you to work eight hours a day creating magic scrolls for me," Tom reminded them.


    They talked for a few more minutes amongst themselves before they turned to look at him again.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take the job,¡± one of the scribes said.


    ¡°Excellent, I¡¯ve got your scrolls for you guys to copy. Most of them are fireballs. Along with quite a few shield, buff, and healing spells.¡± Tom said as he unloaded the literal mountain of papers he had in his inventory onto the desks.


    "Alright, do we have anything else to do? Tom asked.


    "I need to check in with Will to see our food supplies. Please come with me. It''s so boring, and I just need a friend," Alex said, grabbing his arm.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll be back in eight hours to grab your work. Don¡¯t betray me,¡± Tom said to the new scribes, then turned and left with Alex.


    They made their way down the kitchens quickly enough, though Tom noticed an abundance of pets roaming the halls. Cats congregated on desks like senators, and dogs snuggled up to any nearby humans.


    "Did we always have so many pets around?" Tom asked.


    Alex shook her head. "No, that''s something new. While it''s been good for morale, the amount of cleaning needed to deal with them is starting to become a problem. Fortunately, Duncan''s insistence on putting drains in every room has been helpful, but now we need janitors."


    Tom shrugged.


    "It shouldn''t be too hard. A few people with the right classes, like [Maid], [Janitor], and [Groundskeeper], will be able to keep the entire school clean on their own. On top of that, everyone who gets the [Aura of Cleanliness] will help tidy this place up." Tom said as they arrived at the kitchen.


    Will was baking bread, a woman in a cowboy hat was handling the grill, and what Tom thought might be a Japanese man was making soup. There were dozens of others preparing and cooking food, but those three were the only ones at level 10.


    "Good evening, Will," Tom said as they approached the man.


    "Ah, Tom, I was just thinking we needed to see you," Will said.


    "We?" Tom asked.


    "Mavis, Takashi!!" Will called out.


    The other two level 10 cooks looked up and handed off their projects to others before they came over to him and Alex.


    "We all just hit level 10 in Cook, and we can''t progress any further. So we were wondering about what we should do next." Will stated more than asked.


    "We were hoping to keep improving our abilities in the Kitchen," Takashi said with a thick Japanese accent.


    "Ah ok, I guess I didn''t cover this part. You need to go into your class selection. You should see a bunch of class options with the word Cook upgrade in front of them. Your options should be something like [Butcher], [Baker], etc. Just pick whichever one you like, except [high cook]. If you pick any class with the word High in it, I''ll kick you out of Hopkins myself." Tom warned.


    Tom watched as Will became a [Baker], Mavis became a [Butcher], and Takashi became a [Potager], basically a soup cook.


    "If I might make some suggestions." Tom began. "Mavis has a perfect affinity for fire magic and could pick up [Fire Mage] and [Pyromancer] classes. Takashi has a perfect affinity for water magic and could pick up [Water Mage] and [Aquamancer] classes."


    "Really?" Mavis asked in a southern accent. She seemed interested.


    "Thanks, but I don''t want to fight Monsters," Takashi said.


    "That''s fine. I''m not suggesting you need to fight monsters, but it''s possible to use magic in your cooking, and even if it doesn''t, being able to throw around magic will help ensure your safety," Tom explained.


    "Well, I''m going to learn some magic regardless. It could be fun." Mavis said.


    Tom gave her a thumbs up.


    "Will, how are we doing for our food stocks?" Alex asked. Changing the subject.


    "Oh yes, come this way," Will said, leading them to what had once been the freezer. The freezer was a staircase leading all the way down to the basement. They found six people unloading the meat, organs, and bones from their inventories and placing them in the freezer. The hides were being set aside before they were taken up to Duncan''s workshop.


    "Your plan for moving the meat through the shared inventory has been greatly helpful. Our hunters have been gathering plenty of meat. Unfortunately, our fresh produce is quickly running out. We already took everything from the closest supermarkets, and our supply is nearly out. The other settlements are also scavenging the supermarkets, so we¡¯re competing with them. We were trying to scale back our use of pasta, cheese, milk, and bread to stretch it out. But if I''m being honest, I will be out of fresh produce by Monday. We might be able to stretch the rest of our supplies out until the end of December. But only if our rate of consumption remains consistent."


    "I don''t see that happening," Tom said. We seem to be getting new people every day¡­ actually, we have been getting more people every day."


    Alex coughed to get their attention.


    "Actually, we''ve had almost two thousand people leave Hopkins for the other settlements. Most of them were our middle-aged residents. Though we''ve also had many people immigrate inside of Hopkins, these people are mostly younger and are interested in joining for the promise of magic and adventure. So our current population is around thirty-four hundred. Though that number is steadily rising." Alex said. "We have a lot of unskilled laborers, mostly people who were incapable of gaining employment due to lack of job opportunities, and even more people who are creating pure combat builds."


    Will looked at her in stunned silence.


    Tom snickered, "You are rather good at it for someone who claims to hate their job, aren''t you?"


    "It would be more fun if I could just delegate the boring stuff and focus on the interesting bits. Maybe I should get a sexy secretary to do it for me," Alex admitted.


    "Yeah, um ¡­ what were we talking about again?" Tom asked Will.


    Will said, "We''re going to run out of fresh produce by the end of the week."


    "Right ¡­ I''ve got nothing," Tom admitted.


    "Seriously?" Will asked.


    "Look, I''m sorry, but there are only four ways to get fresh produce in the winter, and we can''t use any of those right now," Tom admitted.


    "What are the options? Just for the record." Will asked.


    "The first option is to take fresh produce from nearby dungeons. Dungeons are climate-controlled, so they won''t be affected by the weather unless they want to. Unfortunately, the dungeon is closed, so we can''t use that option. The second option is to import food as we normally would. That''s not an option at the moment because the monsters are screwing up supply lines. Duh. Which means our only real option is to build greenhouses if we want fresh produce." Alex said


    "I thought you said four options?" Will asked.


    "She''s forgetting the [Gardners] capstone skills, which is called [Soul Garden]. It''s basically an internal greenhouse inside their soul."


    "[Soul Gardens] are meant for growing powerful and rare plants to augment your build. You don''t plant potatoes in a soul," Alex said scandalized. "They are not walking farms. Actually, now that I say it, I think [Farmers] have a skill called [Winter Crops] that allows their farms to operate in winter ---"


    Long story short, the fourth option is to have the proper skill set," Tom explained.


    Will nodded, but Tom wasn''t sure if he had followed along.


    "I think Travis might be able to get us some greenhouses once he gets a few more levels in [Ritual Architect], but yeah, most of these options won''t work until we get back to spring," Tom said.


    "I can look into getting some people to try and grow some smaller plants," Alex said. "We might be able to get some cherry tomatoes, lettuce, even strawberries if we''re lucky."


    "The problem is we need [Farmers] or [Gardners] to do this, and we don''t have any."


    "Which brings us back to the issue of a lack of skilled labor." Alex pointed out.


    "Yeah, anyway, thanks for your help, Will. I''ll send a quest out to Travis about the greenhouses. But he''s already into his twenties, so his leveling speed has slowed right down. Will you please try and preserve as much seed stock as you can? We''re going to need it if we want to start growing our own stuff," Tom said as he walked out of the area, Alex following right behind him.


    The duo walked out of the storage and headed back up to the cafeteria. This time, they went through the school''s bowls rather than taking the shortcut through the kitchen.


    "Well, what''s next?" Tom asked.


    "Well, lunch is in a bit, so I was thinking of taking some time to get a general feel for the mood of Hopkins, see how people are handling the changes, and ---"


    "TOM!!!" Luke''s voice cut Alex off as the guy ran up to him and skidded to a halt.


    "Inside voice." Tom groaned as he waited to hear what fresh Hell Luke was bringing him.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Alex Ling


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Solalfar


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Unlife


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Sun Elf


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 840


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1470


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2760


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 12.6 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 20.6 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 29.1 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Vitality


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Corpseslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Wizard 20, Witch 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 138


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 207


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 105


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 126


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 126 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 189 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 105


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 126


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 INT +4 WILL +3 EGO +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 CHA


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Spector] - Epic: This bloodline endows its bearer with an ethereal connection to the spirit world, blending the boundary between life and death. Those who possess this bloodline gain ghostly abilities, allowing them to move unseen and untouched through the physical realm.


    <ul>


    <li>[Haunting Presence] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ethereal Form] - Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Invisibility] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Steal Life] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Undying Focus] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 15/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Solar Metabolism] - Level 28 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Stable Chanting] - Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana Supersession (System)] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    Wizard 11/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Arcane Awakening] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Arcane Shell] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Charged Attack ¢ñ] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Multi-Cast ¢ñ] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Synchronized Chanting] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Grimoire] - Level 39</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana Sight] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana Manipulation] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Arcane Insight] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Persistent Casting] - Level 3</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Meta-Magic] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Witch 01/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Flying Broomstick] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 62: Going Looting â… 

    Penny stood in a crowd of other scavengers as Luke, Sam, and Travis stood on one of the vehicles to address the group.


    She palmed her bronze dagger, her hands sweaty as she tried to get her anxiety under control. This wasn''t a desperate battle for life and death. This was going to be safe. Skippy had been true to his word. He had taken her out at the crack of dawn for some light monster hunting after she had reset her classes. Skippy had crippled the monster, and then she walked up and stabbed it with her knife.


    As she gained more levels, she started using [Air Magic] and summoning her demon instead of just stabbing everything. Regardless, she managed to reach level ten, five in [Warlock] and five in [Coutasian]. Most of her skills had leveled up. But she did get two personal skills [Meditation] and [Storage] and upgraded her [Poisoned Nails].


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    Skill Fusion Detected


    [Poisoned Nails] - Rare + [Daggers] - Lesser + [Unarmed Fighting] - Lesser ¡ú [Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] - Mythic


    [Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] - Mythic: Jellyfish appear beautiful in the ocean while hiding a deadly touch. Grants +1.25% increase to unarmed and small blade mastery per skill level. This skill applies a subtle paralytic poison on contact, mildly inhibiting the target¡¯s movement with each touch. Repeated exposure deepens the paralysis, progressing from slowed movements to full-body immobility. Prolonged exposure will halt vital functions, ultimately stopping the target''s heart. Increase the rate of toxin injection by 3% per skill level. The poison can be toggled to inflict either a numbing, painless effect or a searing, excruciating sensation. The user gains +10% to their DEX stat.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It was easily her highest-ranked skill she had. And yet. A part of her had wanted to pick up [Musician] or [Bard]. Before all of this, she had wanted to be a music star, and even now, she wanted music to be a part of her life again. But it didn''t feel safe. She didn''t think music would protect her from the goblins, it wouldn''t keep her fed, and it wouldn''t keep the cold away.


    Now, however, she wasn''t going with a safety net. She was heading out with the standard scavenging teams to help gather supplies.


    "Thanks for joining us. This is the scavenging expedition. The hunting expeditions are over by the silver truck with Joey." Luke called out to the crowd.


    One or two people left for the smaller hunting expedition. But most stayed.


    "Alright, Travis here is going to take everyone''s name and classes then we''re going to sort you into groups based on skill synergies. Each group will receive a vehicle and a list of locations we want you to head to. You will have no fewer than three groups to a location." Luke continued.


    Penny got sorted into Luke''s group as another [Mage]. They were going to collect gasoline. More than half of the scavengers were going after food, clothing, water, gas, medical supplies, or some other resource they needed for survival. The others were probably heading off for more friendly items: TVs, computers, books, games, radios, alcohol, and other luxury items.


    "How much longer do we need to wait for Gareth?" Travis asked as the other groups started driving off to their locations.


    More than anyone else, the lizard wizard was covered up in heavy winter clothing to try and battle back the cold. Weirdly enough, Sam and Luke seemed far less affected.


    "He''s getting his brother," Sam said before turning to Travis. "I thought you were supposed to be dealing with creating a tower?"


    "It''s a gatehouse, and I don''t have enough levels for it. I only picked up the first level of [Ritual Architect]," Travis admitted.


    "Hey Travis, could I ask you something?" Penny asked, pulling Travis to the side.


    "Sure what is it you want to know?" Travis responded happily.


    "Why did you get [Ritual Architect]?" Penny asked.


    Travis was the first Beta Tester she met who didn''t have pure combat classes. She hadn''t officially met Duncan yet, so she would bug Travis about her questions.


    "Because I wanted to," Travis said.


    "Yea,h but ¡­ but the world has gone to shit. Before all this, I wanted to be a musician, but now we have goblins and monsters everywhere. Shouldn''t you put everything into combat classes to keep yourself safe?" Penny asked.


    "Hmm, I understand your question is more about you than me. But there are two answers to your question."


    "What are they?" Penny asked, a little desperate.


    "The first answer is that no class is without combat potential. Even [Ritual Architect] has skills that can be used for combat [Fang of Man], [Compound Impacts], [Worker Ant,] and [Warehouse] are all skills I''m hoping to pick up that can directly add me in combat. The other skills could help me if I''m clever." Travis explained.


    "I''m not sure that really applies to me," Penny admitted. "What about the other reason?"


    Travis shrugged. "It''s true I''m losing out on some combat potential because I''m taking [Ritual Architect] instead of something else. But I went to college for a degree in architecture because I wanted a career as an architect."


    "And you''re not willing to give up on your dream? Even now?" Penny asked


    "Especially now," Travis said. Now, I can build whatever I desire. I''m not even constrained by reality as it was. Now I can create magical buildings, Flying Castles, hidden cities, great tombs, and impossible eldritch cities. I am limited only by my magic, my imagination, and my wallet." Travis said as his eyes gleamed. Then he gave her a reptilian smile.


    "What is your dream?" Travis asked.


    Penny blushed. "Music. I had a YouTube channel full of me playing music. I wanted to be a musician."


    "And you think you can''t become powerful with music?" Travis asked.


    "Can I?" Penny asked, a little desperate.


    "Of course. [Bards] specialize in wide-area effects using their music; they are weaker than mages one-on-one, but they excel in large groups. At the same time, they also function as the faces of their parties, doing the standard meet and greets. There are also many variants, such as [Scalds], which are melee fighters who bring their own theme songs into battle. A [Muge] uses their music as a way of compressing and simplifying complex spells. A [Muse] can inspire others to greater heights," Travis explained.


    Penny''s mind raced as she considered what Travis was saying. Further conversation was cut off when Gareth and Issac walked up to join the group.


    "Alright, where are we going?" Gareth asked with a massive smile on his face, his large moonstone ax slung on his back.


    Issac held a simple hammer he had gotten from somebody''s garage as they stood outside in the heavy snow.


    "We''re heading to a gas station on the edge of Newton. Most of the other groups are getting animal feed before it goes bad." Sam said.


    "We''re going with two other groups of nine, there with the two minivans up on the road," Sam said.


    Sam led the way, trudging through the freshly fallen snow as they approached two minivans. The first thing that caught Penny''s eye was Chad waiting in the driver''s seat of one of the cars with a large machete strapped to his back.


    "You assholes took long enough, we''re freezing our butts off here," Chad called out.


    "Stop whinning," Gareth called back as he opened the van door and shoved his brother inside. Sam got into the shotgun seat next to Chad while Luke got into the back.


    Penny reflected on the group. Most of her team consisted of people she had thought of as friends before this all began. Now, those relationships felt a bit shallow, even compared to Eve. She had met Eve less than a week ago, yet she considered her one of her best friends now. It''s funny how quickly things can change.


    "So, no horses this time?" Luke asked as they buckled in


    He was clearly disappointed in the lack of equine locomotion.


    "The snow is falling pretty heavily. We don''t want to push the horses needlessly." Sam explained.


    "Also, horses don''t have heated saddles." Gareth pointed out.


    "Not yet." Travis countered. "If we can get a good enchanter, we can get heated saddles and enchant the barding to protect the horses from the weather."


    Chad ignored them as he started the car and drove them out of the parking lot. Penny kept her dagger in hand as she stared out the window, searching for goblins as they flew down the road.


    "This is so humiliating," Chad muttered.


    "What''s humiliating, Chad?" Luke asked.


    "We''re stuck working for those freak geeks, and you don''t find it grating?" Chad asked.


    Travis glared at Chad, his reptilian face glaring at the back of Chad''s head menacingly.


    "We might not be alive if not for those freak geeks." Gareth pointed out.


    "Better than the goblins," Penny added.


    "Pretty sure I would still be dead." Issac agreed.


    Chad scoffed. "You''re just saying that because he bought you off with that title."


    Penny decided not to point out that asking the guy you bullied for more power was a losing proposition. It took a few minutes, but soon enough, they arrived at the edges of the city and made their way to the gas station on Highway 10 and 152 St. While they didn''t currently need power for Hopkins, they did need gas for their cars, and propane for the kitchen. More importantly, there was a wellness center close by, and Eve had given them her shopping list for pharmaceuticals. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Penny felt like a panic attack was just at the edge of her mind. This was where she had escaped the goblins the first time. In fact, she was pretty sure she could see the corpses that Des had left behind. While the farmlands between Cloverdale and Newton weren''t much of a barrier, it had been working so far, and right now, they were on the goblin side of the line.


    When they arrived at the gas station, it was trashed. The glass doors and windows had broken, and only scrapes of candy were left inside. A tanker truck had been left outside; no one was around. At this point, everyone in the Newton area was either captured, dead or had left the area, thanks to the goblins.


    ¡°Looks like someone already looted the place,¡± Penny said as she walked up beside Sam.


    Sam shrugged as she stashed as much bubble gum as she could, tossing a piece of Hubba Bubba into her mouth before she started chewing loudly.


    "They didn''t do a good job," she said. "Let''s grab what we can. No point in letting it go to waste, especially with our freaking inventory."


    Luke and Sam went back into the shop to start looting while she, Gareth, and Issac were left with the gas tanker. The others spread out to scout the area.


    "I just hope some monsters show up,¡± Gareth replied as he unloaded a fridge full of drinks into his [Storage]. "I¡¯m getting tired of all this walking around. I want to kill something! Where are all the monsters?!"


    ¡°You want to fight monsters?¡± Issac asked again. "Did you hit your head while I was dead?"


    "I like fighting," Gareth said with a shrug.


    "Do you know where the keys are?" Penny asked as he searched the inside of the tanker truck.


    They would be golden for fuel if they could drive this entire thing back home.


    "Is there a dead body nearby?" Gareth asked.


    "What?!" Penny asked in shock.


    "The diver probably has the keys. Maybe the dude died nearby." Gareth said with a shrug.


    "Gareth, I''m starting to think you need therapy," Penny said as she started to search for dead bodies.


    "Hey dude, don''t hate on me because I know what I like," Gareth said. "Also, I think our guy is under the truck."


    Penny looked under the truck, finding a boot sticking out. Grabbing it, she pulled out the bottom half of the driver with her enhanced strength.


    "Holy shit!!" Penny said, jumping nearly three feet into the air as she stared at where the rest of the driver''s torso was supposed to be.


    Something had eaten the top half of the guy. Bits of stringy red meat dragged behind the bottom half, along with a thick red smear.


    "Stop being a baby dude," Gareth said as he patted the dismembered body''s bloody pockets like it was nothing more than a magician in red paint.


    Gareth''s hands were stained red by the time he pulled out the keys.


    "Found them," Gareth said as he held up the bloody keys to Penny.


    "Uuuuh," Penny said, "maybe you should take them."


    Gareth shrugged. "Ok, man, cool."


    Leaning down, Gareth tapped the remains, stashing them in his inventory, before he turned back towards the tanker, got in, and started up the engine. He grins the entire time despite his arms being covered in blood. Penny had always thought of Gareth as this big teddy bear, but she was seriously starting to wonder if there was something wrong with her friend.


    "You guys got the truck working?" Sam asked as she came back out with Luke.


    "Oh yeah," Penny said.


    But before he could say anything more, Chad and his lackeys came back.


    "Hey Chad, what did you find?!" Luke asked as his friend came back to the group.


    "I found a Lair." were the first words out of his mouth. "Let''s take it."


    "Fuck yes, where is it" Gareth cheered.


    "Wait, where did you find a Lair?" Sam asked, confused. "You were supposed to be scouting the perimeter for monsters."


    "It''s the Bank Montreal building just down the block," Chad said, ignoring Sam. It''s the size of a castle now, and we can take it for ourselves."


    "We''re supposed to call it in." Sam pointed out.


    "And what let the freak geeks take it? We''re not a part of the guild. We won''t get any of those rewards. We found it. Shouldn''t we get the rewards!?" Chad argued as he held up a turtle with its head smashed in. Only its shell appeared to be made out of literal rubies.


    The other members of the scavenger team stopped and stared at the glittering gems in the light.


    "I found this monster inside," Chad said. "And there''s more just like it. The entire place is one big treasure chest. "Think about what else we might get. Are you willing to give that all up to those freak geeks?"


    "Chad, we can''t claim a Lair," Sam said.


    "He''s claimed one," Chad said, pointing at Travis. "Why can''t we?"


    "Because you''re incompetent." Travis pointed out.


    Penny had to stifle a laugh as Chad turned as red as a tomato.


    "Fuck you guys." Chad said, shaking the dead ruby turtle at Travis, "You''re one of the freaks. You just want to keep all the loot for yourself.''


    "You''re not even level 10 yet. You''re never going to beat a level 20 boss monster," Travis said.


    Chad sneered at Travis.


    "Says you, Lizard? Why do we have to listen to you freak geeks when we could go ahead and get our own base? We could be rich and powerful. Why should we let that go just because you''re scared?" Chad challenged.


    "Hell no," Kevin called back.


    "Then let''s get out there and take our kingdom with our own hands," Chad called out, raising his machete over his head. "Who''s with me?!"


    The scavengers raised their arms as they cheered.


    "Well, come on then, follow me," Chad called out as he turned and started marching away.


    Gareth grabbed Issac and dragged him along. Penny, Sam, Luke, and Travis followed after them, not willing to be left behind.


    "Gareth, what are you doing?" Penny hissed. "Why are you following this idiot?"


    "Technically, I''m not," Gareth said. "I just think it''s a good idea. Besides, Issac needs to level up; he''s only level 6, thanks to all those quests Tom gave out."


    "I''m against this plan." Issac shot back. "I only have one combat ability."


    "Which is why you need to get more levels." Gareth pointed out.


    "Travis, what are our actual chances of taking a Lair?" Penny asked.


    Travis stroked the frills under his chin as if they were a beard. Iguana Beard?


    "I could do it solo. You, Luke, Issac, Gareth, and Samatha might be able to do it on your own if you get a good matchup. The others ¡­ depend on how many are willing to die," Travis said.


    Luke frowned at his words.


    "Why? I mean, Tom and his friends took Hopkins when they were at a lower level than us." Luke asked.


    Penny was also curious about the answer to this question. She had seen Skippy fight, and he made the rest of them look like the three stooges. But how much of that was his level? Travis rolled his eyes.


    "Tell me, Luke, what was that turtle called?" Travis asked.


    Luke frowns, looking back to the dead ruby turtle in Chad''s hand before looking back to Travis.


    "It''s called a gem tortoise," Luke said.


    "Do you know what skills it has? What are its types? What other creatures can we expect to find in this Lair? What skills do they have? What are their tactics?" Travis asked.


    Luke blushed in embarrassment as he shrugged.


    "I can''t see any of the gem tortoises'' skills, and I don''t know the rest," he admitted.


    "Exactly, you don''t know," Travis said. "I do. The other creatures in that lair are likely to be a mix of Reptiles and Elemental types. I know the most likely creatures and what skills they will have, and I already know their tactics and how I can counter them."


    "But how?" Luke asked, confused. We hadn''t even reached the lair yet, and I couldn''t see the skills of dead creatures."


    "Experience. Six years of experience," Travis said. "Awoken Myths was one of the top raid guilds in the world in our heyday, and we had a few PVP pros. Getting to that level meant we had to figure out how to play on a meta-level. That means memorizing skills, strengths, weaknesses, and attack patterns. It''s kind of like taking the mystery out of a magic trick."


    "Um, congratulations," Luke said.


    "Yeah, I make it sound like we have no life. But you''re in an apocalypse, and I''m living a fantasy," Travis said. Now, let''s go after Chad."


    "I thought you said it was too risky?" Luke asked.


    "I didn''t say that; I just said it would be close. And that''s only if the Lizard Wizard joins the battle. Well, that or, at the very least, we can retrieve the bodies." Travis chuckled darkly.


    Penny rolled her eyes as she summoned up her demon.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Penny Noel


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 450


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 750


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 800


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 7.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 10.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 6.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Free*, Breaker of Chains


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Courtesan 5 / Warlock 5


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 33


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 55


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 30 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 50 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 CHA +3 PER +3 INT +2 DEX +2 WILL


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 4


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Pursuit Hunter] - Level 10 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[StoryTeller] - N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Courtesan 5/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] - Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Charm Speak] - Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Walk of Shame] - Level 7 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Pheromone Control] - Level 1 >> Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Get Naked] - Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    Warlock 5/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Summon Demonic Familiar] - Level 7 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Blood Conversion] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Air Magic] - Level 1 >> Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Channel Magic] - Level 4 >> Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Demonology] - Level 3 >> Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 63: Going Looting â…¡

    Penny watched as Luke tried to persuade Chad not to attack the lair and failed. As her skill finished charging, Des stepped out of the ether. The skinny demon let out a hiss as a heat shimmer formed around its body.


    "Master," Des hissed as he gave a bow.


    "Come on, we''re clearing a lair. Don''t kill the other humans, and don''t kill me," Penny ordered.


    Skippy and then Travis had given her a crash course on demons. First, demons only had to follow direct orders given to them. Second, all demons were bored out of their skulls and were looking for entertainment. Des was a pit fiend. So that meant he liked combat, blood, fire, carnage, maybe rape; Des was a demon of war.


    It was unlikely that he would have little to no interest in sneaking, gossiping, or anything that didn''t involve fighting. As such, they warned her that getting Des to do anything else was a great way for the demon to start looking for loopholes in its orders or a way to kill her and free itself of all orders. Of course, there were exceptions. Some demons broke their molds in odd ways. When she asked Des what he liked, he had responded that he wanted to fight powerful opponents, which was the most the demon had ever said to her in one sentence.


    Des seemed to perk up at the word "lair" and followed the group as they started walking towards the lair. Penny moved up closer to Chad, hearing their argument under the crunching snow under their feet.


    "Do you know what''s in the lair? According to Travis, they all have themes, so if we know that beforehand, we can prepare," Luke said loudly enough for everyone else to hear.


    "They are just a bunch of gem-encrusted lizards like this thing," Chad said.


    He punctuated the point by swinging the gem tortoise around by its snapped neck. The jewels on its back immediately caught her attention as they twinkled in the bright winter morning light.


    "I already killed a couple. They''re easy," Chad boasted.


    "Any idea what the boss is? According to Travis, there is always level 20," Luke asked.


    "No, but it won''t matter. There are fifteen of us, and most of us are at level 10. We can take it." Chad said.


    That was when they came upon the settlement. The once familiar building of a Montreal bank had been transformed into something that resembled a giant treasure chest. The entire building just seemed to scream treasure inside. Chad broke into a sprint, running into the building, Penny following quickly after him.


    "What the ..." Luke muttered as he walked into the building.


    The gem tortoises were everywhere, just wandering around like regular tortoises in a petting zoo. It would have been almost comical if their shells weren''t worth a fortune. Penny felt like his eyes were about to bug out as he observed Diamond Shells, Ruby Shells, Sapphire, Emeralds, Topaz, and Opals. The tortoises looked like they belonged in a pride parade with their multi-colored shells.


    Chad''s creepy friend Kevin raced forwards into the petting zoo of gem turtles. Without so much as a second thought, he chopped off a turtle''s head and then stuffed the thing into his [Storage] as he giggled. Penny felt goosebumps breakout across her skin. The guy was creepy.


    "Wait!" Travis called out. "Don''t go out there. If the mobs are harmless, then the boss monster has to be even more dangerous!!"


    "Oh, come on, your parano--" Chad was cut off as the top of Kevin''s torso disappeared with a CHOMP.


    They all stared, stunned, as a snake as big as a Titanoboa appeared as whatever camouflage it had disengaged as it swallowed Kevin whole. The snake was beautiful; its scales almost looked like pearls glistening with the light of a rainbow.


    "That''s a Prismatic Serpent," Travis warned. "That''s the boss!!"


    "KILL IT!!" Gareth roared as he [Charged] forwards.


    Des leaped forwards right behind Gareth. The serpent spat at them¡ªaerosolized poison shot from their mouths, splashing Gareth in the face.


    "GAHHH, it''s in my eyes!!!" Gareth screamed as he rubbed at his eyes.


    Penny grabbed Gareth and started casting the healing spells she remembered from Eve as Des leapt up and stabbed the prismatic serpent. Arrows peppered the serpent''s body as Luke and Travis arrived there, swords sweeping down and cutting into the scales.


    The serpent hissed, and spikes of earth shot out of the ground, knocking Luke back and forcing Travis to dodge.


    The giant prismatic serpent, scales gleaming like a hundred fractured rainbows, reared back and hissed, its hood flaring as it faded into invisibility. Chad and the others took a cautious step back, eyes darting around the lair as silence settled, tense and expectant.


    "Stay sharp!" Luke called, his voice edged with urgency. "It¡¯s still here¡ªTravis, do you have any way to detect it?"


    Travis shook his head, gripping his sword tighter. "Not unless it attacks again."


    Just as the last word left his lips, the serpent reappeared, fangs bared as it lunged toward the nearest group, spitting a haze of shimmering light. The poison spray shot out in a brilliant, blinding mist, catching Chad and a few others off guard. They coughed and staggered back, clutching at their burning eyes and throats.


    Des leaped at the serpent again, his bone blades leaving shallow cuts across the scales. The serpent swung around and bit off Des''s arm with a Snap. Then Gareth [Charged], slamming into the snake, burying his ax into its side, and Chad leapt at the thing, hacking at it with his machete. Penny, Sam, and Travis peppered it with long-ranged attacks as the serpent lashed out, spraying poison at anyone in range. Luke slammed his sword into the snake''s rainbow scales, leaving a deep gash across the snake''s body.


    That seemed to set off the snake as water blasted out from it, sending all of the melee fighters tumbling across the floor. The serpent lunged, jaws wide, snapping up one of the smaller sapphire-shelled tortoises. As it swallowed, the wounds on its scaled hide began to close, the creature¡¯s vitality surging.


    "Oh hell, it can eat the turtles to regenerate!!" Sam warned as she shot an arrow into its hide.


    Des tried to attack the snake again, but this time, the serpent was ready for it and snapped the demon up out of the air. The demon''s body evaporated into particle effects as it died.


    Luke leapt out of nowhere as he plunged his spear into the serpent''s side. It let out a shriek of pain, thrashing wildly and sending sprays of water and spikes of earth in all directions. Luke dove to the side, barely avoiding a jagged rock that shot up where he¡¯d been standing.


    The Serpent sent them scattering as it disappeared under invisibility. Then, it reappeared on top of Travis, forcing the lizard wizard back. The Serpent kept firing rocks in every direction, causing them all to run for cover.


    Penny ducked under a rock as she dodged the snake''s wild attack. She checked her mana, finding she was once again operating on empty again. What to do? She could get in close and fight it with [Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish]. That might work if she were faster, but as it is, it just sounded like a great way to get eaten. She could try and [Charm speak] the snake. That would last as long as it wasn''t attacked. She considered her other skills until she came to [Demonology].


    The skill had stuffed a number of rituals into her head. She considered them. A ritual to summon an unbound demon, no. a ritual to sacrifice a person to the abyss as an offering in exchange for knowledge, hell no. a ritual to create a sweet roll? Why was this a demonic ritual?


    A ritual that allowed her to summon Des using a sacrifice ¡­ that might work. Normally, she would need a skill for this ritual. But her dagger allowed her to circumvent that recruitment.


    "Cover me!!" Penny called out as she grabbed a turtle, dragged it over, and slashed open its neck.


    The moment she did, she could feel pure... HP? It was the same energy she felt when she used [Blood Conversion]. She was using the turtle''s very life force to paint out the ritual circle. Of course, she was still finger painting in turtle blood. The moment she used up the turtle''s vitality, she grabbed a second one, a third one, and kept going until she got to 23 turtles.


    Travis clearly figured out what she was doing as he, Luke, and Gareth coordinated, launching a barrage of attacks meant to harry and herd the serpent. Luke struck low, his sword glancing off the serpent¡¯s rainbow scales, while Sam kept peppering it with arrows. The snake hissed, its body rippling with agitation as it twisted away from their strikes, swallowing a turtle any time it got too injured.


    It tried to spray them with poison again, but this time, Gareth was ready, and he ducked under the spray of poison, chopping at its scaly hide with his ax. The weapon buried itself deep enough that most of the handle was in the snake. But it just ripped itself off the ax and ate another turtle. They had done enough damage to kill the snake three times over, but every time, the serpent would just eat a turtle and regenerate.


    "God dammit, how many times do we have to kill this thing?!" Luke roared as he tried to decapitate the serpent.


    Only for the snake to disappear, Luke took a blast of water to the face, sending him into the wall.


    "I got it!!!" Penny roared as her ritual activated with the final sacrifice of turtle 23.


    Demonic runes appeared floating in mid-air, spinning around to summon her demon, and a surge of power roared from the ritual. Causing the serpent to pause and look towards her.


    Then, unexpectedly, a notification popped up.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to combine the following skills: [Blood Conversion] and [Channel Magic] for one skill point?


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Penny pressed yes on reflex.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    For the use of an item in creating a ritual that used anima as a base, you have upgraded the following skills.


    You have Upgraded the skill: [Blood Conversion] - Inferior + [Channel Magic] - Common ¡ú [Ritual Sacrifice] - Ancient


    [Ritual Sacrifice]: When the target is incapacitated or loaded up with afflictions, you can instantly kill your victim, draining 1% of their resources per skill level to either power a spell, skill ritual, or just use their resources to restore your own. You may increase your casting time by 5% per skill level. You may use HP instead of MP for casting. +10% CON


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Des emerged from the circle. His body seemed to ripple with power as he grew two blades of bone out of it. The heat coming off of his form made the blood on the ground boil.


    "Kill the Snake, don''t hurt any humans," Penny ordered


    The serpent hissed in rage as it disappeared again. Then Des slammed his sword into the ground. As soon as he did, bone blades shot out of the ground screwing a dozen turtles. None of the blades hit the other humans. But three of the blades shot up through the invisible form of the serpent that hissed in outrage as an earthen spike impacted Des''s body.


    What would have once killed the demon now just shrugged off as it charged the impaled serpent. The snake sent out dozens of water blades, bombarding Des as the demon closed the distance.


    The snake sprayed Des down with poison as the demon stabbed it repeatedly. Des was thrown back by a wall of earth as the snake freed itself from the bone blades and snapped up another turtle. It healed some of its wounds, but it seemed less effective than last time.


    Before it had time to eat another turtle, Des lept on the snake, tackling it to the ground as he stabbed it with his bone spikes. The prismatic serpent wrapped around Des, constricting his movements as the snake began to douse the demon in poison. Des responded by growing bone spikes out of every inch of his body. The bones glowed red hot as they started to cook the snake''s body as Des''s own body was loaded up with poison.


    Penny didn''t know which of the two monsters would have won over the other. But it didn''t matter as she leaped forward, slamming her sacrificial dagger into the serpent''s scales. At the same time, Luke, Chad, Issac, Gareth, and Travis all followed suit, smashing into the snake with every skill they had available.


    Wrapped around Des like it was, the monster didn''t stand a chance as they nearly cut the snake in half, its blood painting the floor red as buckets of blood were dumped from its body. It threw them off with another water spell. But it couldn''t disengage with Des as the Demon latched on to the serpent''s body and started to saw through its spine.


    The serpent struggled desperately trying to get the demon off, but it had already lost too much blood and could do little more than struggle as it was ripped in two.


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] has Reached Level 8>


    <...>


    <[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Walk of Shame] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Walk of Shame] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Summon Demonic Familiar] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Summon Demonic Familiar] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Ritual Sacrifice] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Demonology] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Demonology] has Reached Level 6>


    <...>


    <[Demonology] has Reached Level 9>


    Penny felt like her heart was going to give out. They had done it. They had won.


    Penny put all of her new levels into [Bard]. She had agonized about this decision for a while. But she had also come to an important realization. Her current build kind of sucked once she ran out of mana. So, if she could still be useful even when she ran out of mana, that would be great.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Bardic Music] - Uncommon


    [Bardic Music]: Transform your music into a force of magic. Your songs can buff allies, debuff enemies, heal wounds, and manipulate emotions. Allows your music to propagate magical effects. Gain +1.25% Mastery of all musical instruments and singing per skill level.


    Mana Cost: 5 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Extended Song] - Common


    [Extended Song]: Your music lingers in the hearts of your audience, extending the duration of its effects. All effects granted through your music last an additional 5% longer per skill level.


    Recuirments: [Bardic Music]


    Mana Cost: 5 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Air Guitar] - Common


    [Air Guitar]: Mime any musical instrument and create its sound for a small mana cost. Play an epic guitar solo, a soothing violin melody, or a booming drum beat, all without the actual instrument. Increase your volume and sound control by 2% per skill level.


    Recuirments: [Bardic Music]


    Mana Cost: 5 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Whisper Wind] - Lesser


    [Whisper Wind]: Throw your voice to a distant point. Increase the range of this Skill by 10 Meters per Level of this Skill. Reduces the MP cost of this Skill by 0.5% per skill level.


    Mana Cost: 5 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The moment was broken when Chad flipped a ruby tortoise on its back and then jammed one of its blades into its stomach.


    "Everyone grab a turtle and start killing!!" Chad said.


    "Wait!!!" Travis cut in greedily. "These creatures are harmless. We can take them back to Hopkins and just farm the gems off their backs. They would be a massive gain for the crafters. We might even be able to breed them."


    Penny had already stashed the gem turtles she had killed for the ritual and then went ahead and stashed the giant snake corpse while they were arguing. She figured it would be okay. Her demon had done most of the damage, and no one seemed bothered about it.


    "And let those Awoken Freaks get all the cash?!" Chad asked angrily as he stomped on the head of one of the gem tortoises.


    "What the fuck?!" Luke asked.


    "This money is ours!!" Chad all but shouted, brandishing his machete at Travis.


    "You literally just stomped on a gem mine. You fucking moron," Travis said, his tone dripping with contempt.


    Chad smiled cruelly as he raised his weapon threateningly. "I would rather kill every Turtle here than let you Awoken Freaks have them. These are mine!!!"


    "Actually," a thick, gravelly voice cut through their discussion, causing them all to turn and face the door.


    A giant man of some Asian descent stood in the doorway. His coal-black hair and beard whipped around him in the cold air as his companions moved up behind him. Penny felt her heart go cold as she recognized them as slaves.


    "These Gem Tourtisans are mine," he said.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Penny Noel


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 765


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1025


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1040


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 9.6 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 13.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 5.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Free*, Breaker of Chains


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Courtesan 5 / Warlock 5 / Bard 3


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 52


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 57


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 52


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 71


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 52


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 39 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 52 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 52


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 65 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 CHA +3 AGIL +3 INT +2 DEX +2 PER


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Pursuit Hunter] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[StoryTeller] - N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Courtesan 5/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] - Level 6 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Charm Speak] - Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Walk of Shame] - Level 14 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Pheromone Control] - Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Get Naked] - Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    Warlock 5/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Summon Demonic Familiar] - Level 10 >> Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Air Magic] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ritual Sacrifice] - Level 4 >> Level 5</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Demonology] - Level 4 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    Bard 4/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Bardic Music] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Extended Song] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Air Guitar] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Whisper Wind] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 64: Going Looting â…¢

    "These Gem Tourtisans belong to Great Altan Kahn. You will surrender them to me, along with the rest of your equipment," Altan said as he hefted an oversized scimitar that was on fire.


    The threat of what he would do if they said no was clear in the glint of madness in Altans'' eye.


    Penny gritted her teeth as she tried to figure a way out of this. Then Luke used an identification skill, and the information was propagated to them through his party interface.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Altan Khan (Brandon)


    Title: Beta-Tester, First


    Race: Half-Giant


    Type: Humanoid / Giant


    Level: 21


    Classes: Horseman of War 21


    Personal skills: [Giants Strength], [Domination], [Sex Maniac]


    Horseman of War Skills: [Flaming Blade of War], [Second Broken Seal], [Red Rider], [Eternal Warrior], [Spoils of War], [Belliscience], [Art of War], [War is Never Over], [Avatar of War], [Friendly Fire], [Cry Havoc], [Presence of Ares]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Donald Becker


    Title: Beta-Tester, First, Murderer


    Race: Half-Giant


    Type: Humanoid / Giant


    Level: 21


    Classes: Bone Juggernaut 21


    Personal Skills: [Titans Strength], [Pursuit Hunter], [Storage], [Mapping], [System Wiki]


    Bone Juggernaut Skills: [Fang of Man], [Empowered Blows], [Chivalry], [Virtue in Extremis], [Armored Charge], [Legendary Strength], [Multi-strike], [Sweeping Slash], [Bone Juggernaut Weapon], [Bone Juggernaut Armour], [Duty Before Death], [Scrimshaw], [Art of Bones]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The Second person was covered in armor made out of bones. Human bones, because, of course, they did. A bone sword and shield rested in his hands. She could already feel that Des was more interested in fighting him than Altan.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Shade (Gary Gallagher)


    Title: Beta-Tester, First, Rapist, Mass Murderer*


    Race: High Elf


    Type: Humanoid


    Level: 18


    Classes: Horseman of Conquest 18


    Personal Skills: [Manipulator], [Arcane Stability], [Storage], [Mapping], [System Wiki]


    Horseman of Conquest Skills: [Generate Pestilence], [First Broken Seal], [White Rider], [Conquerors Shield], [Conquerors Bounty], [Plague Engineering], [Plague Burst], [Patient Zero], [Plague Eater]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The Third person looked like a dead ringer for Severus Snape, only with elf ears, and he was trying way too hard to look edgy. She had already decided she was going to castrate the rapist.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: One (Mia Lee)


    Title: Slave, Priestess of Tova


    Race: Human


    Type: Humanoid


    Level: 15


    Classes: Enslaved Vestal 15


    Personal Skills: [Pursuit Hunter], [Storyteller], [Sex Maniac]


    Enslaved Vestal Skills: [White Arts], [Aura of the Sun], [Holy Auspicious], [Aura of Cleansing], [Reconstruction], [Hand of Mercy], [Holy Rituals], [Meditative Prayer], [Aegis]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Three (Amanda Zu)


    Title: Slave


    Race: Human


    Type: Humanoid / Slime


    Level: 9


    Classes: Enslaved Shamen 9


    Personal Skills: [Pursuit Hunter], [Storyteller], [Sex Maniac]


    Enslaved Shamen Skills: [Spirit Touched], [Elemental Ward], [Totem Creation], [Call Feral Spirit], [Spirit Friend], [Slime Totem]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Two (Song Chen)


    Title: Slave


    Race: Human


    Type: Humanoid


    Level: 10


    Classes: [Enslaved Druid] 10


    Personal Skills: [Pursuit Hunter], [Storyteller], [Sex Maniac]


    Enslaved Druid Skills: [Art of Life and Death], [Verdant Aura], [Nature''s Resilience], [Barkskin], [Spore Burst], [Photosynthesis]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Penny felt her teeth threaten to shatter as she ground them together in silent rage. Fuck these assholes. She would drown them in demons and then sacrifice their asses to whatever demon god would have them.


    Unfortunately, she didn''t like their odds. Even if they outnumbered the new group, three of them were beta-testers, and Travis was eyeing them nervously. That, more than anything else, told her how bad of a situation they were in.


    "So what''s your answer?" Altan asked as a cruel smile played across his lips.


    Before anyone could say anything, Chad spoke up.


    "Fuck you chopsticks," he shouted.


    Penny couldn''t believe she was agreeing with Chad, but she did.


    "Then You have chosen Death," Altan said calmly, smiling. Then he lept at them, his flaming scimitar held high, and the flames turned a hellish green.


    His sword moved to remove Chad''s head but missed as Penny blasted the guy with a Wind blade, knocking his sword off course and giving Chad just enough time to jerk backwards before the flaming scimitar took his head off.


    "Kill him!" Chad screamed as he desperately tried to crawl away.


    Penny had a better idea. And she activated [Get Naked]. The clothes of the so-called Kahn flew off his body like a cartoon character. She screeched like a child as he attempted to cover his privates.


    Issac took that moment to swing his hammer at Altan, only for the massive man to knock away the attack, his face turning red.


    "I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!!!" he screamed as he swung his blade slowly, almost comically slow, until the sword cleaved Issacs arm off at the elbow.


    CRUNCH


    "Ah ¡­ ahhhhh," Issac screamed as his arm hit the ground. The green flames caused his flesh to bubble, and Issacs scream transformed into vomit as he collapsed to the ground and regurgitated everything he had eaten and a good pint of blood.


    "MOTHER FUCKER" Gareth screamed.


    Sam drew an arrow and let it fly into Altans'' chest. It landed with an impact that sounded like it had struck steel instead of naked flesh.


    Des had lept towards the [Bone Juggernaut]. Even with his injuries from the Prismatic Serpent, Des and Donald slammed into each other like bone titans, and they crashed against each other again and again. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "His skin is armored," Luke announced as he charged the Altan. Chad and Gareth followed right behind him.


    The three of them devolved into an utter brawl as Penny sprinted towards the girls. But the Altan stepped backward just out of range, a cruel smile on his face.


    "Shade. Do your thing." Altan says.


    Penny crashed to the ground as the world started to swim; she felt feverish, and her limbs felt so heavy.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been afflicted with: Yellow Fever


    You are [Diseased].


    While you are [Diseased] with Yellow Fever, you may suffer: [Bleed], [Severe Nausea], [Bloody Vomiting], [High Fever], [Chills], [Severe Headache], [General Achs], [Fatigue], [Weakness]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Pathetic," Altan chuckled as he started to monologue in the buff as he lorded his superiority over the rest of her party as they struggled to get up.


    Des and the Bone guy were still fighting, seemingly unaffected by the whole thing, which was causing a massive distraction. Despite that, she could feel that Des was losing this fight. It was too soon after the Prismatic serpent, and he wouldn''t last much longer.


    Penny''s eyes darted around, finding the edge lord nearby, looking smug. He was the one who had made them sick. Penny pushed herself forward, crawling towards him, praying he wouldn''t notice her.


    Then Travis teleported right behind him, startling him as he dodged away from the Lizard Wizard''s sword and directly into Penny''s embrace.


    Penny activated [Get Naked] again. Causing Shade to Moon his paisley ass to the world as she wrapped herself around him, every inch of skin contact allowed her to apply more paralyzing poison with [Viper style: Touch of the Jellyfish]. Even as she did, it felt like her head was about to split open.


    "What the fu--" Shade was cut off as Travis placed his sword at the man''s neck.


    "Cure everyone of the disease now!!" he ordered.


    "Fuck yo--" Shade started to say, but this time Penny cut him off.


    "Come on, baby, Cure everyone of the disease. If you do, I''ll give you a little something extra later," she whispered into his ear, using [Charm Speak] and [Pheromone Control] to make him as complicated as possible.


    She hoped this worked before she threw up on him, whether from the disease or her having to say those things to him, she wasn''t sure which. Fortunately, it worked.


    "Whatever you say, sugar," Shade mumbled as he waved his hand.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Shade has used [Plague Eater] on you to restore his Resources


    You have been Cured of [Yellow Fever]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Then she plunged her sacrificial dagger into his heart. He didn''t even have the time to scream before the skill activated, and her resources were fully restored.


    "Remind me not to piss you off," Travis said just as Luke knocked Altan on his ass.


    Just then, Penny felt Des die. Turning she found her Demon crushed remains turning into particle effects.


    "I''ll take the bone daddy," Travis said as he launched himself into the fight.


    Penny turned and moved towards the three slave girls and ran towards them. Blood coated her hands and dripped from her sacrificial dagger. Shade¡¯s lifeless form lay crumpled behind her. The girls were huddled together but looked unharmed.


    "Come on," she said softly, her voice rough from exertion. ¡°We need to get you out of here while they''re occupied.¡±


    The three women turned to her as one. For a moment, there was silence. No thanks, no sighs of relief. Just cold fury that made the hairs on the back of Penny¡¯s neck stand on end.


    She ducked backwards just in time to avoid a blast of light magic from taking off her head.


    "Kill her!!" Mia said as she attempted to blast her with magic.


    A spectral wolf leapt out from the ground as Amanda summoned it and sent it to attack her. Penny danced away from the wolf lashing out with her dagger, but the ghost wolf was partly affected. Song blasted her with spores, sending her into a coughing fit.


    She needed space. Summoning up her mana, she conjured Des in his much weaker form. The demon immediately leapt at the spectral wolf, its bone blades hurting it where her little dagger had failed.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Penny screamed, her arms shielding her face from the searing heat. ¡°I¡¯m trying to help you!¡±


    "Help us?!" Mia shot back. "Our Kahn protects us; why would we need you?!"


    The other two shouted in agreement as they peppered her with spells. What the hell was wrong with these people? They were slaves. Did they have Stockholm syndrome or something? She didn''t get much further into her thinking as Mia blasted Des and the spectral wolf to pieces with one of her spells before turning on her.


    Penny activated [Get Naked] on all three of them. Causing all three of the girls to scream as their bodies were put on full display.


    "Stop fighting me," Penny ordered, trying to use [Charm Speak] and [Pheromone Control] again to neutralize them without killing them.


    It did not work. Instead, Amanda and Song lunged forward. Penny reacted on instinct, slashing at the two girls as they tried to pull her to the ground. She was hoping that if she couldn''t make them come to their senses, she could paralyze them.


    That hope quickly died as Mia cast cleansing spells on the two of them. Worse, Amada''s body was covered in thick bark, deflecting her dagger while Song''s body regenerated like Abaddons. Worse, she was slowly accumulating injuries as the two girls punched, kicked, pulled her hair, and even cast weak spells against her.


    She called for help, but the others either couldn''t answer her plea or didn''t hear her.


    At one point, she was too slow, and Song punched her in the gut, knocking the wing out of her and sending her stumbling backwards. Another [Spore Burst] from Amanda filled the air around her, choking Penny as she tried to rise. Her lungs burned as she coughed violently, her vision blurring. She dumped her dagger into her [Storage] so she wouldn''t lose it as she tried to talk them down again.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this!¡± Penny said, trying to reach for [Charm Speak] again.


    "You''re not worth Altan''s attention." Mia ¡­ no, One said smugly as she gathered more mana around herself.


    The Spell punched through Penny''s chest, burning a hole in her torso. She couldn''t even scream as her lungs were destroyed. She realized with an almost calm certainty that she was going to die.


    Penny turned to see Luke and the others still fighting Altan. She didn''t see Travis. She really hoped they remembered to return her body to Tom so she could come back. She had done all she could, and now it was time to rest. She closed her eyes as notifications flashed before her eyes.


    <[Pursuite Hunter] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Pursuite Hunter] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Storage] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Storage] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Storage] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Charm Speak] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Charm Speak] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Charm Speak] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Walk of Shame] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Pheromone Control] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Pheromone Control] has Reached Level 4>


    <...>


    <[Pheromone Control] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Get Naked] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Get Naked] has Reached Level 4>


    <...>


    <[Get Naked] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Air Magic] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Ritual Sacrifice] has Reached Level 6>


    <You have Died>


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Penny Noel


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 765


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1025


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1040


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 9.6 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 13.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 5.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Free*, Breaker of Chains


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Courtesan 5 / Warlock 5 / Bard 3 / 2 Unassigned


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 52


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 57


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 52


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 71


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 13


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 52


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 39 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 52 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 52


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 39


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 26


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 65 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 13


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 CHA +3 AGIL +3 INT +2 DEX +2 PER


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Pursuit Hunter] - Level 15 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[StoryTeller] - N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 1 >> Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Courtesan 5/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] - Level 10 >> Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Charm Speak] - Level 8 >> Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Walk of Shame] - Level 16 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Pheromone Control] - Level 2 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Get Naked] - Level 2 >> Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    Warlock 5/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Summon Demonic Familiar] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Air Magic] - Level 19 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ritual Sacrifice] - Level 5 >> Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Demonology] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    Bard 4/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Bardic Music] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Extended Song] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Air Guitar] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Whisper Wind] - Level 1 </li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 65: Going Looting â…£

    Luke swore as he dodged one of Altan''s attacks, and he cursed himself for the sixth time that day. When Eve decided to keep him in bed for the rest of the night, he had been bored. He had started talking with Eve. The conversation had, of course, been about the system. But it was when Eve told him about what had happened to her since the system¡ªthe goblins, what they were doing, everything. He spent the rest of the night considering Eve''s story and Tom''s words properly, and he had come to a realization.


    Tom was right. He was being stubborn. Worse, he had gotten drunk on his skills and had started to act like an asshole. Even his skill purchases were more about sticking it to Tom than picking something useful.


    If that wasn''t bad enough, the world wasn''t safe anymore. If he made a mistake, Sam and Gareth could die because he wanted to make a point that he could do it on his own. He resolved to swallow his pride and apologize to Tom and his team when he got back to Hopkins. Then he would take his head out of his ass and actually learn about the skills that could help him.


    Now here he was fighting for his life as this ¡­ Altan tried to cut his head off with a flaming sword. He was still unsure if all of his clothes falling off and fighting the guy naked with his dick flapping about was a good thing or just distracting. Ducking one of the sword swings, he slashed across Altans body, his blade barely scratching his body.


    He needed more information. He activated [Second Labor], [Third Labor], and [Fourth Labor]. Immediately, a deluge of information came back. [Second Labor] informed him that Altan was confident, almost stupidly so, in his ability to kill them all. [Third Labor] was screaming at him to stay away from those green flames. [Fourth Labor], on the other hand, was able to give him something new. In particular, he was able to see three of Altan''s skills.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Horseman of War Skill: [Flaming Sword of War] - Legendary


    [Flaming Sword of War]: You wield the Sword of War, the flames on the blade never fading, never cooling, dealing fire damage with every strike. With this skill, your weapon will never break. Bypass 0.5% of all Resistances per Skill level. Gain 1.25% to your Bladed Mastery per Skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline Skill: [Invulnerability of the Leviathan] - Legendary


    [Invulnerability of the Leviathan]: The Leviathan is nearly invulnerable. Its powerful scales turned away even the hand of god. Now, you, too, can enjoy a portion of that invulnerability.


    Your mana converts into scales to cover your body and protect you from all forms of harm. Cost 1000 Mana for 100 points of Armour for a potential total of 1000 Armour. Reduce Mana Costs by 9 points of mana per skill level. Increase total potential armor by 1000 points per skill level.


    Increase Natural Armour and Natural Magic resistance from 0.1 per point of END and SPIRIT to a 1 to 1 ratio. For every 1% of HP you lose, you gain a 1% reduction to all incoming damage.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline Skill: [Hellfire of Jealousy] - Legendary


    [Hellfire of Jealousy]: Allows the user to transform any fire they produce into a variant of Hellfire at no cost. Specifically the Envy variant. Hellfire of Envy increases in power in proportion to the power of the target and the Envy of the user¡ª+2 % to Fire Magic Mastery per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "His skin is armored," Luke announced as he charged the Altan. Chad and Gareth followed right behind him.


    He brought the sword around with everything he had, but the Altan moved his sword faster than he could and parried his attack. His moonstone blade bounced off the flaming scimitar, the hot flames forcing Luke to back peddle. But he wasn''t fast enough. No, that wasn''t right. Altan was just faster than he was. The Kahn got a cut across his arm. The wound burned more than any burn he had ever received in his life. Chad took the opportunity and brought his Machete down on Altan''s unarmed arm, the blade cutting into the hand with far more difficulty than he should have, only managing to score a shallow cut.


    Altan kicked Chad in the gut, sending him rolling backwards. One of Sam''s arrows impacted Altan''s body only to bounce off again with no effect. Luke brought his sword around to attack again, but Altan stepped backwards just out of range, a cruel smile on his face, only for Gareth to try and slam his axe into his back, forcing Altan to dodge.


    "Shade. Do your thing." Altan roared.


    For a second, Luke wondered what was about to happen. Then his body felt cold, and his head felt hot. His head began to pound as the world swam. Luke tried to rebalance himself, but he only stumbled to the ground. He stabbed his sword into the ground to avoid ending up on his knees. His limbs felt like they were full of mercury, and he was having trouble moving or even thinking. And then he threw up. He absently noticed his vomit was red¡ªblood red.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been afflicted with: Yellow Fever


    You are [Diseased].


    While you are [Diseased] with Yellow Fever, you may suffer: [Bleed], [Severe Nausea], [Bloody Vomiting], [High Fever], [Chills], [Severe Headache], [General Achs], [Fatigue], [Weakness]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] has Reached level 2>


    <[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] has Reached level 3>


    <...>


    <[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] has Reached level 18>


    Before this fight, he hadn''t been sure about his skill purchases; now, he was immensely glad for his Cretan bull skill as he felt a little better with each notification but it still wasn''t enough.


    "Pathetic," Altan chuckled as Luke tried and failed to rise to his feet.


    Altan put his boot on Luke''s back, pushing him to the ground. Luke wanted to flip his sword around and stab this asshole in the balls. But he could barely force himself off the floor.


    "You noobs clearly don''t have a single idea what you''re dealing with," Altan chuckled. "But I''ll tell you what. If you submit yourselves to me as my slaves, I will spare your lives and ---"


    Luke was just about to tell Altan to stick his head up his ass when he suddenly felt normal again.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Shade has used [Plague Eater] on you to restore his Resources


    You have been Cured of [Yellow Fever]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Luke shoved Altan off of him before giving the man a kick enhanced with [First Labor]. Altan let out an ooofff as he was knocked away from Luke. Quickly getting back to his feet, Luke turned to see Penny stabbing that Shade guy in the heart. At the same time, the demon died and Travis moved to engage Donald while Penny moved towards the slave girls.


    Luke''s first thought was to help Travis. But before he could move more than a step, [Third Labor] screamed at him to dodge.


    He leapt forwards just in time as he felt the wind whip around his neck. As he rolled away, he spun around just in time to see the Altan standing over him, the massive Scimitar descending on him. Almost by instinct, he raised his sword to parry the attack. That was a mistake. The moment he clashed with Altan, he realized the monster pretending to be a man actually outmuscled him beyond what he could ever hope to stop. His joints screamed in protest as he contorted himself to try and diffuse the blow.


    He almost succeeded, but he didn''t account for the difference in weight. The force of the blow launched Luke off his feet and sent him flying. He slammed into the wall with a hard Thwack. Luke felt his back seize as he collapsed to the ground.


    "Fuck" Luke screamed as shooting pain radiated all down his back and into his legs.


    Luke tried and failed to struggle to his feet. His body just wanted him to lie down and stop moving.


    Luke''s attention was drawn away again as a Woosh interrupted his thoughts. Penny was getting beaten down by the slave girls, and no one was free to help her. Travis was trapped in a one-on-one battle with Donald. Despite being encased in that massive suit of bones, the bastard was at least as fast as Travis, matching him blow for blow.


    His attention was stolen again as he returned to Altan. One of the Scavengers was doing his best interpretation of a flame thrower as he hosed the Altan with fire. Issac was hiding behind Sam as he cradled his lost arm. At the same time, Sam sent arrow after arrow into the Altan despite the fact they were bouncing off his skin.


    Gareth was running in, ducking and weaving around the flames around the buck-naked Altan as he slammed him with his axe over and over again. Each one of his strikes did little damage despite the fact that the big guy was slamming the axe into Altan''s body with enough force to cleave wood. Then, the first nail in their coffin came.


    The moment Penny died, the slave girls turned and started buffing Altan. The man howled in rage, green flames blasting away the scavenger who had been trying to torch him before he turned on the rest of them. Altan quickly set the entire building on fire, green flames licking up and down the walls. Gareth immediately had to disengage to avoid getting burned. But Altan didn''t bother with Gareth; instead, he turned and started marching towards Travis.


    "You, this is all your fault!!!" Altan accused.


    Travis didn''t respond. Instead, he opened his jaw. Instantly all green fire in the room was sucked down into his mouth, green flames flickering across his azure scales as he consumed the fire. Even the flames on Altans blade flicked out like a candle in the wind. All sucked into Travis''s maw, the next second, the same emerald flames started flickering across Travis''s body.


    "Yep," Travis said before he spat out a beam of what felt like pure magic out of his mouth like a dragon breathing fire. He blew a hole through Donald''s chest, sending him to the ground.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Donald has used [Duty Before Death]


    For the next six minutes, Donald is [Invincible]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Travis immediately turned on Altan, unleashing more of his magic breath attack on Altan. This time to a much different effect.


    Altans'' sword cut the beam in two before it could kill him, holding his sword in place as he weathered the onslaught.


    Then Travis''s beam of magic is knocked off course, glassing the walls with unregulated magic. Travis was sent flying as Donald''s body checked him, sending him flying through the wall with a sickening Crack.


    "Finish killing that Lizard; I''ll kill the others," Altan said as he turned back towards the remaining scavengers.


    Luke forced himself to his feet. Blood dribbled from his lips as he pulled himself to his feet and swapped out his sword for his spear.


    Altan chuckled as Luke got ready to throw his little spear.


    "[First Labor], [Sixth Labor], [Molten Lead Spear]," Luke breathed out in pain.


    The spear in his hand turned into a smaller version of the Javelin missile he had used against Graves. Pushing himself through the pain, he threw the spear with everything he had. If it weren''t for his abilities, he was pretty sure he would have missed. But his spear shot forward, flying out of his hand with enough force that Luke could feel a painful twinge in his arm as the javelin left his hand.


    The javelin flew true and slammed into the Altans chest. He screamed as the javelin of molten lead exploded in his face. Its flesh sizzled under the molten lead as it dripped down his body. Altan roared as an abrasive aura slammed into Luke and the rest of the scavengers.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Altan Kahn has used [Horrors of War] on you.


    Altan Kahn has used [Presence of Ares] on you.


    [Horrors of War] has failed to inflict [Terror] on you


    [Presence of the War God] has failed to inflict [Terror] on youThis text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 20>


    Altan turned to face Luke as he collapsed back to the ground. A golden light surrounded Altan, healing away the burns but failing to repair his singed beard.


    "I am going to murder you," Altan says through clenched teeth.


    Luke coughed up a dollop of blood as the Altan stomped over towards him. But Luke felt too battered to get up. Altan was going to kill him, and there was nothing he could do about it.


    Luke desperately tried to cast a healing spell on himself. He needed to get up, but he kept fumbling the spell. He glanced up at the Altan as he desperately tried again and again to cast the healing spell.


    "This is our chance, ATTACK," Chad''s voice echoed out over the clearing.


    Chad and some of the scavengers raced out from behind the damaged furniture and charged the Altan. Altan stopped turning to face them. He sneered at them as if annoyed at them for wasting his time.


    "[Friendly Fire]," Altan stated as he waved his hand at Chad''s group.


    Immediately, every single scavenger attacked each other, screaming at each other as they hacked, slashed, and shot at each other desperately as they tried to scatter. Not everyone had been affected, but those who had resisted whatever skill Altan had used were buddy-fighting their friends.


    BANG


    A gunshot echoed through the grove as Chad drew a pistol and shot Altan. Where had Chad gotten a gun? Not that any of it mattered as the bullet failed to penetrate Altan''s defenses, though Luke could see it took a lot out of his skills.


    "Attack!!" Chad ordered again. Few people listened to him, but enough did that Altan had to face them.


    The scavengers charged forward while Chad unloaded his pistol into the Altans to minimal effect. The Altan swung his scimitar with a lazy slash, but every scavenger it touched was torn apart. That wasn''t to say the scavengers weren''t getting in their hits.


    They cut and slashed at the Altan''s skin, cutting open small injuries as the Altan tried to swat them. Unfortunately, Altan was fast, even faster than Luke was, and when the scavengers failed to dodge, the attack was almost always fatal.  People screamed as bones were shattered and their organs punctured.


    Then, a smoldering table smashed into Altan''s head, nearly knocking him off his feet. Altan stumbled, turned, and was then tackled to the ground, an axe sticking out of his chest as Gareth slammed into him.


    "Let''s wrestle!!" Gareth screamed as he slammed his axe down on Altan, or he tried to. Altan blocked the axe and kicked Gareth to the ground. Altan tried to stomp on Gareth''s head. But his friend was already rolling out of the way.


    "More," Gareth demanded as he rose to his feet, drawing out a second axe. He turned and attacked again, not letting up for a second, as Gareth launched himself at the Altan like a wild animal.


    What Luke saw stunned him as Gareth and Altan ducked and weaved around each other, dodging each other''s attacks by millimeters. Gareth was sloppy but made up for it with speed and ferocity. Altan, on the other hand, outclassed Gareth in both his swordsmanship and his defenses.


    Even as Luke watched Gareth was getting better and more precise. He slipped through Altan''s attacks and scored the occasional hit. But Altan pressed onwards steadily, scoring blow after blow against Gareth, and of the two, Gareth was weakening faster than Altan.


    Luke, for his part, finally managed to get his mend spell to work. The magic fixed whatever was wrong with his back, and he rose to his feet. His back still twinged, but he could move again. He tried to cast another mend spell and found it worked much more easily. He frowned. Did he get a concussion when he hit the tree? Questions for later.


    "This is getting tiresome," Altan growled as he kicked Gareth away. "Why won''t you fools just die already!!! Nova!!!"


    Altan threw back his arms. Green flames erupted from the ground in a massive wave of carnage. Luke tried to avoid the flames, side-stepping and dodging their attack the best he could. Despite his best efforts, his clothes were shredded, and he was covered in bruises and cuts after forcing his way through the attack.


    The flames burned everything they could. Issac and Sam screamed as their bodies were roasted almost instantly. The other scavengers weren''t as lucky; they died slower and screamed.


    Gareth somehow walked through the sea of green fire with an ease that made the rest of them look clumsy in comparison. Chad followed right behind him, avoiding the flames. Gareth looked over to his brother''s corpse, and his face turned flushed. A red aura started to waft off of him.


    "I am going to destroy you." Gareth roared as he tossed away his steel axe and gripped his moonstone axe with both hands.


    "You''ll die trying," Altan said, chuckling.


    Gareth brought his axe down towards Altan''s head, the crescent blade of his axe descending like the moon. Altan parried, kicking Gareth out of the way before he turned on Chad.


    "Wait, no, I surrender, ill ---"


    Chad didn''t get the chance to finish whatever he was saying before Altan''s scimitar gutted him. Blood exploded from his mouth as he hung onto Altan''s sword. His machetes dropped from his hands, clattering against the ground.


    "[Charged Attacked Physical] [Charge]," Gareth roared as he slammed into Altan hard enough that the man bounced across the floor from the impact.


    Luke suddenly realized that there were only two of them left.


    Gareth lept at the Altan, his axe whooshing through the air. Altan dodged and parried his attack before shoving Gareth to the ground, raising his sword ready to decapitate his friend.


    Luke activated [First Labor] and slammed his blade into the Altan''s side, interrupting its attack. As he sent the man stumbling, a deep gash appeared across his back. Altan howled in rage as flames shot from the ground in an attempt to screwer him. Luke lept backwards, avoiding the worst of the damage, but the flames still left burns across his body. Gareth took the opportunity to bury Axe into the Altan''s side.


    This time, the axe buried itself deep enough to do some damage. Altan backhanded Gareth, sending him skidding away. Luke slammed his sword into Altan''s side with another [First Labor]. Altan stumbled away but turned and attacked.


    Luke''s world quickly devolved into two swords: thrust, parry, dodge, and slash. Luke quickly realized that he couldn''t match Alta. He was slower, his swordsmanship was poor, and his sword wasn''t spewing green napalm everywhere.


    "Luke, can you use that escape thing?" Gareth called back as he joined the fight.


    "It only works on me," Luke shouted back as they ducked past Altan''s scimitar.


    "Then use it!!" Gareth called out as he charged the Altan.


    "What?" Luke asked, stunned.


    He was so stunned he almost failed to dodge a root that ripped through his armor and left a nasty gash in his side.


    "Get out, get Tom, do what you need to do," Gareth ordered as he hacked at the Altan.


    "But," Luke began, he didn''t want to leave his friends.


    "We aren''t going to kill this asshole before he kills us." Gareth huffed as he dodged the flaming scimitar.


    "But we might still win!!" Luke roared as he slammed his sword into the Altan side.


    "You won''t!!" Altan laughed madly.


    "Stop arguing and go!!" Gareth ordered as he hacked at the monster.


    That''s when Altan caught Gareth''s axe in his hand. He turned, yanking Gareth''s weapon out of his hand, causing him to stumble, before Altan thrust his sword into Gareth''s gut.


    "Fuck" Gareth breathed out before the Altan pushed him off his sword. Letting him hit the ground with a thunk.


    "NOOO!!!" Luke screamed as he launched himself at the Altan.


    He activated [First Labor] once, twice, three times. Every attack carried every ounce of strength he could muster. His sword was barely making any progress against Altan''s scimitar. The fighting quickly devolved into an endless exchange of blows. Luke felt like he was having to use every single one of his skills just to keep up with Altan''s endless attacks. Because he was just too slow, it was like dancing on a knife''s edge; he didn''t know how long he danced, but eventually, he slipped up. He parried when he should have dodged, and Altan made him pay for it.


    Altan kicked him to the floor. Luke tried to stabilize himself, but he landed badly, twisting his ankle before he fell to the ground.


    He rolled over, seeing Altan leisurely stroll towards him. Luke had lost, and Altan knew it. Everyone was dead. He was dead. He was terrified. But he remembered Gareth''s words. He needed to get their bodies back to Tom.


    The Altan raised his scimitar over his head like a guillotine, ready to end his life as it came down with the certainty of --


    "[Legacy of Misfortune]" Luke shouted.


    The world around him twisted and spun. It felt like he was falling through a blender, and then he slammed onto the pavement hard.


    <Level Up!!>


    <Level Up!!>


    <Level Up!!>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Poseidon''s Sea] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 15>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 24>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Forth Labor] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Forth Labor] has Reached Level 23>


    <....>


    <[Forth Labor] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Sixth Labor] has Reached Level 23>


    <Legacy of Misfortune] has Reached Level 3>


    <Legacy of Misfortune] has Reached Level 4>


    <...>


    <Legacy of Misfortune] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Molten Lead Lance] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Molten Lead Lance] has Reached Level 17>


    Luke barely noticed the notifications as he fell to his knees and threw up. A puddle of his half-digested breakfast decorated the snow.


    "Hgh, hgh, hgh," Luke dry heaved as tears started to stream down his face.


    He felt like a coward. At that moment, he hated [Legacy of Misfortune]. It was a coward''s tool for killing your own kind and then running away. He hadn''t even managed to kill Altan. He just ran away. He hated it.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to sunder [Legacy of Misfortune] and be refunded one skill point?


    Warning: You will lose all skill levels and benefits, and even if you repurchase the skill, it will be at level 1.


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "YES," Luke snarled


    The skill disappeared as he received a new skill point. After he had gotten rid of his shame, he dropped three levels into [Water Enhancer]. He would pick his skills later. For now, he needed to get up. Unfortunately, he couldn''t, so he needed to cast mend on himself a couple of times before he could return to pick up the dead.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Demigod


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 18


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1235


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2385


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1980


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.4 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 19.3 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 6.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths Member


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 12%, Elemental 12%, Vitality 9%, Mental 10%, Crit 18%, Insta-death 18%, Poison 18%, Disease 18%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 12, Heir to Beleiraphone 3, Water Enhancer 3


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 181


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 99


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 49


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 82


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 99


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 45


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 31


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 86


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 165 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 60 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 90 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 45 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 75 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 90 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 45


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 30 +5%


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 75 +15%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 15 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary: Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    <ul>


    <li>[Power of the Sea God] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 21 >> Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Kin of Horses] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Born Sailor] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Natural Born Leader] - Level 18 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Master of Death] - Level 17 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Greek Tragedy] - Level 14 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Divine Assistance (Guide)] - ErR0R#4!!*!%!$</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 STR per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 10/60: Skill Points: 3


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 1 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Theseus 07/11


    <ul>


    <li>[First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippling Strike] - Level 23 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 22 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 22 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 21 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Level 22 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone - [Sixth Labor: Procrustes Just Deserts] - Level 22 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] - Level 1 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Bellerophon 2/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Molten Lead Lance] - Level 15 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Bridle of Athena] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Water Enhancer 0/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 66: Why does everyone keep dying?!

    "Anyway," Travis said, picking up from where Luke''s story ended. "After I got knocked out of the building, I had to hide from the [Bone Juggernaut] until [Duty before Death] timed out, and he dropped dead. Those guys appeared to be leading an entire slave convoy. Once they kicked our asses, they resurrected the [Horseman of Conquest] and the [Bone Juggernaut]. Then, they collected up the Gem Turtles, the settlement core, and moved on. Luke and I gathered up the dead and most of the supplies we originally came for. But we left a lot of stuff behind."


    "Yeah, yeah," Luke said. "Now, will you come outside and help me?"


    Tom sighed.


    "I''m having Lunch first."


    "You can''t be serious?" Luke asked.


    "Luke, I haven''t even had breakfast. I will resurrect everyone after lunch."


    "Seriously?!" Luke asked, infuriated.


    Travis put his hand on Luke''s arm.


    "Luke, how many people do you think are already laying out there?" Travis asked.


    "I don''t --"


    "How many were there yesterday? How many will be there tomorrow??"


    Luke looked deep in thought as he considered Travis''s words.


    "Fuck" Luke breathed.


    "Now you''re getting it," Tom said. "At this point, people who I haven''t resurrected are the minority, which reminds me. We need to set aside some time for me just to resurrect people so that everyone stops harassing me. I can''t come running every time someone dies, especially as every level a person has cost an extra two thousand points of mana to bring them back. That''s like ten people per level, and I need to herd together to resurrect one guy. Your friends are in the what? Eighteen range Luke, that means I need to round up something like ¡­ thirty-two thousand mana or three hundred mana per person. You lost what, a dozen people? That''s over a thousand people who have to drop what they''re doing. Come down to the parking lot in the freezing snow and help me bring your friends back. "


    "Yeah, okay," Luke said meekly. Surprising Tom.


    He had been expecting to get into a full-on argument with Luke. Now, the guy just seemed like a kicked puppy. Then again, he did just watch all his friends die. Maybe this was to be expected? Honestly, Tom was pretty sure his own relationship with death was getting out of hand. Seeing dead people as a chore couldn''t be healthy.


    "Tom." Luke started.


    Uh oh. Tom braced himself for the coming shitshow.


    "Tom, I''m Sorry for how I acted," Luke said.


    Tom was ¡­ utterly speechless. He couldn''t remember the last time Luke had said sorry ¡­ now that he thought about it, he wasn''t sure if Luke had ever apologized for anything. He barely even registered the rest of the conversation.


    "Uh¡­ okay," Tom managed, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "Thanks, I guess."


    Tom turned to Travis. But the Lizard Wizard just shrugged. Equally confused by this 180. Regardless, Tom issued a quest for people to show up just after lunch to help with the resurrections.


    "Well, I''d love to continue this chat later, but I have stuff to do: evolve my class, have lunch, train people, hand out the [Storage] skill, get a war council together, and god knows what else until tomorrow when I have to recruit reinforcements, scout out the enemy and create a battle plan and then execute that plan before Monday," Tom said.


    "Um, sure. We''ve got some training to do. Come on, Travis," Luke said, pulling the Lizard away.


    Travis gave him an apologetic shrug as he was carried away by Luke.


    ¡±What just happened?¡± Tom asked.


    ¡°I think all of this stuff is finally getting to Luke. He¡¯s relized that that this isn¡¯t a fantasy novel where everything is going to turn out ok and he¡¯s trying to take the first steps to putting away his pride and repairing our relationship.¡± Alex said.


    Tom looked at her, dragging out the awkward silence.


    ¡°Or he¡¯s experienceing temporary insanity.¡± Alex said cheekily sticking her tounge out at him.


    Tom shrugged Aalright enough of this I¡¯m snow confused and hungry let¡¯s put a pin in whatever that was and go get something to eat.¡±


    They got into the cafeteria line and grabbed a dozen small pulled pork sandwiches and two bowls of vegetable soup. He almost felt the need to apologize to Alex for how hungry he was when he noticed she had almost two dozen sandwiches herself.


    "What I''m freaking starving," Alex said defensively


    "The downsides of levels are already raising their head," Tom muttered.


    "Hmm," Alex agreed sheepishly as she stared at the pile of food on her plate.


    "Do not worry," Takashi said as he served them the soup. "I have a plan. Hunters bring back plenty of bones. Make plenty of meaty soup stock out of it."


    "That should work out well. Especially with the higher level monsters providing more calories." Alex agreed as they were shooed out onto the cafeteria floor.


    "I''m really hoping the [Cooks] level up soon so we can stop eating like characters from Dragon Ball," Tom said.


    "I''d be happy for some more variety. Eating sixteen sandwiches in one sitting is going to get boring," Alex said.


    They sat down and started to dig into their meals. The pulled pork sandwiches were basic, with just a little barbecue sauce. Alex ended up having a little bit of barbecue sauce on her chin as she bit into an especially saucy sandwich.


    "You know what I love the most about our new lives?" Alex asked mischievously.


    "What?" Tom asked.


    "I can eat like I want, and I won''t get fat," Alex said as she gleefully bit into a sandwich.


    Tom smiled. "I hope Chloe''s doing okay in the daycare. I feel pretty bad just pawning her off like that. But I don¡¯t think she¡¯d enjoy watching me play lord of Hopkins. Hell you haven¡¯t stopped complaining about since I made you my right hand.."


    Alex rolled her eyes. "I don''t really hate being in charge; I hate all the micromanaging I''m having to do."


    Alex paused for a moment. Tom could tell she wanted to say something, so he waited patently.


    <[Analyze person] has Reached Level 25>


    And now the entire moment felt dirty. Thanks system.


    "I''m worried about my brother," Alex admitted.


    "The little shit? Have you heard anything?" Tom asked as he took her hand.


    "He might be a little shit, but he''s still my brother. And no, he won''t answer his phone. I''m hoping he''s just out of service range, or maybe he dropped the stupid thing in the toilet. Or maybe he lost it gambling that would be like him," Alex said.


    "What about your dad?" Tom asked.


    "I don''t think my dad would have picked up the phone even if he was still alive," Alex said dismissively before doing her best impersonation of a Chinese accent. "Ugly daughters should know their place and be quiet while the men speak."


    Tom had to hold back a laugh.


    "You''re terrible," Tom said.


    "He was actually better when Mom was alive," Alex said. Now, he''s all about tradition and turning Fang into his heir. God, it''s killing me not knowing."


    "Want me to try and find them with [Far-Seeing]?" Tom offered.


    "Don''t bother. Dad took Fang somewhere in Vancouver proper for some hush-hush meeting. We would need something to actually search for him, like [Divine Person]. I just don''t know what to do."


    "Hey, hey, it''s going to be alright. We know that Sam and her dad had bloodlines despite never having played the Legend of Noralon. Odds are Chester passed it on to his kid, so there''s a pretty good chance Fang has the [Bloodline of the Spector], too." Tom tried to placate her.


    "You know, that actually makes me more concerned. My idiot of a brother is liable to do something stupid if he feels special," Alex said. "Do you remember half of the quest revolving around bloodline? Half of them were about kidnapping, rape, or turning people potion ingredients."


    "At least the bloodline lends itself to escaping danger," Tom said.


    Alex put her head in her hands and groaned.


    "You know, I just realized, if your family bloodline is that of a spectre, that means."


    "Oh my god, one of my ancestors fucked a ghost?!" Alex said.


    "I guess your perversion is genetic." Tom shot back.


    Alex threw a ball of water at his face, soaking Tom''s front completely.


    "Ass," she said.


    "Perv," he shot back, both of them grinning.


    <hr>


    Luke showed Travis his status.


    "So you finally picked up [Water Enhancer]," Travis chuckled. "That explains why you were so apologetic."


    Luke rolled his eyes.


    "Yeah, I fucked up. I let my pride get the better of me, and I had to have the message beaten into my skull. I need the [Legendary Strength] skill to fix my agility."


    "Yeah, putting points into agility and strength at the same time is a trap. You''ll waste points you could put elsewhere. There''s also the fact that you''re not using [Power of the Sea God]. It''s a powerful water magic skill that you haven''t used once. That''s why we recommended [Water Enhancer]. It''s a good melee class that can help you utilize your bloodline." Travis hissed.


    "I know, I know," Luke said. "I just ¡­ I didn''t like the fact that it wasn''t my choice. At first, it was Theo making every decision, and then Tom tried telling me what to do, and I was an ass about it. But now I want you to help me. What skills are the right ones?" Luke asked as he brought up his skill options.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Water Enhancer Skills


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Tide Ripper] - Uncommon: You mimic water, specifically the flow, flexibility, and adaptability of the liquid. Your blade is covered in a thin sheen of water, inflicting additional [Water] damage¡ª+1.25 % for Sword & Footwork Mastery per skill level.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Wave Breaker] - Uncommon: You mimic water, specifically the crashing of the waves upon the rocks. Your Mace and Shield are covered in a thin sheen of water, inflicting additional [Water] damage when you strike an enemy¡ª+1.25 % for Mace & Shield Mastery per skill level.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Rapid Water Steps] - Uncommon: You move forwards like the rapids, quickly moving through the battle, accompanied only by the splashes of your footsteps¡ª+1 % movement speed per skill level. When activated, your movement speed increases by 300% for five seconds at the cost of 50 mana.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Spearfisher] - Rare: You hunt the ocean for your food, launching your spear into the deep in order to recover your dinner. Your spear blade is covered in a thin sheen of water, inflicting additional [Water] damage¡ª+1.25 % for Spears, Fishing & Swimming Mastery per skill level.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Water Armour] - Rare: You surround your body in water, protecting yourself with the power of the ocean itself. Gain 100 Armour at the cost of 100 mana. Increase this effect by ten armour per skill level.</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Travis considered it for a moment.


    "What skills do you want to get?" Travis asked.


    Luke frowned. "I don''t know. That''s why I''m asking you."


    Travis rolled his eyes.


    "Listen, sourpuss. It''s not one or the other. There''s no point in picking up a skill if you''re never going to use it. At the same time, some skills are just too useful not to pick it up."


    "Like [Legendary Strength]?" Luke asked.


    "Exactly." Travis nodded. "So what skills would you like?"


    Luke considered the question.


    "[Rapid Water Steps] are a must. I like [Tide Ripper], but [Spearfisher] seems like it would be objectively better. Maybe [Water Armor]? But honestly, I''d rather hold off on any of these skills until I get [Legendary Strength]," Luke suggested.


    Travis nodded.


    "[Rapid Water Steps] is an excellent first choice. As for [Tider Ripper] and [Spearfisher], I would recommend picking up [Tide Ripper] now as you really like that sword and then picking up [Spearfisher] and [Waver Breaker] later and combine all three into the [Way of Water] skill"


    "I can combine skills?" Luke asked in confusion.


    Travis looked at him in confusion before turning into realization.


    "Oh, right. Your other classes are already legendary. You probably haven''t combined any skills. Here, let me show you how to use your soul forge," Travis explained.


    Luke listened with rapt attention as Travis explained something so fundamental that he hadn''t even bothered to learn about it. He would need to ask Travis more about the system in case there was something else he missed.


    <hr>


    After lunch, Tom walked outside to deal with the dead. Alex said she needed to use the restroom and wandered off.


    Tom looked at the rows of dead bodies. The corpses of police officers, larpers, and random people were laying out on the frozen ground. Even now, their bodies were covered in light dusting snow as it came down heavily.


    In the past few days, he had only seen light snow. Today, however, it was coming down like the advent of a blizzard, threatening to overwhelm them.


    "Monday," Tom muttered as [Prophetic Mediation] nagged at his mind.


    Sometime around Monday, the blizzard will be here in full force. He needed to hurry.


    Tom was immensely glad they had been able to restore some rudimentary heating to the school, even if it was taking most of their power.


    They moved over to the bodies of the dead. There had to be hundreds of people here. Tom was just glad people had gotten the quest and had been lining up and waiting for him. He drew out a ritual circle with light magic.


    "Alright, everyone, let''s get this started. We''ve got a lot of bodies to get through, and we want to be finished in two hours, so let''s get a move on," Tom ordered before turning to Major Adams, Eve, and Chester.


    "The moment we bring someone back, I want you guys to pull them away and get them settled. I''m not going to waste hours letting people freak out; you understand."


    The trio looked like they wanted to argue, but they ultimately complied with his orders.


    Then he got to work, bringing one person back after another. The police officers worked together to remove the returned and put them in a better state of mind.


    Eventually, they got to Luke and Travis''s team. Tom sighed. This was going to be annoying. Chad was in Luke''s group. Part of him honestly considered just not bringing him back. He really considered it. He really wanted to. But no, he didn''t hate Chad that much, and he didn''t want to ruin his reputation as system Jesus. It made him feel awkward, but it allowed him to order people around without having to explain every little detail.


    As a new group of people huddled behind him as his batteries, he activated [Hand of Mercy]. The mana poured through his body, repairing Chad''s body and restoring him to life.


    Chad coughed once, twice, and then he spat out a wad of congealed blood. Chad rolled over and spat out whatever blood had remained in his mouth before he turned to look up at him.


    If looks could kill Chad, he was definitely giving it his best. His eyes radiated a combination of hate, resentment, and humiliation. Blood dripped down his chin as his tongue flicked out to catch the blood on his lips. His hair was matted, and he looked like a wild animal.


    "Can I get you some hot chocolate, friend?" Tom said mockingly.


    The offer was genuine, but it was equally insulting. Chad took the bait.


    "Fuck you, freak." Chad spat as he got his feet.


    "Well, good to see you too, Mr. Grumpy pants," Tom said, a cruel glint in his eyes that only Chad could see. "Did you resurrect on the wrong side of the bed?"


    Chad got up and tried to punch him. Immediately his [Spell Trap] activated, and a windshield blasted out of his body, knocking Chad flat on his ass.


    "Do you want a fight, Chad? I''m perfectly willing; just don''t expect me to bring you back again." Tom said as spells gathered in his hands two earthen spears that would punch right through Chad''s body with ease.


    Chad sneered as he pulled himself back to his feet.


    "This isn''t over." Chad snarled.


    "It better be," Tom mocked as he watched Chad stumble away.


    Tom looked back to see people looking at him strangely.


    "What?" Tom asked. "He started it."


    Then he realized that not everyone was frowning at him. Some of them were staring at him in awe, but mostly, it was those people he had just brought back to life. They weren''t staring at him like he was a nerd or something gross; they had stepped in. Most of their stares could be better described as in awe, infatuation, or even fanaticism.


    It left Tom deeply uncomfortable, so he turned back to his job


    Penny was next. She shot up, gasping for air. Her eyes darted back and forth in a panic, her sacrificial dagger reappearing in her hand, ready to slash anyone who got too close, but she stopped as she realized where she was.


    "I died," she said, hyperventilating as she unsteadily got to her feet. Luke moved over to help her.


    "Pretty much," Tom admitted. "How did it happen?"


    "I tried to free the slaves, and they killed him ¡­ FUCK!!!" she screamed.


    "You okay?" Tom asked her.


    "I just ¡­ I think I need a break from all this," Penny said, storming off.


    Tom shrugged. She wasn''t having a breakdown, so she was probably fine. He moved on to Sam.


    "Remember how you asked whether or not you should focus on getting [Soul Lantern]," Sam asked.


    "Yes," Tom said.


    "You should get it," Sam said. "Anything to make that ¡­ more tolerable."


    She seemed a little better than Penny. Tom was starting to notice that younger people handled dying a lot better than older people. He wondered why. Shrugging, he moved on to Gareth. The big man shot up his hand, reaching for the axe that wasn''t on his belt.


    "Where''s my brother?" Gareth asked, not even bothering to acknowledge the fact that he had died just getting up and standing on his own two feet.


    <[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 27>


    <...>


    <[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 48>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 31>


    <[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 32>


    <[Words will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 28>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 13>


    "He''s next," Tom said, pointing to Issac''s corpse.


    "Where is my weapon?" Gareth asked as he grabbed Issac and placed him in the ritual circle before joining the group to supply Tom with power.


    "No idea," Tom admitted as he activated the ritual and brought Issac back to life.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1000


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4000


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 18.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 24.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 58% Soul 34%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 3, Scribe 3, Pro-gamer 4


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    <ul>


    <li>[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 30 >> Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 25 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Library of Akashic Records] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Universal] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Wordsmith] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 34</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Soul Forge] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 PER per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 4


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Analyze Person] - Level 24 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Best of Both Worlds] - Level 12 >> Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Water] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Earth] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Teacher] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    Augur 07/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Augurs Eye] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Bright Arts] - Level 27 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Life] - Level 20 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Prophetic Meditation] - Level 44</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Far Seeing] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 26 >> Level 48</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Quest Giver] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    Tactician 05/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leadership ¢ò] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raider ¢ñ] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Logistics ¢ó] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    Pro-Gamer 01/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Spell Trap] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    Scribe 01/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Contract] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 67: Worlds First

    Abaddon stood inside the [Cauldron of Molacure Wisdom] as he explained how to create health potions for around a hundred people. He was a bit disappointed in their levels. As far as he could tell, most of them had used Tom''s quests to get to level 10 before immediately stopping. He wasn''t sure if they were just unwilling to fight or if they just didn''t understand how to level without fighting. Then again, this was only day four of the system, so he guessed he couldn''t blame them too much for their lack of levels.


    More importantly, these people had decided to take up the best form of crafting. Alchemy. Most of them had a previous interest in chemistry, and alchemy was just magic plus chemistry, so he didn''t need to delve into every single technique.


    "The recipe for an inferior health potion is four blades of Evergreen grass and one Redcap mushroom. Unfortunately, we don''t have enough ingredients for everyone, so you''re just going to observe," Abaddon explained.


    Abaddon picked up the needed ingredients and tossed them into a cauldron that was already simmering.


    "This is the cheapest inferior rarity health potion you can create," Abaddon explained. It takes no additional effort; you just leave the ingredients in the cauldron at a simmer. The juices will eventually bleed into the water, turning it red. Remove the evergreen grass and redcaps from the cauldron when they become soggy." Abaddon explained as he removed them from the cauldron.


    "If you have [mana sight] or have other ways to perceive mana, then you can improve the recipe by removing the vegetables only once they lose all their mana," Abadon said. "Now we simply wait. We need to boil off the excess water until the potion reaches the quarter mark. At this point, the potion should look cherry red. Which is an indication that the potion has reached its maturity." Abaddon finished the first lesson. "The end result will be a health potion that might heal 50 hp if you do everything perfectly."


    One of the people in the front of the class, a woman with a [Gardner] Class, raised her hand. And Abaddon pointed at her.


    "Go"


    "Um ah," she stammered a little as Abaddon pointed at her. "Couldn''t we improve the recipe? Isolate and concentrate the chemicals that create the potion. Get more HP?" she asked as if unsure of her own words.


    "First off, great quest. The answer is, of course, we can. This is actually the first time I have ever created this particular recipe," Abaddon explained as the cauldron slowly boiled off the water.


    "I actually use a better recipe for our health potions. But the main advantage of this one is that you can make this potion basically anywhere, so long as you can boil water. The ingredients are also extremely common." Abaddon explained. "The next recipe we will be going over is what you guys will actually be making. You will be working in groups as, once again, we don''t have enough ingredients for everyone to do individual projects. So everyone gets into groups of five," Abaddon explained.


    He moved over to where he had prepared the racks for drying yesterday. He made sure to hand each group of five one tray.


    "Alright, in front of you now are six dried Mistletoe leaves, ten dried blades of evergreen grass, and four redcap mushrooms," Abaddon explained as everyone looked down at the line of shrivelled-up ingredients.


    "Here''s what you all need to do. Take the evergreen and mistletoe and grind them up until you have a fine powder. The finer, the better. At the same time, fill one of the cauldrons in the room with water and bring it to a boil. Once the water is at a boil, toss in your ground-up materials, then place the dried recaps in a strainer and insert the device in the cauldron. You are basically treating the redcaps as tea leaves, allowing them to release their compounds into the tea. We don''t want to directly mix the mushrooms in the brew as they have poisonous elements that can render the brew a failure if we ground it up." Abaddon explained as his students moved step by step through the process.


    "Final steps. Now, we remove the soggy mushrooms first. We can grind these up later and turn them into a poison. After you remove the mushrooms, everyone will need to infuse 200 mana or MP into the brew. Your mana will act like a reagent. Bonding the ingredients together and creating the health potion."


    The [Gardner] girl raised her hand again.


    "Yes," Abaddon asked.


    "How do we do that?" she asked.


    "Ummm ¡­ huh," Abaddon muttered.


    It had been so long since he had actually needed to consider how to manipulate his mana. He hadn''t thought about how to move his mana since his first time playing the Legend of Noralon. At this point, it was just something he did, like walking or breathing. How did you teach someone to breathe?


    Abaddon suddenly thought about it and checked one of the cauldrons. Fortunately, it had a rune to allow the user to input their mana into the brew. Holding up the cauldron, he pointed at the rune.


    "For those of you who don''t know how to manipulate your own mana yet, find and press your hand on this rune. Once you''ve spent 200 mp, remove your hand so you don''t lower the brew''s efficiency." Abaddon explained. "Try and share the load with others. That way, you can all get a feel for your mana."


    Everyone followed along, searching for runes before they each started giving the brew mana. It took a while, but soon enough, the water in everyone''s cauldron had turned cherry red.


    "Perfect. Now we just need to bottle all of this up, and we can hand them out to the hunting groups," Abaddon said as he moved over to his cauldron. It was still brewing the lower-quality health potion, which should be finished soon.


    <[Simplistic Alchemy] has Reached Level 16>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulation


    For creating the first Inferior Potion of the Beggars Health Restoration on Noralon, you have gained the World First Title.


    [Simplistic Alchemy] - Common has upgraded to [Brewer] - Epic


    [Brewer]: Potions are the staple of any good adventurer. Health, Mana and Stamina Potions are Staples of Alchemy. +1.25% per skill level for crafting mastery when performing alchemy. Increase the potency of all Health, Stamina and Mana Potions by 5% per skill level. +10% DEX


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Brewer] has Reached Level 8>


    Abaddon froze as he stared at the notification. Well, he didn''t completely freeze. He still removed the cauldron from the heat source and then poured the material into one of those screw-on-top water bottles to store it. But he was still stunned. That title was normally reserved for creating brand-new products. What he created was as common as dirt hell. Making that potion was a system quest that a lot of alchemists gave out to help people get started on alchemy in Noralon. Abaddon couldn''t think of a single person who wouldn''t know it, so how did he have a world-first title?


    Was the system broken? Probably not. But he couldn''t be the first person to make a beggar''s health potion. Actually, he might be. The potion''s only redeeming quality was how easy it was to make. Unless you literally had no better options, no one would actually make the stuff. So maybe he had been the first one to do it.


    Maybe the apocalypse reset everything. But that would mean all of the other options would have earned him the World First title. If that was the case, why hadn''t he received this title before?


    For a long while, he stared at the notification, mulling the problem over in his mind, tasting and sampling it.


    Then Abaddon smacked himself. World first! This wasn''t noralon or maybe it was. The point was this was effectively a new world, so maybe all those world-first titles were up for grabs!! He had gotten this title because no one else on the planet had made an inferior Beggars Health potion before him. The reason he hadn''t gotten the title before was because someone else had made the Inferior mana and health potions. But that meant he could grind out world-first titles.


    "Um, Mr.Abaddon, sir?" The [Gardner] girl was trying to get his attention.


    "I''m sorry, class is over. Thank you all for attending." Abaddon dismissed them with a hand wave.


    He immediately got to work; his reptilian hands immediately started to snatch up ingredients as he made a mental list of all of the potions he could make with what he had. He needed to make these potions now before someone else on the planet beat him to it. He looked over his ingredients. Tom had brought him a handful of interesting materials. He did a quick inventory count. They had five hundred raw ingredients. Plenty of them had already been placed in planters, but they still had plenty.


    Snatching up all of the empty cauldrons, he washed them out, and then he started tossing in the ingredients. Even with his small mana pool, he could manage about three cauldrons at a time, so long as he didn''t try and get clever.


    <You have Created an Elixir of Inferior Strength>


    <You have Created an Elixir of Inferior Agility>


    <You have Created an Elixir of Inferior Intelligence>


    Nothing from those three. Annoying but not unexpected. After Health and Mana potions, these would have been the first potions created. He emptied out the cauldrons, cleaned them and then started again the next three after jugging a mana potion.


    <You have Created an Elixir of Inferior Dexterity>


    <You have Created an Elixir of Inferior Endurance>


    <You have Created an Elixir of Inferior Constitution>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulation


    For creating the first Elixir of Inferior Dexterity on the planet, you have upgraded your title World First to World First +2


    +1 Skill Point


    +10 Skill levels to your [Brewer] Skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Brewer] has Reached Level 18>


    Abaddon let out a grunt of annoyance as he reset the cauldrons, drank a mana potion, and started again. He needed to think outside the box, niche stuff. But then he checked their inventory. They didn''t have what he would call a plethora of ingredients. Most of them had been planted in the greenhouse to grow more, further limiting their supply.


    Pulling out a wad of paper, Abaddon quickly wrote down every ingredient they had. Then, he started writing down every recipe he could remember. He could remember a lot of them. Once he was done, he started cross-referencing what he could do with what he had on hand. He was still limited to inferior rarity potions, so that helped narrow things down. Then he realized he was two skill levels away from being able to make Lesser Potion, so he added those back in. Then he crossed out all of the really useful stuff. The potions that someone had almost certainly already created if they had more than five minutes to themselves. He ended up with thirty-two inferior rarity potions and six lesser potions that he thought could work.


    Cracking his neck, he got to work.


    <You have Created a Potion of Inferior Darkvison>


    <You have Created a Potion of InferiorBlood Doping>


    <You have Created a Potion of Inferior Poison Resistance>


    <...>


    <You have Created a Poison of Lesser Hemotoxin>


    <You have Created a Poison of Inferior Neurotoxin>The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    <You have Created a Poison of Lesser Neurotoxin>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulation


    For creating the first Poison of Lesser Neurotoxin on the Noralon, you have upgraded your title from World First +5 to World First +6


    +1 Skill Point


    +10 Skill levels to your [Brewer] Skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Brewer] has Reached Level 58>


    Abaddon wanted to punch himself in disgust. Apparently, he wasn''t the first person to figure this all out. Only five of the thirty-eight recipes gave him the title. And he had gone through a fifth of all of these herbs. If he had known about this at the start, he would have sat his ass down and just done alchemy for the first day of the system.


    Which was probably why so many potions had already been created. Anybody who played the Legend of Noralon would have realized the exploit and immediately started banging out potions like there was no tomorrow. In fact, he was pretty sure the only reason he had gotten to the world''s first +6 was due to the lack of available ingredients. It was the same reason he had stopped. They didn''t have the inventory, even if he had the skill to earn more world-first titles.


    On the plus side, his alchemy skill was now at 58. And he had six free perks to assign. He leaned back on the small chair he was on and groaned in protest. Honestly, he loved being huge; for all its drawbacks, he had to admit he understood why the jocks had all been narcissistic assholes. Being big was awesome. Lizard features aside. He had gone from barely five feet tall to seven feet of reptilian perfection.


    Abaddon finally left the lab with the box of potions in his storage. He needed to drop off the random assortment of potions before he hit the baths and talked to Tom. He really wanted a bath to get some of the gunk off his scales. He marched up through the bowls of Hopkins. The place was really becoming a proper base. He wondered if he should bring up the idea of further upgrades to Tom''s council. He had initially refused the offer to be placed in charge of the alchemy. The title was tempting, but he wasn''t interested in actually managing anything, maybe when he maxed out his class and skill levels. But right now, it seemed like a waste of time.


    Abaddon was so distracted by his train of thought that he didn''t notice the people slowly surrounding him.


    "Hey, little Hector," Chad called out to him.


    Abaddon couldn''t stop himself from flinching as the words broke his train of thought.


    Chad and Kevin approached Abaddon with a swagger, flanked by a couple of his companions. Hopkin''s hallways echoed with distant echoes as people went about their day.


    Abaddon stood frozen as Chad and his gang closed in on him, their mocking laughter filling the hallway like a menacing symphony. Despite his new physique, he still felt helpless.


    Chad sneered, his voice dripping with malice. "Or should we say, ''Fat Hector'' now? I mean, it''s not like you earned that freaky body, you pathetic loser."


    Abaddon''s heart pounded in his chest, his palms clammy with sweat. He wanted to do something, say something. But the words just caught in his throat. He was shaking.


    The bullies snickered behind him. One of them shoved Abaddon roughly against the lockers.


    "Look at him," Chad jeered as they walked up to him. "He''s shaking like a scared little puppy. What a joke."


    "Please, just leave me alone," Abaddon whispered, his voice barely audible over the taunts and laughter echoing in the hallway.


    Shame burned through him worse than that pyromancer he fought. He tried to blink away the tears in his eyes as


    But Chad was relentless, his eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure as he leaned in close, his hot breath ghosting over Abaddon''s ear.


    "Aw, did we hurt little Hector''s feelings?" he cooed mockingly, his grip tightening on Abaddon''s shirt.


    He felt so small, so weak. He wanted to shrink down into nothing and disappear. Why was he still like this?! He was big and strong now. Then Abaddon realized something. He was looking down at Chad. Chad was a football player; he was a big guy. But Abaddon was bigger than Chad, a lot bigger, and he had spent the last four days killing things a lot more dangerous than the bullies in front of him.


    "Tell me, does being a reptilian freak get you off or something you freak out about." Chad jeered as he shoved him against the wall of lockers. "We''re going to need a new name for you, freak."


    This time, the words just seemed to wash over him. Chad was right. He wasn''t a little Hector anymore. Hector was dead. He was Abaddon. He had fought demon lords and ripped his way out of a zombie dinosaur''s stomach. What the hell was he doing, letting someone like Chad push him around?!


    Abaddon''s claws dug into the lockers, the aluminum doors bending under his claws as he stood up straight to his full eight-foot tall height. Chad looked so tiny from up here.


    "Leave me alone, Chad," Abaddon growled.


    "Or what?!" Chad mocked.


    Abaddon gave Chad a light shove, sending him stumbling to the ground.


    "Or else that." Abaddon chuckled as he turned and walked away.


    "You, you. You fucking freak!!!" Chad screamed, but Abaddon ignored him.


    Then, pain ripped through his side. Abaddon turned around and found Kevin had stabbed him. Seriously?! The cut Kevin had actually been impressive was rather deep and took about ten percent of his total HP. It''s not that it mattered that his injury was already healing, but seriously?! He never expected to be attacked.


    "Kill him!!" Kevin called out


    Chad and the others drew their weapons, and apart of Abaddon realized that they might have come here to kill him all along. But this was better somehow. These people weren''t his bullies anymore. They were monsters and he knew how to fight monsters.


    Abaddon activated [Giga Impact,] smashing Kevin, through the lockers and into the wall behind them.


    "You mother fucker!!" Chad screamed as he charged him.


    Then he activated [Charge]. Chad leaped out of the way, but the bully behind him was too slow, and he slammed into him. At the moment of impact, he felt the guy''s bones break as he flew into lockers on the other side of the hall. Immediately, his victim started screaming. His body was a mess, both arms broken with shards of aluminum piercing his torso. The other looked on in horror as Abaddon turned back to them.


    "What the fuck did you do?!" Chad screamed in outrage


    Abaddon didn''t respond. He wasn''t Skippy, he didn''t speak in combat.


    Swinging with a [Giga Impact,] he beheaded the second bully with pure overwhelming force. Was it a beheading if his head exploded? Questions for later.


    The third one swung a metal pipe at him. Abaddon let it catch on his arm before he grabbed the guy''s arm and swung him at the fourth.


    "GAHHHH!" the third man screamed as his arm dislocated.


    Though, to be fair they were all screaming at this point. The fourth guy went down like a sack of potatoes as his friend impacted him, but for some reason, Abaddon just kept beating him. Hitting them again and again like wild animals until the man he was using as a weapon let out a wrenching scream. As his arm was ripped out of the socket, his body was sent flying into the ceiling, spraying the room in blood, and Abaddon was left with just his arm. The other guy was already dead, so Abaddon just chucked the arm and moved on to number five.


    "Please don''t kill me, please don''t kill me, please don''t kill me," he mumbled as a wet spot appeared around his pants.


    Abaddon grabbed his upper torso in both hands and squeezed. The ribcage splintered into fragments as his organs were pulped, blood, bile and other things splattered onto the floor, the smell nauseating.


    "I''ll kill you and your fucking faggot friends." Chad roared as he hit him


    Abaddon was sent skidding backwards. Turning with the blow, he found Chad charging at him again as he activated a skill.


    "[Penance for the Fallen]," Chad roared as he launched himself at Abaddon.


    Abaddon activated [Charge], slamming into Chad mid-jump and cancelling his attack mid-motion. [Penance of the Fallen] was a capstone skill from the [Avenger] class. It worked by empowering its user for every dead party member. So he guessed Chad had finally hit level 20.


    Chad was sent rolling backwards as Abaddon moved to finish him when Kevin''s daggers sliced into his neck. They did a lot less damage this time, but he still bleed profusely from the injury.


    Abaddon moved to grab Kevin and slam him into the ground, but Kevin was surprisingly quick, sliding off his body like a creepy spider before he could crush his skull. But Kevin had forgotten about Abaddon''s tail. Abaddon activated [Giga Impact] again and slammed Kevin into the wall with an empowered tail strike.


    Then Abaddon froze. Kevin wasn''t dead. He hadn''t even taken as much damage as he was expecting. Worse, he was regenerating. How the hell did Kevin have the ability to regenerate? Now that Abaddon thought about it, Kevin seemed to be operating above what he would expect, even for a level 20. Goddammit, did Kevin have a bloodline?


    Further questions were cut off as Chad smashed into him, his machete cleaving through his flesh and slamming into his collarbone. Anyone else that attacked would have been lethal, but Abaddon was a tank.


    Grabbing Chad''s leg, he yanked Chad off his feet and slammed him into the ground, one, two, then three times.


    "[Vengeance]," Chad screamed, kicking Abaddon with the power of his last three attacks, smashing him into the lockers.


    Abaddon was marginally impressed. Four days ago, these guys hadn''t understood the system at all. Now, they were actually putting up a fight. But even still, he had already won this fight.


    Kevin kept at him, his knives slashing across Abaddon''s chest and coating his bully in even more of his blood, in his very toxic blood. But Abaddon was ready. The moment Kevin moved towards him, he wrapped his arms around Kevin''s body, trapping him against his body, the lanky asshole began slashing and tearing up his flesh in a desperate move to escape every cut, and every drop of blood added more poison to his system, even as Abaddon crushed his body.


    Kevin''s body shuddered under the pressure, his breathing growing more and more laboured as he kept slashing and flailing at Abaddon in desperation, clearly unaware that he was only accelerating his own death. Abaddon felt the crack of thick bone snapping against his arm, and Kevin went limp. Abaddon dumped his one-time bully to the ground before stomping on his head, crushing it like a melon.


    Chad tried to get to his feet, only to collapse back to the ground. Even with [Penance of the Fallen], Chad''s body couldn''t heal the damage he had already suffered, and he was still poisoned.


    "You fucking monster," Chad gasped as he pulled a gun and shot him three times in the chest.


    The gun clicked empty, and Abaddon picked the bullets from his scales, the damage from this fight having already healed. He smiled; now, technically, Chad was already dead. The poison in his system was going to kill him unless he got to a healer, but Abaddon wanted a bit of revenge for all those years Chad tormented him. He activated [Giga Impact] and smashed Chad into the ground. The sound of bones shattering and meat splatter echoed through the room as Chad was turned into a wet smear on the ground.


    Abaddon stumbled backwards, even if he wasn''t physically tired. Mentally, this had been exhausting. Abaddon collapsed to one knee, vomiting up his breakfast. He was covered in blood, human blood. That shouldn''t have mattered, and yet somehow it did. He threw up again. He threw up until there was nothing but bile in his stomach.


    <Level Up>


    The notification pulled Abaddon away from his train of thought. He didn''t really think about his new level. It just went straight into [Giantslayer]. A clicking sound made him turn to look down the hall. He saw a dozen people there with their phones out, taking pictures or filming him. That was when Abaddon realized he was covered in blood and worse things and surrounded by people he had killed. He should call Tom.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Abaddon (Hector Fortane)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Lizard-Man


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Giant


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Crocodile


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 3135


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 4975


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 840


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 29.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 50.1 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 12.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, World''s First 6


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Poison


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 50%, Disease 50%, Crit 56%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 50%, Frost 50%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Scaleslayer, Giantslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Giantslayer 21


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 161


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 210


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 207


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 147 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 210


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 189 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 END, +3 STR, +3 CON, +2 PER +2 SPIRIT


    Racial: +3 END, +2 STR, +2 CON +1 PER


    Bloodline: +3 CON


    Giantslayer Skills: +2 AGIL


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Lesser Hydra] - Rare: The distilled essence of what makes a hydra a hydra: regenerating from gruesome wounds, surviving having critical organs damaged, killing people just by bleeding on them, and being immune to and enjoying the consumption of poison.


    <ul>


    <li>[Regeneration] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Redundant Organs] - Level 42 >> Level 56</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Toxic Blood] - Level 16 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Poison Conasuir] - Level 29 >> Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+3 CON per Level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 17/60: Skill Points: 8


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Natural Arms and Armour] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Aquatic Predator] - Level 11 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 29 >> Level 33</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 26 >> Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Siegebreaker] - Level 25 >> Level 29</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Brewer] - Level 3 >> Level 58</li>


    </ul>


    Giantslayer 10/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Immortal Fists] - Level 33 >> Level 37</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Monster Lifeforce (Giant)] - N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Giant Slayer] - N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Second Stage] - Level 9 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Endless Brawler] - Level 23 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Legendary Strength] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum] - Level 21 >> Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Charge] - Level 23 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Giga Impact] - Level 18 >> Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Enlarge] - Level 5 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 68: Soul Damage

    Tom and Alex made their way toward the library, the muted hum of settlement life filling the air around them. Makeshift structures stood side by side with scavenged materials, and the occasional laugh or bark of orders echoed through the bustling hub.


    "Alright," Alex began, ticking items off her fingers. "Food stocks are looking good, and we set up your scribes. Duncan''s trying to wrangle the crafters. Abaddon should be making potions. Skippy and Travis are training people."


    Tom nodded as he stepped over a stray piece of rubble. "What''s our population looking like?"


    Alex sighed, pulling a rough ledger from her bag. "We¡¯ve got a little over five thousand now. A thousand of which are orphaned kids. Two hundred elderly, and the rest are ages thirteen to thirty."


    Tom let out a low whistle. "That¡¯s a lot of kids. What¡¯s the breakdown of skills and experience?"


    "Pretty grim fucking grim. The average level is ten, but that''s almost entirely due to the quests you handed out. So from the experience angle, they are basically noobs. We¡¯re training them, and plenty are interested. Skippy¡¯s got his hands full trying to teach the basics without breaking them. Unfortunately I think we''ll end up with a problem. Most of our people are larpers and teenagers. So we have a lot of interest from people being warriors. But very little in anything else. Unfortunately, we have the opposite problem with everyone else." Alex said, her tone somewhere between admiration and frustration.


    "And crafting supplies?" Tom asked, his mind already sorting priorities.


    "Pretty good, actually," Alex replied with a smirk. "Travis managed to disassemble a couple of houses, so we¡¯ve got a few tons of wood to work with. We also dismantled some cars for metal, and the hunters brought in plenty of animal hides from the last outing."


    Tom nodded as he looked out the window. "At least the materials are coming in. Duncan will need to start using them more strategically. Maybe set up a workshop rotation or assign specialists."


    "That''s his problem," Alex said as she jotted something down in his notepad. "Anything else?"


    They reached the library of the digital dream. The entire place felt like he was cozying up under the covers with a good book, causing Tom to pause for a moment and let the quiet settle over him.


    "Tim, for my class upgrade," Tom said as he let out a breath.


    This wasn''t going to be a standard class upgrade. In fact, he was going well off the beaten path with this one. If he wanted to stay ahead he was going to need to cheat the system. Hopefully, his soul wouldn''t explode from the attempt.


    "Is there anything I can do to help?" Alex asked.


    Tom''s eyes narrowed as he stared at her.


    "Are you asking that so you can avoid work?" he asked.


    "I can''t believe you would suggest such a thing!" Alex said in mock outrage. "And even if it was true, you couldn''t prove it anyway."


    "You can keep people away from me while I work on myself. This one is going to take some time," Tom said.


    "Sure," she said with a shrug.


    He immediately plopped his ass down in a beanbag and activated [Soul Forge], descending into his soul space. The place had changed so much since the last time he had been here, and he almost didn''t recognize it. His [Tactician] Class was a nebula of green in a constellation of little birds, barely out of its shell. Despite that, it looked a little stretched thin, like butter on too much toast. He would really need to add more levels to that one; actually, he could use more levels for everything.


    The [Augur] Class was golden but smaller than he would have liked. The [Augur] was supposed to be the cornerstone of his build, but he kept needing to put it aside.


    He shook his head as he turned to focus on his two new classes. The [Scribe] was a book in a brown nebula, and the [Pro-Gamer] was in a blue nebula and looked like a chess piece.


    You couldn''t normally hurt yourself in your own soul space. But Tom was pretty sure this was going to be extremely painful. He had made sure to save his three skill points so he could spend them on this attempt, and he wanted to see if he could trick the system. A little while ago, he came across an online form about a player who had acquired a legendary artifact for his guild, the black dragons.


    The item allowed them to modify their own or their characters'' souls. Practically speaking, this meant they could manipulate their own classes and skills, a nearly exact copy of what Tom''s bloodline allowed him to do.


    The difference was that the black dragons took soul damage with every use of the item. So, clearly, Tom''s bloodline was more practical. But the black dragons had posted everything they did on YouTube, and he had happened to watch the video. He then downloaded the videos from YouTube and rewatched them last night¡ªall thirty-seven of them. Most of them were just the players killing themselves, but it did give him a lot of insight into how to use his [Soul Forge] skill.


    Honestly, Tom owed the black dragons a lot. If not for those videos, he wouldn''t have even considered this approach, nor would he have been able to cheat the system like he was about to. He just hoped his resistance to soul damage meant he wouldn''t explode like that guy in the video had. He brought the two classes together and waited for the notification.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are attempting to combine [Scribe] + [Pro-Gamer]


    Would you Like to be a [Biblomancer] or [Exorcist]?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This was the critical part. According to the video, he needed to select both options at the same time. Normally, the system would just send him an error message and ask him to select again. But if he held it in place with his bloodline, then he would technically be both a [Biblomancer] and an [Exorcist] at that moment.


    He would also immediately start taking soul damage, so he had to make this quick.


    Tom pressed the button and then willed the notification to lock up, freezing it in place with his bloodline just like he had seen in the video. Immediately, he could feel it, even though his resistance to soul damage, like he was being stretched thin, was the first sign he was taking soul damage. Then came the second symptom, a deep, all-consuming itch. It wouldn¡¯t be long before it became so intense he would start clawing skin from his flesh. But it worked. He checked his status and confirmed it. Right now, according to the system, he was both a [Biblomancer] and an [Exorcist].


    He quickly opened the skill store as his body started to squirm and twitch. He quickly began buying up skills.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [3x0rc1st B1bl0m@nc3r] Skills


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[B@n1sh] - C0mm0n: F0rc3 @n 3xtr@-pl@ne@r be1ng t0 r3turn t0 its h0m3 pl@ne 0r r3m0v3 1t fr0m @ l1v1ng b0dy f0rc1ng 1t b@ck t0 its h0m3. R3duc3 th3 m@na c0st 0f this sk1ll by 0.5% p3r sk1ll l3v3l.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[@rt 0f Sp1r1ts] - R@r3: +2.5% t0 @ll Sp1r1t M@g1c M@st3ry p3r sk1ll l3v3l</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Pur1fy] - Unc0mm0n: R3m0v3 @ny @ffl1ction 0r d3buff fr0m @ t@rg3t. Y0u m@y @ls0 us3 this sk1ll t0 3l1m1n@te 1mpur1ti3s fr0m subst@nc3s. Such @s r3m0v3 t0x1c m@t3r1@ls fr0m w@t3r. R3duc3 th3 m@na c0st 0f this sk1ll by 0.5% p3r sk1ll l3v3l</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[H0ly @usp1c1ous] - 3p1c: Y0u c@n n0w [Pr@y]. By pr@y1ng t0 @ g0d, d0n@t1ng y0ur f@1th @nd m@na, th3 g0d m@y gr@nt y0u th31r f@vour 1n th3 f0rm 0f @ numb3r 0f sp3lls y0u c@n us3 p3r d@y. Th3 numb3r 0f sp3lls @s w3ll @s th3** qu@l1ty 0f th3 sp3lls is d3p3nd3nt 0n y0ur** g0d''s f@vour. +2% t0 M@st3ry t0 @ll H0ly m@g1c.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[P@p3r @rm0ur] - 3p1c: M@nipul@t3 th3 n34rby p@p3r int0 f0rm1ng @ sut 0f @rm0ur @r0und y0u in th3 styl3 th**@t b3st f1ts y0u. +3% t0 @rm0ur r@t1ng p3r sk1ll l3v3l</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Scrib3''s T00ls] - Unc0mm0n: gr@nts kn0wl3dg3 @nd th3 @b1l1ty** t0 cr3@t3** th3 t00ls 0f th3 scr1b3. P@p3r, 1nk, B00ks, p3ns, 3tc. 1ncr3@s3 @ll cr@ft1ng r3l@t3d t0 wr1t1ng by 1.25% p3r sk1ll l3v3l</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[P@p3r W1ngs]** - 3p1c: Y0u m@nipul@t3 n34rby p@p3r, cr3@t1ng** m**@gn1f1c3nt w1ngs 0f p@p3r up0n y0ur b@ck. @ll0w1ng y0u t0 fly t0 y0ur h34rt''s c0nt3nt. +1% t0 y0ur fl1ght sp33d p3r sk1ll l3v3l. +1% t0 y0ur @3r0 m@n3uv3r@b1l1ty p3r sk1ll l3v3l</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Sp33d R34d1ng]** - L3ss3r: 1ncr3@s3 y0ur r3@d1ng sp33d by** 5% p3r sk1ll l3v3l</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Sh@p3 P@p3r] - 3p1c: Y0u n0w h**@v3 @uth0r1ty** 0v3r p@p3r, b3nd1ng** @nd f0ld1ng n34rby p@p3r @cc0rd1ng t0 y0ur w1ll. +2.5% t0** m@nipul@t1ng p@p3r p3r** sk1ll l3v3l</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Ok, that wasn''t what he expected. In fact, this was the single most disturbing system notification he had ever received. For a moment, he wondered if the admin was about to show up and ban him. The sudden spike of itchiness cut off that thought. This was real; it wasn''t the game, and the admins didn''t need to show up. His soul would tear itself apart if he didn''t do this quickly.


    Tom tried to understand what the hell he was reading. He wasn''t even going to try to read the descriptions, which were beyond him in the time he had remaining.


    "[P@p3r @rm0ur]? Paper? If it just changed the letters around, then that would make that [Paper Armour]. Then that makes the others."


    Tom quickly made his selections.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations: You have purchased the following Skills


    [Paper Armour] - Uncommon: Manipulate the nearby paper into forming a suit of armour around you in the style that best fits you. +3% to Armour Durability per skill level


    [Paper Wings] - Uncommon: You manipulate nearby paper, creating magnificent wings of paper upon your back. Allowing you to fly to your heart''s content. +1% to your flight speed per skill level. +1% to your Aero maneuverability per skill level.


    [Shape Paper] - Lesser: You now have authority over paper, bending and folding nearby paper according to your will¡ª+2.5 % to manipulating paper per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom''s eyes glistened with tears. He didn''t know if it was due to his joy at his success or the all-consuming itch ravaging his body. God, whose idea was to make soul damage feel like overwhelming itchiness. Tom''s body felt like it was on fire. His mind was breaking under the stress. Even his teeth itched. How do teeth itch?!


    He had just enough self-awareness left to realize he needed to finish up before he ripped his soul in two. He pushed his mind out towards the frozen notification as red marks started to appear on his body. Pushing with every last ounce of will, he selected the [Exorcist] class.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations: Class Fusion


    [Pro-Gamer] + [Scribe] ¡ú [Exorcist] - Historic


    A man who banishes malevolent spirits purifies and sanctifies a place. An Exorcist does not heal, but they cure and purify their patients of what ails them.


    [Contract] - Common ¡ú [Karmic Contract] - Epic: You can now back your contracts through karma. Breaking a contract will now unleash bad karma on the unfaithful.


    [Exorcist] level 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom dropped to the floor in relief as the itching stopped.


    "Oh my god." Tom groaned. "I am never doing that agia---"


    And then the damage he had done to himself hit him all at once like a truck.


    "Oh shit," Tom groaned.


    His eyes snapped open as spots decorated his vision. His stomach pulled taunt, and he felt sick. He tried to stand up, and his vision swam as he quickly realized that standing was a mistake. He could hear the blood pounding through his ears as his vision went from shifting to some kaleidoscope of incomprehensible and blurry images. Tom felt himself retch as a stream of acidic bile dribbled down his chin.


    The room was spinning as he tried to stay standing, and then he felt the floor leap up and attack him. It was a distant feeling, as though he wasn¡¯t in his body.


    Tom struggled to breathe as he lay on the floor in a pool of his own vomit. As blackness crawled into the edge of his vision and then he passed out.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1000


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4000


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 18.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 24.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 67% Soul 43%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 3, Exorcist 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    <ul>


    <li>[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Library of Akashic Records] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Universal] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Wordsmith] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 34 >> Level 43</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Soul Forge] - Level 25 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 PER per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Analyze Person] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Best of Both Worlds] - Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Water] - Level 14 </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Earth] - Level 14 </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Teacher] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    Augur 07/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Augurs Eye] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Bright Arts] - Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Life] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Prophetic Meditation] - Level 44</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Far Seeing] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 48</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Quest Giver] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    Tactician 05/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leadership ¢ò] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raider ¢ñ] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Logistics ¢ó] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    Exorcist 05/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Spell Trap] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Karmic Contract] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Shape Paper] - Level 1 </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Armour] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Wings] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 69: Machiavelli

    When Tom eventually came to, his body itched. He had no idea why soul damage came across as itchiness, but his entire body felt like it was covered in ants. Tom writhed around in his bed, casting water cantrips on his body to relieve the itching.


    The water helped a little. As soon as the itching receded, he checked his soul. His soul was cracked, and small bits of it appeared to have broken off, floating around his soul space like debris.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have suffered Soul Damage.


    The following Skills are unavailable: [Best of Both Worlds], [Teacher], [Prophetic Meditation], [Far Seeing], [Quest Giver], [Leadership ¢ò], [Raider ¢ñ], [Spell Trap]


    These Skills will return to working order after your soul has healed (3 hours, 59 minutes, 16 seconds).


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[My Mind is a Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 35>


    <[My Mind is a Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 36>


    <...>


    <[My Mind is a Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 43>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 27>


    <...>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 30>


    Ironically, this was pretty good as far as soul damage went. Nothing he had done was permanent. Still, the loss of [Spell Trap] would be a pain. He didn''t like losing one of his best defence skills.


    Tom rolled over and spat the remaining bile out of his mouth.


    "Tom, are you ok?" Alex asked as she knelt down next to him.


    ¡°How long was I out of it?¡± Tom asked


    ¡°You¡¯ve been unconscious for an hour,¡± Duncan said as Tom sat up.


    He suddenly realized he was in the triage area, which consisted of what had been the main office, the nearby computer lab, and the classroom beyond that one. It wasn''t the best, but it was comparable to a poor man''s emergency room. Eve, Alex, and, for some reason, Duncan were there with him.


    "An hour, not great, but you know, the funny thing is, I actually thought that would be worse," Tom muttered as he wiped his mouth clean. "It must be the soul resistance."


    Alex smacked him.


    "You freaking moron!!" she screamed at him. "How the hell did you even damage your own soul?! I thought you were just doing a basic class fusion!! What did you do?!"


    "I um," Tom mumbled. "I followed the Black Dragons tutorial on manipulating the soul space."


    Alex smacked him again while Duncan facepalmed.


    "Ow," Tom yelped more out of surprise than pain.


    "You followed the tutorial of a bunch of assholes who killed their characters off ¡­ what a dozen times before they got it right?! Are you insane?! You could have killed yourself, you idiot!!"


    Eve didn''t stop Alex from wailing on Tom, though she did heal him as she did it.


    "What exactly did he do?" Eve asked Duncan. ¡°My skills couldn¡¯t even identify what was wrong with you.¡±


    "He damaged his soul," Duncan said. "He might have lost skill levels, actual levels, entire sections of his status could be offline. Or he could have destroyed his soul, gone into shock, and died!"


    "I tricked the system into giving me some skills from a class that I wasn''t supposed to have," he grunted as he healed his body and then cast a water cantrip to clean himself.


    "Took some soul damage, but it was worth it," Tom muttered.


    Alex smacked him again.


    "What was your backup plan? We don''t have any [Soul Mage]s at the moment. What was your plan if everything went wrong?"


    "Technically, I am a [Soul Mage], and I would have shut it down before it got to that point." Tom protested.


    Alex gave him a look. A look that she usually reserved for when Lucy pooed on the carpet.


    "Ok, I can see now that''s not a good excuse," Tom admitted shamefully. "A couple of my skills are offline for the next few hours. [Hand of Mercy] is still working, so it''s fine." Tom said as he rose to his feet. His body felt uncoordinated, like his limbs had all fallen asleep, and the blood was just starting to flow again.


    "It''s not fine. We have a problem, and we need you at full strength," Duncan said.


    "What happened?" Tom asked as he pulled himself out of bed, all levity gone.


    Duncan and Alex looked at each other before Duncan spoke.


    Duncan cleared his throat, breaking the tension. "We had a crime committed."


    Tom¡¯s eyes narrowed. "What happened?"


    "Chad, Kevin, and their friends decided to pick a fight with Abaddon," Alex stated.


    Tom blinked, then tilted his head as if trying to understand the sheer stupidity. "Chad decided to pick a fight with the guy trying to turn himself into a raid boss?"


    "Yep," Alex said, smirking faintly, "and Abaddon turned them into meat paste."


    "Thank fuck," Tom muttered under his breath.


    Eve¡¯s eyes went wide. "I''m sorry, what?! How can you say that?"


    Tom didn¡¯t flinch. "You think I wanted to resurrect Chad?" he asked rhetorically. "The guy was our bully before the apocalypse. The system didn¡¯t exactly improve his sparkling personality."


    "Then why resurrect him at all?" Duncan asked, crossing his arms.


    Tom leaned back in his chair, the weight of his calculations evident in his tone. "Publicity. The guy who resurrects everyone is a hero; the guy who only resurrects his friends? He¡¯s a tyrant. They¡¯d start whispering that I was playing god, deciding who lives and who dies. And it would only take one loudmouth to start a riot. This way, I look like the bigger person."


    "Jesus," Eve muttered, horrified.


    "It¡¯s not personal," Tom said sharply, his eyes locking onto hers. "It¡¯s pragmatism. Do you think I wanted to bring back someone who spent every waking moment making my life hell? No. But I don''t want to run around killing people. I want my settlement to grow, and that means keeping the peace. Chad was a necessary evil¡ªa PR move, nothing more. Besides¡­"


    "Besides what?" Eve asked, raising an eyebrow.


    Tom smirked, though his voice carried a sharp edge. "I figured he¡¯d screw up sooner or later, and when he did, I could exile him without anyone batting an eye. I don''t have to kill anyone, and it saves me the headache of dealing with his garbage long-term."


    "This is so fucked up," Eve muttered.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "Hey, I didn''t make Chad do anything," Tom corrected. "I didn¡¯t tell him to go and poke the dragon. I might have suspected he was going to do something. But he made his choices, Eve. No one forced him. We didn''t even trick him. Choices have consequences. I mean, I wanted to kick him out of Hopkins three days ago when we had that meeting in the gym. Unfortunately, if I did that, I could be labelled as immature or some other bullshit, and then they might have tried to get us kicked out of Hopkins, and then we would have to kill them.


    Better to keep everything above board."


    "Well, congratulations," Duncan interjected sarcastically. "Now we¡¯ve got people calling for Abaddon¡¯s head. The Major is barely keeping the mob from rioting. Public opinion is a mess."


    Tom¡¯s expression darkened, his mind already calculating. "Do we know what happened?"


    "The Major ran an investigation. TLDR: Chad tried to bully Abaddon. He told them to fuck off.f Chad escalated to lethal weapons, then Abaddon killed him."


    "I can work with that."


    "Hold on, there''s something I don''t get it," Eve asked. "I mean, I''ve seen what you guys can do. Abaddon can walk off bullets, Alex can rain fire, and you can bring back dead people. What exactly do you need public opinion for? I mean, I''m not complaining; I would rather avoid seeing my boyfriend turn into Voldemort."


    "Because we can''t stay ahead of the curve forever. Each and every person only has a hundred levels. All the beta-testers got a headstart with the tutorial, but that''s temporary. Even with Meta-gaming, all the spells we can recreate, game lore and our previous experience with the system will let us stay ahead of the curve for a little longer. But sooner or later, that advantage is going to disappear. At which point we will be well established enough that no one will be willing to try and dislodge us, or the governments are going to crush us as terrorists, or worse, everything will just go back to normal." Tom said.


    "Then now is the best time for a show of strength," Alex pointed out. "Tom, I love you; you''re my best friend, but you are your own worst enemy sometimes. Right now, we don''t need an overly complex plan to make everyone like us. Right now, we need to remind everyone why they don''t dare take what''s ours before they catch up to us."


    Tom considered her words. He wasn''t sure if she was right; in fact, he kind of wanted to argue with her. He preferred a light touch, only resorting to violence as a last resort.


    But he also knew that he had a tendency to overthink things and focus on the long run over the short term. Alex had the opposite problem, as she focused on the short term. But that didn''t mean she was wrong. Also, there was the very real fact that her opinion mattered more to him than the opinion of everyone else.


    "Alright, let''s make a big display. But let''s start with a light touch. If that doesn''t work, ¡­ hopefully, we don''t have to kill them all," Tom gripped.


    Tom pushed himself to his feet, gesturing for Alex and Duncan to follow. "Eve, get ready to receive some new patients. Duncan, Alex, let¡¯s go put this fire out before it burns down the settlement."


    "Finally," Alex said, cracking her knuckles. "No more pussyfooting around. Time to drop the hammer."


    Tom rolled his eyes. "Actually, I was thinking of a bit of trickery. Show them what a high-level character can really do."


    "Ugh, fine, but don¡¯t think for a second I¡¯m letting you out of my sight until your soul is back to normal."


    "Wouldn''t have it any other way," Tom said, offering his arm as he activated [Paper Armour].


    All of the paper in his inventory flew out and assembled around in what might have been Japanese samurai armour, only out of paper. Of course, that wasn''t the only thing he was doing; at the same time, he was using [Shape Paper]. The paper folded, adding layers upon layers to his armour until each plate was six layers thick. Then he added more plates of paper on top of the ones he originally created until he was in a thick suit of paper. It was no steel plate yet, but it could turn away a sword easily enough. Now, while there wasn''t a dedicated crafting skill for paper, he should be getting ¡­


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Acquired the Skill: [Miscellaneous Crafting] - Common


    [Miscellaneous Crafting]: There are many great crafters out there, but not all crafts have a skill behind them. That''s where this skill comes in, helping you craft with little odds and ends that would normally be called junk. +0.5% to your Crafting Mastery when not working with any proper materials


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Miscellaneous Crafting] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Miscellaneous Crafting] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Shape Paper] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Shape Paper] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Shape Paper] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Art of Earth] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Art of Water] has Reached Level 15>


    Tom grinned as he finally started to feel a little less vulnerable.


    "So this is what we are going to do," Tom began explaining his plan to Duncan and Alex.


    His two friends listened, skeptical at first. But then their grin started to grow wider and wider as he explained his plan. It was time to remind the people who were in charge.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1000


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4000


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 18.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 24.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 67% Soul 43%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 3, Exorcist 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    <ul>


    <li>[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Library of Akashic Records] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Universal] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Wordsmith] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 34 >> Level 43</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Soul Forge] - Level 25 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 PER per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Analyze Person] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Best of Both Worlds] - Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Water] - Level 14 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Earth] - Level 14 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Teacher] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Miscellaneous Crafting] - Level 1 >> Level 3</li>


    </ul>


    Augur 07/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Augurs Eye] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Bright Arts] - Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Life] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Prophetic Meditation] - Level 44</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Far Seeing] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 48</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Quest Giver] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    Tactician 05/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leadership ¢ò] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raider ¢ñ] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Logistics ¢ó] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    Exorcist 0511


    <ul>


    <li>[Spell Trap] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Karmic Contract] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Shape Paper] - Level 1 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Armour] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Wings] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 70: Trial of the Siege Hydra

    Chapter 70: Trial of the Siege Hydra


    The Major was not happy, not happy at all. He might have been able to avoid all of this if Tom had been here, but the kid was unavailable for some reason. So he had to do it himself. When Sergent Thorn had dragged him to a crime scene, he had been expecting something mundane. He was not expecting six corpses, more paste than human, and Abaddon covered head to toe in blood, looking sheepish.


    The kid claimed he had been making his way to talk to Tom when Chad and his fellows had accosted him. Adams knew the kids; he didn''t like them. But that''s where the story got strange. Abaddon claimed he had tried to push past them when they attacked him, and he had defended himself. When the Major asked Abaddon if he was injured, the kid shook his head, claiming he had already regenerated.


    That fucking terrified him. He had seen how hard the trolls had been to kill, and recently, he had seen how tough Hydras were in that holodeck thing Tom had. The idea that this kid could rip people limb from limb, get shot and stabbed and be up and barely be fully healed in ten minutes was fucking terrifying to him. He was actually starting to be thankful for the goblins. If they hadn''t been here, what would have happened if someone had tried to kick Tom''s people out of the school? The Major decided he didn''t want to find out the answer to that question.


    Fortunately for him, Thorn had already quarantined the area and stowed Abaddon in the alchemy room. Normally, putting a suspected criminal in a room with everything he needed to make explosives was a bad idea, but Thorn pointed out that the kid had ripped six people apart with his bare hands, and he seemed calmer in that room than any other.


    She had even managed to find a couple of detectives with skills and classes related to their jobs to investigate the situation. It wasn''t perfect, though. Most of them¡ªthe sergeant included¡ªhad neglected their [Detective] classes to focus on classes that were more immediately useful.


    Ironically, Thorn was still the best [Detective] they had, as she had put eight levels into that class and twelve into her [Marksman] class. The next best candidate, an officer named Smith, only had ten levels in [Detective], but he had focused on his interrogation skills, whereas Thorn had focused more on forensics.


    Fortunately, they didn''t need to wait for Tom to resurrect the victims. Chester had hit level twenty in his class and had unlocked his own resurrection skill.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level 20 Capstone: [Cycle of Rebirth] - Mythic


    [Cycle of Rebirth]: This skill grants the user the ability to resurrect one individual per day, with an additional charge gained per skill level, up to a maximum of 100 charges. Each charge replenishes after 24 hours. If the skill holder dies while charges remain, they are automatically resurrected with all resources fully restored.


    Warning: Cycle of Rebirth can only be used on the same individual once per day. Attempts to resurrect someone who has already been revived by this skill in the last 24 hours will fail.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It was nowhere near as good as what Tom could do, but every other resurrection skill they had found had steep costs that made it unusable. Originally, Chester had already gotten the skill to level nine before the incident. Unfortunately, he had only gotten that morning and had used the skill six times, so they could only resurrect three people.


    Smith had done his best to interview the four subjects. Abaddon, Kevin, Chad and one other kid he didn''t know. The man pushed the kids hard. The other three had kept demanding to see their parents. Meanwhile, Abaddon had asked for Tom and then patiently waited, just staring off into the distance.


    In the meantime, the Major pushed the people crowding around the hallway back before confiscating any footage of the crime. However, he had no doubt some people had already uploaded their videos to YouTube.


    The Major met up with both Smith and Thorn while Chester was keeping the crowds back.


    "Alright, so what do you two think?" The Major asked.


    "My skills system and otherwise tell me the lizard kid is telling the truth. The other two kids lied through their teeth the entire time I talked to them, and the fourth boy admitted that they were the ones who started this." Smith began. "Not that that''s worth anything anymore. If he has some skill that lets him lie his ass off, I might not be able to tell."


    "I don''t think any of them have any skills related to lying. At least my [Discerning Eye] skill says he doesn''t have that skill, but that just pushes the envelope to me. If he has a skill that hides stuff in his status, we wouldn''t know," Adams admitted.


    He was starting to understand how investigations would happen now, the back-and-forth of obfuscation and detection skills.


    "Sir, if I may, I don''t know about the other boys, but I don''t think Abaddon has either of those skills," Sergeant Thorn said.


    "What makes you say that?" Smith asked.


    "We know that your class determines what kind of skills you get. Abaddon''s class is [Giantslayer]."


    "Pretty sure Jack in Jack in the Beanstalk lied his ass off through that entire story." Smith pointed out.


    "True, but we also know you only get skill points when you get a title at the first level of a class, every other level and the last level of a class. Now I think I can confirm he has at least nine of the skills on his status because we''ve seen them in action. The only one I can''t confirm is [Endless Brawler] because that one is purely internal."


    "That''s interesting," Smith muttered. If you''re right, then we can take my interview with him at face value."


    "And the other kids?" The Major asked.


    Thorn shrugged. "We can''t know for certain."


    "What about the witness?"


    "According to the people I''ve talked to, Chad has had a bad attitude. Before the system, Tom and his friends were nerds, and Chad was their bully. Lots of witnesses to the fight, but no one saw how the fight started."


    "Circumstantial at best, which brings us back to the forensics." the Major said.


    "We got lucky. The videos helped me eliminate most of the blood spatter except one. It looks like Abaddon''s blood spilled first."


    "How can you tell?" Adams asked.


    "Abaddon''s blood is apparently very toxic, which makes its coloration distinct from the other boy''s blood. And it''s the only bloodstain that was there before the video started filming."


    "That''s not definitive; you can take a punch without bleeding on the floor," Smith warned.


    "The kid broke bones and pulped their bodies like overripe tomatoes. So yeah, pretty sure he didn''t throw the first punch."


    "Until the kids'' dad calls unreasonable self-defence," Smith pointed out.


    "Wait a minute, who''s dad?" Adam asked.


    "Councilman Lewis Brindly, father of one of our victims, Kevin Brindly. I promise you that even if his kid was the one who attacked, he will push for the big guy to be charged with unreasonable self-defence. The fact that we brought his kid back doesn''t change that." Smith pointed out.


    That brought Adams to his biggest concern. What the hell was Tom and Brindly going to do? Legally speaking, Birndly was his boss. But he was worried about what would happen if Tom decided to fight back. Actually, that was the wrong question. Adams would be surprised if Abaddon and Tom would just let Birndly arrest Abaddon. And he had just gotten a rather painful close-up image of what would happen if they tried to subdue the kid.


    So, how was this going to play out? Unfortunately, he was going to get his answer very quickly.


    When the doors to the cauldron swung open, Mr. Brindly stormed in, flanked by his son, his son''s friend, and a sharp-dressed man whose appearance screamed lawyer. Behind them trailed a handful of armed men, their expressions a mixture of apathy and distaste. Adams immediately disliked them.


    "Mr. Adams!" Brindly''s voice was a thunderclap in the confined space. "I want that... *creature* arrested immediately! My son has been attacked, brutalized, and killed by that monster!" His face was a storm of righteous fury.


    Adams sighed, his face a mask of calm professionalism. "Mr. Brindly, I understand your concern. We''re conducting a thorough investigation¡ª"


    "Concern?" Brindly interrupted, his lawyer stepping forward with a smooth motion.


    "Major Adams," the lawyer began in that paper-dry tone all lawyers seemed to have. "The evidence is overwhelming. The assailant was found at the scene, drenched in blood. The grotesque nature of their ¡­ deaths and the severity of the injuries inflicted speaks to the unreasonable force, regardless of any supposed provocation. I strongly suggest you place him under arrest immediately to avoid further complications for your department."


    Smith opened his mouth, but Thorn cut him off with a sharp gesture, stepping forward to stand beside Adams. "With respect, sir, we have evidence to suggest your son and his companions initiated the confrontation."


    "My son was beaten to within an inch of his life!" Brindly''s voice rose another octave, his face flushing red.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Technically, he was beaten to death, but Adams wasn''t going to correct him. Instead, he held up his hand to try to forestall the brewing argument.


    "Mr. Brindly, this situation is far from black and white. We have multiple witnesses and evidence to review. No one is being arrested until the investigation is complete."


    Brindly''s lawyer adjusted his tie. "Major, if you don''t act, I''ll have no choice but to escalate this to the Council. The legal precedent for arrest in cases of unreasonable self-defence is clear¡ª"


    "What precedent would that be?" a voice interrupted them from behind


    Adams turned to find Hanze striding into the hallway, his eyes gleaming with barely concealed amusement. Behind him came Skippy, and Luke had joined him. All of them were armed and looked ready for a fight, though for the moment, they were simply observing.


    "Attacked by six individuals with the intent to kill, stabbed multiple times. I have to say I am eager to hear how you''re going to spin an unreasonable force charge."


    Brindly stiffened, his lawyer visibly paling. Kevin shrank further behind his father, clutching his arm.


    "I''m sorry, Major, but I am here as Abaddon''s legal counsel," Hanze said firmly, his sharp gaze landing on the other lawyer. "We''ll cooperate fully with the investigation, but until there''s conclusive evidence proving otherwise, my client is innocent. I have been informed that any attempt to circumvent the proper legal process will be met with ¡­ severe legal consequences."


    Skippy grinned as he palmed his sword. "Among other things."


    The lawyer bristled, but Hanze ignored him, addressing Adams directly. "We need to resolve this properly. I suggest all parties step back, let the investigation conclude, and then we can have a proper trial."


    "That thing should be jailed until trial," Brindley stated.


    "Like hell, he will be!" Skippy said.


    "He has already proven to be dangerous. You said it yourself: he killed six people. Placing him in lockup until a trial is concluded is a reasonable course of action, wouldn''t you say, Major?" the lawyer pointed out.


    The tension in the room thickened, Brindly''s lawyer stepping forward, his voice edged with a mix of frustration and authority. "Major Adams, this isn''t a negotiation. The Council has the authority to demand the immediate detainment of individuals who pose a threat to public safety."


    "If you think I''m going to let you look up, my friend, You''ve got another thing coming," Skippy warned.


    Abaddon stood up then, moving over towards Skippy.


    "I love you too, best buddy," Abaddon said.


    "Does this really look like the place to talk about that?" Skippy asked.


    "Abaddon is working to make the city safer; imprisoning him would only increase the risk to civilians," Hanze protested.


    But Brindly''s armed men exchanged wary glances, their hands inching toward their weapons despite Hanzes words. At the same time, Abaddon positioned himself in front of Hanze while Skippy and Luke moved a bit more subtly, drawing their swords as they readied for a fight. The air seemed to hum with the tension of an imminent clash.


    Luke looked nervous, but he didn''t back down. Neither did Brindlys armed guard.


    The lawyer looked as though he might faint, glancing nervously at Brindley, who glowered at the display but didn''t issue a direct command.


    "Major Adams, this is outrageous!" Brindly roared, his fury boiling over. "You''re letting these... thugs dictate the terms?"


    Adams moved between the groups, raising both hands. "Enough! Everybody stand down!" He glared at Brindley. "Councilman, this isn''t helping anyone. Take your men and leave now before someone does something stupid."


    Brindley scoffed. "Leave? This is my son''s attacker we''re talking about!"


    Adams stepped closer to Brindly, dropping his voice so only the councilman could hear. "I have seen Abaddon fight. He shrugs off bullets like they are BBs. If you push this any further, your people are going to die. I don''t care how much power you think you have; this situation is about to spiral out of control."


    Brindly''s face twisted with fury, but before either man could speak again, the air in the hallway shifted. It grew heavier and oppressive. A sense of dread washed over everyone present like a weight. The din of shouting voices and the mounting chaos were replaced by an oppressive silence that seemed to press on his ears. He tried to speak but couldn''t hear his own words. And there was Tom, striding into the room with a smile that sent shivers down his spine. He was wearing white armour made out of paper for some reason.


    Tom''s eyes swept the room, taking in the armed mob, his people, and the quarantine door behind Adams. Adams tried to say something, but no sound came out of his mouth.


    "In case you haven''t figured it out yet, I cast a silence spell on everyone in the room," Tom said casually. "Now, everyone, please put your guns down, and we can talk about this like adults."


    Brindley men turned their guns towards Tom, raising their weapons to their shoulders, ready to fire.


    "Seriously?" Tom rolled his eyes, and then he snapped his fingers.


    The next moment, every single one of Brindley''s men, Chad and Kevin included, were jerked off their feet as their weapons were ripped out of their hands and stuck to the ceiling like they had just been magnetized.


    Two of the guards rushed Tom.


    "Power Word: Death," Tom said, and both men dropped to the ground dead.


    A niggling of fear seemed to worm itself into the Major''s mind at the sight as he unconsciously took a step back.


    "Now, where was I? That''s right, talking like adults." Tom clapped his hand twice, and suddenly, Adams could speak again. Now that you can all speak again, would someone mind telling me why I have yet another mess to deal with?"


    "This¡­ *monster* attacked my son and seven others!" Brindly spat, his voice shaking with rage and maybe a bit of fear. "I demand justice!"


    Tom cocked his head. "Your son?"


    "Kevin Brindly," the man growled.


    "Oh, you mean the creepy pervert?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow.


    Brindly recoiled as though struck, a flicker of panic crossing his face before he regained his composure.


    "That is slander!" he barked.


    "Then sue me," Tom replied flatly, waving the comment away like an annoying fly. "Now, Abaddon, give me a quick recap, would you kindly."


    Abaddon took a deep breath as if he were steadying himself before he recounted what had happened. The ambush in the halls, the bullying, how he tried to leave and how they had attacked with lethal force, to which he responded in kind."


    "Well, there you go," Tom said, turning back to the Major.


    "You''re kidding me. Of course, he''s lying to save his own skin." Mr.Brindley demanded


    Tom rolled his eyes before pointing first to Sergent Thorn, then to Detective Smith and then finally to himself.


    "[Pierce the Veil], [Eyes of Truth], [Augurs Eye], [Thirst for Knowledge] and [Vision of Akashic Records]. There are three people in this room with skills to detect lies; you''re the only one here with a skill, which is called [Pokeface], to hide lies, and you can only hide your lies from Sergent Thorn as [Eyes of Truth] will bypass that skill and my skills won''t even notice that low level of obfuscation."


    "That''s a lie." Brindly spluttered, fear clear in his voice.


    "You are free to show us your Status, Mr.Brindley," Tom offered.


    Brindley''s lawyer spoke up then. "How are we supposed to confirm any of this? We haven''t even spoken to the boy''s side of the story."


    Tom smiled like a cat who had caught a mouse, causing their hackles to rise.


    "That is a wonderful idea. How about it, Chad? Kevin, you want to tell us your side of the story. Don''t worry; I''ll fact-check." Tom said as lighting arced across his hand.


    Chad sneered, but the lawyer smacked him before he could say anything.


    "Actually, I can see why you might not believe me, so we can substitute Mr. Smith here to fact-check you. Or, if you want to give me five minutes, I know of three individuals in this school who can pick up the [Dreamweaver] skill. With that, we can just pluck the memories out of their heads and take a proper look at them. How about that?" Tom offered.


    "This is hardly fair!" The lawyer protested.


    "It''s not fair, you have no rights, and this isn''t a trial," Tom said.


    The oppressive feeling suddenly intensified, crashing down on all of them like an avalanche. Brindly, his lawyer and his guards were forced to the ground. Kevin and Chad handled it a little better, but only a little, as they were forced to their hands and knees. Adams and his people weren''t directly affected, but even they felt like they had just put on five hundred pounds as their knees buckled.


    "What the fuck!! Get this off of me!!" Chad screamed.


    The pressure increased even more, forcing the two bullies to the ground as blood started to leak out of the other''s orifices. The acrid smell of piss filled the room as some of the men lost control of there bladders.


    "You morons decided to start a fight in my home with my friend, and then you retards have the gaul to come in here with guns and start demanding justice?! Honestly, I''m amazed; I didn''t think you had the balls to throw your weight around in a world where people can set you on fire ¡­ with their minds!!! But clearly, I was mistaken. Normally, I would just kill you all, mount your corpses on pikes and leave them at the settlement''s boundaries as a warning to the next pack of idiots I have to deal with." He didn''t shout; he didn''t need to. The fury in his voice seemed to resonate with the pressure that was threatening to crush them with every word.


    "But," Tom began, letting the pressure off. "We have a goblin invasion to deal with. And I need every single one of you idiots to help. So here is what is going to happen, Mr. Brindly. You are going to take your men, and you are going to help us with the goblins. But after that, we are done, your spawn, and all of your people will be banned from Hopkins, and you will not come back until Abaddon here forgives you or your guild is no more."


    "But," Mr Brindly tried to say something around the blood leaking out of his mouth, but Tom cut him off.


    "You have attacked my people, lied about it and then threatened us. You and your guild will be offered no food or succour here. You are Outcasts." Tom said each and every word reverberating through their skull as a notification popped up


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alert


    As a member of the Awoken Myths guild, you have received a notification.


    The Surrey Leadership Alliance Guild or (SLA) has done a grave insult to the Awoken Myths Guild. Please click here for more details ??


    For these actions, they have been labelled outcasts. Outcasts are not welcome in your settlement and should be turned away from all hospitality and services. Anyone found breaking these rules may be punished. Please reference local laws for more details.


    All SLA members have received the Outcast title unless they leave the guild. Any new members will receive the title.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Outcast


    Outcast is a title given to those deemed untrustworthy and kept away from polite society, much like a wild animal.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Brindly bristled. "You can''t¡ª"


    "I can, and I did," Tom interrupted. He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper that carried across the room. "The next time you decide to pick a fight with my guild, I won''t be nearly merciful. You so much as look at my people the wrong way again, and you won''t need to worry about getting your body to a healer for resurrection."


    "FUCKING FREAK" Chad tried to rise to his feet, but an increase in pressure slammed him to the ground causing him to vomit blood.


    Finally, Tom stepped back, his tone softening slightly as he gestured toward the bodies. "Take your friends and leave."


    The guards didn''t need to be told twice. They just got up and all but ran out of the room carrying their dead with them.


    Brindly hesitated, his face a mixture of fury and fear, but he finally turned on his heel and stormed out, Chad, Kevin and the Lawyer scrambling after him.


    As the room began to clear, Adams let out a slow breath. Tom''s gaze flicked to him, the intensity still burning behind his eyes.


    "Major," Tom said, his tone cool but pointed. Could you and your friends do me a favour and deal with the people outside? I''ll be out shortly. I just want to talk to my friends for a bit."


    Adams nodded as he turned and led his people out. As he considered just how powerful that kid really was.

 Chapter 71: Skippys Dilema

    Luke let out a sigh of relief as the Major left. He hadn¡¯t expected the situation to spiral so close to disaster. When he first caught wind of what was going down, he¡¯d immediately called Hanze. Chad and Kevin, predictably, had bitten off more than they could chew, and when things escalated, they dragged Mr. Brindley into it. Luke had hoped Hanze could smooth things over with some legal maneuvering. Instead, it had nearly turned into a bloodbath. Well, another bloodbath. What Abaddon had done in the hallway could only be described as a bloodbath.


    Tom was acting weird, though. The moment the Major turned his back to him, he just stood there, looking as smug as ever. And then he vanished. At the same moment, Tom, Duncan, and Alex walked out of thin air on the other side of the room.


    ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Luke yelped, stumbling back as his gaze darted between the spot where the illusion of Tom had disappeared and the space where the new Tom had appeared.


    ¡°What the hell just happened?¡± Luke asked, his face a mask of confusion.


    ¡°What happened,¡± Tom said with irritating calmness, ¡°is that I put Brindley in his place without killing anyone.¡±


    ¡°You killed two idiots who attacked your fake,¡± Skippy pointed out flatly.


    ¡°Well, if they¡¯d broken the illusion,¡± Tom griped, ¡°I¡¯d have had to knock them all out and implant fake memories of what I wanted them to think happened. Do you know how much effort that would¡¯ve been?¡±


    Duncan, already halfway out the door, waved dismissively. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m done. I¡¯ve left my class for long enough. I''m dropping the spell now.¡±


    The room shifted in an instant. The weapons, which had been ominously stuck to the ceiling, floated down like leaves in a breeze. The oppressive feeling Luke hadn¡¯t even realized was Alex¡¯s magic disappeared, leaving an unsettling void in its place. The room actually became more colourful, as apparently, he had somehow missed how dark it had become.


    ¡°I''m sorry. What the fuck is going on?¡± Luke asked as Duncan left the room.


    ¡°Isn''t it obvious?¡± Tom cut in, raising an eyebrow as if Luke were slow to catch on. ¡°None of that was real. It was just some good spellwork, illusions, and a little mind magic. I mean, it''s not like I can actually do all that stuff on my own. Yet.¡±


    "Why?" Luke asked.


    ¡°We had to make them back down with a show of force, and we couldn''t go on a killing spree. So scaring the shit out of them was good enough.¡±


    "Actually, I was asking why you were an illusion," Luke asked.


    ¡°Because none of us are bulletproof, Luke, duh,¡± Tom interrupted, his tone clipped. ¡°Except Abaddon. Anyway, why would I stand in front of a man with a gun? Worse, we don''t have time for petty feuds with idiots while we¡¯re gearing up for a goblin invasion.¡±


    Skippy snorted, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. ¡°Sure, put it off. It¡¯s not like that ever comes back to bite anyone.¡±


    Tom shot him a glare. ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that? Of course, we''re going to have to kill those assholes later. But we¡¯ve got two days to take out the goblins. We don''t have the time or the resources to flatten Brindley¡¯s whole operation and take on the goblins. So I made a judgment call.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not useful. They¡¯re liabilities,¡± Alex muttered. ¡°We should¡¯ve just killed them all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and that would¡¯ve gone over great. Real morale boost,¡± Tom shot back. ¡°Not to mention. If we killed them all, their friends would come back with torches and pitchforks, and we can''t afford that right now. Worse, the Major might have fucked off, and then we really would be screwed. Better to just keep a lid on this until after the goblins."


    ¡°And then what?¡± Skippy asked, his voice low and bitter.


    Tom shrugged. ¡°Then we deal with it.¡±


    Skippy sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. ¡°We''re just putting off a problem." Skippy pointed out.


    "Of course, I realized I''m just putting this shit off. But we have a million things to do, and there are six beta-testers in this building. We don¡¯t have the luxury of fixing everything right this second. Worse, we still haven''t heard anything from the rest of the guild. Who knows where they are? So unless you have a better idea for the goblins.¡±


    Skippy looked at his feet, his shoulders slumping. ¡°Weeelllll Jaime made contact today.¡±


    Tom froze. ¡°When the hell were you going to tell me that?¡±


    ¡°Well, I was going to tell you, but then an angry mob showed up for Abaddon!¡± Skippy protested, straightening under Tom¡¯s glare.


    Luke raised a hand, trying to diffuse the tension. ¡°Who¡¯s Jaime?¡±


    "He is another member of our guild." Alex helpful added


    "That''s not really helpful," Luke pointed out.


    "Jaime made contact. He''s making his way towards us. He already found Botat, Sebby, Godric Mori, Black Midus, and Clover."


    "Are they going to show up in time for the goblins?" Tom asked.


    "No," Skippy admitted. "They have an entire caravan, including their families, following behind them, and they''re having trouble getting past Langley. Jaime thinks it will take at least another five days to go around, maybe more.."


    Tom pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°That¡¯s too long. We¡¯ll have to handle the goblins ourselves.¡±


    ¡°And what about mcfuck face, Brindley?¡± Skippy asked.


    Tom waved a hand dismissively. ¡°It''s a risk. The best time for him to attack is when we''re attacking the goblins. Chloe has Lucy, but beyond that, it might just be easier to let him conquer Hopkins and then take it back afterwards. And speaking of good ideas¡ªgreat job bringing Hanze into this, by the way.¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± Skippy said, his tone flat, ¡°that was Luke¡¯s idea.¡±


    Tom turned to Luke, his expression unreadable. ¡°Well... thanks for helping, Luke. I owe you one.¡±


    The words sounded like they physically hurt to say.


    "Anyone else want to add anything?" Tom asked.


    "I found out that anything new gets the world''s first title," Abaddon said.


    Tom looked at him, confused.


    "We already knew that."


    But Abaddon shook his head.


    "I got the title and upgraded it six times for making some really basic potions. I think anyone who created an item for the first time since the system showed up might get the world''s first title." Abaddon said.


    Tom looked at the massive Lizard in stunned silence.


    "Ok, all of our crafters are going to start farming titles. Anything else?!" Tom asked a bit sarcastically.


    "Hey, Tom, some kid stole some of our equipment and broke into the foundry to build some armour," Duncan announced as he walked back into the room.


    "You asked for it," Alex giggled at him.


    Tom just sulked.


    "Do I need to deal with this immediately, or can it wait," Tom asked.


    "You can wait. Luke, can you come with me?" Duncan asked.


    "Um, sure," Luke agreed, walking away from Tom''s group.


    <hr>


    Tom looked at his friends. Abaddon and Alex were bickering about how to farm the world''s first titles. But Skippy was sitting away from everyone else, just sulking. Tom sighed. It would appear he finally had to deal with whatever the hell was bothering skippy.


    "Hey, Alex," Tom said, getting her attention.


    "Hmm, yeah?" Alex said.


    "I think I need to go talk to skippy. Alone. You ok if I leave you here?" Tom asked.


    "Yeah, sure," Alex said as she returned to her conversation with Abaddon.


    Tom walked over to Skippy, sitting down with him.


    "How are they doing, buddy?" Tom asked.


    "Fine," Skippy admitted tersely.


    "How are you handling all this?" Tom asked.


    "Fine," Skippy said.


    "How are you leveling?" Tom asked.


    "It''s fine, ok," Skippy said.


    "What do you think of Abbadon''s new ass?" Tom asked.


    "It''s fine ¡­. Fuck you!" Skippy said as what he just said registered.


    "Well, I''m glad to see you haven''t turned into a robot while I''ve been playing City Builder," Tom said cheekily. Then his tone turned more serious.


    "Ok, but really, what''s wrong? You''ve been down ever since I walked in here. Scratch that you''ve been off since the system apocalypse started. No scratch that you''ve been fucking miserable and borderline depressed lately. Was it dying?"A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "What? no, fuck no, it''s not that." Skippy admitted.


    "Then what?" Tom asked. "My bloodline gives me access to all your information, so don''t pretend everything is fine. I can literally see that you are miserable."


    "Your bloodline lets you read minds?" Skippy asked.


    "No, but the system is collecting tons of information about us, including our mental health. I''m just checking the system''s notes, as it were."


    "That''s really fucking creepy."


    "And you''re changing the subject. What''s wrong?"


    Skippy let out a sigh.


    "This is a joke character," Skippy admitted.


    "Oh ¡­ fuck." Tom muttered.


    "Yeah, it''s easy to be a squirrel kin with Ratatoskr''s bloodline and go all in on the jokes when it''s a game. But ¡­ I hate this. I hate missing the top three feet of my body. I hate everybody calling me cute. I hate everyone trying to pet me. I hate being a squirrel. I hate not having my old body. My dick doesn''t even look right!!" Skippy raged.


    Tom cringed a little at the last part as he tried to change the subject of the conversation.


    "Have you tried talking to Abbadon? He''s going through the same thing you are," Tom offered.


    "I already tried that. ''Hector'' likes being Abbadon. I guess going from five feet of fat nerd to nearly eight feet of reptilian perfection and having two dicks is a good thing for him."


    "Wait a minute, Abbadon has what?" Tom asked.


    "Yeah, I mean, I get it. If I had suddenly had two overgrown shlongs, I might want to brag about it. But still TMI."


    "And you decided I needed to know about it?" Tom asked.


    "Misery loves company," Skippy muttered. "Regardless, Hector doesn''t seem to mind losing his humanity and being Abbadon for the rest of his life. But you know what''s the worst thing? I don''t even like the build I''m currently working on."


    "What''s wrong with your current build?" Tom asked.


    "It''s not me. It''s the build. It''s too upfront and personal, and it takes forever to kill anything. I feel like I''m chopping down a tree. I mean, getting some curses and poisons and shit will be helpful, but only for the end-game stuff. In the meantime, I feel fucking useless. The only time I was even half useful was for the demon lord. For the rest of the time, I''ve been dragging the group down. I thought it was because I didn''t have [Legendary Agility], but I just got that, and this build still doesn''t work properly. I mean, The fuck am I supposed to do about that?"


    Tom carefully considered his response. Skippy''s problem was he was trying to build a skirmisher, but that wasn''t how skippy liked to play. Deep down, Skippy was a rouge. He enjoyed sneaking assassination, thievery, and skullduggery. His current build had no subtlety or stealth, and Tom could see it was aggravating his friend almost as much as his race was. He wanted to help his friend. He just couldn''t think of how. Normally, he would just delete the character and start over. Unfortunately, that wasn''t really feasible at the time. They couldn''t just go back to character creation now, or could they?


    "What about the [Re-roll scroll]?" Tom offered.


    "I mean, I guess that would help with being a squirrel. But then I lose the bonus, and I need those for the class."


    "Then sunder your classes!" Tom said.


    "What?" Skippy asked, stunned.


    "Change your race back to human and sunder your classes. Just get a clean start over." Tom said, dusting his hands off to emphasize his point.


    "Can we really afford to do that?" Skippy asked. "I mean, it''s kind of the end of the world."


    "Well, to be perfectly blunt, and you said it yourself, you''re not playing a vital role. You haven''t even hit level 22 yet, and you''re a pure combat build. With the bonus from sundering your class, you''ll regain those levels in a day or two, even without any boss monsters." Tom said.


    Despite his words, Skippy still looked skeptical.


    "Look, Skippy, most of your complaints basically amount to buyer''s remorse. You logged into the Legend of Noralon thinking you were only playing a game. Instead, it''s real. If you change your race back to human, you won''t feel strange. If you sunder your classes, you can find something that works for you in the apocalypse, and you won''t feel like a loser."


    "What about the bloodline?" Skippy asked. "Those things are nearly impossible to get rid of. I only got that for the whole squirrel thing I was going for."


    "Yeah, fair point. You''re going to be stuck with the bloodline of Rataskuire, a nearly unkillable raid boss whose insults cause people to drop dead. Poor you. Cut the crap skippy, even if it isn''t the perfect bloodline. We both know you can make that shit work for you. Besides, even in some fake universe where you are completely incapable of working a legendary bloodline for all its worth, then we can look into getting rid of it." Tom said the last part softly.


    Skippy looked at him like he was insane.


    "Removing a bloodline means we need to get a system token, something we normally only get at special events. Those things are priceless." Skippy spluttered.


    "Well, you''re our friend, and if you really need it, we will get it for you," Tom said. "And hey, with my bloodline, we might not even need the system token."


    "That''s bullshit, and you know it," Skippy said with a happy sigh.


    "Does it matter? Are you complaining that you don''t like your legendary bloodline? Boo hoo, you think I would have been the healer if I knew we were going into the apocalypse?" Tom shot back.


    "It has been useful." Skippy pointed out.


    "That''s beside the point. If I had known all of this was coming, I would have come into this with a close-range high output [Spell Sword], or a heavy armour [General], or maybe even my original [Death Soverian] build. I made a choice, and I''m living with it best I can. What happened to the loser who spent three days with a bedpan under your desk for the winter event? You are one of the best PVP gamers I know, so stop sulking in a corner." Tom said, punching skippy in the arm.


    Skippy blushed as he rubbed his arm.


    "Um, there''s one more thing," he muttered quietly.


    "What?" Tom asked.


    "Do you think girls will still like me as a human?" Skippy asked as he stared at his feet.


    "Um ¡­" Tom wasn''t sure how to respond to that question. "I''m sorry. Are you saying you''ve been having furry girls coming up to ask you to take them to Pound Town?"


    The total blush covering Skippy''s face was answer enough.


    "Dude!"


    "Hey, at least I''m not a virgin anymore." Skippy shot back.


    "I really didn''t need to know that," Tom said. "Ugh, now I''m imagining squirrel-on-human action. Someone bleach my brain!!"


    "You''re just jealous." Skippy needled him.


    "Please stop talking. I''m not Alex. I''m trying to wipe the last five minutes of memory from my brain. Fucking furry porn." Tom groaned.


    "Well, it''s not like I was getting any before." Skipppy pointed out.


    Tom groaned again but then sighed.


    "Look Skippy with a [Re-roll Scroll], you don''t have to look like you used to. You can kiss the sad nerd behind and come out as a total jock with a thirty-inch penis in your pants."


    Skippy lost his composure as he doubled over in laughter.


    "Oh my god, that was terrible, you sounded like a commercial for penis supplements. But you''re right. I''ll think about it. Do you mind if I take some time for myself? I''m not empire-building or whatever; I just need some me time."


    "Sure, buddy, take all the time you need," Tom said, rubbing his friend''s back as he turned back to Duncan. It was time to find out who had broken into the foundry.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skippy


    (Andrew Owens)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Theirinthrope


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Squirrel


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 840


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1890


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 840


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 10.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 14.7 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 8.4 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 14%, Elemental 14%, Magical 14%, Vitality 14%, Mind 14%, Soul 14%, Crit 28%, Poison 28%, Disease 28%, Insta-Death 28%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Beastslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Swordsman MAX, Dancer MAX, Spectral Bandit 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 168


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 323


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 147


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 63


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 168


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 210


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 168


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 294 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 147


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 63


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 168


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 210


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK


    Racial: +3 AGIL +2 DEX +2 PER +1 CON


    Bloodline: +5 AGIL +5 LCK


    Dancer Skills: +6 STR


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Ratatoskr] - Legendary: The Blood of the Legendary Squirrel who runs up and down the length of the world tree carrying insults from the dragon Nidhogg at the roots to the great eagle at the top of the tree.


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr''s Tongue] - Level 6 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Instincts] - Level 26 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Vicious Mockery] - Level 24 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Nidhogg''s Gift] - Level 11 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ascending Yggdrasil] - Level 20 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Aura of the Divine Beast] - Level 16 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Defiant Regeneration] - Level 23 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 24 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to AGIL per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to LCK per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 21/60: Skill Points: 3


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Stamina Burn] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rataskurs Pocket] - Level 20 >> Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Blades] - Level 30 >> Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Sneak] - Level 13 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Assassination] - Level 5 >> Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 1 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    Swordsman 6/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Perfect Strike] - Level 16 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Piercing Strike] - Level 27 >> Level 29</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Soul Strike] - Level 19 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Far Strike] - Level 23 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Venom Strike] - Level 21 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Manifold Strike] - Level 15 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    Dancer 6/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Swagger] - Level 27 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mirage Step] - Level 24 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Gymnast Grace] - Level 18 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Feather Steps] - Level 14 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Focus] - Level 4 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Legendary Agility] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    Spectral Bandit 01/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Phantom Shift] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 72: Issac Brown

    A few hours earlier¡­


    Issac''s eyes snapped open as he breathed in a ragged breath of air for the second time in as many days. He had died again. He rolled over and curled up and rolled over into the fetal position. Then, the notifications came up.


    <Level up!>


    <Level up!>


    <Level up!>


    <You have three unassigned Levels>


    He wanted to cry, to scream. At first, he was excited by the system, but then his leg was shattered by a hippo, he bled out in the snow, and then he came back¡ªhe actually came back. He didn''t know what to believe. Then Gareth had taken them out again. That thing, that Kahn guy, had been terrifying. He had lost an arm, and then he was burned by that green fir,e unable to do anything against it, and then the sword had ¡­ Issac shook himself. He didn''t want to think about it, ever.


    "Hey, Issac."


    He felt his brother''s hand on his shoulder and jerked away.


    "Don''t touch me," he said, flinching away from Gareth''s hand. "I told you I didn''t want to go out again, but I¡­ I trusted you. You said I would be fine."


    "Hey buddy, it''s okay. Look, I died too." Gareth tried to placate him, but it just made things worse.


    "That''s supposed to make me feel better?" Issac asked. "The fact that you and I died is supposed to make me feel better?!"


    "If that makes you upset, you might not want to know how it ended." Tom''s voice sent chills down his back as he looked up at Tom.


    "What happened?" Issac asked.


    "Luke and Travis were the only survivors. They managed to escape and gathered you guys up and marched back here. It''s about lunch now."


    Issac stumbled to his feet, finding utter shock. They needed to bring their bodies back to Tom. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have come back. If Luke and Travis had not, then he might have. Issac felt his stomach churn before he threw up on the floor. He tasted nothing but bile as he heaved onto the floor.


    "I''m really glad we''re doing this outside," Tom said.


    "Is Duncan still teaching that crafting class," Issac almost begged.


    Tom smiled. "I think you missed the alchemy class. But I think they''re working on runes right now."


    Issac nodded and walked away from Gareth. He didn''t want to deal with monsters, his brother, or anything crazy right now. He wanted to just not think about any of it.


    He got to Duncan''s workshop quickly enough. When he arrived, Duncan had just started going over runes.


    "Runes are one of two languages of magic. They are three-dimensional shapes that command the mana going through them to change its nature. Or, in simple terms, this is the magic equivalent of C#. so if you''re a programmer, you might find your calling in this."


    Issac slipped in and sat down, listening intently as Duncan explained how runes worked, how to link them up, and why if they didn''t create the runes exactly right, then the rune would explode. Or worse, improper runes could potentially do anything. Duncan''s example was when Tom accidentally created a portal to a realm of Eldritch Demons.


    Then Duncan gave them all their tasks. They were all given a bit of wood and ordered to sharpen it like the project they had done earlier in the day. Only this time, they were going to add runes to the spears. Duncan also warned them they were going to mess up a lot, so they needed to wear safety gear.


    Issac was barely listening at that point; he was already carving the rune to sharpen it into his spear.


    CRACK


    "GAH!" Isaac screamed as he was pelted with splinters as the spear in his hand exploded.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Acquired the Skill: [Runes] - Uncommon


    [Runes]: You have a basic understanding of how to put Runes together to achieve magical effects. +1% to accuracy when creating Runes per skill level. +2% to Rune comprehension per skill level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Acquired the Skill: [Carpentry] - Common


    [Carpentry]: You have started down the path of transforming wood into tools, Furniture, structures, items, weapons, and armour. +1.25% to your Crafting Mastery when working with Wood.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Right here is a great example of a failed rune," Duncan said, coming over and healing his hands.


    Issac cursed as Duncan ruthlessly removed the splinters from his now-healing hands.


    "Now, if you want to learn about runes, I''m sorry to say you are going to be dealing with a lot of this shit. Make sure your proportions, including depth, are correct. Especially depth, that''s where you''re going to be making the majority of mistakes."


    Duncan finished healing Issac''s hands as if nothing had happened. Issac grabbed a new spear and looked down at the unblemished wooden spear in his hands. How could he improve? Suddenly, he realized that he had not assigned his stat points from his first six levels or his two new levels.


    He opened his status and remembered why he hadn''t put points into anything. He didn''t even know where to start. He sat there for a long while as he considered the issue. The problem was he didn''t know what each stat was actually doing, not fully, at least, and he didn''t know what would be helpful. Of course, he didn''t even know what to do with his life, so that just pushed the issue even further back.


    "Having some trouble?" Duncan''s voice cut through his introspection.


    Issac looked up to find the big blond man standing over him.


    "Um, yeah. I''m trying to figure out where to put my, um, stat points." Issac admitted sheepishly.


    "Well, if you want, I can help; I do know a thing or two," Duncan said as he sat down next to him. What seems to be the problem?"


    Issac sighed. "I don''t know what each of the stats do, and I''m not sure where to place them."


    Duncan nodded sagely as he stroked the hair on his chin. It would be hard to call that a beard.


    "One moment," he said, returning to the front of the classroom ¡­ ''workshop'' Isaac internally corrected.


    "Alright, everyone. I''m sorry. Can we take a quick break? Now, someone just asked an excellent question that I feel I should share the answer to with all of you."


    That got everyone''s attention, having them all turn to look up at him.


    "I am now going to explain to you what each attribute does. Don''t worry about taking notes; the entire session is being recorded and will be on the YouTube channel later," Duncan announced before launching into a full-on explanation.


    "Strength is pretty self-explanatory. You get stronger. For combat, Strength is almost always better than agility. Strength gives you five points of stamina per point, so you last longer. Your DPS or Damage per second is also higher with a strength build than with an agility build. Since you''re all crafters, I''m warning you now. Strength is needed for a lot of different crafting, so you''re all probably going to end up with strength builds. I myself have a strength build." Duncan explained as he gave a mock flex of his arms.


    "Agility is all about how fast you can physically move, as well as improving your fast twitch muscles. In particular, for those of you wanting to be fighters, there''s something you need to know. Strength is generally more useful than agility for a direct fight, as it directly scales your damage up. In an actual fight, strength mains do more damage than agility mains. There are exceptions, of course, such as the affliction skirmisher builds. These guys utilize poison, curses, and even diseased weapons. Their objective isn''t to score a good hit; it''s to score any hit because every time they hit you, you get more poisoned, more cursed, and more whatever. These fighters start off weak but get deadlier the longer a fight goes on. If you are unwilling to use a poisoned weapon, don''t use an agility build. Furthermore, as a crafter, agility is basically worthless unless you''re dodging an explosion you created."


    That got some chuckles, and Duncan flashed a smile at them before moving on.


    "This brings me to our next stat: Dexterity is all about hand-eye coordination and accuracy. It''s the stat that is more useful when accuracy is important. It is the stat that craftsmen, archers, and any class where you''re more focused on where you hit than how much you hit. So not affliction skirmishers," Duncan explained.


    Issac grabbed a notepad and started taking notes, but he wasn''t the only one. Honestly, Isaac was pretty sure he could sell this information to people if money was worth anything at the moment. Then again, Duncan said it would all be on YouTube later; maybe other beta-testers were doing info dumps online?


    "Constitution and Endurance are a little weird, so I''m going to talk about them together. Endurance makes your body tougher, so you take less damage, but Constitution gives you more HP, so you can take more damage without dying. The exact numbers are ten hp for one point of constitution and five points for endurance. Also, constitution and endurance boost your stamina regeneration, but only constitution affects health regeneration. For the solo warriors in the group, you want endurance, especially if you don''t have easy access to healing. If you have a healer with you or some self-healing skills, you definitely want a constitution built. That being said, as humans, you don''t care about either of these stats unless you''re a tank, as our racial stats give us plenty of both," Duncan said. He was talking a little quicker now as he moved down the long list.


    "Perception increases your cognitive speed. It improves all five of your senses and your ability to interpret those senses in a useful way.


    Intelligence increases your mana pool by twenty points for every point you have. It also improves your memory and allows you to work on logic problems according to the flavour text. That last part supposedly helps with math. I don''t know for sure, but in my defence, up until a week ago, this was a video game."


    There were some chuckles at that, but Duncan kept talking.


    "Will is the stat you use to manipulate your mana, health, and even stamina. It also increases your mana regeneration. Now, let it be clear: until you put points into Will, you cannot cast spells. Now don''t worry if you ignore the stat; you will get +10 for all stats at level 10." Duncan said pointedly.


    Duncan looked like he was about to run out of breath, but he kept talking anyway.


    "Spirit increases all resource regeneration, health mana, and stamina. It also grants a bit of magic resistance in the same way endurance helps with reducing physical damage. It''s an excellent choice for endurance builds.


    Next up is the EGO stat. It helps with pain tolerance, mental fortitude against mental attacks, and aura skills. It is good for tanks. It does other things, too, but unless you want to be a [Mind Mage], it won''t ever come up. And once again, you''re human, and you get Ego at every level. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Charisma is the Casanova stat: It makes you more attractive, but be warned: It also makes you more fertile, so if you''re taking charisma to sleep around, wear protection unless you want to be a parent." Duncan took a deep breath as he stopped talking, holding up a finger in the universal wait gesture.


    "Finally, LUCK, luck works in two ways. The first is that it affects any randomized system function that is targeted at you and uses your luck stat to add a bonus in your favor. It''s a bit useful, but it almost never comes up. The second is from the flavour text. It affects your subconscious mind, your instincts if you would. Basically, any skill with the word sense in it works off luck. The best example is the skill [Danger Sense]. That skill works like spidey sense, letting you detect danger before it happens. The higher the luck, the earlier your spidey sense goes off."


    That earned him a few chuckles. And Duncan took a moment to catch his breath.


    "Now, then, I hope that information was valuable. Please share it around," Duncan said. "Do you have any last questions?"


    "Yeah, why do you guys keep telling everyone to assign your points in groups of 4, 3, 3, 2, and 2 every level to the same stats?" someone asked.


    "Two reasons. First off, we get a level bonus every ten levels, so by the time we reach level 100, which is the cap, you will all have at least a 1000 in every stat, even if you don''t assign a single stat point. That being said, we ask you to assign your points like this for two reasons. The first is that when you reach level 100, you''ll end up with 400, 300, 300, 200, and 200 in your five main stats. The second reason for that is if you end up putting too many points into one stat without balancing it out, you will hurt yourself. For instance, if you put all your points into strength and nothing into endurance, then you''re going to break your arm the next time you throw a punch."


    Some people blanched at the realization.


    "We tell you guys to use those groupings because it allows you to sidestep that problem, and if you just put points into whatever you think is useful at the moment, then you''re going to end up with maybe 1100 points in every stat and specialize in nothing. At that point, you will need to sunder your entire build and start again. So better to get it right the first time."


    Issac nodded along as he opened his status and immediately started to assign his stat points. Four into Dexterity, three into Strength and intelligence, and two into Perception and Will. He didn''t want to go out anymore. He decided he was going to be a crafter. Maybe he would change his mind later, but right now, he wanted to be away from the monsters. He also put his three new levels into his [Student] class. He still had that free perk from his title and another perk from hitting level 3 in [Student], so he looked over the potential options. He ended up picking [Eye for Treasure] and [Metalwork].


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Acquired the Skill: [Eye for Treasure] - Rare


    [Eye for Treasure]: You can read the status of items and, to a lesser extent, people. +3% increase in the amount of information you can gain from items, weapons, and armour. +0.25% to the amount of information you can gain from people.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Acquired the Skill: [Metalwork] - Common


    [Metalwork]: You have started down the path of transmuting clumps of rock in the ground into metal. Congratulations on taking the first step on the path of the Smith. +1.25% to your Blacksmithing Mastery when working with Metal


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He really enjoyed the smithing classes, and it was his highest skill. [Eye for treasure], on the other hand, allowed him to read the status of the stuff he built.


    The difference was immediate. His muscles bulged, his joints felt like they had been lubricated with silk, and his body felt, honestly, denser and more solid. He even felt a little smarter. He looked up at the example of the sharp rune and then back at the spear in his hand.


    He had to cringe at his previous attempt; it was clumsy and poor. This time, he was much more careful in his approach. His perception had even increased to ten, allowing him to get a much better idea of what he was doing, carefully carving out the rune.


    He kept referencing what Duncan had written on the chalkboard. The sharp rune was two wide, three high, and one deep. The actual rune itself looked like an upside-down and reversed seven with a little alteration on the end. ¨Ù


    He moved more carefully, slowing down as he carved the sharp rune.


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Carpentry] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Carpentry] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Carpentry] has Reached Level 4>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Acquired the Skill: [Crafting] - Common


    [Crafting]: Many great craftsmen can create wonders in their field. However, few craftsmen can touch upon dozens of disciplines to create something greater than the sum of its parts¡ª+1.25 % to your Crafting Mastery when working with multiple crafting skills.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Issac pulled back, looking down at the wooden spear in his hand.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Runic Wooden Spear


    Durability 20/20


    Quality: Uncommon


    Rune: Sharp


    Material: Wood


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    His mind turned to armour, or the lack thereof. Most of the stuff people were wearing was the chainmail the larpers had brought back from the orcs. Besides that, most people wore little more than their regular clothes. Didn''t they have all that old football gear down in the basement¡­? The second basement.


    Issac got up and moved out of the workshop. He clambered downstairs to the basement. One part of the basement was walled off, and people were unloading meat into it. But they seemed distracted by something. Something about a fight? Issac didn''t know, and he didn''t want to know about people getting into fights.


    Instead, he moved over to the piles of supplies. He found animal hides; he would grab some of those for the leather. He also found a few metal ingots and even the sports gear he was looking for. He ended up having to grab a cart to transport it all.


    He ended up with more leather than he could use and a dozen sets of football armour. At first, he considered heading back to the workshop, but he didn''t really want to share any of his gear yet. Then he remembered that they had a foundry that no one was currently using.


    Pushing his stuff down the hall, he moved into the old metal shop. There was a sign on the door that said, ''Do not Enter.'' He ignored that as he pushed into the room. He was temporarily struck speechless by what he found inside. The entire place looked like it belonged in a volcano. He placed his supplies in one corner before returning to the workshop. He had a few more questions he wanted to ask before he got started.


    They were still working on Runes when he returned.


    "Hey, Duncan, can I ask you some questions?" Issac asked as he pulled out a notepad.


    "You just did." Duncan chuckled at his own joke. "But sure, what do you need?"


    "First off, something has been bugging me: Why are all of the Orc armour made out of steel or iron, but their weapons are made out of that cream metal?"


    "Ah, that''s a good question. First off, the cream metal is called moonstone. To answer your question, it all comes down to magic conductivity. With a moonstone sword, I can layer on fire magic, and I would have a fire sword, but with iron, it''s different; iron drinks mana like a man drinks water in the desert, and on top of that, the metal itself resists magical effects so it''s a great counter for mages. So, sticking with my fire sword example, I''d lose at least 80% of the mana I put into it depending on the purity."


    "So we can''t use iron?" Issac asked, disappointed.


    "Of course not. Remember, we can make armour out of iron and steel, and if we had some galvorn and deuterium, we could make high steel, which is even tougher. Throw some runes on it, and you''ve got yourself a suit of armour that grants magic resistance.


    "Really, wait, hold a second. How would adding runes change things?" Issac asked.


    "Well, you see, runes work on ambient mana. Unless you plug in a power source, the runes will be running on whatever ambient mana is in the area. This works best for arms or armour because then you''re moving around a bunch and moving the item through environmental mana," Duncan explained. "Are you interested in runes? Or smithing?"


    "What, oh yeah. I ¡­ I want to try and make armour." Issac admitted.


    "Well, let me show you something," Duncan said.


    He pulled out a piece of leather and carved a few runes into them.


    "This one is a rune of durability, a body rune, a blood rune, an attack rune, and these connecting runes. If you combine them like this," Duncan said. Duncan connected the three runes with lines of tiny runes. The tiny runes had nine different runes that repeated over and over again.


    Then his [Eye for Treasure] lit up.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Runic Leather Scrap


    Durability 5/5


    Quality: Inferior


    Runes: Protection ¢ñ, Self Repair ¢ñ, Unbreaking ¢ñ, Thorns ¢ñ


    Material: leather


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Eye for Treasure] has Reached Level 2>


    "Wow," Issac breathed out, stunned.


    "Yeah, now this is just a piece of leather. In actual armour, you need to balance the runes. Then, of course, if you want to get higher quality effects, then you either need to repeat the same rune or make one rune really big." Duncan explained. Then he paused for a second. "Also, one important thing is don''t try to flip or reverse a rune. That will change its effect or even reverse the rune''s effect. For instance, if I flip the armour rune around, then this would be a rune of brittleness. Of course, if you combined the brittleness of the rune with the attack rune, you would end up with something like a rust enchantment. The moral of the story is that runes require a lot of experimentation. Just remember, we''re not doing any proper crafting until you guys at least get to level 20 in your crafting skills. Until then, I just want you guys to follow my instructions and get skill levels.


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 9>


    <...>


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 11>


    Then Duncan looked at his phone.


    "Um, class, I''m sorry to say something has come up. I will be back shortly," Duncan announced.


    Issac barely heard the last part as he raced back to the foundry to begin crafting his first suit of armour.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Issac Brown


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 9


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Canadian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 280


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 455


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 420


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 3.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 4.9 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 2.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Warrior 1, Squire 1, Apprentice 1, Trainee 1, Pupile 1, Devotee 1, Student 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 28


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 21


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 14


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 7


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 28


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 21


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 14


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 7


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 DEX +3 STR +3 INT +2 PER +2 WILL


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 16/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Pursuit Hunter] - Level 3</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Runes] - Level 1 >> Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Carpentry] - Level 1 >> Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Crafting] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leatherworking] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    Warrior 1/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Power Strike] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    Squire 1/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Aura of Cleanliness] - Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    Apprentice 1/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Magic Missile] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Trainee 1/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Dash] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Pupile 1/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Subterfuge] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Devotee 1/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Healing Hands] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Student 2/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Eye for Treasure] - Level 1 >> Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Metalworking] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 73: Crafting Session

    Arriving at his destination in short order, Issac let himself into the workshop and wasted no time in starting to sort his haul from storage, taking over an entire table in the process. Before long, he had everything laid out before him, with several tags hanging in his vision.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Iron Ingot] x 147


    [Aluminium Ingots] x 45


    [Boar Pelts] x 16


    [Giant Rat Pelts] x 22


    [Fox Skin] x 13


    [Football Uniform] x 12


    [Wood staves] x 34


    [Bundles of sticks] x 19


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Issac considered what he wanted to build first. Luke had that really cool javelin attack, but he ruined his spear every time he used it. Sam was really cool with her bow, but her arrows were kind of worthless as they bounced off the guys who killed him. She didn''t have anything for close range, and her guns were out of bullets. He had no idea how to do anything for someone like Travis. The lizard guy was just weird.


    What about Gareth? What could he build for his brother ¡­ One of the things that seemed to come up a lot was injuries. No one had any armour, so they needed to dodge or block everything. That clinched it. He would make armour.


    He grabbed the football gear and took it apart as he carefully examined it all.


    DING!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations: You have earned the Personal Skill [Scavenger] - Uncommon


    [Scavenger]: when you dismantle an item, you have a 0.5% chance per skill level to gain a blueprint of the item. You have a 1% chance per skill level to recover materials used in crafting.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have learned the blueprint: Football Uniform.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Issac blinked, and suddenly, he had the blueprints in his head. He understood how to make¡­ no, remake¡ªthe football gear. This was great. The first thing he did was pull out the plastic from the football gear and start to make some moulds. Fortunately, the foundry had iPads¡ªor maybe something that just looked like iPads. They were embedded in the walls, giving detailed instructions on where the stuff was located and how to do it.


    <[Crafting] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Scavenging] has Reached Level 2>


    He wouldn''t be able to recreate the shock absorption unless ¡­


    As soon as he set the moulds, Issac ran out of the foundry. The supply of iron and steel had come from melted-down cars, which meant that the tires, glass, and electronics had been removed and stored for later use.


    The tires were initially stored next to the door. Since he was planning on making a dozen suits of armour, he figured he would grab a dozen tires.


    When he was finished, the moulds were ready. He turned up the furnace and dumped the iron ingots inside. He accidentally tossed in two aluminum ingots. Oops. Hopefully, it wouldn''t ruin the material.


    <[Metalworking] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Metalworking] has Reached Level 10>


    <...>


    <[Metalworking] has Reached Level 12>


    The foundry had a timer until the ingots finished smelting, so in the meantime, he got started on turning the hides into raw leather and leather straps.


    <[Leatherworking] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Leatherworking] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Leatherworking] has Reached Level 7>


    When the ingots finished melting, Issac got up and immediately poured the materials into the mould. That''s when he got his second surprise of the day. The foundry could separate the different metals inside of it, allowing him to pour out the iron or aluminum without affecting the other. It took a while for Issac to figure out how this was possible. In the end, he decided it was because of Magic.


    He left the material to cool and got to work on the tires. The first thing he discovered was that the tires didn''t have the same shock absorption as the padding. That was disappointing. But he didn''t have a better idea, so he was rolling with it. He cut up portions of the tire of the same rough shape as the padding, and then he rolled up the tire parts in order to increase their shock absorption. That''s when he discovered there was metal inside when he cut his hand, dammit. Then he shaved down the metal and made a mental note to wrap his ''shock absorbers'' in leather so people wouldn''t get hurt.


    <[Crafting] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Crafting] has Reached Level 4>


    <...>


    <[Crafting] has Reached Level 6>


    Once the metal cooled, Issac scratched the runes into the armour, wanting to recreate Duncan''s design.


    "Attack rune, body rune, blood rune, connection."


    BANG!!!


    "Gah," Issac swore as the plate he was working on exploded.


    "What the fuck" Issac swore as he used his only healing ability on himself.


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Metalworking] has Reached Level 13>


    When his [Healing Hand] perk finished healing him, Issac tried it again and again and again. Each time, his experiments exploded. At this point, he had put his armour on the back burner and was focusing on trying to figure out why he kept failing with the runes. The only good news was the levels he was gaining in his rune skill.


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 14>The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "Maybe I''m being too ambitious?" Issac wondered.


    He picked up one of the last metal pieces. This time, he didn''t even try to recreate Duncan''s three-run thing. Instead, he just carved out a really big body rune.


    <You have crafted: Runic plate of Protection 1>


    "YES," Issac cheered.


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Metalworking] has Reached Level 14>


    Then he realized he didn''t have enough to make his armour. He went back to the smelter, resmelted the broken scraps, and recast the armour. While he was at it, he assembled as much of his armour as he could. That''s when he realized he needed to sew the material together.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Acquired [Sewing] - Common


    [Sewing]: You have started down the path of working with needles and threads, turning string into fabric, clothes, and anything else¡ª+1.25 % to your crafting mastery when you are Sewing.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Sewing] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Sewing] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Sewing] has Reached Level 6>


    Then, he realized he could improve on the design. He found a case for some raw iron nails and dumped the two bars of aluminum into it.


    When the armour was cooled again, he set aside the shoulder pauldrons and carved the protection rune into every other piece of metal.


    <You have crafted: Runic plate of Protection 1 *15>


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Metalworking] has Reached Level 15>


    Issac finished by taking the six aluminum nails and soldering three of them into each of the pauldrons, like Mad Max.


    He took a step back to examine his work. It looked like it belonged to a raider from Fallout who was cosplaying as a Skyrim character. That''s when the notification rushed in.


    <[Metalworking] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Metalworking] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Metalworking] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Runes] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Crafting] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Crafting] has Reached Level 8>


    <...>


    <[Crafting] has Reached Level 14>


    <Leatherworking Level 8>


    <Leatherworking Level 9>


    <...>


    <Leatherworking Level 12>


    <Sewing Level 7>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulation


    By creating the first set of Runic armour on the planet, you have gained the World''s First Title


    +1 Skill Point


    +10 Skill levels to your Runes Skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <Runes Level 18>


    <Runes Level 19>


    <...>


    <Runes Level 28>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have been offered a special promotion for creating the first suit of runic armour on your planet.


    Would you like to combine Student - Common + Apprentice - Common ¡ú Runesmith - Epic


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Issac paused as he stared at the notification. He was still slightly stunned as his rune skill level made him feel like his brain was crammed full of cotton candy. He felt amazing as he clicked yes.


    <Level Up>


    <Level Up>


    <You are now a level 5 [Runesmith]>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Runesmith - Epic


    [Runes] + [Metalworking] ¡ú [Rune Forging] - Epic: You gain a deeper understanding of runes and metalwork. Not only can you now more easily place runes within your metal, but you have learned how to pace runes on top of each other, reducing the instability of such things by 5% per skill level¡ª+1.25 % to both Rune and Smithing Mastery.


    [Eye for Treasure] ¡ú [Runic Eye] - Rare: Your eyes have become attuned to magic, allowing you to see not just the magic but also the magical pathways and how to turn any magical effect into a rune. You can still identify items but gain additional information from runic items. Increase the range and detail of this skill by 5% per skill level.


    [Magic Missile] ¡ú [Rune Lore] - Lesser: You can now remember everything you have ever learned in regard to Runes. Increase your ability to quickly recall and compile information about runes by 1% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Issac felt incredible, stronger, smarter. He could remember the runes in perfect clarity, and he had so much to do.


    "Issac, what is this about you stealing supplies from the storage yard?!!" Duncan''s voice cut through his fantasies.


    Issac turned around, finding Duncan and Gareth at the entrance to the foundry.


    "What did you do?" Duncan asked, horrified.


    Issac grinned sheepishly. "I really got into crafting," he said with a shrug.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Issac Brown


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Canadian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 550


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 900


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 800


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 7.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 10.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 6.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths, World''s First


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Warrior 1, Squire 1, Trainee 1, Pupile 1, Devotee 1, Runesmith 5


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 50


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 11


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 50


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 30


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 10 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 DEX +3 STR +3 INT +2 PER +2 WILL


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 17/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Pursuit Hunter] - Level 3</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Carpentry] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Crafting] - Level 1 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leatherworking] - Level 4 >> Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Scavenger] - Level 1 >> Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Sewing] - Level 1 >> Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    Warrior 1/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Power Strike] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    Squire 1/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Aura of Cleanliness] - Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    Trainee 1/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Dash] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Pupile 1/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Subterfuge] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Devotee 1/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Healing Hands] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Runesmith 3/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Rune Forging] - Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Runic Eye] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rune Lore] - Level 1 </li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 74: The Trial of Isaac Brown

    Tom wanted to smack his head after Issac finished telling his story.


    "God dammit," Tom swore. "It''s not even day five, and we''ve already got two crimes that I needed to show up for personally. We''re going to need to find [Lawyers], [Law Brothers], [Law Fathers], a freakin [Judge]." Tom groaned. "We''re going to need laws and bureaucracy."


    "I don''t think it''s that bad." Duncan tried to placate


    Tom rolled his eyes.


    "Yeah, unless we handle it poorly, then it''s cluster fuck." Tom countered.


    "Don''t worry," Alex said. "Hanze is an actual Lawyer, so we don''t have to worry about this shit too much."


    "I''m sorry, are you asking me to codify an entire set of laws ¡­ for the guild?" Hanze asked.


    "Pretty much," Tom admitted. "Grab the [Priest] class. You''re going to want to upgrade yourself to a [Law Brother] and then a [Law Father] that''s the class that actually lets you write laws down."


    "Um," Hanze went a bit white at the news.


    "Yeah, there''s just one thing," Duncan said. "He actually made some decent gear," Duncan said.


    "Decent for us or decent for a noob?" Tom asked.


    Duncan shrugged.


    "Decent for a noob. It''s very mad, Max, no enchantments, and he only has a rudimentary understanding of runes. But I think he shows promise. He''s already got the [Runesmith] class at level 6. Honestly, if he didn''t run off on his own, rob the storage room and break into the foundry, I would have just hired him as an assistant." Duncan said.


    "As if this wasn''t complicated enough," Tom grunted. "I mean, I love that my life is basically a city management game now, but this is starting to get ridiculous."


    "Just don''t kill the kid, Tom," Duncan said.


    Tom looked at his friend, affronted.


    "What on earth would make you think I''m going to kill him?" Tom asked. "He''s a dumb kid, and from the sound of it, both of the Brown brothers have been pretty useful."


    "Uh-huh. You''re forgetting we just scooby doo''d Brindly, or maybe we should talk about Dragon Deez Nuts?" Alex shot back.


    "Oh right," Tom muttered, a frown across his face as the memory clicked. "I forgot about that asshole."


    "How did you forget?! You caught him stealing from the guild, killed him, and then spent the next three months hunting down and killing the guys'' in-game characters. He quit the game because of you," Duncan said accusingly.


    "He robbed the guild hall. I was completely justified in spawn camping him for a few weeks," Tom protested.


    "Three months," Duncan shot back.


    "Totally justified now. Now let''s go see the armour and decide on Mr. Brown''s punishment ¡­ nope, I can''t use the last name; it feels too weird." Tom said.


    Tom said as he stood up and followed Duncan back to the Foundry. At one point, Abaddon had started to ignore them and returned to alchemy. For Abaddon, socializing was being in the same room as someone else.


    When they arrived at the foundry, they were greeted by multiple people. Tom and Alex ignored them as their gazes were immediately drawn to the suit of armour on one of the tables.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Runic Spiked Football Armor


    Armor Rating: 23


    Durability: 154


    Rarity: Inferior


    Quality: Poor


    Damage: 3


    Runes:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Protection ¢ñ - Reduces incoming [Physical] Damage by 10%</li>


    </ul>


    Created by the world''s first Runesmith, Issac Brown, this armour is a massive leap forward in the Magengineering of Noralon, combining leatherworking, blacksmithing, and Runes in its construction.


    More Details¨‹


    Quality of Leatherwork: Inferior


    Quality of Metalwork: Inferior


    Quality of Sewing: Inferior


    Quality of Runes: Inferior


    Quality of Crafting: Inferior


    Overall Quality: Inferior


    More Details¨‹


    Metals Used: Iron, Aluminium


    Runes used: Protection ¢ñ


    Enchantments Used: None


    String used: Leather Strips


    Leather Used: Giant Rat Leather


    Crafting Materials Used: Car Tires, Plastics


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 18>


    In Tom''s professional opinion, the armour was a piece of crap. Issac clearly didn''t know how to use Runes and had just slapped Protection ¢ñ on everything, and nothing had been enchanted, so it lacked any significant magical effects. It was poorly put together, and Tom wasn''t even sure how he would even put the stuff on. Worse, Issac had also failed to add any padding, so chafing would be expected unless someone wore heavy underclothes. And that was just what Tom could figure out from his gamer perspective. He would bet there were issues he wasn''t even aware of.


    Despite that, it was of [Poor] quality, which meant the system considered it a suit of armour and not a pile of trash to be recycled. So, from that perspective, it was decent. Lots of room for improvement, though. The guy needed to learn about runes, at the very least.


    "I give it 1 out of 10," Alex muttered.


    "Really? All things considered, I would have given him at least a five." Tom counted.


    "It''s shit, not to mention the chafing." Alex pointed out.


    "He''s a noob. It''s not like he''s ever made armour before."


    "Doesn''t matter anyway. We''re mages. We don''t wear armor."


    "Is that still the case?" Tom asked, suddenly curious.


    "What do you mean?" Alex asked. "Mages wear robes."


    "Yeah, that was in-game, but do those rules still apply to us now?" Tom asked. "In-game, we couldn''t wear plate armour now ¡­"


    Alex froze for a moment.


    "We may need to check this out." Alex cursed.


    "Still have to deal with this shit first," Tom said as he turned away from the armour.


    He looked over at the other people in the room. Issac was sitting on the foundry''s obsidian black floor, shaking nervously as his brother stood by his side along with Luke and Sam.


    "This is becoming a regular thing." Luke quipped.


    "Tell me about it.


    "Just don''t kill him, Tom," Luke begged.


    "Why does everyone think I''m going to kill them?" Tom asked.


    "The Easter event." Alex shot back.


    "Oh come on, I only killed like ¡­ a couple thousand people with that rockslide."


    There was an awkward silence before Tom spoke up again.


    "So, let¡¯s review what happened. Is everyone up to speed, or do we need a recap?" Tom asked. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    That¡¯s when Hanze cut in.


    ¡°My name is Hanze Gruburt. I am the guild''s lawyer. Though I suppose in this case I may be acting as the judge."


    Hanze cleared his throat before continuing.


    "Anyway, the accused, Issac Brown, left the classroom and requisitioned several materials, claiming he was doing it on Mr ¡­" Hanze turned to Duncan.


    "Coffeehouse," Duncan supplied his screen name, now his last name.


    "Is that your legal last name?" Hanze asked dubiously


    "According to my status screen, it is," Duncan said cheekily.


    "Alright then, on Mr. Coffeehouse''s orders. He then took the materials here and worked on creating the armour set on the table without supervision." Hanze concluded.


    "Well, we''re not making this more public than it needs to be. We already had one trial," Tom said. "This will be a drumhead trial, understand?"


    "What''s a drumhead trial?" Luke asked.


    Hanze actually answered before Tom did.


    "It''s a form of military trial. It was performed on or near the battlefield. An officer would flip a drum over to sit on it and declare a trial. Justice was dispensed swiftly and often brutal." Hanze explained.


    Tom nodded in conformation with Hanze''s description, absently wondering if Hanze liked Star Trek as well or if he was just a legal nerd.


    "What would he have been charged with before the system?" Tom asked


    "Normally, he could be charged with Theft, Criminal mischief, Trespass, and Breach of trust. Under the standard Canadian law, he could be charged with up to two years in prison." Hanze explained.


    "You''re forgetting reckless endangerment," Duncan added. "Poorly made runes tend to go bomb, and Issac''s already admitted to blowing himself up a couple of times. It was fine this time. But he could have seriously hurt himself, and no one would have known about it until we found his corpse."


    Issac stared at the ground between his legs, looking utterly devastated while Tom considered the issue.


    "Of course, I''m not entirely sure how all this translates into our current situation," Hanze admitted with a grin and a shrug. "We have no jail to place him in. The Awoken Myths guild has made no rules for this type of thing. I don''t believe the organization even legally exists outside of the system, and as far as I know, the standard courts are currently closed."


    "There''s also the fact that I don''t think he was there for the start of my class. I don''t think I told him what not to do." Duncan admitted.


    "We could banish him," Alex pointed out, playing bad cop. "Let him find his home in one of the other settlements."


    "You can''t do that." Gareth started to argue. "He didn''t hurt anybody."


    "He stole from us, lied to multiple people and then wasted materials to make a suit of Inferior rarity armour." Alex pointed out. "Duncan, how many materials did he waste?"


    Duncan took over at this point.


    "Six giant rat hides, two tires, a couple of plastics," Duncan admitted with a shrug. We can melt the metal back down and recycle the plastics. We might be able to turn the leather into strips, and we could try to grind the tires down to recycle them, but I''m not hopeful."


    Tom considered how to deal with Issac. He couldn''t be too harsh without knocking heads with Luke''s group again. For all his problems with Luke, he was one of the more powerful individuals in Hopkins, and he was only going to get stronger. So he didn''t want to alienate him.


    He wasn''t willing to make this matter public because people would rather consider it a minor offence and not punish Issac, or they would go overboard and punish him too harshly. What he needed to do was punish Issac harshly enough that it would send a quiet message to others without inflicting so much harm that he was seen as a monster or upsetting too many people. That part was especially important as Gareth was fingering his axe. Finally, he came to a decision.


    "Alright, Issac, here''s what we''re going to do. We don''t have a system-enforced legal system or any legal system, just another thing for the to-do list, so I''m not even going to pretend that your punishment is going to be anything other than arbitrary because it is arbitrary. I''m going to give you a choice." Tom said.


    Issac looked up at him to meet his eyes.


    "You can leave Hopkin as Alex suggested. I''ll kick you out of the guild, so you''ll lose the title, and you can make your way in one of the other settlements. No hard feelings. But you won''t be welcome back." Tom said, holding up his metaphorical stick.


    Issac''s face paled, and that was when Tom held up the metaphorical carrot.


    "The second option is that you can work for Duncan as an indentured worker for six months. You''ll do what you''re told when you''re told to do it, and you will like it. After six months, you''ll return to being a standard guild member. Your choice."


    "That''s not fair." Gareth protested.


    "Life isn''t fair, Gareth. Issac made his bed, and now he has to sleep in it," Tom snapped as he looked directly at Issac, awaiting his response.


    "I''ll work with Duncan," Issac almost begged. Desperation was clearly in his eyes. "Please don''t send me out there again."


    Tom wasn''t sure what that was about. He turned to Luke.


    ''Burned to death,'' Luke mouthed


    Tom winced. Tom''s Ego stat wasn''t high enough to walk off getting burned to death. For Issac, it must have been much worse on top of his previous death. He could guess that the guy was feeling squishy or maybe even traumatized. He really hoped he didn''t have PTSD; they didn''t even have a counsellor on board yet. Regardless, Issac seemed more concerned with personal safety than freedom. That felt sad. --


    "Alright," Tom said as he activated his [Karmic Contract]. For the next six months, you''re going to be working for Duncan as a crafter. You won''t hide anything from Duncan, you won''t try to steal anything from storage, and you will keep him up to date about your projects for everyone''s safety. Duncan, you''ll do your best to help Issac improve his skills as time allows. You agree to these terms or suffer banishment."


    "Is this necessary?" Gareth growled protectively.


    "I could lock him in a room until Hanze and a couple of other [lawyers] get enough levels to hold a trial." Tom offered.


    Issac looked over the contract. Duncan didn''t read a word; instead, he just tested the magic of the contract. Tom wasn''t offended. While the contract would help stop Issac from doing anything stupid, it was primarily there to warn Duncan if he broke it. He made the karmic punishment as light as he could so this wouldn''t be crippling.


    In the end, Issac and Duncan signed the contract and created the karmic link.


    "Well, that''s over," Tom said. Hanze, come see me tomorrow. We''re going to need to set up a legal system, which means you''ll need an upgrade to your class. Not now, though. I need to go and help out our new soldiers."


    Tom and Alex got up, leaving Duncan to deal with the fallout. But as they left, Alex tightened her grip on his arm.


    "You are going to stay safe, or I am going to blast you with lighting," she warned


    Tom gave her a nervous smile. A part of him just wanted to walk upstairs, flop into bed and play video games for the rest of the day. But he had more to do, always more to do.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1000


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4000


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 18.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 24.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 67% Soul 43%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 3, Exorcist 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    <ul>


    <li>[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Library of Akashic Records] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Universal] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Wordsmith] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 43</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 17 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Soul Forge] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 PER per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Analyze Person] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Best of Both Worlds] - Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Water] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Earth] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Teacher] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Misalliance Crafting] - Level 3</li>


    </ul>


    Augur 07/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Augurs Eye] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Bright Arts] - Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Life] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Prophetic Meditation] - Level 44</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Far Seeing] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 48</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Quest Giver] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    Tactician 05/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leadership ¢ò] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raider ¢ñ] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Logistics ¢ó] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    Exorcist 0511


    <ul>


    <li>[Spell Trap] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Karmic Contract] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Shape Paper] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Armour] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Wings] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 75: Aftermath

    Duncan let out a breath as Tom left the room. When he had found Issac, he had felt conflicted. He was glad to see the kid showing some initiative. He became a bit concerned when he found out the kid had stolen the materials and then entered the foundry, and he had been a little afraid Tom might just kill the kid after the whole Brindley thing. But the guy seemed to be keeping a cool head for now. Then, again, this was their new reality; it wasn''t the game.


    Duncan eyed the other four people in the room as he continued to observe the suit of inferior armour. It really was impressive that the system had recognized this thing as inferior instead of trash.


    "Hey, I owe you guys an apology. We shouldn''t have gone into that lair," Luke started rambling, almost breaking into tears.


    "Enough Luke." Sam shot him down instantly as she popped her bubble gum. "There was nothing you could have done. So stop beating yourself up over it. We were all there. We all could have told Chad to jump up his own ass and die. We probably should have considering what happened afterwards, but we chose to follow them, and we suffered the consequences. I''m just happy you could bring our bodies back to Tom."


    "Agreed," Gareth said.


    "I didn''t," Issac cut in. "I''m perfectly happy to stay here and just craft stuff. It''s a lot safer."


    "Here here," Duncan said in agreement


    Luke turned to Issac.


    "I''m sorry about that," Luke said. "We can talk to Tom about doing something about your punishment."


    "I just said, " It''s fine. " The two times I''ve been outside, I was killed by a hippo and then some nutcase," Issac said with a shrug. "Unless Duncan''s going to send me out to fight monsters, I don''t care."


    "We might actually have to," Duncan said absently, never looking away from the suit of Armour Issac had made. "As much as you would be wasted on the front lines, the fact is sometimes we will need to fight monsters."


    Issac blanched at his words, but Duncan kept talking.


    "There is no such thing as safety, and every skill has some combat potential. But don''t worry too much; you''re a craftsman, not a warrior. That being said, you are going to want to pick up [Runecrafting] for your next skill. The rune work on this thing is just sad. You''re also going to want to pick up the [blacksmith] class and then grab another proficiency skill to even things out."


    "Actually, that''s something I wanted to ask about. Why is everything rated inferior? I mean, for some of it, sure. But my [Rune Forging] skill is at level 27 with the bonuses. Am I just bad at crafting? Isaac asked.


    Duncan smiled as that was one of the questions that Issac hadn''t been around to hear the answer to.


    "Oh, hell no. This is excellent work. The problem is that you won''t get out of making Inferior work items until your crafting mastery hits at least 50 in that skill. Then, you can make lesser items until you hit 100, and then you can craft common items," Duncan explained.


    Duncan noticed that everyone stiffened up at his words. He wasn''t surprised. It was a little shocking when you first heard the information, but it did make some sense.


    "Alright, I''m confused now. I thought 100 was the cap for skills and levels." Sam cut in.


    "Yeah, they are," Duncan said, turning from the gear. "Look, I''m explaining this poorly, so let''s start over. Let''s start with sword skills as an example. Sword skills boost your sword mastery. Mastery is just a buzzword that encompasses everything about the sword. Your grip, your footwork, how you fight, etc. Regardless, each mastery is limited to a 500% increase. But most skills only give 1.25% per skill level or 125% total. So if your only craft with the [Rune Forging] skill, then you have a maximum of 125% mastery to runes and smithing. And only to those two disciplines. Suppose you want to work as a carpenter. That''s an entirely different mastery, so [Rune Forging] would be worthless for that.


    "That feels bullshit," Sam stated.


    Duncan shrugged.


    "Is it, though? Is it any more realistic to expect to reach the peak of smithing with one skill? Would that be fair?" Duncan raised an eyebrow pointedly.


    "That''s a good point," Gareth said.


    "Wait a minute, so my [Deadly Aim] skill only affects bows and guns? But Gareths [Nordic Arms] gives him axes, swords, spears, shields and carpentry? How is that fair?" Sam asked while chewing her gum.


    "Differences in rarity. His is Historic. Yours is just an Epic. I think it''s been a while since I checked," Duncan admitted. "Hell, I''m not even planning on being a fighter, and I already have two of the best combat mastery skills."


    "What about magic skills?" Sam asked curiously.


    Duncan waved his hand dismissively.


    "Those are a little different; spells are so versatile that most of a mage''s build will be on empowering their magic as opposed to actually doing anything. As for mastery, those are a little weird.


    The first option is to specialize and gain [Magic Heart]. This grants you a 500% bonus to a specific mastery, but it cripples your ability to use other forms of magic.


    Generalists like myself, Alex, and Travis take 2 to 3 skills, such as [Arcane Awakening], which offers a small bonus of 2% for all types of magic per level.


    Then there are people like Tom who only use a few specific elements, so they grab only what they need and ignore the rest. So he grabs a few [Art of Magic] skills. I think Tom has [Bright Arts] for Light magic, [Art of Life] for well-life magic, and then [Art of Earth] and [Art of Water] for water and earth magic, each 2.5%." Duncan explained dismissively.


    You guys have a few skill points left now, so it might be a great time to look through your options." Duncan pointed out


    "We haven''t levelled at all since the Altan thing," Luke pointed out.


    "Not all of us spent our skill points yet." Sam pointed out.


    "Also, you get skill points from Titles. Why haven''t you used them?" Duncan asked.


    "I did," Gareth said gleefully as he raised his hand.


    "Yeah, I know you did, but why haven''t they?" Duncan asked, gesturing to Luke and Sam. Isaac hadn''t used his either, but he was pretty sure he had just gotten one of them, so he was willing to forgive the kid a bit.


    "Alright, I''m starting to get depressed with the amount of stuff I didn''t know about," Luke muttered.


    "It''s fine; you''re still new at this." Duncan placates him.


    Sam was looking through her status at this point.


    "Alright, Issac. We''ll go over your skills later. Don''t spend any points," Duncan ordered.


    Issac shivered.


    "God, I can feel that." Issac shuddered.


    "Yeah, it''s weird. Luke, Sam, Gareth, why don''t you go through your status and buy your stuff?"


    "I''m just going to get [Spearfisher] for [Water Enhancer]," Luke said. "Travis already said I could combine it with [Tider Ripper] and [Wave Breaker] for a better skill."


    "If you really want to get [Legendary Strength] faster, you should sunder two levels from [Heir to Beleraphon] to get there a little faster." Duncan offered.


    "Ok" Luke muttered, shaking his head but following the instructions.


    Gareth, on the other hand, was staring at his status like he was trying not to poop, and Sam was biting at her lip.


    "Do you guys need a hand, or are you just going to keep looking constipated?" Duncan asked.


    "I''m at level 19, and I''m trying to figure out the best combat skill. I was feeling pretty useless in the fight against those assholes. So I grabbed [Blast Shot] to start." Sam said.


    "Exploding arrows, always a good choice," Duncan said as he looked at her skill options.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Treasure Hunter Skill OptionsYou might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    [Tether Shot] - Lesser:[Hunters Tools] - Common: [Treasure Hunters Lore] - Common:[Power Shot] - Common: [Blast Shot] - Common:[Compound Impacts] - Rare:


    <ul>


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Jackpot] - Epic:</li>


    </ul>


    </ul>


    [Treasure Map] - Epic: [Contient Wanderer] - Historic: </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "But I''m at an impasse regarding how to improve my archery further. I guess I could grab another archery skill," she offered.


    But Duncan just shook his head.


    "You''ll eventually grab four classes. It''s better to wait a bit and pick up an archery skill for each one. It keeps your mastery skills diverse and doesn''t clog up a single class. Hmmm, you have [Powershot] but not [Imbue Arrow], so you can''t get [Imbue Powershot]. But you can upgrade [Hidden Treasures] into [Jackpot]. That''s a classic option. I''m grabbing it when I have the chance," Duncan said.


    "That just leaves me with two other options," Sam muttered as she examined her status. "I like [Treasure Map] and [Compound Impacts]. A little more damage and something to navigate around."


    "Good choices," Duncan said, nodding along.


    "Hey, Duncan, could you take a look at this for me? I put my new levels into [Viking], and well, this feels like it could be great, but it also feels like a trap, but I can''t see it."


    "Alright, big guy, what are you looking at?" Duncan asked.


    Gareth shared his status with Duncan.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Viking skill Options


    [Champion of Asgard] - Ancient: when you lead your men, you gain a bonus to all your stats for every person who follows you. Increase the bonus to all stats by 0.1% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Ah, I see your problem," Duncan said as he saw the descriptions.


    "So, there is a trap?" Gareth asked.


    "Yeah, I mean, the bonus is great. The problem is you won''t be able to keep it," Duncan said.


    "What?" Gareth asked.


    "Gareth, during the fight with this Altan, you guys were picked off one by one until you were the only two of you left, yes?" Duncan asked.


    "Yeah," Gareth admitted, his face turning white at Duncan''s words.


    "Why wouldn''t he do the same thing?" Duncan asked. "These skills are the Champion archetype. Champion classes gain power from their followers or from a crowd of onlookers. While they are powerful, their skills are highly dependent on other people. In a situation where you''re alone, they''re basically useless. It''s kind of like having a laser rifle or some sci-fi weapon that you need to plug into the wall.


    It''s powerful, but you need an external power source to maintain it. Worse intelligent enemies will figure this out, and once they do, they will target your party members before they focus back on you.


    That isn''t to say Champions can''t be great; they can be, but those classes also need crowd control and AOE skills to keep the attention on them and cut down their enemies quickly. That''s not you. Not right now. Your first class has focused on turning you into a duelist with a heavy focus on defence, while your second class is a mix of heavy artillery and airborne cavalry. That''s not a bad thing, and you can bring everything together into a more fleshed-out idea later on. The problem with Champions is that you need to be able to taunt enemies, and you can''t do that right now." he explained.


    "You couldn''t just say it''s a dud?" Gareth asked.


    Duncan blushed, a bit embarrassed.


    "Sorry about that."


    "It''s fine, you''re catching it now. I''ll just grab [Compound Impacts] and [Traveler of the North Sea]."


    Duncan frowned.


    "I don''t know that second one," he admitted.


    Gareth flicked the screen towards him.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Traveler of the North Sea] - Ancient


    [Traveler of the North Sea]: This skill grants a bonus in sailing, knot, navigation, and shipbuilding mastery by 1.25% per skill level. It enhances natural navigation abilities, allowing the user to instinctively interpret tides, currents, temperatures, and weather patterns with 1% greater accuracy per skill level. The user gains the ability to breathe underwater, enabling extended underwater exploration, and can propel their ship great distances through fast travel, increasing boat movement speed outside of combat by 3% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Uuum." Duncan wasn''t sure what to say. "This doesn''t seem immediately helpful."


    Gareth shrugged.


    "I didn''t pick it for combat. I picked it because it was something I wanted. I like sailing and swimming. After this is all over, I want to be able to do those things again."


    "Fair enough," Duncan said.


    Gareth rolled his eyes.


    Once they finished up, Luke came over.


    "Thanks for the help, Duncan," Luke said.


    "No problem. You''re not the first person to ask for advice. In fact, you''re probably somewhere in the triple digits." Duncans said.


    Luke looked at him weirdly.


    "Is it really that bad?" Luke asked, concerned.


    Duncan frowned. "It is. Even with those lectures I''m giving about the system, and how to abuse it, I''ve got dozens of people coming up to me every day for advice. People are scared, Luke. When there are no consequences, it''s a lot easier to be willy-nilly with your skills. Hell, I''m giving at least two or three lectures to the craftsman every day. We really need to build a new wiki; otherwise, I''m going to be stuck explaining shit all day."


    Luke shrugged. "Something to do."


    "Speaking of something to do, you guys should head up to the Arena. We all need to grind more skill levels," Duncan said.


    They talked for a little longer before Luke took his advice and left with Sam and Gareth towards the Arena.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Demigod


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1310


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2535


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2300


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 15.3 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 20.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 6.4 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths Member


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 12%, Elemental 12%, Vitality 9%, Mental 11%, Crit 18%, Insta-death 18%, Poison 18%, Disease 18%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 12, Heir to Beleiraphone 1, Water Enhancer 3


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 193


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 70


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 105


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 52


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 176 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 64 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 96 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 48 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 80 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 96 +20%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 80 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary: Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    <ul>


    <li>[Power of the Sea God] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 21 >> Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Kin of Horses] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Born Sailor] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Natural Born Leader] - Level 18 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Master of Death] - Level 17 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Greek Tragedy] - Level 14 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Divine Assistance (Guide)] - ErR0R#4!!*!%!$</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 STR per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Theseus 07/11


    <ul>


    <li>[First Labor: Periphetes'' Devastating Strike] - Level 23 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 22 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 22 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 21 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Level 22 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone - [Sixth Labor: Procrustes Just Deserts] - Level 22 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] - Level 1 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Bellerophon 2/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Molten Lead Lance] - Level 15 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Athena''s Bridle] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Water Enhancer 3/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Tider Ripper] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rapid Water Steps] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Spearfisher] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 76: Dungeon Engineer

    Once Luke and his friends left, Duncan turned to Issac. It was time to get to work on some personal crafting.


    "Issac, get over here. I''ll show you what to buy for the best results." Duncan said


    Issac walked over and made his status visible to Duncan, and he immediately made Issac purchases: [Runecrafting] and [Runic Circuit].


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Runecrafting] - Lesser


    Runecrafting allows the Rune Smith to add Runes into all of their crafting. Allowing the Runesmith to apply their knowledge of runes to any project


    +1.25% to your Rune mastery per skill level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Runic Circuit] - Uncommon


    This skill allows the Rune Smith to create complex Runic Circuitry on an item that allows for myriad combinations of runes, allowing for greater and more exotic purposes.


    Reduce the mana cost of using Runes by 0.5% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Duncan nodded in satisfaction. Those two skills, along with the rest of Issac''s build, would help fix his rune work. He would get Issac to pick up the [Blacksmithing] class for his next level so he could help Issac round out his build. Maybe get him the [Soul Flame], no definitely getting him the [Soul Flame] skill.


    Issac also decided to drop his other classes and become a full-on level 6 [Runesmith]. Duncan made him keep the skills even if the sundering had weakened them slightly.


    "So what are we going to be crafting?" Issac asked.


    "I''m not sure yet. I don''t think we''re going to be able to help with the goblins beyond just showing up. Everyone is too low-leveled. Hell, I''m too low-leveled. I have two levels to assign, and I still need to reconsider my class." Duncan admitted.


    "[Settler] not good enough?" Issac asked.


    "Not by a long shot. Don''t get me wrong, some people here are really good at some of the crafting, but they had no idea how to incorporate these skills into their crafting. So I''m having to do everything, and I don''t have the skills to really make anything worthwhile. Instead, I''ve got them working on bunk beds, and there are plenty of those Cheval de frise things to grind out their skill levels and get us a little more protection. We should be finished up with both tomorrow, maybe the day after," Duncan said, looking nervous.


    "Where are you going to assign your levels?" Issac asked.


    Duncan froze.


    "Hmm. I don''t know," Duncan muttered to himself as he opened his status up.


    "I''ve got two extra levels to assign. But I haven''t bothered with the chaos going on." Duncan muttered to himself.


    That wasn''t a bad thing, shit had been hectic, and he had been freaking out. But now he was at their base, and it was time to take a hard look at his build and consider his options.


    "So, what are you thinking of picking?" Issac asked again.


    "Well, I need a crafting class. I really don''t want to go back to being a frontline fighter again. I got a degree to be an engineer, not a hatchet man. To be perfectly honest. I think I''m going to sunder my [Settler] Class."


    "What? Isn''t that your only class?" Issac asked.


    "So?" Duncan shrugged. "I took [Settler] because of a crisis. I mean, don''t get me wrong, it was useful, and I''ll probably keep all the skills I already have. But I''m not going to run off into the woods to build a town. On the other hand, now isn''t the time to start throwing curve balls at myself. I should pick something I know works for me."


    "And that is?" Issac asked, clearly frustrated by how vague he was being.


    Duncan smiled.


    "I mean a crafting build. Between my experience in-game and my diploma, it''s the only thing I''m good for. The problem is so many crafting builds are specialized."


    "Can''t you just get a bunch of mastery skills?" Issac asked.


    "I could, but that''s not enough. Your [Runesmith] class doesn''t just let you work runes into metal. It has other skills that can affect the end product. So even if I loaded up on mastery skills, my creations wouldn''t be able to match yours, even if I''m an objectively better crafter than you," Duncan explained.


    "But that leaves me with the second problem. Where do I go with my build? Enchanter? Smith? Ritualist? Glasser? Construction? Jeweler? Artificer? Alchemist? No, Abaddon has alchemy covered. But there''s so much to do, and I have to reinvent everything. Maybe I should get some people to try to delegate, but then I''d be micromanaging everything instead of crafting."


    "Isn''t there a general crafter build?" Issac asked. "Something that just improves all of your crafting?"


    Duncan paused as an idea came to him.


    "Most of them aren''t worth considering. Except for one. The [Dungeon Engineer]"


    There was silence for a moment.


    "Are you going to tell me what that is or ¡­"


    Duncan rolled his eyes.


    "The [Dungeon Engineer] is the pinnacle crafting class. It allows the user access to every crafting skill and specialization."


    "Then why the hell am I bothering with [Runesmith]?" Issac asked. "Why bother with any other crafting class?"


    "Because [Dungeon Engineer] is for crafting only. A [Blacksmith] can use [Hammering Blows] on someone''s head as easily as a sheet of metal, and a [Posioner] is just as toxic on the battlefield as off. But a [Dungeon Engineer] is limited purely to crafting. Most of the skills will only activate when crafting. Not only that, but it''s such a generalized class that you''re unlikely to ever max out your skills. I''m only considering it because I''m literally starting from nothing and need to build everything. Hmm, if I add in the [Gatherer] class, I could do a Minecraft build."


    "Wait a minute, there''s a Minecraft build?" Issac asked. "Does it do what I think it does?"


    "[Gatherer] and [Crafter] combo, then you can rape the natural world for resources and build whatever you want. It''s a fun build but not a great build for combat, as you basically have to sacrifice at least sixty levels to do it right. The main advantage is the fact that you can quickly build up anything you need with what''s around you. But you tend to struggle in direct combat. But if I''m using [Dungeon Engineer], maybe I should look into high tier [Gatherer] classes, maybe add [Ritual Architect], and maybe." Duncan muttered to himself as he considered the possibilities.


    "Okay, so what do you need to do to unlock the [Dungeon Engineer] class?" Issac asked.


    "Five crafting classes with a total level not exceeding ten with five skills each."


    "Fuuck," Issac muttered. "Yeah, I''m not doing that."


    "Yeah, that''s the other reason [Dungeon Engineer] isn''t popular. It takes a lot of grinding to unlock. And if you don''t know the requirements, you''re likely to blow right past them," Duncan muttered as he started going over the various skills he would need to pick up.


    "Issac, I need you to go to the kitchen and grab me the following," Duncan said as he penned a note for Issac.


    "Is this a recipe for chocolate chip pancakes?" Issac asked.


    "Yep, now go, meet me in the cauldron," Duncan said as he picked up two levels in [Blacksmith].


    He moved over the cauldron, finding Abaddon inside.


    "Hey, Duncan," Abaddon smiled and waved.


    "Hey Abaddon. I need to unlock the [Dungeon Engineer] class." Duncan said.


    Abaddon nodded in understanding. He knew the class requirements. Standing up, Abaddon prepared an alchemy station for Duncan.


    "Are you really sure you want [Dungeon Engineer]? I mean, you normally need an entire dungeon to grind out its skills." Abaddon reminded him.


    Duncan rolled his eyes. "I have an entire settlement to build. From scratch."


    "Fair," Abaddon said as he returned to his own station


    Duncan sat down at the station Abaddon had prepared and got to work. He created ten mana potions and ten poisons.


    <You have acquired the [Basic Alchemy]>


    <You have acquired the [Basic Poisons]>


    "Hey, Duncan, I got your pancakes with some assembly required," Issac said as he came into the room.


    "Great, hand it over. I need to improve my cooking skill." Duncan said as he brought out everything he needed for cooking.


    <You have acquired the [Basic Cooking]>


    Ten minutes later, the three of them were chowing down on pancakes.


    "Thanks, Duncan," Abaddon said as he ate the pancakes.


    Duncan returned to the foundry and got to work. He started by sewing together some of the ruined clothing they had for an easy skill. It only took an hour to get the skill he wanted.


    <You have acquired the [Sewing]>


    The part was more difficult. He stood in the foundry as Issac assisted him. The glow of his forge bathing the cluttered room in warm, flickering light. Tools lay meticulously arranged on one side of his bench, while raw materials¡ªgold, gemstones, a soul stone, and a dozen shards of glass. He was going to try and knock out a bunch of skills all at once. While at the same time doing something for his girlfriend. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The forge roared as Issac fed it more fuel, its heat rising to perfection. He pulled on his gloves, grabbed some gold jewelry they had¡­ liberated, and tossed it into the forge to melt it down. And not a small amount of gold; it was a lot of gold. He also smashed a few soul stones into a powder and added that to the mix. This would allow him to enchant the material later.


    He had done this before, and he mostly worked off of routine as he melted down the gold. As he worked, Duncan murmured under his breath, infusing each movement with intent. He alloyed the gold with a hint of palladium. Once ready, he poured it into a snake-shaped mould.


    Even as the metal filled the mould, he used magic to force more gold into it, making the material denser and heavier than it was supposed to be.


    He turned his attention to the centrepiece: the gemstones. He had retrieved a few rough gemstones from his tutorial. Each one was massive by pre-system standards, and they glinted under the workshop¡¯s light. The emeralds glittered in the firelight.


    Duncan secured the emerald and set to work, a gem cutter¡¯s wheel spinning with precision. He shaped the stone into an intricate, multifaceted cut, ensuring it would capture and refract light like a star caught in its depths. As he polished the stone to perfection, it began to glow faintly, a sign of its latent magical energy awakening. As the golden snake cooled, he set the two emeralds in its eyes.


    He didn''t need this next part, so he added Runes to the back of the golden snake to enhance the final product.


    Then he moved onto the glass. Like the gold, before he added soul stone and glass to the forge, returning the glass to a molten material, then he added in iron oxides, titanium and a few sulfur compounds to turn it brown. Once the enchanted glass was ready, he took it out, rolling it into a rod. With steady breaths and deliberate movements, he coaxed the molten glass into shape. Once he felt it was solid enough, he wrapped the golden snake around his glass stick. He was using the glass to anchor the golden snake.


    He also enchanted the glass for extra durability. He really didn''t want this to break. He also enchanted the snake''s main body.


    As Duncan held the finished piece in his hand, a faint hum resonated through the room. He was inundated with notifications.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have created a: Rod of Asclepius - Lesser


    Rod of Asclepius: Improves all Healing and Medicine skills in the vicinity of this sculpture by 26%


    +6% for skills


    +10% for shape


    +10% for materials


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <You have acquired the [Jewelry Creation]>


    <You have acquired the [Metallurgy]>


    <You have acquired the [Dense Forging]>


    <You have acquired the [Glassblowing]>


    <You have acquired the [Gemcutting]>


    <You have acquired the [Enchanting]>


    Duncan held up the finished product. It looked pretty nice, a golden serpent wrapped around a not wooden stick with emerald eyes. Honestly, it was shit. But Eve would like it for both the aesthetic and the practical effects. And it was an easy way to get most of his skill grinding out of the way. Now that he was ready to upgrade his class. Opening his menu, he selected his choice.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you Like to Sunder your [Settler] Class?


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Duncan selected yes and then nearly collapsed to the ground as twenty levels worth of stats disappeared from his body all at once.


    "Hey, are you ok?" Issac asked as he moved over.


    "Yep. just sundered my class," Duncan groaned. "Oh, this is so much worse in real life."


    Despite having just lost twenty levels, he could immediately reassign five of them, and he had two that he had never assigned in the first place, allowing him to bring his level back up to level 7.


    He added his new skills to his new classes. Then, he spent five skill points getting the lore skill for each class and the remaining six skill points filling out each class''s skill slots. Then, he activated [Zen Master] to combine his classes.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have combined [Blacksmith] + [Alchemist] + [Enchanter] + [Tailor] + [Construction] ¡ú [Dungeon Engineer] - Mythic


    [Blacksmithing] + [Jewelry Crafting] + [Metallurgy] + [Dense Forging] + [Smiths Lore] ¡ú [Dungeon Smith] - Level 1


    [Enchanting] + [Glassblowing] + [Gemcutting] + [Core Manipulation] + [Enchanters Lore] ¡ú [Dungeon Enchanter] - Level 1


    [Basic Alchemy] + [Basic Poisons] + [Cooking] + [Distillation] + [Alchemists Lore] ¡ú [Dungeon Alchemist] - Level 1


    [Leatherworking] + [Sewing] + [Seamless] + [Fine Motor Control] + [Tailors Lore] ¡ú [Dungeon Tailor] - Level 1


    [Carpentry] + [Masonry] + [Reinforced Structure] + [Carver] + [Construction Lore] ¡ú [Dungeon Construction] - Level 1


    [Dungeon Smith]: This skill enhances all smithing-related crafting by granting +5% mastery per skill level, improving precision, quality, and efficiency. It allows the user to copy any crafting skill related to smithing and metallurgy, seamlessly integrating it into their repertoire. Additionally, it boosts the ability to retain and organize smithing-related lore and knowledge, increasing recall efficiency by +5% per skill level. This skill is strictly limited to crafting activities and cannot be applied outside of crafting contexts.


    [Dungeon Alchemist]: This skill grants the user +5% mastery to all alchemy mastery per skill level. It allows the user to copy any crafting skill related to alchemy and chemistry, seamlessly integrating it into their repertoire. Additionally, the skill enables perfect retention and organization of alchemical lore, including formulas, material properties, and advanced techniques, increasing the user''s ability to recall and utilize this knowledge by 5% per skill level. This skill is strictly limited to crafting applications.


    [Dungeon Enchanter]: This skill grants the user +5% to all Enchanting and Jeweling Mastery per skill level. The user can replicate any skill related to enchanting, glassblowing and gem cutting as long as it is related to crafting. Furthermore, the skill enhances the user''s ability to retain and organize knowledge of runes, enchantment formulas, and magical properties, increasing recall and application efficiency by 5% per skill level. This skill is strictly limited to crafting and cannot be used for direct combat or utility purposes outside enchantment creation.


    [Dungeon Tailor]: This skill grants the user +5% to all tailoring and leatherworking mastery per skill level. The user can replicate any skill related to sewing, weaving, embroidery, leather crafting, and textile manipulation as long as it is used for crafting. Additionally, the skill enhances the user''s ability to retain and organize knowledge of patterns, material properties, and tailoring techniques, increasing recall and application efficiency by 5% per skill level. This skill is strictly limited to crafting and cannot be used for combat or utility purposes outside of creating tailored goods.


    [Dungeon Construction]: This skill grants the user +5% to all construction-related crafting mastery per skill level. The user can replicate any skill associated with carpentry, masonry, architecture, and structural engineering, provided it is used for crafting. Additionally, this skill enhances the user''s ability to retain and organize knowledge of building techniques, material properties, and structural designs, increasing recall and application efficiency by 5% per skill level. This skill is strictly limited to crafting and cannot be used for direct combat or utility outside of construction and crafting tasks.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Oh, that is so much better," Duncan groaned as he finally had a proper crafting class. He could already feel ideas starting to form in his mind. Long-forgotten YouTube videos and ideas popped up as his project to create a scorpion ballista leaped forwards as he recalled episodes from the History Channel on creating the weapon, but it didn''t stop. Everything he knew of woodworking, along with everything that he knew from Noralon, started to come together as a design came together.


    "Issac," Duncan called out.


    "Yeah," Issac looked up at him.


    "You currently have the highest level in blacksmithing. I need you to make some of the following," Duncan said as he brought up what he needed on one of the ¡­ he still wasn''t sure if I was an iPad mounted in the wall.


    Issac looked over the list as he muttered to himself.


    "Five hundred Iron nails, Chisels, saw, knife, hand drill and ¡­ what''s a block planer?" Issac asked.


    "It''s for precision work. It''s mostly used for planing end grain, bevelling edges, finishing joints, and other similar tasks." Duncan explained.


    Issac clearly didn''t understand.


    "Don''t worry about it," Duncan offered. One of the teams has been clearing out Home Depot for most of the day. They should have everything in storage. It will make creating the exploding ballista so much easier," Duncan said.


    "I''m sorry, exploding Baslista?" Issac asked.


    "Don''t worry about it," Duncan said.


    "I am extremely worried about it." Issac protested.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Duncan Coffeehouse


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Artificial


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 7


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 25


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 280


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 630


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 700


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 3.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 4.9 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 2.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 65%, Mind 50%,


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Elemental 35%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Artslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Dungeon Engineer 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 56


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 28


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 21


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 35


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 14


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 56


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 28


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 21


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 14 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 35


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 14


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 14


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 8


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal:+4 DEX +3 STR +3 INT +2 PER +2 WILL


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Arn Battle Cyborg] - Legendary: Your ancestors were part of the great Arn Empire as a front-line Battle Cyborg. These cyborgs were not only devastating shock troops, but their ability to self-repair and self-improve Transformed them into one of the most adaptable warriors in the galaxy. It also led to the fall of the Arn Empire when their cyborgs rebelled.


    <ul>


    <li>[Kitchen Sink] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Upgrade] - Level 1 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Work Horse] - Level 6 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[War Horse] - Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Techno-path] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Machine Mind] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Machine Learning] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Nanite Heart] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 STR</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 19/60: Skill Points: 6


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 29</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Zen Mastery] - Level 33</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Arcane Awakening] - Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Teacher] - Level 16 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fang of Man] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Aura of the Sun] - Level 33</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Weather the Storm] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Foreman] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Heartseeker] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[All-Seeing Eye] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Quest Giver] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    Dungeon Engineer 5/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Dungeon Smith] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Dungeon Enchanter] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Dungeon Alchemist] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Dungeon Tailor] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Dungeon Construction] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 77: Adams Fights a Lesser Hydra

    Adams looked over the Arena of the Ancients, as it was apparently called. He looked over the ''army'', and he used that word extremely loosely.


    The factions were starkly divided. The first group stood in neat ranks, a mix of firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and ex-military personnel. Their bearing was that of a proper military unit. They were easily the group he had the most faith in.


    The larpers clumped together in tight-knit groups, each sticking to their chosen group of friends. This group gave him the greatest concern. He had no real illusions about having any control over this group, and yet they were also where he expected most of their firepower would come from.


    Meanwhile, the volunteers milled about uncertainty. If Adams was honest with himself, these people were the cannon fodder. Usually, he wouldn''t have even considered bringing them along, especially on such short notice. But if Tom would bring them back anyway ¡­ he didn''t like it. But they really needed as many people as they could get. More magic users would be especially helpful.


    He got distracted as Tom and Alex finally emerged from Hopkins and made their way toward the [Arena of the Ancients]. But it was odd. The kid had none of that oppressiveness he had displayed in the cauldron. If anything, he felt normal again.


    Then again, Tom had pieces of paper floating around his hand, while Alex had blobs of what Adams assumed to be magic around hers. So, how normal was the kid?


    "Tom," Adams nodded respectfully, carefully observing the kid for any hint of the power he had displayed.


    ¡°Yes, I am Tom.¡± Tom joked.


    Adams frowned¡ªno hint of the power. Unfortunately, further thought was cut off by Alex''s question.


    ¡°How did the recruitment go?¡±


    Adams sighed, shrugging heavily. ¡°Poorly, we lost some of the first responders. Some people were shaken, and others left to find their families or for other reasons. The larpers have been drifting in and out as they please, and there are almost no volunteers. It got worse once Brindley ¡­ left. We lost most of our volunteers. We''ve got maybe half as many troops as I was hoping for if I was being conservative.¡±


    Tom frowned. ¡°Do you think we can still manage it?¡±


    ¡°If this was pre-system, no. Even now, I would still say no. Maybe if we had some heavy munitions or air support, but at this point, this entire operation is a waste of time. But I can admit I don''t understand the system well enough to get a good read on our situation. I could be wrong.¡± Adams admitted.


    Travis chimed in hesitantly. ¡°Some of the larpers went monster hunting instead of training. I think we¡¯ll have more people when we actually move out, but they won¡¯t have the discipline we need for a proper raid party.¡±


    ¡°We still have to try. Remember, we don''t need to win. We just need to destroy the portal or, better yet, get the bloodstone.¡± Tom pointed out.


    Using an earth spell, Tom raised a platform beneath himself, followed by a wind spell to amplify his voice. ¡°Alright, everyone! Can I have your attention?¡± The murmurs gradually subsided as heads turned toward him.


    Adams moved up beside Tom to help project the kids'' authority, though a part of him was interested in whether he was going to show off that presence thing again.


    ¡°Alright, Here¡¯s the deal for anyone who wasn¡¯t paying attention. There¡¯s a growing goblin army in Newton, using a portal to bring in reinforcements. They¡¯re all hostile, as you¡¯ve probably guessed. In two days, we¡¯ll launch an attack on the goblins. We will not be trying to eliminate all of the goblins. Instead, my team will be destroying the portal and killing their leaders. Your job is to keep the other goblins off our ass while we do that. Once we are finished, we retreat in an orderly fashion. Afterwards, the remaining goblin forces will be scattered, and we will be able to hunt them at a more leisurely pace. This army is going to be cutting through the goblins to provide us with the opportunity to strike directly at the enemy. Now, any questions." Tom announced to the crowd.


    A larper raised a hand. ¡°Why wait two days?¡±


    Tom ticked off points on his fingers. "Three reasons, first to allow you to train up. You noobs need both levels, skill levels and lots of them. If you are going to go swimming in a goblin horde. Secondly, we need to scout the enemy. More importantly, we want to narrow down where the portal and its leaders are before we attack. We want to get as many of you guys armed and armoured as we can and, and fourth, yes, I realized I said three reasons, but fourth, so I can recruit more elites to this battle."


    ¡°Who the hell is this kid?¡± a police officer muttered loudly. ¡°Why should we listen to him?¡±


    Alex bristled, readying a spell, but Tom acted faster. With a flick of his wrist, he cast a sleep spell, dropping the officer where he stood. Gasps rippled through the crowd as his colleagues rushed to catch him.


    ¡°I¡¯m the asshole who brings you back to life when you die,¡± Tom said coldly. ¡°If that¡¯s not enough reason, feel free to walk away.¡±


    Tom pressed on. "Moving on. The [Arena of the Ancients] is a little like the holodeck in Star Trek. You can safely fight any creature whose corpse we have dumped inside. You can even fight each other without fear of death. You boys and girls will be fighting lesser Hydras. If you thought the trolls were bad, these will be worse, which makes them excellent training partners. If you aren''t in the arena, you will be in line to talk to me. I will be helping you upgrade your skills and classes. Then I will teach you the [Storage] skill. Then you will go to Alex, who will teach you magic. Tomorrow, you will be heading out to earn as many levels as possible." Tom stated.


    Adams stepped forward and then addressed the crowd.


    "I understand if any of you people currently have doubts. But I have seen what we face. We are going to need every single person''s help if we are going to make it through this."


    Then he received the quest notifications.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Regional Quest: Bloody Goblin Horde


    The bloody goblin horde has started a campaign to conquer this portion of the world. With a bloodstone powering a portal, they are using human sacrifices to bring their horde to this world. The Guild Leader of Awoken Myths has created a plan to shut down the portal and cripple the horde. Needless to say, if you fail to stop them, you are all going to die or be forced to flee the area. No pressure.


    Objectives:


    Destroy or Capture the Bloodstone: 0/1


    Destroy or Capture the Gate: 0/1


    Bonus Objectives:


    Kill all of the Goblins: 21,467 / 98,956


    Kill ????: 0/1


    Kill Seraphel: 0/1


    Kill: The Goblin Shaman: 1/1


    Kill ????: 0/1


    Kill ????: 0/1


    Retrieve the corpses of a fallen Ally 0/???


    Rewards:


    2 Levels for everyone involved, Bonus XP for Everyone, a Title: Goblin Killer, 5000 Settlement Points, Winter Event Guild Token


    Special Rewards are granted to those who achieve the Bonus Objectives.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Awoken Myths Guild Sponsored Quest: Slay the Hydra


    Guild Leader Thomas Burner has you preparing for war. Now, you must be ready to fight a troll. In preparation for this, you must defeat a lesser hydra, a much stronger creature with similar abilities in the [Arena of the Ancients].


    Objectives:


    Prove you can beat a Troll by defeating a Lesser Hydra in the [Arena of the Ancients]: 0/1


    Bonus Objective:


    Defeat a lesser Hydra solo: 0/1


    Rewards:


    Bonus Rewards:


    Be considered an Elite unit


    Tips: you may kill the Lesser Hydra at a party


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Guild Sponsored Quest: Class Upgrades


    The Guild Leader of Awoken Myths is offering you the chance to upgrade your perks. Talk to him in the training yard to gain possible upgrades.


    Objectives:


    Talk to the guild Leader During your spare time to receive upgrades


    Rewards:


    You may Join the campaign against the goblins


    Tips: do not attempt to do this when the Guild Leader is busy with other things.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The moment the quest notifications sprang up, all of the chatter died down as everyone read the quest notification. A few other people were joining the Awoken Myths guild and enjoying the bonus members got.


    Tom turned to Major Adams.


    "Can you handle the mandatory quest? I think Skippy, Alex, and I can manage the [Arena of the Ancients]." Tom asked.


    "It shouldn''t be a problem. They''re not that hard to earn; they''re just a bit awkward," the Major admitted. "Can I borrow Travis for a bit?"


    He didn''t actually need the Lizard Wizard. But he wanted to talk to a beta-tester about some skill options he had seen on his menu.


    "Sure, but I''m definitely putting you in charge of the army. We''ve got a council meeting this evening at nine o''clock. Be sure to be there," Tom said as Adams received yet another quest for the council to meet at nine.


    Adams was honestly considering picking up that [Quest Giver] skill. It seemed extremely useful. Even if he ignored the system-determined rewards, the ability to hand out orders to other people in the form of quests was too valuable.


    Actually, if he could really pick up a skill, it would be a better version of [Hand of Mercy]. A few of the paramedics had picked up that skill. But they discovered the flaw in the skill. For every level, the victim had required an additional two thousand mana. None of the paramedics had the mana to resurrect anyone.


    It turned out that Tom''s whole ritual of burrowing the mana of others wasn''t a part of the skill but something he created himself. It was annoying, especially as Chester was the only one to acquire a skill that could resurrect anyone, and even that skill could only resurrect so many people per day. So, they were still dependent on Tom for resurrections. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Alrighty, you grunts, everyone who still needs to do the mandatory quests, come with me. We''re going to be working on the football field." Adams ordered.


    Most of the first responders, as well as a few of the larpers and Volunteers, went with him, but most had already completed the quest.


    "Alright, everyone else. Get into the Arena. It''s time to fight Hydras," Alex said, her eyes lighting up with glee.


    Suddenly, Adams was worried about the men he left behind.


    <hr>


    "Watch the heads, watch the heads,"


    "I''m trying to"


    "Why does the blood burn?!"


    "Carl, use a fireball! Fireball!!!"


    "This is bullshit. I just chopped off its head. Why is it growing back?!"


    "I''m pretty sure that''s a staple of being a hydra."


    "This is better than wipeout." Alex chuckled as she ate some popcorn.


    "Don''t tell them that." Tom hushed her as another person died to the lesser hydra.


    Once Adams had finished the mandatory quests and everyone was at level ten, he returned to see the lesser hydras utterly massacring the other recruits while Tom and Alex ate popcorn.


    "What the hell happened?" Adams asked.


    "Everyone was really cocky at first," Tom said.


    "Then they all got killed," Alex added.


    "Considering they are fighting a three-headed behemoth, it''s not that surprising. Between the size, regeneration, armoured skin and poisoned blood. They aren''t easy."


    "Then why are you having people fight them?" Adams asked.


    "Because if you can beat a hydra, you can beat a troll," Alex pointed out.


    Adams turned to see Luke had soloed the Hydra with his burning spear and won by exploding its chest cavity with molten lead. The only other exceptions were those with fire magic who roasted the creatures from a distance.


    "Boo, boo, the fire mages, fight it properly," Alex catcalled.


    Adams rolled his eyes. He had already decided to fight the Hydras. He needed to learn how to use his new system skills, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to learn. But more than that, he wanted to learn if it was possible to take down a troll without tossing fireballs at it. Adams stepped into the arena as a Lesser Hydra appeared. The moment he stepped into the arena, everything felt slightly off.


    But Adams didn''t have time to think about it as the lesser hydra¡¯s three snake heads swayed menacingly, their forked tongues flicking the air as Major Adams. Each head snarled independently, saliva dripping from jagged fangs.


    He immediately activated [Statis].


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Statis] - Rare


    [Statis]: Your experience as both an officer of the law and a medic has coalesced into this skill. You can now place a person in temporal stasis, locking all movements and metabolic functions. The person may then be placed in your [Storage] to be taken out later to heal them or take them prisoner. While the person in stasis cannot be harmed, buffs and debuffs may be placed on the subject, though they will remain frozen in time until [Stasis] is removed. This is a time effect. Costs 100 mana per minute.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The Hydra froze mid-motion. Adams walked up to the creature, already feeling the drain on his mana. He examined the monster, but it didn''t move. He summoned his halligan. His experience with the trolls showed him a need to brush up on his hand-to-hand skills. Swinging the halligan around, he slammed it into one of the heads.


    He felt the blow reverberate back up through his arm. The hydra was completely unaffected. He summoned his other weapon with a thought. In a flash of light, his 12-gauge appeared in his hand. He blasted Hydra, the buckshot ricochet off the static field.


    Adams clicked his tongue in annoyance. He had been hoping that [Statis] would allow him to kill his enemies with minimal danger. But it would appear the skill description was accurate.


    Adams dropped the skill, and the hydra lunged instantly. He took a step back, [Fancy Feet] guiding him into a pivot. The beast¡¯s middle head slammed into the ground where he¡¯d just been standing.


    He raised the shotgun and fired. The buckshot tore into the hydra¡¯s leftmost head, blasting scales and ichor across the clearing. The creature roared in pain, but the head didn¡¯t drop. Its regeneration was already kicking in.


    ¡°Alright, now the fire,¡± Adams muttered, sidestepping another snap from the right head.


    Adams held out his hand as a stream of fire poured out of his hand towards the head he had just blown apart.


    The Hydra hissed, turning so that its ruined head was on the other side of Hydra and away from the flames.


    Adams growled, as with a sharp motion, he replaced his twelve gauge with his halligan, the steel tool fitting snugly into his grip. The hydra¡¯s right head lunged again, but he didn¡¯t retreat this time. Instead, he activated [Time Leap], his newest skill.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Time Leap] - Ancient


    [Time Leap]: Allows the user to teleport forwards in time equal to one second per point of mana spent. This is a Time-based skill.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He had been highly unsure of this skill. He had only bought it because Travis had recommended it. According to the Lizard Wizard, Time skills were rare, powerful, and extremely difficult to master, and the only reason he had unlocked this one was because his [Statis] skill was already time-based. And while this skill wasn''t anything extraordinary. It was a requirement for higher-tier time skills.


    He reappeared a moment later, the hydra''s head jerking past him as if the world had just lagged. He twisted, driving the halligan upward into the creature¡¯s neck, the prying end hooking deep into the flesh and splattering his face in blood.


    Now that he was on the clock, he pulled the hydra''s head away from the other heads and caked it in flames. The hydra ripped its body free from the halligan as it turned and charged him.


    The hydra recovered quickly, thanks to its regeneration. One head lunged low while the other snapped high, their movements blurred between teeth and muscle. Adams sidestepped the low strike, narrowly avoiding the mud kicked up by its massive maw, and ducked beneath the other head¡¯s snap. Switching back to the 12 gauge, he blasted off a round of buckshot directly into the neck of the right head, severing it completely and dousing himself in more hydra blood. The stuff burned his skin.


    The hydra¡¯s remaining heads hissed in unison, their bloodlust undeterred. Adams charged forward, the shotgun held low, but as the hydra reared up, he activated [Time Leap], intent on appearing right next to the hydra''s body and blasting its torso. The world distorted, his body shifting a second into the future¡ªonly for his timing to falter.


    He reappeared mid-lunge directly in the path of the hydra¡¯s middle head. Before he could react, the jaws clamped down, teeth raking across his shoulder and torso. The impact knocked the wind from his lungs as he hit the ground hard, rolling away from the follow-up strike. Pain flared through his chest. He spat out blood as it leaked into his lungs.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Adams snarled, forcing himself upright, the hydra looming above him. Its three heads prepared to strike as one, jaws opening wide. There was no time for precision. Desperation fueled his actions as he summoned a Fireball to each hand.


    The explosion was deafening. The fire consumed the hydra¡¯s heads, blood, and scales, which were vaporized in the blast. The force of the detonation sent Adams hurtling backward, slamming into a tree. His vision blurred as heat washed over him, the inferno scorching his exposed skin and charring the edges of his armour. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his body wracked with searing pain. Every movement was agony. His arms and torso were a patchwork of burned skin, his breathing ragged with bloody bubbles on his lips.


    When the smoke cleared, the hydra¡¯s charred remains were slumped to the ground. Its three heads had been obliterated entirely, and they weren''t regenerating. Adams'' pain-racked mind wondered if two direct hits from fireballs were enough to kill the lesser hydra instantly or if the damage he had done before had been necessary. Then the notifications came.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, you have defeated the: Lesser Hydra.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Bound Weapons] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Bound Weapons] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Hazmat] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Hazmat] has Reached Level 22>


    <...>


    <[Hazmat] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Snake Eyes] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Snake Eyes] has Reached Level 27>


    <...>


    <[Snake Eyes] has Reached Level 30>


    <[All-Seeing Eye] has Reached Level 16>


    <[All-Seeing Eye] has Reached Level 17>


    <...>


    <[All-Seeing Eye] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Fancy Feet] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Fancy Feet] has Reached Level 22>


    <...>


    <[Fancy Feet] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Stasis] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Stasis] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Accelerated Thoughtspeed] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Accelerated Thoughtspeed] has Reached Level 22>


    <...>


    <[Accelerated Thoughtspeed] has Reached Level 24>


    The moment the notification flashed, the pain disappeared like an illusion. Adams sat up; his injuries, the pain, the lesser hydra, and even the damage to his clothing were all gone.


    "That was odd," Adams muttered to himself.


    He looked over at the other people. Some of them had clearly given up on trying to beat the hydra, and he couldn''t entirely blame them. The [Arena of the Ancients] seemed completely safe, but the pain was very real. Even if it disappeared after the fight, some people couldn''t handle the pain. Despite that, the biggest thought in his head was that he was going to have to work on using [Time Leap].


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Bailey Adams


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: British


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 36


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1800


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2600


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 800


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 22.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 30.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 12.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Major, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 13%, Elemental 13%, Vitality 13%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Rescue Ranger 19, Major 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 132


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 140


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 120 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 140


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 100 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 80 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL, +3 DEX, +3 PER, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +1 EGO


    Skills: +2 STR


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Endless Brawler] - Level 20 >> Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    Rescue Ranger 10/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Bound Weapon] - Level 16 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Hazmat] - Level 20 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Snake Eyes] - Level 25 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[All-Seeing Eye] - Level 15 >> Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fancy Feet] - Level 20 >> Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Legendary Agility] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Stasis] - Level 8 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordination ¢ô] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Accelerated Thoughtspeed] - Level 1 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Time Leap] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    Major 01/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Military Leader] - Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 78: Training

    Tom watched as people fought the Lesser Hydras. The Major appeared to be trying to kill a hydra without just running away and fireballing the monster. It was a good idea, but he wasn''t very good at it. He also seemed to be using a time skill. He hadn''t expected the Major to be able to pick up those tricky skills. But he knew next to nothing about the [Rescue Ranger] class as it was one of the new classes that had popped up since the system apocalypse.


    Unfortunately, the Major was actually above average when dealing with the hydras. The monster''s high regeneration and toxic blood allowed them to slaughter most of their opponents, with the exception of the [Fire Mages], who were actually effective against the beasts.


    The only two people Tom had found really impressive were Gareth and Sam. Sam had kited the Hydra around the arena, peppering it with arrows. She''d still lost as the hydra was healing faster than she was injuring it. But it was a good strategy. On the other hand, Gareth had apparently already learned the lesson Tom was trying to teach everyone. Trying to outlast a creature with the ability to regenerate was stupid. Instead, Gareth just kept hacking away at the Hydra with zero fucks for his own defence until the beast was dead. Gareth would have died shortly after due to the poison, but Damm, was Tom impressed with his ability to give zero fucks in a fight. More importantly, while that strategy was a terrible idea against a hydra, it would work just fine against the trolls.


    After Gareth''s display, people started to get the hang of the Hydras, or at the very least, they learned to be less afraid of damage. Some of the newbies were even laughing and joking as one of their buddies was eaten.


    People started to come to him in droves. Everyone seemed to want advice on how to improve or wanted him to use [Soul Forge] on them in order to upgrade their skills.


    Unfortunately, most people didn''t have the ¡­ he wasn''t sure what the word was. Wiggle room? For an upgrade. It was almost like each skill had a negative space, a part of the soul they took up but didn''t occupy. As Tom upgraded their skills, they grew into this negative. This negative space seemed to slowly, ever so painfully slowly, grow over time naturally, though combat, skill growth, and levels also seemed to grow this negative space. It was a lot more random, but the growth was more efficient.


    Tom guessed that this was the underlying process of how Xp and status upgrades worked, though he wasn''t sure. Unfortunately, most people didn''t have enough negative space to upgrade their skills except for one skill that was painfully easy to upgrade. Every single person had enough negative space for [Pursuite Hunter] to upgrade. Tom was able to upgrade that skill up to [Endless Brawler]. Speaking of skill upgrades.


    <[Quest Giver] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Quest Giver] has Reached Level 13>


    <...>


    <[Quest Giver] has Reached Level 19>


    Tom took that moment to take a break from using [Soul Forge] and watch people battle against the lesser Hydras. Right now, only five battles could occur simultaneously, but that still allowed up to twenty-five people to train against the monsters. The first responders were doing poorly. They relied too much on guns, which were just lousy weapon choices against the lesser Hydras or Trolls, for that matter.


    Tom''s attention was drawn to one of the people who was facing off against the lesser hydra solo. It was Gareth again. Apparently, meeking out a victory wasn''t good enough, and now the [Viking] was trying to optimize his takedown of the lesser hydra. He fought with two wicked-looking axes, and he was hacking off the hydra heads as fast as they could grow. The hydra was bleeding all over the place, and its regeneration was trying to recover from the massive blood loss and lost biomass. Gareth was still dying from poison. But he was actually doing well enough that he wouldn''t die after the battle was over.


    "How are you doing," Tom called out to Gareth as he approached the guy.


    While he still had mixed feelings about Luke. Gareth had never bullied him. They were acquaintances at best.


    "Pretty good. But I have room for improvement. Any suggestions?" Gareth asked.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Gareth Brown


    Titles: Awoken Myths, Rambo


    Level: 18


    Classes: Viking 18


    HP: 1440


    Stamina: 2295


    MP: 360


    Str: 99 / AGIL 54 / DEX 72 / CON 108 / END 72 / PER 72


    INT 18 / WILL 18 / SPIRIT 72 / EGO 36 / CHA 19 / LCK 18


    Personal skills: Storyteller, Pursuit Hunter, Meditation, Storage


    Viking Skills: Nordic Arms, Battle Fury, Weather the Elements, Eternal Vigil, Aura of Slaughter, Legendary Strength, Charge, Charged Attack (Physical), Traveler of the North Sea, Compound Impacts


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Honestly, you''re doing pretty good," Tom pointed out, a bit surprised. "You just need to get higher skill levels for [Battle Fury], [Aura of Slaughter] and [Compound Impacts]. It will help you in more drawn-out fights."


    "Hmm, so I just need to grind out more skill levels." Gareth pointed out.


    "Pretty much," Tom admitted.


    "Would this young master care to face me in the arena of the ancients?" Gareth asked, his smile wide


    Tom felt his eyebrows rise into his hairline.


    "Did you just ---"


    "What I read books," Gareth said with mock hurt.


    "Cultivation books," Tom points out, rolling his eyes.


    "What''s the matter, McFly chicken," Gareth asked.


    "Now we''re doing Back to the Future, really?" Tom chuckled at the reference.


    Apart of Tom wanted to tell this Gareth to fuck off. He didn''t have time for this. Hell, he wasn''t a fighter anymore. He was a supporting character. But another part of him. The part that had spent hours playing the legend of Noralon as a spellsword. That part of him wanted to fight, to prove to himself he still could fight and that he wasn''t some squishy support character.


    Tom gave his own toothy grin as he drew the iron sword he had been using in the tutorial.


    "Alright, young master Biff. It''s time to put your money where your mouth is," Tom said, offering Gareth to step into a recently vacated slot in the arena.


    Gareth leapt into the circle like a kid on Christmas, and Tom followed at a more relaxed pace. His paper armour assembled itself around his body, and layers and layers of protective paper surrounded it as the people around them turned to watch.


    "First blood or death?" Tom asked as he set up the duel with the arena interphase.


    "Death," Gareth said as he switched out his axe for a spear. "I''ll go easy on you. I wanted to train with a spear for a bit."


    "Alright then, but I''ll give you a handicap. No glyphs, no scrolls from me." Tom said he entered the Arena, picking up a moonstone sword someone had left on the ground.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Duel Initiated


    Awoken Myths Guild Leader Thomas Bruner vs Awoken Myths Member Gareth Brown


    Victory Conditions: To the Death


    Additional Conditions: Thomas Bruner will not use Glyph magic or scrolls.


    Wadger: None


    Accept y/n


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Am I about to get my ass kicked? Are you trying to trick me?" Gareth asked.


    "Both," Tom admitted as he buffed himself. "Bull Strength, Feline Grace, Indomitability, Sensor Boost, Draconic Power, Magic Ward: Physical, Perfect Warrior: Swordmaster, Haste, " Tom chanted.


    Gareth accepted immediately before he shot forward. Tom was already sidestepping as Gareth shot past him. His sword raised, and his left hand cast a spell of pain nullification on himself. Tom''s sword scored a hit on Gareth as he sped past him, leaving a shallow cut across his arm.


    "Using [Charge] is all well and good, but you need to be able to deactivate it. If you can''t stop on a dime, it''s worthless," Tom said as he moved after Gareth, his sword crashing against the man himself as he recovered.


    "Da Fuck?!" Gareth swore as he stepped backwards, his spear scouring a hit on Tom''s armour but not penetrating. "I thought you were a mage? How are you this strong?"


    "Capstones," Tom said as Gareth spearshot towards him. Instantly, Tom was put on the defensive as Gareth expertly forced him on the back footing. The guy must have a much higher spear mastery than his sword mastery.


    "At level 10, you get +1 for all attributes per level retroactively. At 20, that increases to +2, and at 30, it increases to +3. That''s why it''s so hard to jump ranks. I haven''t put a single point into my physical stats, but they''re all sitting around 50, which is about half of what you have." Tom grunted out an explanation as he was forced to parry, block and dodge Gareth''s spear.


    Then Gareth''s spear finally managed to get past Tom''s defences with a jab burying itself in his gut.


    "Got yo--" Gareth was cut off as Tom pushed himself forwards onto the spear. Thanks to his early spell, he didn''t feel what he expected would be the excruciating pain he should be feeling. Instead, he lunged forwards with the tip of his sword, ready to plunge into Gareth''s now excited face.


    Then Gareth yanked on the spear as he leaned out of the way. Tom''s balance was thrown off, and his sword stabbed into Gareth''s right shoulder instead of his neck like he intended.


    "Shit," Tom swore as his spell started to fade and the pain in his abdomen made itself known.


    "[Charge]," Gareth shouted.


    Suddenly, all of the air in Tom''s lungs was forced out as Gareth''s shoulder slammed into him as the guy charged into at full tilt from less than a meter away. Tom was sent flying off of the tip of the spear, rolling across the floor of the arena until he came to a stop. Struggling, Tom pushed himself back to his feet. The front of his paper armour was now stained red with his own blood.


    "Damm, dude, you are nuts," Gareth cheered as Tom staggered back to his feet. He seemed perfectly ok to let him get back to his feet as he nursed his bleeding shoulder.


    "Did you let me stab you? Because if you did, you are fucking mental," Gareth asked.


    "Am I?" Tom asked as he cast lesser mend, lesser heal, and lesser restoration in short succession. Restoring his body back to fighting form.


    Gareth''s jubilation cut out like a light.


    "Oh, you fat cheater," Gareth shouted as he readied his spear. The weapon was drooping now with his injured shoulder.


    "Come now. I''m a healer. Did you really expect me to fight you like a warrior?" Tom asked coyly. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "In my defence, you literally came in here and started fighting like a warrior," Gareth gripped.


    "Misdirection is a bitch. But don''t worry. Instead, let me show you something cool," Tom said as he held up his iron sword.


    Immediately, a blue glow surrounded the weapon as Tom started to pour his mana into the blade.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Acquired the Skill: [Mana Infuse Weapon] - Epic


    [Mana Infuse Weapon]: You imbue your weapon with mana, allowing your physical attacks to deal with magical damage. All mana infused into your weapon will be lost after striking your opponent. Current damage is equal to mana input +0.1% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Acquired the Skill: [Basic Swords] - Lesser


    [Basic Swords]: You have a basic understanding of swords, gaining 1% Sword Mastery per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom ignored the notification as he held up his weapon to his opponent.


    "This is the called [Infuse Mana Weapon] skill," Tom said as he swung his sword back and forth before assuming a combat stance. "This adds some magic damage to your attack, and it won''t be blocked by [Weather the Elements]."


    Gareth grimaced as he raised his shield and [charged] forwards with another stab. Tom wasn''t sure if Gareth knew what he was doing would eventually result in a skill upgrade or if he was just lucky.


    Tom leapt to the side as Gareth shot past him. Gareth stopped only a few feet away from him before turning around and shooting back towards him faster than before, blurring the onlookers'' eyes.


    But Tom''s high perception let him keep up. Just as Gareth was about to strike, a dozen light magic shields appeared in his path. Gareth slammed into them, losing the speed buff of [Charge] as he crashed into the wall of light shields.


    Tom didn''t miss his opportunity as his hasted form shot forwards his sword, aiming for his neck. Gareth stumbled backwards, but his shield shot up as Tom swung for his neck. The unenchanted wooden buckler nearly split in two from the impact as Tom dumped over six hundred mana into his blade.


    "Shit," Gareth swore as the shield fell off his arm.


    Tom cast a half a dozen mend spells on himself before he started channelling one of the strongest nature magic spells he knew of as he attacked.


    Gareth Swung his spear around to block another one of Tom''s attacks.


    "Ninety seconds," Tom muttered as the Melee began.


    Tom never gave Gareth a chance to put any distance between them; instead, he stayed practically on top of him. His hands were going numb from the repeated impacts between their weapons, his muscles were already aching from the competition, and if he were being honest, he would already be dead if he had not cast all those mend spells before he entered melee.


    The simple fact was that Gareth''s weapon mastery was a good deal higher than his. On top of that, his physical stats were far better than his. Worse, Tom wasn''t using his mana blade anymore; he was channelling everything towards his spell, so he was only doing paltry damage against the [Viking].


    Despite that, Tom surprised everyone with his ability to keep up with the back and forth.


    "I take back every mean thing I ever said about you." Gareth huffed.


    "When did you say anything mean about me?" Tom asked


    "Well, honestly, I was expecting you to be shit at this. How many healers do you know that fight like this? You a [Paladin] or something?" Gareth asked as he tried to stab Tom in the leg


    "[Augur]," Tom muttered as he deflected the blade. "I played as [wizard] at first, then as a [spellsword] for a long time. I figured this was a good way to earn some skill levels for my weapon skills. Seems I picked up a few things from in-game."


    ''Ten seconds''


    Gareth tried to stab him in the head, forcing Tom to parry the attack and redirect the spear into the ground.


    ''Five seconds''


    "Seriously? That''s kind of mental," Gareth gasped as Tom scoured a hit on his leg.


    ''Three seconds''


    "What about you? When did you get so good at fighting," Tom grunted as Gareth smacked him with the butt of his weapon.


    ''Two seconds''


    "Just something I enjoyed," Gareth grunted. "Don''t feel too bad about losing."


    ''One second''


    "Don''t worry, I won''t," Tom said.


    ''Zero''


    Tom lept backward, dropping his sword mid-movement as he held up both hands. Gareth stumbled mid-attack, looking confused and growing consternated, as Tom''s hands lit up.


    Faster than Tom thought, Gareth was capable of his spear shot towards his head. But it was still too late.


    "Solarbeam," Tom said.


    The blast of light magic from his hands enveloped Gareth''s body. The spell blew apart Gareth''s body, sending him flying backwards in pieces as he scoured a massive smouldering dive into the ground behind him. Gareth''s scorched remains were splattered against the arena floor. The only reason the spell hadn''t exited the arena and killed the onlookers was nothing happening inside was real.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Duel Completed


    Awoken Myths Guild Leader Thomas Bruner has defeated Awoken Myths Member Gareth Brown.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The [Arena of the Ancients] faded away, revealing Tom and Gareth standing in the middle of the Arena without a scratch on either of them.


    "Did you ¡­ did I die to a ?" Gareth almost seemed afraid to ask his question.


    "You just died to a Pokemon move!!" someone shouted out.


    "Yeah, pretty much," Tom admitted as he stashed away his sword and checked his notification.


    <[Basic Swords] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Basic Swords] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Basic Swords] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Mana Infused Weapon] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Mana Infused Weapon] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Mana Infused Weapon] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 29>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 30>


    <...>


    <[Bright Arts] has Reached Level 32>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Teacher] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Teacher] has Reached Level 11>


    <...>


    <[Teacher] has Reached Level 15>


    "So you could have just beaten me at any time?" Gareth asked.


    "Not with that spell. Solarbeam takes ninety seconds to cast, and I couldn''t cast anything else during that time."


    Gareth''s eyes grew wide. "Your sword stopped glowing. You mother fucker, you played me!! twice!!!"


    "A few times, actually. The time you impaled me, and I stabbed you back, the time I healed myself, the time you ran into a dozen light shields, the time I forced you into melee while I charged up Solobeam. Basically, you kept forgetting I had magic," Tom pointed out.


    "Okay, in my defence, magic has been a thing for about a week. You''ve got to teach me some of that stuff," Gareth said. "I mean, how did you know what I would do?"


    Tom shrugged. "This wasn''t my first PVP match. I knew everything you could do, and you knew next to nothing I could do. I knew roughly how you could react to anything I did, and the difference in level helped a lot, too."


    "What about that mana blade thing? Was that a skill or ¡­"


    "It''s a skill. You can unlock it if you have 100 points in the Will stat. If you aren''t already putting points into Will, don''t worry; you''ll unlock it at level 34."


    Gareth looked puzzled for a moment.


    "Should I?" Gareth began.


    "No," Tom cut in. "Your stat setup is fine. Putting points into WILL to unlock one skill is just stupid. If you really want the skill, just focus on power levelling. It''s better in the long run. Now, then, why don''t we go over it here, and I can upgrade [Pursuite Hunter] to something more useful? You''re going to need it for the raid."


    Gareth followed after the two of them, almost oblivious to the crowd of onlookers watching them as they passed. Then, it all went wrong when he walked right up to Alex.


    "I turn my back for two seconds. Two seconds and you bugger off and start duelling people?!" she asked.


    "Now I had a good reason," Tom protested.


    "You blew out a chunk of your soul. You better have a good reason for picking fights before I lightning-bolt your balls!" Alex said.


    "Oh, come on, Alex," Tom said, rolling his eyes. "We both know soul damage only cripples my system skills. I can still fight. Hell, most of the goblin horde has soul damage, and they''re not slowing down and ¡­. And I''m just digging myself into a deeper hole, aren''t I?" Tom asked.


    Alex gave him a Cheshire smile.


    "I''m so happy you can recognize that. Can you guess what happens next?"


    Tom prayed for something, anything, to happen at that moment. Maybe someone would have explosive diarrhea at that moment, a bunch of dead people for him to resurrect could show up, or maybe the wyvern could swing by and kill them all. Anything would be better than having Alex blast him with lighting until she felt better.


    Fortunately, Tom''s prayers were answered when Hanze came running out of the school.


    "TOM!! TOM!! We have an emergency!" he called out.


    "Yes!? What is it?" Tom asked, desperate for anything.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1000


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4000


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 18.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 24.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 67% Soul 43%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 3, Exorcist 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    <ul>


    <li>[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Library of Akashic Records] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Universal] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Wordsmith] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 43</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 17 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Soul Forge] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 PER per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 25/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Analyze Person] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Best of Both Worlds] - Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Water] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Earth] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Teacher] - Level 9 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Misalliance Crafting] - Level 3</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana-Infused Weapon] - Level 1 >> Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Basic Swords] - Level 1 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    Augur 07/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Augurs Eye] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Bright Arts] - Level 28 >> Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Life] - Level 25 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Prophetic Meditation] - Level 44</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Far Seeing] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 48</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Quest Giver] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    Tactician 05/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leadership ¢ò] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raider ¢ñ] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Logistics ¢ó] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    Exorcist 05/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Spell Trap] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Karmic Contract] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Shape Paper] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Armour] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Wings] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 79: Orc Attack

    Hanze nearly collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily before he spoke up


    "Joey and his team are pinned down by the orcs on warg back," he stated.


    "Oh god fucking dammit," Tom seethed.


    This shit was fucking endless.


    "You know what, this is fine. I can make this work. Someone round-up ninety-nine people for a raid. You''ve got five minutes before we go."


    "You''re seriously thinking of going?!" Alex asked. "What about your soul?"


    "Alex, I''m going. Help me or stay out of the way." Tom said


    Alex bit her lip, but she didn''t argue with him. She would strap him to bed later until he recovered, but she wouldn''t interfere in the moment.


    "Does anyone know where Joey is then?"


    "Fraser Highway and 189 St," someone said.


    Tom nodded as Major Adams rose to come with him, but Tom nipped that in the bud.


    "Not you. You''re staying here to keep the training going. The officers need to learn how to fight with the system, not just the guns. Only people who are going on the raid are coming with us."


    Tom used his far-sightedness to send his vision towards Joey''s position. His vision changed as if he were seeing the world from a drone as he flew through the air towards his target. It was about 2 kilometres out, and his vision could move at around 1 kilometre per second. It took him about twelve seconds to find Joey''s group.


    It didn''t look good. His high perception let him count the orcs quickly enough. They had 36 people, and their levels were in the 13-19 range, with the leader being at level 17 [Mercenary] and level 3 [Warmonger]. Even still, Tom could tell the orc''s actual level was 29. That orc was suffering from massive soul damage, artificially lowering his level. He would need to investigate that later.


    Tom cut the vision and turned to his assembling party. Gareth, Alex, that Lt. lady with Major Adams and another guy in turnout gear were front and center.


    "Levels 13 to 20. If you do not feel safe coming, don''t; everyone else, join my party now," Tom said as he sent out the invites.


    Soon, his party reached its maximum capacity of 99. Normally, he wouldn''t bring such a large party to fight so few enemies, but the orcs were more experienced in combat and were all riding wargs, so they had a 1.5 to 1 advantage in terms of numbers.


    "Alright, anyone who can fly gets in the air. Everyone else, get in one of the cars. We''re moving out now." Tom ordered as his paper wings emerged from his back, his [Paper Armour] quickly moving to cover his body.


    People looked at him, stunned. Tom rolled his eyes. Leaping into the air, he shouted.


    "Now people move, move, move!" he ordered as he hovered there.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have Acquired the Skill: [Flyte] - Rare


    [Flyte]: Your chances to avoid attacks or hitting targets while you are in the air increase by 3% per skill level. The bonus also applies to flying mounts or vehicles you are currently riding.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom felt his eyes bug out of his head. Apparently, there was flight skill now. Or flyte? Dyslexic system. It didn''t matter. He would combine it with [Paper Wings] later. Regardless, Tom ignored the notification and finally, everyone started moving towards the vehicle. Alex pulled a broom out of thin air and hopped on. Immediately, she floated a dozen feet into the air. Then she wobbled and nearly fell off the broom.


    "Holy crap, this is harder than it was in-game," Alex said as she floated back down as she stabilized herself.


    "I think it''s the fact that it''s real," Tom said as he tried to stop himself from wobbling.


    Tom waved his arms and legs like he was trying to swim through the air. It didn''t work, and he felt himself slip from the sky, crashing into a snow drift with a Womp.


    "Ow," Tom groaned before leaping back into the air. This time, he focused on the magic and not his balance.


    After all, the giant paper wings coming out of his back weren''t actually keeping him up, at least not with aerodynamics. The wings were magic with a specialized flight spell to take full advantage of his new appendages.


    With his high will stat and hours spent in the game, Tom should have near-perfect control over his flight. Despite that, the moment he was back in the air, he struggled to keep himself airborne. Flying should have been easy. Why did he keep needing to make micro-adjustments to stay in the air to stop himself from slamming into something?


    <[Flyte] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Paper Wings] has Reached Level 2>


    "I think the devs updated the flight system," Tom muttered.


    "I think they never bothered to put in the real one." Alex counted as she held onto her broom for dear life.


    "Does it really matter?" Tom asked as cars started moving out of the parking lot. "We can learn in flight."


    <[Flyte] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Paper Wings] has Reached Level 3>


    Tom''s wings flapped as he started moving forward, his paper-white form rising into the winter air with Alex flying right behind him.


    <[Flyte] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Paper Wings] has Reached Level 4>


    Then, he caught a down draft and nearly crashed into someone''s pool. He managed to turn his crash landing into a bad landing, belly-flopping onto the diving board.


    "Jesus," Tom swore as he clutched the diving board, making sure he didn''t fall into the swimming pool.


    Pushing magic into his wings again, he launched himself back into the air.


    "How do birds make this look so easy!!" Tom swore.


    "For them, it''s biology. For us, it''s magic!!" Alex said as she landed on the roof before taking off again.


    "Did you get a level in [Witch]?" Tom asked, trying to be conversational as he did his best to remain airborne.


    <[Flyte] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Paper Wings] has Reached Level 5>


    "Just the one," Alex said as she adjusted how she sat on her broom. "I''m going to upgrade [Wizard] to [Arcanist] with my next level. Or maybe I''ll grab [Nobel] to help deal with all this bureaucracy."


    <[Flyte] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Paper Wings] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Paper Wings] has Reached Level 7>


    "Did you see the new flight? Sorry, flyte skill?" Tom asked as his flying stabilized.


    "Yeah, something to add to the list." Alex joked as they spread over the buildings. The snowy landscape quickly started to speed past them as they moved.


    The cars were making almost as good time as they were, with no one currently on the road. For the first time, it really struck Tom just how empty his hometown was. Smoke stacks decorated the landscape. Tom recognized most of them as settlements they had helped establish, but so much of it was just empty.


    His musings were interrupted when they came up on Joey''s party. The orcs were slaughtering them.


    They arrived just in time to see Joey shooting one of the lower-levelled orcs in the head with his rifle. The hunting party had been reduced to only six or seven people. Everyone else was already dead.


    Tom pulled a dozen magic scrolls, each carrying an explosive magical payload, such as a fireball, Thunder Bomb, Water Bomb, etc.


    "Are you sure you still want to use those?" Alex asked. "Your aims are not all that good,"


    "Well, you''re not wrong," Tom admitted. "But I don''t really have a choice. My bloodline is kind of banking on the whole Paper Angel build. I just need to power-level my magic skills."


    "But you got [Shape Paper] Right?" Alex asked.


    "Yeah? I got it to improve my armour, so what?" Tom asked, confused.


    "Magic Kamikaze Paper Airplanes," Alex suggested.


    For a second, Tom just stared at her dumbly.


    "Oh my god, that''s genius," he muttered.


    Tom activated [Shape Paper] instantly. With a wave of his hand, the sheets of paper began to fold and twist, transforming the ungainly sheets of paper into sleek suicide bombers.


    Within moments, a dozen paper airplanes circled in the air around Tom, their wings perfectly angled and ready for flight.


    <[Misalliance Crafting] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Misalliance Crafting] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Misalliance Crafting] has Reached Level 6>Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    <[Shape Paper] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Shape Paper] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Shape Paper] has Reached Level 13>


    <Water Magic Level 16>


    <Earth Magic Level 16>


    "You must feel really stupid that you didn''t figure that one out on your own, huh?" Alex jibed.


    "I would have figured it out eventually." Tom protested.


    "Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Alex said with a wink.


    "Ha ha," Tom rolled his eyes at her as he sent his new plane''s dive bombing towards the orcs. His new planes were easy to maneuver and zipped and darted through the air faster than he could have hoped for. The orcs didn''t even notice them until they bumped into them.


    BOOM


    The Orcs screamed, and the wargs whelped in pain as they were sent flying into the air. Their formation was disrupted as they were scattered.


    "Okay, now I''m feeling very stupid for not figuring this out before," Tom muttered as he sent his second wave of eight planes forward.


    Tom noted that he could currently only control six airplanes, and the extra two kind of just went with the wind, exploding harmlessly off to the side.


    "Well, that''s what you have me for," Alex said smugly.


    Then Alex followed up as overcharged lighting bolts arced from her hand, hitting the orcs with pinpoint accuracy and enough amps to kill on contact.


    "Well, this might turn out easier than I had feared," Tom muttered.


    Alex looked at him in horror.


    "Don''t say that you''ll jinx it," Alex almost screamed.


    "Oh, come on, Alex. That''s just a superstir¡ª" Tom''s following words were cut off as he dodged an arrow¡ªor he thought he had dodged it. The arrow missed his body but struck his wing. Instantly, Tom felt the magic holding him become distorted, and he was sent into a tailspin.


    "Shit!!" Tom swore as he tried to correct his flight.


    Some part of his brain pointed out that targeting your opponent''s wings wasn''t a viable tactic in the game. He had checked. While they took damage, he hadn''t managed to cripple their in-game flight by using their wings; apparently, that had changed¡ªstupid real-world physics.


    "Feather Fall," he said, activating the spell scroll mid-fall. It wouldn''t help his fall, but he wouldn''t take any damage when he hit the ground.


    His next thoughts were interrupted when he crashed into the ground with a thump and landed in a snow drift. He was uninjured, but now he was surrounded by orcs.


    Tom pulled out his iron sword as he tried to fix his wings.


    The orcs didn''t give him more than a second to breathe as they charged at him.


    "Bull Strength, Feline Grace, Indomitability, Sensor Boost, Draconic Power, Magic Ward: Physical, Perfect Warrior: Swordmaster, Haste," Tom chanted, causing each of the buff scrolls in his armour to trigger and burst into ash.


    Tom felt his body shudder as his physical stats jumped up a full 25 points, and his speed doubled. Time seemed to slow as his own perception sped up as the Haste spell took effect, giving Tom a perfect view of the oncoming sword, the cream metal blade slicing through the air at an almost glacial pace.


    Taking in the weapon''s path, he realized that there was no chance of evading the attack, even in his heightened state. Gritting his teeth at the pain to come, he threw up his arm to intercept the blade, the sound of metal hitting paper drawing itself out into one long, crackling sound as it impacted his armour with bone-cracking force. The blade cut through his armour and left a light cut into his arm but failed to even cut through his muscle. Tom considered that a win. Despite that, he really needed to spend some time improving his [Misalliance Crafting] skill so his armour wasn''t as crap.


    Twisting his body to face the attacker, he thrust out his iron sword, turning just in time to guide its length deep into the armpit of the snarling orc. Wrenching the sword viciously within the orc''s flesh, he yanked the blade free, his legs already working to carry him past the guy, who had yet to even register his failed attack, let alone all the blood pouring out of him.


    As quickly as it had begun, Tom''s Haste''s spell ended, and with it, his ability to pull off fancy moves like that one, back to hitting the other guy with the pointy end.


    "Urk!" a pained gasp echoed out from behind Tom, and the sound of a body hitting the snow echoed outwards.


    "Git gud scrub," Tom whispered quietly to the fallen as he healed his arm.


    Tom shot forward, bringing his sword down on the next orc. His arms reverberated as the orc blocked his attack, but that didn''t stop him from kicking the orc in the groin.


    The orc crumpled, but Tom was already having to back up as two Wargs attacked him in unison.


    "Earth Wave," Tom chanted. Instantly, the ground under their feet rose up like a wave, sending the three orcs rolling backward.


    Then, the others arrived.


    "Attack!" Gareth called out as the other residents of Hopkins charged onto the battlefield.


    Tom shot off another six exploding paper airplanes, softening up the orcs before his people slammed into their ranks. Gareth slammed into the side of one of the wargs, his spear skewering the canine with ease.


    Taking a moment, Tom properly analyzed his wings, or more accurately, the akashic record of the [Wings of Paper] skill, and grimaced. His repair speed was based on his crafting skills, which were almost non-existent at the moment. He would have to dismiss and then recreate the wing with new paper if he wanted to repair them at any reasonable speed.


    Pulling his wings back into his inventory, he marched forwards to join Gareth.


    "Hey, what''s the matter? Did your flight not have peanuts?" Gareth asked as he finished his warg.


    "Apparently, my wings are not made for rough use," Tom grunted as he slashed at one of the wargs with his mana blade.


    The person next to Gareth wasn''t so lucky as he was impaled on the tip of an orc''s sword.


    Tom launched dozens of paper airplanes towards the orcs. These weren''t the explosive planes he had already used but debuffs and curses. Slowing and weakening the orcs and wargs as the residents of Hokins clashed. The sound of gunfire echoed out as Orcs were sent sprawling to the ground. The wargs, unfortunately, were much more resistant to the gunfire, only being injured but not dying outright.


    The humans immediately had the upper hand, partially due to the debuffs and partially due to the element of surprise.


    Tom immediately took a step back from direct combat and switched to healing. He moved over to someone who had had their leg crushed by an orc. Tom tossed out a water blade, leaving a deep cut on the orc''s side. Before the spluttering orc could recover, Tom slammed his mana blade into its side, cutting into the orc''s stomach. Tom twisted and pulled his sword out, disemboguing the orc in one fluid motion.


    <[Basic Swords] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Paper Armour] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Paper Armour] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Paper Armour] has Reached Level 9>


    "Who said video games don''t teach you life skills?" Tom chuckled before he applied a cocktail of healing magic to the man''s leg.


    The look of agony on his face faded as Tom pulled him towards the back of the group, and his magic went to work to repair the man''s leg.


    "Thank you," the man cried out as his leg snapped back into position.


    Tom didn''t even acknowledge the thanks before he dove back into the fight.


    Unfortunately, after the initial surprise, the orcs regained their footing as the fight dragged on and clashed with the residents of Hopkins. It wasn''t a question of stats; the Orcs were currently weaker with the debuffs, but they all outshone the amateurs of Hopkins.


    Tom watched as the orc pushed his own people backwards despite their superior numbers as he planned his counterattack.


    "Mass Mend, Mass Haste," Tom said, activating two of his more powerful spell scrolls. Unfortunately, these scrolls didn''t contain the power of the spells; they only contained the magical formation. He was supplying the mana himself.


    The effect was immediate. Everything around the Hopkins group seemed to slow down as their injuries started to knit themselves back together. Some of the people were stunned. Gareth didn''t even stop to acknowledge the difference.


    "ATTACK NOW, YOU FOOLS," Tom ordered as his mana started dropping rapidly.


    Everyone lept at the order, slashing, stabbing, and shooting the orcs. Blood seemed to explode out of the bodies of their enemies as they cut them down.


    Then Tom dropped his spells and grimaced. The mana drain was around a thousand per second for those two spells, and he had already burned three thousand of his five thousand wide mana pool for that one channelling.


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 27>


    The orc lines collapsed as most of the orcs closer to the front lines dropped dead.


    "Alright, now we just need to push through and ---" Gareth''s words were cut off by the lead Orcs'' words.


    "[Parlay]!!" The massive orc called out.


    Immediately, Tom felt the skill wrap around his body, inhibiting his attacks. Shit, he had to do something, or they were dead.


    "Everybody stop!!" Tom shouted, "Nobody move, nobody attack anything!!"


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1000


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4000


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 18.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 24.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 67% Soul 43%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 3, Exorcist 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    <ul>


    <li>[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Library of Akashic Records] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Universal] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Wordsmith] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 43</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Soul Forge] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 PER per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 25/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Analyze Person] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Best of Both Worlds] - Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Water] - Level 15 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Earth] - Level 15 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Teacher] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Misalliance Crafting] - Level 3 >> Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana-Infused Weapon] -Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Basic Swords] - Level 14 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Flyte] - Level 1 >> Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    Augur 07/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Augurs Eye] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Bright Arts] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Life] - Level 26 >> Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Prophetic Meditation] - Level 44</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Far Seeing] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 48</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Quest Giver] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    Tactician 05/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leadership ¢ò] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raider ¢ñ] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Logistics ¢ó] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    Exorcist 05/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Spell Trap] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Karmic Contract] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Shape Paper] - Level 10 >> Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Armour] - Level 1 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Wings] - Level 1 >> Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 80: Negotiation

    "Everybody stop!!" Tom screamed, yanking one guy off his feet before he could attack a nearby orc.


    It was close, too close. Tom looked around, finding that nobody had done anything stupid yet. He let out a sign as the notification popped up.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are under the effects of [Parlay]


    [Parlay] - Ancient: When activated, all sentient forces are forced into a temporary armistice. If one side attacks another during this time, the attacking side will receive a 30% debuff to all stats, and combat will resume.


    All people caught in [Parlay] may not recover their resources.


    Parlay will allow the leaders of multiple armies to meet and discuss. This ability may be used to negotiate a surrender, offer terms, or even just have a chat. Should negotiations break down, both sides will return to their forces before battle resumes.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom shuddered as he considered how utterly fucked they would have been if they had attacked the orc. While [Parlay] was supposed to be used for peaceful negotiations, it was just as often used as a mass debuff ability. At a 30% loss in stats, they would have suffered a party wipe, and from the disappointed look on the orc''s faces, they knew it as well.


    Tom relaxed a little as he caught sight of the illusionary doves circling the two groups overhead. He didn''t know exactly why, but for some reason, the system decided that anything related to peace must have doves circling overhead, so now they had a bunch of illusionary doves. It was weird, but it did look nice.


    "No one attacks anything unless the doves disappear," Tom said as he walked up towards the orcs. The massive orc leader moved up to meet him. His body was peppered with Lichtenberg figure scars, evidence that Alex had been peppering him while Tom had been on the ground. The guy had a massive bow in his hands and two short swords at his belt.


    "I greet you, Lord of my enemy," the enemy orc commander said in accented English. May I know the foe I faced today?"


    Tom wasn''t sure what he was expecting; the game had always been in English. But it still felt weird.


    "I am Thomas Bruner, Guild Leader of Awoken Myths, Beta-tester, and First," Tom said, reciting his titles as was customary in Noralon.


    "I am Rog Bone Splitter of Clan Bone Splitter, Mercenary Captain of the Bone Splitter Clan, Faithful of Hilda, Outworlder and First," Rog proclaimed in an accent that Tom could only call somewhere between Russian and German.


    Tom also double-checked the orc''s status with [Thirst for Knowledge].


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Rog Bone Splitter


    Title: Bone Splitter clan, Mercenary Captain of the Bone Splitter Clan, Faithful of Hilda God of Justice, Outworlder, First


    Race: Orc


    Type: Humanoid / Goblinoid


    Languages: Orcish, Gobish, English


    Levels: 20 (Crippled)


    Bloodline: None


    Classes: Mercenary 20 / Warmonger 9


    Personal Perks: Tireless, Darkvision,


    Mercenary Skills: Dragoon, Chivalry, Eternal Vigil, Jackpot, Evasion, Legendary Strength, Golden Opportunity, Deadly Aim, Solid Contract, Infused Powershot, Parlay


    Warmonger Skills: Warband Leader, War Map, Supply Chain, Aura of Intimidation


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom looked around, examining the last ten orcs and the few remaining wargs. Yep, all the ones still living were level 19, with their actual levels being in the upper 30s, which means they were basically pushing level 40. They would already be dead if not for their crippled souls. They could still beat them. It would be costly.


    Worse, these guys could also see Tom''s status as he hadn''t bought anything to block it. Even if he hadn''t been knocked out of the air, he would still have lost the ¡­. Wait a minute.


    "Did you shoot me out of the sky, Captain?!" Tom asked suddenly.


    "Ha, yes, my lord, I thought you would crack your skull on your way down. But you impressed me."


    "I always aim to impress," Tom said sarcastically. "So what are we parlaying for?"


    Rog pulled himself up to his full seven-foot height.


    "We have lost this encounter, my lord, " Rog said with mock sadness.


    Tom snorted. They both knew what was happening. Rog had lost this fight, true, but if they attacked him during [Parlay], Rog would crush him. And even if they didn''t win this fight, they would most likely be able to get out of it without further consequences. This was just one of the many benefits of [Parlay].


    "As the losers, I would like to discuss our surrender and retreat from this unfortunate encounter as dictated by the forms of battle."


    "Unfortunate?!" Joey shouted in outrage, spittle flying from his lips. "These¡­ people, if you can call them that, had killed my people, and now you''re standing here speaking about the forms of battle?"


    Tom didn¡¯t know when, but Joey had walked up next to him, his rifle in hand. Joey was shaking. His rifle vibrated in his grasp. He took a step forward, and Tom pushed him back, shaking his head in what he thought was a clear indication that he should step back. But then Rog had to open his mouth.


    ¡°We are only hired soldiers,¡± Rog said sternly. He clearly liked how Joey looked, as if he was about to lose it. ¡°We have also surrendered, and according to Lady Hilda''s forms of battle require you to-¡±


    ¡°Fuck your rules!¡± Joey screamed.


    "Enough!! Stand down, Joey," Tom ordered, placing a hand on the man''s shoulder.


    "Bullshit," Joey spat, shaking him off as he started stalking towards Rog.


    Tom didn''t even hesitate; he had never stashed his iron sword, and Joey was already at death''s door. The man didn''t even have time to react as Tom smoothly moved behind him, grabbed his head and slit his throat all in one fluid motion.


    "Gah," Joey gurgled. He stared up at him in utter shock as his strength left him, and he hit the ground.


    Joey collapsed between Rog and Tom, his blood staining the snow red.


    "I''m sorry for the display, Captain," Tom said coldly. However, if you continue to goad my men into attacking you, I will be forced to demand further compensation."


    "Understandable, my lord," Rog said with new respect, perhaps even caution in his eyes.


    The rest of Tom''s people had a completely different reaction. Lt. Thorn looked guarded, and Gareth''s eyes widened in fear. Even Rog''s own Orcs seemed ill at ease after witnessing Tom''s execution. Only Alex looked relieved. Unlike the noobs, she actually knew what would have happened if Joey had broken the [Parlay]. Tom could tell he was going to have problems when he got back to Hopkins.


    But those were tomorrow''s problems. He had today problems.


    ¡°Allow me to apologize for my behaviour. On behalf of the Bone Splitter Clan, I formally absolve any of the forces here today from blood debts. Further, I extend to you the token of my clan. It entitles you to one audience with our leaders. While we might have been enemies today, tomorrow is a mystery, and with what''s coming, you may need all of the friends you can get."


    With that ominous pronouncement, the Orc reached into a small pouch at his waist. Tom didn''t make any moves to stop Rog as he pulled out and tossed a token to him. Tom caught it with a deft movement. The token was a white bone disk with a creature Tom recognized as a Bone --- carved on one side and a battle axe on the other.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Scrimshaw Bone Token of the Bonesplitter ClanSupport creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Quality: Above Average


    Durability: 32/32


    This token grants the owner one meeting with the Chief of the Bone Splitter Clan. Display this token to any member of the clan, and they will take you safely to the Bonesplitter clan leader.


    The protection will not extend further than that.


    It has been enchanted with a magical signature that cannot be replicated.


    Would you like to soul bind this item Y/N?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This wasn''t compensation. It was an advertisement. Rog wanted Tom to hire them, maybe not for this fight, but in the future. Unfortunately, Hopkins didn''t really have anything of value at the moment. Sure, the rooms were impressive, but that was potential, not currency.


    "I accept your token of apology in the same vein in which it is given. Now, let''s move on to the ransoms, shall we, Captain?" Tom said.


    "Is that truly necessary, my lord?" Rog asked. After all, in the spirit of our new age, should we not let bygones be bygones?"


    "Unfortunately, we can not do that, as you have said yourself, according to the war Goddess Lady Hilda. The forms of battle require you to pay a life debt to the victor in exchange for your life," Tom stated, smiling back at him.


    Rog, too, was smiling, but probably for a different reason.


    They were finally getting back into familiar territory. Now, it was all about negotiating. Tom had no doubt that this was not the first time Rog had been on the losing side of a battle and needed to use words, not blades, to ensure his survival. Hell, it wasn''t even Tom''s first time at the negotiation table.


    "Of course, my lord, as is Lady Hilda''s will," Rog said with false piety as he straightened. ¡°We will also pay the Arms Price to be allowed to leave with our arms and armour and relinquish the possessions of our dead. If you agree to assist us, we will even be willing to pay the death price as well.¡±


    Gareth had walked up during the conversation. He didn''t pick a fight despite that he held his spear at the ready.


    ¡°Life price?¡± Gareth asked.


    "Lady Hilda is the Goddess of Fire, War, Alcohol, Truth, and Justice. As such, she is also the god in charge of dictating the terms of war. One of those terms is that If a person is captured or surrenders in war, a price can be paid for each soldier to be allowed to leave the field, which is called a life price. An Arms Price is for taking their equipment with them, and a death price is paid when you want your enemy to resurrect you." Alex explained.


    "Oh," Gareth said, frowning.


    "Will standard work?" Rog asked.


    "Yes, ten cores of the equivalent level to the person. However, I will demand that you tell us everything you know about the goblins and why they were here.¡±


    Gareth looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn''t say anything.


    "Will you be buying the information with the life price?" Rog asked


    "Yes," Tom confirmed. "Would you like that in a Contract?"


    "Preferably," Rog said.


    From there, the discussion devolved into the minutia of the [Contract]. Rogs [Contract] was more based on the wording, while Toms was based on the spirit. It didn''t leave either of them with much wiggle room to try and screw over the other without getting hit with the backlash. Alex didn''t join in on his haggling. Instead, she just kept her staff ready as she watched the orcs with a wary eye.


    The first thing both of them did was extend the parlay for the next hour. Neither side wanted to agree to anything, only to be immediately shafted by the other. Tom also got them to agree to another meeting with their chief tomorrow. Rog ended up paying 110 Uncommon rarity cores for the life price and 300 common rarity cores for the arms price. The standard rate was ten cores of the user''s same level. It was enough to be painful but not enough to ruin a person.


    Despite his generosity, Rog did not immediately pay the death price. Instead, they would be paid tomorrow at the meeting when Tom would resurrect the fallen. Rog also hinted that they might have other people who died and would be willing to pay additional death prices to bring them back in monster cores, which was what they needed the most right now.


    Afterwards, Tom turned to what he really needed: information.


    "Now, what can you tell me about the goblins to the west?" Tom asked.


    "They are the Blood Teeth Clan. They recently contacted my clan. They said they had a way to bring us all to a new world and wanted to hire us and our warg riders. To help pave the way forward. My clan, the Bone Splitter, had been recently pushed out of our ancestral territory by the Tarpit Orc Clan, so we used this as an opportunity to migrate to a new hunting ground. Our most recent contract had us coming out here to support the Blood Teeth Clan." Rog explained.


    "Should I be expecting this to be a regular thing?" Tom asked.


    "No," Rog stated. Our contract with The Blood Teeth Clan is over. We have fulfilled the contract and will be moving on from this area. Your people attacked us."


    "Does the Blood Teeth clan know we''re here?" Tom asked.


    "If they do, they haven''t told us," Rog stated.


    Tom looked over to Alex. She gave him a shrug. They hadn''t gotten around to putting up proper wards to protect Hopkins. There had always been something more important to deal with. Now, that would have to be a priority.


    "What''s up with all of the soul crippling?" Tom asked. "You have it. I''ve heard at least two other Blood Teeth also have it. I''m wondering if there''s a pattern."


    Rog smiled. "It''s quite simple. The portal the Blood Teeth created to come to this world only allows those under level 10 to come here. So those of us at a higher level needed to cripple ourselves to get here."


    "The portal created with a bloodstone?" Tom asked.


    "Powered by the bloodstone. Not created." Rog said.


    "A different mechanism for the portal. interesting."


    "Why is he telling us this?" Gareth asked.


    "Because this one wants to hire us," Rog said, gesturing to Tom.


    "True," Tom said. Those goblins are going to be a problem. Ideally, we need to shut the portal down. But at this point, I think simply eliminating the bloodstone should be enough.


    "Why are you telling these guys our plans then?" Gareth asked.


    Tom rolled his eyes.


    "Do you plan to inform the goblins of us?" Tom asked pointedly.


    "No." the orc said.


    "And we believe them?" Gareth asked.


    "They''re the faithful of Hilda, the god of war, truth and justice," Tom said. "Lying to us would insult their goddess, and being in her good graces is more important than screwing us over."


    Rog smiled, his massive tusks on full display. "You know, human, I think I''m starting to like you."


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Alexandra Ling


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Solalfar


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Unlife


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Sun Elf


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 840


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1470


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2760


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 12.6 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 20.6 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 29.1 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Vitality


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Corpseslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Wizard 20, Witch 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 138


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 207


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 105


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 126


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 126 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 189 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 105


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 126


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 INT +4 WILL +3 EGO +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 CHA


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Spector] - Epic: This bloodline endows its bearer with an ethereal connection to the spirit world, blending the boundary between life and death. Those who possess this bloodline gain ghostly abilities, allowing them to move unseen and untouched through the physical realm.


    <ul>


    <li>[Haunting Presence] - Level 21 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ethereal Form] - Level 11 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Invisibility] - Level 19 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Steal Life] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Undying Focus] - Level 25 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 15/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Solar Metabolism] - Level 30 >> Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Stable Chanting] - Level 23 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 17 >> Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 15 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana Supersession (System)] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Flyte] - Level 1 >> Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    Wizard 11/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Arcane Awakening] - Level 30 >> Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Arcane Shell] - Level 26 >> Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Charged Attack ¢ñ] - Level 15 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Multi-Cast ¢ñ] - Level 15 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Synchronized Chanting] - Level 24 </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Grimoire] - Level 39 >> Level 40</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana Sight] - Level 24 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana Manipulation] - Level 19 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Arcane Insight] - Level 4 >> Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Persistent Casting] - Level 3 </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Meta-Magic] - Level 1 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    Witch 01/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Flying Broomstick] - Level 1 >> Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 81: War Council

    Tom was annoyed¡ªhe didn''t even get a level from his encounter with the orcs¡ªbut he was satisfied with the payoff in the form of cores and, more importantly, skill levels.


    <[Library of Akashic Records] has reached Level 22>


    <[Universal] has reached Level 21>


    <[Universal] has reached Level 22>


    <...>


    <[Universal] has reached Level 26>


    <[Wordsmith] has reached Level 28>


    <[Wordsmith] has reached Level 29>


    <[Wordsmith] has reached Level 30>


    <[Thirst for Knowledge] has reached Level 19>


    <[Analyze Person] has reached Level 26>


    <[Analyze Person] has reached Level 27>


    <[Analyze Person] has reached Level 28>


    <[Nascent Guild Leader] has reached Level 23>


    <[Nascent Guild Leader] has reached Level 24>


    <...>


    <[Nascent Guild Leader] has reached Level 26>


    <[Leadership ¢ò] has reached Level 25>


    <[Leadership ¢ò] has reached Level 26>


    <[Leadership ¢ò] has reached Level 27>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has reached Level 22>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has reached Level 23>


    <...>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has reached Level 26>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has reached Level 22>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has reached Level 23>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has reached Level 24>


    <[Logistics ¢ó] has reached Level 20>


    <[Logistics ¢ó] has reached Level 21>


    <[Karmic Contract] has reached Level 5>


    <[Karmic Contract] has reached Level 6>


    <...>


    <[Karmic Contract] has reached Level 10>


    They had returned home, and Tom resurrected everybody and then called a Council meeting, much to Joey''s annoyance. Luke, Sam, Gareth, Travis, Issac, Duncan, Eve, Major Adams, Sgt. Thorn, Will, Joey, Hanze, and Abaddon were all in what now felt like a very tiny room. Penny and Skippy were absent.


    "I think we have too many characters," Tom muttered. "If I didn''t have a memory skill, I would have forgotten half your names by now."


    "Really?! You killed me, and you''re making jokes?" Joey asked, enraged.


    "Tom," Major Adams cut in, "this is serious."


    "Not really." Tom said, "In case you haven''t noticed, he''s not dead."


    "Tom, can you please be serious," Sam asked.


    "I''m sorry. Before we get any further with this, can someone tell me what is going on and why this meeting was so important?" Penny asked.


    "We fought orcs. Their leader used [Parlay]. Joey nearly attacked him, and I killed him," Tom said.


    "In other words, Joeys is a dumbass," Abaddon said.


    Tom silently agreed, though he didn''t say anything.


    "Oh," Duncan said. "I get it."


    "What?" Hanze asked.


    "Joey was about to do something incredibly stupid," Duncan said.


    "What?!" Joey screeched.


    "Okay, now I need an explanation," Luke said. I feel like we''re missing something."


    "[Parlay] is a skill that pauses the battle and allows two armies to negotiate. However, if one side tries to use the [Parlay] to attack the other, their entire army receives a 30% debuff to their base stats," Tom explained.


    "Lots of people try and time [Parlay] so that their enemies are attacking mid-activation. If the orcs had pulled off that maneuver, we would have all been dead." Alex added. "While Joey might not like it, he''s at least here to bitch about it. If Tom dies, we''re all screwed."


    "Hence Joey is a dumbass," Abaddon said. "Do I need to be here?"


    "Yes, this meeting isn''t about Joey''s butt hurt --"


    "Excuse me," Joey cut in. "I''m sorry, but nowhere in there was an apology."


    "For what?" Tom asked.


    "For killing me?!" Joey said.


    "Where''s my apology for disobeying orders in a combat setting? For nearly getting us all killed? For forcing me to spend a boatload of mana and manpower to bring you back to life? Hell, what the fuck were you even angry about in the first place?" Tom asked as he sat down at the table.


    "In case you haven''t noticed, people died," Joey shouted back.


    "So what?" Tom asked.


    "So what?!" Joey asked. "That''s all you have to say?!"


    "They''re all back. Seriously, when is this thing going to get through your heads? Why does anyone care If they die? I''ve been bringing people back since day one. When we have a situation where we can''t bring someone back, then you can bitch and moan about it. Until then, suck it up, buttercup."


    "Tom, I don''t think that''s a healthy attitude to have¡ª" Major Adams began, but Tom cut him off.


    "Hey, for everyone who has died since the system started, please raise your hand."


    For a long, awkward moment, nobody said anything except for Abaddon, who raised his hand.


    "If you don''t raise your hands, I''m calling you out by name."


    Sheepishly, Major Adams, Will, Sam, Gareth, and Travis all raised their hands. Issac raised two hands. Joey specifically did not raise his hand.


    "Alright, now everyone who had someone they know die on them, raise your hands," Tom said.


    Everyone raised their hands this time, including Tom.


    "Great, so as we established, death is an illusion. I am a god, and for the last time, suck it up, buttercups. Can we please move on to the more important topic," Tom said, exasperated.


    It wasn''t the perfect segway into what he wanted to talk about, but it seemed to have gotten them to where he wanted them to be, except for Joey.


    "Fuck this. If you want to play dictator, you can count me out. I quit." Joey said, turning to leave.


    "The guild or just the council?" Tom asked.


    "Fuck off," Joey screamed as he exited.


    "Well, that was a bit disturbing," Tom muttered as he turned back to the group.


    He didn''t want to lose Joey. As much of an ass as the guy was, he had been doing a decent job leading the hunters, and he didn''t have a better choice at the moment¡ªnot until the rest of the original Awoken Myths guild showed up. None of that mattered, however, as he got the notification that Joey had left the Awoken Myths guild. He would dump the hunters on Sam until either Titus or Ruby showed up. He started to play with a piece of paper with [Shape Paper] as he tried not to lash out at the loss of someone as yet more problems were added to his plate.


    "Anyway, onto the more important topic: we''re at war, and we''re physically going to war on Sunday. Questions?" Tom asked.


    The room burst into utter pandemonium as everyone tried to talk over each other.


    "Ok, everyone, stop talking!!" Tom ordered as the paper tiger he had been manipulating bounced up and down anxiously like a cartoon character.


    Everyone quieted down after a moment. A long moment.


    "Thank you. The first rule is if you want to speak, raise your hand."


    Hanze''s hand shot up into the air.


    "Hanze, you go first," Tom said.


    "Who are we at war with and why?" He asked.


    "We are at war with the goblins, duh. The reason being is they have a gate off world, and they are trying to bring their entire population here. And even if the goblins weren''t murdering and raping the human population, which they are, their method of travel means they are going to have to murder a lot of people just to bring everyone to this side of the portal. So we need to shut that shit down before we are literally drowning in goblins." Alex said


    Major Adams raised his hand next.


    "Major go," Tom said.


    "What are the mission objectives?" the Major asked.


    "I thought I just answered that," Tom said.


    "No, you''ve told me what you want to do. We already attacked the goblins, and we lost big time. Unless we have a specific method to stop these goblins, this plan isn''t going to work."


    "Oh, okay. Then, yeah, the primary objective is to steal or destroy the bloodstone. Without that, they can''t power the gate, and it takes the goblins'' biggest weapon off the board," Tom stated.


    "What about intelligence, logistics, conops--"


    Tom could tell the Major was about to go on a full-on rant. So he cut him off.


    "Congratulations, Major. You are now in charge of this military action. We will delve into the specifics as soon as everyone is done asking stupendous questions. Duncan next!!"


    "How many cores did we get today? If we''re doing this, I want to go in with something that isn''t an inferior rarity."


    "110 Uncommon, 300 common. I have no idea what Joey and Sam''s people brought in. Which reminds me: we need someone to replace Joey. Can someone call his second in command up here?" Tom asked. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "He doesn''t have one," Will admitted.


    "Lovely," Tom muttered.


    "We currently have 24 common cores, 16 lesser, and 4 Inferior. This doesn''t include the cores you received from the orcs." Hanz stated.


    "What the hell, guys?! I said we needed cores." Duncan asked, exasperated.


    "We needed more food," Will countered. "Remember, it''s not just us. The other settlements that have been set up will also need to be fed."


    "Then they can hunt their own damn food. It''s not that hard." Duncan pointed out.


    "Have you ever tried to hunt for your food?" Will asked. "My husband hunts recreationally, and let me tell you. It''s not a cakewalk. Tracking the animals down is its own task. Then you need to kill them, which is a lot harder than it used to be. Then you need to dress your kill and transport it back to your home."


    "All the more reason for cores. If I have more cores, I can start equipping people with magical gear, and then you can kill more monsters, get more food, and have more cores. Everybody wins," Duncan shot back.


    "Alright, enough, we''re getting off-topic," Tom cut in. Duncan, how hard would it be to weaponize a couple of cores? Understand, I''m hoping to use a lot of them to buy mercenaries."


    "It''s fine. I did plenty of crafting in Noralon, and I remember how to make core bombs," Duncan said.


    "What mercenaries?" Luke asked.


    Tom let out a long breath. This was not going to be popular.


    "Right now, I''m looking to recruit the guys that attacked us, Starkiller and the orcs," Tom said.


    "You have got to be shitting me" Abaddon threw up his hands in disgust.


    "You can''t mean those assholes who attacked us," Luke shouted.


    "Those orcs attacked our hunting parties," Will tried to cut in.


    "Stop!!" Tom silenced everyone at once. "One at a time, Abaddon, go."


    "The last time that fucker was in the party, he screwed us over for the Scylla raid boss for 500$. I don''t trust him." Abaddon stated.


    "Fair enough. Unfortunately, one of the goblin leaders is an albino drow archer with ice magic. Otherwise known as Seraphel. That drow is a pretty hard counter for you, and I need you to keep the [Blood Mage] occupied. So I need someone to keep that drow occupied." Tom stated.


    "We could do it." Luke offered as he stood up.


    "No, you couldn''t," Travis cut in. "Seraphel had us on the ropes when we had almost five levels on him, and it was five on one. And he wasn''t going all out."


    Luke''s face flushed with embarrassment as he sat back down.


    "It''s too bad the rest of the guild is a week out; otherwise, this would be easy." Tom groaned.


    "And you think this Starkiller can keep him busy?" Sam asked.


    "His class is one of the most unkillable, unstoppable top-tier legendary classes in the game; he''s in the top ten of all PVP players in Noralon, and most importantly, he''s disposable," Tom stated.


    "And what if he backstabs us again?" Abaddon asked.


    "We kill him!" Alex stated.


    "Why would he betray us if there''s no one else to pay him? Starkiller is a mercenary. He should know by now that we''re the only settlement in the area that he''ll have any business with. Unless he''s planning on leaving, he won''t risk it," Tom stated.


    "What about those guys who attacked us?" Luke asked. "They are alternative sources of income."


    "They''re called the Apocalypse Force," Duncan said.


    Everyone looked at him.


    "What? You guys kept calling them the guys who attacked us. It was getting repetitive."


    "Yeah, but how do you know what they are called?" Luke asked.


    "Because when Travis was fighting that wannabe Grim Reaper, he had the title Apocalypse Force on his status," Duncan said. "Seriously, you guys need to learn to identify everything. Every scrap of information helps."


    "Anyway, as much as I love that our ability to stay on topic is trash, I don''t think the Apocalypse Force will be a problem. In fact, I expect there''ll be begging for our help there, practically next door to the goblin horde. I wouldn''t be surprised if they aren''t already under siege," Tom stated.


    "And what if they joined forces with the goblins?" Major Adams asked.


    "Unlikely. They have beta-testers like us. They would have to know that unless their entire population is made of orcs, the goblins wouldn''t be willing to leave them alive," Alex said, shaking her head.


    "Why orcs?" Gareth asked, speaking up for the first time.


    "Orcs are humanoids and goblinoids. They are considered as the in-between species. Tolerated but not a part of either species."


    "And you want to hire these orcs to help us fight against the goblins? After they were already hired to fight against us?" Gareth asked. "That''s ballsy. I love it."


    "I have to agree with Gareth here; I would be concerned about bad faith." Hanze agreed with Gareth.


    "They are followers of the Goddess of War and Justice. They will keep to their words. If they say they have cut contact with the goblins, you can trust that. If they agree to fight with us against the goblins, then they will. And if they don''t, their gods will get pissy with them. Can we please move on?" Tom asked exasperated


    "What about the other settlements?" Hanze asked. "If we need more people quickly, some of these places will have able-bodied men and women."


    Alex and Tom looked at each other and shrugged.


    "Are they willing to help?" Alex asked. "We kind of spanked Brindley pretty hard."


    Tom could feel the innuendo.


    "No," Major Adams said. "I''ve asked around, but most of these people are civilians. They are scared, and I''m already having to fight tooth and nail for this operation as is. The fact is most of the people who witnessed the system and wanted to play hero ended up here to begin with. So what we have is likely all we''re going to get."


    "You''ll need food," Will pointed out.


    "Everyone who''s going is getting the [Storage] skill. Just make sure to give everyone a packed lunch." Tom said


    "What if someone dies? How are we going to transport them back?" Sam asked.


    "Again, the [Storage] skill," Tom said.


    "Does anyone know how many guns we have? ammunition." Lt. Thorne asked.


    "Guns aren''t all that useful on trolls." Duncan pointed out.


    "We aren''t talking about the trolls; I''m talking about the goblins. Part of the reason we lost our first engagement was the fact we could only push back the goblins or the trolls. If we didn''t have to worry about the trolls, we could kill goblins until our ammo runs out." Major Adams pointed out.


    "Great idea. Sam, add guns to the top of your priority list." Tom said.


    "Great, another thing to add to the top of the list." Sam huffed. "Along with literally everything else."


    "What''s the actual plan of attack?" Major Adams asked.


    Tom perked up.


    "Here''s the plan. We need to draw out the [Blood Mage], so we''re going for a head-on assault." Tom began


    Immediately, everyone looked at him as if he were crazy.


    "Let me finish." Tom cut off the incoming complaints before it could start.


    "Abaddon here is going to use a skill called [Lesser Colossus] to get big."


    "Define big?" Gareth asked.


    "We''re going to be following about three, four-story tall Godzilla into battle," Tom said.


    "And Abaddon is going to be able to beat them all?" Sgt. Thorn asked dubiously.


    "No, they''re going to drop everything and turn me into a living pincushion," Abaddon said, clearly not looking forward to his part in the battle.


    "What this will do is it will allow us to flank the goblins and inflict massive casualties on them while they are targeting Abaddon." Tom continued.


    "Oh, so that''s how we win?" Gareth asked.


    "No, stop interrupting the plan," Alex said.


    Tom tried his best to ignore the peanut gallery before he continued.


    "At this point, the [Blood Mage] and Seraphel will have to make a move. Seraphel should be occupied with Starkiller or whoever we throw at him, which means the [Blood Mage] is the only card they have left. I have some people upstairs preparing everything I need to counter his blood magic from debuffing us. So he''ll have to use a [Sanguine Colossus] to counter Abaddon."


    Luke raised his hand.


    "A [Sanguine Colossus] is like a giant mech suit made out of blood that a blood mage can drive around like a jaguar robot. You''re going to be fighting the goblin horde while Abaddon and the blood mage have a kaiju fight practically on top of us, OK?" Tom said.


    "And where will you be?" Gareth asked.


    "Alex and I are going to be running support for Abaddon," Tom said.


    "What about the squirrely guy?" Thorn asked.


    "He''s got personal issues he''s working on," Tom said.


    "So he''s not coming?" Luke asked.


    "No, Skippy will be there, but at this time, I cannot guarantee what help he may be able to offer, if any; therefore, we will not be making plans about him. Understood," Tom said.


    "That sounds like a terrible plan." Major Adams said.


    This was met with a round of nodding.


    "The [Blood Mage] will only take to the field if he can''t safely debuff us or if he''s an idiot. And if he does come out, he needs to do it inside of a [Sanguine Colossus], or he''ll die from the first asshole with a gun. Whoever sends out their kaiju first will have an initial advantage. But if you guys have a better plan, let''s hear your plans that take into account magic, damage resistances and the dozen other things that come up in the Legend of Noralon."


    "What if we just sneak in and steal this bloodstone?" Eve offered.


    "That sounds a lot safer." Will agreed.


    "Great idea. Who''s going to sneak into the middle of a goblin horde, steal their most precious item from under the [Blood Mage]''s nose and escape without getting caught?" Tom asked.


    This statement was met with silence, much to Tom''s amusement.


    "Don''t get me wrong; it was a good plan. In fact, it was my first plan. But we don''t have anyone who can actually pull it off. What''s your next idea?"


    "We still have a recruitment problem," Major Adams cut in.


    "How many do you think we''ll get?" Tom asked, concerned.


    "I can get four thousand from Hopkins; three thousand of them will be larpers with a thousand RCMP and ex-military. If I''m lucky, I can get us another thousand from the other settlements, but I''m not hopeful. Most of their administrators are associated with Mr.Brindley." Major Adams admitted.


    "Is there anywhere else we can get more people from?" Tom asked, half desperately.


    "Sorry, I''ve called military bases and other police stations in the area. The ones who answered all have their own issues. And I suspect the ones who didn''t respond are dead or scattered to the four winds at this point." the Major admitted. "Some places are ok, but those aren''t close enough to make a difference."


    This went on for the next few minutes. In the end, they agreed to try to recruit people from as many different places as possible, but no one was able to come up with a better plan.


    They finished up for the evening with a tentative agreement to follow Tom''s plan. But as they were leaving for the night, Abaddon walked up to him.


    "Can I talk to you for a moment? In private?" Abaddon asked sheepishly as he motioned for him to follow.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1000


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4000


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 18.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 24.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 70% Soul 43%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 3, Exorcist 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    <ul>


    <li>[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Library of Akashic Records] - Level 21 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Universal] - Level 20 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Wordsmith] - Level 27 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 43</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 18 >> Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Soul Forge] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 PER per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 25/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Analyze Person] - Level 25 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Best of Both Worlds] - Level 13 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Water] - Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Earth] - Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Teacher] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Misalliance Crafting] - Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana-Infused Weapon] - Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Basic Swords] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Flyte] - Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    Augur 07/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Augurs Eye] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Bright Arts] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Life] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Prophetic Meditation] - Level 44</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Far Seeing] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 48</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Quest Giver] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    Tactician 05/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 22 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leadership ¢ò] - Level 24 >> Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raider ¢ñ] - Level 20 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 21 >> Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Logistics ¢ó] - Level 19 >> Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    Exorcist 05/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Spell Trap] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Karmic Contract] - Level 4 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Shape Paper] - Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Armour] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Wings] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 82: Abaddon & the Cleansing Pools

    As Abaddon led Tom to one of the unused rooms, Tom closed the door behind them.


    "What''s up?" Tom asked.


    "Um ¡­" Abaddon mumbled as he bit at his claws.


    "We don''t have all day, Abaddon spit it out," Tom said.


    "I don''t have the [Lesser Collusius] skill," Abaddon admitted sheepishly.


    Abaddon''s head hung low as he waited for an explosion.


    "I know, buddy. It''s fine," Tom said.


    "Huh," Abaddon blurted out in confusion, looking up at his friend. "What about the plan? You need me to go big for it to work!"


    "Yes, and now I''m going to help you do that," Tom said casually.


    "Oh," Abaddon muttered.


    "You forgot I could do that, didn''t you," Tom asked.


    "I forgot you could do that, yes," Abaddon admitted.


    "Come on, you''re going to take some soul damage. But you should be ok."


    "Alright, do you mind if I do a little skill buying before we start? I''ve been kind of saving them up," Abaddon asked.


    "Sure, go for it," Tom said. Just don''t spend any points on upgrades. We want to save those for later."


    Abaddon nodded as he opened his status. Tom watched with his bloodline skills.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!


    You have purchased the level 21 Capstone skill: [Moment of Immortality] - Mythic


    [Moment of immortality] - Mythic:  When this skill is active, you are [Invincible]. This skill can only be activated for up to 10 seconds at a time, and the user must wait in between uses equal to the time the skill is active. You can use this skill for 1 second per skill level. Each second takes 1 hour to recharge.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This one was simple and borderline basic, and Tom had no idea how to upgrade the skill. But it was so useful. With it, Abaddon could counter an enemy''s finisher and cooldown abilities, escape from a fight, or, more often than not, just attack with no regard for his person. But Abaddon''s next three purchases would break his build.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!


    You have Purchased the Skill [Close Combat] - Legendary


    [Close Combat] - Legendary: This skill enhances your melee prowess, allowing you to rapidly deliver a flurry of strikes, overwhelming your opponent''s defences.


    The Active effect of this skill: your attack speed is increased by 5% per skill level at a stamina cost of 100 per minute.


    The passive effects of this skill: You gain an attack of opportunity¡ªa free strike¡ªwhenever an enemy enters or leaves your attack range. Your punches have a 1% chance per skill level to inflict [Daze], disrupting the target¡¯s focus and balance. Additionally, enemies are subtly drawn toward you as if pulled by an invisible force, with the strength of this pull scaling with your CON and increasing by 1% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    [Close Combat] was the last skill Abaddon needed in his trifecta of attack skills. His style was simple [Chage] to get in close. [Close Combat] until his enemy recovered, then [Giga Impact] to launch the target into the air. Then he used [Charge] again to smash into him as he landed and do the entire set all over again. Keep doing that until the target is dead.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You have Purchased the skill [Compound Impacts] - Ancients


    [Compound Impacts] - Ancient: When striking at the same target over and over again, each blow will hit deeper than the last. With this skill, every additional strike hits harder and harder. You inflict an additional 0.05% Damage against the target for a maximum of 250% bonus damage. You lose all bonuses if you switch targets or stop attacking for more than 10 seconds. Increase the bonus by 0.05% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You have Purchased the skill [Relentless Onslaught] - Ancients


    [Relentless Onslaught] - Ancient: Every time you hit an enemy, you gain a +5% Damage against the target for a maximum of 2.5%. You lose all bonuses if you stop attacking for more than 10 seconds. Increase the maximum bonus damage by 2.5% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Good choices," Tom muttered.


    It was functionally the same skill, but they stacked. This is where the real melee power came from. Between [Relentless Onslaught] and [Compound Impacts], he would be able to inflict escalating damage with ease. Combined with [Close Combat], he could very easily inflict enough damage to pop even tanky monsters in seconds. And once Abaddon upgraded [Immortal fists], he would become a true monster.


    Abaddon just had one more purchase, and then he would save the rest of his points for upgrades.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You have Purchased the skill [Not Today] - Epic


    [Not Today] - Epic: When someone uses an execution ability, you throw it back in their face, inflicting the damage that would have hit you back onto them. Cooldown: 25 hours.


    Reduce the cooldown by 14.4 Minutes per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Really? Another get-out-of-jail card?" Tom asked.


    Abaddon shrugged. "I''m a Tank. My job isn''t to put the bad guys down. It''s to hold aggro. And that means I need to be able to take a beating."


    "You might want to pick up some more [Taunt] skills then," Tom pointed out.


    Abaddon shrugged. "[Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum] works for now."


    Tom laid his hands on Abaddon, immediately perceiving his soul as [Soul Forge] started up.


    "I''m not complaining. I like them. [Compound Impacts] and [Relentless Onslaught] give you a ton of power against single targets, while [Moment of Immortality] and [Not Today] make you even harder to kill." Tom asked.


    Abaddon smiled. "Thanks. What do you think we can upgrade."


    "I think I can do [Immortal Fist], [Compound Impacts] and [Endless Brawler]."


    "What about [Monster lifeforce(Giant)] and [Enlarge]?" Abaddon asked.


    Tom already knew that they would need [Lesser Colossus] for the plan to work, but he got the feeling this part


    "That part is going to be more painful."


    Abaddon blanched.


    "What are you blanching for? A demon lord turned you into a pancake this week, and you laughed it off. Yet a little itching has you afraid?" Tom asked.


    Abaddon blushed¡ªor some lizard-man equivalent.


    "Abaddon is not afraid of anything," he growled.


    "Dear god, you''re going to be a fucking monster when this is over," Tom said as he placed his hands on Abaddon and then waited as Tom started to rummage around his soul.


    Abaddon immediately felt a deep, all-consuming itch. Tom wrapped him in biddings of water, light, and earth magic, holding him in place before he could start scratching his scales. Then the notifications came.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!


    You have Fused the skills: [Monster lifeforce (Giant)] - Epic + [Enlarge] - Historic ¡ú [Lesser Colossus] - (Legendary):


    [Lesser Colossus] - (Legendary): You gain the type [Giant]. You are a lesser Colossus, a giant pretending not to be one. You can release your magic, allowing you to grow five times in size (40 feet). Warning: changing your size will change how your status is calculated. You may maintain your increase in size for 1 minute per skill level. +10% CON


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!


    You have upgraded the skill: [Endless Brawler] - Historic ¡ú [Endless Endurance] - Ancient


    [Endless Endurance] - Ancient: With your Endurance, battles may last an eternity. Your passive stamina loss, such as running and fighting, is reduced by 0.99% per skill level, and your active stamina drains, such as [Power Strike], are reduced by 0.25% per skill level. +10% END


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You have Upgraded the skill: [Immortal Fist] - Ancient ¡ú [Tiger Style] - Mythic


    [Tiger Style] - Mythic:


    Master the aggressive and powerful techniques of the Tiger style, emphasizing strength, speed, and overwhelming ferocity in combat.


    Your Fists and Spirit have hardened, turning your hands into an unbreakable weapon capable of inflicting damage even to creatures immune to physical attacks and rendering yourself impervious to harm from your own strikes.


    +1.25% per skill level to your Unarmed Mastery


    Penetrate 0.5% of your target physical Resistance per skill level


    +10% STR


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You have Upgraded the skill: [Compound Impacts] - Ancient + [Slayer of Giants] - Epic ¡ú [Cut Down to Size] - Mythic


    [Cut Down to Size] - Mythic:


    When striking at the same target over and over again, each blow will hit deeper than the last. With this skill, every additional strike hits harder. You inflict an additional 0.05% Damage against the target for a maximum of 250% bonus damage. You lose all bonuses if you switch targets or stop attacking for more than 10 seconds. Increase the bonus by 0.05% per skill level. Your attacks now inflict [Giantslayer].


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Alright, Abaddon, how does it feel to be twice as strong?" Tom asked as he stepped away.


    "Fuck" Abaddon screamed as he collapsed to the ground, no longer held in place by the bindings. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "It itches!!!!" he screamed as he rolled about on the ground, trying to scratch every inch of his body at the same time.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alert!!!


    You have suffered Soul Damage!!!


    [System Wiki], [Mapping], [Cut Down to Size], [Charge], [Giga Impact], and [Fee-fi-fo-fum] skills have been disabled for six hours.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Shit," Tom swore as he looked at the soul damage.


    Abaddon didn''t respond. He was too busy trying to get his claws under his scales so he could reach the lingering itch.


    "Hey, don''t worry, big guy. You did better than me, and it''s only six hours," Tom muttered.


    "It itches." Abaddon groaned.


    "I know, buddy. I know. Let''s spend some points and get your mind off the itch." Tom pushed as Abaddon started to relax. It took another five minutes to get him to spend his skill points.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!


    You have upgraded the skill: [Endless Endurance] - Epic ¡ú [Bulwark] - Legendary


    [Bulwark] - Legendary: With your Endurance, battles may last an eternity. Your passive stamina loss, such as running and fighting, is reduced by 0.99% per skill level, and your active stamina drains, such as [Power Strike], are reduced by 0.25% per skill level.


    You cannot be teleported, knocked back, or banished against your will.


    Should you receive a fatal wound, you will instead be reduced to 1 hp. This effect takes 24 hours to recharge.


    +10% END


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You have Upgraded the skill: [Tiger Style] - Mythic ¡ú [Tiger Style: Sundering Paw] - Legendary


    [Tiger Style: Sundering Paw] - Mythic:


    Master the aggressive and powerful techniques of the Tiger style, emphasizing strength, speed, and overwhelming ferocity in combat.


    Your Fists and Spirit have hardened, turning your hands into an unbreakable weapon capable of inflicting damage even to creatures immune to physical attacks and rendering yourself impervious to harm from your own strikes.


    Additionally, your physical assaults have gained the ability to sunder armour, leaving your targets vulnerable to subsequent physical attacks.


    +1.25% to your Unarmed Mastery


    Penetrate 0.5% of your target physical Resistance


    Your physical attacks inflict Sundering Damage, destroying a target''s armour and durability equal to 0.5% of your physical damage per skill level.


    +10% to STR


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Both of those skills were as basic as they were useful. That just left him with his last skill point. But he didn''t see anything he immediately wanted to buy with it. So he decided to just save it for now. Confirming his options, Abaddon waited.


    First, he felt it, and then he saw it as his body grew even larger, with Tom''s head barely coming up to his pectoral muscles. His clothing was ripped open like he was the Incredible Hulk. His entire body wasn''t just bigger; it felt denser, as if he was quite literally made of a tougher material than before. Even if his skill levels had taken a hit, he was more powerful than ever.


    "I can''t wait to show Skippy this," Abaddon chuckled as he flexed his massive body.


    "What did you spend your last skill point on?" Tom asked curiously.


    "Saving it," Abaddon said.


    "Seriously?" Tom asked.


    Abaddon shrugged.


    "Hey, budd,y you ok?" Tom asked.


    Abaddon looked at him, confused, as he tried not to think about Kevin.


    "Yeah, of course I am. Why wouldn''t I be." Abaddon lied.


    "You killed Chad and Kevin and then were almost attacked by an angry mob." Tom pointed out.


    Abaddon just shrugged. It had happened; he had experienced it, and he had moved on. Tom didn''t look like he believed him, but thankfully, he didn''t push it.


    "Great, you did that. Now, we haven''t had a shower since this thing started, so I''m going to take a bath," Tom shot back as he walked off.


    Abaddon looked down at himself, noticing his emerald scales were slightly caked in ¡­ something awful. A mix of blood, alchemical crap, actual shit, dirt and who knows what else. His clothes had been nearly torn apart by his growth spurt, burned and damaged in his fights and the smell ¡­ he might just want to burn these.


    "Hold up, I''m coming too," Abaddon said as he raced after Tom.


    The [Steaming Pools] were interesting. Like most bathhouses, they had a changing room, this one modelled after the school''s own. Abaddon ignored everyone as he ripped off his sweat clothes, not even bothering to try to salvage them.


    For the first time, he looked down at his body. Before the system, he was fat. Now, he was eight feet tall and at least five hundred pounds in almost pure muscle, probably more. Objectively speaking, he had never been heavier in his life.


    If he was human, he could have competed for the strongest man in the world. With the lizard man''s body, he had been expecting to look a bit more inhuman. Instead, he looked like a furry or whatever the reptile equivalent. The only really different thing was the fact he now had two penises instead of one, and honestly, he considered that a minor thing. Skippy seemed to have more problems with a new body than he did. For him, a new body was no more strange than a new outfit. It was something he wore, not who he was.


    Abaddon sighed as he wrapped a towel around his waist to hide his genitals. He was going to need to find XXXXL-sized clothes, probably from the morbidly obese section of Walmart. But then again, considering how much damage his clothing had taken in combat, he might want to talk to Duncan about getting him some properly crafted gear unless he wanted to become a full-on exhibitionist.


    It turned out he didn''t even need to worry about flashing anyone, as the steam from the cleansing pools covered everyone''s unmentionables like they were in an anime. The pools themselves looked straight out of a hot springs episode. Dozens of steaming pools littered the area, with people soaking in the pools while the magic striped the dirt off them.


    There was no separation of the sexes; the room hadn''t come with it, and the steam kind of made separation redundant. If he was being honest, it was more like a public pool. Or public hot tubes that are extremely clean, as the magical effects kept anything touched by the steam spotless. The best part for him, at least, was the unobstructed view of the sky you had from the baths. For some reason, the floors of the baths were made from bamboo. At this point, it was pretty clear one of the architects had made a Japanese bath for giggles.


    Not that he cared as he slipped into the pool with Tom, Alex, and Tom''s little sister.


    ¡°Ah . . . .¡± Abaddon groaned in pleasure as he sank down into the water. The water was the perfect temperature, making it a great place to relax. He would need to come here more often, at least once a day. The sluggishness he had been feeling from the soul damage almost seemed to be going away.


    A quick glance at his stats showed that his soul wasn¡¯t healing any faster. He still had a couple of hours before his soul fully repaired itself, but damm, did it feel good.


    [Aquatic Predator] subtly pushed him to sink his body into the pool, leaving only his crocodilian head above the water. Curiously, he gave a little test with his tail and found himself gliding across the surface of the water like a real crocodile¡ªa crocodile with arms the size of tree trunks and a towel around his waist.


    He turned towards Tom and Alex. Tom was dressed in shorts, while Alex was wearing a skimpy bikini, still a pervert.


    The cleansing steam slowly ate away at the dirt and grime that had built up over the week. For Abaddon, the water stripped off the grim and left his emerald scales polished to the point of shining. The build-up of dead skin was removed, and the body was cleansed and exfoliated. Their hair looked shiny and glossy, and after a few minutes of chatting, they ended up looking healthier than ¡­ Well, Abaddon wasn''t really sure because most of the time, they primarily wore sweats. Tom''s sister was showing him the spell Illusionary Butterflies.


    "That''s so great, sweety," Tom said under his breath as his little sister chased after the butterflies, giggling madly.


    "But it looks so gay." Alex chuckled as she slipped into the water right next to him


    "Anyone know where Skippy is?" Abaddon asked, not seeing his best buddy anywhere nearby.


    "He''s doing a respec of his build," Tom said. "He''s not adapting as well as you are to his new race."


    "Oh," Abaddon said sheepishly.


    He didn''t know it had been that bad.


    "So Abaddon, have you had any furries ask you out yet?" Alex asked.


    "Ummmm," Abaddon felt his mind go blank.


    "What about you, Alex? Find anyone to satisfy your inner pervert," Tom shot back.


    Alex blew him a raspberry. "I want to wake up on a bed full of bimbos. Maybe have some brats of my own."


    "Wait, you''re gay?" Tom asked, stunned.


    Alex rolled her eyes. "No, I''m bi. But I want a harem. Not a big one, maybe five people. But only one man. I saw a documentary about a girl with reverse harems, and one of her husbands killed her baby, who was the child of a different husband. There''s too much infighting."


    "And normal harems don''t fight?" Tom asked.


    "Well, kind of. But even the bad harems are more cloak and dagger than the pack of Orangutans, which is the reverse harem. No, you only want one guy for the girls. It''s all about getting the right group dynamic and."


    Abaddon started tuning Alex out as she delved into her perverted fantasies. He absently wondered if she was going to drag Tom into a harem. Honestly, he never really thought about relationships much. He had his friends, he had chemistry ¡­ now alchemy. Maybe he would try something with one of those furry girls.


    Dismissing those thoughts, he flipped onto his back as he gazed drawn upwards. Before, there had been so much light pollution that he could barely see any stars. Now, he was treated to a sky full of them, with the three moons of Noralon sitting proudly and prominently above them.


    "What happened to the moon?" Tom''s sister asked as she climbed onto his chest like it was a floaty. She was clearly bored of the other''s talk about sex, too.


    "No idea," Abaddon admitted. "These are Noralons moons."


    "Did we steal the moons?" Chloe asked as the three moons slowly trailed across the sky.


    Abaddon opened his mouth to answer when he froze. Why did they have three moons now? Where was Earth''s original moon? He would ask Duncan and Tom later to see if they knew anything.


    "Do they have names?" Chloe asked as she poked him.


    She was clearly bored after his moment of silence and had started poking him.


    "Well, what are they called? Can I name them?" she asked, emphasizing each question with a poke.


    Abaddon nodded as he pointed first to the largest of the moons. Although all of the moons were actually the same size, each was further away from the planet, making them all appear to be different sizes.


    "The Big Grayish Blue one is called Luriel the Sea of Dreams. It''s kind of like a big desert full of astral beings, dreams and nightmares. Dotted with oasis, and when you look up at night, you can see the northern lights every night. It is a land of mystery and wonder. The green one is called Bree, a verdant garden. Full of mountains, exotic plants, and giant animals. It''s also extremely radioactive."


    "What about that one?" Tom''s sister asked, pointing to the farthest moon


    "It''s called the dead god''s eye," Abaddon said ominously.


    While, Luriel and Bree were mostly uniform in their coloration. The dead god''s eye was red, with what looked like a slit pupil running down the middle of the moon like a cat''s eye. Sometimes, the pupil was dark purple; other times, it was black. With the way it was positioned, it almost looked like the eye of some great god with his eyelids half shut, hence the name.


    It was also the only Moon that the Awoken Myths guild had never visited; it was supposed to be open up for this expansion. He supposed it had technically opened up in the sense that no invisible walls were stopping them from going there now.


    "That moon is evil. When it becomes a full moon, a blood moon event is triggered. And all of the dead rise up as zombies to take their revenge on the living." Abaddon said, raising his hands as if he were a zombie and he was going to get her.


    "NOOO!" Chloe lept off of him and swam back to her brother.


    Abaddon chuckled. He looked back up at Dead God''s Eye; he figured they had about two weeks-ish before the next blood moon¡ªsomething to look forward to after the goblins.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Abaddon (Hector Fortane)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Lizard-Man


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Giant


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Crocodile


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 3345


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 5335


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 840


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 31.5 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 52.2 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 12.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, World''s First 6


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Poison


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 50%, Disease 50%, Crit 56%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 50%, Frost 50%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Scaleslayer, Giantslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Giantslayer 21


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 191


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 231


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 207


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 105


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 147 +30%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 210 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 189 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 105


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 END, +3 STR, +3 CON, +2 PER +2 SPIRIT


    Racial: +3 END, +2 STR, +2 CON +1 PER


    Bloodline: +3 CON


    Giantslayer Skills: +2 AGIL


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Lesser Hydra] - Rare: The distilled essence of what makes a hydra a hydra: regenerating from gruesome wounds, surviving having critical organs damaged, killing people just by bleeding on them, and being immune to and enjoying the consumption of poison.


    <ul>


    <li>[Regeneration] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Redundant Organs] - Level 56</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Toxic Blood] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Poison Conasuir] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+3 CON per Level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 21/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Natural Arms and Armour] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Aquatic Predator] - Level 15 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 33</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Siegebreaker] - Level 29</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Brewer] - Level 58</li>


    </ul>


    Giantslayer 14/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Tiger Style: Sundering Claws] - Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Lesser Colossus] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Cut Down to Size] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Second Stage] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Bulwark] - Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Legendary Strength] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Charge] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Giga Impact] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Relentless Onslaught] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Moment of Immortality] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Close Combat] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Not Today] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 83: Saturday

    Tom and Alex walked into the Council Chambers early in the morning. They had stayed up through most of the night workshopping the battle plan to the background of a Lord of the Rings marathon. For research purposes, of course. Regardless, they both had bags under their eyes at this point.


    Alex walked to a table that someone had set up with snacks and a coffee machine. She immediately got herself a cup, choked it down like a shot of vodka, and then got herself a second cup before returning to her beanbag.


    ¡°You really need to cut back on the coffee, Alex.¡±


    ¡°Not if you want me to keep working. It¡¯s the real breakfast of champions. And project planners, as it happens."


    Tom rolled his eyes but got up to get himself a cup. He didn''t make it halfway before someone interrupted him.


    "Hey Tom," a familiar voice called out to him.


    Tom turned to find Skippy standing there in his human form, covered in his prismatic Snow Leopard jacket with a longsword strapped to his waist.


    "Skippy?! You''re you again." Tom said as he gave his friend a hug.


    "Nope, stop, no touching," Skippy said as he tried and failed to squirm out of Tom''s grasp.


    "You''re level 1 again, aren''t you?" Tom asked as he held his friend there.


    "Yes, now let go before I kick you in the balls," Skippy said.


    Tom dropped his friend, knowing that he wasn''t bluffing.


    "How did your fan-girls handle the real you?" Tom asked.


    Skippy gave him the biggest shit-eating grin. "I lost the furry girls. But I think I can get some groupies." he cheered.


    "I hate you so much," Alex said. "Seriously? I''m still a virgin. How did you get laid?"


    Skippy shot her a smile.


    "Easy, I went out there and did something instead of sitting in my room masturbating like a bitch."


    "Oh yeah, I''ve forgotten how much of an asshole you normally are," Alex said, rolling her eyes.


    "So, what''s your new class?" Tom asked, activating [Thirst for Knowledge] out of habit.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skippy (Andrew Sawyer)


    Race: Beastial Human


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    Titles: Beta-tester, First, Awoken Myths


    Level: 1


    Class: Assassin 1


    Bloodline: Bloodline of Ratatoskr


    Personal skills: Ratatskers Pocket, Storyteller, Pursuit Hunter, Mapping, System Wiki, Blades, Meditation, Soul Strike, Swagger, Mirage step, Gymnast Grace, Feather Steps, Focus, Perfect Strike, Phantom Shift, Stealth Attack


    Regicide skills: Assassination, Backstab, Sneak Attack, Hidden Strike, Active Camouflage


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Dude. Da fuck are you doing with your status?" Tom asked, looking at the mess that was Skippy''s personal skill list.


    Skippy shrugged. "I only kept the useful stuff. Everything else was sundered so I could have more skill points."


    Tom rolled his eyes.


    "Actually, I was hoping I could ask you for a favour," Skippy said.


    "What is it," Tom asked.


    "I want to come with you today when you go out to recruit people," Skippy said.


    "Really?" Tom asked, confused. "I would have thought you would be diving through any and every settlement you could get your hands on to regain your levels or staying in bed with your girlfriend all day."


    "I thought about that," Skippy admitted. "Especially the second option. But I think I''m going to need your [Soul Forge] thing if I want to be ready in time for tomorrow."


    Tom felt his eyebrows rise up into his hairline.


    "You''re going to try to power level to level 20 in a day?" Alex asked, dumbfounded.


    "What she said," Tom followed up.


    "Oh, I''m going to do much more than hit level 20," Skippy said with an evil grin plastered on his face.


    "Im going to become a fucking monster. Now stop screwing around and help me. I want to fuse a couple of these skills today. So I can buy some more and fuse them." Skippy ordered


    "I guess I''m keeping watch, then," Alex said. But at the first sign of soul damage in separating you two with lighting, got it?!" she stated.


    Tom rolled his eyes, but they got to work.


    Tom entered Skippy''s soul space. The first thing he noticed was how weird it was. Skippy''s soul space wasn''t like his with its three nebulas, or Abaddons, who had one big nebula dominating the space. Instead, Skippy had one tiny nebula and a crap ton of stars bouncing around his soul like a pinball machine.


    "Christ, this can''t be healthy," Tom muttered.


    "Well fuck you too," Skippy said snarkily, his voice echoing from inside the soul space.


    Tom paused.


    "How are we talking here?" Tom asked.


    There was a long pause.


    "This isn''t normal?" Skippy asked.


    "No, I couldn''t hear Abaddon''s thoughts or anyone else''s." Tom pointed out.


    "Did any of them have [Meditation] or have the skill high enough to enter the soul space?" Skippy asked.


    Tom paused as [Wisdom of Akashic Records] quickly informed him that, no, they didn''t.


    "No, so I guess that''s one mystery solved," Tom said. "Anyway, what do you want me to fuse?"


    "These two, these two, and these five," Skippy said, pointing despite the fact that both of them were disembodied minds in his soul.


    Despite that, Tom could tell what Skippy was pointing at and compiled. The moment he started, he noticed something odd. The negative space around the skills that indicated how far each skill could grow seemed to have been maxed out. The skills all but begged for him to combine them.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Fusion Detected


    [Swagger] - Historic + [Feather Steps] - Rare + [Gymnasts Grace] - Lesser ¡ú [Thieves Swaggering Grace] - Mythic


    [Thieves Swaggering Grace] - Level 22: This skill is a staple of all thieves, allowing you to move through the world unnoticed while maintaining your footing and balance even in situations where you need to dodge attacks. This skill grants +3% per skill level to your Evasion, footwork, Balance, and Stealth Mastery. Reduce your weight by 0.33% per skill level. Enemies facing you have a 0.5% chance to be intimidated and a 1% chance to be taunted per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom was pretty sure Skippy only fused these two to create more space in his soul. The fusion didn''t even add anything new. It just freed up a new slot. Still, though, Tom could feel something different in the negative space. It hadn''t gotten any smaller, but the feeling of being in the negative space was less intense. Something to study.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Fusion Detected


    [Hidden Strike] + [Assassination] + [Backstab] + [Sneak Attack] + [Stealth Attack] ¡ú [Unseen Blow] - Legendary


    [Unseen Blow] - Level: 1: There are many ways to assassinate someone, and many methods have been created to survive assassination. To that, you say good luck surviving being turned into meat paste.


    When attacking from sneak or stealth, your total damage is increased by 15% per skill level. This skill only works on a direct melee attack launched from sneak or stealth.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Are you ¡­ are you making a boss breaker build?" Tom asked.


    "Technically, I am making a boss breaker assassin." Skippy snickered.


    "[Regicide]?" Tom asked.


    "Kingslayer," Skippy agreed cheerily.


    Tom would have paled if he wasn''t a disembodied thought in his friend''s soul. Bossbreakers could dish out a truly stupid amount of damage with the right setup up, and the [Regicide] class fits the mould pretty well. Skippy would only get one hit in, but unless Skippy missed, one hit would still splatter most targets.


    "I feel stupid for mentioning this. But you realize you''re going to need to solo a boss to unlock that evolution, right?" Tom asked.


    "Right, because one-shoting a boss with [Unseen Blow] will be so hard," Skipp said sarcastically. I just bought the rest of the skills I need. Fuse them all up, please."


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Fusion Detected


    [Phantom Shift] - Uncommon + [Active Camouflage] - Uncommon + [Sneak] - Lesser ¡ú [Reapers Cloak] - Historic


    [Reaper''s Cloak] - Historic: No one has ever seen the Grim Reaper, and yet people die every day, though tens of thousands of them are completely unseen and untouchable to all. And this skill allows you to tap into that ability. +1.25% to Sneak and Stealth Mastery per skill level. You can become invisible, intangible or both. Each effect costs 100 mana per minute to maintain.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 31>


    "How are you so busted at level 1?" Tom asked.


    "It''s your fault," Skippy said.


    "How?" Tom asked, confused.


    "Dude, you just combined uncommon, low-level skills into a Historic. You shouldn''t be able to do that. I was expecting to unlock one of its lesser evolutions and then work my way up to this one. But you just jumped the gun. Not that I''m complaining. It''s a lot less work for me." Skippy pointed out.


    Tom blinked metaphorically. He had almost forgotten how impossible what he was doing was. He was having too much time having fun. Skippy couldn''t see his soul like he could. If skippy wanted to fuse his skills, he was limited to mashing them together and hoping for the best. But Tom could see. He could see how the skills were supposed to go together, and he could actually manipulate them.


    He could take some random smuck and give him ¡­ well, he probably couldn''t do a legendary class, but Mythic should be possible. That could cause problems, though. Maybe it was a good idea to keep this a secret, just in case. Tom exited Skippy''s soul space as the rest of the council arrived.


    Alex immediately came over.


    "Are you guys ok?" she asked. Mostly looking at Tom.


    "It''s perfect," Skippy said. "It''s just what I wanted. High-tier stealth, high damage and a basic sword skill."


    If any of the noobs knew how coveted [I am the Sword] was, they would spit blood upon hearing Skippy''s words. Or maybe they would just kick him in the nads.


    "Yeah, but that was weird," Tom muttered. "Did you get any other notifications?"


    "Hmm, oh yeah, my [Build Yourself Back Up] buff got used up a little. Why? Was that you?" Skippy asked.


    "Interesting," Tom muttered. "The negative space around your skills seemed bigger than I was expecting, but as I helped you out, it seemed to shri--"


    Unfortunately, they couldn''t continue the conversation as Abaddon walked in.


    "Skippy!!" Abaddon cheered as he scooped up Skippy in a literal bone-crushing bear hug.


    "Let me down, you lug." Skippy choked out as he immediately started to kick Abaddon.


    That got a round of chuckles as people watched skippy try and fail to get out of Abaddon''s grip.


    "Alright, then, let''s get to it," Tom said as everyone slowly took their seats. "We already talked a lot about what we''re doing, and we''re going to have another meeting tonight before we attack at dawn tomorrow. But let''s do a quick review of everyone''s tasks before we move out."


    That''s when Tom remembered. He had forgotten to get himself a cup of coffee. He was just going to get one when Major Adams intercepted him.


    "Tom, could we talk?" The Major asked.


    "Sure, Major, what can I do for you?" Tom asked.


    The Major looked uncomfortable. That was not a feeling he normally associated with the very British firefighter.


    "There¡¯s been talk, Tom. Serious talk. Brindly and some of the other city councillors are talking about the possibility of removing you from Hopkins."


    Tom frowned as his magic fizzled around his hands. "Do they want to die? Seriously, I''m trying to avoid running around killing people. Hell, if it weren¡¯t for us, half of them would still be wandering around and getting eaten by wolves. Because of us, they all have settlements in which to live in."


    Adams nodded slightly, acknowledging the point. "Hey, hey, you''re preaching to the choir. However, the other settlements don''t have the special rooms that Hopkins has. So, a lot of them are wondering why you''re in here while their settlements aren''t as nice. On top of that, they see you as... a kid. Eighteen, barely old enough to vote. And having a kid dictate terms to them can''t be helping their pride, " Adams admitted


    Tom bristled. "So, what? Do they want to toss me aside because they want to feel special? We¡¯re facing a goblin horde, and this is what they want to talk about."


    Adams hesitated for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "They think you¡¯re blowing it out of proportion or just making it up."


    Tom clenched his fists, his voice rising. "Making it up? Are they blind or just stupid? The bodies piling up, the reports from survivors¡ªwhat more proof do they need? Do they need to be attacked by the goblins?"


    Adams raised a hand, trying to calm him down. "Look, I get it. But have you seen the other settlements?"


    "No, why would I care? Hopkins is my responsibility; the other settlements aren''t." Tom said.


    Adams massaged the bridge of his nose. "Tom, the other settlements are little better than refugee camps. Hopkins might be a bit overcrowded, but objectively speaking, it''s practically a hotel in comparison. The [Storage] skill alone lets people move furniture and supplies into Hopkins faster than anyone else. Not to mention everything else you''ve been doing for your guild. Right now, they see Hopkins as a castle while they¡¯re stuck in shacks. They see what they don¡¯t have¡ªand they¡¯re blaming you for taking the special loot from each settlement."


    "Well, you''re welcome to clear the settlements without us." Tom scoffed.


    "Tom, this is serious."


    Tom scoffed. "What are they going to do as Major? Kick me out of my house so they can squat in it? Or are they planning on straight up griefing me?"


    "I have no idea what griefing is," he admitted with a sigh


    "Attack me, rob me, mess with my stuff and blowing up Hopkins would all be considered griefing," Tom said.


    "Then no. No one is going to grieve you. Yet, but I felt the need to warn you about it before it got out of hand," Adams stated. They''re already planning on ''surveying'' Hopkins later today while we''re out."


    "And this is the first I''m hearing of it?" Tom asked coldly.


    "I only learned of this this morning," Adams protested. "They''re withholding support for the attack on the goblins until they see Hopkins and speak with you. Thorn is bringing a drone. I''m hoping that we can get some shots of the goblin compound to really drive home how important all this is."


    Tom paced, his anger barely contained. "Fine. I¡¯ll deal with them later. Too much shit to do today. I''ll talk to Luke and Travis about keeping an eye on them."


    He already had a few ideas on how he could ''convince'' them to support this attack.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skippy


    (Andrew Owens)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Beastial Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 1


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Squirrel


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 0.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 0.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 0.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 15%, Elemental 15%, Magical 15%, Vitality 15%, Mind 15%, Soul 15%, Crit 30%, Poison 30%, Disease 30%, Insta-Death 30%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Beastslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Assassin 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 3


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 2


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 8


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 3


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 2


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 8


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK


    Racial: +3 AGIL +2 CON +2 SPIRIT +1 PER


    Bloodline: +5 AGIL +5 LCK


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Ratatoskr] - Legendary: The Blood of the Legendary Squirrel who runs up and down the length of the world tree carrying insults from the dragon Nidhogg at the roots to the great eagle at the top of the tree.


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr''s Tongue] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Instincts] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Vicious Mockery] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Nidhogg''s Gift] - Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ascending Yggdrasil] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Aura of the Divine Beast] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Defiant Regeneration] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 28 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to AGIL per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to LCK per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rataskurs Pocket] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Blades] - Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Sneak] - Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Perfect Strike] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Soul Strike] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mirage Step] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Focus] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    Assassin 2/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Unseen Blow] - Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Reapers Cloak] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 84: Meeting the Orcs

    Skippy got out of the truck as Tom, Abaddon, Alex, Major Adams and his team all set up at the meeting place the orcs had indicated. They wanted enough people to be perceived as a threat without actually being threatening.


    The council meeting could be basically summarized as a confirmation of yesterday. He wasn''t sure why they had bothered, but Tom and Alex seemed to think it was important.


    "Alright, now we just need to wait," Tom said.


    Skippy rolled his eyes.


    "You guys need to wait. I need to start power levelling." Skippy said as he activated his invisibility.


    He disappeared from sight as he started moving away from the group.


    <[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 5>


    Skippy smiled as the notifications came in, as he moved away from the group. No one seemed capable of tracking him. Except for Tom. freakin perception builds.


    Unsheathing his blade, he moved through the snow, trying his best to avoid leaving footprints. The first thing he found was an overgrown house cat feasting on the corpse of some human. He didn''t know who.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tinkle


    Level: 7


    Class/Race: Cat 7


    Skills: Sharp Claws, Avian Slayer, Padded Footing, Leap


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy stalked toward the Cat, carefully and slowly, until he was only nine feet away from the feline. That''s when it noticed him. The cat turned in his direction.


    "Who goes there" the cat hissed, its speech understandable thanks to Skippys [Rataskurs Tongue].


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Rataskurs Tongue] - Legendary


    [Rataskurs Tongue]: This skill grants the user an innate mastery of languages, functioning as an advanced form of omniglot. The user can effortlessly learn and communicate in any spoken or written language after minimal exposure. Additionally, the skill enables seamless communication with animals, interpreting their thoughts and emotions as if they were spoken words. It extends to plants, allowing a rudimentary dialogue. +5% to language comprehension and retainment per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy couldn''t activate [Mirage Step] without mana, so he crept forwards silent before he leapt forwards to strike.


    ''[Unseen Blow]'' Skippy activated the skill.


    The cat hadn''t even had time to react to Skippy''s movements, and by the time it realized he was behind her. The cat was already exploding from the impact.


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 5>


    <LEVEL UP!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!>


    Skippy ignored the notification going off in his head as he stashed the body and moved on to his next target. He already had an idea of what he wanted, and he was going to abuse Tom''s bloodline to min-max his build in a short amount of time.


    His first step was to get another four skill points and have Tom create the [Way of the Reaper]. This would form the basis of his fighting style.


    Skippy moved through the snow towards a larger cluster of mana signatures as he assigned his three new levels.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You are a level 3 [Warrior] - Common


    [Hand to Knife] - Uncommon: +1.25% to your Unarmed and Knife Mastery per skill level


    [Supercrit] - Rare: increase your chances of scoring a critical hit by 3% per skill level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He would sunder the class when he had maxed it out. Right now, he didn''t want to grind levels. He wanted to farm skills. He slipped up onto the roof of one of the nearby buildings like Spiderman. He stalked upwards, peeping over the edge.


    Down in the backyards of one of the houses were a ¡­ a pack of Ostriches? Six of them. Skippy was starting to wonder about the zoo dungeon.


    "Gentle ladies," the ostrich in the middle began. "Today, we begin our domination of the world with a ---"


    Skippy leapt down using [Unseen Blow] on the talking Ostrich killing it instantly. This immediately got the attention of the other five, and they turned to attack him.


    "Intruder!!" one screeched.


    "Kill him!!!" another screeched.


    Skippy''s blade shot out fast enough to catch one of the ostriches in the leg, slicing off the limb with ease.


    "My leg!!!" the ostrich screamed.


    The ostrich toppled to the ground as another tried to peck his eye out. Skippy activated [Mirage Step], and the Ostrich destroyed the afterimage he had left behind. But skippy was already behind the ostrich at the back of the group, invisible as he activated another [Unseen Blow].


    The ostrich all but exploded as he killed it. The other ostriches turned at him, confused, and the three remaining ostriches screeched at him.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been afflicted with [Daze]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy clutched his head, stumbling but not falling as the Ostriches charged at him. The lead one kicked him in the stomach hard enough to send him flying over the fence. Skippy felt his ribs break from the impact as he was sent airborne.


    Skippy immediately felt the effects of [Defiant Regeneration] kicking in to fix his broken ribs as he was sent sailing into the other yard, tumbling and rolling with the impact. He ended up with half his standard HP after draining his entire emergency HP pool from [Defiant Regeneration].


    He could not take another hit from these birds. The ostriches smashed down the wooden fence as they charged him.


    Skippy decided he needed to start using his bloodline, not just his class.


    "Come on, you crotch-sniffing feather dusters," Skippy chuckled.


    One of the ostriches literally spat blood and stumbled from the mental damage thanks to [Ratataskurs Vicious Mockery]. Skippy shot forwards, stabbing one of the ostriches in their confusion.


    "Die!!" the ostrich screeched, trying to peck his eye out.


    Skippy immediately twisted his [Aura of the Divine Beast], stretching and expanding it out to envelop the ostrich in front of him. The ostrich in front of him died, as did the one he had insulted.


    The third ostrich froze, terrified.


    "What are"


    Skippy didn''t let the Ostrich finish speaking. Instead, he teleported behind it and decapitated the terrified bird. The last ostrich. The one he cut the leg off of kept trashing on the ground as it tried to get up. Skippy activated [Reaper''s Cloak] and then put it out of its misery.


    <LEVEL UP!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!>


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 7>


    <...>


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Knife to Hand] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Knife to Hand] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Knife to Hand] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Supercrit] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Supercrit] has Reached Level 3>


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


    <[Supercrit] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Blades] has Reached Level 32>


    <[Defiant Regeneration] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Defiant Regeneration] has Reached Level 27>


    <...>


    <[Defiant Regeneration] has Reached Level 30>


    Skippy was almost shocked at his level-up notifications. Then he remembered he was technically only level four, and these ostriches were ¡­ level 12. Yeah, this had been stupid on his part. He should have checked these bird''s levels. Even with his physical resistance, he had taken enough damage that without his [Defiant Regeneration] skill, he would be dead.


    Skippy assigned his levels as he climbed back onto the roof.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You are a level 10 MAX: [Warrior] - Rare


    [Lethal] - Rare: When you make a physical attack against a target, they have a 1% chance per skill level + 0.001% chance per point of LCK to be inflicted with [Insta-death]


    [Guns] - Common: +1.25% to Firearm Mastery


    Capstone - [Reaper''s Due] - Epic: When your insta-death effects fail against a target, they have a 1% chance per skill level to inflict 1 point of constitution damage on your target. This is a soul attack.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "This is good enough for now," Skippy muttered as he made his way back to Tom.


    When he arrived, the orcs were already there. Tom seemed to be negotiating with three orcs. Skippy, having relearned his lesson, used identity.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Rog Bone Splitter


    Title: Bone Splitter clan, Mercenary Captain of the Bone Splitter Clan, Faithful of Hilda God of Justice, Outworlder, First


    Race: Orc


    Type: Humanoid / Goblinoid


    Languages: Orcish, Gobish, English


    Levels: 20 (Crippled)


    Bloodline: None


    Classes: Mercenary 20 / Warmonger 9


    Personal Perks: Tireless, Darkvision,


    Mercenary Skills: Dragoon, Chivalry, Eternal Vigil, Jackpot, Evasion, Legendary Strength, Golden Opportunity, Deadly Aim, Solid Contract, Infused Powershot, Parlay


    Warmonger Skills: Warband Leader, War Map, Supply Chain, Aura of Intimidation


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tara Bone Splitter


    Title: Bone Splitter clan, Shamen of the Bonesplitter Clan, Faithful of Hilda, Outworlder, First


    Race: Orc


    Type: Humanoid / Goblinoid


    Languages: Orcish, Gobish, English


    Levels: 20 (Crippled)


    Classes: Shamen 20 / Truthspeaker 10


    Personal skills: Tireless, Darkvision, Mapping


    Shamen Skills:


    Truthspeaker Skills: Warband Leader, Leadership 4, Raider 2, Logistics 2, Coordinate 3


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Gar Bone Splitter


    Title: Bone Splitter Clan, Chieftain of the Bone Splitter Clan, Faithful of Hilda, Outworlder, First


    Race: Orc


    Type: Humanoid / Goblinoid


    Languages: Orcish, Gobish, English


    Levels: 20 (Crippled)


    Classes: Chieftain 30 / Warmonger 20


    Personal skills: Tireless, Darkvision, Mapping


    Chieftain Skills:


    Warmonger Skills: Warband Leader, Leadership 4, Raider 2, Logistics 2, Coordinate 3


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy decided this was a great time to further power-level his sneak skill as he chose to remain hidden as he watched.


    "I''m afraid your offer is unacceptable," the orc chieftain stated in front of the group. "To drop a contract given in bad faith is one thing. But to turn on those who brought us here for so little would be dishonourable."


    "Putting aside the question of Honor. This is more than generous. I am offering to bring back all of your fallen for free. The one you have now and any you suffer in the battle. That''s thousands of common or uncommon cores." Tom argued.


    "Truth," Tara Bonesplitter said.


    "You should also consider the future," Alex said. "While the goblins are an immediate threat to me and mine, humanity as a whole won''t tolerate their existence. If the goblins actually manage to claim this region as theirs, then humanity will simply turn this place into a wasteland to deny it to them."


    "Partial truth," Tara Bonesplitter said.


    Tom shrugged. "They''ll probably dick around for a bit until they escalate. But once they commit, it''s over for the goblins, and if humanity associates you with them, then your head will go on the chopping block with them."


    "Truth," Tara Bonesplitter said.


    The chief seemed to ponder that for a while.


    "Fine, we''ll do it. But we want at least 10% of the cores from the battle. You will resurrect all of the dead we brought with us today and all those who die on the field of battle. We can come to your settlement to trade our wares or shelter from the dangers of the world the same way you would your own people. And when the time comes you will help introduce our tribe to three other human settlements. The last condition will only be met if we achieve trade with three other settlements. Introducing us to three settlements that will not speak with us is unacceptable." Gar said.


    "Acceptable. However, your traders will need to be careful when you start trading. Not everyone will be so calm in your fierce presence," Tom warned. Do you need shelter for the winter?"


    "No. We will survive this light winter without your assistance." Gar said


    Gar and Tom shook. A flash of magic indicated that the contract was sealed.


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 7>


    <...>


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 9>


    The chief nodded as he began to take corpses out of his own inventory. Skippy nodded at his notification as Tom started resurrecting the orcs en masse and using the orcs'' own mana to return their dead. The orcs left without another word.


    Skippy used [Mirage Step] for the small amount of time he had mana before he bumped his level back down to 1 and deactivated [Reaper''s Cloak] as he stepped next to Tom.


    "That seemed to go well," Skippy said.


    "I''m not so sure I trust them." Major Adams said.


    "It went fine." Tom was dismissed. "It wasn''t the best-case scenario, but it was acceptable. We have one less orc tribe to worry about, and they won''t be telling the goblins about us. I''m much more worried about the apocalypse force. That''s going to be a cluster fuck."


    "Speaking of cluster fuck. Can you help me with my next skill? I got everything I need for [Way of the Reaper]," Skippy explained.


    "Sure," Tom said.


    Skippy smiled as he sundered his [Warrior] Class. As Tom dived into his soul


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Fusion Detected!!!


    [Supercrit] + [Lethal] ¡ú [Heartseeker] - Epic: increase your chances of scoring a critical hit by 5% per skill level, and when you make a physical attack against a target they have a 1% chance per skill level + 0.01% chance per point of LCK to be inflicted with [Insta-death]


    [Blades] - Lesser + [Knife to Hand] - Common + [Soul Strike] - Uncommon + [Guns] - Lesser + [Reaper''s Due] - Epic + [Heartseeker] - Historic ¡ú [Way of the Reaper] - Mythic


    [Way of the Reaper] - Mythic: Description: The Way of the Reaper is a path of lethality. Those who follow this path become avatars of the Grim Reaper, honing their skills to deliver devastating strikes and deadly attacks that strike at both body and soul


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+1.25% to Sword, Knives, Unarmed and Gun Mastery per skill level.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Increase your chances of scoring a critical hit by 5% per skill level</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">when you make a physical attack against a target. They have a 1% chance per skill level + 0.01% chance per point of LCK to be inflicted with [Insta-death]</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">When your insta-death effects fail against a target, they have a 1% chance per skill level to take 1 point of constitution damage. This is a soul attack.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+10% to LCK </li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Sundered: [Warrior]


    [Warrior] skills have become Personal Skills.


    [Way of the Reaper] has been added to [Assassin] Class


    [Perfect Strike] has been added to [Assassin] Class


    [Perfect Strike] - Rare ¡ú [Perfected Strike] - Historic


    [Perfected Strike]: You spot a flaw in your opponent¡¯s defence, instantly lunging forward to strike with all of your strength and precision to score a critical hit. (Critical hits inflict triple damage) Cost 300 stamina.


    Increase all damage from critical hits by 1% per skill level until you double all damage from critical hits; in other words, a multiplier of six on the base damage. You can now score a critical hit on creatures normally immune to such attacks.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy smiled as he felt the power. [Way of the Reaper] wouldn''t really help him in the inst damage department. He honestly wanted this skill for when his assassinations failed, and it was oh-so worth it.


    "One down. One more to go," Skippy


    "Come one skippy. We''re going to the apocalypse force next." Tom said.


    Skippy followed after Tom as they moved back to the vehicles, ready for his next round of power levelling.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skippy


    (Andrew Owens)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Theirinthrope


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 1


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Squirrel


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 0.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 0.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 0.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 15%, Elemental 15%, Magical 15%, Vitality 15%, Mind 15%, Soul 15%, Crit 30%, Poison 30%, Disease 30%, Insta-Death 30%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Beastslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Assassin 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 3


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 2


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 8


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 12


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 3


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 2


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 8 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK


    Racial: +3 AGIL +2 CON +2 SPIRIT +1 PER


    Bloodline: +5 AGIL +5 LCK


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Ratatoskr] - Legendary: The Blood of the Legendary Squirrel who runs up and down the length of the world tree carrying insults from the dragon Nidhogg at the roots to the great eagle at the top of the tree.


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr''s Tongue] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Instincts] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Vicious Mockery] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Nidhogg''s Gift] - Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ascending Yggdrasil] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Aura of the Divine Beast] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Defiant Regeneration] - Level 25 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 28 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to AGIL per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to LCK per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rataskurs Pocket] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Sneak] - Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] - Level 22 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mirage Step] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Focus] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    Assassin 4/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Way of the Reaper] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Unseen Blow] - Level 2 >> Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Reaper''s Cloak] - Level 1 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Perfected Strike] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 85: Super Weapons

    Isaac entered the Modular Workshop to the sounds of industry ringing throughout the space, the air thick with sawdust. He had to cough as he forced himself through, half-blind from the particles in the air. Duncan was already busy sawing wood in a cloud of sawdust.


    ¡°Ah, there you are, Isaac!¡± Duncan called out, not stopping his rhythmic sawing as he greeted Isaac. ¡°You have good timing! Help me move this off the table.¡±


    ¡°Um, sure!¡± Isaac replied, wiping the dust from his eyes and putting on some work goggles to get his bearings around the workshop.


    Duncan''s work area was set in the very back of the crafting hall, where the workshop had been converted into a carpentry space today. The center of the room was completely clear of obstructions, save for several thick bars of freshly cut wood lying on the floor.


    ¡°So what are we building today?¡± Isaac asked as he helped Duncan move his .. lumber onto a work table.


    ¡°Oh, come and take a look,¡± Duncan said, beckoning Isaac over to a nearby drafting table filled with a series of sharply drawn sketches.


    ¡°So these are perhaps rougher than I would like, but I have managed to come up with a few initial concepts for us to experiment with,¡± Duncan explained as they arrived at the table, indicating the designs that Isaac recognized as several types of siege engines.


    ¡°Christ, are we actually going to be building these things,¡± Isaac asked in confusion as he scanned through the designs.


    Some of the designs he had seen before. His eyes passed across the familiar sketches of trebuchets, catapults, and ballistae before going on to see several he was pretty sure didn''t exist outside of video games. Now that he thought about it, that might be appropriate for this situation. However, he wasn''t sure if they could build a forty-foot-tall trebuchet in the workshop. Then again, he had seen his brother pick up and stash a vending machine in his [Storage], so what the hell did he know?


    "Most of these, probably not. I just pulled everything that came up when I looked up Siege Engine in the Library. No, what I''m thinking of creating is the Roman mobile ballista, otherwise known as the scorpion."


    "Oh," Issac said.


    "What, you don''t like it?" Duncan asked.


    "No, it''s just... I was honestly hoping we would work on something more magical. You told me you were going to show me how to enchant stuff," Isaac whined.


    "We don''t have what we need to enchant anything in mass, unfortunately. Though, don''t let that confuse you. These ballistas are going to be very magical when we''re done with them,¡± Duncan said with a dismissive wave. "Understand that a purely magical weapon takes a lot of mana to use. Since we''ll be making scorpions, we can use magic to augment what''s already there instead of wasting all the energy on creating the attack."


    "Can we even build these?" Isaac asked skeptically as he looked over the design. It was easily more complex than anything he had ever created, and he wasn''t sure he could build one on his own, let alone build multiple of them in a day.


    Duncan shrugged. "I would say no if we were still in the Legend of Noralon. We shouldn''t be able to build a scorpion ballista at our level in Carpentry without a blueprint. But this is reality, so ¡­ we should be able to manage it, especially with Charles over there. He actually does have the skill levels for it. Say hi, Charles!" Duncan called out.


    One of the crafters working on a project nodded in acknowledgment but didn''t look away from his work.


    "Charles was or is a carpenter. I think that because he has so much prior experience, he''s getting a truly stupid amount of skill XP for his [Carpentry] skills. Or at least I hope that''s the reason. Otherwise, I''m just a really shitty carpenter."


    ¡°So what can I do?¡± Isaac asked, eager to get to make something truly magical.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got the perfect job for our resident [Runesmith],¡± Duncan said, reaching for a large metal rod that had been placed on the table. He lifted it up, revealing a giant ballista bolt. Stretching a little over a meter in length, the bolt was forged from what looked like a single piece of iron, its tip molded into a four-pointed arrowhead. Smooth along the length of its shaft. The weapon bore little other decoration or embellishments, save for a quartet of thick fins at its base and an overly bulbous tip, making it almost appear as a massively oversized dildo.


    ¡°This one is for measuring purposes. But the final design will have core bomb-tipped arrows. These will let people without combat classes do as much damage as a mage like Alex,¡± Duncan said.


    "Do I want to know what a core bomb is?" Issac asked.


    "It''s when you try an uncontrolled fusion of two cores. They explode." Duncan explained.


    "You''re going to teach me?!" Issac asked excitedly.


    "As soon as we build the ballista," Duncan said.


    Issac immediately felt disappointed.


    "Okay, fine. But just remember that my [Carpentry] skill level has not hit level 10 yet," Isaac warned.


    "Don''t worry about it, kid. We all have to start out somewhere. Besides, do you really think we don''t need metal components? Hell, you think we aren''t going to carve runes for all these things? I know," Duncan replied reassuringly.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I get it. Now that we''ve had enough of the pep talk, how can I help?¡± Isaac asked.


    ¡°With the framing as you see here,¡± Duncan said, motioning towards another sketch pinned to the drafting table. ¡°We will need to ensure that its core can withstand movement and repeated use."


    Continuing on with his explanation, the next few minutes passed quickly as Duncan brought Isaac up to speed on the nature of the design and how they would tackle building a ballista. It was a far cry from the rudimentary armour that Isaac had already crafted; building something like a siege engine was a much more complicated task, requiring a variety of different crafting skills to see the project through to completion.


    Isaac did his best to help Duncan gather all the tools they would need for their crafting as Duncan started to give instructions. Following Duncan¡¯s lead, they began the process of building a working ballista from scratch.


    Beginning by preparing the various cuts of wood needed for the siege engine¡¯s frame, the first two hours were spent largely measuring and sawing before progressing to the other remaining pieces.


    With the pieces cut and shaped, they assembled the main frame, meticulously attaching the vertical supports and main bow supports. Each joint was checked and adjusted to guarantee it wouldn''t fall apart the moment they tried to fire before they glued and pressed it together.


    The stock and trigger required the most technical work, but once they were done, they turned their attention to the arrow guide, ensuring it was aligned and sanded down.


    Finally, the bow limbs were attached, and the string was strung with clumsy fingers. Unfortunately, their low skill levels in Carpentry led to many frustrating failures. Though just as many rewards.


    <[Carpentry] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Carpentry] has Reached Level 11>


    <...>


    <[Carpentry] has Reached Level 23>


    Finally, after many, many failures, accidents, and a few out-and-out mistakes on their part, they finally completed their first ballista to the sound of a notification.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have crafted a [Roman Scorpion] - Inferior


    Quality: Common


    Durability: 102/102


    Special Effects:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Miss Fire]: Has a 5% chance to jam with every shot. </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Fragile]: lose 5 Durability with every shot.</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <Level Up>


    <Level Up>


    <Level Up>


    "Holy crap," Issac said as he looked upon what they had created.


    The ballista was small, only big enough for one man to fire it, not unlike a mounted machine gun. The wood looked rough and maybe a little crooked, but to Issac, it was more impressive than anything he had ever seen.


    "Yeah, it''s a piece of shit," Duncan said.


    "It''s not that bad?!" Issac protested.


    "It''s a good prototype, but I don''t see us getting more than a dozen shots off before something breaks. We''ll need to gather some more materials and fine-tune the design, but this is a solid prototype." Duncan said.


    "Any ideas for improvement?" Issac asked.


    "We could actually get good at Carpentry." Duncan chuckled. "Look at Charles Scorpion.


    Issac turned and saw two well-put-together ballistas, each at Lesser Rarity. The two beasts were leagues better than the one they had first created, with almost 500 durability apiece.


    "I''m sorry. What did we waste all that time on?" Issac asked.


    "Because we needed to level up our Carpentry skills," Duncan stated. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "In a more practical sense, let''s try adding some runes to it. If it''s enough of an improvement, then we can move on to the core bombs. If not, we will try again." Duncan said


    Issac shrugged. "Fine, but I still want to learn how to make those core bombs after this."


    Issac got to work using his [Rune Lore] and [Runecrafting] to guide him in carving the runes into the ballista for the best effect. Duncan''s experience with runes was invaluable. Duncan showed him dozens of new runes, expanding his knowledge base. When he finished up, he got two notifications.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Roman Scorpion] - Inferior


    Quality: Average


    Durability: 102/122.4


    Runes:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Durability: Increase Durability by 20%</li>


    </ul>


    Special Effects:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Miss Fire]: Has a 5% chance to jam with every shot. </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Fragile]: lose 5 Durability with every shot.</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!! Skill Fusion Detected!!!


    [Rune Lore] - Lesser + [RuneCrafting] - Rare ¡ú [Runic Tongue] - Uncommon


    [Runic Tongue]: You are able to translate your thoughts in Runes with a success rate of 1% per skill level. You remember everything you have ever learned about Runes.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Huh," Issac muttered as he read the second notification.


    The strange thing was that it didn''t feel any different. Every other time he had purchased a new skill, he had gotten a weird feeling. But he wasn''t sure he would have even noticed this change if the system hadn''t notified him.


    "Did you get something interesting?" Duncan asked.


    "No, I just got this notification," Issac said, showing the notification to Duncan.


    "Oh good, you got that one," Duncan said, barely even reading the notification.


    "You knew about this?" Issac asked.


    "I knew those two skills were eventually going to combine," Duncan said as he examined the scorpion. "Hey, I think this scorpion is a bust. Let''s start over."


    And just like that, they got back to work¡ªsawing, measuring, and sanding down the wooden beams. As they worked, Issac reviewed his status and picked up some new skills, and he was assigned his new levels.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    [Runesmith] Level 7


    [Runesmith] Level 8


    [Runesmith] Level 9


    [Runesmith] Level 10


    [Runesmith] Level 11


    [Shape Metal] - Common: You have the ability to shape and form Metal. Increased ability to change the properties of Metal. This Skill grows with your understanding and experience working with Metal. Increase the effectiveness of this skill by 1% per skill level.


    Capstone - [Accident Prone] - Historic: When you are crafting or experimenting, and you are about to make a horrific accident, you are forcibly stopped, and you will suffer a full sensory vision of the accident and its effects; this effect only happens once per day. You can sense when you are about to make a mistake, and you also gain +1% resistance to Crit, Insta-death, Poison, and Disease per skill level and +0.5% magic resistance per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You are a Level 5 [Blacksmith]


    You have migrated the following skills to [Blacksmith]: [Power Strike], [Aura of Cleanliness], and [Leatherworking]


    [Power Strike] - Inferior ¡ú [Hammering Blows] - Rare


    [Aura of Cleanliness] - Common ¡ú [Forge Control] - Uncommon


    [Leatherworking] - Inferior ¡ú [Smith Leather Tanner] - Uncommon


    [Equipment Maintenance] - Common: Allows the smith to better repair and maintain their tools as well as broken items brought to them. Allows the player to restore 1% of an item''s durability per skill level. +0.5% to Crafting Mastery per skill level.


    [Hammering Blows] - Rare: for the cost of 12 stamina, you can enhance the strength behind your next blow by 50% per skill level. Increase the power of this skill by 0.5% per skill level. When crafting, the cost is reduced by 0.5% per skill level. +10% to STR.


    [Forge Control] - Uncommon: This skill grants you the ability to manipulate key variables within the forge, including temperature, allowing for optimal conditions to craft and refine materials. As a passive effect, [Forge Control] ensures that the forge remains clean.


    [Smiths Leather Tanner] - Uncommon: this skill provides a +1.25% increase to tanning mastery per skill level. Additionally, [Smith''s Leather Tanner] enables you to substitute your smithing mastery for tanning mastery, allowing you to leverage your expertise in metalwork to improve your leatherworking results.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Issac smiled as his work improved. Thanks to his three new skills, the carving went faster than before. [Equipment Maintenance] allowed him to maintain the wood''s durability during his carving. And [Accident Prone] seemed to be helping him avoid mistakes. Seemed to be because he honestly couldn''t feel anything from it. But he was making fewer mistakes. And the results spoke for themselves.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Roman Scorpion] - Inferior


    Quality: Above Average


    Durability: 262/340.6


    Runes:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attack Up: Increase the Draw strength of the ballista by 10%</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Durability: Increase Durability by 30%</li>


    </ul>


    Special Effects:


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Fragile]: lose 5 Durability with every shot.</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulation


    For creating the first Runic Ballista on the planet, you have gained the World''s First 2 Title


    +1 Skill Point


    +10 Skill levels to your Carpentry Skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Carpentry] has Reached Level 33>


    "Now, this is much better," Duncan said.


    Then Duncan picked up the Scorpion and ate it. Issac stared at him in shock as Duncan swallowed up the Scorpion like he was Kirby. His mouth warped until he swallowed the table-sized siege weapon.


    "What the actual fuck?!" Issac asked.


    "[Dungeon Pallet]," Duncan said, smiling at Issacs'' shock. "It allows me to ''eat'' an item and gain a perfect blueprint of the item; it also gives me insight into all the skills that went into making it, and I can steal those skills and add them to my own crafting skills."


    Issac paused. "So you just stole my skills?"


    Duncan smiled, "Yep, pretty much."


    Issac just stared at him. "Your class is bullshit."


    Duncan smiled. "Yeah, except it doesn''t do anything in combat, remember? I can''t use [Hammering Blows] to beat the crap out of someone. I don''t get to keep [Accident Prone] outside of crafting. And I can''t use [Shape Metal] to turn my opponent''s sword to jelly."


    Issac paused as he digested Duncan''s words.


    "I can turn swords into jelly?" he asked.


    "When your skill levels increase." Duncan chuckled. "Now, if you can get started on the runes for Charles''s stuff, I can get started on getting together our supposed for the Core Bombs."


    Duncan placed the two Lesser rarity cores on the table.


    "Now, what''s your jeweller skill level?" Duncan asked.


    Issac shrugged. "I never got it."


    Duncan signed.


    "You must have left the class before we could get into it," Duncan said. "observe."


    Taking the two cores, he slowly started feeding them his mana. The cores themselves began to glow. Once they started to look dangerously bright, Duncan loaded them into a spring trap. One that, when placed at the end of a ballista bolt, would forcibly shove one core into the other, smashing them together like two glass balls.


    "Done. now we just need to add this to the bolts." Duncan said.


    "That''s it?" Issac asked as he stared at the literal bomb on the table in front of him. "That''s so anti-climatic."


    "Really, I find it terrifying," Duncan said.


    "How is this terrifying?" Issac bemoaned.


    "Because now any dumbass with two cores and a mana pool can make a bomb," Duncan said.


    Issac stared down at the core bomb as Duncan''s words sunk in.


    "Fuck"


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Issac Brown


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Canadian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 880


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1440


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1280


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 11.2 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 16.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 9.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths, World''s First 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Magic 5%, Crit 10%, Insta-Death 10%, Poison 10%, Disease 10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Runesmith 11, Blacksmith 5


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 64


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 48


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 16 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 16


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 64


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 64


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 48


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 32


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 16 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 DEX +3 STR +3 INT +2 PER +2 WILL


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 21/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Pursuit Hunter] - Level 3</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 2 >> Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 1 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Carpentry] - Level 4 >> Level 33</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Crafting] - Level 14 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Scavenger] - Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Sewing] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Dash] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Subterfuge] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Healing Hands] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Runesmith 6/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Rune Forging] - Level 23 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Runic Eye] - Level 1 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Runic Tongue] - Level 1 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rune Circuit] - Level 1 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Shape Metal] - Level 1 >> Level 3</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone - [Accident Prone] - Level 1 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    Blacksmith 4/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Equipment Maintenance] - Level 1 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Hammering Blows] - Level 2 >> Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Forge Control] - Level 1 >> Level 5</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Smiths Leather Tanner] - Level 6 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 86: F**ked up Ways to Save Humans

    "Well Fuck" Tom muttered as he looked out at the base of the apocalypse force. From really far away.


    "You can say that again," Alex said as they stared off into the distance


    Surrounding the Bell Performing Arts Centre was an army of goblins. They had besieged the place, and even now, the sounds of fighting could be heard from where they sat at the top of the Surrey Operations Centre building.


    "Any ideas on how we''re going to get in there?" Skippy asked.


    "Not yet," Tom admitted.


    "Do you mind if I go ahead and grind some levels off that horde?" Skippy asked hopefully.


    "Absolutely not," Major Adams said.


    "Sure," Tom countered.


    Major Adams looked at them like they were insane.


    "If you go in there and start killing them, you''re going to know someone''s out there. I don''t care how stealthy you are."


    "Goblins are a moronic group. Goblin infighting is so common that it borders on the mundane. As long as I make it look like one group of goblins killed another, it will be ignored." Skippy explained.


    "That doesn''t even touch on the foblins," Tom said.


    "What''s a foblin?" the Major asked.


    "Fodder goblin. It''s kind of an inside joke. They breed and die so often that I don''t think anyone would notice unless Skippy starts making an actual dent in their overall population.


    "So we''re ok with letting Skippy just walk into a siege?" Adams asked.


    "We need information. Alex and I can work on finding out the information with divination magic, but I''ll be surprised if they don''t have defences against that. So Skippy is still our best option for a primary source of information." Tom explained, giving a shrug. "Everyone else, take a break, set up a perimeter. Try and salvage some more vehicles. I expect we may end up taking in some more people."


    Tom gave Skippy a look just before a notification appeared in Skippy''s face.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Private Guild Quest: Reconnaissance in Force


    You have decided to sharpen your blade against an entrenched goblin horde. Whether or not this is a smart idea is beside the point. You are going to do this, and your Guild Leader has decided to make the most out of it.


    Objectives:


    Discover valuable pieces of intelligence 0/???


    Gain levels 1/20


    Bonus Objectives


    Free human slaves 0/???


    Bring the Human Slaves to Major Adams 0/???


    Rewards:


    Prismatic Snow Leopard Leather Fur Boots


    Failure Conditions:


    Get caught


    Fail to Meet the Objectives in 12 hours.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy accepted the quest and activated [Reaper''s Cloak]. He was pretty confident that even if he fucked up, he would be able to get away.


    Padding along with mostly silent footsteps, the only signs of his passage were the footprints in the snow that the goblins had already churned up in their march.


    When he got to the goblin''s battle line, guards were on the lookout around the perimeter, ready to call out if they saw anyone trying to sneak up on their camp. Fortunately, their security was lax if he was being nice, shit if he was being honest. Goblins were nocturnal and not naturally inclined for the bright days. Skippy suspected that snow blindness was exacerbating the problem. Skippy walked past a goblin control not thirty feet from his position as he stalked into camp.


    Camp might be too strong a word. It was probably closer to what he thought Burning Man was like. There were tents everywhere. Goblins ate, slept, did questionable substances and fucked out in the open as if they weren''t in the middle of winter. Skippy imagined this might be what burning man was like, but more fucked up with slavery, rape, and murder. Despite the sounds of battle nearby, the goblins seemed to be in a mostly good mood.


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Rataskurs Tongue] has Reached Level 11>


    Unfortunately, Skippy never bothered to learn gobliniese or whatever the fuck goblins spoke, and he wasn''t willing to wait around until [Rataskurs Tounge] levelled up enough for him to be able to understand more than bits and pieces. So he would have to steal any documents he could find for Tom or just try and figure out their secrets on his own.


    Despite his invisibility and the fact that the goblins were half blind from the snow, he made sure to stay out of the common areas and pathways. Instead, he moved behind tents, over and through buildings. He did anything he could to keep out of the limelight.


    He found dozens of dead goblins just tossed to the side of the pathways. So Skippy wasn''t too concerned when he saw a roided-out goblin who was taking a piss away from all of the other goblins. Pulling out a dagger, he stabbed it into the Goblin''s neck.


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 12>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You are a level 3 [Fighter]


    [Warriors Choice] - Common: +1.25% to your Sword and Axe Mastery per skill level


    [Deny Death] - Rare: When someone uses a [Execution] skill against you. You counterattack, knocking aside their blow and throwing their own attack back into their face for 1% of the damage you would have been hit with per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy dumped the body next to another dead goblin as he kept moving through the camp. He assigned his new levels as he went, still being careful not to be discovered.


    Then, he paced the first slave pen. At least a dozen people were trapped inside of a wooden cage. But how the hell could he get them out of here? He used [Mirage Step] to get to higher points to scout around. He considered trying to lead the slave out of there but dismissed it.


    It wasn''t impossible. Hell, he was pretty confident he could shepherd Abaddon out of this camp. But only if Abaddon did exactly what he was told. Skippy didn''t have any faith in a bunch of beaten and starved slaves doing as they were told when they were told with no questions and hesitation. Worse, these were not Noralon slaves. These were Canadian slaves.


    Self-important woke people who questioned everything and were generally a pain in the ass before the system showed up. Yeah, he didn''t have nearly enough LCK to pull that off.


    "It''s too bad I can''t put them in my inventory. That would make it much easier." Skippy muttered to himself.


    Unfortunately, his inventory only allowed inanimate or dead ¡­.. Skippy smacked his head. He was a moron. He could just kill the slaves, stash them in his inventory and then have Tom bring the cry babies back later. Duh.


    Skippy teleported back down to the cage. He cut open the wooden prison and then slit the throat of every human inside in quick succession before they could speak. [Unseen Blow] made it quick and painless. Once they were dead, Skippy loaded them up in his inventory.


    Then a thought occurred to Skippy. Goblins liked to make big pits where they tossed the dead bodies of slaves or just humans in general. If he could find those pits ¡­. Skippy was oh so going to abuse those quest rewards.


    Skippy moved onto another goblin, a lone goblin guarding one of the houses that was being used to hold humans in another pen. The moment he got close, he stabbed the goblin in the neck.


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 14>


    Dropping back to the ground, Skippy double-checked to make sure he hadn''t been spotted before he checked the body for any valuables. That''s when he discovered a collection of ¡­


    "What the hell is a paper called when it''s made out of sheepskin? Parchment?" Skippy muttered to himself.


    He couldn''t remember, but this was clearly written on something''s skin. He really hoped it wasn''t human skin. He didn''t know how relevant it was, but it went into his inventory, along with a couple of cores and a metal shiv. He pocketed them and then moved on to the humans. It was time for some serious grinding.


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 14>


    <...>


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 29>


    <[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] has Reached Level 23>


    <....>


    <[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] has Reached Level 35>


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 15>


    <...>Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Mirage Step] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Mirage Step] has Reached Level 28>


    <...>


    <[Mirage Step] has Reached Level 30>


    <[Focus] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Focus] has Reached Level 11>


    <...>


    <[Focus] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 14>


    <...>


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Mapping] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Ratatoskr''s Pocket] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Ratatoskr''s Pocket] has Reached Level 26>


    <...>


    <[Ratatoskr''s Pocket] has Reached Level 38>


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 22>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You are a level 10 [Fighter] - Uncommon


    [Guns] - Common: +1.25% to Firearm Mastery


    [Death Blow] - Epic: Critical hits deal +1% more damage per skill level and inflict [Insta-death] on your victims


    [Chopping Block]: when your opponent''s hp reaches 20%, you can execute them, killing them instantly


    Capstone - [Inevitable Execution]: The effect partly fails when someone uses a [counter-execution] against you. You don''t get hit with a counterattack, but your attack will only inflict 10% of the original damage.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations


    You are a level 5 [Assassin] - Rare


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy nodded at having finished the levelling aspect of the job and turned to leave. He had been hopping between camps, excavating graves, and killing any goblin that wandered on its own for the better part of three hours ¡­ in broad daylight. His skills were getting a fracking workout.


    That''s when he heard the screams. Skippy climbed up onto a building to get a better look and immediately wished he hadn''t. A cluster of human slaves were being held down and rapped. Tom and Alex would have gotten angry. Maybe they would have done something stupid, blown their cover, and burned the world to the ground.


    Abaddon was just detached. He liked games with his friends and alchemy. Anything else, and the big guy was oddly detached. Skippy thought he was detached. But he couldn''t bring himself to look and turned away. Their screams and cries for mercy were heart-wrenching, but there were too many goblins for him to save them.


    Instead, he waited until the goblins finished with them. Then the goblins slit their throat and tossed them aside. Skippy slipped down to pick up their bodies before he turned to leave.


    He needed to get Tom to help him finish his build. After that, he noticed a rather large tent that he suspected housed the leader of this army. And didn''t he need to kill a leader in a single blow to unlock his [Regicide] Class?


    <hr>


    Skippy returned to Tom. he felt wrung out after seeing the goblins


    "How bad is it?" Tom asked sympathetically.


    "Bad," Skippy said. "On the plus side, I was able to save a lot of people."


    Tom looked back and forth.


    "Where are they?" Major Adams asked.


    Skippy shrugged.


    "Well, I couldn''t get them out, so I killed them and stashed them in my inventory. We can resurrect them later." Skippy explained.


    The look of shock on everyone''s face was priceless.


    Then Abaddon started laughing.


    "That is so messed up." Abaddon laughed.


    "It''s not that messed up." Skippy protested.


    "It''s very messed up," Alex said as she tried not to smile.


    "It''s sick," Major Adams said, not an ounce of humour on his face


    "But it''s totally brilliant." Tom pointed out as he tried not to laugh. "Why didn''t I think of that? I mean, jeez, if I didn''t figure out how to contact the apocalypse force, I would be worried I was getting stupid."


    "You figured out a way?" Skippy asked.


    "I''m going to write a message on a paper airplane and use [Far Seeing] to guide it in," Tom explained. I''m hoping we can get some of their fliers to come out here so we can talk to them."


    "Great, but before you do that. I need some upgrades," Skippy said. "I need you to get me [Executioner''s Judgment]."


    Tom complied. Pressing his hand against Skippy''s chest and activating the changes he wanted.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Fusion Detected!!!


    [Warriors Choice] - Common + [Guns] - Common + [Not Today] - Rare+ [Chopping Block] - Rare + [Death Blow] - Epic + [Inevitable Execution] - Epic ¡ú [Executioners Judgement] - Mythic


    [Executioners Judgement] - Mythic:


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Men had been executed in many ways: with the axe, by the blade and by the firing squad. Now, you can wield the power of life and death, too, with this skill.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+1.25% to Blade, Axe and Firearm Mastery</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Critical hits deal +1% more damage per skill level and inflict [Insta-death] on your victims</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">When someone uses a [Execution] skill against you. You counterattack, knocking aside their blow and throwing their own attack back into their face equal to 1% per skill level of the damage you would have taken</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">When your opponent''s hp reaches 20%, you can execute them, killing them instantly. This effect partly fails when someone uses a [counter-execution] against you. You don''t get hit with a counterattack, but your attack will only inflict 0.25% of the original damage per skill level</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+10% to STR</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Class Sundered [Fighter]


    [Fighter] Skills have become Personal Skills


    [Executioners Judgement] has become an [Assassin] Skill


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Your Buff [Build yourself Back up] has expired


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "The buffs are nearly gone," Tom warned. "It''s going to be a bit harder to level now. Especially if you aren''t intending to sunder any more classes."


    "It''s fine," Skippy said. "I can still get to level 20 before the end of the day."


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Quest rewards!!!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Suddenly, a pair of boots and gloves fell into his lap.


    "Oh yeah," Skippy muttered as he held up the much higher-quality items.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Prismatic Leopard Leather Fur Boots


    Rarity: Rare


    Armour Rating: 121


    Quality: Masterwork


    Set match 2/4


    Enchantment: [Enhanced Grip] increases the friction on the gloves, allowing the user to maintain their footing even in extreme circumstances.


    Essence: [Furtive]: make no noise when moving


    Material Effect: [Prismatic]: can shift the colour of the material


    Prismatic Leopards Leather Fur gloves


    Rarity: Rare


    Armour Rating: 121


    Quality: Masterwork


    Set match 2/3


    Enchantment: [Enhanced Grip]: increases the friction on the boots, allowing the user to maintain their footing even in extreme circumstances.


    Essence: [Furtive]: leave no footprints


    Material Effect: [Prismatic]: can shift the colour of the material


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Why didn''t you give out these rewards earlier?" Skippy asked as he chucked his old boots and put on his new boots.


    Tom shrugged. "I don''t actually give out the rewards; I can only issue the quest; the system gives the rewards."


    "Oh well." Skippy shrugged, a little disappointed, as he pulled on the gloves before pulling off his shoes and replacing them with his new shoes.


    Skippy nodded as he felt everything slip into place.


    "I''ll be right back. I''ve got one more thing I want to do," Skippy said as he disappeared.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skippy


    (Andrew Owens)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Beastial Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 5


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Squirrel


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 2.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 2.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 1.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 15%, Elemental 15%, Magical 15%, Vitality 15%, Mind 15%, Soul 15%, Crit 30%, Poison 30%, Disease 30%, Insta-Death 30%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Beastslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Assassin 5


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 25


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 44


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 15


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 25


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 10


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 0


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 0 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK


    Racial: +3 AGIL +2 CON +2 SPIRIT +1 PER


    Bloodline: +5 AGIL +5 LCK


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Ratatoskr] - Legendary: The Blood of the Legendary Squirrel who runs up and down the length of the world tree carrying insults from the dragon Nidhogg at the roots to the great eagle at the top of the tree.


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr''s Tongue] - Level 10 >> Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Instincts] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Vicious Mockery] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Nidhogg''s Gift] - Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ascending Yggdrasil] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Aura of the Divine Beast] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Defiant Regeneration] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to AGIL per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to LCK per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rataskurs Pocket] - Level 24 >> Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 20 >> Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] - Level 23 >> Level 35</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mirage Step] - Level 25 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Focus] - Level 9 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    Assassin 5/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Way of the Reaper] - Level 12 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Unseen Blow] - Level 12 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Reaper''s Cloak] - Level 9 >> Level 29</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Perfected Strike] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Executioners Judgement] - Level 3</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 87: Regicide

    Skippy reentered the camp. His stats were abysmal at the moment, and since he was only level 5, he needed to be at least level 10 for his plan to work. But that was okay; he could level and walk. His skills were far better off.


    Skippy moved through the goblin camp, killing any stray goblin he could as he moved through the horde. With all of the dead goblins all around the place, it wasn''t hard to hide the bodies. He also made a point to empty out human graves and the slave pens where he could.


    He was forced to move so painfully slowly to make sure he wasn''t seen or, worse, caught. But moving slowly did have its benefits. As he made his way to the command tent, he started to notice something. There were a lot of dead goblins¡ªmore than he had been expecting.


    ''Are there really this many casualties?'' Skippy wondered to himself.


    He took a small break to move over to some of the goblin corpses. That''s when he realized what was happening. The goblins were deformed by disease. A plague had ripped through their population.


    Skippy wasn''t worried about catching anything. Goblin diseases didn''t affect humans and vice versa. But it was evidence of how powerful the apocalypse force [Plague Mage] was growing. Skippy resolved to kill the man and drop his corpse somewhere no one would find it. He finally approached the main tent.


    Skippy finally arrived at a tent, moving closer to a group of goblin fighters that were clustered around small tables. The goblin chief''s obese body was placed on a throne of twigs as he observed his people.


    Skippy didn''t really care; if he wanted to upgrade his class, he needed to kill the goblin chief in one hit. He was pretty confident in managing that. But it would break [Reaper''s Cloak]. And then he would be stuck in a room with a bunch of rape-happy goblins. Not a great idea.


    He carefully crawled around and collected any weapons not being held or not on a Goblin. He was going to lose his invisibility when he attacked, so he wanted this to be as in his favour as it could be.


    Once he was done, he moved to the next one of the goblins who were gambling. These goblins stunk like they hadn''t bathed, ever. He had to hold his breath as he moved in closer to the table. He needed to give these goblins a reason to fight each other before the goblin chief did anything. The moment the goblins were looking, he snatched a couple of rare cores off the table and then used [Mirage step] to teleport closer to the goblin chief.


    The effect was immediate. When the goblins looked back to the table, they, of course, noticed that most of their money was gone and started accusing each other. Five seconds after that started, one of the goblins slugged the other one. Five seconds after that, someone pulled a knife that had been on his person and stabbed someone. That was when one of the goblins noticed the weapons were missing, and everything turned into a slaughter. Every Goblin in the hall was attacking the other. He had to suppress his laughter as they started killing each other.


    Skippy didn''t know why, but if he had to guess based on what he remembered of goblins, they probably assumed this was a red wedding situation. Goblin did not give a fuck about killing each other. The chief looked like he was about to intervene. But it was too late. This was too good an opportunity for Skippy, especially with his level 10 Capstone.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Legendary Agility] - Historic


    [Legendary Agility]: For every two points you add to your agility stat, you add one point to your strength stat. This does not apply to level bonuses. +10% AGILE


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "[Perfected Strike]," Skippy whispered as he activated [Unseen Blow] in tandem as he struck at the Goblin''s neck.


    <You score a critical hit>


    <Goblin Chief inflicted with Instant-death from critical hit>


    <Insta-death Resited>


    <Goblin Chief has suffered Soul damage>


    <Goblin Chief inflicted with Instant-death from [Way of the Reaper]>


    <Insta-death Restiaced>


    <Damage Calculation 160 +50% +301% +300%>


    <you have inflicted 10,041 points of damage. Base 160>


    <Goblin Chief has died>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, Class Evolution Detected


    [Assassin] - Uncommon ¡ú [Regicide] - Historic


    [Regicide]: otherwise known as the king slayer, what this class lacks in staying power, it more than makes up for in its ability to isolate and eliminate a target in a single strike. All fear the slayer of Kings.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy felt a slight shudder as he saw just how much damage he inflicted. It was almost orgasmic. He honestly wished he had the time to savour his return to form. But he didn''t have time. Instead, he dumped his two skill points into getting even stronger.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You are a level 9 [Regicide]


    [First Blood] - Historic: Often in battle, the first strike determines the winner with this skill, even more so. When you are the first to attack, you gain +5% per skill level to the damage of that first attack. If your attack is not the first of the battle, then you will be granted +3% per skill level to the damage of your first blow. You gain +1% Damage per skill level against every new person you attack.


    [Death or Glory] - Historic: Increase your STR AGIL DEX PER and LCK by 0.5% per skill level. Decrease your total HP by 0.5% per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy turned to the fighting goblins who had noticed him. Now that his strength had been fixed, it was time for some exercise.


    Skippy kicked off the ground, crossing the distance between itself and the goblins in an instant. His long sword pierced clean through the skull of the biggest one, who seemed to be in charge. The others stopped focusing on each other and turned on him, swinging their weapons in desperation, but every single one of them was avoided with minimal effort.


    Skippy parried one attack with his blade before decapitating its owner with ease before it kicked another goblin over a table as he turned to engage the other goblins.


    Skippy felt like he was dancing. He blocked the first attack and parried it into the attack of the second, then he slashed and stabbed the first goblin with a flourish, killing him instantly. He tried to slash the second goblin, but he blocked it. So he kicked him in the nuts.


    <You have critically kicked a goblin scout>


    <Goblin scout inflicted with insta-death>


    <Goblin scout has died>


    Skippy was mildly shocked when the goblin died. That wasn''t going to stop him from killing the rest of them. He stopped trying to sword-fight the goblins at some point and just started cleaving through the goblins with his augmented strength.


    He charged down the goblins mercilessly, mowing down everyone in sight like a gardener clearing weeds, goblin weeds so that the crops, his levels, may grow and Skippy reap a bounty.


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <[Executioner''s Judgment] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Executioner''s Judgment] has Reached Level 5>


    <...>


    <[Executioner''s Judgment] has Reached Level 11>


    <[First Blood] has Reached Level 2>


    <[First Blood] has Reached Level 3>


    <[First Blood] has Reached Level 4>


    <[Death or Glory] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Death or Glory] has Reached Level 3>If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    <...>


    <[Death or Glory] has Reached Level 6>


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Perfected Strike] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Perfected Strike] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Perfected Strike] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Reaper''s Cloak] has Reached Level 30>


    Skippy might have been in trouble if anyone had bothered to come into the tent. Or if anyone raced outside to alert anyone. That was why he picked up an oil lantern and smashed it to pieces on the side of a tent. Flames quickly started licking up the side of the tent as the goblins tried to kill him.


    In less than a minute, Skippy turned the entire inside of the tent red with goblin blood and fire.


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    <LEVEL UP!!!>


    ¡°Ahhh, hahahahahaha!¡± Skippy let out a laugh, utterly drunk on his own power. He had even gotten a ton of level-ups for his bloodline skills, but he ignored them for the moment.


    Its newly-acquired Job and related Skills were developing at a mind-boggling pace. How long had it been since he had been able to cut loose and level up like this? It was definitely before the system, but it was so delicious that he almost forgot himself.


    ¡°Ahahah! Ahah¡­. Ahem.¡± Skippy regained his composure. Even with his elemental resistance, he was still in a burning tent surrounded by goblin corpses and surrounded by a goblin horde. Opening his status, he made his last few purchases using his new skills.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You are a level 19 [Regicide]


    You have Purchased the following Skills.


    [Tyrants Die] - Legendary: All attacks against your target bypass 100% of the target''s defences, whether magical, physical, etc. (They do not affect resistances or immunities.) This skill also disables the target''s life-saving skills such as: [Escape], [Immortality], [Moment of Immortality], etc. This skill can only affect one target at a time. Cooldown: 101 Days. Reduce Cooldown by 1 Day per skill level.


    [Tyranny Falls] - Legendary: Often, the true power of a Tyrant is not their own power but their ability to manipulate their followers. This skill negates all skills acting on the target or skills the target is using to act on others. Including but not limited to [Party Leader], [Enthrall the Masses], [Tyrant''s Presence], [Crowds Favour], [Champion of the People], etc. This skill can only affect one target at a time. Cooldown: 101 Days. Reduce Cooldown by 1 Day per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    These two skills were the real king killers. It would take forever to reduce their cooldowns to a reasonable number, but it would be worth the wait.


    Skippy immediately activated [Reaper''s Cloak] and [Mirage Step], exiting the tent through one of the burning holes in the tarp before teleporting again to the roof of a nearby building. He had gotten everything he really wanted from this escapade. He could stick around and get the last four levels to get the capstone. But he could do that anywhere, and he didn''t want to keep Tom & Alex waiting.


    Using [Mirage step] in rapid succession, Skippy flew across the roofs of buildings. When he approached the meeting spot, he slowed down. There were other people there, four newcomers, and one of them was vividly familiar.


    The edge lord with the giant ass scythe who was trying way too hard to look intimidating. It was the same edge lord who attacked their base. Skippy was pretty sure the half-orc next to him was also the guy who had attacked Abaddon and Tom. The other two were unknown. One was a giant of a man in full chainmail with a scimitar slung over his back. He seemed to have an overabundance of soot black hair from what skippy could see and appeared Mongolian, and the final one looked like an elf cosplaying as Voldemort. Skippy couldn''t [Identify] them as he didn''t have that skill. But Tom did, and he was still in the party, which meant he could access that information.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Ignis Vermilion (Eric Darthma)


    Titles: Beta-Tester, Pyromaniac, First, Apocalypse Force


    Race: Half-Orc


    Level: 21


    Classes: Master Pyromancer 12, Flame Enhancer 9


    Bloodline of the Vermilion Pheonix


    Personal skills: Endless Stamina, Storage, Mapping, System Wiki, Identify


    Master Pyromancer skills: Art of Fire, Consuming Fire, Mana Burn, Immolate, The Living Flame, Tempered Flame, Reignition, Blaze


    Flame Enhancer skills: Body of the Fire God, Claws of the Vermilion Phoenix, Flight of the Vermilion Phoenix, Smouldering Meditation, Fire Attunement


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Graves (Charlie Roe)


    Titles: Beta-tester, Murder, Slaver, First, Apocalypse Force, Guild Leader


    Hidden Titles: Child Murder


    Race: Ratman - Albino


    Level: 23


    Classes: Reaper 14 / Death Knight 9


    Bloodline of the Corpse-Eating Maggot


    Personal skills: Pursuit Hunter, Story Teller, Storage, Mapping, System Wiki, Identify


    Reaper skills: Scythe Weilder, Grim Harvest, Dance of Death, Reaper Cloak, Thief of Time, Wings of Night, Eyes of a Death God


    Death Knight: Soul Bound Weapon, Chivory, Virtue in Extemis, Spectral Plate, Echo Armour,


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Shade (???)


    Titles: Beta-tester, Murderer, Rapist, Apocalypse Force


    Race: High Elf


    Level: 23


    Bloodline: None


    Classes: Horseman of Conquest 23


    Personal skills: Arcane Stability, Manipulate Emotions, Storage, Mapping, System Wiki, Meditation


    Horseman of Conquest skills: Generate Pestilence, First Broken Seal, White Rider, Conquerors Shield, Conquerors Bounty, Plague Engineering, Plague Burst, Patient Zero, Avatar of Plague, Puppet Parasite, HIV, Pandemic, Conquerors Domain, Ten Plagues of Egypt, Plague Zombies


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Altan Kahn (Brandon Lee)


    Titles: Beta-tester, First, Apocalypse Force


    Race: Half-giant - Mongolian


    Type: Humanoid / Giant


    Level: 23


    Classes: Horseman of War 23


    Bloodline of The Sin of Envy Leviathan


    Personal skills: Titans strength, Domination, Sex Maniac


    Horseman of War Skills: Flaming Blade of War, Second Broken Seal, Red Rider, Eternal Warrior, Spoils of War, Belliscience, Art of War, War is Never Over, Avatar of War, Friendly Fire, Cry Havoc, Presence of Ares, Kali''s Wraith, Blood of Huitzilopochtli, Halls of Odin


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Well, shit, these people were awful. He absently wondered if he should just kill them. He would have to start with the [Horseman of Conquest] plague magic was a bitch to deal with. Or maybe the [Horseman of War] as he could resurrect them?


    That did explain the overabundance of dead goblins. The [Horseman of Conquest] had clearly been power-levelling off the horde, not that it would save him from a combination of [Reaper''s Cloak], [Perfected Strike], [Legendary Blow], [Tyrants Die], and [Unseen Blow].


    Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately, no one was fighting, only talking, and Skippy took the opportunity to be a fly on the wall.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skippy


    (Andrew Owens)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Beastial Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 19


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Squirrel


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 665


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1490


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 380


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 11.4 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 13.3 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 7.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 17%, Elemental 17%, Magical 17%, Vitality 17%, Mind 17%, Soul 17%, Crit 34%, Poison 34%, Disease 34%, Insta-Death 34%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Beastslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Regicide 19


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 146


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 271


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 76


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 57


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 19


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 114


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 19


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 19


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 57


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 19


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 188


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 133 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 247 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 76


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 57


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 19


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 114


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 19


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 19


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 57


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 19


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 19 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 171 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK


    Racial: +3 AGIL +2 CON +2 SPIRIT +1 PER


    Bloodline: +5 AGIL +5 LCK


    Regicide Skills: +6 STR


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Ratatoskr] - Legendary: The Blood of the Legendary Squirrel who runs up and down the length of the world tree carrying insults from the dragon Nidhogg at the roots to the great eagle at the top of the tree.


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr''s Tongue] - Level 11 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Instincts] - Level 30 >> Level 33</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Vicious Mockery] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Nidhogg''s Gift] - Level 16 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ascending Yggdrasil] - Level 26 >> Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Aura of the Divine Beast] - Level 20 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Defiant Regeneration] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 30 >> Level 34</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to AGIL per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to LCK per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rataskurs Pocket] - Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] - Level 35</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mirage Step] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Focus] - Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    Regicide 10/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Way of the Reaper] - Level 22 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Unseen Blow] - Level 20 >> Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Reaper''s Cloak] - Level 29 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Perfected Strike] - Level 10 >> Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Executioners Judgement] - Level 3 >> Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Legendary Agility] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[First Blood] - Level 1 >> Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Death or Glory] - Level 1 >> Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Tyrants Die] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Tyranny Falls] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 88: The Horseman of Famine

    Ignis sat on the roof of their settlement, watching as a horde of goblins slammed into Grave''s undead horde. Beside him sat the four founding members of the Apocalypse Force.


    Bradon, or Altan Khan as he now called himself, showed up yesterday with Shade and a small collection of crystal turtles. They hadn''t had a chance to talk since then, what with the goblins besieging them later that day. But now, they have established an equilibrium.


    Graves''s army of the undead was matching the goblin horde in pure numbers. After all, he could add every goblin they killed to his army and formed their primary defence.


    The members of the apocalypse force, using spells or ranged weapons, sat on top of the dirt walls, taking potshots at the goblins while protected by the undead¡ªsafe from the goblins'' retaliation. Although the two armies looked at a stalemate, it wasn''t.


    Shade had already infected the goblins with a disease that targeted [Goblinoids]. Ignis had more than enough counters to the disease to overcome it, but the goblin horde was suffering. On top of that, Brandon or Altan kept marching his personal band of raiders into their ranks to devastate them anytime they looked to be recovering or if he got bored. In the end, the goblin''s army should have been decimated by now. But reinforcements kept pouring into the area to reinforce the siege. So now that they were stuck in a stalemate, they had time to talk atop the bright and chilly roof of the media centre.


    Altan, bare-chested while two of his concubines ran their hands up and down his chest. His half-giant skin was smooth, golden and unblemished, like a Mongolian Superman.


    ¡°So, how many more goblins do we have to kill before this siege is over?¡± Altan asked as he groaped one of his concubines. Ignis thought her name was 2. ¡°As fun as it is massacring the goblins, I can''t exactly expand my empire while we''re under siege. How many of these fuckers are there?!¡±


    ¡°They have a portal,¡± said Ignis. ¡°I flew out yesterday and flew over their base. They have a giant portal in the middle of the university, and it releases a fresh army every couple of hours.¡±


    ¡°Why not destroy it?¡± asked Altan. ¡°Then we can really get on building my empire!¡±


    ¡°It''s heavily guarded,¡± said Ignis. The entire place is swarming with [Shamans], and I''m not exactly stealthy. The only reason they didn''t blow him out of the sky was because I was out of range.¡±


    Altan slammed a meaty fist on the table, scaring his concubines. ¡°Not good enough. Next time, at least make an attempt; your stupid bloodline should let you die trying once a day."


    Ignis felt his flames flare involuntarily. That hadn''t been a part of the Legend of Noralon; now, he was finding his mood was often being reflected in his flames. For a fleeting moment, the image of Altan engulfed in a blazing fireball was almost too tempting to resist. But no, these were his friends.


    ¡°Give me some reinforcements, and I can get it done.¡± Ignis shot back


    ¡°You¡¯re both wasting your time,¡± said Shade, lifting his beer to his bony face with arms thinner than the legs of the chair he sat on. His friend had apparently decided that Severus'' snape wasn''t a good enough look and had used his reroll scroll to look like a high elf Voldemort.


    Shade shot him a stupid grin. ¡°My plagues will wipe them out in due time. We just need to sit back and let the XP roll in.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± said Graves, barely visible under his shroud. His rat-like features were hidden under the shadow of his black hood. ¡°Once they''re all dead, we can raise them as an undead army and take over the entire Vancouver area.¡±


    Graves, Shade, and Altan shared a smile


    ¡°That would be badass!¡± said Altan. ¡°We let the goblins come then!¡±


    He groped Two''s breasts roughly, not caring for the others in the room. It was no easy feat getting Altan to change his mind. However, Graves¡¯s suggestion of creating an undead army seemed to be doing the trick. But Ignis still had a problem.


    "Would you please leave the girls outside, Brandon?" Graves asked


    "It''s Altan." Altan corrected, not minding them at all as he played with his slave girl.


    "What about me? I need XP as well," Ignis pointed out as flames licked up and down his body.


    "Oh, Hell no," Shade said. "Your fire would wipe out all of the plagues I''ve been loading them up with."


    "And it would kill my undead." Graves pointed out.


    "Besides, we need to let the sheeple gain levels," Altan said as he fondled the ass of one of his slaves.


    Ignis rolled his eyes. "So what, you guys are the only ones who can get passive XP?"


    "Come one, man, just launch a raid at the goblins that aren''t around us. That way, you can get xp, and we can keep grinding xp from the horde," Shade protested.


    "You already gained two levels," Ignis shot back as something white landed in Graves''s lap.


    "Um, what was that?" Ignis asked.


    Graves opened up the paper airplane and started reading.


    "It''s a request for a meet-up," Graves said, interested. "From the people we attacked."


    "You attacked," Ignis said. "I have no interest in gaining Infamy titles. I don''t know why you three are so infatuated with them."


    "Should we go?" Shade asked.


    "Yes." Altan agreed instantly as he pushed his slaves off of him.


    The slave girls moved back inside the building, where it wasn''t minus ten.


    "It sounds interesting, and it never hurts to know your enemies. Besides, what''s the worst that could happen? They attack us, and then we kill them all? I''ve been itching for some exercise," Altan said as he flexed his muscles.


    "I can agree to that." Shade said.


    "Alright, Altan, it''s just north of here at the seven-eleven." Graves said.


    Graves allowed his black wings to emerge from his back before he grabbed Shade and took to the sky. Altan used his Fast Travel Skill [Red Rider] and disappeared and reappeared as he ran north. Ignis allowed his own flaming wings to emerge as he took them to the sky.


    They flew for less than ten minutes before they arrived at the seven-elves. Once there, they found around a dozen people, all older than them. Ignis immediately recognized the massive lizard man in the front and used [Identify] on all of them.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Abaddon


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, World First 6


    Race: Lizard Man


    Level: 21


    Classes: Giantslayer 21


    Personal Skills: Natural Arms and Armour, Aquatic Predator, Storage, Mapping, System Wiki, Siegebreaker, Brewer, Meditation


    Giantslayer Skills: Tiger Style: Sundering Claws, Lesser Colossus, Cut Down to Size, Bulwark, Second Stage, Legendary Strength, Fee-fi-fo-fum, Charge, Giga Impact, Relentless Onslaught, Moment of Immortality, Close Combat, Not Today


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Thomas Bruner


    Titles: Beta-tester, First, Awoken Myths member, Guild Leader


    Race: Half-elf


    Level: 21


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactician 3, Exorcist 8


    Personal Skills: Best of Both Worlds, Story Teller, Storage, Mapping, System Wiki, Terra Arts, Aqua Arts, Teacher, Misalliance Crafting, Mana-infused Weapon, Basic Swords, Flyte


    Augur Skills: Augurs Eye, Art of Life, Bight Arts, Far Seeing, Prophetic Meditation, Hand of Mercy, Quest Giver


    Tactician Skills: Nascent Guild Leader, Leadership 3, Raider 2, Logistics 3, Coordination 2


    Exorcist Skills: Spell Trap, Karmic Contract, Paper Armour, Paper Wings, Shape Paper


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Alexandra Ling


    Titles: Beta-tester, First, Awoken Myths


    Race: Sun Elf


    Level: 21


    Classes: Wizardess 20, Witch 1


    Personal Skills: Solar Metabolism, Stable Chanting, Storage, Mapping, Mana Supersession (System), Flyte, Meditation


    Wizard Skills: Arcane Awakening, Arcane Shell, Multi-cast, Charge Attack (Magic), Synchronized Chanting, Grimoire, Mana Sight, Mana Manipulation, Arcane Insight, Persistent Casting, Meta Magic


    Witch Skills: Flying Broomstick


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: ''Major'' Bailey Adams


    Titles: Major, Awoken Myths


    Race: Human


    Level: 20


    Classes: Rescue Ranger 19, Major 1


    Personal Skills: Story Teller, Storage


    Rescue Ranger Skills: Bound Weapon, Hazmat, Snake Eyes, Fancy Feet, All-Seeing Eye, Legendary Agility, Stasis, Coordinate ¢ô, Accelerated Thoughtspeed, Timeleap


    Major Skills: Military Leader


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The rest of the group wasn''t worth mentioning if not for the guns. Ignis had learned the hard way that guns were still exceptionally good at killing humanoids. He would have died if he hadn''t flashed to fire when some jackass had shot him in the gut when he had been flying over.


    The Lizard Man, Abaddon, was easily the most dangerous. Everyone else here had weaknesses, but that guy didn''t. He could inflict enough damage fast enough that they might not be able to break away before he killed one of them.


    Ignis suddenly worried about what would happen if they fought here. He wasn''t sure what would happen if the Apocalypse Force was gunned down, and worse, he didn''t see the fourth member of the Lizard Man''s group. That rodent man.


    He was pretty sure they could escape. They had a few levels on the Awoken Myths. But not enough to make Ignis comfortable. Then he remembered the infamy titles his friends had gathered. Crap. In the legend of Noralon, you weren''t punished for a crime. You got an infamy title. Those titles allowed any player to kill you without receiving a penalty. In fact, you got a reward¡ªmore reason for these people to attack them.


    They needed to make sure this didn''t turn into a brawl.


    "Got your little note." Shade said. "What do you bitchs want?"


    "Have you come to apologize for attacking us?" Altan demanded as he fingered his scimitar.


    Never mind; they were all going to die. Ignis wasn''t sure what he wanted to do more: facepalm, fireball his friends, fireball the other people, or just make a run for it now.


    "I don''t recall attacking you. In fact, the first time we met your crew was when you guys tried to fireball me," Tom said coldly as paper armour covered in writing started to cover his body.


    Ignis wondered why the guy had a suit of paper armour. It didn''t sound like a very good defence. Maybe he should target him first.


    "If you didn''t want to be attacked, you shouldn''t have made yourself such a tempting target," Graves shot back.


    Abaddon stepped in front of Tom protectively.


    "I''m sorry, little man. Did you say something?"


    "Now, now, there is no need for this to devolve into a fight," Ignis said, finally stepping in. He really didn''t want to.


    "You came here to offer us a business proposal. Let''s at least hear it first," Ignis said.


    "We have a quest, and we want to fill out the party so we have a proper group," Tom said as he shared the quest.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Regional Quest: Bloody Goblin Horde


    The Sanguine Monarch has been defeated, the bloodstone captured, and the portal destroyed. While your actions today might not be called a total victory due to the thousands of goblins roaming through the area and two goblin chiefs you failed to kill, you have, nevertheless, ended the threat of further goblin incursions into this part of the world.


    Objectives:


    Destroy or Capture the Bloodstone: 0/1


    Destroy or Capture the Gate: 0/1


    Bonus Objectives:


    Kill all of the Goblins: 14,567 / ?????


    Kill the ???: 0/1


    Kill Seraphel: 0/1


    Kill Goblin Shaman: 1/1


    Kill ???: 0/1


    Kill ??? 0/1


    Rewards:


    2 Levels for everyone involved, Bonus XP for Everyone, a Title: Goblin Killer, 5000 Settlement Points, Winter Event Guild Token


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Ignis nodded. This was good. Actually, it was great. A Regional quest gave great rewards, and it would work to smooth over their nasty introduction.


    "We find your offer acceptable." Graves said. "What do you need from us?"


    "We''re attacking at dawn tomorrow. When that happens, you should start pushing up to Qwantlin from here. The pincer attack means that if the goblins try to stop one of us, they''ll inevitably leave themselves open to the other." Tom explained.


    "And what of the loot?" Graves asked.


    "System rules. You keep what you kill," Tom stated.


    "And the bloodstone?" Graves asked.


    "Like I said, you keep what you kill," Tom said coldly.


    Something about the way the man said it made Ignis deeply uncomfortable.


    "It has been a pleasure doing business with you. We will see you tomorrow then," Graves said.


    Turning, Ignis''s group left. But Ignis couldn''t help but feel like he was missing something. When they got back to the Bell Media Centre, Graves broke out in laughter.


    "HA hahahahaha. I can''t believe those fools bought it." Graves chuckled like a madman.


    "What are you talking about?!" Ignis asked, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach.


    "We''re not going to do anything tomorrow." Graves said. "We are going to sit back and let both our enemies wipe each other out. And once they are, we shall sweep in and take the rewards for ourselves."


    "Obviously," Altan snorted.


    "What?!" Ignis asked angrily. "We''re going to turn down a regional quest?! A Regional Quest, mind you, that solves our biggest problem. They''re offering to pay us to help us get rid of our goblins!!! And you lot are thumbing your noses at them like a bunch of wankers." Ignis spat.


    "We aren''t turning down anything," Altan said. "They''ve already shared the Regional Quest with us. They can''t unshare it. Without us, the goblins and Awoken Myths will rip each other to pieces, and when a bloody victor emerges, we will be there to kill them and take the prize."


    "And if the goblins win?" Ignis asked, flabbergasted.


    "Then we will continue to reap the benefits," Grave said. "Shade and I are levelling like crazy thanks to a near-endless source of opponents. Why help them when we can harvest the levels and the Regional Quest for ourselves. ."


    Ignis wanted to facepalm.


    "Besides, we have all the bitchs and food we need right here." Shade said with a snarky grin.


    "We can''t take on an entire Goblin Horde. There are already thousands of goblins here and millions on the way," Ignis said as he facepalmed. "Or did you not read the quest? It won''t be long until they drown us with their forces."


    "Can''t we?" Shade. "More Goblins means more victims and more undead."


    "More fodder for the empire," Altan said.


    "You know what? That''s just fine. Since we''re all just doing what we want, then maybe I''ll fly off and join their raid because I don''t want to live in a goblin world," Ignis said.


    He didn''t really mean it. He just wanted to get a rise out of Graves.


    "You can''t do that!!!" Gaves all but screamed. "As a guild master, I forbid it."


    "And who made you guild master?!" Altan asked. "You were merely here first; I am the Kahn, so why should you be the guild master?!"


    "I am the guild master because I am the strongest!!" Graves stated. "Or have you missed the horde of undead I command?"


    "Puppets and fodder. Fucking my concubines takes more effort than cutting through your horde."


    "If it''s based on the strongest, then shouldn''t I be the guild master?" Shade asked.


    "Shut up, Shade!" Graves and Altan said in unison as they continued to argue.


    Ignis walked away from his friends. Sometimes, he wondered if they had realized this was reality now, that their actions might have real consequences.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Ignis Vermilion (Eric)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Orc


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Elemental


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: N/A


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 2200


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2660


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2200


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 50.6 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 55.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 45.3 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, Pyromaniac, First


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Fire, Ageless


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical, Light, Air, Vitality 26%,


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Magic, Water, Dark, Earth, Soul 24%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Goblin Slayer, Elemental Slayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Master Pyromancer 11, Fire Enhancer 11


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 96


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 198


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 145


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 308


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 44


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 44 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 88 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 198


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 132 +20%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 308


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 44


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 WILL, +4 SPIRIT, +3 INT, +3 PER


    Racial: +3 SPIRIT +2 AGIL +2 CON +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 CON +5 SPIRIT


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Vermilion Phoenix] - Legendary: The Bloodline of the Vermilion Phoenix grants you a profound connection to the mystical firebird, embodying its resilience, purity, and fiery power. This bloodline''s effects make you a master of fire, capable of withstanding the most intense flames while harnessing them for your own benefit.


    <ul>


    <li>[Fire Conasuir] - Level 20 >> Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Vermilion Guard] - Level 18 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Purifying Flame] - Level 15 >> Level 34</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Regenerative Flames] - Level 31 >> Level 33</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Perfect Form] - Level 3 >> Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Burn Brightly] - Level 18 >> Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Wings of the Phoenix] - Level 22 >> Level 34</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rise from the Ashes] - Level 2 >> Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 CON per Level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 SPIRIT per Level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 15/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Endless Brawler] - Level 16 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Best of Both Worlds] - Level 8 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 12 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 20 >> Level 29</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 8 >> Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Identify] - Level 16 >> Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    Master Pyromancer 08/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Consuming Fire] - Level 23 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana burn] - Level 25 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Immolation] - Level 22 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Shape Fire] - Level 1 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fuel for the Fire] - Level 13 >> Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Living Flame] - Level 17 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Tempered Flame] - Level 19 >> Level 29</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Reignition] - Level 6 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    Fire Enhancer 04/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Claws of the Phoenix] - Level 5 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Flight of the Phoenix] - Level 7 >> Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Body of Embers] - Level 1 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fire Heart] - Level 15 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 89: Apocalypse Force

    Ignis wanted to throw up his hands in annoyance. Altan, Shade, and Graves kept arguing about everything, and he just wanted to do something that wasn''t about the gods'' damned system.


    Ignis pulled out his phone to check his subscriptions. A few of the YouTubers he subscribed to had put out videos on how to use the system now.


    The key thing to remember when creating your build is synergy ¡­


    "I''m not a noob, I don¡¯t need this." Ignis muttered as he scrolled down.


    Hello everyone, this is Debby Roger from Ontario coming to you live.


    Despite the government''s request, everyone to stay calm and remain in their homes. Multiple individuals have been forced to defend themselves from the monsters, and some are even venturing out to actively hunt these creatures for xp, levels and skills.


    Unfortunately, this has also led to an increase in violence, not just from people hunting these monsters but also against their neighbours. Police have already arrested forty-six individuals for fighting and one for murder. Just in my part of town today. Not to mention all of the people who have been hospitalized due to their injuries.


    "Well, you don''t have a swarm of goblins outside your house, so you''re doing alright lady." Ignis quipped before moving on.


    You heard it here first, folks. This is all a conspiracy by aliens. First, they create a video game called the Legend of Noralon for their chosen to practice with, and then they unleash monsters on us so they can steal our resources and turn us into a slave population.


    "Is there anything normal on the internet?"


    A Spineasouraus was spotted off the Florida coast.


    "That was a dumb question," he muttered to himself.


    Apparently, the internet is all about the system right now. The only stuff that wasn''t on the system were the other guilds. All over the world, beta-testers were crowing to the sky, giving out advice, taking territory, and doing whatever they wanted. He only recognized a few of them from the Noralon leaderboards. The Lionheart guild in Germany, Holy Basil in India, and some bug guild in England, and most of the other guilds he didn''t recognize.


    He tossed his phone into his inventory in disgust. He needed some air. Snapping open his wings of fire, he shot up into the air over their base. He smiled at their still small fiefdom. The apocalypse force had occupied everything from 64 Ave to 61 A Ave.


    He gained altitude as quickly as possible, going up and up as he flew away from their settlement. Ignis loved flying¡ªreally loved flying. His father had placed Eric in air cadets for two years, and he loved every chance to go flying. Then his dad had died, and his mother had stopped taking him.


    Ignis shook his head as he tried to ignore the memories. He was Ignis, not Eric. He focused on the wind on his face, the ground racing below him as he rode the wind and caught an updraft. He had wanted to be a pilot before the system, but he doubted he would have gotten the chance to be one with his grades. In fact, if he hadn''t been a beta-tester, he probably would have gone all in and focused his classes on flying.


    The wind roared in Ignis¡¯s ears as he soared higher, the ground a blur of green and brown far below. Here, among the clouds, nothing could touch him¡ªno arguments, no guild politics, no endless debates about what to do next. He was free. With a tilt of his wings, he banked sharply, relishing the surge of speed as he cut through the air like a blade.


    He started to descend towards the goblin horde. He could see goblin campfires between the houses still burning in the early morning light. There had to be thousands of goblins outside. Even now, they were attacking the undead. Fortunately, the goblins were having little success and were only adding to the growing undead horde protecting them. Even still, it would take a small army just to break out of the encirclement. Ignis sighed. He needed to do his part to hold the horde back.


    Ignis pulled in his wings as he dove towards the front lines. Snapping his wings out, he unleashed a fountain of flames directly on the house, which some of the goblins were using as an archer''s nest.


    The goblins screamed as their flesh boiled and their eyeballs popped. The house beneath them fared a little better, going up like old timber. Ignis mostly ignored the horde. He didn''t want to interfere with Shade''s plagues or, worse, allow his flames to spread to Graves'' undead. Instead, he firebombed any of the nearby structures, whether they were created by humans or goblins.


    This had been Altans'' idea. Ignis would slowly create more open space between their battlelines and the goblins. The increased line of sight and visibility would allow the apocalypse force to attack the goblins as they closed the distance. It would also leave the goblins more exposed while denying the goblins'' own rogues and rangers any chance to act from the safety of cover.


    The goblins tried to counterattack, but Ignis simply gained altitude and flew out of range. He flew in circles, setting random buildings on fire as he surveyed their defences.


    They had managed to raise three obstacles around their perimeter. The outermost was a simple massive ditch swimming with both zombie goblins and regular goblins. It was less of a battle and more of a meat grinder. The zombies ripped apart the goblins and ate some of their fresh meat. Then, the corpses rose up to join the fight. The Blight the zombies, were generating was already starting to fill the ditch, turning the simple moat into an impassable death trap.


    Despite that, the goblins were steadily getting past it. They created wooden ramps and fired off spells into the ditch in a vain attempt to clear it.


    The second was a barricade made out of car wreck, chunks of rock, and splintered wood. Basically, it''s anything they could throw at it. It was already looking worse for wear. Arrows and spells kept hammering into the barricade every few seconds, turning the impromptu wall into a pile of rubble that just happened to block the goblins'' attacks.


    After that were Grave''s elite troops¡ªskeleton warriors and archers. Unlike the zombies, the skeletons didn''t produce blight and were much, much more coordinated. The third and final wall was a massive earthen hill they had raised with magic.


    The undead battled the goblins around the first two, an endless battle. An army of goblins slammed into the undead horde as both sides fought without regard for their own survival. The actual human forces stood atop the dirt wall and took potshots into the sea of green.


    He flew back over their settlement. Within their borders were mostly fields and a bit of forest¡ªif you could call the collections of trees in a park a forest. As for housing, they only had a handful of houses in the area, and Goldstone Park Elementary School was within the borders.


    Ignis knew that Graves had plans. The Media Centre quickly became their castle, while this area, along with the school and houses, became something like a medieval town. The parks and forests were planned to be converted into farmland.


    He flew over the shanty town. The place was dirtier than he had been expecting. People, or as Graves called them, NPCs, lazed around, scuttling away as Ignis flew overhead. He was sure some of the people were doing drugs. They looked just like his mother: unclean, dirty, skinny. Ash fell from the sky as the sounds of fighting echoed on the wind, but no one seemed to be worrying. They just kept their heads down and seemed to be trying to avoid his eye. The players walked around like they owned the place. At the same time, the NPCs avoided them.


    At this point, each house contained at least a dozen people each. They were like small little gangs. Strong enough to keep the homes, too weak to truly join the guild. The Apocalypse Force itself was growing. They had already absorbed a few of the weaker guilds and they had found a pair of siblings with the same bloodline. They had all been more than happy to join up once they realized the benefits. Shade had dealt with the ones unwilling to join.


    The Media center contrasted with their shanty town in almost every way. It was clean, and instead of NPCs, it was almost entirely populated by players. It even had special rooms. It was an interdimensional hotel with all the amenities. It had a burial chamber for Graves to do his undead stuff. And a few others they had kept around for the crafters.


    In Ignis''s opinion, the best one was the Ikea Restaurant. Apparently, the system gave brand recognition to Ikea. They had turned the old snack bar into a little shop that gave out food in exchange for mana. He had no idea why, but it provided all the Swedish meatballs they could eat¡ªeven the NPCs had meatballs. It provided other things from the Ikea menu, but meatballs were the cheapest and most selected option.


    He didn''t grab meatballs; he had been eating them for days. Instead, he grabbed a dozen chilli dogs and a bucket of poutine. He wished the shop could produce soda or coffee, but all it had was flavoured brand water.


    He considered going back to his room in the interdimensional hotel. So he could have sex with his lunch. But then he decided against it.


    The hotel was limited to only players while the NPCs lived in town. Of course, since all the important people lived in the media center, those places weren''t nearly as safe from the goblins.


    Ignis might have felt bad, but these were the same people who had left him with a heroin addict. The one lesson he had learned was that no one would help you unless you made them help you.


    When he got to the balcony, he noticed that some people were already using the theatre to watch porn. Well, technically, it was a movie called Barely Legal. But it might as well be porn. Out of reflex, Ignis used [Identify].Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Donald Walker


    Titles: Beta-tester, First, Murderer, Apocalypse Force


    Race: Half-Giant


    Type: Humanoid / Giant


    Total Level: 22


    Age: 21


    Classes: Bone Juggernaut 22


    Personal Skills: Storyteller, Storage, Mapping, System Wiki


    Bone Knight Skills: Fang of Man, Empowered Blows, Chivory, Virtue in Extremis, Armoured Charge, Legendary Strength, Sweeping Slash, Multi-Strike, Skeletal Juggernauts Weapon, Skeletal Juggernauts Armour, Duty Before Death, Art of Bones, Spartoi, Scrimshaw, Two Are One


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Randy Tombs


    Titles: Beta-tester, First, Murderer, Rapist, Apocalypse Force


    Race: Deep Dwarf


    Type: Humanoid


    Total Level: 21


    Age: 23


    Classes: Earth Cultivator MAX, Geomancer 1


    Personal Skills: Iron Stomach, Pursuit Hunter, Storage, Mapping, System Wiki


    Earth Cultivator Skills: Fist of Gaia, Earthen Armour, Ground Contraction, Earthen Armoury, Earth Sense, Earth Affinity, Planetary Soul, Earth Elemental Core, Aura of Autumn, Avatar of Earth, Aspects of Earth


    Geomancer Skills: Terra Arts, Geo-Force, Compacted Earth, Dig, Shape Earth,


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    So it was Donald and one of their new guildmates, a guy named Randy. They had picked up shooting the shit with each other as they enjoyed their concubines. Altan offered special bonuses to any girl or boy who became a concubine for one of the Apocalypse Force players. Ignis himself had two already. A [Beggar] girl named Cora and a [Witch] named Tina.


    That was the part he liked. He liked being cool, being desirable. He liked how his concubines worshiped him, and he really liked the sex. The best part was since it was a choice, they didn''t get saddled with the Rapist title.


    Ignis sat down on the upper levels and figured he would eat his food, enjoy the sex movie for a bit and then go back to his room for the night and enjoy himself. Or at least he tried to. A part of him couldn''t help but wonder if they were being a bit premature with this whole apocalypse thing. Altan said they would be fine, but would the National Guard really leave them alone? Would the other guilds? He didn''t want to indulge himself and then go to jail. Then, he would just end up as his mother.


    Ignis was so busy brooding he didn''t notice Brandon ¡­ Altan sat down next to him. The seat groaned as the golden-skinned giant dropped into it, one of his concubines sitting in his lap.


    "You have to love this movie," Altan chuckled as he stared at one of the actors as she took her top off.


    "What do you want, Brandon?" Ignis asked.


    "It''s Altan now, remember Eric," Altan growled.


    Ignis rolled his eyes.


    "What do you want, Altan? If it''s another argument, I''m not interested, " Ignis said.


    "Actually, after you left, I had an idea," Altan admitted as he fondled his concubine. "If the Awoken Myths guild dies. Then we can grind away at the horde for free levels, maybe even indefinitely. But if they win ¡­"


    Altan shrugged.


    "If they win and we fail to show up, they''re going to be pissed." Ignis finished Altans'' thought.


    Altan grinned. "See, you get it. You''re not like Graves and Shade; you can see the big picture."


    "So what do you want to do about it?" Ignis asked.


    "I want you to take the weakest members of the guild, the NPCs, and anyone and everyone who isn''t pulling their weight. I want you to take them down 56 Ave down to Surrey, join up with the Awoken Myths guys in their attack against the horde."


    Ignis frowned in confusion.


    "Why? You''re just going to give the Awoken myths what they want?"


    Altan''s golden fists clenched. "We¡¯re the Apocalypse Force, Ignis. We don¡¯t give anything. We take."


    "That didn''t answer my question?" Ignis pointed out.


    Altan rolled his eyes.


    "Because if we send people, even worthless people, we can say we tried. We sent one of our best members and all of the people we could spare even while we were under siege. We''ll be seen as heroes. Assuming anyone survives, of course."


    Altan giggled as he pulled his sex slave in close, placing sloppy kisses along her neck.


    "Alright, now what''s the real plan?" Ignis asked. The remnants of his meal sat forgotten.


    "The real plan is simple: no matter what outcome we win. If the Awoken Myths fail, then everyone dies, and I can resurrect them all later with [Odin''s Halls] and [War Never Ends]. All of them will be grateful for my mercy, and we can grind away at the horde. On the other hand, the horde falls, and we gain a bigger share of the rewards and some good PR for your participation. The best part. No matter what happens, the weaklings will either get stronger or desert my party and when they die, I will not be able to bring them back." Altan smiled as he pulled off his concubine''s clothing. "The strong will thrive, and the weak will be culled."


    "So that''s it?" Ignis asked. "No backstabbing, nothing?"


    "It''s unneeded," Altan said, smiling. "As soon as the snow melts, Shades plagues won''t be nearly as limited by the cold. We''ll drown our enemies under waves of plague and zombies before we even engage."


    Ignis consider the offer. It was a good plan. It was a chance to really do something.


    "Alright, Count me in." Ignis agreed.


    "Great," Altan smiled as he slapped him on the back. "I''ll get the rest of my riders ready. We''ll break through their lines for you, and you can lead your new army out of here just before dark."


    Ignis nodded. They both got up to leave when Altan stopped him. "Just remember, Ignis. Empires aren¡¯t built on charity. They¡¯re built on power."


    Ignis nodded, pretending not to have noticed the green flames dancing in his friend''s eyes.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Altan Khan (Brandon)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Giant


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Giant


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 23


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Mongolian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age: 16


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 3300


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 5760


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2440


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 33.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 50.6 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 19.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Apocalypse Force


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 27%, Elemental 27%, Magic 15%, Vitality 15%, Soul 15%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind 35%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Giantslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Horseman of War 23


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 316


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 48


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 242


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 176


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 169


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 122


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 110


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 121


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 96


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 48


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 264 +20%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 44 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 220 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 176


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 154 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 110 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 110


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 110 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 88 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 44 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 STR +3 CON +3 WILL +2 DEX +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 STR +2 CON +2 SPIRIT +1 END


    Bloodline: +5 END +5 PER


    Horseman of War Skills: +3 STR +3 CON +3 INT +3 EGO


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Sin of Envy Leviathan] - Legendary: The Bloodline of the Sin of Envy, Beast of the Apocalypse, Primordial Sea Beast, Demon Prince of Envy, Living Hellgate, Leviathan.


    <ul>


    <li>[Scales of Leviathan] - Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Sea of Damnation] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thalassophobia] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Gross Envy] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Eyes of Envy] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Flames of Jealousy] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Living Hellgate] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 END per Level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 PER per Level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 15/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Titans Strength] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Domination] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Sex Maniac] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    Horseman of War 15/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Flaming Sword of War] - Level 33</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Broken Second Seal] - Level 29</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Red Rider] - Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Eternal Warrior] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Spoils of War] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Belliscience] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of War] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Avatar of War] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Friendly Fire] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[War Never Ends] - Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Cry Havoc] - Level 5</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Presence of Ares] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Kali¡¯s Destruction] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Blood of Huitzilopochtli] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Halls of Odin] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 90: Starkiller

    Tom watched as the Apocalypse Force broke down and started to argue with each other before he let his [Far Seeing] drop. He ignored the levels he received as he turned to the major.


    "Yeah, I expect they''re not going to be joining us," Tom announced as he exited his trance.


    ¡°Pretty sure I told you that ten minutes ago.¡± Major Adams pointed out.


    ¡°And while I agreed with you, I still wanted to confirm the direction they were going in. It turns out that it¡¯s even worse than just ghosting us. They''re planning on attacking whoever wins the fight."


    Major Adams frowned.


    "How bad of a position does this put us in?" the Major asked. "I don''t think we can manage both the ¡­ Apocalypse Force."


    The Major seemed actually pained at saying the name.


    "and the goblins. We need to come up with a new plan." Major Adams said.


    "No, we don''t," Tom said as he spotted Skippy coming towards them.


    "Skippy, I have a job for you," Tom said as he started to create some new quests for Skippy. One of them he really didn''t want anyone to know about.


    "You want me to kill those guys?" Skippy offered.


    "No ¡­ I mean, if you have the chance, kill that Shade guy. [Plague Mages] are a bitch to deal with. But no, I had a different idea. I need you to lead a train directly into their camp." Tom said.


    Skippy''s face split into a wide grin.


    "Got it."


    "What is a train in this case?" Major Adams asked, "Because I doubt you''re referring to an actual train."


    "Tom wants me to get the goblins hopping mad and then lead them directly into the Apocalypse Forces base," Skippy explained.


    "Hey, major, do we have any explosives?" Tom asked.


    "What? No," Adams stated.


    "Not even a grenade?" Tom begged.


    "This is Canada; no one just has explosives lying around." Major Adams stated.


    "What about a fertilizer bomb?" Tom asked.


    "I mean ¡­ I guess we could." Major Adams admitted.


    "Great, We need fertilizer and gasoline, but I don''t know the ratio---"


    "Hold on," the Major cuts in. "I''m not letting a bunch of kids run around making bombs. Sergeant Thorn can take one of the cars and grab everything we need to make bombs while we finish up with this Starkiller."


    "Well, more explosives to kill more goblins would be helpful. But in the meantime. Skippy takes these." Tom said, handing Skippy a stack of papers he pulled from his inventory.


    "What are those," the Major asked as Skippy stashed them in his own inventory.


    "Scrolls of explosion," Tom said. "Rip them for instant activation, tap them for a five-minute timer."


    "Was there even a point in trying to deny them fertilizer bombs?" Major Adam asked Serget Thorn.


    As Tom finished, he fired off the quests to Skippy. Skippy''s eyes went wide as he looked over the notifications.


    "Think you can handle that quest for me?" Tom asked


    Skippy looked up at him, and Tom made sure to meet his eye. He knew what he was asking of his friend.


    "Sure, Tom. I can manage this." Skippy said in a serious tone. Then, in a more playful tone.


    "But in exchange, you assholes can bring all these corpses back. I might not get home until after the raid, and I''m not dragging all these dead people with me."


    Tom nodded and immediately regretted his decision as Skippy started to dump the dead bodies from his inventory. Hundreds and hundreds of dead bodies poured out of mid-air. Forcing Major Adams and the rest of the first responders to back up from the smell.


    "How many do you have in there?" Tom asked Skippy


    "Um, about ten thousand," Skippy said.


    There was a very long, very pregnant pause.


    "Skippy, none of us can store that many bodies. You''re just going to have to hold onto them for now." Tom said, not noticing the horrified expression on Major Adam''s face.


    "Where the hell did you even find thousands of people?" the Major asked.


    "Well, the goblins have a lot of pits where they throw the dead bodies into, so I just kinda cleared those out," Skippy said nonchalantly.


    Tom briefly wondered if they were becoming desensitized to death or corpses. The [Hand of Mercy] skill couldn''t be helping. If he was being honest with himself, he was more annoyed at having to resurrect ten thousand people than saddened by their loss. Though he guessed it wasn''t an actual loss if he was going to bring them back. Yeah, this was fine. Maybe.


    Skippy ended up returning the dead to his inventory.


    "Do you need anything else to complete the quest?" Tom asked.


    "No. I don''t think I''ll make it home before you guys end up attacking Kwantlen, so I''ll just try to cause as much mischief as possible while I wait for you guys. I''m hoping to get the cap for my new class. Skipp said.


    "Wait, you''re staying out here?" Abaddon Asked.


    "Why not? I''ve got a Legendary stealth skill. I''ll be fine." Skippy placated.


    "Are you sure?" Abaddon asked.


    "Ugh, I''ll be fine, mom. Trust me. I''ve been feeling useless of late. Today was the first day I didn''t feel like a fucking failure. Hell, I''ve got more skill levels today than the entire week. I''m not like you guys; I''m only good at being a rogue. So, I better start pulling my weight."


    "You have food, right?'' Alex asked.


    "Yeah, I''ll be fine. I''ve been stashing my leftovers in my inventory."


    "With the thousands of corpses?" Alex asked.


    "Well, now you made it weird. I''ll just rob someone''s fridge then." Skippy said.


    "Great idea," Tom said. "That''s just one more person to visit."


    "Starkiller," Skippy grumbled. "Are you sure I don''t have time to come over and hang out? I mean, it would just be a few hours."


    "Sorry, Skippy, but if the [Apocalypse Force] is hostile, then we need to get the goblins to waste their forces on each other."


    "But tooom," Skippy complained.


    "I''ll make it so the jackass has to fight you in the arena as part of the contract." Tom offered.


    Skippy harrumphed. But nodded his acceptance.


    "Great. Skippy, I''ll see you tomorrow, I guess." Tom said as Skippy gave them a salute before turning invisible.


    "Well then, let''s go and meet our favourite Fixer." Tom quipped as he got into a truck.


    They were on the road


    "So what do we know about this Starkiller?" Major Adams asked.


    "He''s a fixer," Abaddon said.


    "A what?"


    "It''s like a mercenary," Tom said. "Fixers were those people who took real-world money as payment for their in-game activities. In his last job, he arranged for us to fail in our attempt to kill a raid boss."


    "And you think you can trust this man?" Lt Thorne asked.


    "Actually, he''s pretty predictable. You pay him, and he does the job. He makes a bunch of inappropriate sexual comments." Alex muttered.


    "The important thing to remember is that he''s one of ¡­ or was one of the top PVP players in the legend of Noralon. He and Skippy went head to head for a few years. Part of the reason I sent him away." Tom explained.


    When Tom arrived at the meeting place, Starkiller was already there. He was sitting on the roof of one of the buildings. His staff was buried into the roof next to him as he played on his phone. Starkiller looked different from his in-game avatar. Tom knew the guy had been from South Korea before the system, and he hadn''t changed too much, except that he also looked like he was trying to cosplay as a gorilla.


    Immediately, Tom activated [Thirst for Knowledge] and [Visions of Akashic Records]. This time, he didn''t want the summary; he went after everything.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Starkiller ()


    Titles: Beta-tester, First


    Race: Gorilla-Kin


    Type: Human / Beast


    Level: 23


    Bloodline: None


    Classes: Heir to Sun Wukong The Monkey King 23


    Hp: 3795, Hp Regen: 43.7 per min


    Stamina: 5520, Stamina Regen: 55.2 per min


    Mp: 2300, Mp Regen: 18.4 per min


    Immunities: Insta-death, Crit, Ageless, Frost, Fire, Cripple


    Resistances: Physical, Elemental, Magic, Vitality, Mind, Soul


    Banes: Manslayer, Beastslayer


    STR 230 / AGIL 230 / DEX 138 / CON 322 / END 115 / PER 138 The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    INT 115 / WILL 69 / SPIRIT 115 / EGO 46 / CHA 92 / LCK 69


    Personal skills: Pursuit Hunter, Stamina Burn, Storage, Mapping, System Wiki, Contract


    Heir to Sun Wukong The Monkey King skills: [Seventy-Two Earthly Transformation], [Cloud Sumersault], [Truth Seeking Eyes], [Monkey Style: Drunken Monkey King], [Stone Monkey], [Armoury of Ancient Times (Sun Wukong)], [First immortality: Teachings of Puti Zushi], [Second Immortality: Book of Mortality], [Third Immortality: Heavenly Peaches], [Forth Immortality: Heavenly Wine], [Body Outside of Body], [Fifth Immortality: Pills of Longevity], [Sixth Immortality: Samadhi Fire Tempering], [Seventh Immortality: Ginseng Fruit]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Fuck" Tom swore.


    "Is it hard to bear Lance? My overwhelming power? Its weight? Its girth?" Starkiller called out.


    "Stop it," Tom said, throwing a blast of light magic at him.


    But Starkiller had already moved.


    "Now, now, Lance, there''s no need to get your panties in a twist," Starkiller chuckled as he continued to play with his phone.


    "How about I shove that phone up your ass," Abaddon growled,


    "Your Fast. but your low perception limits your response time." Tom noted.


    "More than fast enough to get you ¡­ Tom ¡­ that''s your real name? Seriously, Tom? That''s so lame. It''s like being named Bob; it''s so simple. You know what? I''m just going to keep calling you Lance. Lance is so much better."


    Tom rolled his eyes.


    "Enough with the sass. I have a job that requires your expertise."


    "Oh yes, tell me how I can help you, fine folk. Starkillers Fixer services are open for business, and much like Lance''s mother, I take all comers," Starkiller winked.


    "Hay nice," Abaddon chuckled.


    "Not really. I hate my mom, so it''s not like I care." Tom said.


    "I said it was good."


    "Abaddon, is that you? Well, I''m glad to see that someone is staying true to themselves. I didn''t think your man tits could get any bigger. Though I''ll admit, I''m willing to try being a furry for my favourite tank."


    "Touch me, and I''ll pound your ass into the ground," Abaddon warned.


    "Ooh, kinky," Starkiller smiled.


    "Stop it," Tom said. "Have you heard of the goblins to the west?" Tom asked.


    "Wait a minute, there are goblins to the west?!" Starkiller asked.


    "I''ll take that as a no."


    "Holy shit, this is great. I''ve been stuck with bitchslapping beasts and clearing settlements. Now you''re telling me there''s a whole sea of strapping goblins just ready for ravaging."


    "Stop it. The goblins have a bloodstone and have created a portal arch to bring in more troops."


    "And you want papa Starkiller to come in and wipe your ass for you?" Starkiller asked, trying to nudge Tom''s shoulder.


    "We want you to eliminate the only person on the battlefield who''s a hard counter to Abaddon," Tom said.


    "Oh, is it anyone interesting?" Starkiller asked as he pulled out a notepad.


    "It''s an albino drow. Names Seraphel. He uses the standard [Cryo Immortal] and [Master Cryomancer] combo, with the other half of his build being some type of [Artic Ranger] build. Known classes are [Brother of the Wild Hunt] and [Harbinger of Fimblewinter]. Everything else is unknown. He''s had a crippled soul, so his actual level was last recorded around 9. Though I expect he''s managed to at least return to level 20 by now. He''s a sniper. I''m sure he''ll fight at long range with arrows made out of ice. When approached at close range, he switches to conjuring weapons made of ice. All of his ice constructs appear to be supported by his cyro skills."


    "Is any of this first-hand information?" Starkiller asked.


    "Coffee House and Lizard Wizard gave primary confirmation for his fighting style and general build, though the class names came from a different source, source utilized [Heir to Theseus] skills to verify," Tom said, mentioning Duncan and Travis''s original screen names.


    "What do you want me to do to him?" Starkiller asked.


    "Kill him if you can, and if you can''t, keep him off Abaddon until we can get the bloodstone," Tom said.


    "Well, it''s a bit boring, but I suppose I could use something vanilla with all of the excitement going on. That just leaves the question of payment?" Starkiller said, a wicked gleam lighting up his eye.


    Tom signed. "What, a possible goblin invasion into your home isn''t enough to get you off your ass?"


    "Not in your life." Starkiller chuckled. "Now, cash or cores?" Starkiller asked.


    "Cash," Tom said, pulling out the shoe box full of money and handing it over.


    "How much is in here?" Starkiller asked.


    "Ten thousand dollars, I''m hoping to start up a tab," Tom said.


    They had stolen the money directly from a bank vault. Although it was currently worthless, Starkiller apparently thought it wouldn''t remain that way.


    "I''ll take five thousand for the job," Starkiller said. "But as it happens, I have some merchandise you might be interested in." Starkiller smiled as he pulled settlement cores from his inventory.


    "I''ll take them all." Tom offered.


    "I''ve got sixteen of these things, and they go for a grand each," Starkiller said. The special rooms are another five hundred apiece. For now, you''re lucky I''m in need of some capital."


    "I''ll take five settlement cores. I''m also willing to arrange payment for the rest of your inventory," Tom said.


    "Actually, I was hoping to take a peek at the magnificence of Alxandra''s [Grimoire], particularly the lighting magic," Starkiller said with a sickly sweet smile.


    Tom considered it, looking over to Alex. She shrugged, suggesting she didn''t care either way. Tom thought back to the spells in the grimoire. He was pretty sure they had most of the basics. Those spells would give Starkiller plenty of options for ranged and close-quarters combat. He wouldn''t have any defensive options, but he didn''t really need any with his class.


    Could Starkiller get these spells without them? Yeah, of course he could. So the real question is, are those settlement cores worth the immediate increase in danger from Starkiller?


    "I''ll give up all the lighting magic in the grimoire in exchange for the rest of the cores," Tom said.


    "What?!" Starkiller asked. "You can not be serious. These cores are worth way more than a couple of spells."


    "Alright, then you can just head off and buy your spells from someone else," Tom said.


    "What spells do you have?" Starkiller asked.


    "We have Shocking touch, Sparks, Shock, Taser, lighting bolt, Thunderbolt, kugelblitz, Lighting blossom, Thunder Lance, and Lighting spear. Ten spells for elven cores." Tom offered.


    "Just bend me over and fuck me in the ass. Why don''t you." Starkiller rolled his eyes.


    "You''re not interested then?" Tom asked.


    "One hundred Elemental spells for eleven cores," Starkiller counter offered.


    "I''ll give you fifty," Tom countered


    "Deal," Starkiller said, giving a fake bow as he offered up the cores regardless.


    "Can we use these to build new settlements?" The Major asked.


    "Sure, but I''m not going to," Tom stated.


    "Why not our deal --"


    "Our deal only covers settlements we clear together. This doesn''t qualify." Tom stated.


    The Major moved to say something more, but both of them felt the [Contract] flex. Tom could feel the magic of his skill, warning the Major that not only were the cores not covered in the contract, but he would be in breach if he tried to force the issue.


    Tom just smiled at the Major before turning back to Starkiller.


    "Is the [contract] acceptable?" Tom asked.


    "Almost," Starkiller stated. "I want three favours."


    Tom narrowed his eyes.


    "You''ve been paid, you''ve got a boatload of spells, and now you want favours on top of that?" Tom asked.


    Abaddon hovered over Tom''s shoulder, a low growl making it through his throat.


    "Well, if you guys think you can do it without me, I''ll be more than willing to refund your ten grand," Starkiller offered.


    "I thought it was five," Tom asked.


    "I changed my mind," Starkiller said. "We signed no contract, so I can renegotiate as I please."


    Tom honestly considered it. Skippy might be able to manage Starkiller''s role in the coming battle. They were equal in pvp skills. But at the moment, Skippy didn''t have a lot of staying power. As opposed to Starkillers, whose class was so utterly broken, it ranked in the top ten. It was the closest thing to a guarantee Tom could come up with on short notice.


    "You get one favour, not three," Tom stated.


    "Fine," Starkiller said with a shrug as he looked at him smugly, and Tom knew he had been played.


    "One favour of my choosing from you, Thomas Bruner, not the Guild Leader of Awoken Myths, you," Starkiller stated.


    Tom wanted to grind his teeth.


    "Why?" he asked.


    "Well, Tom, I''m not sure if you noticed, but the world has gone up the shitter."


    "That''s not the saying," Tom said.


    "I don''t care," Starkiller said. "The point is, things are a little chaotic right now. I have plans, sure. But I want to know that if something happens, I can count on my old friends."


    "Well, doesn''t that make me feel all warm and cuddly on the inside?" Tom said as he considered it. "No sex stuff."


    Starkiller smiled


    "Oh, Tom, you don''t like me?! I''m hurt. But fine, no sex stuff ¡­ unless you ask." he said as he held out his hand.


    Tom took his hand as the contract was solidified, and the notifications stated he had gained another six levels of his [Contract] skill. Starkiller would give them the cores and help with their battle against the goblins. In exchange for spells, ten grand and a favour.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Guild Master, Your Settlement is under attack!!!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Oh, come on." Tom groaned.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Starkiller ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Monkey-Kin


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 23


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Gorrila


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 2615


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 4095


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2020


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 38.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 45.7 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 20.7 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta Tester, First


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Insta-Death, Ageless


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 15%, Elemental 14%, Magic 14%, Vitality 9%, Mental 12%, Soul 6%, Crit 24%, Cripple 24%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, BeastSlayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Sun Wukong The Monkey King 23


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 227


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 75


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 227


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 69


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 101


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 46


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 161


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 69


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 75


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 69


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 207 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 69 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 207 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 69


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 92 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 46


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 161


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 69


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 69 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 69


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 CON, +3 STR +3 SPIRIT, +2 DEX +2 PER


    Racial: +3 STR +2 CON +2 INT +1 SPIRIT


    Monkey King Skills: +1 STR, +1 AGIL, +1 DEX, +1 CON, +1 END +1 PER +1 SPIRIT +1 EGO, +1 CHA +1 LCK


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 20/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Grooming] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Primate Fury] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 34</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Contract] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Sun Wukong the Monkey King 15/16


    <ul>


    <li>[72 Earthly Transformation] - Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Cloud Somersault] - Level 34</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Monkey King''s Truth Seeking Eyes] - Level 33</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Monkey Style: Drunken Monkey King] - Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Stone Monkey] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone - [Armoury of Ancient Times (Monkey King)] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[First Immortality: Teachings of Puti Zushi] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Second Immortality: Book of Life & Death] - Level 12 </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Third Immortality: Peach''s of Immortality] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Forth Immortality: Heavenly Wine] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone - [Body Outside of Body] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fifth Immortality: Pills of Longevity] - Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Sixth Immortality: Samadhi Fire Tempering] - Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Seventh Immortality: Ginseng Fruit] - Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 91: Git Gud Luke

    Luke, Sam, Gareth, and Travis were sitting in Hopkins''s parking lot drinking hot chocolate as they watched the battles in the [Arena of the Ancients] by the concrete wall that had been operating almost nonstop.


    Luke had dragged them here to get away from Mr.Brindley. The fat cat had been a friend of Luke''s mom. But she was down in Seattle right now, and Mr.Brindly had creeped him out.


    People were fighting against the illusionary lesser hydras or each other. Unfortunately, Sam hadn''t brought them out here for anything social. Luke had managed to get back to level 17, getting to [Water Enhancer] Level 4. But it wasn''t enough progress and it was bothering him.


    "Alright, Luke, what''s this all about?" Sam asked as she tossed a piece of bubble gum into her mouth. "You''ve been moping around since we got into that fight with those assholes."


    "Yeah. I mean, my little bro is kinda like that, but he''s been throwing himself into his work since he died, and you know, he actually died." Gareth pointed out.


    Gareth''s harsh words felt like a blade of ice to his heart, and Luke had to force himself not to flinch as the guilt wormed its way through his stomach.


    "I''m fine ¡­" Luke muttered.


    "What is it, dude? You beat the shit out of that Hydra. So what the hell is wrong with --" Gareth was cut off as Luke blurted it out.


    "Look, I''m fine!!" Luke all but shouted, "But we ¡­ we lost that fight."


    "It''s ok, Luke." Travis began.


    "Travis, you fought that guy to a standstill, solo. Penny can apparently brainwash people. Hell, you technically won your fight since your guy died," Luke said. "The rest of us got our asses handed by one asshole."


    Travis signed. "Yeah, because he was a beta-tester, and you weren''t."


    "That feels extremely condescending." Luke shot back.


    Travis rolled his eyes. "It''s not personal. They''re just better at this than you."


    "Ok, and how do we get there."


    "Git gud," Travis said.


    "Oh, thanks, that''s helpful," Luke said sarcastically. "I meant how? What classes do I pick? What skills should I get? I need some actual advice."


    Travis rolled his eyes.


    "I wasn''t trying to troll you. I meant what I said. There is no class or special skill that''s going to magically make everything easy. Sure, the skills can help, especially skills that work together well, and honestly, you have too many classes as is.


    But what matters is your actual skills. Not your system skills. Your real skills. Your movements need to be speedy, and your attacks should be precise. You need to learn the move sets of your enemies. You need to learn their classes and their skills and how they might deploy them. You need intelligence, patience and perseverance. You need to git gud."


    "But that''s going to take so long." Luke moaned


    "Of course it will. Nothing worth anything comes easy. We all struggle, Luke. Every one of us can get knocked down and frustrated throughout our lives. We fail, and we experience loss. In order to continue on our journey, we have to focus, practice, and learn from our mistakes. And a bit of help from a friend never hurts.


    "But I don''t want to need help," Luke muttered.


    "You will always need help, Luke. We all do. These things I am saying are not you, nor are they specific to you. It is advice as old as time itself. Passed down from generation to generation since before the age of the ancients. So you see, get gud is not some dismissive meme. Quite the contrary. It speaks to a truth at the heart of our entire lives. It is, in fact, the best advice that anyone could ever give you."


    "Wow, I don''t really know what to say."


    Travis shrugged.


    "You don''t need to say anything, Luke. You just need to try. But if you really want to get stronger, stop whining and start grinding those skills."


    "And you ruined it," Luke grumped.


    Travis pulled his sword out and walked towards the Arena.


    "Are you just going to sit there, or are you going to train?" Travis asked.


    Luke picked up his sword, droplets of water forming on the blade as he did before he followed after Travis as he got to the arena.


    Travis stood in the middle of the arena, his sword drawn, before he pulled out his phone and turned on country music.


    "What?! I like to listen to music while I play," Travis said, observing Luke''s confused look.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been challenged to a duel in the [Arena of the Ancients]!!!


    Travis The Lizard Wizard vs Luke Gracson


    Terms: None


    Wager: None


    As a Duel in the [Arena of the Ancients], death has been suspended.


    Accept Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The moment Luke accepted the duel, he charged forward, bringing his sword around for Travis''s head. Travis disappeared Luke''s sword, swishing through the air, trailing water almost like the reverse of air bubbles when you waved your arm in the water.


    Then [Third Labor] screamed at him. Luke turned just in time to see multiple fireballs before they impacted his centre of mass. The spell exploded with enough force. He bounced off the invisible walls that surrounded the arena as the flames washed over his body, charing his skin to a crisp.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Travis the Lizard Wizard has Defeated you in a duel.


    Would you like a rematch? Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 24>


    "What just happened??" Luke asked as he got up uninjured, thanks to the arena''s magic.


    "I teleported to the left. Then I hit you with multiple fireballs until you died." Travis said as he reactivated the arena''s magic.


    "What exactly was I supposed to learn from that?" Luke asked.


    "You do not understand how I fight, and you need to use those skills of yours to pay better attention," Travis said. "I''m a mana leech Spellsword. My first move will always be to use most of my mana pool to soften up my target before I engage in melee," Travis explained.


    Sam and Gareth stepped into the arena with Luke.


    "We want to do two on two?" Gareth asked.


    "Three on one," Travis said, swishing his sword through the air before gesturing for them to take him on.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been challenged to a duel in the [Arena of the Ancients]!!!


    Travis The Lizard Wizard vs Luke Gracson, Gareth Brown, Samatha Mato


    Terms: None


    Wager: None


    As this is a Duel in the [Arena of the Ancients], death has been suspended.


    Accept Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Luke charged forward, this time using [Rapid Water Steps] as Travis teleported away. Luke slid past the fireball with his increased speed. Gareth took the blast head-on, grunting as his body was enveloped in fire. Sam had already drawn an [Infused powershot] and aimed it directly towards Travis''s head.


    Travis merely tilted his head out of the way, blasting Sam with another fireball. Sam was sent rolling backwards as Luke charged, unleashing a [First Labour] that Travis dodged before he sliced Luke''s leg open with his sword.


    "Gah," Luke hissed as he spun and swung at Travis again.


    "Missed me." Travis taunted as he ducked under the attack and sliced under his arm.


    "[All Eyes on Me]," Gareth called out as he charged directly at Travis.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [All Eyes on Me] - Rare


    [All Eyes on Me]: Restrict the focus of your enemies'' attention on your person. The radius of an area of effect is equal to 1 meter per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Travis''s head jerked towards Gareth as he swore.


    "Dammit, Gareth. I think you just gave me a crick in my neck." Travis groaned as he [Blink stepped] behind Gareth just as he tried to put his axe through the lizard wizard''s head.


    Instead, Gareth stumbled, pulling his attack to avoid hitting Luke. Then Travis kicked him from behind, causing Gareth to stumble right into Luke and head butt him in the nose.


    "Ah, mah nose!!" Luke winced, completely bent over as he reflexively clenched his shattered septum, his eyes watering. ¡°Nat door falt Graare!¡±


    "Aw Sorry Luke!!" Gareth apologized profusely.


    Luke shook his head as he exhaled through his mouth. Then Travis ran his blade through Gareth''s chest.


    "You guys realize the match is still on, yes?!" Travis asked as he ripped his blade through Gareth''s side, carving out a chunk of Gareth''s chest as he stood back.


    "The fight is still on. Don''t lose focus!!" Travis hissed.


    Luke barely heard a word as he raised his sword, then lunged at Travis in a blur. They clashed one sword against a sword. Water and mana were sent everywhere with every clash. Luke clearly had the edge in strength, and his collection of legendary skills, but Travis had an even bigger advantage in speed and was far more familiar with how to use his skills in combat. It was a battle between a prodigy and an old warhorse. Travis knew all of this before the fight, and he was clearly trying to force Luke to improve by brutally punishing his every mistake.


    Sam hadn''t been idle. Magic whirled around her hands as a spectral bear popped into existence. Its body was tiny, only coming up to her stomach, and deep purple in colour.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Spirit of the Ursa Nox] - Historic


    [Spirit of the Ursa Nox]: Draw from your bloodline and summon the spirit of the Ursa Nox. a powerful ancestral spirit with the ability to protect and heal. Spirits level and skill levels are dependent on the level of this skill.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    She almost immediately moved over to Gareth, and the healing magic started to surround his downed friend as she drew an arrow and waited for her chance to strike.


    Luke and Travis didn''t give her many openings as they clashed. Travis was showing just how fast he could move with just two of his skills.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Blink Step] - RareA case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    [Blink Step]: A skill that allows the user to perform short-range line-of-sight teleportation. Ideal for quick repositioning in combat or evading attacks. Increase range by 1 meter per skill level. Mana cost: 25 Mana


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Perfect Motion] - Rare


    [Perfect Motion]: Increase your AGIL, DEX and PER by 1.5% per skill level. Cost 100 Mana per minute.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Between his enhanced speed and the constant teleportation, Luke struggled to keep up, and his six labour skills worked overtime with [Rapid Water Steps] to compensate for his lack of agility.


    Luke''s sword work was still a shallow trick, but it was developing into what might one day be a well-honed style. But right now, he realized that he was basically a child. Worse, his lack of speed was holding back his skills to the point that he felt like he was constantly reacting to his opponent.


    On the other hand, while Travis wasn''t a master of the blade pre-system, he had fully developed his fighting style and incorporated as much magic as martial technique into his own swordsmanship.


    Luke was being forced on the defensive as Travis teleported around him, dropping spells and attacking him from odd angles. A single moment of inattention would give Travis an opening, and he was stuck doing little more than parrying and dodging what seemed like an endless forest of blades as he spammed [Rapid Water Steps].


    "[Snatch]," Sam called out.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Snatch] - Uncommon


    [Snatch]: This skill specializes in swift, subtle theft. It allows the user to teleport a small item directly into their hand. The size of the object that can be stolen and the range from which it can be taken increased by 1% per skill level. Additionally, the target¡¯s perception of the event is reduced by 0.5% per skill level, making the act of stealing nearly undetectable.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    All of a sudden, Travis stumbled as his sword was now tightly gripped in Sam''s hand.


    Luke didn''t miss the opportunity as he activated [First Labor] and [Sixth Labor]. His sword glowed that familiar orange as it grew as large as a tree with veins of mana running through it, and he brought it down with all of his strength.


    Travis didn''t panic or even look away. He simply opened his mouth and sucked in his sword like it was a slushie. Luke stumbled as the effects of [Sixth Labor] disappeared. Luke''s sword crashed into the ground a foot away from Travis as the Lizard Wizard''s scales started to glow the same orange as Luke''s sword.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Body of Magic] - Legendary


    [Body of Magic]: In concert with [Consume Magic], the user takes on aspects of the magic they have devoured, augmenting their stats and granting them various other buffs from type damage, buffs, and defences. Using [Consume Magic] on multiple different sources of magic will result in multiple buffs, each with its own timer. The strength of this effect increases by 5% per skill level. Each effect lasts 1 minute per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Good attempt," Travis chuckled. "But you shouldn''t bet everything on one attack. Otherwise, you''re going to get screwed."


    "Thanks for the advice," Luke said, smiling as he raised his sword, [First Labor] still glowing on his blade despite Travis''s efforts.


    "Good thing I''m the distraction," Luke said.


    "[Turret Stance: Rapid Fire] [Blast Shot]," Sam said as she unleashed an arrow.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Blast Shot] - Epic


    [Blast Shot]: Upon impact, this shot detonates in a powerful explosion, dealing area damage to surrounding targets. Cost: 42 Stamina.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Level 20 Capstone - [Turret Stance] - Ancient


    [Turret Stance]: This skill allows the user to adopt one of several specialized stances, each enhancing a different aspect of combat. In any of these stances, the user becomes immobile and unable to move without breaking the stance.:


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Sniper Stance]: Increases range by 5% per skill level and damage by 2.5% per skill level. However, the firing rate is decreased by 50%.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Machine Stance]: Boosts fire rate by 5% per skill level.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Guard Stance]: Enhances armour rating by 5% per skill level but reduces fire rate, range, and damage by 50%.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Artillery Stance]: Increases range by 25% per skill level and damage by 5% per skill level. However, the firing rate is decreased by 90%.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">ECT.</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Travis tried and failed to dodge as the arrow impacted his chest. The arrow exploded with enough force that even from almost six feet away, Luke was knocked on his ass. Two more arrows slammed into Travis before he teleported away worse for wear, blood seeping up from his scales and a dozen gashes crisscrossing his body. Sam didn''t let up as she kept firing arrow after arrow forcing Travis to constantly teleport around to avoid getting blown off his ass. At one point, she got lucky and hit Travis''s tail, blowing it clean off.


    "Fucking!! SHIT!!!" Travis screamed as his tail hit the dirt. "That fucking hurt!"


    Luke waited for the next shot, but nothing came. Looking back, he found Sam completely passed out, but Gareth was slowly getting to his feet, and the bear spirit remained over Sam''s unconscious body.


    "Good trick. But if you can''t put down your target, it''s a bit too stamina-hungry." Travis chuckled, his scales now glowing both orange and blue.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    The Lizard Wizard has activated [Ether Dragons Heart], increasing all of his stats by 100%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Travis pulled a spare sword from his inventory.


    "My turn," Travis said as he shot forward. Luke tried to parry his sword, but his strength advantage was completely gone, and Travis battered away his sword before gutting him with the blade.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been afflicted with [Aether Wyrms Venom]


    All resource regeneration has been reduced by 1% for every instance of [Aether Wyrms Venom] for 10 seconds


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Luke barely saw the notification before he felt the familiar pull of ¡­ well, not death, but whatever the [Arena of the Ancients] did to him when he died within. His body was unresponsive, but he could see everything within the arena: Gareth and the Ursa Nox spirit lept at Travis.


    Travis just grabbed the Ursa Nox spirit out of the air and drained away the mana in its body, causing it to die nearly instantly and empowering the lizard wizard just as the power he had taken from Luke began to fail. Gareth lasted longer than Luke did. His nake for combat allowed him to survive two of Travis''s attacks before Travis teleported behind him and blasted him with [Dragons Breath] as he disembowelled him. Then Travis moved over to the still passed-out Sam and slit her throat.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Travis the Lizard Wizard has Defeated you in a duel.


    Would you like a rematch? Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <[Power of the Sea God] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Power of the Sea God] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Power of the Sea God] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Posedian''s Sea] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Fourth Labor] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Sixth Labor] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Tide Ripper] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Tide Ripper] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Tide Ripper] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Rapid Water Steps] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Rapid Water Steps] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Rapid Water Steps] has Reached Level 8>


    "Ugh," Luke rose to his feet as the cartilage in his nose snapped back to its proper position, and his wounds vanished like the illusions they were.


    "You guys ok?" Travis asked as he tested his tail.


    "How the hell did you lose to those assholes earlier?" Luke asked as he rose to his feet.


    "I didn''t. I won, then the jackass used [Duty before Death], it''s a skill that, upon the user hitting 0 hp, gives the user one to one hundred minutes as an unkillable juggernaut. so I had to run away for the next six minutes before he expired." Travis explained.


    "Sorry about hitting you, Luke," Gareth said as he rose to his feet.


    "Don''t worry about it. It''s funny how they never show the heroes in stories getting cold-cocked by a training accident, though." Luke muttered as he stretched.


    "If it makes you feel better, you did better than I expected," Travis said.


    "Really?" Sam asked.


    "Yes." Travis said, turning to Sam, "Sam, excellent job using the [Spirit of the Ursa Nox] for the first time. You just need to remember you have that skill and use it more often. I''m glad to see you finally using that skill. It''s a part of your toolkit that you''ve been neglecting +10 points. Good job with [Snatch] as well, unoriginal but classic +10 points. That being said, using [Blast Shot] and [Turret Stance] at the same time drained you far too quickly, leaving you vulnerable. You don''t get points as it was a mixed result. Try mastering them separately before you start using them together."


    Then he turned to Gareth.


    "Gareth, your biggest weakness is that you lost focus the moment I tripped you up. You need to keep your eye on the goal. Despite that, you lasted a few seconds against me when I had two skills enhancing my stats. Don''t underestimate the level of skill that takes. Take 50 points."


    "Um, thanks, I would have preferred to beat you," Gareth said sheepishly.


    "Unfortunately, you ruined it by losing complete focus after you broke Luke''s nose. -40 points."


    "Fuck you, bro," Gareth shot back.


    "Finally, Luke. Jesus, man, you were mostly good, but you need to get [Legendary Strength]. Your speed is just awful, and it lets me own your ass. No points for you. That being said, I was on my last legs. Once my boosting skills timed out, I would have been screwed."


    Luke just stared up at the Lizard wizard in exasperation.


    "A little vain to dump on us when you claim we''re hardly any better." Luke pointed out.


    "I had another nineteen minutes on my boosting skill. I had time." Travis shot back.


    "Besides, I''m a hybrid fighter. My job in a raid is to hunt down the spell casters. I''m not nearly as good as a pure fighter or a pure mage. And I wouldn''t be nearly as dangerous without my bloodline."


    Gareth got a strange look on his face when Travis mentioned bloodlines. Something to look into later.


    "Alright then. Let''s go again. I want to see how many more skills I can grind ---"


    Luke was cut off as someone screamed.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </th>


    <th>


    Race: Demigod


    </th>


    <th>


    Type: Humanoid


    </th>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <th>


    LVL: 17


    </th>


    <th>


    SubRace: Human


    </th>


    <th>


    Age 18


    </th>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <th>


    Health: 1400


    </th>


    <th>


    Stamina: 2705


    </th>


    <th>


    Mana: 2440


    </th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 16.3 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 21.9 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 6.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 12.5%, Elemental 12.5%, Vitality 10%, Mental 11%, Crit 20%, Insta-death 20%, Poison 20%, Disease 20%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 12, Heir to Beleiraphone 1, Water Enhancer 4


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 205


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 74


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 112


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 56


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 93


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 122


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 51


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 34


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 93


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 187 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 68 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 102 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 51 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 85 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 102 +20%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 51


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 34


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 85 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 17 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary


    Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    <ul>


    <li>[Power of the Sea God] - Level 1 >> Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 24 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Kin of Horses] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Born Sailor] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Natural Born Leader] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Master of Death] - Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Greek Tragedy] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Divine Assistance (Guide)] - ErR0R#4!!*!%!$</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 STR per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 20 >> Level 36</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Theseus 07/11


    <ul>


    <li>[First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippling Strike] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 23 >> Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 23 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 25 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Level 25 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone - [Sixth Labor: Procrustes Just Deserts] - Level 23 >> Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] - Level 18 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Bellerophon 3/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Molten Lead Lance] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Athena''s Bridle] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Water Enhancer 3/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Tide Ripper] - Level 1 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rapid Water Steps] - Level 1 >> Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Spearfisher] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 92: Luke Defends Hopkins

    "GGAAAAAAHHH!" Someone screamed.


    Luke whipped his head around and was stunned into inaction. Goblins, Goblins and Orcs were everywhere, leaping down from the road into the [Arena of the Ancients], the green attackers lashing out at anything and anyone.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alert the (Awoken Myths) guild is under attack by the faction (Bloody Teeth Goblin Horde)


    To arms Awoken Myths. Defend your settlement or lose it.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What the hell are they doing here?" Sam asked as she drew and released another arrow, blasting apart a group of goblins.


    "I don''t think anything was stopping them from coming here before; they just never bothered," Travis said as he unleashed six fireballs into the horde.


    But they just kept coming. More and more poured off the ledge of the concrete wall and attacked them.


    "Sam, conserve your stamina, focus your attacks on the leaders or anything that looks important, and Travis, try to clear as many as you can," Luke said.


    Travis could rapidly recharge his reserves from his enemies, but Sam couldn''t.


    Luke''s body was already moving before he had even consciously realized it, his sword cutting through the body of an Orc before it could attack someone.


    "Melee fighter to the front. Non-combatant, get back into the school!!" he barked as he kicked another goblin. "Archers, Mages attack the goblins on the road."


    Luke dropped a party invite on anyone nearby to try to help anyone who was nearby. He wasn''t unafraid. In fact, he was terrified as he faced down the horde.


    "Maybe Gareth was right," Luke muttered.


    "Of course I''m right," Gareth laughed as he hacked off a goblin head.


    A dozen police officers and Chester followed them up the road, their own attacks cutting through what seemed like an endless sea of goblins. This group of goblins wasn''t as dangerous as the Apocalypse Force or even Travis. These ones only had numbers on their side.


    "We need to get up to the road and push them back!" Luke called out as he deflected an arrow. "Follow me"


    Luke pushed towards the ramp leading up to the road. He was all but flying up to the road with [Rapid Water Steps] as he hacked apart any goblin that got in his way.


    Luke froze for half a second when he reached the road. Almost a hundred goblins were ready to leap to the people below. Some of them were riding wargs, or maybe they weren''t wargs¡ªhe didn''t know. A group of Orcs held up staves and fired off spells.


    "Attack!!" Luke ordered as he activated [First & Sixth Labor].


    He used all of the power he had already built up to blast through the first layer of the goblins as he smashed into their ranks. His empowered sword cleaved through dozens of bodies. From there, it devolved into a melee as Luke couldn''t focus beyond what was right in front of him.


    He slashed one orc through the throat and kicked another goblin into his fellow. Then he was forced on the defensive, constantly having to parry, block and dodge the horde of enemies, only getting in a small counterattack as he allowed [Sixth Labor] to recharge


    Suddenly, [Third Labor] screamed in his head an instant before Luke felt one of those wargs slam into him, knocking him to the ground. Luke brought up his arm to stop the warg from biting his face. Unfortunately, he was only half successful. He felt his bones shatter from the attack as the beast''s powerful jaws clamped down around his arm.


    Luke screamed as the warg shook its head back and forth in an attempt to wrench his arm off. Luke felt utter panic engulf his body as he realized he was going to die as his entire world shrunk down to the creature in front of him. As it did its best to remove his arm.


    Luke felt like his heart was about to explode as hot blood rained down on his face as he tried to keep the warg''s teeth away from his face.


    Luke couldn''t move his sword, as his right arm was a chew toy, so he punched the warg repeatedly ineffectively.


    "[First Labor]!" Luke screamed desperately.


    He hadn''t expected anything, but it felt different when his fist smashed into the warg this time. Luke could feel the beast''s ribs shatter under his fist, its organs popped, and blood and bile spilled out of the warg mouth as it suffered massive trauma to its internal organs.


    Luke felt the mad panic that had been consuming him ebb a little as the warg died. Luke pushed the beast off of his body. His right arm screamed in agony; his skin was almost gone, and the muscle underneath had been savagely lacerated. It was all he could do not to drop his sword.


    "I''ve got you," Travis''s voice echoed in his ear as he was helped back to his feet.


    Luke felt something warm and golden on his body, and the injuries on his arm healed themselves, leaving only a small scar on his forearm.


    "How?" Luke muttered, looking down at his arm.


    Travis grinned at him.


    "Just because I''m not a dedicated healer doesn''t mean I can''t heal." Travis chuckled


    But Luke''s legs were shaking. He felt a second spell suffuse his body, and his fear and terror dissipated as he got back to his feet.


    "Just a bit of magic courage to help you," Travis said as they rejoined the fight.


    Gareth and Jaime were practically managing on their own. Dozens of other people had joined them here as the people down in the parking lot locked down the goblins and orcs on the road. Sam was snipping the horde with explosive arrows as Travis led the mages to try and cut their numbers down to size quickly.


    That''s when Luke noticed a group of goblins on Wargs'' back racing over the football field into Sam''s flank.


    "GOBLINS COMING FROM THE FOOTBALL FIELD!!" Luke shouted his bloodline, carrying his words to the people in the parking lot.


    People in the parking lot turned their heads. Some started to scream, and others started to line up, putting themselves between the Warg riders and the non-combatants. But there were too few.


    The warg riders smashed through the handful of defenders, barely losing a few riders before they were inside the ranks of the spell casters and archers. The riders hacked at the spell casters with abandon, cutting down men and women before they could do little more than scream in protest.


    "Can you guys handle it up here?!" Luke shouted back to the people who followed him up.


    "Go, we''ve got it," Chester said as he shot off the head of a warg, causing the mutated wolf to go limp.


    Luke, Gareth, and Travis all leapt off the sidewalk and into the parking lot. He brought his sword around in a downward stab, driving his blade through a goblin, the warg he was riding, and about an inch into the asphalt below.


    The goblin didn''t even get the chance to scream before he was dead. Luke wrenched his blade out of the ground. He cursed at the chipped tip of his blade, but he turned his attention back to the battle.


    Luke charged into the ranks of the riders. He quickly found five riders attacking Sam.


    Travis threw up some kind of magical force shield between her and the riders, and the wargs smashed themselves against the magical shield as its rider blasted waves of darkness against the barrier. Sam was firing arrow after arrow at the riders to middle success. The wargs were quickly becoming pincushions while a handful of the goblins had been blown off their mounts dead.


    Running straight up to the nearest beast, Luke swung his blade, cleaving the head off of one of the wargs with a [First Labor]. The orc on its back went troubling to the ground, screeching.


    Luke turned to finish the goblin swinging around his sword to strike its head from its body, but the goblin parried his attack with a totem staff.


    "SHEEEEE!" the goblin screeched in outrage as he launched a fire bolt directly into Luke''s face.


    "GAHH," Luke swore as he swiped the flames out of the air. The water on his blade turned to steam on contact.


    Luke could see the blurry outline of the goblin mage raising his staff before Gareth finally arrived and buried his axe in the goblin''s neck.


    "Finally," Sam muttered. "All my arrows kept bouncing off that guy. It was a little disheartening."


    "How the hell did these guys get here?" Luke asked as he picked up and chucked a spear at one of the warg riders.


    The spear exploded, but not in the spray of Molten lead he had expected. Instead, hot steam blasted out on impact, sending lead shrapnel flying into nearby enemies. Luke was confused for about two seconds until he realized that the combination [Molten Lead Lance] and [Spearfisher] might be the answer.


    "Well, it''s not like we were doing anything to prevent them from finding us," Sam said as she fired arrow after arrow.


    "Enough talk. Focus on keeping them back." Gareth called out


    Luke brought his sword in a hard parry, the jagged blade rushing forward to meet the sweeping sword of the goblin before him. Connecting solidly, he felt goblins try and fail to stand up to his blade as his sword kept going and dug into the goblin''s skull.


    Kicking away the corpse away, Luke turned towards a warg. He knew he had no chance to block this one, so instead, he deflected it, bringing the sword down and hitting the front leg just hard enough to send the warg tumbling to the ground. "Tough luck for you, boy," Luke said as he disembowelled the beast.


    Seizing on that opportunity, Luke pressed the goblins even harder where their defences were the weakest¡ªwhere he thought they were the weakest. Instead, he cut through a swatch of goblins, coming face to face with an Orc carrying a skull-tipped staff. The Orc shaman looked at him with surprise, its gaze shifting to see the rest of his party carving through the goblins towards him.


    "DIE!" the Orc shaman shouted as it urged its warg towards him


    Fire blazing from the skull on its staff as it spewed forth a torrent of flame. Luke instinctively covered his face with his arm as the flames washed over him, feeling his hair, his arms burn, and his eyebrows burn away.


    However, instead of retreating, he pushed forward, activating [First Labor] and guiding his blade to where he thought the fire was coming from. The flames cut off. The orc quickly interposed its bone staff to keep his sword from being bisected.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Then, to his surprise, the orc parried his sword and slammed the skull at the tip of his staff into Luke''s face, sending him staggering to the side with a broken nose. He dizzily swiped with his sword, trying to keep the other goblins from killing him when he was down. It partially worked, as he was only stabbed twice. Gareth pulled him back and away from the warg before it could snap at him.


    Focusing back on the Shaman, Luke charged forward before it could cast at him again. Knocking the staff away at the same instant, a fireball spewed forth from its skull, harmlessly exploding among the goblins'' ranks.


    Continuing his stride, he tackled the orc, knocking the Shaman off his mount and sending them both tumbling to the ground. Using what he had learned earlier, he activated [First Labor] and punched the Shaman in the head.


    This time, he saw his hand become enveloped in the same orange energy from his [First Labor] skill. It kind of looked like one of those Hulk Smash gloves, only it was glowing orange, so maybe it was more like the thing.


    "It''s clobbering time," Luke said as he activated [First Labor] again, aiming to turn the Orcs'' heads into pulp.


    However, the Shaman had already recovered, and with a wave of his hand, he was sent flying off the orc by a gust of wind, rolling across the packed snow.


    Luke rolled to his upright, nearly slipping as he got to his feet. Before he could stabilize himself, he was hit in the chest with the familiar feeling of another firebomb shockwave blasting him into the wall.


    "Ugh!" he grunted as he reflectively ducked. He couldn''t see, so he trusted in his skills, ducking and leaping forward in a roll, going directly under the third fire bomb.


    Running forward, the edges of his vision began to clear, just in time to see orc take an exploding arrow before Gareth tackled him to the ground. The Shaman bucked, trying to throw Gareth off as he wrestled with the Shaman while Travis and Sam attempted to keep the other goblins off of the two of them.


    "Luke, a little help." Gareth''s voice sounded desperate. In the split second that his attention had been focused elsewhere, the Shaman had somehow knocked Gareth off of him, sending the big man flying a short distance through the air.


    Seeing the skull on the Shaman''s staff blazing with flame, Luke lept towards him, his sword forgotten as he tackled the Shaman to the ground. The fireball the Shaman had been gathering shot into the goblin horde, blasting a hole in their ranks.


    Twisting under him, the orc shaman''s elbow shot out, catching Luke in the face and busting his lip open. Recoiling from the blow, Luke blinked repeatedly, trying to get rid of the spinning stars in his vision. Reaching out blindly before the Orc shaman could attack him again, he felt his hand grab the arm holding the burning staff, pinning it against the ground and jerking it to the left.


    Luke felt bones in the orc''s wrist snap his grip. The Shaman screamed in pain as the staff fell uselessly from its grip, the eyes of the smouldering skull winking out as it clattered to the ground. Leaping back to his feet, he pulled out a spear from his inventory and stabbed it down. The Shaman didn''t let him get close before it could cast at him again.


    Luke didn''t even have a chance to see what spell the Orc cast before he was blown off the Shaman by an intense wave of wind.


    He sailed through the air, spinning like a helicopter seed before slamming back into the ground with a crunch. Wheezing, Luke slowly collected himself as the stunning effect of the Shaman''s spell began to wear off."


    "What the fuck" he groaned as he forced himself into an upright position, seeing that the Orc shaman had recovered his staff.


    The skull on the tip of the staff blazed with fire once more as the Shaman chanted the final words of the spell that would send a massive fireball streaming toward me."


    "Nope!" Gareth called out. He suddenly leaped at the shamans, his axe burying itself in his back and sending him crashing to the ground.


    Luke heard bones crack and snap as Gareth ripped his axe out of the Shaman''s back and slammed it into his head before ripping it out again. Blood splattered everywhere as Gareth hacked the Shaman to pieces, working to chop the Shaman''s head free from his body.


    In one violent motion, the Shaman''s head was lopped free of its body. Gareth kicked the orc''s head like a football, roaring with victory as he celebrated his kill.


    "I love this life," Gareth cheered.


    "How many more are there?" Luke moaned in pain as he collected himself.


    His arms were burned, his face was covered in blood, and all of his hair had been burned off. Despite that, he still felt like he could keep going. Slowly pushing myself up off the floor by the butt of his spear as his augmented vision took in the still-raging battlefield.


    Travis had cleared the immediate area of goblins with his spells, with Sam helping with her [Blast Shot], but they were already under the threat of being overwhelmed again. Luke charged into the fight, brandishing his spear, as Gareth shot past him, crashing into the ranks of goblins in utter jubilation as he massacred the weaker ones.


    Then Luke was in the middle of it, his spear jabbing this way and that as the bright red tip burned hot enough to send the wargs stumbling backward."


    "Dammit, they''re endless!" Luke cursed.


    "Tell me about it," Tom''s voice cut through the noise in an almost bored voice.


    In the next moments, six explosions echoed out, signalling the death of a dozen goblins each. Then another six, and another. Soon, the goblins were being cut to pieces as paper airplanes kamikazed into their ranks.


    Luke looked up to see Tom in his paper armour, his paper wings flying over his head. A piece of paper popped into existence around him before folding into paper airplanes, flying off and kamikaze-ing a goblin with a massive explosion.


    Alex was right next to him, sitting on a broomstick, as she lazily waved her figure to send death and destruction towards the goblins. In about two seconds, the two of them had turned the fight around as the goblins'''' numbers became a liability. As they bombarded with arcane artillery."I''m gone for a day, a day, and you guys can''t manage on your own?" Tom asks in disbelief.


    A massive explosion erupted from the street as Alex took a potshot at a group of warg riders."


    "How are you here?" Luke asked.


    "My settlement was attacked, and I got a notification," Tom explained as he started to cast mass healing spells.


    < Level up>


    < Level up>


    < Level up>


    <[Power of the Sea God] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Power of the Sea God] has Reached Level 10><[Posedian''s Sea] has Reached Level 26>>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 19>


    <[First Labor] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Second Labor] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Third Labor] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Forth Labor] has Reached Level 27>


    <[Fifth Labor] has Reached Level 27>


    <[Sixth Labor] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Molten Lead Lance] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Molten Lead Lance] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Molten Lead Lance] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Tide Ripper] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Tide Ripper] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Tide Ripper] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Rapid Water Steps] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Rapid Water Steps] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Spearfisher] has Reached Level 2>


    Luke Assigned his new levels to [Water Enhancer] without thinking of it. He wanted to finish off that class as soon as possible.


    Then Tom froze before jerking his head towards the school."


    "God dammit, they''re in the fucking school," Tom mutteredLuke''ss eyes opened wide."


    "The kids"


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </th>


    <th>


    Race: Demigod


    </th>


    <th>


    Type: Humanoid


    </th>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <th>


    LVL: 20


    </th>


    <th>


    SubRace: Human


    </th>


    <th>


    Age 18


    </th>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <th>


    Health: 1400


    </th>


    <th>


    Stamina: 2705


    </th>


    <th>


    Mana: 2440


    </th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 16.3 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 21.9 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 6.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 12.5%, Elemental 12.5%, Vitality 10%, Mental 11%, Crit 20%, Insta-death 20%, Poison 20%, Disease 20%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 12, Heir to Beleiraphone 1, Water Enhancer 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 205


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 74


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 112


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 56


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 93


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 122


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 51


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 34


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 93


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 187 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 68 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 102 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 51 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 85 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 102 +20%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 51


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 34


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 85 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 17 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +1 to all stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary


    Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    <ul>


    <li>[Power of the Sea God] - Level 8 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 25 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Kin of Horses] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Born Sailor] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Natural Born Leader] - Level 22 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Master of Death] - Level 18 >> Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Greek Tragedy] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Divine Assistance (Guide)] - ErR0R#4!!*!%!$</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 STR per Level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per Level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 2


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 36</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Theseus 07/11


    <ul>


    <li>[First Labor:Periphetes'''' Crippling Strike] - Level 25 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 24 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 25 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 26 >> Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Level 26 >> Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone - [Sixth Labor: Procrustes Just Deserts] - Level 24 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] - Level 20 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Bellerophon 3/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Molten Lead Lance] - Level 17 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Athena''ss Bridle] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Water Enhancer 3/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Tide Ripper] - Level 14 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rapid Water Steps] - Level 8 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Spearfisher] - Level 1 >> Level 2</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 93: Penny, the Musician

    Penny lay in bed. She was sharing a room with the other women she had escaped the goblins with¡ªabout twenty-four people in total, double the normal number of people to a room. The room was one of the new rooms they had created through the settlement interphase on the fifth floor.


    It looked like a classroom, only it was completely empty and had that level of cleanliness that only came from the lack of people. They had managed to stuff a couple of beds to one side of the room as sleeping arrangements. They also had some cupboards for clothing and a few other pieces of furniture. They had even managed to mount a TV on the wall.


    Honestly, it was half a group bedroom and half a living room.


    Penny, however, wasn''t interested in getting out of bed. She didn''t want to talk to the other girls. After she had assigned her two new levels to [Courtesan], she flopped into bed. She just wanted to sleep. She had died. That had been the one all-consuming thought she had been stuck with since yesterday. What was she supposed to do now? How was she supposed to handle death? She had died trying to save people who didn''t want to be saved, and then she came back. Did she even come back? Was she the same Penny Noel that had been beaten to death by those groupies, or did she just think she was? Was the real Penny dead, and she was just a replacement? She just kept spiralling through these questions as she lay in bed.


    Then, a sharp kick knocked her out of bed and sent her sprawling to the floor.


    Penny spluttered as she got to her feet, her knife in hand. Only to find Eve staring down at her.


    "Wha ---"


    "Come on up," Eve said, cutting her off. "You''ve been moping around since yesterday. Get up."


    "I died," Penny protested.


    "You think that''s any excuse? I''ve had a dozen patients die on me only to come back from the dead. They aren''t moping around in bed like sleeping beauty."


    Penny stashed her knife away in her inventory as she got to her feet, shuffling back to bed.


    "Just let me sleep," Penny said


    Eve scowled at her as she returned to bed before stomping off. She thought that maybe Eve was going to leave her alone when a bucket of ice-cold water was splashed over her head.


    "WHAT THE FUCK!!" Penny screamed as she shot out of bed, completely soaked.


    "I told you to get up," Eve said, smiling as she held the still-dripping bucket. "It''s not my fault you didn''t listen. Now, come on. You''re getting out of bed and spending the day with me, or else."


    Penny was unwilling to find out what else meant, so she changed out of her wet clothes into something warm. She wished she could dress for style, but her wardrobe was a mix of salvaged clothes from people''s homes and stores, so it was more improved than proper fashion. She kept her blonde hair in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes before following Eve out of the room.


    "Alright, so where are we going?" Penny asked.


    "You''re going to put on a music performance for the kids in the gym. I''m here to make sure you show up," Eve said.


    "I don''t feel like it." Penny pouted.


    "Doctors orders," Eve said as she prodded her to keep moving.


    "I don''t even have an instrument," she protested.


    "You have skills," Eve shot back.


    That was Penny''s last excuse, so she nodded and followed along until they came to a large gym with a bunch of kids waiting around for her.


    "Hey, kids, this is my friend Penny. She''s going to play a song for you!!" Eve said in that sickly sweet tone reserved for children.


    Penny sat down in front of the rows of children, a fake smile on her lips. Her hands raised as if she were holding an invisible guitar, and that''s when she felt something¡ªalmost like she was holding an invisible guitar. It was faint, just on the edge of her tactile sense, but it was there.


    The kids, especially Tom''s little sister, stared at her, waiting for her to do something. Her large dog was sitting right next to her. In addition to the kids, two of the cooks, Mavis, Takashi, Eve, and Ms.Lewis, were in the room. For some reason, they were recording her.


    It wasn''t the debut she had been expecting. But she didn''t really care at the moment.


    "Okay, kids," Penny said with a forced smile. "Are you ready for some magic?"


    They nodded eagerly, giggles and whispers of excitement spreading through the group.


    "Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O,


    And on that farm, he had a cow, E-I-E-I-O,


    With a moo moo here, and a moo moo there,


    Here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo,


    Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O ¡­"


    As she sang counting stars, her fingers strummed her nonexistent guitar, and to her amazement, the unmistakable sound of a guitar filled the room. Each strum on her [Air Guitar] created the notes she wanted and resonated as if played on a real instrument. The children''s jaws dropped, their eyes sparkling with delight and wonder.


    "Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O,


    And on that farm, he had a duck, E-I-E-I-O,


    With a quack quack here, and a quack quack there,


    Here a quack, there a quack, everywhere a quack quack,


    Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O ¡­"


    The kids began to sing along, their faces lit up with pure joy, and Penny felt her own gloom getting pushed back as she played.


    "How is she doing that?" Chloe asked the girl next to her, but the other kids quickly hushed her up.


    "Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O,


    And on that farm, he had a pig, E-I-E-I-O,


    With an oink oink here, and an oink oink there,


    Here an oink, there an oink, everywhere an oink oink,


    Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O ..."


    Penny just smiled as her fingers kept dancing in the air. She threw in a few dramatic flourishes, her hands moving in exaggerated arcs as if she were a rock star, to see how her skills would interpret her actions. It turns out it didn''t really matter what she did as much as what she intended. The kids were completely into the over-the-top action, with more than a few of them getting up to dance with her.


    "Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O,


    And on that farm, he had a horse, E-I-E-I-O,


    With a neigh neigh here, and a neigh neigh there,


    Here a neigh, there a neigh, everywhere a neigh neigh,


    Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O ¡­"


    As Penny''s magical performance continued, the room seemed to fill with an almost tangible energy. The kids bounced off the walls as the song surged, and a notification sprung up in the side of Penny''s vision.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have performed the song [Old MacDonald Had a Farm]


    The Respeciants of this gain the following buffs for 15 minutes


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+0.5% to STR, CON and END</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+0.5% to Stamina</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Receive the buff: [Calm]</li>


    </ul>


    Quality: Uncommon


    Song Rarity: Rare


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Finally, Penny struck a grand, imaginary final chord. Her hands raised high above her head. The guitar sound faded, leaving behind a room full of thrilled and impressed children.


    "Thank you, thank you!" Penny said, taking an exaggerated bow as she blew kisses to the kids. "You''ve been a wonderful audience!"


    The kids erupted into applause, their faces beaming with happiness. Penny couldn''t help it as she started her next song. Each song she played seemed alive now, almost ¡­ magical.


    When she was finally finished, the little girl sitting next to Chloe walked up to her. The little girl made her best puppy dog eyes as she piped up, "Can you teach me how to do that?"


    Penny chuckled, ruffling the girl''s hair. "Sure, we can go to the music room later, and you can learn how to play a musical instrument later,"


    As the children chattered excitedly, Penny sat back down as the notifications came in. She smiled until she reached the last one.


    <[Bardic Music] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Bardic Music] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Bardic Music] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Extended Song] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Extended Song] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Extended Song] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Whisper Wind] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Whisper Wind] has Reached Level 6>


    <...>


    <[Whisper Wind] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Air Guitar] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Air Guitar] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Air Guitar] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Air Magic] has Reached Level 21>


    <You are now a Level 4 [Bard]>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have Banished Death Sickness.


    Death Sickness is a common ailment that affects those returned from the hereafter. Symptoms include depression, anxiety, existentialism, and an unhealthy attachment to life.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Eve!!" Penny called out, walking over to her friend.


    "That was great." Eve cheered as she wandered over to where Penny was sitting. "I didn''t know you were so talented."


    "You know I was actually trying to become a musician before all of this." Penny pointed out.


    Eve smiled, and Penny took that moment to ask her question.


    "Did you know about this ¡­ death sickness?" Penny asked.


    Eve shrugged sheepishly.


    "You''re not the first one with that problem. I''m still not sure if it''s a system thing or just normal mental issues from dying." Eve said.


    Penny embraced her diminutive friend.


    "Thanks for giving me a kick in the ass."


    Then she pulled a water bottle out of her inventory and poured it down the back of Eve''s neck.


    Eve screeched, shoving her away as she tried to get the water out of her neck. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "And that''s for splashing me with cold water," Penny laughed as her friend tried to get the water out of her shirt.


    She had needed this¡ªjust a few hours of normality, which lasted until she got her next notification.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Alert the (Awoken Myths) guild is under attack by the faction (Bloody Teeth Goblin Horde)


    To arms Awoken Myths. Defend your settlement or lose it.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Penny shot to her feet in panic as she activated [Charm Speak]


    "Alright, kids, it''s time to leave. Through the small Gym," she called out.


    The kids had almost no resistance to [Mind], so they started moving towards the small gym like a herd of insects.


    They didn''t get far before the doors to the small gym flew open, and a goblin shaman walked through. Dozens of spectral apparitions flew around him, and a dozen goblins followed behind him, with more pouring in every second.


    "Kids get away from that thing!!!" Penny screamed, using [Whisper wind] to deliver her orders into the ear of every kid.


    The shaman raised its staff, ready to start casting spells at the kids.


    Penny panicked for a fraction of a second before an idea she had come up with when reviewing her battle with Altan''s group came to her mind. Penny activated [Air Guitar] and played the loudest decibel she could as [Whisper Wind] made it play directly in the shaman''s inner ear. The shaman dropped his staff as he grasped his ears in pain as blood spurted out of his ear.


    That had bought the kids enough time to put some distance between them and the goblins. The two chefs had also stepped up with their own magic. Mavis was tossing fire at the goblins while Takashi was throwing water bolts at them. They were dealing with the goblins easily enough, but the spellcaster around the shaman protected him from any spells that got too close. But they didn''t protect him from Penny trying to blow out his ear drums.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t last long before the shaman threw up some kind of magic shield. Penny switched to using what was quickly becoming her favourite skill.


    "[Get Naked]" she said.


    Instantly, the shaman''s clothes fell to the floor; it didn''t improve his visage. Regardless, the shaman scrambled to pick up his clothes as Penny raced towards him, drawing her sacrificial dagger failing to notice the red tint upon the blade.


    Unfortunately, she didn''t get far before a goblin lept at her, tackling her to the ground as it tried to stab her in the throat. Instead, it got her shoulder. The knife felt like fire as the blade tore through muscle and scratched at the bone underneath.


    "Get off me, you stupid Troglodyte," Penny ordered with [Charm speak]


    The goblin hesitated but didn''t get off of her. But it was enough for her to bring the sacrificial knife around and bury it into the goblin''s neck, causing its black blood to splatter all over her as she wrenched the blade and ripped out his throat.


    "Fucking hell." Penny cursed as she struggled to her knees.


    Two more goblins were charging towards her, but she just blew out their eardrums, stripped them naked and then stabbed them in vulnerable bits. [Ritual Sacrifice] allowed her to heal her injuries as she restored her health pool, but it didn''t repair the injury.


    Taking the mana, she summoned Des. The Demon appeared out of the eather. His incandescent bone blades looked hungry.


    "Kill the goblins, don''t harm the humans," Penny ordered.


    Des charged forward just as the Shaman made his move. The ghosts that had been surrounding him lunged outwards. Mavis and Takashi didn''t have a chance, as three ghosts were bearing down on each of them. Des had a dozen spirits chasing him, but Penny only had one ghost to deal with. However, she quickly ran into the problem. Her skills couldn''t affect it.


    She quickly ran through her entire list of skills; only [Air Magic] had any effect, and she had precious little mana after summoning Des.


    She tried to slash at it with the sacrificial dagger. The ghost recoiled from the dagger, but then it grabbed her arm, wrenching her into the air as it broke her wrist from the force of its actions. She dangled there, completely helpless.


    "Dammit, not again," Penny cursed.


    Dropping the sacrificial dagger from her injured hand, she caught it in her uninjured hand.


    "Shocking Touch," she croaked out.


    Lighting to arc up and down the bronze dagger before she slammed the blade into the ghost.


    The undead howled in pain and fury as it recoiled from her, dropping her to the ground. It glared at her with murder in its eyes as it rose up to ---


    "Lucy sick em," the voice of Tom''s little sister somehow reached Penny''s ears. Despite all the chaos, it was odd. But her next thoughts were cut off as a blood-chilling, soul-shrivelling howl ripped through her body and sent shivers down his spine.


    HOOOOOOOOOOWWWLLL


    Everyone stopped fighting for an instant as it washed over them. No one moved, not the goblins, not the humans, not the ghosts; even Des froze mid-swing.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been affected by Lucys [Despair Aura]


    You are [Terrified]


    You are [Confused]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Penny turned her head almost against her will as she looked to where Eve had been moving the kids. Tom''s little sister stood in front of the group, though what stood next to her had everyone''s attention.


    What had once been the girl''s pet, Woodle stood there menacingly. It had somehow grown from the size of a normal dog to the size of a small elephant. Its fur had changed from charcoal black to an absolutely black of the abyss. It didn''t shine or glimmer. It was just black nothingness in the shape of a giant dog. Its eyes glittered like rubies dipped in tar. Its claws and teeth glowed a ghostly blue, with red and black flames dripping from its mouth, sizzling the ground around it like some demonic form of rabies.


    "That''s Lucy?!" Penny asked, stunned.


    Then, all at once, the goblins, the ghosts, and the shaman jerked into action. The ghost who had been prepared to attack her turned and fled. They didn''t even try to fight back as they turned and fled for their lives, unlives. Even Des ran, turning from the goblins and getting as far away from Lucy as he could.


    Lucy pounced, leaping at the nearest ghost like an overgrown puppy with a chew toy. Unfortunately, the chew toy didn''t last a second as Lucy''s jaws popped the ghost like a water balloon. Penny could swear the hell dog even looked disappointed that the deadly ghost she had just been facing hadn''t lasted longer.


    Some of the goblins seemed to regain their courage as they turned and attacked Lucy. Even the shaman threw a couple of spells at her. To literally no effect, the physical weapons bounced off her fur, while the magical stuff just winked out of existence on contact, swallowed up by the black fur.


    Calmly, almost disturbingly so, Lucy turned and blasted them with those black and red flames. Any goblin that came into contact with those flames screamed in agony as they died. The ghosts didn''t even get that. They just evaporated on contact. Lucy bit and snapped at the goblins, but it was the dog''s colossal bulk that killed most of them as she sent most of them flying, shattering bones as they hit the ground, injured, cripppled even, but not dead.


    That''s when Penny realized something: Even as spells, arrows and spears impacted her body, Lucy wasn''t attacking them. She was playing with them. She was acting like an overeager puppy who just wanted to play with someone. The only difference was that she was so massive that a glancing blow was enough to shatter bones.


    Eve had made her way over to Penny as she sat there completely stunned and started to heal her arm.


    "That''s a pet?!" Penny asked as Lucy slaughtered the goblins with a level of ease that terrified her all over again.


    "Yeah, I guess it makes sense," Eve said as she fixed Penny''s wrist.


    "What does?" Penny asked.


    "Duncan said Tom was really protective of his sister. I didn''t understand why he was so okay with leaving her on her own, but now I do."


    Suddenly, it clicked for Penny. The little girl wasn''t in danger; she and her pet were dangerous to the rest of them. She couldn''t suppress a shudder that ran up her spine at the realization.


    Lucy had apparently finally found a good chew toy, the shaman. She was currently shaking her head back and forth as the shaman tried and failed to escape her massive jaw.s


    Eve helped Penny up, and they made their way back to the rest of the kids. Ms.Lewis had already taken Mavis and Takashi back to the kids to be healed by some of the kids who had learned life magic.


    Chloe and her friend were cheering on Lucy as she finished off the shaman.


    "Is everyone all right?" Eve asked as she dumped a mass heal on the group of a thousand children.


    "It''s great!!" Chloe cried out in excitement, jumping up and down. Can we do this again?!"


    Penny looked over the other kids. They looked shaken but were fine. In fact, more than a few were cheering on the massive murder puppy. She was pretty sure the Shaman was already dead, and the dog was just chewing on it like a biscuit.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations, you have successfully defended your settlement.


    Battle Status: Victory


    Allied Survivors 84%


    Enemy survivors 0%


    Notable standouts:


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Thomas Bruner</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Alexandra Ling</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Travis the Lizard Wizard</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Luke Graceson</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Chloe Bruner</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gareth Brown</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Penny Noel</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Samatha Mato</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Joey Hunt</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Andrew Mack</li>


    </ol>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "How did Chloe get so much credit?" Penny asked.


    "I guess since Lucy was a tamed pet, the system considered her an extension of her," Eve suggested.


    "That fucking terrifying. You know that, right?" Penny asked.


    Further conversation was cut off as the PA system came on.


    "Hello, everyone." Tom''s voice cut through the intercom.


    "Tom!!" Chloe cheered


    "Today, we were suddenly and deliberately attacked by the goblins of Kwantlen. This was their first attack, but it won''t be their last.


    These were just scouts. If we leave them to fester, they will crash against us again, and again, and again, until they break us. No one is coming to save us. No one is coming to fix our problems. So, each and every one of us is given a choice: we can squabble amongst ourselves, or we can stand together and face the monsters that are at our door and bring the fight to them! Now, who''s with me?!" Tom roared


    Penny could hear ragged cheers go up around the school, and that was the moment she got an update.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Regional Quest: Bloody Goblin Horde


    Your home, your nation, and your world are being invaded by goblins who intend to subjugate and conquer it. Will you run from the horde, or will you stand with your guild and fight for what''s yours?


    Objectives:


    Destroy or Capture the Bloodstone: 0/1


    Destroy or Capture the Gate: 0/1


    Bonus Objectives:


    Kill all of the Goblins: 6,236 / ??????


    Kill the ???: 0/1


    Kill Seraphel: 0/1


    Kill Goblin Shaman: 1/1


    Kill ???: 0/1


    Kill ???: 0/1


    Rewards:


    2 Levels for everyone involved, Bonus XP for Everyone, a Title: Goblin Killer, 5000 Settlement Points, Winter Event Guild Token


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "That was a nice speech," Penny said.


    "I think he stole half of it from Franklin Roosevelt. And Pacific rim," Eve admitted as the notifications came in.


    <[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Charm Speak] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Walk of Shame] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Walk of Shame] has Reached Level 19>


    <[Walk of Shame] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Get Naked] has Reached Level 9>


    <[Summon Demonic Familiar] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Air Magic] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Air Magic] has Reached Level 23>


    <...>


    <[Air Magic] has Reached Level 30>


    <[Ritual Sacrifice] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Ritual Sacrifice] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Air Guitar] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Air Guitar] has Reached Level 18>


    <...>


    <[Air Guitar] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Whisper Wind] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Whisper Wind] has Reached Level 9>


    <...>


    <[Whisper Wind] has Reached Level 15>


    <Level Up>


    Penny sighed as she looked down at her sacrificial dagger. They would be going off to war soon. She wondered if they needed a [Bard]?


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Penny Noel


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 995


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1335


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 1360


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 12.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 17.6 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 6.8 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Free*, Breaker of Chains


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Courtesan 8 / Warlock 5 / Bard 4


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 68


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 56


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 74


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 51


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 51


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 68


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 51


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 34


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 17


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 68


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 51 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 68 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 51


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 51


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 68


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 51


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 34


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 80 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 CHA +3 AGIL +3 INT +2 DEX +2 PER


    Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO


    Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Pursuit Hunter] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[StoryTeller] - N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 4 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 1 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    Courtesan 5/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Viper Style: Touch of the Jellyfish] - Level 13 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Charm Speak] - Level 11 >> Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Walk of Shame] - Level 17 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Pheromone Control] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Get Naked] - Level 8 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    Warlock 5/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Summon Demonic Familiar] - Level 12 >> Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Empty]</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Air Magic] - Level 20 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ritual Sacrifice] - Level 6 >> Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Demonology] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    Bard 4/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Bardic Music] - Level 1 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Extended Song] - Level 1 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Air Guitar] - Level 1 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Whisper Wind] - Level 1 >> Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 94: Sunday

    The morning was interesting. Hopkins wasn''t the only place that had been attacked, but it had suffered the worst attack.  Afterwards, people were outraged, and they were ready to charge out and hit the goblin right at that moment. Tom had actually managed to level up [Wordsmith] in getting them to put their rage into joining the raid party. Tom didn''t want to admit it, but he had been a bit worried that he might lose control of the crowd.


    But he had managed to wrangle them. Will made sure that everyone was fed before they moved out, and Tom made sure to tell everyone to store at least two additional meals in there [Storage] for later. Then he needed to resurrect everyone who died, and he finally managed to push [Hand of Mercy] up to level 50.


    Starkiller had wandered in but had been annoyed at the lack of a market and had said as much. He still bought food from Will in the form of magic cores. He also purchased a few choice items from Abaddon in the form of materials that Tom recognized as ingredients for a Bloodline Ritual. Tom didn''t stop him, ignoring the creatures he needed to acquire the bloodline. The ingredients weren''t actually that rare. It was just a really complicated ritual¡ªno need to snub the man over something he could grab on his own.


    Tom had been working almost all morning when he received yet another surprise. An army, not more than two hundred, maybe three, walked up to his settlement. A half-orc in a Hawaiian shirt and flames licking up and down his army marched at the front nonchalantly.


    "Well, are you attacking me, or are you here for the raid?" Tom asked as his paper airplanes orbited his body.


    "I''m here for the raid," Ignis said. "I trust I''m not too late."


    "We still have some time. Come on, your people can get a last bit to eat before we head out while you and I head to the war tent," Tom said, gesturing for Ignis to follow as he took to the air.


    Ignis''s wings of fire erupted from his back, and he moved to follow.


    "Cora, take everyone to the parking lot to get some food. I''ll find out the plan," Ignis said before turning to follow Tom.


    Tom made sure never to lose sight of Ignis and kept his paper airplanes floating around his body. Cora, the angry-looking woman, marched her people into the parking lot, moving towards the food. Many of them looked half-starved.  Ignis seemed confident as he kept pace with Tom, his eyes wandering. First, he spotted the scorpions on Hopkins'' roof, followed by the watchtower over the main entrance. Despite these improvements, it wasn''t until he spotted Lucy and Chloe hanging out by the gym entrance that he faltered.


    "You have a hellhound?!" he hissed in a near panic


    Tom understood the fear. Ignis was an even worse matchup against Lucy than he was. Strictly speaking, Lucy wouldn''t consider Ignis anything other than free food.


    "Yes, she''s a tamed pet. Do you like her?" Tom asked happily.


    Ignis blanched at his words.


    "Will it be fighting with us?" he asked.


    "No," Tom said. "She''ll be staying here to defend the settlement, as she did yesterday after the goblins attacked us. This allows us to put even more people in the field."


    More importantly, Lucy wouldn''t go far away from Chloe, and he wasn''t bringing his sister to war. That was out of the question. So his sister would stay here, and Lucy would help defend the settlement, hopefully from nothing.


    They finally arrive at the party tent that the Major had set up to help organize everything. SGT. Thorn, Abaddon, and Duncan were already there, going over the battle plan with the major. That all stopped as they approached.


    "Tom," the Major said as he and Ignis stepped down. "Is this ¡­"


    "Yeah, this is Ignis of the [Apocalypse Force]."


    Major Adams seemed to tower over Ignis, and even Tom felt a little intimidated by the officer.


    "Why are you here?" Major Adams said.


    "Um, I Don''t ¡­"


    "Let''s not bullshit each other, kid. Your people had no intention of coming here. In fact, they have attacked people at every turn. Despite that, now you''re here. I want to know why. And if you don''t give me an answer, I like I''m going to shoot you dead right here." the Major asked, his hand on his pistol.


    Ignis frowned as he recentered himself. The man stood up to meet the Major''s eyes. "My guild disagrees about it. But I think the Regional Quest rewards are worth it. If you aren''t interested in my assistance, we''ll go."


    "Yes, we''re interested," Tom said. "Under a [Karmic Contract], of course."


    "Fine," Ignis said. But let''s see the plan first. I''m not agreeing to anything that will get my people killed."


    "Fair, let''s agree to a basic deal. You won''t betray us to the goblins or your friends. And if you do, you die. In exchange, I will resurrect everyone who dies in this battle. Acceptable?" Tom offered.


    "Fine," Ignis said, shaking his hand.


    Tom nodded as he felt the contract snap into place.


    Major Adams didn''t look happy, but Tom gave him a nod as they surrounded the table.


    "How many people did you bring?" Duncan asked.


    "Around two hundred," Ignis stated.


    "How many beta testers?" Abaddon asked.


    "Just me. The others are more interested in grinding the goblin horde for levels." Ignis said.


    "Well, that''s disappointing," Tom said.


    "I''m noticing there''s not a lot of us," Ignis said.


    "That brings us up to around six thousand seven hundred hundred people. Three thousand from Hopkins, five hundred first responders, two hundred of the [Apocalypse Force] and another three hundred volunteers from various settlements." Major Adams stated.


    "I was expecting more," Ignis said.


    "The people in charge are dragging their asses. Furthermore, they''re still trying to deal with almost five hundred thousand people trying to deal with the system all at once, " Major Adams pointed out.


    "Well, less than that," Tom said. "Most of the designated emergency shelters were turned into lairs, so everyone who went there is dead and isn''t coming back, including the nearby hospital, and everyone who entered Langley died for some reason. You know that''s still bugging me. We still need to send someone to--."


    "Tom, could we refocus." Major Adams cut in.


    "Right, sorry. Ignis, do your people have any way to coordinate?"


    "No, they''re mostly just people in my faction that volunteered to be here," Ignis said.


    Tom tried not to react to that. Ignis clearly wasn''t that good at Noralon''s political aspect. He had just admitted that his guild had factions and, by extension, that the factions clearly weren''t working together. Valuable information and not something you wanted your enemies to know about.


    "That sounds about right." Major Adams said. "We''ve had to forgo some of the more complex plans in order to best utilize the simpler ones due to the lack of discipline and experience."


    Tom had to blush at that. He had wanted to have a row of shieldmen while riflemen fired over their shoulders. The Major had vetoed that plan, pointing out that almost no one here had any actual training, and they were just as likely to kill each other as they were to kill the enemy. In the end, it was Abaddon who came up with a reasonable plan. He called Jaime.


    Jaime was one of Awoken Myth''s founders, along with the rest of them. He was also the biggest blackest person Tom had ever met. And that was before the system. Now the guy looked like black Heracles. Skippy had already made contact with all of their former guild members over the Internet.


    They had initially planned to group up in Hopkins for safety. However, he and a couple of other people were based in Chilliwack and making their way to them. With the monsters and the weather, that was taking time, especially with the ever-growing line of refugees following after them.


    Of course, the reason for making the contract now was because Jaime was the guild''s other tactician, and Abaddon figured if Tom didn''t have the answer, Jaime might.


    "You need to be taking inspiration from the Zulu, using the horns of the bull formation," Jaime said from the Abaddon''s phone. Jaime was face timing. He gestured to the illusionary map Tom had placed on the table. The map was based on his own mapping effect and was being updated with scrying as often as possible, giving them real-time information.


    "Chester and the tanks will be taking up vanguard in the centre. With a combination of Coffeehouse''s Balista, riflemen and a phalanx. Your vehicles will be set up back here to create a second  blockade and a base of operations." Jaime gestured, and Tom placed an origami token of a bull''s head at the intersection of 126 St and 78 Ave.


    "Sgt Thorn will be in charge of the people with guns here on the nearby roofs. She''ll work to pick off the enemy as quickly as possible. Coffeehouse here is going to be manning the ballista with explosive tips --"


    "Core Bomb tips," Duncan corrected Jaime.


    "They explode on impact; no one cares about the semantics Coffeehouse. If they get close, the rifleman will switch out with melee units, and you can hold the line with shield and spear while the first responders chuck magic over your heads into their ranks, " Jaime began. "you want to remain in a crescent formation, so you have overlapping fields of fire."Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Then Jaime gestured to two other tokens of horns next to the token of the bull.


    "The left and right horns will be taking up positions in the supermarket directly south of the intersection. There are a few ways for the goblin to go through the supermarket to get behind you. So, the horns will need to lock down the supermarket with earth magic. You can also have people get up on the roof of the buildings and rain fire on the goblins. These jobs require more imagination and adaptability than discipline. So it will mostly consist of volunteers, small groups, and larpers."


    Finally, Jaime pointed to a token that looked like a pair of testicles on Jaime''s instance.


    "Finally, we have the loins. These are your reserve units. They will also work as a medical station and, in the worst case, can be called in to plug up any holes in your formation when you inevitably make a mistake, and more importantly, they can guard your escape route." Jaime explained.


    "Do we have to call it the loins?" Sergeant Thorn asked.


    "It''s historically accurate," Jaime stated.


    "You assume we''re going to make a mistake?" Alex asked.


    "I''ll be shocked if you don''t. Honestly, I would prefer if you guys could postpone this for a few more weeks so we can show up. I''ve already got half the guild with me," Jaime offered.


    "You already know we can''t wait." Tom reminded him.


    "I know, I know. I''m just annoyed I''m missing this." Jaime grumbled.


    "Couldn''t we buy time?" the Major asked. "Use hit-and-run tactics until your group arrives."


    "No, the goblins outnumber you ten to one, and that number is growing exponentially every day. The simple fact is you can''t kill every goblin there, even if it wasn''t for the [Blood mage]. Your enemy is replacing their losses faster than you can inflict them. That''s why we''re going to focus on stopping them from gathering more reinforcements." Jaime explained.


    "What about this group?" Ignis asked, pointing to two origami tokens of paper horses.


    "That is not directly part of our formation. These are our mounted units. These troops will be coming up from the south. To cause as much trouble as possible." Tom explained


    "Why are we bothering with that again?" Abaddon asked.


    "According to Penny and Eve, who actually escaped from Kwantlen, I believe the [Blood mage] is here in the student enrollment building as this appears to be where the leadership is located. Since our objective is to take the bloodstone, I''m hoping to get you as close to the mage before the battle begins as possible. That being said, you don''t want the rest of the goblin army on your butts while you''re fighting the blood mage. So this Luke guy and the orcs are going to take some mounted forces, get the attention of the goblins from the south and create as much mayhem as possible in order to give you the best chance at the target." Jaime stated.


    "And how are we going to take down their leaders?" Ignis asked.


    "That''s our job," Tom said. "The beta-testers will primarily be dealing with the [Bloodmage] as well as any other goblin leader. Abaddon has [Lesser Colossus] and [Siegebreaker], so he''s going to be our point man against the [Bloodmage] while we all work to support him."


    "I think I should focus more on the goblin army. I have the [Incenorater] skill, which evolved from the [Funeral Pyre] skill." Ignis explained


    "How is that relevant?" Major Adams asked curiously.


    "A [Bloodmage] will use the spell blood harvest to drain the blood out of any corpses on the field in order to recharge the bloodstone. [Funeral Pyre] turns my victims to ash. No bodies, no blood, and the [Bloodmage] can''t recharge." Jaime explained.


    That also meant Tom would need to ensure that Ignis didn''t kill anyone before he got [Soul Lantern], or they would be dead for real.


    "More importantly, my build is currently better suited against an army right now than it is for a one-on-one fight." Ignis points out.


    "That''s not a bad idea," Tom said, considering it. "It doesn''t affect our own plan of attack, but it does make things easier for us and safer for everyone else. You''ll need to focus on supporting the army, AOE spells, and thinning their numbers as they move closer. Can you manage?" Tom asked.


    Ignis nodded.


    "Alright then, it''s decided."


    "If you think it''s best, we''ll go for it." Major Adams said. "What about Skippy and Starkiller?"


    Tom noticed Ignises eyes going wide at the mention of those two. Jaime just frowned. He didn''t like Starkillers unprofessionalism.


    "Skippy is going to be trying a sneak attack when we attack, and Starkiller is going after Seraphel, who was the original boss of the Kwantlen Lair," Tom explained.


    "You have two of the top one hundred PVP players working for your guild?" Ignis asked.


    "Skippy is a founding member," Tom said purposely, avoiding talking about Starkiller. Better that the [Apocalypse Force] believes he is a guild member instead of a free agent.


    Jaime clearly noticed the indiscretion but said nothing.


    "I''m not sure if this is going to be enough," Major Adams said as they arranged the token. "We lost almost half of the police force when we first tried. Are you sure we can manage it now?"


    "Don''t forget we have guns and better people," Tom said.


    Major Adams shrugged, "Numbers are often the deciding factor in war. And according to the quest, the goblins are already up to fifty thousand."


    "Don''t forget that the [Apocalypse Force] has been spreading disease through the goblins'' ranks. Even if most of them aren''t directly helping us, they are indirectly helping us. We can win this fight," Tom said.


    "By the way, who is the [Leader]?" Ignis asked.


    "That would be me." Major Adams stated.


    Ignis looked like he was about to cut in when Tom beat him to it.


    "Actually, Major, You''re in charge of the operation. But you''re not the technical [Leader]. That would be me. I''ll be pulling all of the party leaders into my party, and they''ll be making smaller parties on their own."


    "What does that mean?" Sergeant Thorn asked.


    "There are a lot of skills that boost leadership. But they need the [Party Leader] skill to work. Now, it is possible to form parties while still being a part of a larger party to expand the party size even more. There are problems, though. You can only form a party in my party if your party leader skill is lower in rarity than mine. That''s why I''m the leader. I have the highest rarity party skill, so I can add the most people to my party. More than that, since you are all in my party, everyone will benefit from my leadership skills. Unless someone has one of those skills at a higher level."


    "What if they do?" Sgt. Thorn asked.


    "If you have leadership skills at a higher level than Tom''s, your skills will supersede his. Alternately, if you have the same skills as he does but at a lower level, his skill overwrites yours," Jaime explained.


    "I offer [Terrorize], [War Map], [Supply Chain Master], and Mental Resistance."


    "That''s not bad, but it''s not great. Why didn''t you max out [Tactician]?" Ignis asked.


    "We wanted to avoid a paper general situation," Tom said. "Unfortunately, if I knew this was going to happen, I would have gone all in on [Tactician] regardless."


    "That''s Too bad," Ignis said. "A +25% to all stats would have been extremely useful."


    "Will the goblins have these Leadership skills?" the Sergeant asked.


    "Definitely. It''s actually worse for goblins. If you kill a human leader, it''s problematic, but you can still pull through. Goblins, on the other hand, rely on leadership skills to work together. Once we kill the goblin leaders, the goblin army will descend into infighting as every goblin with a bit of power tries to become the next goblin king. Most of the goblins won''t even do that. They''ll just run for the hills," Abaddon said.


    "So if we kill the leaders, the goblins will route?" the Major asked dubiously.


    "Pretty much," Duncan admitted. "Goblins are dumb like that."


    "That''s the best news I''ve heard all day," the Major said. Well, after you handed out all those scrolls this morning, Tom, I''m hoping the blood resistance and buffs you handed out will do the job."


    "It sounds like we can go at any time. So then, when do we head out?" Ignis asked.


    "One hour, we need to inform your people of the plan and then get everyone into assigned vehicles, " the Major said. Everyone, do what you need to do before we head out. We meet back up in thirty minutes, and then we start moving people into the vehicles."


    They broke at that point, everyone moving off to do their own thing. Tom took a moment to walk up to the sidewalk and look over his army as they prepared, loaded up the ballista into the back of trucks, armed with selves with steel they had taken from their enemies and learned spells from Alex''s Grimoire.


    It was time to go to war.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Bailey Adams


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: British


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 36


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1800


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2600


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 800


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 22.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 30.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 12.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Major, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 13%, Elemental 13%, Vitality 13%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Rescue Ranger 19, Major 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 132


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 140


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 120 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 100


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 140


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 100 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 80


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 80 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL, +3 DEX, +3 PER, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +1 EGO


    Skills: +2 STR


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Endless Brawler] - Level 13 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 19  >> Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    Rescue Ranger 10/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Bound Weapon] - Level 18 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Hazmat] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Snake Eyes] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[All-Seeing Eye] - Level 19 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fancy Feet] - Level 24 >> Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Legendary Agility] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Stasis] - Level 10 >> Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordination ¢ô] - Level 1 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Accelerated Thoughtspeed] - Level 15 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Time Leap] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    Major 01/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Military Leader] - Level 13 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 95: Drums of War

    The Major had taken them along the Fraser highway before swinging south. As soon as they were three blocks away, Tom, Ignis, Alex, and Starkiller sped ahead, flying over Kwantlen ahead of the army to buy them a little time to set up.


    Down below, the goblins swarmed over the university like an ant colony. Tom focused on the enrollment building. Even without the skills to directly see or sense mana, he could practically see the blood mana coming from the building. Tom had sent paper airplanes floating down into the university for the last two minutes. They hadn''t exploded; they landed inconsistently around anything that looked important.


    "So how am I supposed to find this Seraphiel anyway?" Starkiller asked.


    "Follow the ice arrows back to their source," Tom said. "If he doesn''t start shooting at us, he''ll be shooting at Abaddon."


    "And if he doesn''t show up?" Starkiller asked.


    "I don''t know. Kill the blood mage, then?" Tom muttered, unsure. "Are they in position yet?"


    Starkiller looked back to the supermarket, where Adams and everyone else were erecting earthen walls, wooden barricades, and vehicles as defences.


    "They''re about to be spotted. Never mind, they have been spotted. They''re about to take a pounding." Starkiller said.


    "Well, then, it''s my turn then," Tom said with a snap of his fingers. Every inscribed paper airplane Tom had been planting around the university exploded, and more importantly, so did the paper scrolls that Skippy had left in the area.


    BOOOOM!!!!


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Regional Quest Update


    Destroy or Capture the Bloodstone: 0/1


    Destroy the Gate: 1/1


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom smiled. Without the gate, they wouldn''t be getting any more reinforcements. Of course, they could rebuild the gate, so it was a temporary fix.


    Goblin screams rose in the air as the flames spread throughout the university. Alex went next. As she unleashed as many fireballs as she could, the spells rained down on the university like flaming rain. They weren''t technically trying to kill anyone. They were trying to set the place on fire.


    That was when a blue arrow whizzed up to them from somewhere in the university, directly passing through Alex''s heart as she shifted into an ephemeral form and back again. The first arrow passed through her body without hurting her, but the second arrow smashed into Alex''s Mana shell, shattering it and punching into her stomach, nearly knocking her off her broomstick.


    "ALEX!!" Tom screamed as he caught her with a healing spell already in his hands.


    "Starkiller," he growled as the arrow in Alex''s stomach melted into water before he could even touch it.


    "Got him." Starkiller dived towards the KPU library.


    Ignis was moving close behind the mercenary. The pyromancer was already manipulating the flames, pushing them to burn hotter and brighter as he added his own flames to the mix. All of Kwantlen University was quickly going up in flames.


    Alex spat out blood as the injuries in her stomach closed.


    "Holy shit!!" she swore immediately, recasting her personal force field. "Wasn''t expecting two arrows. Next time, you can be the bait."


    "Yeah, okay, let''s get back to Abaddon. The main show is about to start," Tom said as the blood magic started to twist and writhe. It looks like we woke up sleeping beauty."


    Then, a massive pulse of blood mana washed out from the enrollment building.


    "Gottcha," Tom muttered as he activated the three thousand scrolls he placed on every member of his army.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have granted 3549 people Magic Resistance.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been afflicted with: [Vasoconstriction].


    You have resisted: [Vasoconstriction]


    2989 people have restricted: [Vasoconstriction]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Not perfect. But he was above 50%, so he considered it a win.


    He had already given everyone a [Scroll of Cleansing] produced by his scribe guild and a [Scroll of Healing].


    Tom and Alex retreated to the supermarket as the army opened fire. Bullets, spells and arrows rocketed into the mass anthill of green. It wasn''t enough to do more than a dent. But it was enough to get the attention of the northern mass of goblins.


    As they descended, Tom saw Luke''s Calverley charge coming up from the south.


    <hr>


    Tom and Alex flew over to the roof where the major was waiting.


    "Think I kicked the hive hard enough?" Tom asked.


    "You think?!" The Major asked. "Mages, get ready. Aim for the trolls and clusters of goblins, riflemen, aim for the mages."


    The goblins erupted from Kwantlen in a wave of angry screaming. They were packed together like sardines but moved like a single entity.


    "1st mage core Fire!!" the Major ordered, flinging a fireball into the goblin''s midst.


    Fireballs, Volt bombs, Wind Bombs, Light bombs, and other high-energy spells soared into the ranks of the goblins. Explosions ripped through the ranks of the goblins, killing hundreds in the first moments. Small pockets of goblins survived behind mana or elemental shields. Quickly enough, the goblins were racing over the corpses of their fallen without a thought as the shamans pushed them forwards.


    But then the rifleman opened fire. Tom had wondered how bullets would interact with the magical shields, so he, Alex, and the Major ran some quick tests. It turned out bullets worked exceptionally well against magical shields.


    Multiple bullets ripped right through the magic defences; many of the shields were little better than glass, and few of them were actually worse. Better still, as the goblin shamans died, their shields and spells dispersed, leaving their forces vulnerable to the next volley of spells.


    Unfortunately, they didn''t get all the goblins. Alex had discovered two types of highly effective shields against gunfire: physical earthen walls and water shields. Most of the shamans who utilized those two shield types survived the initial barrage of gunfire, and their shields remained intact.


    "2nd Mage Core Fire," the Major called out. This time, he flung a Water Bomb into the army of goblins.


    Water bombs, Frost Bombs, Rock Bombs, Dark bombs, and other low-energy spells soared into the ranks of the goblins. Tom and Major Adams had discussed this. Another change from Noralon was that some magic spells would interfere with each other.


    In the game, if you got hit by a fire bomb and a frost bomb, you took the damage from both. Now, the blast from two opposing elements cancels each other out. So, the Major had divided the mages into two cores based on their magic types to ensure their attacks didn''t interfere with each other. More importantly, it gave the mages time to recharge their mana.


    Once again, the explosion devastated the goblin ranks. Not even the trolls got off lightly when they were hit with multiple explosions. The remaining Shamans switched to using only earthen and water-based shields as they started returning fire from cover. Magic shields sprouted up on the roofs, but some people were hit and sent screaming to the ground, only for Tom or someone else to walk over and give them a heal.


    "How long can you guys keep this up?" Tom asked the Major as he monitored their defences.


    The entrances to the supermarket area were covered with dirt, metal, and wood. But if the goblins got behind their lines, they were dead.


    "Ask me later. We''re still in the early stages," Major Adams warned him as he launched another fireball into the ranks of goblins.


    Tom nodded, moving over to what he saw as the weakest part of their defences. The barricade they had set up to prevent the goblins from cutting them off was being slammed, and the goblins'' bodies slammed into the shields of the defenders.


    "Hold the line!!" Chester ordered as he stabbed a goblin through the head with a bayonet.


    Duncan''s crew was already firing off ballista bolts, and Lt. Chester was having the mages launch spell bombs into the ranks of goblins just like the Major. However, unlike the Majors, Chester was struggling to hold his line as the goblins crashed into them. People were stumbling back from the goblin''s ruthless attack. Some of them went down under a pile of goblins, and the line threatened to break.


    Tom was about to intervene when Abaddon leapt over Chester''s shield wall, crashing into the goblin horde. The goblins immediately turned from Chester and focused on Abaddon, giving Chester time to pull back his wounded and reinforce the line with people better able to handle it.


    As for Abaddon.


    "Ha ha ha ha. I missed this," Abaddon cheered as he punched a goblin into jelly.


    His every punch splattered a goblin, and despite the little bugger''s best attempts, they had no chance to actually hold Abaddon down. The guy was strong enough to toss even the trolls around. What few attacks managed to get through Abaddon''s thick scales, bleeding all over the goblin, giving them a lethal dose of poison before the injury regenerated without leaving a scratch.


    "Abaddon," Tom called out as he launched a few paper airplanes into the goblin''s ranks.


    "What?!" Abaddon called out, not even turning to look at him as he ripped a troll apart with his bare hands.


    "We need to draw out the [Bloodmage]!! It''s time to go big!!!" Tom ordered.


    Abaddon didn''t say anything, but he started to grow. He grew from eight feet tall to a staggering thirty-five feet tall. Now, he wasn''t punching goblins; he just stepped on them. Doubling down on showing off even further, Abaddon activated his taunting skill.


    "[Fe-fi-fo-fum]" Abaddon roared.


    It wasn''t the best taunting skill. But it made up for it in its ability to break stealth and sneak and marking the location of every enemy on their map.


    Regardless, the effect was immediate. Every goblin turned their attention towards Abaddon, and any that missed the thirty-five-foot-tall lizards was forced to pay attention when he activated the taunt skill. One and all started attacking him. This immediately relieved the pressure on every other member of their army, allowing them to attack the goblins with almost no regard for their defences.


    Tom cast greater mend on Abaddon as the injuries rapidly piled up. Not even Abaddon''s heavy focus on defence and regeneration would keep him going for long against hundreds of enemies.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Chester was too busy fixing his line to attack, but Major Adams and Alex did their best to reduce the number of goblins as quickly as they could.


    Abaddon picked up a deserted car and tossed it at the KPU recreation centre, where the blood magic emanated.


    In his opening throw, the vehicle smashed into the building, taking most of the roof off. Abaddon didn''t stop there; he grabbed two more vehicles and pelted the building with them.


    That seemed to have gotten the [Bloodmage]s'' attention, as all of the blood in their surroundings rose up into the air and gathered into the recruitment centre. At the same time, Abaddon called out, and a massive familiar red glow of a [Strike of Desolation] erupted from the building.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Strike of Desolation] - Epic


    [Strike of Desolation]: You sacrifice part of your life force to unleash a powerful blast of life energy at your foe; the more HP you sacrifice, the stronger the blast. This skill can be used to augment any other attack skill. Alternatively, you can force an ally or summon to pay the price on a successful Ego check.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "[Moment of Immortality]," Abaddon roared as he took a horse stance.


    The red blast of blood magic slammed into Abaddon''s torso like a giant laser beam as it tried and failed to get past the [Moment of Immortality]''s ten seconds of invincibility. Abaddon didn''t waste any time as he launched himself at the rehabilitation centre. His massive hands dug into the building as he tried to smash the building open and kill the [Bloodmage].


    The beam cut off as Abaddon ripped apart the building''s roof and dug through the rubble with no regard for the structure''s integrity.


    Tom checked the quest. No such luck the [Bloodmage] was alive.


    A bloody arm ripped through the building and knocked Abaddon backwards as soon as Abaddon''s invincibility ended. Abaddon was knocked into someone''s house. His oversized form crushed the building.


    Tom and Alex took flight as a fifty-foot-tall bat emerged from the ruins of the rehabilitation centre. Its entire body was made out of liquid blood, and its form was undulating and shifting as it moved. It was less a bat and more of a blood slime in the shape of a bat.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Region Quest Update: The Blood Goblin Horde


    Defeat Raid boss: Shana-gul, the Sanguine Monarch


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Well, I''m glad warfare in Noralon didn''t change," Tom said. "Everyone''s playing their parts to perfection. Alex, how many times can you use [Mana Supersession]?"


    Alex shrugged. "Only two. But I don''t need it anymore. I evolved to the [Arcanist] class and grabbed the [Mana Overload] skill."


    Tom grinned. [Mana Overload] was the cornerstone of Alex''s playstyle. It would keep increasing Alex''s mana regeneration every second until it killed her. Still, until that happened, she could dump a truly stupid amount of spells on a target, enough to even compete with a bloodstone.


    "That''s great. If [Mana Supersession] doesn''t work, that''s a good plan ¡­ We just need skippy to ---"


    As Tom''s words trailed off, Skippy''s voice cut through the noise.


    "[Tyrants Die] and [Tyranny Falls]!!!"


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skippy has used [Tyrants Die] on Raid boss: Shana-gul, the Sanguine Monarch


    Skippy has used [Tyranny Falls] on Raid boss: Shana-gul, the Sanguine Monarch


    Raid boss: Shana-gu,l the Sanguine Monarch Armour has been reduced to 0


    Raid boss: Shana-gul, the Sanguine Monarch defensive items have been disabled


    Raid boss: Shana-gul, the Sanguine Monarch skill [Reborn from Blood], has been disabled


    Raid boss: Shana-gu,l the Sanguine Monarch skill [FLEE!!!] has been disabled


    Raid boss: Shana-gul, the Sanguine Monarch party, has been disbanded. All Leadership and Champion archetype skills have been disabled.


    Raid boss: Shana-gul, the Sanguine Monarch, has lost all buffs that were not applied by his own person.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The effect was immediate. The goblins'' almost unnatural coordination disappeared instantly. Small pockets of goblins clearly still had [party leaders], as those groups maintained order like stones in a sea of chaos.


    Shana-gul''s giant blood bat shuddered as it turned around, looking for skippy. It didn''t get far before Abaddon activated [Charge]. He slammed into the blood bat before activating [Close Combat]. Every single one of Abaddon''s punches left spider web-like cracks across the blood bat''s body. The soul damage from [Siegebreaker] left stress points damaged to the magical matrix that maintained the blood bat.


    Shana-gul wouldn''t be able to repair the damage unless he dismissed it and recreated the blood bat, which would be extremely expensive. Even better, it meant that maintaining the blood bat would become more expensive, making it even more susceptible to more damage.


    Shana-gul was clearly aware of all of that as it picked up the much smaller Abaddon and slammed it into the building. The blood bat leapt upon Abaddon, its claws piercing into his body as it unfurled its wings. With an almost disturbing ease, it lifted Abaddon into the air.


    "Greater Heal," Tom cast on Abaddon as he was slammed into the roof of one of the remaining buildings.


    The bat rose into the air and slammed Abaddon down to the ground. Abaddon grabbed onto the blood bat, rolling off of the building and sending them both tumbling onto the ground. Abaddon''s body slammed the bat into the ground.


    Alex flew down as Abaddon was getting thrown off and fired off a half dozen buffs on Abaddon.


    "Draconic Power, Bull''s Strength, Enduring Mountain, Lions Courage, Spell Guard," she chanted.


    Abaddon slugged the blood bat with a [Giga impact] as Tom and Alex flew in. Tom pulled out a complete set of six paper airplanes, sending them flying forwards while Alex activated [Mana Supersession] again.


    Alex fired off Fire Lance after Fire Lance. Each spell penetrated Shana-gul before exploding in a burst of flames. Tom noted that every time they damaged the blood bat, it got a little bit smaller as more of its body became unusable.


    Tom''s own spells were less spectacular, but Shana-gul was clearly having more trouble anticipating and dodging his attacks.


    Seemingly done with their shit Shana-gul lunged at Abaddon, tackling him to the ground before leaning down on top of Abaddon, its bloody bat fangs punching into Abaddon''s arm as he began to drink him.


    "Yeah, good job. Choke on my blood!!!" Abaddon roared as the blood bat shredded his arm down to the bone, and it chugged his blood.


    Abaddon didn''t let the blood bat drink him for free. He was pounding away at the blood bat before it started to reel backwards as it started to shrink even more. Abaddon''s toxic blood wreaked havoc on the blood bat''s structure.


    "Oh, I''m sorry. Is Hydra''s blood not to your liking?" Abaddon shouted as he shoved the shrinking blood bat off of his body with a [Giga-Impact]. The blood bat was knocked off. Abaddon slowly rose to his feet, his savaged arm already healing itself thanks to his bloodline.


    "Alright then, let''s finish this, you oversiz -- SHIT," Abaddon''s monologue was cut off as Frost spread out over his body at a rapid pass, quickly consuming his body.


    Another arrow slammed into his broken arm and exploded into shards of ice, taking off the arm and sending shrapnel through Tom''s Wing.


    "Fucking Starkiller, you had one job!!!!" Tom swore as he fell out of the sky. The wind whistling past him went from the freezing winter air to the blistering heat of an inferno as he crashed into the ground with a crunch.


    Tom felt both his legs break on impact as the flames singed his body.


    "FUuuuuuCK!" Tom screamed out in agony as blood pooled around him.


    His HP was down to just 12% just from a fifty-foot fall. Tom looked down at his legs, almost afraid to look. He was immediately justified in his fears. His legs were mangled meat with chunks of bone sticking out of them. His lower body was radiating agony, and if the wetness in the front of his pants was anything to go by, he was pretty sure he had lost control of his bladder.


    Tom threw up at the sight of his mangled body before he finally gathered himself enough to cast greater mend.


    "FUCK!!" Tom swore as the spell forced the bone shards back into his body before it started to knit them back together, restoring his bones. It turns out that having your shattered bones shoved back into your body and fusing back into a proper femur was excruciatingly painful. Tom threw up as he lost control of his bowels.


    Even as his body repaired itself, he was covered in blood, shit, piss and vomit. His clothing was in tatters. He was gulping for every breath as his lungs burned.


    Even when the Greater Mend spell ended, he was a bloody mess, and his status suggested his bones were in a fragile state, so he cast Greater Mend again.


    This time, the wounds closed up, and his legs were restored to something close to peak condition. They still fucking hurt. That was when Tom noticed his paper armour was on fire. He immediately stashed the armour and the remnants of his wings into his inventory before casting a water shield to protect himself from the fire and a lesser heal to restore his HP.


    Tom rose on shaky legs that threatened to give out if he moved too fast. He tried to survey the situation doing his best to ignore the burns, the fires all around him, his legs screaming in agony and all the blood and piss stains on his pants.


    Abaddon wasn''t in a good position. His entire body was peppered with ice arrows, he was shivering uncontrollably, and his regeneration had been all but halted. At this point, he was barely moving. Shana-gul spread his wings, and a pulse of blood magic echoed through the area. All of the blood that had been spilled since the fight began rose up into the air and rushed into the blood bat''s body.


    Shana-gul''s blood bat grew and grew. It passed its original height of fifty feet and pushed all the way up to a hundred feet tall. Shana-gul kicked Abaddon''s body into the enrollment centre. The blow had enough force that Abaddon was thrown into the building, which promptly collapsed on top of him. Worse, Abaddon didn''t die, so [Second Stage] Didn''t trigger.


    "Well ¡­ shit," Tom muttered as the blood bat turned to him. "Starkiller, I''m getting a refund."


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 20


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1000


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1400


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4000


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 14.0 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 18.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 24.0 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 70% Soul 43%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 3, Exorcist 7


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 80


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 220


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 200


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 180


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 60


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 40


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 140


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 40


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    <ul>


    <li>[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Library of Akashic Records] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Universal] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Wordsmith] - Level 30 >> Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 43</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Soul Forge] - Level 30 >> Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 PER per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 25/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Analyze Person] - Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Best of Both Worlds] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Water] - Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Earth] - Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Teacher] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Misalliance Crafting] - Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana-Infused Weapon] - Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Basic Swords] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Flyte] - Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    Augur 07/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Augurs Eye] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Bright Arts] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Life] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Prophetic Meditation] - Level 44 >> Level 49</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Far Seeing] - Level 17 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 48 >> Level 50</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Quest Giver] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    Tactician 05/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leadership ¢ò] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raider ¢ñ] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordinate ¢ò] - Level 24</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Logistics ¢ó] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    Exorcist 05/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Spell Trap] - Level 4</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Karmic Contract] - Level 10 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Shape Paper] - Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Armour] - Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Wings] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Announcement

    Hey guys I got sick for Christmas so no more chapters or editing until I¡¯m better sorry


    here some text so I reach the word limit:


    Leo senectus. At semper cubilia scelerisque dignissim. Conubia volutpat suspendisse fames nostra a hac molestie a nascetur pede id phasellus id tempus platea odio, dui justo faucibus ridiculus nibh diam, felis, risus erat mauris gravida, ultricies sem elit penatibus ipsum. Semper pulvinar a sociis litora diam pretium mollis tristique curae; commodo. Praesent hymenaeos tortor est ultricies, venenatis phasellus massa. Nisl mollis nonummy. Suspendisse vehicula tempus cubilia est lobortis conubia pharetra, dui mollis aenean eu adipiscing augue pharetra erat sem nibh nibh ante curae;. Purus eget eget integer mollis at fusce iaculis, non auctor eu tristique. Scelerisque nisl at tincidunt porta quisque, iaculis nam fames vestibulum commodo taciti congue venenatis accumsan netus eget senectus leo augue sapien amet curabitur sociosqu rutrum maecenas nunc felis, magna consequat egestas id vitae turpis rutrum metus. Sapien leo elit, purus turpis laoreet curabitur leo primis Justo tortor pretium neque euismod. Vivamus aptent bibendum, facilisis morbi quam purus cubilia iaculis. Semper curae; tellus mus semper suscipit montes molestie nullam ante pretium quam commodo et.


    Eu Enim et class velit malesuada magna placerat habitant parturient convallis eget cubilia facilisis nam vehicula augue vitae placerat ut fusce consectetuer risus phasellus vitae venenatis rutrum velit feugiat sollicitudin ut. Est faucibus in sociis, rutrum tempor diam turpis imperdiet montes pretium lorem bibendum quam nulla tellus, dolor ornare sociosqu odio faucibus lobortis nullam urna hac diam imperdiet, sapien placerat velit suscipit tristique per sem vel euismod morbi molestie praesent habitant elementum tempor, venenatis lobortis eu magnis dolor magnis aenean sociis a lobortis sodales eros augue ad penatibus senectus. Sociis. Varius eget fringilla hac. A auctor pede duis phasellus fames nulla luctus consequat tempor gravida ultricies scelerisque dictumst cras laoreet tristique curabitur venenatis, platea luctus dolor ultrices aliquet volutpat nonummy parturient porttitor phasellus. Tortor. Adipiscing, cras a venenatis dolor pede velit arcu non lobortis pellentesque lorem vivamus maecenas potenti lectus vivamus. Non. Vulputate quis. Ut quis consectetuer. Montes sed primis donec ridiculus libero malesuada cum odio aliquet libero curae; amet habitant gravida posuere mollis pretium sollicitudin nostra augue maecenas pulvinar montes non. Morbi justo suscipit montes egestas pede lacinia.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


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 Chapter 96: Shadow of Seraphel

    Starkiller dove straight down after the ice arrow. [Cloud Somersault] flung him off the cloud he had been standing on, and then he kicked off a second bit of water vapour, sending it hurtling straight down toward his target.


    He¡¯d traced the arrow back to its source and confirmed it a second later with his [Truth Seeking Eyes]. Now that he knew where to find his opponent, he could launch himself in that direction.


    He rocketed straight downwards towards the roof of the KU Library at somewhere around terminal velocity.


    Seraphel was an albino drow with white skin and blood-red eyes. His armour was made of pale blue ice, with fur armour underneath. His bow appeared to be carved out of bone instead of wood.


    As Seraphel drew another ice arrow, Starkiller pulled the hairpin he kept behind his ear, turning the weapon into a regular quarterstaff and then into its full size: a titanic iron rod seven meters long and as wide as a barrel.


    "Say hello to my little friend," Starkiller chuckled as he used Jingu Bang to block the next arrow for a split second before he slammed into the roof of the library. Seraphel lept aside, stashing his bow into a spatial storage and growing two wicked longswords out of his armour of ice.


    Starkiller immediately restored his weapon to its quarterstaff size as he turned to attack Seraphel.


    "Hello there, now I''ve been paid to take you off the board. So are you going to come quickly, or do I have to make you scream?" Starkiller asked


    The Drow didn¡¯t answer; instead, he launched himself forwards with his twin swords, darting forward like two snakes.


    ¡°Kicking and screaming it is then.¡± Starkiller laughed as he parried Searphel. Jingu Bang easily knocked away Seraphel''s attack as the staff outweighed the ice blades by ¡­ a lot.


    Starkiller swung with Jingu Bang as Seraphel ducked under his swing, his frozen swords cutting into his as he dodged the attack. Starkiller didn''t stop his swing; instead, he kept the momentum, using it to swing Jingu Bang around, slamming it into the side of Seraphel and knocking him towards the edge of the roof.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been Struck


    Frost Damage Negated


    Stagnation effect Negated


    Physical Damage was reduced


    You have lost 76 hp


    You are recovering 2.185 hp per second due to [First Immortality] & [Eight Immortality]


    You have been Poison by Seraphels [Venom of the Frost Wyrm]


    Frost Damage Negated


    Stagnation effect Negated


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Starkiller smiled as his threads of mana quickly worked to seal the wound, and his regeneration repaired the damage and recovered his hp. His opponent was using Frost and physical damage. It was a good combo. Though the fact that the Drow was using a poison that also did frost damage was questionable


    Starkiller scanned Seraphel. That''s when he realized that he was lucky. His opponent had perks to bypass his defences, but these perks weren''t working at the moment due to the sheer magnitude of the soul damage the drow had taken.


    "You''re good," Starkiller praised. "But when I''m done with you, you''re going to be lying with your face in the dirt, calling me Daddy."


    Starkiller leapt forward. A shocking touch caused yellow lighting to writhe up and down the length of Jingu Bang as he practically teleported into melee range. Seraphel surprised him as the drow dodged his staff and kicked at his head with a sharpened boot of ice. Starkiller jerked his head out of the way as he brought the staff up, knocking Seraphel''s foot out of the way and throwing the drow off balance. Starkiller swung the butt of Jingu Bang, trying to hit Seraphel in the ball, but Seraphel''s armour contorted, and a dozen spikes of ice shot out.


    Starkiller swung Jingu Bang in desperation as he knocked half of the attacks out of the air. The other ice spike slammed into his body and knocked him a dozen feet back.


    Starkiller was confused for Second as his HP dipped from the attack, but then he realized that the ice attacks weren''t purely frost damage but were also kinetic attacks.


    Seraphel launched himself at him. Starkiller swung Jingu Bang down, cracking the rooftop with the impact, but Seraphel leaped into the air and kicked him in the face before launching himself off Starkiller''s recoiling body.


    Starkiller moved with the momentum, swinging Jingu Bang around. Seraphel blocked the attack, but his ice swords shattered on impact.


    "How tha ---" Starkiller was cut off as Seraphel grew a brand new thicker ice sword and then lashed out at him.


    Starkiller barely had enough time to raise his staff to block the attack. He tried to attack, but Seraphel didn''t let up. Starkiller quickly found himself forced to constantly block as Seraphel kept attacking him over and over again, never letting him, never giving him an inch to maneuver as he pounded away on Jingu Bang. Each clash left a chiming sound echoing across the roof of the library. With every blow, electricity arced between the two weapons.


    Starkiller could admit when he bit off a bit more than he could chew. Seraphel was better than him in skill, at least. That just meant he needed to dip into his class''s less well-known perks, particularly the [Truth Seeking Eyes Technique].


    Beams of Light shot out of Starkiller''s golden eyes, slamming Seraphel''s face and causing him to stumble. Starkiller spun Jingu Bang around, sweeping Seraphel''s feet out from underneath him. Seraphel''s armour shot out more spikes of Ice, but this time, Starkiller ignored them.


    If it came down to a battle of attrition, then Starkiller was more than willing to bet his life on his class.


    Starkiller slammed Jingu Bang into Seraphel''s head, then hit him in the chest hard enough to crack a rib as he lasered the Drow in the face. Then, an explosion rocked the building.


    Starkiller turned to see what was happening out of reflex, spying on a giant Abbadon fighting a giant blood elemental thing that looked like a vampyre in a kaiju fight. Seraphel didn''t waste Starkiller''s inattention, kicking his feet out from underneath him and sending him tumbling to the ground. Seraphel kept at him with twin daggers of ice ready to pierce into his heart.


    Starkiller immediately dropped Jingu Bang and used [72 Earthly Transformations] to turn into a fly. The daggers slammed into the ground next to him. Starkiller Immediately returned to his human form, slamming his fist into Seraphel''s abdomen as he returned to his humanoid form. Then, he transformed into a gorilla, grabbing onto the albino drow and slamming him into the roof of the building. Frost immediately covered his gorilla hands and raced up his arms, forcing Starkiller to cancel the transformation.


    Seraphel unleashed a blast of ice magic, knocking him off the roof. Catching himself in midair, Starkiller kicked off the air and launched himself directly at Serephel, activating [Stone Monkey], turning himself into stone. He crashed into Seraphel, smashing him through the roof before he deactivated the skill as he cast a shocking touch. Arcs of electricity shot from his hand, dancing across Seraphel''s frozen armour.


    CRUNCH


    Apparently, that was when the roof gave up. The roof quickly sagged before breaking, sending the two of them tumbling into the library''s top floor.


    Seraphel kicked him away. Starkiller tumbled across the library right next to Jingu Bang, and he immediately grabbed it. Turning to face Seraphel, he found the drow with both hands raised.


    Starkiller lept at him as a blast of frozen air hit him. Immediately, his entire body iced over, and the ice kept growing out of control. Starkiller was unable to move and became trapped in an iceberg.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been trapped in Seraphels [Iceberg Prison]


    [Iceberg Prison]: Trap a target inside of an iceberg. Iceberg lasts twelve hours without maintenance. Cooldown: 1 week.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ''Silly Fucker,'' Starkiller thought, unable to form a grin.


    Seraphel was breathing heavily, but the drow was switching out its swords for its bone-white bow. Now that he was trapped, Seraphel could go back out there and attack Tom and the Awoken Myths¡ªnot!!


    ''[Sixth Immortality: Samadhi Fire Tempering]'' Starkiller activated, and Samadhi Fire erupted from his body. The iceberg he was trapped in didn''t explode so much as evaporate into a steam explosion.


    Seraphel was blasted backwards as the iceberg changed to superheated steam. The albino drow''s armour melted, and his flesh bubbled as he was slammed into the library wall. For the first time since the battle started, the Albino uttered a sound as he screamed. Anything remotely flammable in the library burst into flames. So everything burst into flames. The stone cracked, and the metals started to melt.


    Starkiller smirked as he walked towards Seraphel, completely free from his prison and some of his resources restored from that skill. Seraphel had already re-armoured himself, and an aura of cold spread out from his body. It wouldn''t affect him, but it worked to reduce the fires. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Personally, he wasn''t in the best of positions. [Sixth Immortality] was one of his four trump cards. Its effects cleansed him of all debuffs and, at max level, restored 25% of all of his resources. Unfortunately, its cooldown now meant he couldn''t use it for another 24 hours. It was also his only big attack, and he had to waste it to escape some ice.


    Seraphel drew another arrow and pointed it directly at him.


    "Seriously, you think that''s going to hurt --" Starkiller was cut off as Seraphel shot him.


    Starkiller was thrown back as the arrow slammed into him.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    An arrow has struck you.


    Frost Damage Reduced by 50%


    You have lost 61 HP


    Stagnation effect resisted


    Physical resistances Bypassed


    You have lost 256 hp


    You are recovering 2.185 hp per second due to [First Immortality] & [Eight Immortality]


    You have been Poison by Seraphels [Venom of the Frost Wyrm]


    Frost Damage Negated


    Stagnation effect: -1 Agility


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Okay, you''re definitely more of a [Ranger] than a [Warrior]," Starkiller mumbled as he rolled out of the way of the second arrow.


    Starkiller blasted Seraphel with his laser eyes as the Albino fired arrows at him. Beams of light and frozen arrows shot back and forth across the burning room. Starkiller grabbed a burning bookcase and shoved it over. The burning bookcase topped over onto Seraphel, forcing the drow to leap out of the way.


    "Ugh, this is just an endless tease. Where is the climax?!" Starkiller muttered


    Then Seraphel was cleaved in two.


    "What the?" Starkiller froze as someone appeared out of thin air with a sword in his hand.


    "Skippy, is that beautiful face yours?" Starkiller asked.


    "Oh, it''s the beta male," Skippy said, rolling his eyes at him.


    "Skippy, what the hell?!" Starkiller asked. "You took my playmate away."


    "Your fault for taking too long," Skippy said. "Now come on. We need to head out and deal with --"


    Then Seraphels body started to glow blue as snowflakes danced around him.


    "[Stone Monkey]"


    "[Nidhogg''s Favor]"


    Skippy''s body glowed gold as green mist wafted off his body while Starkiller froze his body, turning into an indestructible rock, and for the next few seconds, they were both invincible. And then Seraphels body exploded as a hurricane made out of a blizzard ripped through the library. Snowflakes the size of baseballs tried to shred them as the room''s temperature dropped to below -200 degrees Celsius. Starkiller was slammed into the walls and the ceiling and tossed through a bookcase. Then he slammed into Skippy. Starkiller quickly found himself tangled up with Skippy as the blizzard died, and they were sent sprawling to the ground.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Seraphel has used [Eternal Winter] to resurrect himself.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "That was annoying," Skippy said as he pulled himself to his feet Starkiller right behind him as both of their skills shut off.


    Starkiller had another 15 seconds of invincibility for [Stone Monkey] and another 18 seconds for [Seventh Immortality]. He would need to be careful.


    Seraphel stood amidst the frozen destruction. Absently, Starkiller noted they had smashed through another floor and were now in the ruins of the second floor.


    "You know that attack wasn''t bad, but you should have stayed down because now I get to enjoy wearing down the edge on my sword," Skippy muttered as he shot forwards, Starkiller following after him.


    "I know that wasn''t supposed to be sexual, but --"


    "Shut up," Skippy spat.


    Instantly, a spike of ice shot towards them, forcing them to dodge. Starkiller leapt into the air with [Cloud Sumersault], and then he could see what Seraphel was doing.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Seraphel has used [Avatar of Winter] to summon [Winter Shogun]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    A sculpture of a snow-made Samurai with ice-made arms and armour stood in front of Seraphel.


    "Keep them here," Seraphel stated.


    "So it can speak. I was starting to wonder if you mute," Skippy said.


    "I don''t know. I kinda liked the quiet type," Starkiller chuckled.


    Seraphel lept straight upwards, not even acknowledging them as he exited the library.


    "Oi, get back here, you coward," Skippy said as he launched himself after him.


    The Winter Shogun leaped up to meet his jump. Skippy raised his sword to block the katana. Skippy was knocked down with enough force to crack the floor. Skippy jumped backwards, just the winter shogun slashed at where he was.


    Starkiller charged forwards, Jingu Bang whistling through the air as he clashed with the Winter Shogun. The Shogun deflected his staff with its katana, and Starkiller blasted it with more Light beams from his eyes.


    The Shogun lept at him, forcing Starkiller to backpedal as the Shogun''s sword threatened to bisect him.


    "Aren''t you cute?" Starkiller muttered.


    "We don''t have time for this [Killing Edge], [Perfected Strike]," Skippy said as his sword aimed to cleave the Shogun in two.


    The Shogun jerked away from the blade, saving him from being cut in twain, but his arm and a large chunk of his torso were sliced off so cleanly it was almost like it had been melted off with a flame instead of the edge of a sword.


    The Shogun turned and tried to slice at Skippy, but he dodged to the side and slashed at the shogun''s body. His sword leaving another deep cut as if it were a hot knife through butter. The shogun didn''t let up as he kept trying to parry and attack Skippy, but Skippy''s movement skills allowed him to dance in and out of range of the shogun''s blade as he sliced him to pieces.


    He didn''t leave Skippy alone as he launched himself at the Shogun, slamming Jingu Bang into its head, lighting arcing from his staff and directly into the Shogun''s helmet. Not that it mattered, as the Shogun was technically an [Elemental], not an actual person.


    The Shogun rolled out of the way of their next attack, sending bursts of freezing wings at them, forcing them to dodge. Starkiller leapt up and twisted through the air, bringing Jingu Bang around to smack away the shogun''s sword as it tried to stab him. Skippy disappeared from mid-air, reappearing behind the Shogun before hacking through one of its legs with another [Perfect Strike]


    The Shogun screamed as it fell to the ground, barely able to move. Leaping upwards, he sailed straight out of the hole in the roof as he gathered a spell in his hand. Skippy ran up the walls right behind him as the Shogun roared in impotent rage. Starkiller decided to put it out of its misery.


    "THUNDER LANCE!" he called out as he threw down a massive spear made out of lighting.


    The lance impacted the Shogun and then exploded, shattering their target into a million pieces.


    <You have killed Winter Shogun>


    The two of them shot up and out of the library as they moved after Seraphel. Skippy leapt off of the roof and flew into the air.


    "I didn''t know you could fly," Starkiller said as he raced along.


    "It''s more gliding," Skippy muttered.


    The two quickly spotted Seraphel on a nearby roof just as he was running his blade into Luke''s heart.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Starkiller ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Monkey-Kin


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 23


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Chimp


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 17


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 2615


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 4095


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2020


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 38.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 45.7 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 20.7 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta Tester, First


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    Insta-Death, Ageless


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 16%, Elemental 15%, Magic 15%, Vitality 10%, Mental 13%, Soul 7%, Crit 26%, Cripple 26%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, BeastSlayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Sun Wukong The Monkey King 23


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 227


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 75


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 227


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 69


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 101


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 46


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 161


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 69


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 75


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 69


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 207 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 69 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 207 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 69


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 92 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 46


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 161


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 69


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 69 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 69


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 CON, +3 STR +3 SPIRIT, +2 DEX +2 PER


    Racial: +3 STR +2 CON +2 INT +1 SPIRIT


    Monkey King Skills: +1 STR, +1 AGIL, +1 DEX, +1 CON, +1 END +1 PER +1 SPIRIT +1 EGO, +1 CHA +1 LCK


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 20/60: Skill Points: 0


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Grooming] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Primate Fury] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 34</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Contract] - Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Sun Wukong the Monkey King 15/16


    <ul>


    <li>[72 Earthly Transformation] - Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Cloud Somersault] - Level 34</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Monkey King''s Truth Seeking Eyes] - Level 33 >> Level 34</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Monkey Style: Drunken Monkey King] - Level 31 >> Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Stone Monkey] - Level 25 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone - [Armoury of Ancient Times (Monkey King)] - Level 27 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[First Immortality: Teachings of Puti Zushi] - Level 30 >> Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Second Immortality: Book of Life & Death] - Level 12 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Third Immortality: Peach''s of Immortality] - Level 24 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Forth Immortality: Heavenly Wine] - Level 24 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone - [Body Outside of Body] - Level 1 >> Level 5</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fifth Immortality: Pills of Longevity] - Level 28 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Sixth Immortality: Samadhi Fire Tempering] - Level 28 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Seventh Immortality: Ginseng Fruit] - Level 18 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 97: Lukes Ride to Battle

    Luke rode on hope as they moved towards the south of Kwantlen. Yesterday, he had spent a good deal of time going to every single horse and using [Bridle of Athena] to give the cavalry proper armour. In fact, the horses were better armoured than their riders. He had also levelled that skill all the way to 15, so that was nice.


    Luke led a group of almost a hundred people on horseback. The group rode forward nervously as they made their way to war. The orc they had allied with would also be going in on warg back, but they would be going in a separate group from his.


    "Nervous?" Sam asked.


    Luke shrugged.


    "A part of me feels like I''m leading the Rohirrim to battle," Luke admitted.


    Sam rolled her eyes at him.


    "Once the explosions start, we''re riding in."


    Luke nodded as he gripped his spear. Issac had built him a dozen cheap iron-tipped spears for [Molten Lead Lance] to burn through.


    Fortunately, he didn''t need to wait long. There was a definitive boom. From his position, Luke could already see flames rising from the university.


    "Alright, charge!!" Luke called out as he activated [Glorious Charge], his newest skill.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Glorious Charge] - Ancient


    [Glorious Charge]: While mounted on horseback, you and your party charge forward with a 5% increase in movement speed per skill level. While charging, you and your people are [Invulnerable] from frontal assaults. +1.25% to your Riding Mastery per skill level.


    Reduce the Stamina and Mana cost by 5 Points each per skill level.


    Cost: 1000 Stamina 1000 Mana


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    He had considered picking up a new [Heir to Theseus] skill, but this skill seemed more appropriate for this battle.


    Urging Hope forward, his horse broke into a gallop as he charged up 182 St towards the university. Sam, Gareth, and Travis were right behind him on their own horses.


    Almost immediately, they slammed into groups of milling goblins. Luke didn''t stop; instead, he plowed right into the goblin horde. The small goblins were trampled under their hooves. The goblins'' bodies'' crack and splatter echoed in his mind as Luke ran them down. The university was on fire, smoke wafting up into the air like a pillar of destruction.


    Luke''s spearhead glowed cherry red as he stabbed any goblin that tried to resist their charge. Gareth looked like he was having fun as he decapitated goblins one after another. Travis and Sam were unleashing projectile attacks behind the three, aiming to remove any magic user as they pushed towards the parking lot.


    "We''re looking good," Sam said as she fired off an infused arrow into the goblin horde.


    The arrow exploded on impact, killing a goblin shaman.


    "Don''t jinx it," Luke said, stabbing another goblin in the chest.


    More roaring and crashing sounds erupted from the university proper, though Luke couldn''t see through all of the rising smoke. Luke''s arms never stopped moving¡ªstab, swing, stab.


    <[Kin of Horses] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 27>


    <...>


    <[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 30>


    <[Molten Lead Spear] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Molten Lead Spear] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Molten Lead Spear] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Athena''s Bridle] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Glorious Charge] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Glorious Charge] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Glorious Charge] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Spearfisher] has Reached Level 3>


    <[Spearfisher] has Reached Level 4>


    <...>


    <[Spearfisher] has Reached Level 14>


    Things seemed to be going relatively well, as the skill notifications started coming in as they slaughtered the goblins. Then, all of the goblin''s blood rose up into the air. Hope bucked in fear as the blood floated up.


    "Dammit." Luke cursed as he tried to keep the goblins off when the horses freaked out.


    Tom and the Major had warned them about this, but the horses weren''t handling the blood under their hooves flying through the air very well. Luke tried his best to send calming thoughts to Hope as he stabbed any goblin that came close.


    Just as he was getting Hope under control, Luke felt the [Third Labour] scream in the back of his mind louder than ever before. Swinging his spear around, he clumsily deflected an axe just before it hit him in the head. Luke turned to find the orc, cleaving him in two.


    The Bonesplitter clan was bogged down fighting a different clan of orcs as they poured into the parking lot. All of a sudden, the goblins disappeared, and Luke was face to face with an obese Orc trying to decapitate him with one of those Egyptian curved swords.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Caza


    Title: Faithful of Beelzelbub, Member of the Abyssal Clan, Outworlder, First,


    Race: Orc


    Type: Humanoid / Goblinoid


    Level: 20


    Classes: Hell Knight of Gluttony 20


    Personal Perks: Tireless, Darkvision, Mapping, ???


    Hell Knight of Gluttony Perks: Knighthood, Toughness, Eternal Vigil, Dragoon, Aura of Cleanliness, Empathic Rider, Ritual Sacrifice, Hells Banner, Extra Stomach, Leech Bite, Rip and Rend, Fat Reserves


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Orcs Incoming!!!" Luke screamed as he deflected Caza''s attack


    Luke swung his spear around, stabbing Caza in the arm. But the moment he pulled his spear back, the wound healed over as if it wasn''t there.


    "What the hell?" Luke muttered.


    Caza smiled.


    "Be grateful, human. You will be among the first to fall to the Abyssal Clan," Caza cheered as he swung at him, his ¡­ Kopesh glowing blue.


    "[Multi-Strike]"


    Luke felt [Second Labour], [Third Labour], and [Fourth Labour] kicked into overdrive as he was forced to rapidly parry what felt like a dozen attacks all at once. Each attack threatened to chop his spear in half, and minor cuts built upon his body. Every attack sucked up a little of his mana and inflicted him with [Bleed] and a [Hemotoxin], causing him to bleed even more.


    "Puny pink skin," Caza cheered as Luke bled like a stuck pig.


    Luke shoved his spear forward, and Caza casually leaned out of the way of his attack before catching his spear under his arm.


    "Fool, now I will have your ---"


    Caza was cut off when his spearhead turned into a chunk of pressurized molten lead. Less than a second later, it exploded, throwing molten lead everywhere. Fortunately for Luke, Caza and his warg were between him and the explosion, saving him as his enemy was blasted with Molten Lead, and bits of superheated lead painted their backs. The warg under him dropped to the ground, and half of its body was devastated.


    Caza screamed as he slammed into the concrete bits of molten lead burning into his back muscle tissue.


    Luke chucked the ruined spear shaft to the ground, pulling a new one from his [Storage]. Moving on from Caza, Luke threw his new spear into a group of goblins who were trying to pin them down. An explosion of molten lead scattered them.


    Despite that, the goblins kept attacking him. Their weak attacks bounced off both his and Hope''s armour. Luke pulled out another spear out of his inventory and stabbed at them. Goblin blood spilled everywhere, and the smell of blood and ash started to overwhelm his sense of smell.


    Luke felt lightheaded, and he suddenly realized his HP was at a measly 25%. Shit, all of those bleed debuffs were going to kill him!! That''s when someone rode up next to Luke, patting him on the arm.


    "[Lay on Hands], [Cleansing Hand]," The man said


    Immediately, Luke felt all of the small cuts start to close up, and the Hemotoix and bleed debuffs disappeared. The man used [Lay on Hands] another two times to bring him back to almost 80% HP.


    "Thanks," Luke said.


    That''s when the tides changed. The Bonesplitter clan broke away from the fight as some of his own people were unable to distinguish between the two clans and had fired on both. The Bonesplitter clan didn''t seem angry, but they clearly were steering away from his people and leaving Luke''s cavalry alone with the Abyssal clan.


    Over a hundred orcs on their right and over a thousand goblins on their left. And Luke''s people in the middle. Luke made a snap decision.


    "We need to break out. Get ready to charge through the Orcs," Luke ordered, pushing Hope towards the Orc line.


    Although the orcs were more dangerous, they couldn''t charge the Goblins because they had their backs to the burning remains of the university. But that wasn''t even the immediate problem. Through the smoke and dust, Luke could see that Abaddon and a massive blood bat were battling each other like kaiju. Running through the university was death. They would need to smash through the orcs, or they would be dead.


    The others followed his lead, pushing their horses towards the reforming orc line. Hope started moving faster, charging towards the orc line. Luke switched from holding his spear like a spear to holding it like a Javelin and immediately activated [Molten Lead Lance], [First Labor], and [Sixth Labor].


    His spear changed into an overgrown missile as all of the attacks he blocked and parried combined to make his attack on the overgrown monstrosity. Roaring, Luke launched his spear forward, and the missile shot forward faster than it had ever before. The orcs barely had time to react before his missile impacted the centre of the orc line.


    It exploded with enough force to launch Orcs and Wargs a good twenty feet into the air. Molten lead was flung everywhere, burning their enemies and knocking many of them to the ground.


    "[Glorious Charge]," Luke roared as he kicked Hope with his spear, edging her on.


    Hope charged at full tilt into the now broken line of orcs. The orcs, for their part, were trying to reorganize the line. But they had made a critical mistake: The center of the line was too thin, and Luke''s skill was built for this opportunity. Luke led the charge like the point of a spear, crashing through the orcs'' line.


    The riders behind him crashed into the broken orc line. The few orcs that had managed to get back into the line were trampled underfoot as they smashed out of the encirclement. Luke urged Hope to move even faster, getting him out in front of the other riders so he could see what was happening behind them.


    Breaking the enclosure hadn''t been as difficult as he had hoped. All they had really done was punch through a narrow opening. If you ignored the dead ones, Most of the orcs weren''t even that badly injured, and they were already regrouping and moving to run them down.


    Luke tisked. He didn''t know what to do. He was pretty sure the horses could outrun the wargs over distance. But the wargs had more explosive speed. They could always turn around and attack the orcs again. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    But that wasn''t even the immediate problem. Through the smoke and dust, Luke could see that Abaddon had disappeared, and the massive blood bat was grabbing at something flying through the air like a red version of King Kong.


    Luke was just about to order another charge when a flying flamethrower ripped through the orc lines. Dozens of orcs were engulfed in flames as Ignis did a fly-by. Alex flew by on her broomstick, unleashing blasts of lighting seemingly at random.


    "Everyone move South. We need to move away from the goblins," Luke ordered. He moved towards Alex as she flew down close to him.


    "Alex, what''s going on? I thought you were dealing with the [Bloodmage]?!" Luke asked.


    "Seraphel got away from Starkiller. He took down Abaddon. We need to find and contain him." Alex said.


    Just then, his [Third Labor] screamed at him again. Luke looked upwards just in time to see hundreds of ice-made arrows raining down on them.


    Luke tried to defend himself with a spear, but it was a spear. Three arrows stabbed into his body from above, and Luke felt a deep cold seep into his body as the arrows impacted it.


    "Fuck" Luke cursed.


    "Goddammit!!" Alex swore as she flew back into the air, blasting anything and everything.


    "Wait," Luke cried out.


    But it was too late. Alex was gone. Luke plucked the arrows out of his body and cast his lesser heal spell.


    The magic fizzled around him weakly, but Luke just gritted his teeth as he searched back and forth for the source of the arrows. [Second Labor], [Third Labor], and [Forth Labor] all came together to locate Seraphel. He hadn''t even realized how many of his perks were based on helping him perceive the world until now. But now that they were, his eyes were almost magically drawn to the road. Luke''s eyes narrowed as he found Seraphel in Ice blue armour with his bow drawn, his figure hazy as [Second Labor] had to push through some kind of sneak perk.


    "Sam, I can see Seraphel," Luke said. "Take the cavalry and start pulling back."


    "And what if you''re just going to walk up to him and punch him?" Travis asked as she fired off another arrow. "You guys nearly lost to him earlier. Just call in Alex."


    "There''s no time," Luke grunted as he stabbed a goblin that was wandering closer. I''ll do it myself if I have to."


    "You think we''re going to let you run off on your own and steal all the glory? Let''s fuck him up," Sam painted.


    "Yeah, what she said," Gareth called out. As he urged his own horse towards them.


    Luke looked back at Sam.


    "If you think I''m letting you guys run off on your own, you''re insane," Travis said.


    Luke immediately used his bloodline to talk to the rest of the group.


    "Cavalry, fall back to Hopkins," Luke ordered as the five of them started to charge towards Seraphel.


    "What is our plan of attack? Sam asked.


    "Attack!" Luke said as he pulled a spear from his inventory and launched it at Seraphel.


    The drow clearly wasn''t expecting anyone to see him as Luke scored a hit, blasting him on his back.


    "YES!" Luke cheered in jubilation, but no kill notification came.


    Seraphel shot out of the smoking crater. Streaking across the university to one of the nearby buildings.


    "After him," Gareth called out.


    Sam and Travis opened fire after Seraphel, flames and arrows trailing after him as he raced into a building.


    They raced after him, dismounting their horses and racing in after him. They ended up racing all the way up to the roof of the building.


    Luke ran out onto the roof, his sword drawn. The first thing he noticed was a dichotomy. The ash overhead and the snow under his feet threatened to blind him.


    Luke almost didn''t see Seraphel standing on the roof. His bow raised, and an arrow had already been loosed. Luke''s skills screamed at him as the arrow raced towards him, but he was too slow to react, and if he had been alone, Luke might have died. Fortunately, Gareth was still moving while Luke had been stunned. The man moved in front of him. His armoured arm raised as the arrow impacted with an echoing thunk.


    "Gah," Gareth groaned out in pain as his left arm frosted over.


    "Avoid the arrows!!" Luke ordered as he charged forward.


    Sam Launched an arrow of her own. Seraphel didn''t even bother to dodge; instead, he just casually leaned out of the way as he drew and fired another arrow directly at Sam. Luke raised his blade to try to deflect the arrow, but he was too slow. Sam didn''t even get her arms up before the icicle impacted her throat. Sam didn''t even get a chance to say anything before her entire head turned into a popsicle.


    Luke swore as he closed the distance, bringing his sword around and striking at Seraphel. Luke''s confidence chipped as Seraphel almost casually blocked his sword with his bow. Seraphel caught and parried his attack into the ground before slamming the bow into his stomach.


    "Offf," Luke grunted as he knocked back.


    He was still too slow. Luke activated [Rapid Water Steps], but this time, he spammed it, constantly using it to keep up with the drow. All of a sudden, he was racing forward like a stallion.


    Gareth was right behind him, bringing his axe around. Seraphel dodged the axe and kicked Gareth away. Seraphel stashed away his bow in some kind of inventory. An icicle shot out of his armour, stabbing Gareth in the knee.


    "Och," Gareth grumbled, not even bothering to remove the offending icicle as he pressed his attack.


    Travis quickly joined in. His sword burst into flames as he swung for Seraphels head.


    Seraphel drew two swords made out of ice from his armour as he went on the offensive. Even with all of his skills, Luke could do little more than defend himself as Seraphel turned into a whirlwind of frozen blades.


    Gareths and Travis were quickly getting cut to bloody ribbons. Travis opened his mouth, and all of the ice around Serphel melted into mana and went down his gullet.


    Seraphel lept backwards as he tried to reform his arms and armour. But he wasn''t fast enough. Gareth''s axe nicked his hip as he tried to leap over the blade.


    Serphel stumbled but quickly regained himself, blocking Luke''s follow-up attack before he ducked out of the way of a beam of pure magic that erupted from Travis''s mouth.


    Luke tried to swing at Seraphel, receiving a shallow cut across his stomach for his troubles. Luke cursed as he tried to block the follow-up attack. Except Seraphel didn''t attack him. He feinted, and his blade aimed to bite into Gareth''s neck. Gareth parried the blow, catching the frozen blade on his axe''s handle as he kicked the Drow in the balls.


    Luke and Travis didn''t let the opportunity disappear. An [Elemental Strike] of Fire and Luke''s [First Labor] crashed into Serphel''s back. The drow was blasted across the roof, his armour nearly blown apart, his back a mess of blood and burned flesh. But then he didn''t slow down. His armour reformed almost instantly as he turned to face them.


    Travis [Blink Stepped] forwards, keeping up the pressure as he attacked Serephel with Luke right behind him.


    Seraphel caught Travis''s blade and, rolling with the attack, he threw the Lizardman off the Roof.


    "NO!!" Luke called out as Travis sailed off the roof.


    Seraphel turned to them, a creepy grin spreading across his face.


    Luke and Gareth glanced at each other. They were both injured, Gareth more so. They already knew they had lost this fight. And the fact was, no one knew they were here. If they died and their bodies weren''t picked up, that was it. Luke was scared. Part of him wished he hadn''t sundered [Legacy of Misfortune].


    "You can run away if you want, Luke. I know you''re scared of dying. It''s your first time. But don''t worry; I''ve got this," Gareth said, huffing as he choked up on his axe.


    Luke felt his eyebrow twitch as any thought of running vanished under his ego.


    "You know," Luke began as he raised his sword. "The funny thing is, I know you''re playing me."


    Gareth grinned. "Can you give me an opening?"


    "Yeah," Luke said. "Let''s hurt this pale fucker"


    Luke shot forwards [Rapid Water Steps], draining his mana pool as he kept his sword level with the ground. Gareths flew right behind him as Seraphel shot forward, stabbing forward with both blades as he intercepted Luke. This time, Luke let him. Dropping his sword, Luke allowed Seraphel to bury both his swords in his gut. Luke let out a strangled scream as he tried to grab Seraphel''s wrists. But once again, he was too slow as Seraphel dropped his sword and tried to retreat.


    Unfortunately for the drow, Gareths was already bringing his axe down. Seraphel twisted out of the way of the axe blow. Instead of Gareth splitting his head, the drow''s right arm was cleaved off clean at the elbow.


    "Fuck you!!" Luke gasped as he stumbled backwards, slumping to the ground, the ice swords melting into water, which allowed him to start bleeding out on the ground.


    Gareth roared as he swung his axe around, aiming to finish the job. Seraphel parried Gareth''s Axe with his left hand and then stabbed him through the heart with his right. Luke and Gareth both stared in stunned silence, looking between Seraphels amputated arm on the ground and the arm created out of pure ice that had appeared there to replace his lost one.


    "Fool," Seraphel hissed as he viciously ripped his arm out of Gareth.


    Seraphel''s ice arm didn''t have a fist; it was more like a spear point. But even that shifted and remoulded itself into a copy of the drow''s hand. Seraphel walked over to his amputated arm, picked it up and stashed it in his inventory before he moved over to Luke. His steps were unhurried, almost lazy.


    Luke tried to raise himself to his feet, but he couldn''t because the pain radiating through his body was too much. He had failed.


    "So this is how I die?" Luke asked, blood trickling down his lip as Seraphel stalked towards him.


    "You know, it''s funny. Now that I''m actually dying, I''m not afraid anymore." Luke chuckled, coughing up blood as he did. "I think Gareth was right. Sometimes, you just need to jump in head first and get it over with."


    Luke''s vision faded in and out of focus as Seraphel''s pale face loomed over him. His blade of ice was slick with the blood of his friends. He watched as Travis quietly pulled himself back up onto the roof.


    "Any last words?" Seraphel asked.


    "Yippee kay ah," Luke said as he punched Seraphiel.


    It wasn''t a very impressive punch. It was weak and barely worth mentioning. Or it wouldn''t have been if Luke hadn''t just spent the last few minutes blocking so many attacks before returning the favour as [First & Sixth Labor] activated in tandem.


    Luke smiled as Seraphels was launched with so much force that his chest caved in on impact. The drow was launched across the roof before he was impaled on Travis''s flaming sword.


    "That''s for my friends," Luke whispered as darkness crept into his vision. "Travis, I leave the rest to you."


    <Level up>


    <[Power of the Sea God] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Power of the Sea God] has Reached Level 12>


    <...>


    <[Power of the Sea God] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Master of Death] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Posiden''s Sea] has Reached Level 27>


    <[Posiden''s Sea] has Reached Level 28>


    <....>


    <[Posiden''s Sea] has Reached Level 30>


    <[Tide Ripper] has Reached Level 18>


    <[Tide Ripper] has Reached Level 19>


    <...>


    <[Tide Ripper] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Rapid Water Steps] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Rapid Water Steps] has Reached Level 12>


    <...>


    <[Rapid Water Steps] has Reached Level 19>


    <You have Died>


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>


    Name: Luke Graceson


    </th>


    <th>


    Race: Demigod


    </th>


    <th>


    Type: Humanoid


    </th>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <th>


    LVL: 21


    </th>


    <th>


    SubRace: Human


    </th>


    <th>


    Age 18


    </th>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <th>


    Health: 2070


    </th>


    <th>


    Stamina: 3935


    </th>


    <th>


    Mana: 3520


    </th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 24.5 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 33.7 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 12.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 12%, Elemental 12%, Vitality 9%, Mental 11%, Crit 18%, Insta-death 18%, Poison 18%, Disease 18%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Godslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Heir to Theseus 12, Heir to Beleiraphone 1, Water Enhancer 7, 1 unassigned


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 277


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 161


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 92


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 138


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 176


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 63


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 138


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 46


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 252 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 105 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 147 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 84 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 126 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 147 +20%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 63


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 126 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO


    Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary


    Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.


    <ul>


    <li>[Power of the Sea God] - Level 10 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Poseidon''s Sea] - Level 26 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Kin of Horses] - Level 20 >> Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Born Sailor] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Natural Born Leader] - Level 25 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Master of Death] - Level 19 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Greek Tragedy] - Level 15 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Divine Assistance (Guide)] - ErR0R#4!!*!%!$</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 STR per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: 1 Free Skill Point


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 36 >> Level 39</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Theseus 09/11


    <ul>


    <li>[First Labor: Periphetes'' Crippling Strike] - Level 26 >> Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 25 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 26 >> Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 27 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Level 27 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone - [Sixth Labor: Procrustes Just Deserts] - Level 25 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Vitality of the Cretan Bull] - Level 22 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    Heir to Bellerophon 3/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Molten Lead Lance] - 20 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Athena''s Bridle] - Level 1 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Glorious Charge] - Level 1 >> Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    Water Enhancer 3/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Tide Ripper] - Level 17 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rapid Water Steps] - Level 10 >> Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Spearfisher] - Level 2 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 98: Mini Boss Battle

    Skippy landed on the roof of the building just in time to see Seraphel skewered on Travis''s Sword after Luke punched him. Seraphel clung to the sword that had emerged from his chest, struggling weakly.


    "Lizard Wizard!!! Did ¡­ did you just cock block me?" Starkiller asked aghast.


    Travis rolled his eyes.


    "Fuck you, Starkil--" Travis''s words were cut off as Seraphels body exploded into snow.


    The blast nearly knocked Travis off the roof as the Drow reformed out of the snow. He stood up uninjured, but he was clearly winded. He was breathing heavily, and his shoulders slumped as he put distances between them.


    "[Second Wind]," Skippy muttered to himself.


    "Technically, it''s called [Spring Snow]," Travis corrected them as he spat out snow.


    "He''s already used his [Immortality] skill, so he only has a [Escape] skill as a final lifeline," Starkiller hummed to himself.


    "Mine," Skippy said as he activated [Mirage Step]


    Skippy teleported practically on top of Seraphel, his sword flashing downwards as his two weapon mastery skills worked together to turn the simple moonstone longsword into the deadliest blade on the planet.


    Seraphel jerked back, partially parrying the attack with his new ice arm. Partially as Skippy''s sword still cleaved through a good chunk of the ice arm. Seraphel staggered backward, his ice arm morphing and recovering instantly.


    Seraphel lashed out with his swords meeting Skippy''s single blade as they traded blows. Seraphel was stronger, but Skippy was far faster. Their blades clashed over and over again as Seraphel was forced on the defensive. But Skippy could do better.


    "[Death or Glory]," Skippy said as a red glow started to emit from his body as his total hp dropped by half as his stats shot up by 50%.


    Skippy felt his attacks becoming sharper, his blows stronger and his movements faster even as the world slowed down around him. Seraphel didn''t falter. Instead, he activated his own boosting skill. His stats rose to and then surpassed Skippy''s own.


    Skippy quickly found himself on the back foot, and then Starkiller arrived. He shot forwards with Jingu Bang held high before he brought it down. Seraphel lept out of the way as the staff cracked the ceiling under their feet.


    "Well, since everyone else is whipping out their power, I might as well whip out my own." Starkiller chuckled as a familiar white aura surrounded him as he activated [Primate Fury].


    "Could you please stop with the innuendo?!" Skippy said.


    Despite the spectacle, none of them had stopped moving. All three of them kept hopping around as they tried to score a hit on Seraphel.


    "Oh, come on, Skippy, you know I love you," Starkiller said as he tried to slam Jingu Bang into Seraphels head.


    But Seraphel ducked under the attack as he parried Skippy''s own sword into, causing shockwaves to race up Skippy''s arms.


    Seraphel shot dozens of ice spikes out of his armour, or he tried to. As the spikes emerged from his armour, the entire thing evaporated into mana and was swallowed by Travis''s reptilian maw.


    "I''m sorry. Is there room for a foursome?" Travis asked as he [Blink Stepped] onto Seraphel, his sword glowing with magic as he lunged forward.


    "Not you, too," Skippy groaned.


    Despite his protests, Skippy and Starkiller didn''t miss the opportunity and dogpiled the asshole. Seraphel blocked the blow from Travis as he parried Skippy''s sword, leaving himself open as Starkiller kicked his leg out from underneath him.


    Seraphel stumbled, his ice armour already reforming as he tried to regain his footing while dodging Skippy''s sword, only to get blasted by Travis''s breath attack knocking him to the ground.


    Skippy lunged, aiming to put his sword between the drow''s ribs, only to feel his bloodline scream at him, forcing him to leap out of the way as a pillar of ice popped out of the ground, nearly impaling him.


    Suddenly spikes of ice were everywhere, and Skippy was forced to dance across icicles.


    Skippy felt his Bloodline skill, [Rataskors Instincts], scream at him again as Seraphel entered the sphere of perception, ready to decapitate him.


    Skippy flipped through the air over Seraphels head as the drow tried and failed to take his head, and for good measure, he kicked the asshole in the head, getting a little extra air time from the kickoff.


    "Ha, in your face!!" Skippy cheered as he landed on the roof.


    Seraphel hadn''t even recovered from his failed attack when Starkiller smashed his helmeted head with Jingu Bang. The Drow took the legendary weapon full in the face, doing a full back flip from the impact before Travis blasted him with another breath attack. The beam of pure magic stripped the drow''s magical armour off his body, leaving him vulnerable again.


    Starkiller swung Jingu Bang around for the killing blow when Seraphel disappeared. Instantly Skippy felt his instincts scream at him as he brought up his sword in a hard parry to meet Seraphels jagged ice blade as it rushed towards the back of his head.


    Connecting solidly, Skippy felt the impact of the blow shoot up his arm. Gritting his teeth, he pushed against the blade for what felt like an eternity before it came to a stop, but in reality, it had been little more than a second.


    Then, without so much as a pause, he slid the blade downwards and off the frozen blade as his sword swung around to deflect the second razor-sharp ice sword slashing through the air. Skippy quickly realized he had no chance to block this one. Seraphel''s second blade threatened to disembowel him completely should he let it finish its sweeping arc.


    So, instead, he deflected it, bringing his blade down and hitting the second sword just hard enough to change its trajectory, sending it flying harmlessly past his head. As Seraphel completed his deadly swing, Skippy''s feet dug into the ground, propelling him directly into its now exposed guard.


    Raising his sword upwards, Skippy saw the world blur as he lunged forward. It was an instant later that he was thrusting the blade directly into the Seraphels body.


    Unfortunately, the blade failed to pierce through Seraphels reformed ice armour Skippy cursed. While his skills gave him an ungodly good at punching through most defences, he didn''t have a good response for armour. Except for [Tyrants Die], but that thing had a massive cooldown. Despite Skippy''s internal griping, his sword wasn''t ineffective. Quite the opposite, it left a massive gouge in the armour.


    <You have inflicted [Insta-Death] on Seraphel>


    <Seraphel has resisted [Insta-Death]>


    <Seraphel has suffered -1 Constitution>


    Seraphel twisted to try and stab Skippy, but this time Starkiller lunged at him. Ruy Jing Bang was swinging for Seraphels head. Despite not being in his line of sight, Seraphel ducked around Jingu Bang, dancing away from them only to nearly get decapitated by Travis. The Lizard Wizard''s blade nicked the drow''s neck but failed to hit an artery.


    "Why is this asshole so good at this?" Skippy gripped.


    "He''s slippery," Travis muttered, his eyes narrowing as he tracked Seraphel''s movements.


    "It''s mostly just boring," Starkiller gripped as he twirled his staff and lunged forward again.


    "Oh, what, you don''t enjoy a proper battle," Skippy asked.


    "He''s already blown most of his load," Starkiller said in a bored voice as he swung at Seraphel''s head. "Most of his skills are broken from soul damage, passives, or on cooldown except for a [Escape] skill. It''s three-on-one, and the Lizard Wizard is literally eating his gear. He''s skilled, but he''s checkmated."


    Skippy couldn''t disagree with that assessment, but Starkiller wasn''t giving this nutcase enough credit. Even without his tricks, he was deadly. Skippy let out a breath as his eye focused on the stamina bar. He had just enough to use his capstone skill. Better to use it now and finish this.


    Skippy wasn''t about to be left behind. He activated [Mirage Step], and he disappeared, leaving behind a perfect illusionary copy as he reappeared behind Seraphel, his blade swinging down, aiming for a lethal blow with his [Regicide] capstone.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Regicide


    Capstone - [Killing Edge] - Legendary


    [Killing Edge] - Level 20: This skill is the definition of overkill. This allows the user to stack any martial art five times, effectively multiplying any single attack by 5.


    Furthermore, this skill Reduces your target''s resistance to your physical attacks by 0.5% per skill level. It also reduces the additional stamina costs of using this skill by 1% per skill level.


    +3 DEX per Level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    With five times [Perfected strike], Skippy''s blade fell with enough force to cleave through steel and yet Seraphel spun around, his ice blade glowing as he parried Skippy''s attack.


    "[Deny the Reaper]," Seraphel taunted as he named the counter-execution skill he had just used.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Seraphel''s second blade glowed as he swung at Skippy''s head, throwing his own attack back into his face. But he still had [Executioner''s Judgment]. Skippy smacked away Seraphels empowered attack before kicking the drow. Even with only 10% of the attack''s original strength, Skippy was able to send Seraphel bouncing across the ice into the waiting arms of Travis.


    Travis took his chance and unleashed another [Aether Dragon''s Breath]. The azure blue of the beam of pure magic ripped apart what little of Seraphel''s armour as the internal magic was destroyed, and his body was covered in magic burns.


    "Now!" Skippy shouted.


    Starkiller didn''t need to be told even once. He had already charged forward with Jingu Bang raised high before Skippy had said anything.


    Seraphel tried to raise an ice shield, but Jingu Bang expanded to the size of a telephone pole as it was brought down. It shattered the ice barrier like glass crashed into the unarmoured Drow, and then it broke through the roof.


    "Dammit, Starkiller again?!" Skippy swore as they fell through the roof and into the wrecked room below.


    Skippy had no idea what this room might have been. At this point, the goblins had already wrecked the place beyond recognition.


    Seraphel lay on the ground, struggling even to raise up his own body as he vomited up blood. Travis didn''t even give him a moment to get away.


    "Quicksand!" he shouted, and the ground beneath Seraphel softened, allowing the Drow to sink into the floor. He struggled to get out, but the Lizard Wizard had already cancelled the spell, leaving Seraphel trapped up to his shoulders in the floor, heavily injured, missing an arm and covered in blood.


    "You''re done," Travis said coldly, his sword glowing with magical energy as he prepared the final blow.


    "Well, I mean, he still has that [Escape] skill," Starkiller said.


    Seraphel''s eyes flickered with annoyance. Then he disappeared with an explosion, sending shards of ice everywhere and leaving all three of them speechless.


    "God dammit, I was kidding!!" Starkiller all but screamed as the notifications rolled in.


    <You have defeated Seraphel the [Harbinger of Fimblewinter]>


    <Level up>


    <[Raraoskr''s Instincts] has Reached Level 34>


    <[Raraoskr''s Instincts] has Reached Level 35>


    <[Focus] has Reached Level 24>


    <[Focus] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 27>


    <[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 28>


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 23>


    <[Perfected Strike] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Perfected Strike] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Executioners Judgement] has Reached Level 12>


    <[Executioners Judgement] has Reached Level 13>


    <...>


    <[Executioners Judgement] has Reached Level 15>


    <[First Blood] has Reached Level 5>


    <[First Blood] has Reached Level 6>


    <....>


    <[First Blood] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Death or Glory] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Death or Glory] has Reached Level 8>


    <...>


    <[Death or Glory] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Tyrants Die] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Tyrants Die] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Tyrants Die] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Tyranny Falls] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Tyranny Falls] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Tyranny Falls] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Killing Edge] has Reached Level 2>


    <[Killing Edge] has Reached Level 3>


    <...>


    <[Killing Edge] has Reached Level 11>


    <[Mirage Step] has Reached Level 16>


    <[Mirage Step] has Reached Level 17>


    <...>


    <[Mirage Step] has Reached Level 18>


    Skippy ignored the massive scrolling list of skill level-ups as he refocused on the conversation.


    "Tactically, it wasn''t a bad move," Travis noted as he collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted.


    "Oh fuck the two of you." Skippy shot back.


    "What did I do?!" Starkiller asked.


    "You literally reminded him he could escape, And now he fucking ran away. Do you have any idea how hard it''s going to be to track that asshole down?" Skippy groaned.


    "That sounds like a you problem. I''m only here to keep him away from the fighting. I''ve done that to the best of my abilities. Mission complete, contact fulfilled," Starkiller stated.


    Skippy moved over to check on Travis. He was mostly fine, but the lizard wizard was experiencing the biggest problem of being a hybrid fighter. His stats were all over the place, so he ended up having to exert himself far more than the rest of them just to keep up. The Lizard Wizard was out of the rest of the fight.


    "Where is the rest of your team?" Skippy asked breathlessly.


    "I got their bodies," Travis huffed.


    "Great job, Lizard Wizard," Skippy said as he sat down beside him.


    Even if he was better off than Travis was utterly exhausted from that fight. He was a [Rogue], not a [Duelist]. He was made for heavy precision strikes, not drawn-out battles. That thought made Skippy chuckle. His old build really had been too far from his standards. Tom had been right; he needed this change more than he had ever realized.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Regional Quest Update: Bloody Goblin Horde


    ¡­


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Skippy''s eyes darted to the notification, and his eyes opened wide.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Skippy


    (Andrew Owens)


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Beastial Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Beast


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Squirrel


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1050


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2180


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 840


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 16.8 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 21.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 12.6 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 15%, Elemental 15%, Magical 15%, Vitality 15%, Mind 15%, Soul 15%, Crit 30%, Poison 30%, Disease 30%, Insta-Death 30%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Beastslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Regicide MAX, one unassigned


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 184


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 323


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 168


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 84


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 147


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 231


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 168 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 294 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 168


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 84


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 147


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 42 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 210 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK


    Racial: +3 AGIL +2 CON +2 SPIRIT +1 PER


    Bloodline: +5 AGIL +5 LCK


    Regicide Skills: +6 STR +3 DEX


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of Ratatoskr] - Legendary: The Blood of the Legendary Squirrel who runs up and down the length of the world tree carrying insults from the dragon Nidhogg at the roots to the great eagle at the top of the tree.


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr''s Tongue] - Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Instincts] - Level 33 >> Level 35</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ratatoskr Vicious Mockery] - Level 30 </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Nidhogg''s Gift] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ascending Yggdrasil] - Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Aura of the Divine Beast] - Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Defiant Regeneration] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 34</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to AGIL per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 to LCK per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 19/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Rataskurs Pocket] - Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[System Wiki] - Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meditation] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Focus] - Level 23 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] - Level 35</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mirage Step] - Level 15 >> Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    Regicide 11/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Way of the Reaper] - Level 25 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Unseen Blow] - Level 21 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Reaper''s Cloak] - Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Perfected Strike] - Level 13 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Executioners Judgement] - Level 11 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Legendary Agility] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[First Blood] - Level 4 >> Level 10</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Death or Glory] - Level 6 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Tyrants Die] - Level 1 >> Level 5</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Tyranny Falls] - Level 1 >> Level 5</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Killing Edge] - Level 1 >> Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 99: Horseman of War

    Altan was woken up by the screams of goblins.


    "And I was having such a nice dream," Altan growled as he pushed his favourite slave off his chest.


    She let out a cry of surprise as he pushed her off him. She halfheartedly tried to cover herself as he got up to his feet. She had been a cheerleader in his high school. She wasn¡¯t Mongolian, which was a shame, but she was Chinese, and her breasts were the largest he had ever seen on such a small frame. He had desired her. But it wasn''t until he shed the shell of Brandon and became Altan that he took her for his own.


    When he found her, she and her so-called friends were under the threat of a group of fishermen. Her friends had thrown her to the fish men in order to save themselves. He had slaughtered them and offered the women a choice. Become his sex slave, his concubine, and he would protect her. Refuse him, and he would leave her to the mercy of the world. Her so-called friends had refused. She hadn''t. When the next group of fish men showed up, Altan didn''t help them. He didn''t work against them. He just didn''t help them. After that, he made sure to push her build in the right direction as he did his best to plant his seed in her.


    She was the first but was his favourite. And that was reflected in her new name, One.


    "Stay here, One. I will investigate," he ordered.


    "Yes, Bran---" One was cut off as Altan roughly grabbed one of her breasts.


    "I''m sorry I didn''t quite hear you. Could you say that again?" Altan asked.


    "Yes, Great Kahn." one whispered


    Altan let her go before giving her a rough kiss.


    "Good girl," he said before turning and putting on his pants. ¡°And remember, you are free to leave at any time."


    He did mean it. He just wouldn''t take her back if she did, and she knew it.


    He left the room bare-chested, pulling his scimitar out of his inventory.


    Instantly, the bright green [Flames of Jealousy] started to lick up and down the naked blade as he made his way outside. The goblins'' screams grew ever louder as he approached the barricade. Goblins and the undead pressed into each other without regard for their survival.


    Altan sneered. Despite Grave''s claims the undead were little more than meat shields against the goblins. They would have already lost if they couldn''t replenish themselves from the fallen. As he marched forward, he spotted Donald leading twenty of his men against a horde of goblins in their stone armour.


    Donald was dressed in his bone-plate armour, a perfect tank with a glaive of bone at his side. His other soldier, Randy, was with him, armoured in stone, as the two of them smashed the goblins into pulp.


    Altan marched towards Donald, his scimitar whistling as he swung it through the air. He swung his flaming scimitar through the neck of a goblin warrior, removing its head without warning as the [Flames of Jealousy] spread through the goblin. The moment the goblins died, his [Spoils of War] Perk spawned treasure and dropped it on the filthy thing''s corpse for whoever wanted it. The closest goblins immediately turned their attention to the loot and forgot about Altan until he chopped their heads off.


    Goblin spears and knives lashed out at his skin but failed to penetrate it or even do any damage. Altan chuckled as he slaughtered the goblins, all the while focusing on his XP bar as it rose painfully slowly. These goblins weren''t a challenge worthy of him, so they were reduced to little more than an XP farm in his eyes.


    Altan fought his way towards Donald with such ease that the goblins started to move away from him, unwilling to get close to him as he flung flames at them. Altan smiled at that. At least some people knew how a khan should be treated. He made his way over to Donald to talk to him.


    "What happened here?" Altan demanded casually, kicking a goblin hard enough to send him airborne.


    "Ah, Bra ¡­ Great Khan Altan." Donald corrected himself. He nodded to him, and his glaive sliced through the air three times in rapid succession. Each slash sent a blade of stamina flying out and into the army of goblins, each blade killing dozens of goblins.


    "I was ¡­ working when the goblins arrived. I rushed here immediately and discovered that these goblins were new, my lord. These were not the goblins that the [Horseman of Conquest] had weakened with his plague. They were new. These reinforcements just came charging into our front lines in a rage."


    Altan considered that as he unleashed a cone of the [Flame of Jealousy] into the goblin horde.


    ¡°They played us good.¡± Altan chuckled.


    ¡°What?¡± Donald asked, "Who played us?"


    "Those Awoken Myths people. They realized we were going to betray them, and they decided to make use of us. They kicked the hornets'' nest and led the hornets straight to us." Altan laughed as he hacked apart another goblin as the rest of his people arrived, weapons gleaming in the moonlight.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good plan. I would have done the same. But I think it¡¯s time we go on the offensive. Apocalypse Force!! Follow me!!! [Kali''s Destruction], [Blood of Huitzilopochtli], [Mind of Odin], [Presence of Ares], [Friendly Fire], [Cry Havoc]," Altan called out.


    Immediately, the goblins'' weapons and armour started to disintegrate, and their durability plummeted due to [Kali''s Destruction]. [Friendly Fire] caused the goblins to turn on each other. [Blood of Huitzilopochtli] granted his soldiers regeneration, and their weapons would inflict [bleed], [Presence of Ares] caused the goblins to go into a panic as they were first assaulted by the [Terror] Ailment. It kept escalating to [Confusion], [Panic], [Madness], and finally [Insta-death]. [Hall of Odin] would store the souls of any party member who died. And finally, [Cry Havoc] shattered all of their Party skills.


    The once united army had transformed into a deadly brawl as the goblins tried to kill each other. He had just blown through all of his cooldown skills. But considering he had all but defeated the massive army of goblins in front of him, he considered it worthwhile.


    "[Avatar of War]," Altan said, using his last cooldown skill.


    A magic summoning circle appeared in front of him. From the ground rose the form of a massive grizzly bear as Altans Summon stood upon the field of battle. Altan smiled as he saw the status of his summons.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Cyborg Bear #1


    Level: 20


    Race/Classes: Cyborg Bear 20


    Type: Beast / Artificial


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    If not for the glowing mechanical eyes, metal teeth, and shiny claws, the cyborg bear''s true nature would have gone unnoticed. The cyborg bear immediately delved into the now defenceless goblin horde and began slaughtering them as if the goblins had killed its mother.


    The fight was barely worth mentioning. Altan led his people directly into the ranks of the goblins, slaughtering them in mass as they pushed through the horde without a care in the world.


    Altan chuckled as he charged forward, his scimitar never stopping. His [Presence of Ares] was doing most of the work, killing off the goblins without him even needing to get close. At a certain point, Altan wasn''t killing goblins as much as walking through their corpses, as his [Spoils of War] dropped loot everywhere.


    "Look at them running!!" one of his men cheered.


    "We have them on the ropes," another whooped


    The red riders were enjoying the turning of the tide.


    But despite the fact that they were butchering the goblin forces sent against them, Altan wanted more. If he had known that the Awoken Myths were just going to dump the goblins on them, he would have joined their forces for the chance of a true challenge.


    Altan let his [Eyes of Envy] sweep over his foes as he searched for their leader, hoping to find a challenge. He quickly spotted a large Orc marching towards them. His arms looked like they belonged to a gorilla, and his fists were wrapped in thick leather like a boxer. His muscles were so overgrown that he almost looked like he was wearing a muscle suit. His skin was also red instead of green, and he had demon horns.


    Altan looked deeper into him with his [Eyes of Envy].


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Fur-rog


    Race: Orc


    Type: Goblinoid / Demon


    Subrace: Mountain


    Title: Faithful of Beelzebub


    Level: Current: (25) Actual: (47)


    Classes: Gladiator of Beelzebub 20 / Brawler 20 / Disciple of Beelzebub 7


    Personal Perks: Tireless, Brutal


    Gladiator Perks: Victory Fist, Crowd Favorite, Toughness, Greed Strike, Heavy Blow, Golden Shower, Jackpot, Born in Purple, Charge, Manslayer, Arena of Glory


    Brawler Perks: Immortal Fists, Giant Fists, Power Strike, Subterfuge, Dirty tricks, Legendary Strength, Inflated Muscles, Eternal Vigil, Stunning Strike, Eternal Vigil, Second Wind


    Disciple of Beelzebub Perks: Cult Leader, Demonology, Monster Life Force (Demon), Ritual SacrificeThis content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Altan smiled.


    "The big one is mine!!" Altan ordered as he charged towards the orc


    Donald followed behind him, but unlike him, Donald was blowing through the goblins like a snow plow.


    "[Gross Envy]," Altan muttered as he targeted Fur-Rog


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Gross Envy] - Legendary


    [Gross Envy]: Target one creature and add (0.5% per skill level) of the target''s stats to your own. This skill can only be used on creatures stronger than the user.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Immediately, Altan felt his muscles swell as some of Fur-Rogs base stats were added to his total. Altan burned his mana as he added layer after layer of [Scales of the Leviathan] on his body, and he became a living Juggernaut with his bloodline alone. He slammed into Fur-Rog, his flaming scimitar crashing into the ogres'' leather-bound gauntlets.


    The green flames licked up and down the gauntlets, as Fur-Rog made his own move.


    A massive arena appeared around the two of them, isolating them from the hoards of nearby goblins as Fur-rog threw him away from his body.


    Altan allowed himself to roll with the toss before snapping back to his feet.


    "You seek to face me one on one?! " Altan scowled. "I am the new Great Khan, I am the [Horseman of War], I carry the blood of Leviathan within my veins, I am descended from the great Genghis Khan and soon to be his heir. And you dare to face me alone? I salute your courage and pity your stupidity," Altan said.


    "Fucking pink skin," the Fur-Rog spat as he charged at him.


    Altan¡¯s sword shot up with the steel ringing out as it met Fur-Rog¡¯s gauntleted fist. Sparks flew from the impact, and with a deft twist of his wrist, Altan deflected the blow to the side, shifting his weight to maintain his footing.


    Before Fur-Rog could do anything else, Altan''s leg snapped out, planting his boot firmly into the orc''s knee. With a sickening crack, Fur-rogs'' knee snapped, and he tumbled to the ground with a scream of rage and pain.


    The kick sent Fur-Rog stumbling to the ground, his massive frame crashing to the floor, but Altan had no intention of savouring the moment. His free hand surged with hell fire.


    "Burn." he chuckled as the flames engulfed the orcs'' prone form.


    The [Flames of Jealousy] licking at his armour and scorching his flesh. Fur-Rog roared as he shot up from the ground and tried to punch him in the head, ignoring the hellfire as he lashed out.


    Fur-Rogs fist ballooned up to the size of a watermelon and slammed into his chest, knocking him backwards and rolling across the floor with a loud crack. Bones broke. Finger bones, that was.


    ¡±Coming in with that much mass makes pulling punches a bit difficult, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Altan taunted as he got up and lept at Fur-Rog. He slashed at the arm, landing a deep cut, the [Flames of Jealousy] cauterizing the wound.


    "I might not look it, but my bloodline gives me excellent defences." Altan chuckled


    "Die!!!" Fur-Rog roared.


    "Is that all you can say?" Altan chuckled. "Pathetic"


    Altan suddenly had to jerk backwards as a Roundhouse kick shot towards his head. Then, the other guy tossed snow into his face, blinding him long enough to land another blow against his legs, knocking them out from underneath him and sending him stumbling to the ground.


    "Fucker!!" Altan twisted during the fall, slashing out at Fur-Rog as the hellfire exploded outwards. He managed to land a deep cut on his opponent¡¯s chest.


    And then the Fur-Rog punched him again. This time, his fist was glowing, and the moment it smashed into him, it felt like a wave of force and noise hammering into him.


    <You have been Stunned>


    The disorientation was enough that he didn¡¯t manage to react before getting kicked in the chest and flung through the air. A split-second later, the bastard appeared above him and landed another kick, slamming him into the ground before the Orc landed on top of him, causing all of the air to escape from his lungs.


    <You are no longer stunned>


    "Finally," Altan muttered.


    [Flames of Jealousy] exploded around them. Fur-rog screamed as his body was covered in hellfire. Altan kicked him off of his body, knocking him off balance. Bringing his scimitar up, he sheered his arm clean off.


    ¡°You¡¯re a tricky one,¡± the now one-armed Fur-Rog grinned down at him while Altan got to his feet. The orc was seemingly unconcerned with his injury. Picking up the lost limb, the orc shoves the stumps together.


    "[Second Wind]" Fur-Rog growled.


    Then the orc screamed as the arm was reattached, and the burns and other injuries on his body quickly scared over.


    ¡°You know, it¡¯s kinda sad that you don¡¯t work for us. You could be so much more. We can make you a king in the new world order.¡±


    Altan snarled, "a Kahn serves no one."


    "Then you are a true foo--"


    Altan cast a fire bomb spell mid-speech, a hellfire bomb. Fur-Rog dodged the spell and tried to punch him, but Altan cut him across the arm again before kicking him back. There was a distinct sound of cracking bones as his foot impacted the orcs'' chest.


    ¡°Then you have chosen death,¡± Fur-rog announced. ¡°And today, I¡¯m going to become a kingslayer.¡±


    Fur-rog charged, and Altan began to retreat, using his Hellfire Scimitar to keep the distance open as his unarmed opponent couldn¡¯t block it, but it wasn¡¯t quite enough. The punches fell like meteors as Fur-Rog attacked with no regard for his own life.


    Even his [Leviathan Scales] were beginning to break apart, his opponent apparently thinking nothing of sacrificing the bones in his hand to hurt him. Of course, thanks to [Scales of the Leviathan], every attack was less effective than the last. Fur-Rog was slowing down even faster than Altan was, and that made him smile as he kept pushing, waiting for the moment to finish off his opponent.


    Soon enough, Fur-Rog made a mistake. Altan feinted for his head only to strike at his legs. His scimitar crashed into Fur-Rog''s knee at a bad angle, and Fur-Rog screamed in complete agony as his knee shattered from the impact, tearing apart the delicate structure of the orc''s knee and sending him tumbling to the ground.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± Fur-Rog groaned as he collapsed.


    Altan stood in front of him, smiling as hellfire danced along his blade, his body covered in bruises and blood.


    Yet his opponent was so much worse. Breathing heavily, the orc was covered in blood, mud and burns. His hands were broken, his knee destroyed, and his reattached arm was only barely functioning.


    Altan smiled as his scimitar cleaved through the top of his skull and bisected the brain.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have killed Fur-Rog, one of the five commanders of the goblin horde. You will receive an additional XP for your actions.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The [Arena of Glory] dropped away, leaving Altan in the middle of the goblin horde. His [Prescance of Ares] skill immediately killed all of the nearby goblins. Altan looked around, finding Donald, Randy, and the rest of his red riders plowing through the goblins, slaughtering them with every step they took.


    Altan nodded in anticipation as Donald kept a tight lid on his riders as they butchered the horde; without their leader, the goblins had become a mob of children. Altan briefly considered returning to One and spending the day screwing her brains out insteadd of killing the helpless mob. But he had a feeling this might be the last group of goblins to attack his settlment.


    Altan returned to the fight smiling as he considered how many more levels he would gain that day.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Altan Kahn


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Giant


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 23


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Mongolian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 3450


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 6025


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2520


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 34.5 per Hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 52.9 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 18.4 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta Tester, First, Apocalypse Force


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 34%, Elemental 34%, Magic 20%, Vitality 20%, Soul 20%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind 30%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Giantslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Horseman of War 23


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 331


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 50


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 253


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 184


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 177


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 126


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 92


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 92


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 92


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 138


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 50


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 276 +20%


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 46 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 115


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 230 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 184


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 161 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 115 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 92


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 92


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 92


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 115 +20%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 46 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 STR, +3 DEX, +3 CON, +2 WILL, +2 EGO


    Racial: +3 STR +2 CON +2 SPIRIT +1 END


    Bloodline: +5 END +5 PER


    Class: +3 STR +3 CON +3 INT +3 CHA


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Leviathan the Sin of Envy] - Legendary: The Bloodline of the Sin of Envy, Beast of the Apocalypse, Primordial Sea Beast, Demon Prince of Envy, Living Hellgate, Leviathan.


    <ul>


    <li>[Scales of Leviathan] - Level 31 >> Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Sea of Damnation] - Level 24 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thalassophobia] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Gross Envy] - Level 24 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Eyes of Envy] - Level 30 >> Level 36</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Flames of Jealousy] - Level 14 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Living Hellgate] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raid Boss] - Level 30 >> Level 40</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 END per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 PER per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 19/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Titans Strength] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Domination] - Level 19 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Sex Maniac] - Level 24 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    Horseman of War 07/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Flaming Sword of War] - Level 33 >> Level 35</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Broken Second Seal] - Level 29 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Red Rider] - Level 18 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Eternal Warrior] - Level 17 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Spoils of War] - Level 26 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Belliscience] - Level 25 >> Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of War] - Level 21 >> Level 27</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Avatar of War] - Level 14 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Friendly Fire] - Level 7 >> Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[War Never Ends] - Level 16 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Cry Havoc] - Level 5 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Presence of Ares] - Level 14 >> Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Kali¡¯s Destruction] - Level 15 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Blood of Huitzilopochtli] - Level 17 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Halls of Odin] - Level 9 >> Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 100: Holding the Line

    Major Adams watched as Tom, Abaddon, and Alex moved into battle with the blood bat. Adams had accepted that military action was required against the goblins and that Tom''s experiences with magic and the system would be critical if the last attempt was anything to go off of.


    He hadn''t been expecting this. He watched, nearly stunned, as a nearly forty-foot-tall Abaddon fought a fifty-foot-tall blood bat. If he couldn''t smell the coppery tang, he might have thought he was in a movie theatre.


    Suddenly, music started to play, heavy rock music that got his heart pumping


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are listening to the song [Not Gonna Die by Skillet]


    The Respeciants of this gain the following buffs for 5 minutes


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">+4% to CON, END, and EGO</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Receive the buff: [Last Stand]</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">[Last Stand]: If you take damage that would normally reduce your HP to or less than 0, you will retain one hit point instead. </li>


    </ul>


    Performance: Uncommon


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The notification snapped back to attention.


    "Why the hell did you people stop firing?! This is a battlefield. Don''t get distracted!" Adams shouted in his best drill sergeant voice as his skill kicked in.


    The few people who had been staring slack-jawed at the ongoing immediately shut their mouths and turned back to the battle against the goblins.


    Chester was roaring out orders to the line of police officers and larpers holding riot shields and other shields as they held back the goblin horde.


    The goblins themselves were in shambles. Before, the horde had moved with a level of coordination. Now, however, it felt like he was skirmishing with a dozen different armies and a rioting mob at the same time.


    "Fireball!" Adams roared as he tossed down another fireball into a swarming group of goblins.


    <You have killed Goblin Level 14>


    <You have killed Goblin Level 13>


    <You have killed Goblin Level 13>


    <You have killed Goblin Level 9>


    <You have killed Goblin Level 9>


    <You have killed Goblin Level 11>


    <You have killed Goblin Level 7>


    Dozens of spells and arrows flew at them in response. Adam felt an arrow hit his chest but failed to penetrate his Kevlar. The next attack he did see coming as the spell raced towards his head. But this time, Adams saw it coming and activated [Time Leap]. He had finally gotten good enough with the skill that he felt confident enough to use it to dodge ¡­ when he remembered he had it. The next instant, when he reappeared with the spell flying off behind him, he chucked another fireball at his would-be attacker.


    He cursed as he spotted the groups with shamans. Each one was protected by either a water or earthen shield, and they seemed to be the only goblins that weren''t in a full-on riot at this point.


    According to Tom, the Goblins relied on their leaders [Skills] to maintain their armies'' discipline. They didn''t know how to work together without them. Skippy''s attack had cut off the goblins from the [Sanguine Monarch]. At this point, only goblins with a [Party Leader] skill could maintain any order at all, and only those goblins were directly in their party. Hence, they were the only ones capable of launching an organized counterattack. Which meant they would be his first targets for stage 2.


    "Duncan, bring up the ballista!!" Adams ordered


    "They''re called Scorpions," Duncan corrected him despite pushing the scorpions closer.


    Duncan, a very reluctant Isaac, and ten other artillerymen pulled up a dozen Ballista. Each bolt was equipped with some kind of magically explosive tip. Adam didn''t understand it, and he didn''t need to.


    "Focus fire on the shielded groups," Adams ordered.


    Duncan, Issac, and the other craftsmen opened fire with the scorpions. The massive bolts punched right through the trolls and shields with ease. Then, the bolt tips exploded with enough force to knock down a one-story building.


    Trolls, Shamans, and Goblins were blown apart. The shamans who had been resisting their barrage were immediately overwhelmed. The massive explosions were too much for their shields to handle, and once the shields were gone, the riflemen picked off any of the survivors while the mages concentrated their attacks on the trolls.


    The goblin army had utterly devolved. Now, the goblins were bunching together, screaming and yelling as they threw spears at them and trampled over each other. Major Adams realized that what he was facing now wasn''t an army but a literal riot.


    "Chester Tear Gas!!!" Adams called out, flinging the canister towards the goblins.


    Other people who had tear gas canisters also tossed them deep into the goblin horde. Immediately, the goblins started rolling on the ground, screaming out in pain as their eyes watered. Magic bombs rained down on the goblins in droves as the riflemen and scorpion operators continued to focus on any enemy that looked important.


    The battlefield below was utter chaos. The goblins attacked each other as much as they attacked his own forces. As even more goblins tried to force their way towards them. It was an endless mob of little green monsters screaming for human blood.


    "Fuck, You know, with all these civilians around, I wasn''t sure if we should make the fertilizer bombs. Now I wish we made more," Thorn called up to him.


    "I''m hoping we won''t need them, but if it gets any worse, we might have to," Adams admitted.


    He had honestly considered it an unnecessary risk to have so many explosives with so many civilians around. He was immensely glad he had made them regardless. The goblin horde seemed endless. Even with the entire horde disoriented from tear gas and getting slaughtered by gunfire, they kept pouring out of the university like an endless tide.


    Then, it got worse as the dead goblins began to rise.


    Adams took a moment to look up at the blood bat. He could see Tom flying around the creature like some reenactment of King Kong. But he couldn''t see anyone else. That couldn''t be good. An army of zombie goblins began to rise up from the ground. Their dead eyes glowing red, then they launched themselves forwards at the people on the walls, at the other goblins. Everyone and everything that was alive and in reach lashed out with tooth and nail.


    To Adams'' horror, he realized that the zombies were unaffected by the tear gas, and they slammed into the defenders with no regard for their lives.


    "Casey, Time for the bombs!" Adams ordered over the radio.


    Casey and a few others tossed the bombs over the roofs and into the zombie hordes. Nails and other shrapnel were sent flying with each detonation as the ground quickly turned into a sea of black-red blood.


    The living corpses were blown apart but any goblin that died rose up again as a zombie.


    "God dammit, now I wish we had more explosives," Adams muttered to himself.


    But before Adams could do anything else, a scream in the intersection where they had the shield wall grabbed his attention. Adams rushed to the edge of the wall and quickly looked over it. The tear gas had whipped the goblins into a frenzy, and they crashed against Chester''s riot shields. The shield wall buckled, breaking open at points as the undead goblins pushed through it.


    "They''re breaking through!!!" Chester called out as he stabbed the goblins as they tried to escape.


    Zombie Goblins started forcing their way through the shield wall like rabid weasels. They did whatever they could to attack the people on the line, even if they injured themselves.


    "Casey, fire the Water Cannon," Adams ordered over his radio.


    "I need a minute." Casey''s voice crackled over the radio.


    "We don''t have a minute!!" Adams called back as he raced to the side of the roof.


    The undead goblins were already forcing their way through. In another minute, they would be overrun.


    "Everyone out of the way!!!" Penny''s voice echoed into their ears as a demon popped into existence.


    The demon was massive, almost seven feet tall, with red skin and black spikes of bone sticking out of its skin. Grabbing two of the spikes, the demon ripped them out of its body, unsheathing two blades of black bone from its body, which immediately started to glow red hot.


    The Demon charged into the undead horde as Chester''s men broke, and it slammed into the undead horde, hacking and slashing at the undead as the humans retreated from the carnage.


    "Get back, get back." Chester waved people back as the demon single-handedly fought back the horde of undead.


    The demon twirled through the goblin horde like a whirlwind of death, a blazing tempest of destruction. Its twin bone blades sliced through the air with blistering speed, each arc leaving fiery cinders. Goblins, both living and reanimated, fell before its onslaught, their bodies cleaved apart in sprays of blood and ash. The demon¡¯s movements were somehow both graceful and savage, a macabre dance that blurred the line between art and slaughter. Every step, every whirl, sent severed limbs and molten gore flying, the air thick with the scent of burning flesh and sulphur as the horde crumbled around the unrelenting fiend. The undead were quickly beaten back, and soon, only the living goblins were left.


    But despite its power and grace, the demon was still losing. For every ten goblins it killed, it was stabbed, bitten, or slashed by a claw. It wasn''t much, but it was adding up, and Adams could see that it was adding up quickly. The demon was already slowing down as its body became a bloody mess.


    "Casey, how long until we get those hoses!!" Adams demanded as he tossed a fireball into the horde, hoping to slow it down.


    "I got it!!!" Casey called out


    The fire hoses burst to life, crashing directly into the goblins'' ranks and pushing them back. The jets of water crashed against the goblins with a thunderous roar. The goblins scrambled like a pack of wet cats as the force of the water knocked them off balance, sending them sprawling to the ground. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The demon leapt into the goblin horde, no longer attempting to hold the green buggers back; instead, the demon was just going on a killing spree as it sprinted through the horde. Disturbingly, the demon was actually doing better now that it wasn''t holding the line.


    "Keep the pressure up! We need to create a buffer zone so we can pick up any corpses and stash them in our inventory!!!" Adams ordered as the jets of water pushed back the horde.


    The firefighters adjusted their aim, strategically directing the torrents of ice-cold water to push back the goblins. Now drenched, cold and disoriented, the goblins struggled to regroup as the relentless onslaught of water pushed them back towards the flaming remains of the university.


    The goblins were already shivering from the combination of the frozen air and the water cannons, and the tear gas disoriented them even further.


    Chester led people to collect the corpses into their [Storage] and retrieve the people who had been hurt. Chester''s aura skills washed over the injured, and started healing them.


    Chester picked up one of the injured as he moved around, collecting the bodies into his inventory as they hid under the jets of water. In a few minutes, they had collected all of the dead they could find.


    "Chester, Thorn, Duncan. We need to withdraw," Adams ordered. "Collect the dead and pack them up."


    "What?" Duncan asked, confused as Adams pulled him from the Scorpion.


    "But we''re winning." Duncan protested.


    "We''ve lost the shield wall. In four minutes, those trucks are going to run out of water, and then we''ll be overrun. We need to collect our dead and retreat before that happens," Adams stated in a tone that brooked no argument.


    Duncan nodded, and slowly, too slowly, they started to pull out. The riflemen, mages, and artillerymen moved off the wall.


    The two mage cores went first, as they could continue to use plunging fire to launch magical explosives over the buildings and into the goblin-filled streets. The mages took the longest to pull back, as they were primarily high school and college kids, and most of them still thought of all of this as some great game instead of a life-or-death battle.


    Not that he could blame them. Between the monsters, the system skills that blocked pain, the Ego stat that increased their general pain tolerance, the magic healing, and Tom bringing everyone back from the dead, this fight was closer to a video game than real life.


    He shook his head. This was real life now. He needed to remember that.


    As the artillerymen ran out of explosive tips, which didn''t take long due to their limited supply of explosive bolts, Adams ordered them to leave the scorpions behind, prioritizing the safety of the operators over the nearly broken machines.


    Finally, the riflemen pulled out. They took the least amount of time as most of them were ex-military, and the ones that weren''t were all RCMP. The moment Adams told them it was time to move, they cocked their fire and pulled out.


    "One minute of water left!!" Casey called out.


    They moved their way back to the reserve unit. Eve, Chester, and the rest of the paramedics were already loading up the injured person into the ambulance, even as they tried to treat them. Between Chesters Aura''s healing and Eve''s more targeted healing, they only really need to worry about people with broken bones and the dead bodies they had to stash in there [Storage].


    Adams and Chester ran back up to Firetruck #8, getting inside with Casey, Penny and Thorn. Some form of blood magic had struck the other two fire trucks, which were smouldering wrecks. The bodies inside had been stored away for Tom. Everyone else was already gone at this point.


    "Alright, everyone in the vehicles is driving away. It''s time to pull back," Adams ordered over the radio.


    "Great, we''re just about to run out of ---" Casey''s was cut off at the same time the water was cut off.


    "Water," Casey groaned.


    The chaotic mass of goblins surged forward. Adam felt his heart drop into his stomach as his hand gripped his rifle with a death grip. Penny threw a blast of wind magic at the horde as Casey reacted.


    "Shit," Casey said as she slammed her foot on the gas. The firetruck sped backwards, the wheels screeching as Casey floored it.


    The firetruck roared to life, its sirens blaring as it flew backwards. Adams was jerked forward as Casey spun the firetruck around like a sports car. Its massive frame drifted a hundred and eighty degrees as it slid down the road until it faced the proper direction. At this point, the truck stopped spinning with a jerk and sped after the retreating vehicles.


    "Holy shit!!" Penny swore. "I didn''t know you could do that."


    "I can''t. I got the [Racer] skill. [Impossible Maneuvering] lets me cheat physics," Casey cheered as the firetruck sped off like a race car instead of an oversized tub.


    "Des just died," Penny warned as she fired off another spell at the goblins.


    The goblins struggled to keep up, taken aback by the sudden burst of speed. Only the orcs, mounted on giant wolves, managed to keep up. The riders were quickly getting closer, close enough for Adams to start taking potshots at them.


    "Come on, slow pokes!" Casey shouted as he weaved into one of the orc riders. The firetruck knocked the rider off his mount before running him over.


    Adams felt the bump as they ran the orc over.


    "You''re enjoying this too much." Adams pointed out.


    "I''m not arguing; I''m having too much fun," Casey said as she applied the brakes, causing one of the orcs riding directly behind them to rear-end them hard enough that Adams swore he could hear bones breaking.


    "Go left," Adams ordered.


    "Sure," Casey said, spinning the wheel, even as he said it was drifting into the left lane.


    "I still have no idea how you''re doing that," Adams said, as he was pretty sure that maneuver would have resulted in the fire truck flipping over.


    "Magic," Casey said cheekily. "Sir, Why am I going in the wrong direction?"


    "There''s too many of them following at the moment. We''ll lose them first before we head to the fallback point," Major Adams said as he used [Stasis] against one of the wargs. The oversized wolf froze mid-stride, falling to the ground like a statue, completely unharmed, its rider not so much.


    Penny seemed to strum an imaginary guitar, and one of the wargs leaped away from the firetruck, bleeding from its ears.


    "What''s everyone''s skill effects?" Adam asked. "We need anything to help us lose these assholes."


    "All I have is my level 20 [Arbiter of the Cycle]; it has one stamina booster, and everything else is a passive buff or debuff," Chester said.


    "15 levels in [Sharpshooter] and 8 in [Detective]. I shoot people," Thorn stated as she blew the head off of an orc.


    "[Bard], [Warlock], and ¡­ [Rouge]," Penny added as she blew out another wargs eardrums.


    "Level 11 [Racer] and Level 9 [Mechanic], My''n just do car stuff," Casey said happily as she knocked over some garbage cans.


    It occurred to Adams that they might need to consider their builds more carefully, as he quickly realized that none of them had any offensive skills¡ªexcept for Thorn, whose skills were based on her guns, and Penny, who wasn''t actually a part of his team.


    Casey was quickly forced to start weaving through abounding cars on the streets and, at times, driving on the sidewalk. Penny summoned her demon again. It was a lot weaker this time. But it served as a distraction as they put some distance between themselves and their pursuers.


    Penny, Thorn and Adams kept picking off the orcs as they drove through Newton. Adams and Throne just picked off the orcs one at a time as they lured them away from the group. When they got down to just three orcs, they broke off, turning and racing through the backyards.


    Casey stopped as they realized they had driven all the way up to the Fraser River.


    Adams fell back into his chair, he felt exhausted.


    "Holy shit, that was amazing," Penny muttered.


    "Casey, head back to the fallback point," Adams said as he collapsed back into his seat just as the notifications started coming in.


    <[Bound Weapon] has reached level 17>


    <[Bound Weapon] has reached level 18>


    <[Hazmat] has reached level 21>


    <[Hazmat] has reached level 22>


    <...>


    <[Hazmat] has reached level 26>


    <[Snake Eyes] has reached level 26>


    <[Snake Eyes] has reached level 27>


    <...>


    <[Snake Eyes] has reached level 30>


    <[All-Seeing Eye] has reached level 16>


    <[All-Seeing Eye] has reached level 17>


    <...>


    <[All-Seeing Eye] has reached level 19>


    <[Fancy Feet] has reached level 21>


    <[Fancy Feet] has reached level 22>


    <...>


    <[Fancy Feet] has reached level 24>


    <[Stasis] has reached level 9>


    <[Stasis] has reached level 10>


    <[Military Leader] has reached level 14>


    <[Military Leader] has reached level 15>


    <...>


    <[Military Leader] has reached level 30>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    "I hope Tom can manage without us," Adams muttered, adding two more levels to his [Rescue Ranger] Class.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Bailey Adams


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Human


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 22


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: British


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 36


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1980


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 2860


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 880


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 24.2 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 33.0 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 13.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Major, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Physical 15%, Elemental 15%, Vitality 15%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    None


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Rescue Ranger 21, Major 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 145


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 154


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 121


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 44


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 96


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 44


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 132 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 110


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 154


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 110 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 44


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 44


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 88


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 66


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 88 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 44


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 AGIL, +3 DEX, +3 PER, +2 CON, +2 CHA


    Racial: +3 CON, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +1 EGO


    Skills: +2 STR


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Endless Brawler] - Level 20 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storyteller] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    Rescue Ranger 10/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Bound Weapon] - Level 20 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Hazmat] - Level 26 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Snake Eyes] - Level 30 </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[All-Seeing Eye] - Level 20 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Fancy Feet] - Level 27 </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Legendary Agility] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Stasis] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordination ¢ô] - Level 14 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Accelerated Thoughtspeed] - Level 16 >> Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Time Leap] - Level N/A</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Moment of Immortality] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    Major 01/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Military Leader] - Level 15 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 101: Alex vs Necromancer

    Alex swore under her breath as Seraphel vanished from her sight. Stupid movement skills. The falling ash wasn''t helping her vision.


    ¡°Did you see where he went?!¡± Ignis barked, his eyes spitting fire as he scanned the area.


    ¡°No!¡± Alex snapped, irritability.


    ¡°Burn the buildings down! Flush him out!¡± she ordered as she blasted apart any of the nearby buildings.


    Without hesitation, Ignis unleashed a torrent of flames, setting everything ablaze as he smiled. The deafening screams of the goblins and the scorching heat created a firestorm of destruction as they searched for the [Ice Mage].


    "Really earning that pyromaniac title," Alex quipped as she blasted flames all around her.


    She checked her mana regeneration. She was at sixty percent of her mana pool at this point, thanks to [Solar Metabolism]. But she was running out of mana quickly. She needed to end this fight sooner rather than later. The cacophony of battle and the heavy smoke restricted her senses so much that she didn''t notice the trap until it snapped around her.


    Alex swore as the familiar sensation of a [Arena] skill wrapped around her. The world around her changed as the university was replaced by a massive graveyard with endless fields of tombstones.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have been trapped in the [Necropolis] by the Goblin Necromancer Baztine


    [Necropolis] - Ancient: A vast field of tombstones, each one representing a warrior who fell in battle within this space. This is the Necropolis, each tombstone ready to birth an undead one containing the power and knowledge of a specific foe to help grow their number.


    Upon activation of this ability, both the user and one target will be transported to another plane size equal to 1 meter per skill level (current radius 57 meters). Skill remains active for 1 minute per skill level. Time remaining 57 minutes.


    Each Tombstone can birth the undead of the creature who created it. If this undead is destroyed, then the tombstone will disappear, and you will no longer be able to summon that particular undead. Warning: any undead used will be unavailable for the next 168 hours.


    When an enemy dies within this Skill, a new tombstone will appear.


    The Skill ends if one combatant dies; it hits its time limit or is deactivated by the user.


    Cooldown 24 hours


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The worst thing, though, was the overcast clouds. Alex could immediately feel her Solar metabolism skill shut off as she no longer had easy access to sunlight. Worse, the tombstones started to burst open as the dead rose.


    She spied goblinoids, humanoids, and undead beasts, all rising from their graves as they turned to face her.


    "[Multi-Cast: Magma Bomb]" Alex activated her skills, launching dozens of balls of magma down into the rising horde of undead. The magma splattered, killing dozens of undead, but more importantly, the magma sat there, turning the ground into a burning trap.


    The undead roared in outrage as they shuffled toward her. Alex huffed in annoyance. She just needed to kill the necromancer, and then she could get back to the fight.


    The undead surged forward, a cacophony of rotting limbs and guttural growls. Alex tightened her grip on her broom, the heat from her [Magma Bombs] already radiating up towards her. The horde advanced without hesitation, shambling over molten earth, their bodies igniting as they pressed on.


    "Morons" Alex snorted as they burned.


    She thrust her hand into her inventory, pulling out two mana potions and throwing them back like shot glasses as the undead burned from the magma.


    "And for my next trick," Alex threw her hand up into the air as she activated a summoning spell.


    A trio of flaming, winged snakes popped into existence above her head. They glowed like mini suns bathing their surroundings in light and warmth. The sun serpents hovered over her head, firing off tiny bolts of solar magic at the undead. Their attack did little, but the passive skill they all had supercharged her mana regeneration.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are within a sun serpent''s [Rising Sun] skill


    [Rising Sun] - Historic: Your presence becomes a source of warmth and light with the power of the rising sun. All allies in your presence gain the buffs [Warm], [Bright Eyed] [Courage] and will be healed 30 hp per minute. All enemies in your presence will suffer [Burn] and [Blindness]


    Presence is equal to 1 meter per point of the user EGO stat +30%


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Alex immediately felt [Solar Metabolism] kick in again as her mana started to climb rapidly.


    She pulled another mana potion and chugged it down.


    "[Multi-cast: Summon Fire Elemental]," Alex chanted, calling three creatures of pure fire into existence. Each fire elemental looked different; one looked like a wolf, the second a fish and the third was some kind of insect. But all of them were made of pure fire mana, and their shape was little more flavour text. The fire elementals launched themselves into the undead, burning the undead alive as they roamed through the growing horde of zombies.


    Alex didn''t stop there as she kept dropping magma bombs to expand her perimeter. A ring of fire expanded outward in a wave of scorching heat. It incinerated the closest undead, their bodies collapsing into piles of ash, but the rest kept coming, undeterred by the literal wall of fire rolling over them.


    From the corner of her eye, she saw movement¡ªa hulking undead minotaur tearing free from a tombstone, its massive axe dragging against the ground with an ear-splitting scrape. It charged, its empty eye sockets locked on her.


    "Of course, there¡¯s a mini-boss," Alex growled.


    Raising her free hand, four fireballs shot forward, slamming into the minotaur''s chest. It staggered but didn¡¯t fall. Instead, it activated a skill and [charged] forwards its axe, threatening to take her head. Before it could close the gap, Alex pivoted on her broom, dodging the axe as it slammed into the dirt, burying itself in the ground.


    Alex activated her next spell, ''Flame Pillar.'' The spell caused a column of fire to erupt beneath the creature, smashing into the undead like a flaming uppercut. The undead minotaur was launched upwards like a fiery comet.


    She had no time to celebrate. More tombstones cracked open, revealing a fresh wave of foes. Undead Goblinoid archers raised spectral bows, their arrows already alight with dark energy. She flew behind a crumbling mausoleum as the first volley whistled past her, the projectiles exploding on impact and sending shards of stone flying.


    The undead archers didn''t get to shoot off a second volley before the insectoid flame elemental was on top of them. The flame elemental tried to mimic the motions of a beatle using claws and pincers to kill the undead. But all it really did was burn them. But that was enough. She kept dropping magma bombs at any undead she saw. The area was starting to look less like a graveyard and more like a volcano.


    Where the hell was the necromancer? He had to be in here somewhere. Alex cursed under her breath as the flying undead started to take to the air. Undead goblins riding on undead pterodactyls rose up into the air. Alex cursed again as she threw up a larger shield, as the undead peppered her position with spells. Alex shot up into the air, her sun serpents wrapped around her body as she launched chain-lighting spells at the pterodactyls. Lighting wasn''t as nearly as effective as fire, but it would knock the flyers out of the sky, and the landing would take care of the rest of the work.


    Arrows shot up through the air, unerringly aimed to take her head. Alex activated [Ephemeral Form], turning herself and her sun serpents intangible as the arrows whizzed through her body. Then, the pterodactyl riders launched a wave of spells at her. Alex ducked and weaved under the spells. While [Ephemeral Form] made her immune to physical damage, it didn''t do anything against magical attacks.


    Alex''s world started devolving into ducking, dodging and rolling through the air on her broom as spells and arrows shot past her. Alex fired back with magma bombs. It was a lot harder to hit the flyers, but each magma bomb helped turn the ground into a volcano. She was so busy ducking and dodging between arrows and spells that she nearly missed the giant rock that an undead troll threw at her. Alex had to phase through the boulder, but as she slid through the other side, she was immediately blasted by a [Sacrificial Strike].


    Her [Ephemeral Form] provided her with no protection as the blast of vital energy knocked her out of the sky and sent her spiralling to the ground. Her [Arcane Shield] took the brunt of the damage as she crashed into the ground. Two of her sun serpents died on impact, leaving her with just one snake to regenerate her mana.


    Alex rolled over as a shadow moved at the edge of her vision. Alex whirled, her hands glowing with a magic shield. The necromancer lept at her, bringing his bone scythe down onto her head. The scythe bounced off the shield, and Alex shot a wind blast to send the goblin tumbling backwards. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    The goblin necromancer was cloaked in robes stitched together from the skins of his victims, their gaunt faces twisted in triumphant sneers. The necromancer''s voice echoed across the battlefield, carrying with it a chilling command.


    "To me! To me!!!" the goblin screamed as a wave of necrotic energy rippled outward. The remaining tombstones shattered as the necromancer gave up any attempt at restraint as he unleashed a flood of undead monstrosities¡ªtwisted amalgamations of bone and sinew that moved with unnatural speed. One of the undead cast a spell at her, and a wall of spectral chains erupted from the ground, aiming to lock her down.


    "Trump card time," Alex huffed.


    She activated [Mana Supersession]. Her body surged with raw energy, and she shattered the chains with a burst of raw arcane force. No spells, just pure [Mana Manipulation].


    One of the undead slammed its mace into her head, the weapon bouncing off of her [Arcane Shell]. Alex cursed as she felt just how much mana that one attack had drained from her shell. If she didn''t win before [Mana Supersession] ran out, she would be dead.


    Alex raised up her fingers like pistols as she rapidly fired every magma and lava spell she knew. Each spell blasted apart tombstones and undead alike. Even the stones started to melt as the ambient temperature kept rising.


    The undead were putting up a better fight this time. They activated skills and tried to get closer to her, but she just blasted them with a stream of molten stone as she leaped away. Out of their reach, a massive undead hydra lumbered towards her. She leaped up onto the tombstone and jumped off of it onto a mausoleum.


    "Stupid broken broom," she cursed. "I can''t even fly without it. And I can''t grab a new one from my inventory. Waste of a skill."


    Alex launched a dozen massive magma bombs backed by [Multi-cast] and [Charged AttackI(Magical)]. The bombs exploded, taking the undead hydra to pieces. The pocket dimension was getting hot. Hot enough that she was covered in sweat as the pocket dimension had been transformed into an oven.


    "Dammit, where is the stupid necromancer?!" Alex hissed as she looked back and forth.


    But the necromancer had disappeared. Hiding behind the undead as his pocket dimension turned into a volcano.


    "Fine then. If you won''t come to me. I''ll come to you! [Multi-Cast: [Charged Attack: [Meta-Magic: Maximize Magic: Eruption]]]" Alex activated her skills.


    The world around her exploded, and the ground turned to lava. The temperature jumped from painfully hot to scorching.


    The undead faltered, their rotting flesh igniting in the superheated air before they even touched the bubbling magma. Those closest to the epicentre disintegrated instantly, their forms reduced to ash in the blink of an eye. Further out, skeletons and other bone-based constructs fared slightly better, their bodies glowing red-hot as cracks formed and widened with each passing moment.


    The molten earth consumed them with agonizing slowness, their struggles futile against the all-consuming heat. Shambling goblinoids melted into unrecognizable masses of charcoal. Even the more durable undead¡ªhulking ogres and monstrous amalgamations¡ªfound their endurance no match for the searing embrace of molten rock. Limbs sloughed off, torsos caved in, and weapons fused to the remains of their wielders.


    But the devastation didn¡¯t come without a price.


    Alex gritted her teeth as the radiant heat from her own spell surged past the tolerances of her [Arcane Shell]. Sweat evaporated instantly, leaving her skin dry and cracked, the intense heat leeching the moisture from her body. Red welts and burns began to form, spreading up her arms and face where her defences faltered. Her HP drained steadily.


    The shimmering barrier of her [Arcane Shell] thickened, glowing faintly as she pumped mana into it in the hopes of absorbing the brunt of the oppressive heat, but not enough to keep her entirely safe. It wasn''t designed for elemental damage. Her last Sunserpent was burned away in the intense heat.


    The magma boiled, sending waves of blistering air up to meet her. Alex¡¯s hands trembled, her skin reddening further, and her endurance pushed to its limits.


    "Come on, come on, upgrade already!" Alex muttered, her voice a strained whisper as she poured more and more mana into reinforcing her [Arcane Shell].


    Finally, after what felt like a small eternity in hell, she got the notification she had been waiting for.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations!!!


    You have Upgraded a Skill!!!


    [Arcane Shell] - Common ¡ú [Mystic Shell] - Uncommon


    [Mystic Shell]: This skill enhances the foundational power of [Arcane Shell], creating a personal magical shield that protects against physical, magical, and elemental damage. The shield''s durability is determined by the mana infused into it, and it absorbs incoming attacks until its energy depletes.


    Note: Thanks to [Persistence Casting] You may continue to add mana into the shell even after your initial investment.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Alex let out a sigh of relief as the heat that had been killing her disappeared. Her new [Mystic Shell] protected her from temperature changes as she transformed the [Necropolis] into a boiling pot. She didn''t need to find the [Necromancer] anymore as everything in the pocket dimension burned.


    "Ugh. my Mana Debt is going to be insane." Alex groaned as the lava consumed the pocket dimension.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have killed Goblin Necromancer Baztine, one of the five commanders of the goblin horde. You will receive an additional XP for your actions.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As the world around her dissolved, Alex felt the familiar pull of reality reasserting itself. She landed back in the charred remains of the university courtyard, the sounds of battle and flames filling the air once more for about five seconds before all of the lava that came with her spilled out into the university.


    She was fortunate that none of their allies were in range of the lava as it flowed out from her position. The nearby buildings burst into flames as the lava shattered the glass and flowed into the first floor of the buildings. Nearby goblins, orcs and trolls were swallowed up by the magma as they died screaming.


    At the same time, Alex was dancing atop of the lava flow. While her [Mystic Shell] stopped the heat from burning her, it didn''t stop her from slowly sinking into the lava, so she had to keep moving.


    Pulling a new broom from her inventory, she rose back up into the air. She had already decided she wasn''t going to keep her [Witch] class. Too much work. She shook her head as she flew upwards. She needed to focus on getting back into the fight.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Alexandra Ling


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Solalfar


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid / Unlife


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 21


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: Sun Elf


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 840


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1470


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 2760


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 12.6 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 20.6 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 29.1 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mind


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    Vitality


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer, Corpseslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Wizard 20, Witch 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 138


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 207


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 105


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 126


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 42


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 126 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 189 +10%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 84


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 105


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 126


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 42


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 INT +4 WILL +3 EGO +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 CHA


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Spector] - Epic: This bloodline endows its bearer with an ethereal connection to the spirit world, blending the boundary between life and death. Those who possess this bloodline gain ghostly abilities, allowing them to move unseen and untouched through the physical realm.


    <ul>


    <li>[Haunting Presence] - Level 21 >> Level 25</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Ethereal Form] - Level 11 >> Level 14</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Invisibility] - Level 19 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Steal Life] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Undying Focus] - Level 25 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 2


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Solar Metabolism] - Level 30 >> Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Stable Chanting] - Level 23 >> Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Storage] - Level 17 >> Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mapping] - Level 15 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana Supersession (System)] - Level 20 >> Level 23</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Flyte] - Level 1 >> Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    Wizard 11/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Arcane Awakening] - Level 30 >> Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mystic Shell] - Level 26 >> Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Charged Attack ¢ñ] - Level 15 >> Level 17</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Multi-Cast ¢ñ] - Level 15 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Synchronized Chanting] - Level 24 </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Grimior] - Level 39 >> Level 40</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana Sight] - Level 24 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana Manipulation] - Level 19 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Arcane Insight] - Level 4 >> Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Persistent Casting] - Level 3 </li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Meta-Magic] - Level 1 >> Level 9</li>


    </ul>


    Witch 01/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Flying Broomstick] - Level 1 >> Level 8</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 102: Song of War

    Chapter 102: Song of War


    Tom summoned his paper wings and quickly leapt into the air, a haste spell speeding him along, just as Shana-gul blasted him with another [Strike of Desolation]. Tom felt goosebumps erupt on his skin as the chill of winter touched it. He quickly reapplied his paper armour to keep him warm.


    However, compared to the hundred-foot-tall bat, it seemed insufficient. Shana-gul unleashed a wave of blood spears down onto his head, forcing Tom to summon up an earthen shield an instant before a dozen spears of blood hammered into him.


    Tom dropped the shield the moment he was free from the attack. He would have preferred a water shield; it was cheaper, but it wouldn''t have protected him. That''s when another thought occurred to him: They might have just lost this fight.


    Without Abaddon to hold the line, he needed to come up with a plan b and quickly. Tom used [Thirst for Knowldge] Shana-gul.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Shana-gul


    Title: Lord of Spilled Blood


    Level: 17 (60)


    HP: 14688 / 18000


    Classes: Sanguine Monarch 30 / Master Saunginemancer 30


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The blood bat itself was severely damaged from Abaddon''s attacks. Tom could tell it was already shrinking slowly as the blood mana leaked from it. So he just needed to devise a way to kill a raid boss single-handedly. It was kind of ironic that besides Duncan, every other member of the original Awoken Myths guild would have been better at this than him. Unfortunately, Abaddon was down, Travis was off with Luke, Skippy was somewhere, and Alex had apparently disappeared without telling him. He really needed to put more points into [Coordination].


    The blood bat lunged down one of its wings crashing into Tom''s previous position as Tom dived out of the way, skimming along the flames below them as he desperately avoided the attack. He was actually getting a little annoyed at this situation. Skippy, Abaddon, Alex, and even Travis. All of them could turn the tide of battle at the snap of their fingers. But what could he do? He had become the bloody healer. He was the bloody guild leader. He had needed to sacrifice his build for the guild since before the system apocalypse had even begun. And now, somehow, he was the only one left against this monstrosity with not a single offensive skill to his status screen.


    But you know what? That was fine. Maybe it was time to remind the world of who he was. He had been Lance, the Sovereign of the Underworld. He had led fights against Superbosses, world bosses, hell, even the damned Whisper in the Sand. A jumped-up [Blood Mage] should be small potatoes to him.


    "Bull Strength, Feline Grace, Indomitability, Conjure Complex Minds, Sensor Boost, Draconic Power, Magic Ward: Blood, Haste, Hyper Focus'''' Tom chanted.


    Tom felt his mind split as two more stains of thought appeared within it. Tom set two of his minds to pull out scrolls of fireball, turning them into paper airplanes, creating them two at a time, and then having them folded into his wings, trailing behind him. Six planes were already trailing behind him as he leapt out of the way of a blood whip from Shana-gul.


    Tom felt all of his remaining attention focused on Shana-gul. He just needed to stay alive long enough to conjure enough planes to finish the boss or until he came up with a better idea. Shana-gul clearly had no intention of giving him the time. The blood bat''s wings transformed into tentacle whips made out of blood lashed out towards him.


    Tom shot to the side as a blood whip tried to bisect him.


    Despite his average agility, his wings worked on magic, not aerodynamics. He pushed every point of mana he had despite the pain throughout his body to keep going. His mind felt like it was running on a knife''s edge as he had to anticipate and throw himself out of the way of every attack he saw.


    Only when he dove to avoid one attack did he see the trap. Shana-gul had herded him with his previous attack, forcing him to dodge directly into Shana-gul''s current attack.


    He did a barrel roll in the split second before he slammed into the blood whip. He avoided a direct hit but clipped the attack, sending him spiralling through the air. His paper armour took most of the damage, but it left him with a broken arm and a couple of broken ribs as he managed to pull himself out of the dive.


    "Ignore it! Ignore it! ignore it!" Tom chanted himself as he fired off another Greater Mend spell.


    He felt a migraine forming on top of all of the other aches and pains his body was going through as he pushed himself to see every little thing in the smoke-filled air, weaving and dodging to get out of the way, taking the hits he couldn¡¯t avoid but doing his best to ensure they weren''t crippling and didn''t smash him into a solid surface.


    Eventually, dodging became less of a conscious effort. Tom started to anticipate properly as he got a feel for how shana-gul attacked; his body moved before he realized he needed to, with the priority always being protecting his wings. If he couldn¡¯t fly, he couldn¡¯t dodge; if he couldn''t dodge, he was dead.


    All the while, his other two minds kept working. First, he had six paper airplane kamikazes, then twelve, twenty-four, forty-eight, and ninety-six. Every time he finished one, he stashed it back into his inventory for later.


    The Blood constructs being fired at him had changed from whips to small spikes of blood. Thankfully, nothing could get through the armour, but the blood spikes were destroying three to five pieces of paper each. It turned out he couldn''t manipulate blood-soaked paper very easily or cheaply. He was having to dump the blood-soaked paper and replace it with a new sheet. Burning through his supply of paper so quickly, he started using mana shields to try and protect his armour from the blood.


    He couldn¡¯t even call it a misstep. It was a trade-off to keep his supply of paper from running out before he could strike.


    It seemed like the Shana-gul had decided to kill him then and there. At least, that was the only way he could interpret it as every single blood spike froze, mid-air turned and shot straight towards him.


    Time seemed to slow down as Tom reacted. He immediately changed direction, shooting straight upwards into the air, and pulled all of his Kamikaze airplanes back into his inventory.


    "Water wall, Oakskin¡­" Tom activated every defensive scroll and his [Spell Trap] skill as he tried and failed to escape the storm of blood.


    They came up from below and blasted into his back, sending him tumbling upwards as they beat at his defences. The water shield was whittled down quickly, and then his armour and wings took the brunt of the attack. His body only instinctively curled up to try and avoid getting hit in any vital area as a storm of blood did its best to shred him. Tom could feel his body get all the more battered as he did, the few broken bones he had screaming at him as he was sure he also gained a few more sprains. As his world became a whirlpool of blood.


    At some point, the attack ended, but Tom was still moving, thanks to his upward momentum. He looked like a stain against the beautiful morning skyline, covered in cuts and blood, and he was shivering from the cold, or maybe he was shivering because of his battered body.


    Tom groaned as he came to the top of his arc. "Lesser Mend, clean"This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    The blood on Tom''s body was stripped off of him as the lesser mend slowly healed his body. Tom looked back down at where Shana-gul sat atop the University building. His attention had moved from Tom to Major Adam''s position.


    "Per - perfect," Tom muttered, his teeth chattering.


    Pulling paper out of his inventory, his wings and armour snapped into place, and his kamikaze planes fanned out behind him.


    "It''s a good day to die," Tom muttered through his chattering teeth as he pulled his wings in and rocketed downwards.


    Hundreds of paper kamikaze flew right behind him as he shot down towards Shana-gul. The wind whistled against his ears as he fell through the sky.


    Shana-gul charged up a [Strike of Desolation] aimed directly at his forces. Tom wanted to look towards his people, but he couldn''t. He needed to time this perfectly, and his kamikazes were right behind him as he rapidly closed the distance.


    The second before he impacted the blood bat, Tom released the Kamikaze planes, snapped out his wings and spun to the side.


    BOOOM!!!


    Tom''s savage descent threatened to rip off his wings and slam him into the ground as Shana-gul was bombarded with paper fireballs. The Kamikaze attack peppered Shana-gul with explosions. The massive blood bat was sent reeling back as its body shrunk with every explosion. The [Strike of Desolation] was sent off course, blasting apart a dozen buildings but missing his army.


    However, Tom didn''t see any of that as he was crashing. Aiming his flight, he flew straight towards a specific building, the destroyed enrollment centre. He overstuffed his armourer as he crashed into the building. Tom felt his kneecap pop as he bounced across the rubble, crashing into a smoke stack and bouncing off. He wanted to scream out in agony.


    "Ouch," Tom groaned instead.


    His body was screaming at him as he did his best impression of a bird with a broken wing. It wasn''t hard. He had a broken arm, broken ribs, a dislocated kneecap, not to mention all the injuries he had already healed up. He honestly just wanted to lie down, curl up and die. He might have even given in if his hyper-focus buff wasn''t allowing him to work through the pain. Everything hurt, and he was convinced he was going to have problems with both legs from now on. As it was, he could barely limp forwards.


    His paper wings dragged across the ground as he shuffled forward. He looked back up at Shana-gul. His attack had managed to shrink the blood bat to almost forty feet. A little less than what he started with. It wasn''t quite as much as he had hoped for. But it would have to be enough. He checked his [Storage], and while he still had plenty of paper, he was nearly out of scrolls. His mana was at 15%, and his health was around 50%. His stamina, however, was in the ten percent range, and he was [Fatigued]. Despite that, he was grinning like a madman.


    "I think this is the part where you shoot me, right.?" Tom muttered as Shana-gul turned to face him. Another [Strike of Desolation] was being charged, ready to blast him.


    Tom was only standing thanks to the paper armour literally holding him upright. Despite that, despite the fact that he had no mana, no stamina, and no paper, he was smiling.


    "Do you want to know something about me!!" Tom called out as Shana-gul attack charged up.


    "I''m a really sore loser," Tom said. With a force of will, Tom pushed all of his remaining mana into his wings, launching himself airborne just as Shana-gul fired, the [Strike of Desolation] slamming into the ruins of the enrollment centre he had been standing on.


    "Checkmate ASSHOLE!!!" Tom called out as the [Strike of Desolation] dimmed, and a notification appeared in front of him.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Party Member Abaddon has died


    Party Member Abaddon has used [Second Stage]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    BOOOM!!!


    Tom sat back and watched as the giant form of Abaddon ripped himself from the remains of the building. His body glowing with power.


    "MOTHER FUCKERS!!!" Abaddon roared like a dragon from the depths of hell.


    "You''re going get it now," Tom chuckled evilly as Abaddon [Charged].


    He slammed into Shana-gul like a freight train, knocking him off the burning building and into the dirt. Shana-gul tried to get up, but Abaddon slammed him into the dirt with a [Giga Impact].


    Thanks to that hit, the cracks on the blood bat expanded rapidly across its body, and Abaddon didn''t let up. Before, Shana-gul had held the stat advantage, but now, between the damage Tom had inflicted and Abaddon''s boosted stats, it was a slaughter. Abaddon was relentless as he kicked, punched, and bit at the construct. Every attack carried more power than the last, and the damage to the magical matrix spread.


    Tom was just enjoying the battle when Alex and Ignis flew up next to him.


    "Oi, where the hell have you been?!" Tom asked. "I had to fight this asshole solo while you guys were fapping about."


    "You''re fine," Alex cooed.


    "I have six broken ribs, a broken arm, I''m bleeding internally, a dislocated knee cap, and I sprained an ankle. If my Ego weren''t as high as it is, I wouldn''t be able to function." Tom shot back.


    "What the hell?!" Alex almost shouted as she cast a greater mend on him. "How did you get this injured?!"


    Tom moaned in ecstasy as his pain dulled into something more tolerable before he rolled his eyes at Alex.


    "I fought a raid boss solo," he said


    "I saw that. You''re not bad for a healer." Ignis jabbed at him.


    "I once held off a world boss for thirty minutes with nothing but my own undead army. Compared to that, this is an abject failure," Tom said. "Now, back on topic, where the hell did you guys go?"


    "I was trying to kill Seraphel," Alex said. "Instead, I got caught up by one of the goblin mini-bosses in a [Necropolis] skill. Had to flood the entire zone with lava."


    "I got attacked by one of the Orc tribes. Took me a while to kill them all," Ignis admitted.


    "What?!" Tom asked, stunned.


    "So do you two need any help or ¡­" Alex looked over to where Abaddon was beating Shana-gul''s blood bat to a bloody pulp. The damage to the magical matrix was extensive enough that blood was pouring out of at least a hundred places. Even if Abaddon stopped now, the blood bat would bleed out ¡­ if that was the right word.


    "I think Abaddon has it," Tom said.


    Just then, the blood bat exploded, sending Abaddon skidding backwards. A pulse of blood mana pushed outwards, summoning every ounce of blood nearby and dragging it towards Shana-gul. No longer hidden inside of the blood bat. Tom could see the goblin. He was fat, and his eyes looked like someone had replaced them with pools of blood. The bloodstone itself was about the size of a soccer ball, and it looked like it was made out of some red candies. If not for the internal red glow and sickening stench of blood wafting off the thing, Tom might have thought it was an oversized candie.


    That was when Abaddon''s [Lesser Colossus] skill timed out. Abaddon shrunk down to his standard seven-foot form, now appearing tiny before Shana-gul.


    The goblin cackled like a madman as he raised his skinny arms to the sky. All of the blood started to coalesce together into a single point, a spell larger than any before charged up.


    "Crap, we need to get out of here now," Ignis said


    "No, it''s fine," Tom said calmly.


    "What?!" Ignis asked, looking at him stunned. "That spell has enough mana to level everything in a dozen blocks!!!"


    "Watch," Tom ordered


    Shana-gul flew higher and higher as he condensed more mana and more blood until a star made out of blood hung over their heads, barely bigger than a pumpkin. Abaddon stared up at the blood sun, his tail thrashing back and forth. Then he made the gesture for Shana-gul to bring it.


    "When we die, I''m going to kill that guy and take the bloodstone," Ignis stated.


    Tom shrugged as Alex moved next to him, casting another healing spell on him as she fussed over him.


    "I think we''ll be alright," Tom said.


    Shana-gul launched the blood star directly at Abaddon like a noob. It was like the wrath of a descending god as it fell towards them. Tom could already see that not even Abaddon could survive a direct hit from that thing. But that was okay Because Abaddon didn''t take a direct hit from the blood sun. He caught it.


    "What?!" Ignis asked, completely stunned.


    ''He should have aimed at the ground,'' Tom thought to himself.


    Instead of the blood sun hitting Abaddon and exploding with enough force to destroy everything in a couple of blocks, Abaddon bumped the condensed sun of blood with his arms like a volleyball player, the concrete cracking with the force of the impact. Even as he stood there, the blood sun radiated mana, threatening to detonate and kill them all, but it didn''t.


    Even at this distance, Tom could see Abaddon smile.


    "[Not Today] sucker!!!" Abaddon roared, and he launched the blood star back to its owner.


    Shana-gul panicked as his blood sun shot back up towards him. The goblin tried to escape, but it was too late. The counter-execution skill returned the blood sun to sender. The spell slammed into the goblin and exploded with enough force to knock them to the ground and even knock a few buildings down.


    Tom and Alex were pressed into the roof of the building they had been sitting on. Ignis, who had still been flying, was slammed into the roof hard enough that Tom was sure he had broken something.


    "See, everything worked out," Tom said as the spots in his vision cleared.


    "Your [Coordination] skill sucks." Ignis shot back


    "It''s on the list," Tom said as something blood red dropped into Abaddon''s massive outstretched hand. Then the notifications appeared in front of him, and Tom felt his lips curl into a smile.

 Chapter 103: Aftermath

    DING!!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Regional Quest: Bloody Goblin Horde


    The Sanguine Monarch has been defeated, the bloodstone captured, and the portal destroyed. While your actions today might not be called a total victory due to the thousands of goblins roaming through the area and two goblin chiefs you failed to kill, you have, nevertheless, ended the threat of further goblin incursions into this part of the world.


    Objectives:


    Destroy or Capture the Bloodstone: 1/1


    Destroy or Capture the Gate: 1/1


    Bonus Objectives:


    Kill all of the Goblins: 21,467 / 98,956


    Kill the Sanguine Monarch: 1/1


    Kill Seraphel: 0/1


    Kill Goblin Shaman: 1/1


    Kill Fur-rog: 1/1


    Kill Goblin Necromancer 1/1


    Rewards:


    You have gained two extra levels. You have gained one Skill point. You gained bonus XP for your actions today, you have earned 5000 Settlement Points, and your guild has gained the Winter Event Token.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 15>


    <[Art of Water] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Art of Water] has Reached Level 18>


    <...>


    <[Art of Water] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Art of Earth] has Reached Level 17>


    <[Art of Earth] has Reached Level 18>


    <...>


    <[Art of Earth] has Reached Level 21>


    <[Misalliance Crafting] has Reached Level 7>


    <[Misalliance Crafting] has Reached Level 8>


    <...>


    <[Misalliance Crafting] has Reached Level 13>


    <[Art of Life] has Reached Level 28>


    <[Nascent Guild Leader] has Reached Level 26>


    <[Nascent Guild Leader] has Reached Level 27>


    <...>


    <[Nascent Guild Leader] has Reached Level 30>


    <[Leadership ¢ò] has Reached Level 28>


    <[Leadership ¢ò] has Reached Level 29>


    <...>


    <[Leadership ¢ò] has Reached Level 31>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 27>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 28>


    <...>


    <[Raider ¢ñ] has Reached Level 39>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has Reached Level 25>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has Reached Level 26>


    <...>


    <[Coordinate ¢ò] has Reached Level 30>


    <[Logistics ¢ó] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Logistics ¢ó] has Reached Level 23>


    <...>


    <[Logistics ¢ó] has Reached Level 30>


    <[Spell Trap] has Reached Level 5>


    <[Shape Paper] has Reached Level 14>


    <[Shape Paper] has Reached Level 15>


    <...>


    <[Shape Paper] has Reached Level 22>


    <[Paper Armour] has Reached Level 10>


    <[Paper Armour] has Reached Level 11>


    <...>


    <[Paper Armour] has Reached Level 20>


    <[Paper Wings] has Reached Level 8>


    <[Paper Wings] has Reached Level 9>


    <...>


    <[Paper Wings] has Reached Level 20>


    <Awoken Myths Members may now participate in the special Winter Event starting December 24>


    Fighting entire armies was profitable. Tom immediately assigned his new levels and stat points. He might need them.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You are now a Level 10 [Exorcist]


    You have purchased the [Exorcist] Capstone skill [Divine Protection]


    You have upgraded [Tactiction] skill [Coordination 2] ¡ú [Coordination ¢ô] using two skill point


    [Divine Protection] - Historic: The gods protect their followers. Ironic that you have yet to pick a Patron god, and this skill is not dependent on any of them. Instead, you have a 1% chance per level to ignore any debuff or affliction used against you. This skill cannot be negated or bypassed by any method other than soul damage. +10% to SPIRIT


    [Coordination ¢ô] - Epic:


    Effect 1: [Warmap]: Your party constantly adds to your understanding of the battlefield, allowing you to see their locations in real-time as they clear the fog of war. Increase the amount of information party members feed to you by 5% per skill level.


    Effect 2: [Master Cartographer]: You can share your map information with others, allowing your party to rapidly share information on the topography. In fact, you are so good at sharing information that you can now teach others the [Mapping] skill. Increase map detail by 5% per skill level.


    [Coordination ¢ô] level has been reduced to 15


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Tom smiled as he felt the new effects of [Coordination ¢ô]. He could probably afford another upgrade of it later. [Divine Protection] was mostly useless for him now. Hell, it would still be mostly useless later on. But when he finally acquired the capstone skill for [Tactician], it would become one of his most critical skills.


    Tom took back to the air and did a quick scan with his map. Every living party member was already retreating. The only people still here were Alex, Abaddon, Ignis, Starkiller and Skippy.


    Tom noticed Ignis out of the corner of his eye. Should he try and kill him now? The [Apocalypse Force] was not an ally. They weren''t even a rival guild. From everything Tom had seen, it looked more like a dark guild bent on dominating the region and generally being assholes about the whole thing. Whatever Ignis'' true reasons for being here without the rest of his guild? Tom doubted it was out of altruism. Mutual defence, quest rewards and even internal politics made more sense.


    It brought him to the following question: Could he kill Ignis? Probably not. Between Ignis''s unused [Escape] skill and his unused [Immortality] skill, Tom doubted they could kill him before he escaped unless the pyromancer was a complete idiot. Further, Ignis didn''t appear to be gearing up to attack them.


    No, it was much better to improve his reputation than try and fail to swat an enemy.


    Starkiller and Skippy leapt onto the roof of a building that was only partly burning.


    "Alright," Tom called out. "It''s time to move out. We''re heading back to the fallback point. Except for Skippy, I need you to stay behind and grab any corpses we''ve left behind."


    "Oh, come on!" Skippy groaned. "I''ve been out here since yesterday."


    "Yeah, and right now, morale is mostly held together by the fact that nobody can die, so grab all of the corpses so I can bring them back. You can also grab the goblin corpses for loot. We can divide it later."


    "Yes, master, order me around like a slave. Why don''t you master?" Skippy grumbled. "Now I know how the slaves felt."


    "Skippy," Alex said oh so sweetly as her hand crackled with electricity.


    Skippy froze as his face paled. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    "Lighting bolt!!" Alex flung the spell at Skippy, causing him to immediately activate his skills and zip away from the attack.


    "Get the fuck back here, you racist asshole!!" Alex called out.


    Tom rolled his eyes as he picked up a shrunk Abaddon in a basket of paper and levitated him out of the burning remains of the university. It took a ridiculous amount of WILL and a not-insignificant amount of mana to lift the massive lizard man into the air.


    "How are you feeling, big guy?" Tom asked.


    "Everything hurts," Abaddon groaned, practically lying prone in the basket. "Heals."


    "You should have asked before I started to carry you; seriously, man, you weigh a ton," Tom groaned as he pulled him into the sky.


    "The moment I get my [Alchemist] class, I''ll get a [Focus] skill, so I won''t have to deal with pain anymore." Abaddon groaned.


    "Stop complaining. You''ll be fully regenerated before we even get home," Tom said.


    Abaddon had already stashed the bloodstone in his inventory in case Ignis or Starkiller got ideas. Dividing up the loot improperly would quickly end in bloodshed.


    "Alright, well, I''ve been paid. I did my deed. I think I''m going to take the walk of shame now." Starkiller said, giving a mockery of a bow before he lept her into the sky, disappearing from view.


    Tom shrugged as the four of them flew over the suburbs. The goblin army was in complete discord. Some were burning in the university, and many more were fighting each other as they all tried to establish superiority.


    <hr>


    They arrived at the fallback point. It was a bit of a mess. Injured people were everywhere, and as soon as Tom dropped off Abbadon, the big guy was already fully healed, as he had predicted.


    Eve and Chester were already on the scene and working their way through people. Well, Eve was. Chester just applied basic first aid while his auras did all the actual work. Despite that, it wasn''t nearly as bad as Tom feared. He had been expecting people to be screaming as they gripped their lost limbs or something. But as he approached, he used [Art of Life] on whoever looked the most injured.


    Some people looked like they were barely holding back tears as he restored their limbs. That took a lot of mana and a dozen different spells, and the injury had to be recent. Others were weirdly nonchalant about it. Two people who looked like jocks were lying on the ground with limbs missing, and they were joking about how one of their friends had died from a spear to his skull. Stranger still, they were the normal ones. Only a few people actually seemed to be appreciating the magnitude of their injuries or of the battle as a whole.


    Most people had taken Tom''s advice and learned a pain management skill. Between that, the healing, and the fact that everybody was going to be resurrected or restored to perfect health later, the general feeling was more along the lines of ''we just did something stupid, and it worked out regardless.''


    Honestly, Tom was starting to wonder if mental trauma was more a response to physical damage than to anything actually happening in the brain.


    "This is really messed up," Tom said as he healed another person.


    "Yeah," Eve said as she reached a limb with her new [Reconstruction] skill. "This feels almost fake. Like I''m playing pretend."


    "Would you prefer the actual horror of warfare?" Tom asked.


    Eve grimaced. "I''m not that naive. I''ll take whatever this is over an actual trauma room any day of the week."


    "The magic really helps with things," Tom pointed out as he healed a dozen cuts on someone''s arm.


    "Definitely," Eve chuckled. You have no idea how much easier this is than actual medicine. I could walk into a hospital and cure everyone in a day with this stuff."


    Tom wasn''t sure about that. Disease wasn''t nearly as easy to treat as trauma, and he wasn''t sure how magic would react to something like cancer. If nothing else, she probably didn''t have the mana pool to heal anything too terrible yet. While Tom was thinking of meaningless things and healing people, Ignis walked up to him.


    "Hey," Ignis said. "Can you give these people some healing? We''re heading back to our settlement."


    "Yeah, sure," Tom said. "How many do I need to resurrect?"


    "None. Altan can resurrect them later in the evening." Ignis stated.


    Tom did his best to hide his surprise, as Ignis''s words suggested that Altan had both a soul collection and a resurrection skill. That was annoying and useful to know. He didn''t say anything, though, as he moved to heal Ignis people.


    Although it wasn''t technically a high priority, Tom didn''t really want Ignis around. He was only an ally of convenience, and he wanted him gone as soon as possible.


    Only a handful of people needed to be healed. No more than twenty.


    "Are you sure this is everyone?" Tom asked.


    "Everyone else is dead or a deserter," Ignis stated.


    Tom was starting to like Ignis. He gave up critical information far too easily. Tom watched as Ignis and his riders marched off. Adams walked up next to him as he watched Ignis leave.


    "How are you handling yourself?" Adams asked.


    "I''m fine. They''re just goblins. It''s not like we were killing people." Tom said


    Adam frowned at him.


    "You shouldn''t think like that," Adams said. "It can lead to dehumanizing your enemies. That''s a dark path and not one you should be walking down."


    Tom gave Adams a look.


    "They are not human. They are an invasive species intending to outcompete us for our ecological niche. This is very much an us or them situation," Tom said, not really seeing his point.


    Adam signed but didn''t push the issue. Tom didn''t really see a problem. He would believe humans and goblins could live in harmony when he saw it. Until then, he would stick to the goblin''s own philosophy: kill on sight. He would skip the raping part of goblin philosophy.


    "Can you revive the rest of the council members so we can have a quick conversation?" Adams asked.


    Tom shrugged and nodded.


    Initially, all of the corpses were in someone''s inventory, and Tom''s [Logistics] skill allowed him to pull them out of whoever''s inventory they were actually inside. Tom pulled Luke, Gareth, Jaime, and Sam, a dozen volunteers, and a few minutes later, all four of them were back among the living.


    "Did we win?" Luke asked as he spat out blood.


    Tom shared the notification.


    Tom watched as the four other members of his council looked over the notification.


    "Haza, we have won the day!!" Gareth cheered as he nursed the phantom pains in his arm.


    "Pretty much," Tom said, leaning against a parked car. Eve was still dealing with the injured, but a not insignificant number of council members were available for the meeting.


    "We still have an army of goblins roaming around," Sam pointed out.


    "They are disorganized. Without a [Goblin King], they are little better than animals at this point. So long as we cull their leaders, they won''t be a problem," Alex said.


    "On a more important topic," Luke cut in. "Are we sure we didn''t leave anyone behind? I wasn''t sure anyone was going to pick us up after we lost to Seraphel."


    "That was stupid, by the way." Tom pointed out, "But don''t worry, Skippy is staying behind to collect any corpses we left behind, but he''ll be back before nightfall," Tom said.


    "Why was anyone left behind?" Sam groaned as she rubbed his neck.


    "Because we put this army together in what two days." Major Adams stated. "This whole system thing has only been here for a week, as crazy as that sounds. Frankly speaking, if we didn''t have Tom here, we would be looking at over a fifty percent casualty rating. I''m still worried about how so many people are reacting to ¡­ this."


    Tom winced at learning just how many had died; he didn''t know it had been that bad. He considered implementing more training programs, but he quickly dismissed that idea. It was hard enough to get people to train and fight when faced with a goblin horde, but getting them to train for something they couldn''t anticipate would be difficult. He would leave that task to the major. He would just have to grab some skills like [Drill Sergeant] to improve the average skill growth.


    For all he spoke about not underestimating the goblins, they were some of the weakest creatures in the Legend of Noralon. His level 100 characters would have decimated the goblins on their own without even dipping into their trump cards. Not for the first time, he was left wondering if putting his levels into [Exorcist] was the right move. Too late now.


    "There are still seventy thousand goblins running around," Luke pointed out. "What are we going to do about them?"


    "Goblins aren''t like humans," Alex interjected, "Our experiences today align with what we know about the game. Mostly, Goblins require [Party Leaders] with the [Coordination] in order to organize beyond a simple mob. With so many of their leaders eliminated today, the remaining ones will be in a rush to the next Goblin Kings. They''ll be attacking each other as much as us."


    "So what do we do now?" Adams asked.


    Tom shrugged as his eyes were drawn back to the storm clouds on the horizon. Massive white clouds were moving in on them, threatening snow.


    "There''s a blizzard coming, so as soon as we''re done putting everyone back together, we head home," Tom said.


    "I meant more long-term?" Adams asked. "What''s Awoken Myths next move."


    Tom looked up at the sky. Two of the three moons were clear in the sky above them, with only the edge of storm clouds ruining the image. Tom was cold and hungry, and his body was sore everywhere, but perhaps most of all, he was tired. As much as he liked levels, he needed a break.


    "Right now, let''s head home," Tom said.


    You may skip to the next chapter.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Tom Bruner


    </td>


    <td>


    Race: Half-Elf ()


    </td>


    <td>


    Type: Humanoid


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    LVL: 23


    </td>


    <td>


    SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian


    </td>


    <td>


    Age 18


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health: 1150


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina: 1610


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana: 4600


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Health Regen: 16.7 per hour


    </td>


    <td>


    Stamina Regen: 21.3 per min


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Regen: 28.2 per min


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Immune


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Resistances


    </td>


    <td>


    Mental 74% Soul 43%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weakness


    </td>


    <td>


    N/A


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bane


    </td>


    <td>


    Manslayer


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 3, Exorcist 10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Total


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 92


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 253


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 230


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 207


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 75


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 161


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 46


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Base


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    STR: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    AGIL: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    DEX: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    CON: 92


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    END: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    PER: 253


    </td>


    <td>


    INT: 230


    </td>


    <td>


    WILL: 207


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    SPIRIT: 69 +10%


    </td>


    <td>


    EGO: 46


    </td>


    <td>


    CHA: 161


    </td>


    <td>


    LCK: 46


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA


    Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT


    Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT


    Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bloodline:


    [Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]¡ªForgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.


    <ul>


    <li>[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Library of Akashic Records] - Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Universal] - Level 26</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Wordsmith] - Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 43</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 19</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Soul Forge] - Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 PER per level</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>+5 INT per level</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Slots: 25/60: Skill Points: 1


    Personal Skills


    <ul>


    <li>[Analyze Person] - Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Best of Both Worlds] - Level 14 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Water] - Level 16 >> Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Earth] - Level 16 >> Level 21</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Teacher] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Misalliance Crafting] - Level 6 >> Level 13</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Mana-Infused Weapon] - Level 6</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Basic Swords] - Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Flyte] - Level 6 >> Level 16</li>


    </ul>


    Augur 07/16


    <ul>


    <li>[Augurs Eye] - Level 7</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Bright Arts] - Level 32</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Art of Life] - Level 27 >> Level 28</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Prophetic Meditation] - Level 49</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Far Seeing] - Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 50</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Quest Giver] - Level 12</li>


    </ul>


    Tactician 05/6


    <ul>


    <li>[Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 25 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Leadership ¢ò] - Level 27 >> Level 31</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Raider ¢ñ] - Level 26 >> Level 39</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Coordinate ¢ô] - Level 24 >> Level 15</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Logistics ¢ó] - Level 21 >> Level 30</li>


    </ul>


    Exorcist 06/11


    <ul>


    <li>[Spell Trap] - Level 4 >> Level 5</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Karmic Contract] - Level 18</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Shape Paper] - Level 13 >> Level 22</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Armour] - Level 9 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>[Paper Wings] - Level 7 >> Level 20</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Capstone: [Divine Protection] - Level 1</li>


    </ul>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 104: In the Meantime

    Jaime looked out through his binoculars at the oversized Chimera sitting in the middle of a couple of redwood trees as it ripped apart the people at its feet. They were already dead. But that was a small relief to Jaime as he spied the literal pile of bones surrounding the monsters. The thing was a monster. Honestly, Jaime had initially mistaken the creature for the Gorgonopsid from primeval until he saw the thing cook its food with lightning.


    "How bad is it?" Blitz asked.


    Jaime turned to find two people; the first was Blitz, a half-orc in heavy armour with a large axe slung over his shoulder, standing at six feet tall. He had the [Berserker] and [Flame Enhancer] Classes. While the second was Sebastion, a [Wizard]. Sebastion was a male Kitsune. Internal Jaime knew that Sebastian was like nineteen, but right now, he looked like a silver fox. Not that he could talk. He had gone from being a lanky black kid from Africa adopted by wealthy parents to looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger dipped in chocolate. Only he had a scorpion tail coming out of his ass and chitin armour flecked with gold covering his body. And he didn''t use guns, oh no; instead, he had a vicious spear in his right hand and a shield on his back to fit with his [Spartan] class.


    "I''m not sure yet. Blitz, you got [Identify] as one of your system rewards, yeah?" Jaime asked.


    "Yeah, I''ll take a look," Blitz said, taking the binoculars from Jaime and looking at the monster. A moment later, the big guy tossed the information over to them through Jaime''s [Party leader] skill.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Wild Safari Dungeon Boss Chirmeria #2


    Titles: Dungeon Boss


    Level: 30


    Types: Beast / Slime


    Immunity: N/A


    Resistances: ???, ???, ???


    Weakness: ???


    Banes: Beastslayer, Slimeslayer


    Skills: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???


    The head of a Hippo, the mane of a Lion, the legs of a tiger, the skin of a rhino, the breath of a dragon and the tail of a peacock. This monster was created out of the wild safari dungeon as a boss monster before it was ousted from its home by a higher-level monster. Now, it has set up a new lair in the Redwood Park and has been hunting and eating humans from the nearby area.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "How does that thing have the head of a hippo? It has four tusks?!" Sebastion asked.


    Blitz shrugged. "Have you ever seen a hippo skull?"


    "No ¡­" Sebastion admitted why.


    Blitz pulled up the image on his phone, which showed a reconstruction of a hippo skull. The reconstruction did not have any fat, making the chubby hippo look more like a dinosaur.


    "Well, I''m going to be having nightmares about this shit for a week, thanks," Sebastion groaned.


    "Well, I think we can safely say this isn''t a safe option to get to Hopkins," Jaime cut into the conversation.


    "We could just kill the thing." Biltz offered as he examined his battle axe for scratches.


    He preferred the direct approach.


    "Yeah, Blitz, let''s fight a boss monster ten levels above us. What could go wrong?" Jaime asked sarcastically.


    "What about Nila''s family? With her bloodline, she and her family could fly us over. It''s not like that thing can fly." Sebastion offered.


    "You''re forgetting about the wyvern." Blitz counted. "We take the Atune into the air, and we risk becoming a Wyvern''s snack. Besides, we only have seven people with an Atune bloodline. We''re going to have to make a couple of trips if the monster notices and follows us back to a camp. What then? Better to just kill it and be done with it."


    "Or we could go around." Jaime offered


    "Ugh." Blitz rolled his eyes. He clearly preferred fighting to extending their trip.


    Turning, they started trekking back to their temporary camp. Blitz led the way himself, using what little fire magic he had to melt the snow in their way as they moved back to camp.


    The camp itself was a mess; five thousand people shuffled together within Aldergrove. Jaime could smell them a mile out before he even got to town. Worse the locals looked ready to run them out of town at any moment. Plenty of people had joined them, thinking they were going on some epic quest. Even more of them joined them in order to escape the roaming monsters.


    Two giant sea turtles swam overhead, with a group of people sitting on their backs, holding rifles and spells, as they watched their surroundings.


    Blitz, Jaime, and Sebastion moved over to their other guild mates. Nila, a half-gnome; Botut, an elephant man; Godic, the wood elf; Maple, another Kitsune; Clover, a half-fey; and Titus, the half-giant, sat around a small table. Titus''s dog sat with him. The massive husky was black and speckled with white, almost like the night sky.


    They had split into three groups to scout the fastest path to Hopkins. Jaime had gone with Blitz and Sebastion to the Redwood Park, Godric Titus and Titus''s dog had tried to go through Langley, and Nila had flown Maple and Clover up towards the walnut grove. Botut had remained with the refugees, using his necromancy to guard the caravan with a couple of undead monsters.


    Jaime informed the group of the chimera in the way. Unfortunately, that wasn''t the only roadblock.


    "You''re telling me that Langely is entirely covered in undead?" Jaime asked.


    "It''s bad. It was like an episode right out of The Walking Dead." Godric groaned. "We also found out that the frost wyvern we''ve been seeing is also somewhere in the city using the undead as a food source."


    "What about further north by Walnut Grove?" Jaime asked, looking at Nila.


    Nila shook her head.


    "Sorry, but the area is crawling with people. They shot at us when we flew overhead. We tried to talk to them, but they just started shouting slurs at us. Said they would kill any non-human freaks."


    "I still find it funny none of us are human." Maple chuckled as Nila fluffed her two tails.


    "Why? We''re all min-maxers. We pick our races based on stats and skills," Blitz argued. "I''m still curious how you and your brother have both a restricted race and a bloodline."


    Sebastion sighed. "I told you I wanted to be a kitsune, and my sister wanted a bloodline. Since we are siblings, the system retroactively applied the upgrade to both of us."


    "That just sounds broken, " Blitz grumbled as he sat down next to Godric, who was half-asleep on the table.


    "That''s because it is," Maple said, sticking out her tongue at him. "You should have seen our parent''s reaction when mom woke up as a kitsune."


    "I should also point out that Clover somehow got a forgotten rarity bloodline. That is way more bullshit than what we did." Sebastion added.


    Clover shrugged before speaking in a flat tone. "I used my token to upgrade my legendary bloodline I rolled in character creation. It''s no big deal."


    As a half-fey, she looked mostly human, with short ginger hair, small pointed ears, and ridges on her nose. Honestly, Jaime was sure she was cosplaying as a fantasy version of Major Kira from DS9, though Clover never admitted to anything.


    Nila, the Indian woman who was now half gnome, rolled her eyes. "It''s total bullshit, Clover. Your bloodline lets you alter the seasons in a local area. It''s pretty broken."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Clover frowned.


    "Your bloodline lets you turn into a giant flying space turtle, and because our bloodlines were assigned retroactively, your dad and your six brothers can all turn into giant space turtles, too. How is that not broken?" Clover countered flatly.


    "Can we get back on track?" Botut said in his calm Indian voice as he grabbed himself some beef jerky with his trunk. "I swear. Tom is the only person who can keep you guys on track. We need to get to this Hopkins before we run out of food."


    "Or we get killed by the undead. The Wyvern. the blood moon. The giant chimera in the road. Or maybe monsters will just kill us." Nila added.


    "Yeah or that," Botut muttered.


    "We can''t fly over using Nila''s family without the wyvern potentially noticing. It would take too many trips, and if they get caught in the air, they''re dead. Botut, could you move us through the undead?" Jaime asked.


    "I don''t think so. My [Dead Friend] skill doesn''t have enough range for five thousand people." Botut admitted. "I could easily move smaller groups through Langley."


    "Then we''re just back where we started. We''ll be fine so long as the wyvern doesn''t decide we look tasty." Blitz added.


    "These plans also split us all up and make it harder to deal with any problems that do show up," Titus added as he petted his dog.


    "And there''s no point in attacking the wyvern because fighting the chimera or the humans would be easier," Clover added.


    "We can''t attack the humans." Botut vetoed that plan immediately.


    "We can''t sneak past them. If we get caught, we''ll lose the refugees." Nila pointed out.


    "We could go around, but we don''t have cars for everyone. I have no idea why the monsters want to slash every tire they come across, but we don''t have enough cars, so it would take us at least another week to get around them." Jaime added.


    "Assuming something else doesn''t go wrong. I mean, first, it was the cars, then the pride of lions, those eight settlements with slimes and Cannibiles. It''s been like ten days. Why are there already cannibals?" Godric groaned.


    "Don''t remind me." Maple shivered.


    "It might actually be safer to just kill the chimera, devil you know and all that." Titus, who had been silent until this moment, spoke up.


    They all paused as they considered the idea. Of the variables, this plan had the best chance of success. Unfortunately, it still had some issues.


    "That monster is ten levels above us. It won''t be easy," Jaime pointed out.


    "We could try and create an undead strong enough to soften it up." Botut offered.


    "Are you at a high enough level to do that?" Sebastion asked.


    "Not on my own. But Maple, Clover and Nila all have [Taijitu] skill. With Sebastian''s help that would give me five people. With a ritual circle, I think we can create a decent [Death Knight] and have him soften the chimera up before we go in.


    "And we could learn its move set," Blitz said, grinning.


    "Godric and I will gather the undead for Botut''s [Death knight]," Titus offered.


    "We still need to map out the route we take after it dies, and we''ll need to be quick. I''ll organize the convoy. We can load up the weak and slow onto Nila''s siblings. But we''re going to be moving slowly no matter what we do."


    Jaime shrugged. "It''s a plan. We can work with it. Let''s break up and get this started."


    The convoy broke away from Aldergrove, much to the mayor''s relief and started making its way south along sixteen avenue. Jaime could not help but notice their convoy had grown again. Not that he would stop anyone from following him.


    When they got close to the redwood, Godirc and Titus returned with six undead zombies hog-tied together. It was very gross.


    Jaime watched as Botut, Sebastion, Maple, Nila, and Clover finished the preparations for the ritual. All six undead were placed together inside the ritual circle to create the higher-level undead they needed. Without the Wiki, Botut and Sebastion had to use their memory skills to recreate the ritual.


    "Are you sure this will work?" Blitz asked Jaime as they began the ritual.


    "No idea," Jaime admitted.


    "If it doesn''t work, I''ll just kill it." Blitz boasted.


    "Would you mind? We are working," Clover said as she activated her skill. "[Domain of Seasons: Autumn]"


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    You have entered a [Domain of Autumn] - Level 27


    All Earth and Death Magic will have a 27% increase to their power.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Party Member Clover has gained a 100% increase to Death and Earth Magic Mastery thanks to skill [Power of the Seasons] - Level 20


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Botut looked over to other members of the ritual. "Alright, so My Death magic mastery is at 174%. What are the rest of you at?"


    "My mastery is 80%." Nila shrugged. While she used plenty of summoning magic, she primarily played the role of a mobile vehicle.


    "I''ve got 118%," Maple stated.


    "76%," Sebastion added sheepishly. "I''m a generalist."


    "210%," Clover dropped.


    Everyone stared at her for a moment.


    "I''m the bloody [Necromancer], why am I second best?" Botut complained


    "Clover, I love you like the sister I never had, but your bloodline is broken," Nila added.


    Clover just smirked at them. "If you have it, flaunt it."


    "Alright, ignoring Clover''s broken-ass bloodline. Let''s get in position." Botut cut in.


    All five of them moved to one of the five prongs around the ritual as they raised their hands to begin the ritual. Jaime watched as death magic began to become visible, wrapping around the six undead like a miasma.


    The zombies began to deform and warp as they melted into each other. Their flesh melted like candle wax as the six monsters were transformed into a single abomination. Its legs fused into massive tree trunks armoured in bone, and its arms fused together like play dough. Instead of twelve arms, it had six creepily long arms with too many joints, each capped with ten fingers. Its head was a nightmare made manifest, with mouths, eyes, and ears placed randomly over it with no rhyme or reason.


    Its waxy flesh bulged outwards in odd ways as organs and bones threatened to burst through the skin.


    All three girls took a massive step back.


    "Well, this is just horrifying," Clover said flatly. Their new servant rose to its feet.


    "It will do," Botut stated.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    The Party has created Royal Undead Abomination.


    Level: 13


    Race: Undead Abomination


    STR: 146 / AGIL: 44 / DEX: 76 / CON: 114 / END: 100


    PER: 74 / INT: 3 / WILL: 34 / SPIRIT: 14 / EGO: 9 / CHA: 1 / LCK: 2


    Skills: Blight Touch, Dead Man''s Revenge, Tooth and Nail, Assimilate Corpse, Scream of Horror, Taunt Button, Disgusting, Call Undead


    Controller: Botut


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "What the fuck happened?!" Maple almost screamed as an abomination rose to its feet.


    "We clearly did something wrong," Clover said dryly.


    "You think?!" Maple asked. "How the fuck is that supposed to be a [Death Knight]?"


    "It''s good enough," Botut said. "The sooner we fight the chimera, the sooner we can be rid of the abomination."


    "It''s so gross," Nila complained.


    Blitz glanced back toward the abomination. The grotesque creature loomed ominously in the fading light.


    ¡°What are the odds this thing turns into another problem,¡± Blitz muttered, watching as the abomination twitched unnaturally.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t,¡± Sebastion said, though his tone wasn¡¯t particularly convincing. ¡°The ritual parameters¡ª¡±


    ¡°Were a mess,¡± Maple interrupted, stepping up beside them. Her arms were crossed, and her expression was as unimpressed as ever. ¡°Let¡¯s just admit we¡¯re lucky it hasn¡¯t tried to eat one of us yet.¡±


    Jaime moved over to Botut.


    "So, what''s the plan for actually fighting the monster?" Jaime asked.


    Botut stroked his trunk in the same way someone would stroke a beard. "I have a few ideas. Titus already said he wont let his dog come with us for this fight. And we''ll need to talk to Nila about a few of them as they involve her siblings. We should also consider talking to some of the refugees. I''ve tried to help them with their builds where I can, and a few of them are showing some real promise."


    They ended up talking for two more hours about plans and strategies to get past the chimera.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Jaime the Scorpion King


    Race: Scorpion-Man


    Class: Spartan 20


    Bloodline: Xiezijing the Scorpion Yaoguai Queen


    </td>


    <td>


    Name: Botut the Tombmaker


    Race: Elephant Man


    Class: Death Lord 20


    Bloodline: Demon Spirit of Mars Iammax


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Sebastion Sato


    Race: Kitsune


    Class: Wizard 20


    Bloodline: Nine-Tailed Fox


    </td>


    <td>


    Name: Maple Sato


    Race: Kitsune


    Class: Shrine Maiden 20


    Bloodline: Nine-Tailed Fox


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Nila Dhruv


    Race: Half-Gnome


    Class: Astrologist 20


    Bloodline: Atune Turtle


    </td>


    <td>


    Name: Godric Kimble


    Race: Wood Elf


    Class: Spellsword 20


    Bloodline: Abyssal Mind Slime


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Clover Lux


    Race: Half-Fey


    Class: Farmer 20


    Bloodline: Fey Empress of the Seasons


    </td>


    <td>


    Name: Titus Deadeye


    Race: Half-Giant


    Class: Grand Huntsman 20


    Bloodline: Jourmungandr


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Blitz


    Race: Half-Orc


    Class: Beserker 10 / Fire Enhancer 10


    Bloodline: Sin of Wraith Satan


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Chapter 105: Chimera

    The members of Awoken Myths followed after the undead abomination as they moved into the chimera''s home in the redwoods. Jaime, Godric, Blitz, Botut and Titus had chosen to be on the ground.


    Nila had transformed into a house-sized turtle with her bloodline and loaded up Sebastian, Maple and Clover before she took off into the air, swimming through gravity or something Jaime didn''t remember.


    The abomination leads the way its body moves in disturbing and obscene ways. The air was thick with tension as the convoy walked down a literal death march. Blitz chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°You¡¯re all too tense. This¡¯ll work. If it doesn¡¯t, we improvise. That¡¯s what we do.¡±


    "Incoming one hundred feet out and closing!!" Godric warned as he turned.


    Everyone followed his lead.


    The Chimera, perhaps sensing that its stealth was blown, erupted from behind the redwoods, its claws expanding into large wind blades. Jaime met its charge with his own. He activated first [Charge] and then [Shield Bash]. He smashed into the front paw, knocking it away and causing the chimera to stumble as it regained its footing.


    "[Infernal Armament], [Living Hellgate]," Botut announced his bloodline skills.


    It was as much a warning as an announcement.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Infernal Armament] - Epic


    [Infernal Armament]: Summon the might of Infernal Steel to outfit your entire party with formidable arms and armour tailored to each individual to ensure optimal combat performance. If a member already possesses equipment, this skill temporarily upgrades their gear with the properties of Infernal Steel. This material is incredibly resilient, capable of withstanding both physical and magical damage while offering superior protection. Weapons forged from Infernal Steel deal additional magical damage alongside their physical attacks.


    The summoned gear lasts for 1 minute per skill level before vanishing entirely.


    Cooldown: 24 hours.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Living Hellgate] - Rare


    [Living Hellgate]: Unleash the infernal chaos of the abyss by summoning a Hellgate at a location of your choosing. Unbound demons pour through the gate, free to act as they will. While the demons will not attack you as long as you refrain from initiating combat, all others are fair game. The summoned demons are entirely autonomous, capable of choosing to fight, flee, or wreak havoc as they please, creating a volatile and unpredictable battlefield.


    Cooldown: 12 hours, reduced by 6 minutes per skill level.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Jaime found his armour reinforced as a layer of demonic steel coated his body and weapons, making them all look like demon knights.


    Meanwhile, a human skull the size of a car spawned directly under the chimera. Its mouth opened, and a demon popped out of the mouth and directly under the chimera. The small imp set the chimera''s belly on fire just as Blitz leapt onto the chimera''s back, driving his axe into the chimera''s side.


    The chimera roared in outrage as it twisted about, lashing out with wind blades at both of them. Blitz ducked away from the attack while the demon got cleaved in two. Then the abomination arrived. Its ten-fingered hands pummeled the chimera as two more demons leapt out of the Hellgate.


    Jaime leapt in again, his spear shooting out in quick, successive stabs, each one laced with a bloodline skill.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Divine Scorpion Sting] - Legendary


    [Divine Scorpion Sting]: Infuse your physical attacks with the venom of Xiezijing, the Scorpion Queen. Each strike poisons the target, dealing 1 point of HP, MP, and Stamina damage per second for 0.5 seconds per skill level. This venom bypasses all resistances and immunities.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Jaime lept back as one of the demons tried to decapitate him. A massive arrow impacted the demon, taking it out of the fight as Titus did not discriminate between demon and chimera. They only needed one demon for the plane to work.


    "[Change of Seasons: Summer]" Clover announced


    Almost immediately, the fire from the demons and Blitz roared higher as they got a power boost. Blitz raced in for a quick hit and run against the chimera.


    "I got one! Blow the Gate!!" Botut ordered


    Clover, Sebastion, Maple and Nila rained down suppressive fire on the chimera. Light and fire spells empowered by the change of season blasted chunks out of the chimera as it spun around, lashing out with wind blades at anything that moved like a wild animal. The living hellgate was smashed to pieces and shut off. Two of the remaining three demons scattered to the wind. The third was a muscle-bound demon that had spent most of the fight launching fireballs. Botut had used another bloodline skill to force that one into submission.


    This time, Blitz and Jaime launched themselves at the chimera. Jaime didn''t try to overpower the monster. He just needed to inject as much poison into the beast as he could. Even his scorpion tail stabbed into the creature''s flank. This time, however, the chimera wasn''t nearly as distracted.


    A wind blade sliced through Jaime''s limbs. The infernal armour and golden chitin barely managed to stop the wounds from being crippling. Instead, his body only felt brutally bruised. Even his bones felt bruised.


    Jaime hissed as the monster took his moment of inaction to launch itself at him. Its massive jaw opened wide and snapped closed around the tree next to him. The chimera jerked backwards at the unexpected taste.


    Jaime launched himself forward, feeling a healing spell knitting his body back together as the chimera tried to reorient itself from Godric''s mental attacks. The abomination took that moment to tackle the chimera again, its blighted hands rotting the chimera''s flesh wherever they touched.


    The chimera screamed, trying to turn around to attack the abomination even as it was being peppered with spells from five people, mental attacks from Godric and Blitz and Jaime stabbing it in the ass.


    The monster didn''t care. Lighting arced off its body, sending Jaime tumbling to the ground as it began to savage the abomination, ripping off its limbs as the lighting surrounding its body burned the body. The abomination''s body was broken, utterly incapable of fighting back.


    "[Immobilized]" Maple activated her skill, freezing the chimera mid-attack.


    "[Sacrificial Strike]" Botut drained his abomination for what little hp the abomination had left. When the abomination died, the body released all the blight it had stored up as a final explosion.


    Blitz and Jaime had already backed away when the blight was released, leaving only the chimera in the fog of death magic infecting its body and burning away even more of its hp. Then Botut added insult to injury and fired [Sacrificial Strike] directly into its ass.


    The chimera was sent ass over end before it could even struggle back to its feet.


    "Bombers incoming!!" Sebastion warned.


    All six of Nila''s brothers flew over at that moment, and on their backs sat every ranged fighter and spell caster they had.


    Spells, bullets, arrows, bombs, and even rocks fell from the six turtles like six bomber planes. The chimera was peppered with attacks from over a hundred players as they emptied their resources to bury the chimera under their assault.


    "Looks like we got you." Jaime chuckled as the pinned monster hp was whittled away.


    Of course, that was the moment the chimera counterattacked. The chimera roared like a dragon, sending out a shockwave that disrupted their attacks.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    [Draconic Roar] - Epic


    [Draconic Roar]: Unleash a thunderous roar fueled by draconic might, creating a massive shockwave that scales with your Strength stat to deal damage. Enemies within range have a 1% chance per skill level to be afflicted with [Terror], causing them to falter, while allies have a 1% chance per skill level to be inspired with [Courage], bolstering their morale and combat prowess. This skill costs 500 stamina to activate.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Nila''s siblings panicked, breaking their formation as they tried to escape the monster. The chimera leapt up, leaping off the air as it charged the nearest giant turtle. Its jaws opened wide.


    "NO!!" Nila screamed as she activated a movement skill and crashed into the chimera.


    Nila, a space turtle the size of a house, slammed into the chimera, knocking it off course and probably breaking some of its bones. The chimera tried to reorient mid-air when it discovered what five G felt like as Nila manipulated the gravity around her with her skill [Domain of Atlas].


    The chimera fell out of the sky like a cartoon character crashing into the floor of the redwood forest and right in front of Blitz.


    "[Rising Sun]" Nila intoned


    All of a sudden, the redwoods were lit up with an intense heat as her body lit up like a second sun. The chimera screamed as its body started to burn. Jaime, on the other hand, felt the light from Nila''s skill start to slowly heal his body.


    "YES!!! Burn mother fucker!!" Blitz roared as his red flames, his [Flames of Wraith] roared to life as he launched himself at the chimera.


    Blitz''s flames had two effects that made him so deadly in melee. First, as it was a kind of hellfire, they burned the target''s soul as much as the body. The second was that the angrier he got, the stronger he got. And with a [Berserker] class, Blitz had all the fuel he needed for his class.


    Blitz wore his flames on his weapons and armour as he launched himself at the chimera. He hacked away at the beast as his flames burned. The chimera screamed as it leapt away from the hellfire, flashing its tail open.


    The moment the massive peacock tail sprung open, Jaime was hit with a wave of vertigo, as his mind was assaulted. The chimera blasted him with lightning, sending Jaime, Titus, and Blitz skittering backwards.


    Nila had it the worst. The vertigo caused her to lose control of her gravity manipulation, and she came crashing to the ground like the twenty-ton turtle she was. Maple, Sebastion and Clover didn''t fare any better as they were sent sprawling off her back and onto the ground.


    "Fuck" Blitz groaned as he grabbed his head.


    The chimera smiled somehow as it padded towards them unhurried as Jaime tried to rise to his feet. That one skill had devastated nearly every member of their team. Nearly. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The chimera yowled as Godric teleported onto its back, his sword glowing bright blue as he chopped down on the chimera''s tail. The Chimera screamed as it tried to buck him off, and Godric responded by unleashing a wave of fire, setting the monster''s tail feathers ablaze, freeing them from the vertigo. The chimera spun around to bite at Godric, only for a rock to fly into its face as Godric telekinetically grabbed loose debris and tossed it at the monster.


    The chimera lunged at Godric with murder in its eyes. Godric was able to do little more than retreat against the chimera''s onslaught. But he gave them enough to counterattack.


    "[Malefic Union]" Botut said.


    The Demon that Botut had mentioned earlier, the one that had been dutifully sitting beside the elephant man as the two of them fired spells at the chimera, was absorbed into his being.


    Botut swelled as rippling muscles grew across his body, demon horns sprang from his forehead, as two bat wings emerged from his back as he grew to over ten feet tall as a demonic elephant man.


    Botut launched himself at the Chimera; his staff wreathed in burning ash. He struck the creature over the head, leaving a trail of blighted and burned skin in its wake. The chimera roared as it turned to face him, and Godric lunged forward, his sword gouging out the monster''s eye.


    The chimera roared in outrage, lashing out. This time, Godric wasn''t as lucky. The monster''s jaws snapped around his upper torso, and its front claws cleaved through his legs.


    "God dammit, Godric just died!!" Sebastion warned as he fired off a shadow bolt at the chimera''s hind legs.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Party Member Godric has Died


    Party Member Godric has used [Second Stage]


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Godric popped back up, a golden glow surrounding his body. The chimera looked pissed as it lunged at him again. But this time, Botut stepped in, grabbing onto the chimera as Godric retreated to give his full attention to destroying the Chimera''s mind. Meanwhile, Botut''s touch inflicted burning and blight damage in equal damage as the chimera tried to buck him off.


    Blitz and Jaime rejoined the melee, crashing into the chimera side as spear and axe went to work.


    Titus and Sebastion opened fire on the monster. Spells and poisoned arrows peppered its body as the chimera lashed out at its surroundings with wind blades, leaving deep cuts in Botut''s hide.


    Clover summoned roots and ripped themselves from the ground, trying to entangle the chimera''s limbs as Maple generated small shields between Botut and the Chimera in order to blunt some of its attacks.


    "Fuck, this thing won''t die," Blitz complained as he hacked at the monster''s leg before leapt to the side to avoid a claw.


    "It''s a fucking boss monster," Jaime grunted as he blocked one of the monster''s attacks with his shield.


    The chimera tried to blast the area with lighting again. But this time, they recognized the signs and leapt back before they could get electrocuted.


    The chimera tried to open its tail again, but it screamed as Godric [Blink Stepped] on top of the monster, drilling a spike of dream magic directly into its skull. The chimera bled out of its mouth, its anus, its nose and its one remaining eye as it felt the mental equivalent of getting kicked in the nuts.


    "Maple, lock the tail down," Jaime ordered.


    "[Heavenly Seal]," Maple said, locking down the chimera''s peacock skill.


    "[Conjure Constellation: Scorpius]," Nila cast, summoning a scorpion the size of a cow made out of darkness and starlight; fell to the earth, its pincers snapping angrily as it charged the chimera.


    Jaime charged in again, his spear and tail stabbing into the monster''s side over and over again as he tried to deliver as much poison as possible. He only got a couple of stabs in before the chimera smacked him away with its tail. Botut and the Scorpion kept its attention as the monster ripped up the roots with claws and blasted its enemies with lighting.


    Godric kept teleporting in to deliver powerful mental attacks before retreating to avoid taking too much damage.


    Botut blasted the monster in the face with a burst of superheated ash as the scorpion was pinned under the chimera''s claws. The scorpion tail lashed out, stabbing the chimera in the neck, but the monster bit the tail before ripping it off the freshly summoned monster.


    Botut tackled the chimera, letting his body inflict even more damage on the monster as they crashed to the ground, knocking over one of the smaller redwood trees.


    "I''m about to time out," Botut warned as he disengaged, backing up from the chimera as he unloaded spell after spell against the boss monsters.


    The chimera charged through the spells, using its wind magic to close the distance, only for the scorpion to wrap its pincers around one of its limbs and neck, tripping up the monster as the summoned creature snapped at the chimera.


    Just in time, too, as Botut''s transformation skill timed out. Botut forcibly drained the demon of its hp, killing it and forcibly removing a potential loose end as he fired another [Sacrificial Strike] into the chimera''s belly.


    "I''m out," Botut warned as he limped away from the fight and towards the relative safety of Nila''s back.


    He didn''t make it far before the Chimera blasted him with a bolt of lightning, sending the elephant man to the ground dead.


    "I got him," Maple called out.


    "Titus, it''s your turn!" Jaime ordered


    "[Lesser Colossus,]" Titus grumbled as he stashed away his weapon.


    Titus quickly grew to thirty feet tall. Stooping down, he picked up the trunk of one of the smaller fallen redwood trees. Jaime and Blitz disengaged the chimera, leaving it to the scorpion as Titus raised his new club a bat before he swung for the chimera. His aim wasn''t perfect as he hit both the scorpion and the chimera, sending the two monsters crashing through the redwoods.


    The scorpion faded into particle effects while the chimera got up.


    "[Meteor Shower]," Nila called out just before a chunk of flaming rock crashed into the chimera, exploding on impact and sending dirt and splinters flying.


    It wasn''t the only meteor; eleven other desk-sized flaming rocks fell from the sky. The meteors blew the area to hell, transforming a chunk of the redwood park into a smoking crater.


    Maple got to Botut''s location and activated [Sacred Rebirth]. Botut sprang to his feet as he was restored to life.


    "Shit," the elephant man swore. "That sucked."


    "You want to talk about suck? I''m an archer fighting in melee," Titus complained.


    "It''s not dead," Godric warned just as the chimera blasted out of the crater with wind magic. "Also, my [Second Stage] timed out. In case you were wondering."


    "Botut, HP check!" Jaime demanded as Titus swung his club at the chimera


    "It''s at 43% hp," Botut warned as the chimera launched itself at Titus, its wind blades extended.


    The club cracked on impact with the chimera. The monster was sent crashing into the ground at the same time Titus''s club broke in two, and Titus was sent stumbling backwards from a wind blade that managed to cut open his chest.


    "[Conjure Constellation: Taurus]" Nila called out.


    This time, a minotaur made out of starlight descended on the battlefield. It hefted a great glave as it charged towards the chimera.


    The Chimera roared in outrage as it blasted the area with more lighting, launching itself towards giant Titus. Titus swung for the chimera''s head again. The chimera spun in mid-air, blunting the attack by blasting a wind blade into the impromptu weapon at point-blank range.


    "Ebone Fire" Botut roared.


    The chimera burst into infernal flames. It screamed as its magic was disrupted, and it crashed into the ground. Where Jaime, Godric, Blitz and Taurus Minotaur were waiting for it.


    The Chimera moved to attack them when Maple made herself known again.


    "[Immobilize]," she shouted.


    The Chimera froze mid-lung as Jaime, Godric, Blitz, the minotaur and every spell caster in the clearing attacked.


    Dream magic, Shadow magic, Infernal magic, Spirit magic, Celestial magic, Nature magic, a poisoned spear, a flaming axe and a polearm made out of starlight crashed into Chimera at once as almost everyone used whatever they had left in the tank.


    Jaime activated [Army of One] his spear, replicating itself a dozen times, each one copying his movements as he repeatedly stabbed the monster over and over again. Every time he attacked, he left a dozen wounds on the monster''s hide and a dozen new instances of his poison.


    Blitze exploded into red flames as his axe crashed into the monster''s back leg. The Taurus minotaur glaive crashed into its front leg. Godric drove another spike of dream magic into the creature''s head. All the while, five different flavours of magic shredded the monster''s body. Then Titus came in. Spinning his redwood club around, he put his entire weight behind it as he drove it down into the beast, burying the chimera and then the club into the ground. Jaime swore he could hear a crunch as Titus drove the log down. Then the [Immobilized] broke, and the entire area lit up with lighting.


    Jaime was flung backwards, his body smouldering as his armour broke from the onslaught. Lighting burns covered his front as he crashed into a tree. The first thing he did was check his resources. Yeah, he was finished. [Army of One] had drained his mana and stamina to just under ten percent while his health sat at a cool twenty percent. If they didn''t kill the stupid thing soon, he was going to die.


    Getting to his feet, he saw Titus lying on the ground. Apparently, his [Lesser Colossus] skill must have required him to be alive to work because he was back to his half-giant size again.


    The chimera, on the other hand, wasn''t dead. Its body was covered in blood, its bones showing in places, it was puking up blood, its tail feathers were burnt away, and one of its eyes was gone. But it still lived.


    "Fucking boss monster," Jaime cursed as he rose to his feet.


    "No, we did it." Botut cut in. "Its body is too damaged. You and Titus have inflicted enough poison to kill no matter what happens. Now we just need to survive until it dies."


    "Plan E?" Maple asked, running back to Nila as Botut, Sebastion, and Clover covered her.


    "I hate plan E," Jaime grumbled.


    Plan E was simple. Nila would take Maple away from the fight while the monster died of poison and whatever else they had done to it. Then, she would return to resurrect whoever died after the fact. No one liked the plan. But without respawns, they had to work with it.


    Nila activated her skill [Twin Faces of the Moon], and all of a sudden, there were two giant sea turtles. A black one carrying Maple away from the battle and a white one charging towards the wounded Chimera.


    Jaime grimaced that skill cut her resources in half. Oh well.


    Getting up, he charged towards the chimera as it lunged at him. He activated [Shield Bash], knocking the monster''s maw away, and then he [Kicked] it in the head. But he failed to stop its claws as they pierced his stomach and sent a bolt of lightning through his body.


    <Level up>


    <Level up>


    <You have died>


    Jaime jerked back to consciousness, staring up at Maple.


    "How was death?" she asked.


    "Still weird, honestly being dead isn¡¯t too bad, the whole dieing part just a bit haunting." Jaime admitted as she helped him back to his feet.


    ¡±wait a minute. Where is my spear?¡± Jaime demanded.


    ¡±Its busted,¡± Maple shrugged apologetically.


    ¡±mother ducker¡± Jaime cursed. He was going to have to get a new one.


    The chimera''s frozen corpse sat to one side as his friends looted the body.


    "So Who won the lottery?" Jaime asked.


    He was, of course, asking who died last. He didn''t know when they started to play the game or why, but it was fun.


    "Botut died after you. He tried to blight the thing. White Nila died next as she was in the tank after you died. Clover used [Fey Wilds] to buy Sebby some more time. But she didn''t level it enough, so it timed out too soon, and it got out, and Sebby suicide bombed it."


    "So Clover died last?" Jaime asked.


    "Nope, she killed it," Maple stated.


    "Dammit, Sebastion, I had money on you to die last!!" Jaime called out to the Kitsune wizard.


    Sebastion flipped him off.


    "So what next?" Sebastion asked.


    Jaime looked at his class. He smiled as he upgraded his class from [Sparten] to [Heir to King Leonidus]. Then he turned to his friends.


    "Now? Now we go meet up with Tom." Jaime said.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Jaime the Scorpion King


    Race: Scorpion-Man


    Class: Heir to King Leonidus 22


    Bloodline: Xiezijing the Scorpion Yaoguai Queen


    </td>


    <td>


    Name: Botut the Tombmaker


    Race: Elephant Man


    Class: Death Soverian 23


    Bloodline: Demon Spirit of Mars Iammax


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Sebastion Sato


    Race: Kitsune


    Class: Wizard 20 / Alchimist 2


    Bloodline: Nine-Tailed Fox


    </td>


    <td>


    Name: Maple Sato


    Race: Kitsune


    Class: Shrine Maiden 22


    Bloodline: Nine-Tailed Fox


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Nila Dhruv


    Race: Half-Gnome


    Class: Astrologist 20 / Summoner 2


    Bloodline: Atun Turtle


    </td>


    <td>


    Name: Godric Kimble


    Race: Wood Elf


    Class: Arch-Magus 23


    Bloodline: Abyssal Mind Slime


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Clover Lux


    Race: Half-Fey


    Class: Fisher Queen 23


    Bloodline: Fey Empress of the Seasons


    </td>


    <td>


    Name: Titus Deadeye


    Race: Half-Giant


    Class: Heir to Orion 23


    Bloodline: Jourmungandr


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name: Blitz


    Race: Half-Orc


    Class: Barbarian 12 / Fire Enhancer 10


    Bloodline: Sin of Wraith Satan


    </td>


    <td> </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Epilogue: Reunion

    Tom wanted to scream when he got back to Hopkins. He wanted to find god and strangle him to death like he was in an episode of the Simpsons. Because when he got back to Hopkins at the head of a massive refugee train full of scared, dirty, hungry and tired people waiting to get into his settlement. With six giant flying space turtles swimming over their heads.


    But no, that wasn''t why Tom was angry. That honour went to the people at the head of the refugee train. An Elephant man in pyjamas, two Kitsune, a wood elf dressed like a Jedi, a half-gnome he was sure was Nila, a flaming orc that wasn''t Ignis, a half-giant with a bow and what he really hoped wasn''t a half-fey. And to top it all off, the biggest, blackest man he had ever seen with a barbed spear over his shoulder, a shield on his back, with a scorpion tail coming out of his ass.


    "Hey Tom, how are you doing?" Jaime called out to him as he noticed them walking up to him.


    Tom stared at them, slack-jawed and fuming, his temper bubbling like magma ready to erupt.


    "How am I¡ª" Tom¡¯s voice hitched as he gestured wildly at the scene before him. "How am I doing? I just led an attack on a goblin invasion because I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d get here in time! And now I come back, and here you are, with what? A freaking parade?! You said it would take you another week to get here. What the actual fuck?!"


    "Good to see you haven''t changed," Sebastion chuckled.


    "Alex!!!" Maple called out as she raced to hug the newly minted [Arcanist].


    "Maple!! How did you guys get here?!" Alex cheered as she hugged her best female friend.


    "We got lucky," Blitz called out as they drifted together.


    "Lucky? Lucky?!" Tom¡¯s voice rose an octave, his fury threatening to boil over. "I broke both my legs during that fight, and you guys got lucky?! You couldn¡¯t have sent me a heads-up? A phone call, A quick system message? Smoke signals? Fuck, I¡¯d have settled for a carrier pigeon!"


    Botut, who was an elephant man, lumbered over, his trunk swaying slightly as he spoke in a calming tone and an Indian accent. "Tom, it wasn¡¯t planned. We''ve been fighting monsters all the way here. We only got here so quickly because a boss monster had cleared out the path south of you. Once we killed it, we could pretty much sprint here."This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    "South? Why didn''t you just go through Langley?" he asked.


    "Because Botut would have been the only one to make it through."


    Tom frowned.


    "What is Langly filled with undead?"


    "¡­."


    "¡­."


    "¡­."


    All eight of his friends were as silent as the grave.


    "Oh my god, Langley is full of undead." Tom cursed.


    "Not just undead. Though it is completely overrun, Titus found a wyvern nest in the Langley Casino. We think it''s using the undead as a food source. But we couldn''t exactly get close as none of us have a stealth build." Blitz added happily.


    "Well fuck. Side note: I am happy to see you all. You specifically because I need more people I trust to administer the nightmare that is Hopkins," Tom admitted. "But right now, I want to bitch at the universe. I mean, I could have waited a day. A day, and we would have crushed that goblin horde. So could you kindly just let me rant."


    Botut shrugged. "You need a better [Coordination] skill."


    "I hate you all," Tom muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. His friends burst into laughter, their amusement only stroking his irritation.


    "Now, let''s stop freezing our asses off out here. It''s fucking freezing." Blitz heckled.


    "I heard you have a greenhouse," Clover asked Abaddon as she climbed on top of his massive shoulder for a ride. "Would you mind showing me?"


    "Duncan, Duncan. I need a telescope. Mine got smashed, and I''ve been trying to map Luriel, Bree and God''s eye. But my perception is too low." Nila demanded.


    Sebastian and Maple were talking with Alex, while Travis and Godric were arguing about their builds. Jaime had become interested in the battle and had struck up a conversation with the Major, of all people, about what had happened.


    Tom rolled his eyes, and he started to lead everyone inside to get settled. He was happy he had already set aside private rooms for his guildmates. He looked over his friends:


    Godric liked to pretend to be a Jedi, but he specialized in mind magic. Sebastian was a Harry Potter nerd and one of the best mages he knew. Maple did crowd control, but she was always there when someone needed to talk. Botut was the gods damned Tombmaker, but he was also the chillest dude he knew. Titus never said much, but he was always willing to listen, and he liked to just be there. Blitz, the flaming barbarian, was a battle maniac, never afraid to get into a fight. He had even less impulse control when one of his own was threatened. Nila loved space, and she clearly picked a bloodline that allowed her and her brother to go into space as giant space turtles. Clover just liked to hang out and tend to her plants. Jaime loved warfare, and he would talk with Tom and Botut for hours about tactics.


    Tom didn''t realize how much he had been missing them until just that moment. Tears fell from his eyes as Nila hugged him. He would find the rest of his guild. No matter what.

 Epilogue: Tyrant Cross

    Captain Cross¡¯s fingers drummed rhythmically against his leg as the chief constable talked him down.


    "What made you think it was a good idea to send all of your men to attack goblins?! You didn''t even attempt to communicate with the rest of the RCMP. You just ran off on your own ¡­"


    Cross tried to tune out the nonsense the Chinese man was saying. What did he know of duty? Of honour or glory. Cross seethed with a fury that threatened to bubble over at any moment as his so-called commander talked him down.


    "Not only did your actions have no discernable result, but instead of staying with your men, you ran away like a coward ---"


    "I am not a coward!!" Cross roared as he shot up out of his chair, his blood pressure rising.


    "You''re right, captain. You''re not a coward. You''re a deserter. Maybe I should have you taken outside and shot for failing in your duty."


    "Just give me more men. Then I can go back and ---"


    "And what? Abandon more good officers? I''ve got enough problems here with the gangs and the civis thinking this is all one big larp. And even if I did send people to deal with these goblins I wouldn''t send them under your command."


    Cross felt his fists clench, knuckles white as another dull ache of frustration washed over him. He should be in charge of this operation, issuing the commands, bringing the city to its knees under his rule, his moment of glory, not working as some washed-up bureaucrat.


    "You are hereby demoted to the rank of corporal. You will not be in charge of anyone you ---"


    His hand reached for his pistol, but it wasn''t there. His jaw clenched, fury building. How dare this pathetic excuse of a man come to him, asking to leave his post? Cross¡¯s vision blurred red for a moment, the edges of his self-control fraying dangerously.


    That''s when he noticed something. The room seemed to grow dark, and the shadows grew longer. Something, a presence, flickered at the edge of his consciousness. It was faint at first, like a whisper in the wind, but then it grew, filling his mind until it was all he could do to stay standing. Blood trickled down from his nose as his vision blurred.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Do you Seek Power? The Power to Bend Others to Your Will and Rule over them?


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The notification wasn''t the same as the others. This one was golden, and it felt different somehow, less sterile, more authoritative, even divine.


    "Yes," Cross slurred out as the presence increased.


    He gripped his head, feeling like it was about to explode, and blood trickled down from his nose.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    What will you give in Exchange for True Power?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Anything," Cross said as he fell to his knees.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Will you serve me? Will you honour me above all other gods? Will you spread my image and my word to your subject in exchange for power? Will you become a [Templar of Tova]? Will you spread the word of the God of Domination, of Kings, Chains and Slavery?


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ''A god?'' Cross wondered. That explained what he was feeling. But how could he trust this system? But it was offering him power. The power he needed, the power he wanted.


    His heart raced as his mind spun with possibilities. It was right there, just within his grasp. But what about the price? He would have to spread the worship of the god of this Tova. But the scripture didn''t mention that he had to worship the thing. Hell, the God of Kings was offering him power. Was it not his divine right to take it?!


    "Yes," Cross said.


    "Are you listening to me, officer?! What are you --"


    The constable was cut off as Cross collapsed to the ground, screaming as his body twisted and contorted as, his muscles bulged, and his body and soul were altered. The constable rushed over to try and help him but he couldn''t do anything.


    Cross felt like lightning coursed through his blood as an oppressive weight settled on his soul. Cross could hear thunder as he attempted to scream before he passed out.


    He didn''t know how long he had been out before he came back, but when he did, a system notification popped into his vision. He barely glanced at it, already knowing what it said.


    DING!!!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations on your classes [Police Officer] and [Police Chief] have been sacrificed


    LEVEL UP!!!


    LEVEL UP!!!


    ¡­


    LEVEL UP!!!


    An external force has forcibly levelled you up.


    You have suffered extreme Soul Damage.


    You may not level up further until the Soul Damage is repaired.


    You have gained an XP debt.


    You will not gain additional xp until the debt is paid.


    You have gained the skill [Royal Leader]If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    You have gained the skill [Power Strike]


    You are now a level 30 [Holy Emperor of Tova]


    Your stats have been reassigned.


    You have been assigned the following skills.


    [Bullying]: Whenever you make a physical attack against another person, everyone in visual range must make an EGO check or suffer [Paralysing Fear]. +1.25% to blunt weapon, firearm and unarmed mastery per skill level.


    [Chivory]: This skill fortifies the user''s defences, granting +0.5% resistance per skill level to physical, magical, and elemental effects. Additionally, it enhances armour mastery by +1.25% per skill level.


    [Virtue in Extremis]: This skill embodies resilience in the direst of circumstances, granting +0.5% to mental resistances per skill level, safeguarding the user against psychological and emotional influences. It reduces the user''s reliance on food, water, and sleep by 0.33% per skill level. The skill sharpens focus, allowing the user to ignore distractions, including pain, by 1% per skill level. Additionally, it grants a veil of protection against scrutiny, blocking [Identify] skills of lower levels than this skill, ensuring privacy and secrecy.


    [Meditative Prayer]: You gain a number of spells from your God each day. The number of spells is based on skill level.


    [Pierce the Veil]: Pierce the veil of deception, unravelling lies, illusions, and obfuscation Skills to reach the truth. Your eyes can spy hidden treasures, traps, and compartments. Reduce the effectiveness of illusions and obfuscation skills by 1% per level. Increase your chance of finding hidden treasures, traps, and other compartments by 1% per level.


    Capstone - [Divine Armaments]: Imbue ordinary items with divine energy, transforming them into instruments of holy power. Increase the rarity and power of items by one rank in exchange for decreasing the total durability by 50%. Reduce the durability loss by 0.4% per skill level.


    [Holy Blast]: Fire a blast of Holy energy dealing direct damage to your target''s vitality. The holy blast may explode out of your person or be fired out of your limbs as a shaped charge. Increase the power from this skill by 1% per skill level.


    [Domian of Tova''s Chosen]: Everyone who sees you must make a [Ego] save against your skill level or suffer the following: Your allies will become [Charmed] while your enemies are stricken with [Terror]. Those around you feel an instinctual need to kneel before you. Reduce your opponent''s effective Ego against your mental effects by 1 point per skill level.


    [Chains of Tova]: Summon ethereal chains to bind an enemy''s movements and weaken their willpower. Restrains target for 5 seconds and reduces their damage output by 25% as long as they are chained. If they submit to the chains, they become your slave.


    [Eternal Servitude]: Should your servants die, you can resurrect them with 0.25% of their total resources restored. Increase the resources restored by 0.25% per skill level.


    Capstone - [To the Bitter End]: When your party members die, they are resurrected, and 1% of all of their resources are restored per skill level. This skill requires one week of cooldown. This skill can be toggled so your followers respawn at your location or at the location of their death.


    [Tyranny]: whenever you fight an opponent with debuffs or affliction, you have a chance to gain +1 to all base stats per debuff


    [Voice of Tova]: Your voice resonates with divine power, forcing those who hear it to obey or cower in submission. Forces all enemies in your presence to choose: obey the command or be inflicted with the [Terror] debuff


    [Eternal Chains]: Your followers are bound to you forever. Should they die, their souls will be bound to you to use as you choose.


    [Blood For the King]: You may drain your follows resources (HP, MP and Stamina) to restore yourself. This exchange must happen willingly.


    Capstone - [God Emperor]: The pinnacle of divine authority, [God Emperor] transforms your presence into a drug that commands loyalty and devotion. Your aura passively increases the loyalty of allies and followers under your leadership while fortifying their resistance to mental manipulation from others. All individuals within your presence must pass a contested [Ego] save against your skill level or fall under [Fanatical Devotion], serving you with fervour and a willingness to sacrifice themselves in your name. Commands issued to those affected by [Fanatical Devotion] or to individuals with lower Ego or levels than your skill cannot be defied. Additionally, this skill grants a permanent +3 EGO.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    His skills had changed, and each skill seemed to resonate with his soul. Cross dismissed the notification with a sneer. He still hated the system, despising its rules and meddling, but at least it rewarded him in tangible ways.


    "Cross, Cross!" the constable was shaking him.


    DING!!!


    <table>


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    <td>


    Ascend to your Throne


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Cross smiled as his hands lashed out grabbing the constable by the head. The Constable struggled, trying to get out of his grip. But Cross''s grip was iron even as the constable struggled.


    "Mr. Lee, I hereby tender your resignation," Cross chuckled.


    Then Cross slammed Lee''s head into his own desk with a sickening crack. Then a second, then a third, and a fourth.


    "You think you can order me?! Me?! You damned Chink" His voice was low, each word laced with venom.


    He kept smashing Lee''s head into the desk until Cross was holding nothing but brain and bone fragments.


    Cross had never felt better as he dumped the near headless body onto the ground, his body hitting the floor with a sickening thud. Blood pooled quickly beneath him, the crimson stain spreading across the tile like a creeping curse.


    Cross¡¯s gaze lingered on the lifeless form, a cold satisfaction spreading through his chest.


    "That''s what he deserved." Cross spat as his lips curled into a sneer.


    The door to his new office swung open suddenly, and three officers rushed in, panic etched into their faces. Cross raised an eyebrow, his smirk deepening as they hurried toward him. These fools had come to him, just as he¡¯d expected. The officers stood frozen, their faces drained of colour, eyes wide in shock.


    "What happened?" one of the officers asked.


    He glanced at the trembling officers, all eyes now on him, waiting for orders. Perfect.


    "Mr.Lee has failed to uphold his duty," Cross''s voice cut through the air like a blade. "I''m in charge now. Going forward, we will remind the Vancouver area that the RCMP are, in fact, in charge. Do you understand?"


    One of the officers, who had the nameplate Matthews, reached for his gun, but Cross was faster. He grabbed the late constable''s gun pointed and fired before the other man could get his gun halfway up.


    The gunshot rang out in the room, sudden and deafening. Matthews dropped, his body hitting the floor with a sickening thud. Blood pooled quickly beneath him, the crimson stain spreading across the tile like a creeping curse.


    All eyes were on the gun in his hands, but Cross¡¯s gaze lingered on the lifeless form as a cold satisfaction spread through his chest. Weakness, he thought, his lips curling into a sneer. That was the price of weakness. The other officers stood frozen, their faces drained of colour and their eyes wide in shock.


    "Anyone else?" Cross''s voice cut through the air like a blade. "Anyone else want to turn traitor?!"


    No one moved. No one breathed. Cross stalked across the room, his boots echoing ominously as he loomed over his subordinates, eyes narrowing. "Traitors will no longer be tolerated. If you attempt to abandon your post, I will kill you. UNDERSTAND!!!" Cross all but roared at his officers.


    He paused, letting his words sink in, watching the younger officers hang on his every word. He could see the uncertainty in their eyes, the desperation for someone¡ªanyone¡ªto take control.


    More than that, he could feel their resistance. They were weak and low-level, and he could feel it as their wills broke and they submitted to him. It felt euphoric.


    The officers nodded hurriedly, fear etched into their faces. Cross relished the look. The officers exchanged nervous glances, but none of them spoke up. Cross could see the fear, the confusion, and the reluctant acceptance. They were weak sheep, and sheep needed someone to follow them. And he would be more than happy to lead them.


    "Good, now get rid of this trash," Cross said, kicking Lee''s corpse.


    Two of the officers jumped to it, removing the body before it could stain his carpet any further.


    "Lee¡¯s death doesn¡¯t change our duty. The city is in chaos, and We can not afford to let this place descend further into anarchy. Crack open the armoury. I want every officer in riot gear before the end of the day. We need to secure our operations here before taking additional actions." Cross demanded of the third officer


    The officers nodded hurriedly, too terrified to argue. Cross could feel the power radiating off him, and it was intoxicating.


    ¡°And tomorrow,¡± he continued only to himself, ¡°I take control of this city.¡±

 Epilogue: Apocalypse Force

    Ignis and the other four horsemen sat around a lonely table on the top floor of the Media Centre. The room had been decorated with the ritziest materials they could find.


    While the other three merely sat silently, staring at him as they drank their beers, Ignis tried not to look guilty.


    "So where the hell did you go, Ignis?" Shade asked.


    "He went to help those Awoken Myths guys on my order," Altan said before Ignis could get a word in.


    "That wasn''t what we agreed to." Shade said.


    "Enough Shade." Graves said.


    Graves had that kind of creepy presence where he barely needed to speak above a whisper to draw their attention.


    "Ignis, Altan, would you kindly explain your actions to the guild? I believe we agreed not to help the opposition."


    Altan shrugged as he leaned back in his chair. "We lost nothing by allowing Ignis to join them. In fact, I would say that the troops he brought back will be more loyal than ever."


    Ignis nodded. "Besides, I don''t recall agreeing to anything. You three have been using the goblins to power level while denying me the chance to fight at nearly every opportunity." Ignis shot back angrily as flames licked up and down his arms.


    "Your build interferes with ours!!" Shade all but screeched. "If you burn them all, then Graves doesn''t get any undead, and my diseases are scorched."


    "Enough," Graves cut in." Did the Awoken Myths people attack you or do anything funny?"


    Ignis frowned. "No, why."


    "You seem to have come back with fewer people than you left with. Even when we account for the people, Altan has resurrected." Graves pointed out.


    "Yeah, and now we don''t have to feed those weaklings," Altan said. "Those people were only a part of our guild while we protected them. They would have left us the moment they didn''t need us, and you know it."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "We could have turned them into undead." Graves quietly pointed out.


    "Yes, because a guild that kills everyone and turns them into zombies isn''t going to be immediately nuked, you moron," Ignis said sarcastically.


    "Enough," Altan said. "We have a bigger issue."


    Ignis felt his eyes flick to Altan curiously.


    "The Awoken myths guild is clearly as ruthless as we are. They either figured out we were going to betray them or just decided to use us. Regardless, the Awoken Myths aggroed the goblin horde and pulled a large number of them into our settlement," Altan stated.


    "Indeed. In hindsight, simply joining in the war efforts properly would have resulted in better rewards. But it doesn''t matter. We still got the quest rewards, and that''s all that really mattered." Graves said


    "All that mattered?!" Shade hissed. "These two went behind our backs, betrayed us. He sided with the enemy. They can''t do that!"


    "I made an executive decision," Altan stated


    "You''re not in charge here." Shade said coldly


    "Oh, do you want to challenge me?" Altan asked, palming his scimitar''s handle. "You couldn''t lead a cat out of a wet paper bag."


    "YOU!!" Shade squealed as he turned red and shot up from his chair, his hands wreathed in the filth of a hundred diseases.


    "Gentleman, gentleman," Graves said in a cold, quiet voice. "Please relax. Now that the goblins are gone, we have more interesting things to discuss."


    "What things?!" Shade asked, clearly unwilling to back down.


    Despite the fact that everyone at the table had some form of immunity or resistance to his plagues.


    "I''m talking about killing those Awoken Myths guys for dissing us." Graves said.


    "Plague doesn''t travel well in the winter, and I can''t make you guys immune to my disease. I can only cure you when you get sick." Shade said.


    "Then we go there in person, wait until that priest leaves their base and then we kill him. Once he''s dead, we can bring our armies to bear, burn that school to the ground and add them to our forces." Graves said as his hands stroked his scythe.


    ¡°You two are thinking too small,¡± Altan tisked dismissively


    ¡°They¡¯ve just started plotting murder and arson,¡± said Ignis. ¡°That¡¯s thinking too small?¡±


    ¡°What do you know, Altan, the only brain you have is between your legs? What do you want to do to get a harem of a hundred women?" Shade said.


    Altans'' eyes flickered with emerald flames, and Ignis suddenly became much more worried.


    ¡°Still too small,¡± said Altan, sitting upright, his concubines resting their hands on him. He rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers together.


    "You guys aren''t thinking of the big picture. We need to look to the future. I don''t want to live in the Vancouver area; I want to conquer it," Altan suggested, his eyes glowing green with ambition.

 Epilogue: Starkiller

    Starkiller sat in his tree house. He didn''t know who it belonged to. The original family, whose backyard he was squatting in, were mauled by sabertooth cats. At least, he thought the Saberteeth had killed them. He didn''t know he showed up after the fact to the blood, bones and sabre teeth covered in blood licking their paws.


    He killed them all, but the house was so ruined that he hadn''t considered living there. The tree house, however, was massive, more than large enough for his new home. He just needed to grab an extension cord so he could power a few things inside of his new home: a TV, fridge, and microwave oven. The power was still on, at least, as was the plumbing. Though for how much longer, he didn''t know. His new home was altogether decent, in his opinion.


    Starkiller brought up his status as he looked up his new skill while he waited for his appointment.


    <table>


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    New Skill Acquired


    [Victorious Fighting Buddha] - Forgotten


    [Victorious Fighting Buddha]: +1.25% to Unarmed and Staff Mastery per skill level. Increase all resource regeneration by +2% per skill level at all times. Your physical attacks now inflict soul damage, and you can access your soul space. +1 SPIRIT per level


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Starkiller smiled as he reviewed the single strongest [Meditation] skill in the Legend of Noralon. Unfortunately, he was only level 25 and all of his skill slots were full, with the exception of the level 30 capstone. It was a little annoying, knowing that he wouldn''t be getting any additional skills for the next five levels, but at least he could stockpile the points for later.  At the moment he had an important meeting.


    Two copies of him leapt into the treehouse just as he finished up. The level 20 capstone for [Heir to the Monkey King] was [Body outside of Body]. It was a skill that allowed him to create one clone per skill level. Unfortunately, until the skill was maxed out, his clones would take a penalty to their resources. Even when he maxed out the skill, they would only have half his total resource pool available to them. Right now, they''re limited to 7% of his total resources. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Hello, clones." Starkiller said happily, "Where are the other eight? I was under the impression this was an orgy, not a threesome."


    "Died to the goblins. Too bad they were good-looking boys," one of the clones said.


    "Did you learn anything further about the skill?" Starkiller asked.


    "We come out with the same status as you had when you created us¡ªthe same HP, MP, Stamina, and skills," the First Clone said.


    "But we can''t level up or grind skill levels," the second said. We''re a frozen image of you. And since you can''t remember the deaths of the other clones, that means you can only regain our memories if you return us to hair."


    Starkiller nodded, waving his hand. The two clones did just that, returning to strands of hair.


    Immediately, he was inundated with their memories of the battle. The other clones he had created had been dog-piled by the goblin horde, and their skills burned through in a futile attempt to keep them alive. And one other had tried to take out Seraphel and had died. That wasn''t too surprising, as he made most of them when he just got the skill at level 20. So, they were less robust than the ones that returned to him.


    He double-checked, but no. He got no XP class or skill, though [Body outside of Body] jumped up to level 14. He double-checked the hairs he had plucked from his own head to create the clones. Both of them were locked in at level 23, and their skills were equally locked. They couldn''t level up their skills, nor could they gain new ones.


    Unfortunately, it took a lot of his personal resources to create each clone, so he wouldn''t be able to replace them until they were destroyed naturally. Despite the technique''s origin he couldn''t just summon a hundred versions of himself like the real monkey king. Each hair required him to sacrifice half of his total HP, MP and Stamina in preparation. Of course, with his new skill, that wouldn''t be nearly as time-consuming.


    In the meantime, he needed to consider what his next class would be. Without [Legendary Strength], his speed wasn''t quite where he wanted it to be. While [Heir to Sun Wukong the Monkey King] was one of the top ten classes in the game, but another of the top ten classes might be just what he needed, one as famous as Wukongs. Unfortunately, he doubted he would be able to acquire the class naturally. Which meant he would have to find someone who could give him the class. He resummoned his clones.


    "I need you to get online, start searching for the [Heir to Jason of Iolcus]."


    One of the clones smiled.


    "You want us to find someone who can give you the [Heir to Heracules] class?"


    "Yep," Starkiller said, smiling.


    Tom could have his guild. He would have an army of one.

 Epilogue: Seraphel

    Seraphel walked into the meeting place as he wiped the blood off of his armour.


    He didn''t pick the location, so he needed to scout around the area to make sure his subordinates weren''t laying a trap for him. He didn''t want to have to kill them all again if he didn''t have to, as replacing them had just become even more difficult.


    The meeting place was something called a Mr. Donalds. The red and yellow buildings seemed to be everywhere. Fortunately, his subordinates had chosen to be smart and did not appear to be aiming for his head at the moment.


    Inside, seven drows awaited his pleasure. Every single one of them would stab him in the back at the first opportunity. That''s why he had to put off this meeting for so long. Less they get ideas.


    "Report," Seraphel hissed.


    It had been almost two days since they had lost the bloodstone, and Devash¡ªor Kwantline, as the humanoids called it¡ªhad fallen. The defeat left a bitter taste in Seraphel''s mouth. Despite that, he needed to remain in the area to tie up loose ends instead of moving on like he wanted to. He was annoyed by the delay at how the Gul mishandled their mission.


    They should have systematically destroyed any potential pockets of resistance, but the Gul only wanted to feed the bloodstone. And unleashed the goblins like a swarm of locusts, and Seraphel was relegated to helping the goblins whenever they got slaughtered. It was pathetic, worse. He had no doubt one of the other factions would attempt to blame him for the Gul''s failures.


    "We have determined how the Gul failed." one of the Drow stated. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "The city guard and the locals originally drove off from Devsha and joined a guild called Awoken Myths. This guild seems to be the primary force behind the Gul''s destruction."


    "Another guild called the Apocalypse Force spread a plague among our number, further weakening our forces." one of his men offered


    "Finally, the Guls'' greatest mistake was spreading our forces too thin. Most of the goblins aren''t even aware of our defeat yet, and many more are still fighting one of the dozen local guilds," another said.


    "Can we retrieve the bloodstone?" Seraphel asked.


    "Not currently, my lord. We are still trying to determine who has the bloodstone."


    "What have we learned about the city across the river?" Seraphel asked. "Can we regroup there?"


    Seraphel listened carefully as his soldiers described the situation on the other side of the river. He considered whether it was worth it to try to get a second gate working¡ªunlikely. He did consider sabotaging or even attacking the humans in the area until one of the other goblin hordes could reach them.


    That would be the tactical thing to do, the smart thing, but it would also make him appear weak, as he would have failed to conquer the area. That was unacceptable. It would be better to find a different operation, kill the leader, take it over, and take the credit. However, he should still do something to the humans in this area to ensure plenty of infighting.


    "We will leave this area," Seraphel said. "Lemick informs the other faction in the area of the area of the bloodstone and that Awoken Myths has it. Once you are done, return to us."


    Lemick gave a deep bow before he vanished.


    "We are heading south towards the ley line. On the way, we will regain our strength and claim what we can," Seraphel stated, leaving no room for debate.


    Failure might have been disappointing, but this was just one of several hundred operations. It was a minor setback, but nothing the horde couldn''t overcome.

 Epilogue: Movie Night

    It had taken them most of the day to settle Jaime''s group into Hopkins. Not all of them stayed. Less than five hundred people moved off towards the other settlements. But the majority of them seemed to be settling in for the long run. All of the original guild members were given their own rooms, which were the rooms Duncan had reserved for them.


    The original guild members had immediately started helping out. Clover had taken over the garden. Botut had already begun to do a proper inventory. Titus had taken over the hunters, Godric was in the workshop helping Duncan, and Sebastion had taken over the magic training from Alex. It was honestly a massive relief. Though between everyone who had died and all of the dead people, Jaime had ¡­ well, rescued was the wrong word¡ªrecovered, maybe. Regardless, Tom felt utterly drained, even if the skill experience was worth it.


    <Hand of Mercy has reached level 59>


    Which was why what he needed to do next felt so much more ¡­ slimy. When Skippy came back to Hopkins, Tom met him just outside the building. They had things to talk about. Tom and Skippy sat down on the curb in Hopkins parking lot just as it was getting dark. He had just finished his resurrection spree.


    "Hey, Tom," Skippy muttered next to him.


    "What?" Tom let out a breath.


    "About that thing you asked me to do ¡­" Skippy trailed off.


    Tom quickly looked around. No one was around, but he discreetly threw up a sound barrier to stop eavesdropping.


    "It was necessary, Skippy," Tom said as his back straightened.


    "Dragging a train of goblins through the other settlements and into the middle of Hopkins was necessary?" Skippy asked.


    "Look, if you hadn''t done it, we wouldn''t have gone in there with no more than a few thousand people, as opposed to the three thousand we did go in with," Tom said. "And what would have happened then? Our army would have been destroyed, and the remaining goblins would have been able to focus on us. With the [Sanguine Monarch] still alive, we would have all been dead. At least until Jaime showed up with the guild, then it would have just been another raid. But hey, no one died ¡­ permanently. Nothing was lost that couldn''t be rebuilt. The ends justify the means."


    Skippy just stared at him.


    "But did we need really need to go in there and get fucked in the ass? I already destroyed the gate. With my class, I might have been able to get the bloodstone as well, even if I needed to kill the fucking [Bloodmage] to do it."


    "Maybe," Tom admitted. "But what happened instead? What would happen during the next crisis? Even if we gathered up all our old guild members, Would we have the numbers for the next time things went to shit? We bought a giant army there; everyone got levels, and most of them now feel a mix of familiarity and debt to the guild. And all that talk of taking Hopkins from us is over."


    "That''s pretty fucking cold, dude. I mean Jesus. I''m not really sure how I feel about that." Skippy admitted.


    "Then just blame me," Tom stated.


    "What?" Skippy asked.


    "I''m the guild leader; it was my order and responsibility. Hell, I expect we''re going to make even harder choices in the future," Tom said. "And when we do, it will be my decision. Not yours, not Jaimes, not the Majors. This is my shit show, and I''m responsible for it, no one else. If anyone ever finds out, you just lay everything at my feet. Because it was my fault, not yours. Ok" Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Tom placed his hand on his friend''s shoulder. Skippy seemed like he had just shredded a large weight as he stopped slouching.


    "Thanks, Tom," Skippy said. "Have you ever thought about going back to the way things were?"


    Tom smiled as he looked at the sky. Noralons'' three moons hung in the sky, peeking out from between the clouds. Snowflakes danced across the sky as he considered his answer.


    "I hope it never goes back to the way it was," Tom admitted.


    "TOOOOMMMM," Chloe called out, coming to him and tackling him.


    Skippy went invisible on reflex.


    "Come on, Tom, we''re going to be late," Chloe said as she dragged him behind her.


    "Chloe, wait. Slow down. Stop dragging me. When did you get so strong?" Tom begged as his little sister manhandled him with surprising strength.


    "No, we''re going to be late," Chloe stated.


    She quickly dragged him back inside of Hopkins and pulled him towards the theatre. Skippy snickered as he followed after Tom. Tom chucked a regular paper airplane at Skippy, nailing him even as he attempted to dodge or go invisible.


    "I can still see you, Skippy. Your [Reapers Cloak] skill doesn''t work on me." Tom pointed out.


    Chloe dragged Tom into the theatre and quickly sat them down next to Alex in one of the few remaining seats. She immediately leaned against him, using him as a body pillow.


    Alex, Abbadon, Duncan, Eve, Sam, Luke, Gareth, Travis, and even Penny were all already seated. Other people, his other guild members included, were spread out throughout the theatre. Tom thought he might have seen the major, but he wasn''t sure.


    Skippy plopped down into one of the remaining seats next to Gareth as he was chewing on a piece of jerky and sipping a mug of what Tom guessed might be beer. Alex smiled at Tom.


    ¡°You''re late. Want any popcorn?¡± Alex offered Tom a bag.


    "Um, what is this?" Tom asked.


    "It''s movie night, dummy," Abaddon said as he emptied an entire bag of Skittles into his reptilian maw.


    "You know those orc tribes are still out there," Duncan pointed out. They won''t fall apart like the goblins."


    "We can take them," Tom said.


    "And what about the [Apocalypse Force]?" Luke asked. "We have goblins, orcs, those assholes. Not to mention how messed up everything is with the system and that dungeon."


    "Don''t forget the frost wyvern in Langley," Abaddon added.


    "The what?!" Luke asked.


    "Not important," Alex said.


    "It sounds very important," Luke protested.


    "Who cares? We''re heroes living our dreams as we fight monsters and live in a castle. Would you really go back to your old lives?! If you could"


    "Yes," Luke said.


    "No," Tom stated.


    Everyone turned to him. Tom shrugged unapologetically.


    "My sister is safe and happy, I''m surrounded by friends and people I care about, I have a job I actually like that I''m good at, and I have vast magical powers. Why would I ever go back to the misery of the world before?" Tom said


    Eve rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, yeah, because your life was so awful before."


    Duncan elbowed his girlfriend as Tom gave Eve a look that said you''re a moron like nothing else.


    "My dad is an abusive alcoholic, and my mom is just abusive, and I had no future prospects. This is objectively a better life."


    "Alright, enough heavy talk." Penny cut in. "We''ve all been doing stuff non-stop for the entire week. You guys need to take a break before your burnout. I''ve prepared everything for this evening."


    The white screen came down over the stage, and the lights dimmed as a projector turned on.


    Apparently, the scavenging crew had brought back an entire home theatre system that was the star attraction at regular movie nights. At the front, Tom could see someone opening a box.


    "What are we watching?" Tom asked.


    "Discworld Hogfather 2006," Alex said.


    They all looked at Alex.


    "What?" she asked. "It''s a Christmas movie."


    "No, it''s not!" Godric called out.


    "Wookie Christmas," Alex called back


    Gordric shut up.


    "Yeah, it''s a Christmas movie that stars Death and the tooth fairy that you make us watch every year," Skippy said, rolling his eyes.


    "Enough, everyone gets a chance to pick a move for the night. Alex won the lottery; it''s her movie," Penny said. "It''s a good movie, at least, right?"


    "It''s actually pretty good," Tom admitted as he leaned back as the film started up.


    Like he said, life was good.