ã€ŠReturn of the Wind Mage. { Book 2 Stubbing Feb. 4th}ã€‹


 Ch. 1 The Present Future

    1.

    A flash of golden light illuminated the world far below them. Santi¡¯s eyes stung as he activated Slipstream and started to dive down the eye of the tornado. He had built a career and reputation around his speed and he utilized every dreg of it now. He flew head down staying inside of the iron black walls of the tornado. The spinning winds contained jagged bolts of golden lighting, giving the faintest of light for Santi to take in the chaos of the attack on the cultist base.

    Even Gus, the Champion storm mage who had made the tornado, lagged behind as Santi dove. Santi rode Air Capsule in complete silence, his skill forming an isolating bubble of air that was propelled through Slipstream. It was good for speed, though it was near impossible to make quick changes in any direction.

    A second bolt of gold flashed across the world and struck a dome of muddy brown mana that rose up and over the deserted town. As Santi got closer to the ground, the world came into focus and he took in the desolate little town the cultists had taken over. It was Nowherevillle, USA.

    Dilapidated buildings, crumbling under the weight of history and neglect, littered the perimeter of the shield. The golden bolt hit the shield mana with the force of a bomb, air displaced in a crack as the ground was torn asunder, and a concussive blast spread out, flattening what little vegetation had survived years of the system.

    Kelly Tran¡¯s skills no doubt. The archer Champion was famous for her mercurial temper and hitting like a heavyweight boxer. The shield flickered, fading out for a moment before snapping back in place. Just in time to catch the tip of the descending tornado. Thin as a needle, it pierced the shield as if it wasn¡¯t there. More and more of the funnel slid into the shield, the generated winds stirring the stable earth mana of the shield. In only a moment, the shield ripped apart as the wind magic dispersed it and then they were falling toward the center of the town.

    Santi was still far above the ground, racing down the relatively calm center of the tornado as the crumbling buildings were tossed around like toys. Black blurs rose up, fighting their way through the wall of the twister to rise up to meet them. Santi had prepared for this, as the bloodsworn cultists wouldn¡¯t go without a fight. The rest of the squad couldn¡¯t keep up with his dive speed. He would get to draw first blood in the final battle, the thought made him smile as vengeance presented itself. He ran Analyze and was instantly rewarded.

    Demonic Chimera Lv. 21

    It was a twisted mockery of life, animal parts welded to each other with little rhyme or reason. Tentacles lashed out at the air as its human sized dragonfly wings forced it higher. These were the rejects of experiments, often used as a first line of defense or attack. Santi measured and took aim in the space between heartbeats and unleashed a Razor Wind blade ahead of him. The invisible blade of air entered the creature and bisected it in a shower of gore that was whisked away by the twister.  Three more blades followed that one as Santi created a hole in their formation, the body parts of the unholy experiments being flung away. The monsters were barely inside of the Acolyte tier and not a challenge at all.

    He passed close enough to them that they could have reached out and touched him. The jetwash of his passage tossed some aside, disrupting them even further as the rest of the squad fell on them like a hammer. Above him, Gus was controlling the twister¡¯s path as a trio of heavyweights guarded him from the chimeras.

    The ground was racing up towards Santi, he only had moments before he¡¯d faceplant going over a hundred miles per hour. Above him, Gus dispelled the twister outwards, the once constrained winds detonating in a blast that leveled the town. The imprisoned lightning was released, exploding outward and targeting the chimeras. Hundreds died, falling like flies as the lightning incinerated them.

    Santi canceled Slipstream and used the skill Float to stop himself from turning into paste. He bobbed a foot off of the ground, saber held loosely in his hand as he looked around. He stood in the epicenter of the explosion, the only building left standing several hundred yards away. Santi cocked his head, that building shouldn¡¯t be standing, he thought to himself.

    Floating alone through the destroyed downtown of the city, he kept his eyes peeled for more of the chimeras. While not a true threat individually, their strength as a pack could be a real menace. Hundreds of fighters were pouring into what remained of the town, beginning to search for the cultists. They had to be here, their diviners and seers had worked hard to pierce the veils to find this spot. The strength of the protections had been impressive, requiring two Champions to shatter the shield. That type of investment wasn¡¯t given to any random base.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Santi was hundreds of yards ahead of everyone else as he floated to the roof of the rundown warehouse. The rusted steel hulk was listening to one side, but had somehow survived the tornado''s destruction. Santi prepared himself for a fight, there was no way that some of the Apostates weren¡¯t ensconced inside. Ignoring the rooftop door, he floated up and entered through a broken window.

    And nearly died.

    A black claw materialized from the shadows and slashed the air with violet threads of mana trailing behind. Santi swung his sword up and blocked the blow, his arm going numb as he was thrown toward the ground. He hit a catwalk and busted straight through, the rusted metal failing to cut his reinforced skin before he crashed into hard concrete. The breath whooshed out of him, but hard won instincts kept him alive, his body instinctively rolling away even as his brain fought to catch up.

    Onyx claws tore through concrete like it was paper, the floating claw chasing after him. Santi threw a Razor Wind at it and watched with a grim smile as the construct broke apart in a black miasma. He spun and looked around to see what he had walked into. The rest of the attack force was coming, he only had to survive for a few seconds before help came.

    The warehouse was dim, lit by hundreds of small black candles. Shadows crept and danced out of tune of their flames, things inside of them. Cultists filled the warehouse, hundreds of them, seated and chanting around the candles, oblivious to his entrance. They were all motionless, seated carefully among the lines of black salt that snaked through the warehouse. Santi took one glance at it to recognize a spellform, the cultists sitting so that they didn¡¯t break the spell''s containment.

    Santi only had a moment to look at the spell. Ritual magic wasn¡¯t his expertise but the sheer power of the large circle gave him pause. Black salt formed a large circle that all of the mortal cultists sat inside of. The candles formed rivers of flame as they followed along the crisscrossing lanes of salt as it formed patterns on the inside of the spell form. Cultists were packed so tightly together that Santi couldn¡¯t see past the middle layer, activating Float and drifting up to see the center of the warehouse.

    Six hooded and masked figures stood in the center, inside of a final circle, holding hands and swaying slowly. There was a gap for one more, the seventh. Santi felt a bolt of horror roll through him as his mind connected a thousand disparate thoughts.

    These were The Seven, the Apostates. Some of them had been reported killed, others had been missing for years. Only three were thought to be currently alive and active. Their identities were unknown, at least to him. Myths and legends who had killed hundreds, but where was the seventh? Santi felt a ripple of air, causing him to twist and dodge on instinct. A crushing blow hit him in the side and threw him into the heart of the warehouse. Into the circle.

    Entering the circle was hell. Rampant magic flowed through it, burning and freezing, wild and full of the vile taste of the cultists¡¯ patron. Rancid meat and spoiled milk combined with gasoline. Even as he flew, he was casting his skills, Capsule of Air and Float. He froze, twisting in the air as he straightened himself to meet the shocked gray eyes of his attacker.

    Looking down at the ground several inches from his feet, Santi looked around him and had to suppress a groan of exasperation. He was hit right into the center of the ritual, in the only empty space. He looked down as black salt lines turned white, then silver, and finally the red-gold of the dawn. A scream ripped its way free of his throat as Santi was dragged down through solid concrete.

    He floated for a moment, the other six figures staring at him with their faces bared. Well, everything was bare and Santi was trying not to think of that. He stared at them, imprinting their faces on his memory as they glared at him with murder in their eyes. His heart shuddered as he met the eyes of one of them, a woman with thick brown hair and soft brown eyes. A button nose and a scar that left her mouth permanently quirked upward. Lips that he was intimately familiar with. A scream started to bubble up. They disappeared. Flashed away with a pop.

    ¡°Good luck, young man.¡± The voice was more presence than words, stroking at the back of his mind as the world twisted. Santi was just holding onto the thought that one of The Seven, the enemies to humanity, was someone he knew and loved. He had watched her die, and now she stood with the foe.

    The world inverted and then Santi was flying. In a numb despair he looked around at the surroundings as he flew and he felt it. The Patron. There was nothing else it could be. It was. Well, it just was. And it was looking at him. Santi snarled, hate broiling his blood as he stared at the foe. Years of fighting, of heartache and despair came boiling out in a stream.

    ¡°You won¡¯t win. I¡¯ll stop you!¡± Each syllable was filled with venom, the hate burning his heart.

    ¡°GO FOR IT,¡± the voice reverberated through Santi¡¯s body and he couldn¡¯t help but notice that the voice seemed apathetic.

 Ch. 2 Back To College

    2.

    The blare of his alarm clock startled Santi out of the vivid dreams he had been enduring. His hand automatically rose to paw at the insufferable alarm and its piercing cry. Santi groaned as the alarm turned off, rubbing at his eyes as he debated just staying in his warm bed. His foggy brain was slowly growing clear as he took in where he was.

    Plain white walls with shitty posters. A second bed across from him that looked undisturbed. The faintest smell of mildew and unwashed socks.His college dorm room, which hadn¡¯t existed for over seven years.

    Santiago bolted straight up and out of the bed, the blankets falling in a tangle to the ground. Wild-eyed, he whirled around taking in the small room and his eternally missing roommate Paulie. Except, Paulie was dead and had been dead for years. This whole dorm burned down in the opening days of the System¡¯s arrival.

    ¡°What the fuck is going on?¡± Santiago whispered to himself as he slowly sat back down on his  bed. The last thing he remembered was the fight, being propelled into the ritual circle. Then¡­ no, better not think about That. Santiago forced his mind off of the Patron and forced himself to be rational. He thought about it, thought some more, and then came to his conclusion.

    ¡°I¡¯m the fucking Terminator,¡± Santiago groaned as he fell back in his bed. He shook his head staring up at the ceiling. It made sense. The Fallen were losing, why not throw a Hail Mary. Gather up all your supporters, use your patron¡¯s power, and go back in time. Go back before the war started, while your enemies were unaware they were the enemy. Win the war before it even began.

    ¡°They¡¯re going to kill all the Champions before they become Champions. Ughh, I hate time travel. Stupid fucking paradoxes. This is going to be so full of plot holes, I swear,¡± Santiago grumbled as he stood up and grabbed his phone. Checking the date, April 13th, he had two days before the System arrived. The System¡¯s arrival was going to be a disaster, millions would die. Including his younger sister and parents. His older sister, Bianca, would survive the initial wave, but fall in one of the early battles with the Fallen.

    ¡°Not letting that shit happen again, obviously,¡± Santi said to the empty room as he grabbed a pad of paper and pencil. It had always helped him figure things out if he could actually see them. In big letters, on the very top of the page, he wrote ¡®Save my Family¡¯. Then started to list what he would need.

    If he only had two days, he would have to move fast. He debated for a moment leaving the area and racing to his family, to try to save them. If he left, he would lose all of his advantages though. He had stayed for six months in this area, just fighting to survive. Bianca had come to find him, traveling the distance with a convoy headed toward the pillar.

    ¡°Shit, the pillar,¡± Santi moaned in horror. Old memories were beginning to surface, memories he would prefer to stay buried. He started jotting down what he needed, ignoring the urge to find his family and hold them forever. Six of the Seven had made it back and they would be going all out from the get go. He needed to focus if he wanted to win.

    He paused, pencil frozen over the paper. Santi had done alright in the initial burst of the System¡¯s arrival. He had managed to become a Disciple after all. His potential had run out though, he had hit the wall late, but still hit it. That didn¡¯t need to be the case this time. He leaned back for a moment and started to imagine what it would be like if he accrued the power needed. The college was rich with opportunity and danger and many had risen up, taking it. Eventually. Could Santi grab it all, or most of it anyway?

    The thought danced around his mind. There were titles he never had the chance to earn. Titles he knew he could earn this time. Treasures and limited dungeons that had been taken by others who had died later, failing to use them to their potential. Six months, for six months he had stayed on campus and knew every inch of it during the systems coming. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Sanit started to write faster. A list of not what he needed, but opportunities that could be his for the taking. Dungeons, titles, natural treasures, and more. He could gather the momentum needed to hit Champion tier faster than anyone else had. The Apostates would be doing it too, obviously they would have planned this out before the ritual. They had plans, and plans in case those plans didn¡¯t work.

    Santi knew only one of them, and she knew him. She was on the other side of the country currently and he didn¡¯t need to worry about her yet. One of the others could be close by though. That led him down to write another list, this a group of names and where they were when the system hit. The Champions and heroes of humanity. The ones the Apostates would definitely be looking to kill.

    A stroke of genius hit him as he finished what he thought was the list of what he remembered. He started to write a second list of the dead Champions. The early ones who had died in the war and during the challenges and incursions. His head hurt. There was so much to do. He looked at his phone, perched on the edge of his bed.

    The system''s arrival would kill most technology. Guns, cars, electricity, and cell-phones. Even batteries would struggle before finally falling to the wayside. These things he needed to take into account. But, what if he got ahold of some of them now? The miracle that was social media. He would seem like a mad man, sending messages to people to be ready for the apocalypse and beware of strangers. He still had to do it.

    It took him hours to find most of them. An eccentric mix that tended to trend young. He sent them a fairly bland message that he hoped they would be a little receptive of. Then he scrolled for a bit, enjoying the creature comforts of a civilized age. There was something inherently pleasing about just being able to scroll mindlessly.

    ¡°Fuck, this is why I¡¯m failing my classes,¡± Santi muttered as he stood up and looked at his five page list.The loss of his stats was beginning to sink in. He had become so accustomed to his increased intelligence and willpower, that his sudden desire to just lay down and procrastinate was disturbing. He checked his phone again and looked at his bank account and the money sitting in it. Student housing, a grant, and some money from working through the summer. Less than ten grand to save the world. Or, at least, this corner of it.

    Santi scrolled through his contact list before he found Tank¡¯s name. The other boy lived across the hall. A large, strong, walking wall of muscle. He died holding back the monsters as they ran down the hall slaughtering half asleep students. He died a hero''s death. Santi was determined to see the big guy  make it out, he deserved a chance at life. He had given Santi the chance after all. Tank answered on the second ring.

    ¡°Sup, Santi,¡± Tank¡¯s voice was a deep and calm baritone.

    ¡°Hey, listen, can I borrow your truck?¡± Santi was going to buy a lot of shit. The extra space would be mission critical.

    ¡°Yeah man. You have to fill her up though.¡± Santi smiled at Tank¡¯s words. Always willing to help out, to lend a hand. He might grumble about it later, but he would do it.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not a dick,¡± Santi said with a laugh. Tears were starting to trickle down his face as the moment hit him. He could save his friends and family. It could be stopped. He wouldn¡¯t have to be alone again.

    ¡°You good, Santi, I just tell everyone. I think people like the truck more than me, always asking to borrow it,¡± Tank laughed, deep booming chuckles.

    ¡°Nah, man, they love you too. I¡¯ll swing by in like, I don¡¯t know, an hour?¡± Santi was struggling to fight the sobs welling up. The emotional weight was settling in, hearing Tank¡¯s voice the catalyst.

    ¡°You good, man? Sounds like you¡¯re crying?¡± Tank sounded concerned, his voice softened instantly. Santi felt the urge to tell him, to spill all of the secrets the future held. The weight was suddenly unbearable. He needed to get off the phone, needed to sit down and just stare at a wall and not think for a few minutes.

    ¡°Stubbed my toe, shit hurts. See ya in a few.¡± Santi hung up on Tank and sank into his bed. It had been so long since he had been safe, even with the apocalypse coming in a few days. Right now, he was safe. He started to cry as nearly a decade of stress and fear caught up to him.

 Ch. 3 Water Run

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    Sweet grease exploded into Santi¡¯s mouth as he bit down; the savory sausage and egg, bathed in butter, filled his mouth in an intoxicating mixture of bliss. He had to stop himself from moaning out loud. He had missed fast food. Eight years of lean eating, he had taken Tank¡¯s truck through the first drive-thru he had seen. Grabbing the ice cold soda, he sucked down the drink in a few furious gulps. The cloyingly sweet syrupy water clung to his throat and he had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

    The truck¡¯s A/C was blowing on the coldest level, bathing him in its perfection. Creature comforts, soda, fast food, and air conditioning. Things he had thought were lost forever when the system came. Now he got to enjoy them for a few days before the system came again. The thought lingered in the back of his mind as he drove through the edges of the sleepy college town. Saturday mornings were quiet, most of the students sleeping in and most of the year round residents off to work. He enjoyed it, looking over the clean streets, the morning joggers, and the occasional car passing by.

    He could feel tears edging into his eyes again, and he promised himself that his willpower would be the first thing he increased. While nice to not have the iron control of his emotions that he once had, it was growing frustrating quickly. A tremor was rocking his hand, his heart beating with a furious beat, all the while his stomach twisted up in knots at the thought of what was coming. He was no longer a Disciple, with the powers of a demigod. He was just simple old Santiago, with his soft belly and blatant lack of magic. There was a reason he chose to become a mage, and one that relied on speed on top of that.

    The grocery store parking lot was fairly empty, just a handful of early morning shoppers and the workers'' cars scattered across the lot. Santi parked in the closest spot and hopped out, feeling the warmth of the sun and the promise of a warm spring day. He grabbed a cart, then on second though, a second one. Water was heavy after all. The bright lights, shining floor, and bland music was a welcome balm of normality that called to him. While the memories of his life were slowly fading into a feverish nightmare, the plainness of the store was soothing. Santi had spent the full thirty minutes before getting the truck writing down everything he remembered while the memories were fresh.

    When he had realized the memories were fading, sliding away to the dark recesses of his mind, he had panicked. His hand had been cramping from how fast he scribbled everything down. The battered college-ruled notebook might be the most valuable object on the planet right now, just nobody knew it. He had left it closed on his bed, trusting that Paulie wouldn¡¯t look at it, even if he did come home. Santi¡¯s rough plan for riding out the apocalypse¡¯s early stages involved a series of old memories of the early days of the apocalypse. Memories formed before he had increased his intelligence and willpower. Memories that were hazy. He just had to hope they would be enough.

    The workers gave him some strange looks, their faces lined with confusion as he started to fill the carts with case after case of water. It didn¡¯t take long to fill the cart and he struggled to pull both of them to the register. It wasn¡¯t only his lacking mental stats he was missing at the moment. Even with a low strength, in comparison to his rank, he had been stronger than any regular person could have been. Now, well, now he was just average at best.

    The cashier, an older lady in her fifties with graying blonde hair and an amused smile, asked him if he found everything. The embarrassment of asking for help was still there, even after a decade of brutal fighting.

    ¡°Yeah, not really. I need a lot more water. Like I need to fill up my truck? Is there any way I could get some help with that?¡± Santi asked, half fearing a negative reaction. While his memories had transferred over, they were faded remnants that were rapidly dissolving. The majority of him was still stuck as a nineteen year old college student, including his social anxiety. He reminded himself to jot down some more notes before those memories completely disappeared. He had the faint hope that once he increased his level a few times that the memories of his old life would come in clearer.

    ¡°Sure, let me call up some of the boys in the back. We can get you settled. Do you have a rewards card with us?¡± The cashier led him through the process of setting up a card, knowing that he would never have a chance to use the rewards he was getting. Santi grabbed a few candy bars and threw them in too, even though his stomach was already trying to rebel from his rich breakfast.

    The guys came out and within ten minutes the truck was filled with water, nearly fifty cases of it. The truck was noticeably lower to the ground as the heavy water made it sag. Santi thanked the two men, both in their late twenties, and quickly took off toward the future base of operations. The dorm would be ideal, but a rift would spawn right next to it, making it near impossible to fortify.

    In the second week after the system¡¯s arrival, the survivors had found an old abandoned building tucked away on campus. All brick with an eight foot wall that ran around the perimeter. When they had originally busted in they had been fearful that there would be a monster''s nest or something equally vile. Instead, it had just been dilapidated, filled with outdated office equipment. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    It took Santi ten minutes of winding through the narrow streets, hand dancing in the air current as he let his arm dangle out of the window. The peace of the day, the warm sleepy heat, it was relaxing. His heart had slowed down its frantic pace, his stomach unclenched, and he was just enjoying the day. Santi sang along with the radio, not bothering to connect his phone, and just took a moment to enjoy life.

    The building was exactly how he remembered it. A long brick wall, discolored from spray paint, dirt, and life in general, with a strong gate. A thick, rusted padlock held the gates shut, but Santi knew a way around. Part of the wall in the corner of the building, away from the street, had fallen down. He pulled the truck around the corner, and away from prying eyes, backed the truck up onto the lawn and to the broken wall.

    It took him almost an hour of carefully sliding through the broken wall with two packs of water straining his biceps as he did so. There was a little shed, behind the main building. Santi didn¡¯t want to break into the main part of the building yet, so he kept his vandalism to the minimum. The lock on the aluminum shed was stronger than the door, a door which had yielded with a few well placed kicks. He had worried initially about people coming to see what the commotion was about, but it was an isolated corner of campus. Nobody came, no nosy neighbors looked around, and he filled the shed with packages of water.

    He could remember clearly drinking tainted water, filled with all sorts of foul things. People wouldn¡¯t unlock the Purify skill for a while. It was an Acolyte skill, which could take months for people to reach. In the meantime, Santi planned on stocking the shed with clean water, purifying tablets, and a myriad assortment of other critical supplies.

    He hit different stores, not wanting to make it too weird as he filled the back of the truck over and over again with cases of water. He had plans for food, but wanted to secure water first before calories and weapons. Water, shelter, food, weapons. That was his order of priorities. He had shelter, he was securing water, food and weapons could all come from the local super center the next town over. Santi knew you couldn¡¯t just go to some mall and find a good sword. You could go and find a solid ax at a hardware store though. They weren¡¯t designed to kill things, but were made of solid steel and had a good handle. The early waves didn¡¯t really need premium weapons. Those could be acquired in dungeons and from crafters later on.

    The sun was sitting high up, baking the land when his phone started to ring. Santi was driving back while sipping a liberated bottle of water, having worked up quite a sweat with all of these trips. He fumbled with his phone, the old habits coming back so fast as he took a glance at the screen. His previously relaxed mood dissolved as he saw the name of the caller. His mom was calling. A mom he hadn¡¯t spoken to in eight years when she was killed in the opening days of the system. Those pesky tears started coming back as he answered the phone.

    ¡°Hey, Mom,¡± Santi fought to keep his voice from warbling. Emotions warred inside of him, fighting for control. It had been most of a decade since he heard his mother¡¯s voice, and he hadn¡¯t stopped missing her.

    ¡°What the hell is going on with your card!? I have the bank calling me about suspicious charges, Santiago.¡± Santi smiled in the car as his mom¡¯s shriek rang his ears. He moved the phone away from his head and pulled Tank¡¯s truck off to the side of the road. He had a feeling this call would be emotional. He had been putting it off all morning in fact, since he knew he would have to deal with years of trauma. Part of him insisted he had talked to mom last week. Another part, fading away but still prominent, said it had been years.

    ¡°It¡¯s me. I volunteered to buy stuff for this get together for my major. I¡¯m being reimbursed, it might just take a day or two,¡± Santi lied. It wasn¡¯t even a bad lie considering he had thought of it on the spot. Lying to his mom hadn¡¯t made it into his master planning strategy. It should have, though, the way this conversation was going.

    ¡°Damn right you¡¯re going to be paid back. Why are you volunteering to spend your money, Santiago?¡± Mom always called him Santiago when he was in trouble. Her moods were easy to detect based on how long his name went. Right now, he was idling in warning territory. If any of his other names were brought in, well then, he was in for it.

    ¡°It¡¯s to make connections. You know how it is. Not what you know, but, who you know,¡± Santi said as he savored hearing his mom¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t spend all your money. Listen, are you going to be coming back for the summer?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the lie was so easy. He would never go back to his hometown. At least the version of it he would recognize. The system''s arrival heralded the apocalypse. The collapse of humanity. The changing of Earth. He couldn¡¯t bear stepping a foot back into his hometown and seeing it changed.

    ¡°Ok,¡± in the background Santi could hear something crash and swearing in Spanish. His dad¡¯s deep voice was so recognizable, his chest tightened and something ugly was forming in his throat and in his sinuses. He wasn¡¯t going to be able to make it.

    ¡°Your father just broke something. I¡¯ll talk to you later, love you.¡± Mom hung up and Santi released the sob he had been holding in.

 Ch. 4 Murder Kits

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    Santi calmed down after an hour or so. His gasping sobs stilled and he sat in the truck, limp with exhaustion. He felt better. Clean. A cathartic sobbing in the middle of the day on the side of a road was sometimes needed. Santi found some napkins in the center console and blew his nose and rested for a few minutes.

    ¡°You ok, dude?¡± a girl was standing a few feet away from him, standing on the edge of the sidewalk and peering at him with a concerned look. Santi just nodded and she walked away. He marveled at that. In eight years there would be little time for tears or sympathy, the pain of the world dying crushing everyone down. The war with the cultists, the betrayal of the Apostates, all of it. It left one just numb to the daily suffering. Also, the higher willpower stat made it easier to repress your emotions. Santi was missing that stat at the moment.

    He drove to a hardware store and started his next round of shopping. In the first burst of the system''s arrival, when guns failed, people would look for weapons. Anything that could be used to prolong their lives just a bit longer. Santi didn¡¯t want to deal with that crowd, so he was shopping now.

    Three axes, a handful of hammers, boxes of nails, long wooden poles, some saws, and a variety of tapes filled his cart. He also managed to find some wonderful plastic tubing and clean plastic buckets. Some shovels, trowels, two pitchforks, really anything that could be used to stab, jab, or crush. As he took it up to the register, he had to deal with another wave of suspicious looks from customers as well as employees.

    His cashier was around his age, the biological one and not whatever age the memories suggested. Thick white makeup, violet eyeshadow, thick black lashes, black lipstick, and her black hair had streaks of venom green dyed into it. Santi thought about proposing. The world was ending after all. That stopped him. She was his age biologically, roughly anyway, but his memories? Did the memories make him older? Was he being a creep on a teenager? He shelved all the moral problems associated with time travel and living in a younger version of yourself.

    ¡°Fucking hate time travel. Stupid trope,¡± Santi muttered under his breath as he helped the cashier find everything to ring up. The number on the register was flying upwards at an astounding rate. Wood was expensive? He¡¯d never had to buy it before, but those long poles were pricey.

    ¡°So, is this like a murder kit or something?¡± the goth girl asked, long fingers dancing around the hammers and axes.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what this is actually,¡± Santi laughed. Monster murder was close enough for his definition.

    She laughed, a full belly chuckle that suited her. Santi looked at her name tag, Chloe, and met her dark eyes. Oh, what the hell, the end of the world is coming.

    ¡°You go to school here? The university?¡± Sanit asked.

    ¡°Yeah, first year.¡±

    ¡°You live in the dorms?¡±

    ¡°Wexler Tower East.¡± Santi smiled at her answer for it was apparent the gods were smiling on the small goth girl.

    ¡°I¡¯m in Wexler West. I¡¯m having something going on the day after tomorrow night. Friends and whatnot in the common rooms. You should come by,¡± Santi invited her. One more person he could probably save. Maybe.

    ¡°Your R.A is cool with a party in the common room?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s chill, as long as we don¡¯t go overboard he won¡¯t say anything.¡± Santi was certain that Kyle Vanderbill was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and a stick up his ass. He would not be cool with any type of party in the common room.

    ¡°Give me your number, and if I¡¯m interested I¡¯ll text you,¡± her white teeth flashing as she smiled behind her black painted lips. Santi gave her his number and a fast smile as he paid and walked out. It felt good to quasi-flirt. The sticky ethical and moral problems of age were forgotten as he felt the warm spring sun on his face. His mom¡¯s call reminded him he needed to call Cameron and get him to save his family. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Cam was his neighbor and they had grown up together playing every sport their parents could find. While Santi had gone to college, Cam had stayed at home to help his dad¡¯s small business. The larger boy had waved off every concern about his future while standing shoulder to shoulder with his dad. Cameron was his best friend, thicker than thieves. Cam would die in a few weeks on the road with Bianca.

    The phone only rang twice before Cameron picked up. Sounding sleepy even though it was close to the middle of the afternoon.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Morning, gorgeous,¡± Santi teased as a groan of annoyance echoed over the line. He found himself falling into the same patterns that had defined him for so many years. The gentle teasing, the filial son, even the awkward serial killer flirting.

    ¡°What do you want? You never call,¡± Cameron said through a yawn.

    ¡°Your dad¡¯s out of town right?¡± Santi knew Mr. Murtaugh was out of town. He was up in the mountains and out of cell-phone range. In a few months he would come down out of the mountains a changed man.

    ¡°Yeah, some retreat or something with the guys from work. I think it¡¯s just an excuse to go up into the mountains to fish and drink all week.¡± Cameron had been sold on that theory since they were kids.

    ¡°That sounds like Mr. Murtaugh. Hey, think you could do me a favor? I¡¯m needing my bat. I¡¯m going to swing by the day after tomorrow, think you can find it?¡±

    ¡°Why the hell would I have your bat?¡±

    ¡°You borrowed it. Last summer. Remember?¡± Santi waited as the silence deepened.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go and dig it out of the shed. I think that¡¯s where I threw all my gear. Tomorrow you said?¡±

    ¡°Day after tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Ok, I can do that. How¡¯s school? Find any mamacitas?¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t say that. Your pronunciation of my mother tongue makes me violently ill.¡± Santi laughed as he mock scolded his oldest friend.

    ¡°Yeah yeah, just practicing so I can woo your mom.¡±

    ¡°Who the fuck says woo?¡±

    ¡°I do. It makes me classy.¡±

    ¡°No it doesn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Always a hater, Santi. But for real, any luck in love?¡±

    ¡°You could ask me about my grades, or if I¡¯ve made any friends, or founded a cult, or anything other than romance.¡±

    ¡°I could.¡± Cam let the silence deepen as Santi waited in vain for other questions.

    ¡°I just talked to this girl at the hardware store. Gave her my number,¡± Santi conceded.

    ¡°My boy, that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about!¡± Cameron hollered on the other side, forcing Santi to pull the phone away from his ear while he rolled his eyes.

    ¡°How bout you, anything with anyone? That¡¯s not my mom,¡± Santi cut him off before Cameron could go to that tired old joke.

    ¡°Actually yeah! Great girl, smart, funny, and has an amazing smile. Just makes me float every time she looks at me,¡± Cameron said, his voice softening.

    ¡°Who is it? Do I know her?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you know her.¡±

    ¡°Went to school with her?¡± Santi pulled out of the parking lot and started heading back toward the abandoned brick building. He would need to stash all the tools and improvised weapons before heading to the supercenter to grab the last of the basic supplies.

    ¡°Yeah, a grade below us actually.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s still in high school? Bro,¡± Santi let his disappointment seep through his voice. They were close to the same age, but still, high school girls while they were adults?

    ¡°Yeah, yeah I know. I¡¯ve known her forever though.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my sister isn¡¯t it?¡± Santi said with a sigh as Cameron started to howl on the other side of the phone. A smile was tickling the corner of his mouth as Cameron was lost to the joy of his rather dumb joke. If it was anyone other than Cameron, who was a frequent guest in their house since the age of six, he would have been angry. Cameron just had a middle school sense of humor.

    ¡°Got ''em,¡± Cameron choked out on the phone between gales of laughter. Santi shook his head and hung up on his best friend, tossing the phone on the bench seat of the truck. The chucklefuck was irritating, but also reliable. He would call him on the night the system came active and have him check on his family. The monsters in the first wave were weak, Santi¡¯s old bat would be more than enough to deal with them. If Cameron went and dug it out of their shed.

    Santi pulled up to the old building, back by the crumbled corner of the brick wall, and started to unload. He¡¯d come and get the weapons the night of the system''s arrival. Santi was feeling good about his plan, now he just needed to gather the rest of the most basic supplies and wait.

 Ch. 5 Contingencies

    <ol start="5">

    <li> </li>

    </ol>

    The common room was filling up with people for the movie night that Santi had sprung on his friends and dorm mates. He had to make promises and deals with devils to get most of them here. Nearly thirty students, with more arriving as the seconds ticked on. People were hooting and hollering at the screen, laughing and talking through the old movie as they ate the snacks Santi had bought. No alcohol, Santi had made sure of that.

    Tank was lounging on one of the small sofas, his white teeth flashing as he smiled and laughed with a cluster of other students. Paulie, his always absent roomate, had been found. The short boy was talking to a pair of girls, both of them bobbing their heads to whatever he was saying. Chloe had shown up ten minutes ago with three friends, her roommate and the other dorm room that probably shared a bathroom with her. She had been shooting him looks, but otherwise was engaged in a heated debate with several other people.

    Santi checked his phone and sighed. The anxiety of what was about to happen was ramping up. Fourteen minutes to go. Part of him was doubting that the memories were real. That they were just the most vivid dream he had ever had. He prayed it was true. Santi left the common room quietly and went up to his dorm room, scrolling through his contact list till he found his sister''s name. She would be up, he had texted her that he was going to call.

    The phone rang twice before Yessenia picked up the phone. This was where his plan could have been foiled. If Yessenia hadn¡¯t picked up the phone, it would have screwed up everything.

    ¡°Santi?¡±

    ¡°Hey, uhhh, this is weird, but hear me out. I had a bad dream last night. Like real bad. It was a nightmare. About the house and you guys. Could you check the locks please, for me?¡± Santi had worked hard on the excuse he needed for Yessi to get out of bed and go check the locks at eleven-thirty at night. She believed in the power of dreams, crystals, zodiacs, all of that. He had always rolled his eyes at his sister''s superstitions, but it was insanely helpful tonight.

    ¡°Santi, what happened in the dream?¡± Yesi asked in a whisper. He could hear her moving though, the creak of stairs as she treaded her ways downstairs. Santi checked the time, twelve minutes to go. He was entering his dorm room right on time. He texted Cameron, putting Yessi on speakerphone.

    ¡°You up?¡±

    ¡°This a booty call?¡± The response was instant. Good. Santi let his friend sit for a minute as he focused his attention back on his sister.

    ¡°It was bad, Yesi. Just check the locks please. All of them, even the garage door,¡± Santi ordered his younger sister. He went into the small closet and started pulling out bags. Two heavy black duffle bags, stuffed with improvised weapons, and a backpack that he strapped on.

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s weird. The garage was unlocked,¡± Yessenia¡¯s voice held hints of horror. She was a nervous girl, always watching true crime and the thought of having an unlocked door, even into the garage, was startling. Santi didn¡¯t know how the monsters got into the house, just that they had. Bianca had escaped through a window and ran to Cam¡¯s house where he fought them off, but not without injuries.

    ¡°Check the rest, please.¡± Santi was checking his supplies he had bought from his hideout. Axes, bats, and a few improvised spears. There were a few cheap machetes and hammers he had tossed in. He didn¡¯t think much of them, they were pulled from the big shopping center and had been less than fifteen dollars. He had sharpened the blades, but they were hideously made. Built for cheap landscape work, not killing monsters. Better than nothing though.

    ¡°Shit, the front door was unlocked too! My Dad must have forgotten when he got home,¡± Yessenia complained as Santi heard the locks click into place. Ten minutes to go. He grabbed a cheap shopping bag full of glow sticks and walked out of the dorm. He had already discretely emptied it of his clothing and possessions yesterday.

    ¡°In ten minutes, shit¡¯s going to go nuts. Get that bat you pulled out of the shed and save my family.¡± Santi sent the text to Cam, while walking down the stairs back to the common room.

    ¡°What the fuck do you mean?! I¡¯m calling you,¡± Cam answered instantly. The boy lived on his phone. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Can¡¯t answer. Talking to Yesi right now.¡± Santi texted back as he sent Cam straight to voicemail.

    ¡°Yesi, are all the doors locked?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, everything is locked. Santi, you¡¯re scaring me. What was your dream?¡±

    ¡°Grab a pen and paper,¡± Santi said as he waited in the stairwell right before the common room. Everyone was still there, talking and laughing loudly. The R.A, Kyle, was locked in a conversation with a pretty brunette and not paying attention to doing his job. Santi gave a silent prayer of thanks as he waited for Yessenia. He sent two more calls from Cam straight to voicemail.

    ¡°Got it!¡± Yesi exclaimed.

    ¡°Write this down. Take the county roads to the college in five days. Avoid the bar on road 96. Burn it down actually, don¡¯t go inside.¡± The bar was where Cam would die. Killed in a monster den, Bianca would lose her left hand fighting to escape it.

    ¡°Santi, what the fuck?¡±

    ¡°Just write it down. At the corner of Elm and Myer, there¡¯s an old brick building. That¡¯s where I¡¯ll be. Bring anyone who survives. Rifts will let you all enter them but they¡¯re more dangerous. Dungeons are limited in number, but are measured. Kill as many monsters as possible, take risks and gain levels. Be here in a week,¡± Santi ordered. Seven minutes.

    ¡°Santi¡­¡± Santi hung up on his sister and turned his phone to airplane mode. He had to be careful now and a ringing phone could ruin everything. He had set everything up to the best of his ability for his family and best friend to survive. It broke his heart abandoning them, but the presence of the Apostates weighed on his mind. They would be aggressive, earning every reward they could. He had to do the same thing.

    Six minutes.

    He walked into the common room and stuck close to the back wall. A few people noticed him, but they quickly turned back as Santi walked to the doors of the dorm. He deposited the heavy duffel bags on the ground and went to get the people he had the most trust in.

    Tank, Paulie, and the last roomate of the two rooms, Daniel. Daniel was half Korean- half English. Thin with black hair and dark eyes, he wasn¡¯t anyone¡¯s first choice for picking something to do something physical. Like slaying monsters. Santi believed he would hear him out before freaking out though.

    Four minutes.

    Santi dragged them all over to the entrance of the door and they huddled around him. They were drawing glances from people, but most everyone was focused on socializing.

    ¡°What¡¯s up, Santi? You don¡¯t look good,¡± Tank asked. The mountain of a man was six and half feet tall, but his deep voice was gentle as he looked down at Santi. How Santi had ever taken him for granted, he didn¡¯t know. Tank was a good man.

    ¡°Is Tank your actual name, or a nickname?¡± Santi blurted out. He was nervous now, trying to delay the inevitable. Three minutes.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually Dexter, but the minute I started to grow they called me Tank,¡± Tank explained.

    ¡°Good to know, thanks for sharing. In approximately two and half minutes the world is going to end.¡±

    All three of the boys stared at him with blank faces. Santi swallowed hard and looked down at his phone and the time. Two minutes and fifteen seconds actually. It got down to two minutes before anyone said anything.

    ¡°Santi, are you ok? I know midterms are coming up, but like, damn.¡± Paulie was brusque as always. His thick eyebrows were hidden in his hair at the shock that Santi had just given them. Or, well, that they thought he was insane.

    ¡°In two minutes, if I¡¯m wrong, take me to a hospital, the one with grippy socks. Eight years in the future, the world has basically completely collapsed due to a series of unfortunate events. Events that start in a minute and forty five seconds. I survived and was a scout. I got sucked into a ritual and the memories of those years were shot back in time.¡±

    ¡°Ok, it¡¯s time to call someone,¡± Daniel groused in a faded English accent. Tank¡¯s face was confused and hurt, while Paulie was looking morbidly curious.

    ¡°One minute. Hold tight. When it comes, we won¡¯t have much time. There¡¯s weapons in the bags, take them and hand them out. Stay in the building till sunrise. There¡¯s this entrance and the back entrance. Barricade the back entrance with furniture. In the plastic bag there are glow sticks. Oh, yeah, the power will go out and guns won¡¯t work.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s call someone. You said there¡¯s weapons in the bags?¡± Tank was talking softly, large hands extended outward as if Santi was a dangerous animal.

    ¡°Improvised mostly. Hand them out to those you think won¡¯t freak the fuck out. Don¡¯t let anyone leave the building till sunrise.¡±

    TIme

    The lights flashed out and the world went dark.

 Ch 2.01 Spoiled For Choices

    1.

    Santi had some choices to make. He stared at the list of spells available, having three free slots now. He¡¯d be able to slot in Air Manipulation, but in the meantime he¡¯d be going without the advantages three more spell forms would give him. With the morph blade he was kicking-ass, but he still needed to find materials for it to evolve with him. He could feel its hunger. Within a day of the goblin nest raid it had begun to grow anxious, and now a week later, it was ravenous.

    It leeched his potential and mana. He had noticed it after the fighting had slowed down. It was such a minute amount it had taken him nearly three days to realize the drain. It wasn¡¯t a problem. Yet.

    Which was why he was debating on the spell choices in front of him. After he had claimed his levels he had procrastinated opening his achievements and claiming the spells. There was no particular reason, but he already had too much stuff. His small cubby of a room was overflowing with a horde of resources and wealth. He really needed to find and secure a living situation that didn¡¯t involve him living out of a former sanitation closet.

    He let the list fall away. He was already running late to the next meeting he was supposed to be leading. The rescue party that was going out towards where his family should be coming from. Other groups had gone out and come back with survivors, their camp growing quickly. Nearly a thousand people now squatted in the building and neighborhood around it. Walls of rusting cars, cement bricks, repurposed lumber, rebar, and anything else that was kinda sturdy had been erected.

    Most of them without direction.

    The entire region was a maze of impromptu walls, half demolished buildings, and vaguely organized patrols. The only constant was the building Santi had secured, Homebase. It was a dumb name, but it had stuck.

    The brick wall around it had been fortified with more bricks and mortars. There was a blockade on every street corner and patrols who walked the streets. Otherwise it was kept clear. Homebase housed all of their healers, most of the highest leveled fighters, and every member of the Council. Another recent naming convention that had been met with rolled eyes and disgruntled acceptance.

    Santi had been unanimously told he had to be on it. Tank was also sitting next to him, as a representative of all the healers. Marisol had taken a spot, as had Abraham. Eugene had taken the death of his son hard, exiling himself off to a house and doing the bare minimum required to stay alive.

    The fifth and final member of the Council was a firefighter. Helena Carter was a solid five feet and eight inches of muscle. She had been one of the survivors Daniel and Hana had rounded up and had fought well and had the respect of her fellow professional survivors. Her inclusion to the Council had given them five people and they had decided it¡¯d be enough for now. Santi knew they¡¯d have to expand on it later when people started to evolve.

    Right now he was in charge of the fighters and expanding the operational boundaries of the camp. Helena was in charge of the inside of the walls, wherever said walls seemed to spring up overnight. Marisol had taken over the duties of a quartermaster with the help of her daughters. Her sharp eyes kept track of all the goods that Abraham¡¯s scavenger teams brought in.

    It had been decided that those who were willing to risk death for food vs. those who would risk death to see numbers go up, should be split up. Chloe had come with Santi, while Rayleigh had gone with Abraham. Santi had seen the split coming, but losing Rayleigh was rough. The beating she had taken in the hospital had shaken her just as much as the dart that had nearly killed her the first day of the integration.

    Her job was still dangerous and she was on the precipice of maxing out the Initiate tier, but it was the safer of the two jobs. In most cases she led her teams into places that Santi had already checked out. While monsters or beasts might have come after he left, it wasn¡¯t common.

    Chloe on the other hand had looked insulted when Santi had asked if she wanted to stay with her friend. She had taken to the fighting like a natural and she seemed to have the drive needed to strive far. She had maxed out her level and was waiting, trying to figure out how to evolve. Santi had told everyone that he had figured it out, but needed ingredients. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    The grimoire he had earned had several easy to follow evolution rituals that could help someone become an Acolyte. And he had no problem using those rituals on others. For himself and his closest friends though, he had other ideas.

    Evolving was far more involved than leveling up. It was rebuilding oneself from the ground-up. How one evolved was important as were the ingredients one used to fuel the evolution. The goblin¡¯s had acquired plenty of low grade treasures that would let several people evolve, but Santi had ideas.

    The rift heart would be a good central piece to one of the evolutions. A piece of pure mana and potential. There were several other components he had found that would be helpful, but he was missing the key ingredient. His affinity.

    Right now his wind affinity was only Common grade. He wanted to upgrade it and the best time to do that was during an evolution. He needed a wind attuned treasure or something similar. The time affinity would become overpowered with enough time, but its weaker affinity would take him longer to grow and he didn¡¯t know of many natural time affinity treasures off the top of his head.

    There were plenty of wind elementals that he could harvest. Elemental cores could be used in place of treasures if he continued to strike out on finding one. He had already found a flesh treasure for Tank, an anatomically correct crystalized heart that pulsed with vitality. Chloe¡¯s affinity was metal and only a lesser affinity at that. If she had the nerve for it, he knew how to upgrade and specialize her affinity. It would be painful and expensive, but would help her become a true monster.

    All of those were plans for the future. Right now he had to go in and convince the rest of the council to approve of his newest long range scouting and rescue attempt. They didn¡¯t know he was planning on finding his family in the direction he was going. He couldn¡¯t tell them either, for how was he going to explain how he knew that his family would be coming down the road?

    He felt good it would work. There was nothing nearby that was a significant threat and Abraham¡¯s scavenger teams and Helena¡¯s security teams were all approaching the top of the tier. Santi still stood at the pinnacle, but the mountain below him was growing crowded.

    ¡°Bout time you got here. This is your meeting and you''re late,¡± Tank said gruffly. They had found a few legitimate nurses and one doctor. While Tank had the most powerful and leveled skills, the others outclassed him in knowledge. He had been going through a grind of learning on top of his daily responsibilities. It would be good for him in the long run, but for the moment he was looking a little run down.

    ¡°Sorry, I got caught up in looking at my spell choices.¡±

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t chosen? It¡¯s been a week, man.¡±

    ¡°I know. It¡¯s just that there¡¯s a lot of good options for me.¡±

    ¡°Well, come on. Need to get one of them to agree to a long range scout team.¡±

    ¡°I think Abraham will agree with us.¡±

    ¡°Why would that prick agree with us?¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want me around.¡± Santi met Tank¡¯s eyes and raised his eyebrows. The other man rolled his eyes and gave a half shrug. Abraham¡¯s insecurity was a growing realization around the camp as everyone found out how the man was wildly insecure about being weaker than ¡®the children¡¯.

    ¡°Helena and Marisol like keeping you close. Also, have you seen the list of people you want to take?¡±

    ¡°Why, yes I have. I wrote that list.¡±

    ¡°You. Chloe. Daniel. Hana. Adam. Chad. Penelope.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. That sounds right. Why?¡±

    ¡°You and Chloe are the two best fighters. Daniel and Hana are the best scouts. Adam and Chad are the best ranged fighters we have and Penelope is the best healer we have.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that''s why I wanted them to come with me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s also why Helena and Marisol don¡¯t want them going.¡±

    ¡°Helena and Rayleigh are just as skilled as Chloe and Chad¡¯s brother is staying.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know his name, do you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll plead the fifth on that one.¡± It was the way the world worked. Chad¡¯s brother had gotten hurt and hadn¡¯t gone on the mission with them. Chad had gotten a ton of experience and levels which meant he kept getting picked to go on missions and kept leveling. Now that he was closing in on the cap, his brother might catch up. Until then Santi was planning on using Chad and not Tristan.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with. I just hope that Abe¡¯s jealousy works for us for once.¡±

 Ch. 2.02 Politics

    2.

    ¡°This list is unbelievable. You would strip us of our greatest fighters while you go out on a lark!¡± Abraham¡¯s voice boomed in the small room, rebounding and assaulting them all as he continued on his tirade. Santi fought to keep from rolling his eyes at the man''s over-the-top theatrics. He wanted them gone, so why was he fighting so hard about it?

    ¡°It¡¯s not a lark. We don¡¯t know what is in our surroundings past a few blocks from our walls. We need to explore and see what the rest of the city looks like. We¡¯ve been through this,¡± Santi said, exasperated.

    ¡°Because you leave us vulnerable. The best of the best. Gone!¡± He flung his hands outward as if throwing seeds to the wind.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have plenty of strong defenders while I¡¯m gone. Rayleigh is near Chloe¡¯s equal and Tank is better than Penelope.¡±

    ¡°Two of seven.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m tired of this dick waving contest. Let¡¯s get to a vote and try to be productive. Those who vote aye to Santi¡¯s expedition?¡± Helena cut them off at the knee just as they were starting to get into the meat of the fight. Santi was sure it was the fact that he had more personal power than Abraham. The man had an important job, but for the most part he got the leftovers that Santi left him.

    ¡°Aye,¡± Tank said immediately.

    ¡°Nay,¡± Marisol said.

    ¡°Nay,¡± Abraham growled, glaring at him with a smug look. The little shit knew that they were relying on his vote to approve the expedition.

    ¡°Aye,¡± Helena said after a moment of consideration. Abraham¡¯s smug look dissolved like sugar in hot water.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look so startled, we need to see what¡¯s around us. In fact, I wish to propose two other expeditionary missions. More limited in scope, obviously.¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s an excellent idea,¡± Tank said, moving to support the older woman without hesitation. Political back scratching at play. Santi rankled at it but knew what he needed to do.

    ¡°As do I. Do you know what expeditions will be sent out?¡± Santi asked. He was wondering where she wanted to send out exploratory teams.

    ¡°Downtown and to the area surrounding the distribution center. We need to see what the heart of the city looks like and to see the situation there. We¡¯re also getting dangerously low on supplies.¡±

    There it was. Helena and Marisol had planned this. They had backed Santi and Tank into a corner with Helena¡¯s support, and now they had to support this. There was a rift for sure, either there or close by to the distribution center. Santi would have normally been against the plan, the rift too dangerous for them. Yet,they were all beginning to push against the tier border and when they finally tipped over they¡¯d be able to tackle the rift.

    From there the meeting dissolved into a logistics meeting that had Santi¡¯s eyes glazing over in boredom. It was important work, but damn it was boring. Having everyone starve to death wasn¡¯t in the best interest of survival. Supplies were allocated toward Santi¡¯s expedition and he was left to go and get everyone he had named. They¡¯d all agreed on joining him already, but he had to alert them that they¡¯d actually be going and when.

    Santi didn¡¯t want to spend time waiting on this. Tomorrow morning at first light they¡¯d set out to go and find his family. They didn¡¯t know that, but it was what was planned. Any type of monster nest, rift, or powerful beast would be killed. They were going to acquire the levels for the few who needed them and any and every treasure needed for powerful evolutions. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Chloe was with Rayleigh and the other girls from her dorm. They had taken over a house close to Homebase and were very particular about their visitors. There were a dozen former college girls living in the house in a replica of a sorority house. One that focused on killing monsters and harvesting parts. The girls who weren¡¯t fighters focused on working on other parts.

    Harvesting beast meat, learning what monster parts could be useful to their survival. The beginning of a tannery had been started and a crude forge was being built in the house next door. It had all the trappings of the initial stages of a crafters market. With a bit of time and effort, Santi was sure they¡¯d be producing gear of decent enough quality. He was looking forward to some decent armor and the sooner the better. He was burning through clothes at a catastrophic rate.

    Chloe was sprawled out over a couch, a pillow on her face. The house was too stuffy and hot for anyone to truly be comfortable to sleep easily. After their evolution the inconvenience of temperature would become something minor. Their durability and stamina so high that nothing short of mana infused storms would bother them.

    ¡°Hey, lazybones, we¡¯re on!¡± Santi yelled at her, not daring to enter their home beyond poking his head inside.

    Chloe¡¯s arm rose lazily, wrist snapping straight and middle finger extending as she huffed underneath her pillow. She had volunteered for every mission that they had run, wearing herself down in her quest to level. Santi was quietly impressed with her fortitude. She had little to no training with the axe and yet threw herself at every problem as if the correct application of focused violence was the solution. She hadn¡¯t been wrong yet.

    Santi left her alone and went and rounded up the others. Daniel and Hana were, as always, with each other. The two had shacked up together after coming back from the goblin nest. They were nestled together in a shared house with a mix of other college aged survivors. The house was fairly tidy and only had a few people lounging around in the living room.

    Still, they didn¡¯t really acknowledge him. There had been a growing distrust for him over the last week. His knowledge base and the fact he couldn¡¯t tell anyone how he knew was driving a wedge between himself and the rank and file. Those who fought with him didn¡¯t particularly care, but the ones who didn¡¯t watched him with wary eyes. Especially the scavengers.

    It was going to be unfortunate when Santi had to arrange an accident for Abraham. The man was a malevolent pest who wished to cling to whatever little iota of power he could grasp. If only his talent matched his ambition. Once they were more stable.

    He paused right outside of their room and rapped on the doorframe. He heard rustling and cursing and then Hana poked her head out to give him a quizzical look. Her short hair was disheveled and she had a cat that ate the canary smile.

    ¡°We¡¯re on. Tomorrow, first thing.¡± He left them and the musky smell that had wafted out of the door when she opened it. Everyone was handling the initialization differently. Some threw themselves at every problem, some threw themselves at each other.

    Chad and Adam were on guard duty. Perched on top of a house with their respective weapons, they watched the edge of their territory with an alertness that Santi approved of. Both of them were serious and dedicated men. It was a shame that Tristan had been injured and left behind in the leveling spree of the last week.

    ¡°We¡¯re on! Tomorrow before dawn!¡± Santi yelled up at them. Both men just gave him thumbs up and went back to scanning the streets around their corner. There were people perched on almost every roof in overwatch. The War Chief¡¯s raid had imprinted itself on them.

    Penelope was the last member he had to find. The healer was actually in Homebase. A late twenty-something with dark brown hairs and caramel eyes, she still wore her nurse scrubs as she helped out in the infirmary. She clung to the mundane, the remnants of the old society and life she had once had. It gave her the strength and comfort to continue on.

    Everyone had their own coping methods.

    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re approved to go. You¡¯re still good to go with us?¡± Santi asked. She was the weakest link of the group. She had only ran a few missions outside of the security of their compound, but aside from Tank she was the best healer they had.

    ¡°Yeah. I told you I would be good to go. In the morning?¡±

    ¡°Yup. I¡¯ll grab you and we can get going first thing in the morning.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good.¡± She went back to her patients while Santi slunk back to his room. He struggled somedays to cope. How could he throw himself over and over into dangerous situations, but the little politicking needed to run a community left him exhausted?

    He laid down in his stuffy room and brought up the list of spells again. He had three open slots and couldn¡¯t leave power sitting on the table. While [Air Manipulation] would be useful, taking a few spells instead of it would provide better utility. Now he just needed to find out which ones to take.

 Ch. 2.03 Leaving Town

    3.

    The predawn morning had the crispness of a late spring day. Hints of fog clung to the edges of the ground, already rapidly burning away as the sun began its ascent through the sky. The rest of the team was beginning to file in, their faces haggard and sleep deprived as they trickled to the meeting place. Santi couldn¡¯t help but look at his stat sheet and spells while he waited patiently.

    Santiago V. Silva

    Strength: 20 (45)

    Durability: 18 (43)

    Stamina: 18 (43)

    Dexterity: 18 (43)

    Vitality: 18 (43)

    Perception: 19 (44)

    Intelligence: 33 (58)

    Mana: 36 (61)

    Willpower: 34 (59)

    Potential: 98%

    Title(s): Cockroach (0%)

    Spells: Air Current, Gust, Identify, Air Shield, Crosscurrent-Orb

    Air Shield: Create a barrier of condensed winds in a small square.

    Crosscurrent-Orb: A condensed whirlwind of air. Explosive when the outer shell is breached.

    Both of the spells were Basic level spells. Spell levels increased with their versatility. It was why limited but powerful spells like the orb were basic while something like Air Manipulation was a common level spell.

    It finally gave Santi some firepower and a defensive ability. He had never used the orb or shield before, having not followed this path at all. He had avoided most combat related skills until later on. He had upgraded and melded spell forms to create some of his most powerful spells that had become staples for him during the later years in the war.

    ¡°Good luck out there,¡± Tank said. For such a large man he was surprisingly quiet when he wanted to be. If it wasn¡¯t for Air Current Santi wouldn¡¯t have noticed him slipping behind him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a week or so. Can¡¯t leave here for too long yet.¡±

    ¡°You will be. Eventually.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be leaving us. I can see it in you sometimes. This wistful yearning when we start talking about supply levels or anything that¡¯s not related to fighting.¡±

    ¡°I am who I am. I can¡¯t stand it, being in those rooms and just reading off of lists and complaining about things that need to be done. I want to be out there doing what needs to be done.¡±

    ¡°I know. Administration and governance is needed in a group our size. Even a dictator would need assistants or lieutenants to do work for them.¡±

    ¡°Just think how much easier it would have been for us though. You¡¯d just tell them what to do and get things done. None of this backscratching or favors for favors.¡±

    ¡°Until we get shanked in our sleep.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s that.¡±

    ¡°Be safe. I¡¯ll try to keep everyone alive.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Everyone?¡±

    ¡°Most everyone,¡± Tank laughed, throwing his head back and filling the early morning with brays of delight. Both of them were thinking of Abraham and how pleasant life would be without him.

    ¡°You two done canoodling?¡±

    ¡°What the fuck is canoodling?¡± Santi spat at Chloe as she walked up to them, axe over her shoulder and a heavy pack on her back.

    ¡°It¡¯s like making out,¡± Tank supplied helpfully.

    ¡°He¡¯s too tall for me, I¡¯d never reach,¡± Santi retorted. He nudged Tank who was in the middle of another guffaw and walked out to his team. Chloe just rolled her eyes and followed after. Once they were all assembled, Santi brought out his secret that he had been working on for a few days.

    Bicycles. With wagon attachments.

    ¡°We¡¯re riding bikes?¡± Chad asked as he stared at the seven lined bikes.

    ¡°Speed is the name of the game. I don¡¯t want to be stuck walking for fifty miles.¡±

    With his advanced stats he could probably do fifty miles in a day. The others would die trying to keep up with him.

    ¡°How are we supposed to scout if we¡¯re on bikes? We¡¯ll be stuck on the road.¡±  Daniel complained.

    ¡°Carefully. Once we get out of town and start out into the country, we¡¯ll send you two out ten minutes ahead of us. We¡¯ll have flares in case of emergency. They¡¯re all in each individual wagon.¡± Santi pointed out the equipment they would all be using and had to repress a smile as everyone nodded and told him it was decently thought out.

    Heavy packs were loaded into the wagons and they set off. Santi rode easily, his legs churning as he rocketed down the streets that led out of town. The closer it had got to when they left he more anxious he had grown.

    He was going to see them again. His family. He just had to find them.

    It took only an hour and twelve minutes for them to work their way out toward the edge of town. Golden light streamed out through the trees and houses while faint chill faded away to the heat of spring. He had told Yesi to meet him here in a week. The time had come and gone and now he worried.

    Akthyr¡¯s geas had placed so many needless complications in his path. Had Yesi¡¯s note been read. Would they know to go down Road 96. Would they avoid the barn? He had prayed they¡¯d arrive in the last few days, but it hadn¡¯t happened and he couldn¡¯t wait any longer.

    Road 96 was only tangentially connected to the city, running perpendicular to another county road. The ignored fields were filled with weeds by now and the wheeling crows were fat and plump from their feast. Animals walked through the fields with little hesitation. Humanity had been pushed back so fast and hard that the natural wildlife was coming back.

    They wouldn¡¯t last. Already there¡¯d be mana driven mutations.Beasts emerging from the initialization that would raze animal populations. When the invaders came it would only grow worse, until every strip of the planet was filled with foreign life. It was like a giant clock over his head, knowing what was coming and being powerless to stop it.

    They kept riding, the miles melting away as the sun rose high above them. At midday they pulled off to the side of the road and took a lunch break. The group was quiet with Daniel and Hana sitting off to the side, shoulder to shoulder. Chloe lay sprawled in the dirt with her feet propped up on a wagon while Penelope engaged in polite conversation with Adam and Chad.

    Santi watched.

    The fields were empty. There were no signs of wildlife that had been so abundant. Even the crows had stopped circling. They were close to Road 96 but would take another hour to reach it. Road 96 would lead them closer to his home and hopefully upon his family. If they could survive whatever it was that had spooked all the local animals away.

    ¡°Nobody freak out or anything. Stay calm. But, there¡¯s something close by,¡± Santi spoke softly to the group, hoping not to startle them. Penelope immediately showed her lack of experience by whipping her head back and forth. Adam and Chad both shifted closer to their respective wagons and the weapons sitting in them.

    Chloe pulled her feet off of the wagon and grabbed her axe which was right next to her. Daniel and Hana pulled apart and started to look around without moving their heads. Santi sighed to himself. He missed working with professionals.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Penelope whispered. She was clutching a long repurposed butcher knife that sat inside a homemade sheathe on her waist. Her knuckles had turned a startling shade of white and fear filled every syllable when she spoke.

    ¡°There¡¯s no animals nearby. Nobody wander away from the group. Pack up and get ready to move. We¡¯re pushing the bikes. Weapons in hand.¡±

    They got up and quickly packed up the non-vital supplies. Penelope was shuffled to the middle of the group while Santi sat in the rear. Daniel and Hana moved to the front to start pushing ahead. In the middle of the day, Daniel¡¯s class was at its weakest, but he was still the most experienced scout they had.

    Chloe glued herself to Penelope¡¯s side, her wicked axe in hand. Chad had an arrow in one hand and bow in the other while Adam had grabbed a discus. The former collegiate thrower had loaded his wagon with all sort of throwing weapons, javelins, discus, shot put, and even two hammer throw things. His class allowed him to throw each of those improvised weapons with extreme accuracy and prejudice.

    Santi let his morph blade slink into his palm. The liquid metal had taken to coating his arm in a sleeve of metal, ready to be deployed in a moment. At the moment he wanted it to stay hidden and as a surprise for whatever it was that was hiding out here in the farmlands.

    Eight minutes passed before he felt the hairs on his neck stand up. There was a rustle in the tall crops on the right side of the field. Just a gentle sway as if the wind had stirred them. Except, there was no wind.

 Ch. 2.04 Winds of Destruction

    4.

    Santi had the morph blade turn into its thin whip form, thin as a string and sharp as a razor. It pooled around his feet as it stretched out, its recent growth giving it the mass needed to reach over twelve feet long. He didn¡¯t hesitate, snapping his wrist around and sending the silvery death whip through the dry crops at waist height. From the time he had seen the wilted crops move to cutting everything around him in half was less than two seconds.

    He still hadn¡¯t been fast enough.

    A brown blur flashed by him, over the top of the whip and headed straight toward the center of the group. Santi had a glimpse of mandibles and chitin before Penelope screamed. Adam went under in a blur of slashing arms, yelling in pain and rage as blood flew.

    Chloe spun, crossing the distance between them nearly instantly as her axe took on its pearlescent glow. Santi transformed his weapon to a long spear and stabbed at the mutated bug''s back. The morph blade tore through tough chitin like it was tissue paper, a shower of gore exploding outward as the spear punched out the other side. Chloe hit it a second later, her axe bisecting it as she split it in half horizontally.

    Santi heard the rustle of the dead wheat. He spun and met the next charging bug. It blew through the brown crops and stood tall and proud for a second as it took in their group. It looked like a praying mantis had been hit with a growth potion. Six long skeletal legs and two raptorial legs that stuck out like arms. The hooks on the arm-like appendages were cruel looking and Santi had no desire to feel them.

    His new found hammer crushed the five and half foot bug to a paste. His strength made up for the lack of weight as he made the ¡°hammer¡± as wide as possible. It was closer to a fly swatter, but the metal was unyielding and Santi¡¯s strength was undeniable. White gore spattered out as chitin broke and the mantis was pulped at his feet.

    ¡°Adam alive?¡± Santi called backwards, his eyes stuck on the suddenly very active field in front of him. The seven foot tall dried wheat were waving back and forth as if a storm ravaged it. There had to be dozens of the mutated bugs coming at them.

    ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Adam yelled back. A moment later Santi heard a grunt followed by the passage of something large going by his head at inordinate speeds. As it flashed by him and into the thick wheat, he got a glimpse of one of the hammer throw implements flying surrounded by a gray aura.

    Wheat dissolved as the heavy metal ball cut a furrow through the field. Santi could hear as bugs were crushed under its undeniable impetus. And it kept going. From what he could hear, he had to assume at least five of the bugs had fallen victim to the single skill. Not wanting to be outdone, Santi started to draw the mana needed for his newest ability.

    Crosscurrent-Orb gave the promise of directed chaos. He was immensely excited to try the new spell out and the mantis-like beasts were perfect for it. Activating the spell was like reaching his hand into the wall of a tornado. The power of the summoned winds were contained in less than a second. A shell of compressed air formed around the whirling winds with a faint green glow around it.

    Santi pictured the spell leaving his hand and flying into the heart of the field. He held that image and then Willed it into existence. The green orb rocketed free of his palm and followed the path that Adam¡¯s skill had created. It flew for a hundred yards in a second and then the shell popped like a bubble.

    Arctic flurrys that howled over the tundra. Salt laden ocean gales. Scouring hot desert winds. All of those and more were contained in that simple, fragile orb. Santi could feel them, feel the eagerness to escape their containment and then their wrath.

    A bomb¡¯s detonation would have been more gentle. A thirty yard circumference was flattened. A shockwave rolled over them all as a wall of dust came to wash over the small convoy. Choking coughs and spluttered curses were all Santi could hear for a moment, but the newfound grin on his face didn¡¯t leave. That had POWER.

    Multiple kill notifications had dinged when he detonated the orb, the crushing power in the blast radius must have liquefied the mantis¡¯s insides. Not the prettiest kills, but enjoyable. The drifting dust made it hard to see and Santi had to use his Air Current to guide himself as he ran toward where the field had been. The mutated beasts were stunned and he wasn¡¯t going to give them time to recover. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot!¡± Santi yelled over his shoulder right as he plunged into the destroyed field. Stalks of wheat cracked under his shoes as he searched with his spell. His blade snapped back and forth with deadly precision as he hunted. There had been nearly thirty of the beasts. Most had survived the orb but had been stunned to the point of being frozen. Santi reaped them without hesitation. It was over in minutes as Santi used all of his inflated stats to fly around without the others to see him.

    For just a minute he could revel in the surge of strength and speed he had. How his arms didn¡¯t tire as he swung his weapon, how his hearing was keen enough to hear the shift of weight from the surviving mantis. He got to play at being a god for a minute as the weak beasts couldn¡¯t have fought against him even if they hadn¡¯t been stunned.

    Mutated Mantis lvl. 21

    They were strong beasts. If it had been any other group from the city they likely would have taken casualties. The lowest ranked people in their convoy was Adam and Hana though, and both of them were level twenty-two. It showed the rapid evolution of the world around the city, that the wild animals and corrupted creatures could be just as deadly as a monster nest or rift.

    ¡°Everyone ok?¡± Santi yelled as he trudged out of the field. His weapon had decided it didn¡¯t like the mantis blood and was vibrating the blood off of itself. Santi hadn¡¯t seen it do that before, but could feel the disappointment radiating off of it.

    ¡°Adam has several lacerations. I¡¯m working on it. No other injuries.¡± Penelope told him, still hidden in the slowly settling dust cloud. There was no hint of the fear and anxiety that had been there moments before. Just the cold, analytical, experienced voice of a trauma nurse.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s push out of this dust cloud and then we¡¯ll let Adam get bandaged up and then we¡¯ll be on our way.¡±

    ¡°I need to go and get my hammer,¡± Adam protested. That was one of the major problems with classes that relied on physical implements. If they lost them, they¡¯d lose a significant chunk of their powerset. It was why magic was the best class.

    At least Santi thought it was.

    ¡°Yeah, go and grab it then. Everyone hang tight and we¡¯ll be on our way.¡± Adam got finished being fixed by Penelope and then he was off and running into the field to find his hunk of steel on a string before trotting back to them. They were off and moving in less than five minutes, the entire encounter having lasted less than six minutes.

    The speed and power they all had now dwarfed where they were a week ago. After their evolutions and becoming Acolyte¡¯s the easy levels would slow. Right now if they breathed hard on something they could gain potential or levels. Soon they¡¯d have to start pushing themselves and Santi was planning for it. Once his family was safe.

    ¡°How much further are we going today?¡± Chloe asked as they left behind the scene of insectoid murder.

    ¡°We need to find something defensible, so whenever that happens. I don¡¯t want to be out in the open after dark.¡± Santi thought about it for a moment and decided now was better than never.

    ¡°Daniel, come here for a moment!¡± Santi called to the front of the line where Daniel was calmly pedaling on. He motioned for the rest of them to keep riding on while he talked to the scout.

    Daniel braked and just waited for everyone to pass him. Santi let the entire convoy go ahead as he and Daniel fell further and further behind until they could speak quietly with each other. Daniel was one of the two surviving people to have heard Santi tell them he was from the future and while his geas suppressed those memories, Daniel still trusted him.

    ¡°I need you to go up and ahead tonight. Down Road 96. You¡¯re going to be looking for people,¡± Santi explained.

    ¡°Who am I looking for?¡±

    ¡°My family. Do you think you can move through the dark?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll be fine. Santi, how do you know your family is out there?¡± Daniel asked. He was a normally taciturn man, quiet and introspective, rarely voicing complaints or questions. British stoicism maybe. Him asking this was the equivalent of Tank getting violent.

    ¡°I told you on the night it all started. You, Tank, and Paulie.¡± The damned curse kept him from elaborating but Daniel nodded along, lost in his own thoughts.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll go tonight after we settle down. Just keep Hana safe while I¡¯m gone.¡±

    ¡°Like my own sister,¡± Santi promised.

 Ch. 3.01 Sparring

    1.

    Grimv attacked with the ferocity of a feral badger. His axe sang a harmony of death as the sharp steel split the air in a discordant howl. Santi didn¡¯t dance backwards for once, but met him on open ground. The morph blade twisted and struck, wily as a serpent, darting around the dwarf¡¯s guard and striking his thick breastplate with a loud gong sound.

    The dwarf grunted and stopped, surprise crossing his face as he nodded his wide, sweaty head at Santi. It was a good point, their duel not putting the two combatants at even points. Grimvr had earlier managed to land a powerful blow with his axe in Santi¡¯s gut, only the heavy armor he wore prevented himself from being disemboweled.

    The sparring armor was a heavy duty plate that stretched from crown to toes and could repulse nearly any causal blow. Torin had worked hard in weaving his magics in it to make it light and impregnable as long as one didn¡¯t use any type of skills or spells on it. A mundane weapon was for all intents and purposes useless against it.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting better,¡± the dwarf said, voice only partially muffled. The steel had been made transparent somehow and the two could look each other in the eyes as they fought. Torin¡¯s works now graced  both Santi¡¯s own personal collection and Homebase¡¯s practice yards.

    ¡°I had to trick you.¡±

    ¡°Matters little to the tricked if their guts are on the ground. Honor and skill are only useful for the living after all,¡± the dwarf said with a wide grin.

    ¡°True enough. To three?¡±

    ¡°Of course, on my mark?¡±

    ¡°Say when.¡±

    ¡°WHEN!¡± Grimvr didn¡¯t give Santi time to prepare, lunging forward and sending a crippling blow for his right knee. Forced to twist away, his counter lacked the heft and speed needed to bring the smaller fighter down. Grimvr simply smacked the dull point of the morph blade away with a gauntlet.

    The dwarf kept himself tight to Santi, his double headed axe a frenzy of slashing steel that took every ounce of Santi¡¯s ability to stay ahead of. He had the advanced stats needed to beat the dwarf easily, but ever since the dwarf¡¯s evolution a week ago, it seemed to matter little. In a contest of skill, where both parties tried to restrain themselves to a normal level, Santi was coming out on the losing end too often for his liking.

    Santi blocked a swing, diverting the axe away from himself and lashing out with his armored foot toward Grimvr¡¯s side. Steel clanged on steel and Grimvr grunted, but didn¡¯t slow as he let go of the axe and tackled Santi around the waist, driving him into the dirt.

    The dwarf was shorter than him, but heavier, and Santi struggled to get out from under him as metal plated fists rained down on his own armored forearms. The morph blade made it so that he was never unarmed and it changed from a sword to a dagger and Santi drove it at Grimvr.

    Grimvr saw it coming and his thick hand caught Santi¡¯s wrist, holding his wrist still as the two of them strained. The heavy blows continued to come though, battering him around as Santi tried to finish him off.

    ¡°WHAT! ARE! YOU! DOING!¡± Torin¡¯s voice was a bellow across the field, freezing both of them in mid action. They turned and looked at the slightly older dwarf who stood there, face mottled red with fury.

    ¡°Sparring?¡± Grimvr responded, his deep voice suddenly unsure.

    ¡°Sparring requires weapons. Not beating my fucking armor like a pair of drunken pugilists!¡±

    Grimvr scrambled to his feet and offered Santi a hand up, hoisting him with ease. They both pulled their clear helms off and Santi sighed with relief as the fresh air chilled the sweat on his face.

    ¡°Sorry Hall Master. I apologize for disrespecting your craft,¡± Grimvr bent his head in apology and Santi did too, recognizing a cultural lapse here. He had no idea why Grimvr was suddenly so sincere and apologetic and why the normally relaxed Torin looked ready to strangle the two of them at the same time.

    Torin released a huff of air and turned back to the house that Santi and his family had taken up in. After¡­after, they had moved. It had been a quick and simple decision and their limited amount of stuff had taken only an afternoon to move.

    The new house was larger and slightly further away from Homebase which had slowly lost its central importance. Now it was almost exclusively a medical facility that Tank and a few doctors ran. They kept stores of System rewarded health potions there, bought at good price from Santi. A small garrison was stationed in the old house, a half dozen of the better fighters that remained with Helena.

    Most of them had migrated to the new reformed scavengers under Rayleigh. They ranged further and further now, stretching far outside of the city limits and they were encountering more and more powerful beasts. Tristan and Chad had branched off as hunters, chasing game down and bringing back Acolyte level meat for the settlement with a few others.

    The last six weeks had seen their small settlement undergo rapid change as the new order began to sink in. Marisol and Helena kept up their end of the bargain and a Bill of Rights had been drafted and posted along with a set of simple rules and the punishments for breaking said rules. Helena was left in charge of that. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    Santi and what was left of his team focused on clearing dens, more troublesome and powerful monsters, and the occasional rift. Chad had left to become a hunter and Tank spent most of his time running his infirmary, but would tag along for the more dangerous runs. Bianca and Cameron hadn¡¯t flinched from the course and Chloe stayed as a central pillar.

    Daniel and Hana had formed a ranger company of sorts, half scouts, half hunters, and completely nutty. When Santi put out the word for a hunt they showed up though, the two of them never going far from each other. Six weeks could change a lot of things, but it also made some things clear.

    It was different. Quiet. Empty. There was a space in all of them now that couldn¡¯t be filled, only covered up. Mom was the worst. Her silence had been broken and her quiet tranquility replaced by a woman driven by raw madness. She trained constantly. With the dwarves, scouts, fighters, scavengers, anyone and everyone who would face her across the dueling ring.

    Every day there were less who were willing to do so. Her skill with the spear Torin had made for her as a funeral gift, another cultural difference, was growing by leaps and bounds. It wasn¡¯t natural. There was nothing natural about twenty hour days of training.

    She lived in the arena, and if it wasn¡¯t for the new requirements to venture out of the city limits, she would be out there. Anyone who wished to leave the city had to be Acolyte level or higher. Peak Initiates could leave the walls of the settlement, but even then they were given strict warnings. It was simply growing too dangerous for those who hadn¡¯t gotten strong enough to fight out there.

    Torin had taken an interest in Mom¡¯s training and had decided he¡¯d craft her armor. Full plate, light as a feather and stronger than oak he had claimed. The translation had claimed it, but Santi figured it was close enough. Going with her shield and spear he had already made her, she¡¯d be the best equipped person in the entire settlement barring Santi¡¯s personal team.

    Yessenia had went in the other direction. She didn¡¯t leave the laboratory she had made for herself underneath the house without family around her. A low level Acolyte golem stood guard outside her door, courtesy of Grimvr who had made it to her to pay for his evolution. Her own evolution had seen her class change from [Planner] to [Ritualist]. It was a powerful class and already multiple spells were placed around the house, just waiting for the right word or trigger to ignite their protections.

    ¡°Good fight. It would have been better if the Hall Master hadn¡¯t interrupted us, but I was sure of victory.¡±

    ¡°Your victory?¡±

    ¡°Oh of course, if it wasn¡¯t for the thick helm, I would have caved in your thick skull!¡±

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that armored gauntlet, this thick skull would have broken your fingers!¡±

    ¡°Oh, lad. I don¡¯t think that had the sting you think it did.¡± Grimvr offered him a sly smile and the two walked to the water bucket they kept in the back under the shade. It wasn¡¯t for drinking, but rather for clearing the sweat, blood, and dirt off of themselves. A little plastic First-Aid kit hung on a hook. The only thing inside of it was a pair of healing potions that Santi had earned two weeks ago.

    ¡°I wanna go with you and your peoples the next time you go out. I need the levels,¡± Grimvr said.

    ¡°That didn¡¯t sound like much of a request. More of a demand,¡± Santi fired back.

    ¡°Damn translator is removing the nuance of my words, I can assure you, I was quite polite with my groveling,¡± Grimvr lied.

    ¡°Oh, might as well. It shouldn¡¯t be too much longer. Daniel said he had found some tracks to where he thinks the others might have fled too.¡±

    ¡°The rest of the traitors?¡±

    ¡°Yes. He¡¯s been searching for a while now. North and East, toward the mountains there. Plenty of small towns and cities they could be hidden in until they reach the mountain passes.¡±

    ¡°Did not Cameron say his father was in the mountains?¡±

    ¡°Much further South. Weeks of traveling from here.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s getting anxious about it. He¡¯s talking to your sister when we all spar together.¡±

    ¡°It makes sense. The competition is almost over and then we can be on our way and start heading down there.¡±

    ¡°I think I want to go with you.¡±

    ¡°Leave your clan mates?¡±

    ¡°This is a new world and I wish to see it. They will understand.¡±

    ¡°I have no objection. I don¡¯t know who¡¯s going to be going yet, but it won¡¯t be much longer.¡±

    ¡°Good, now let¡¯s get dinner ready, shall we?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just freeloading. You saw that deer Tristan brought in and the potatoes that Hestor harvested,¡± Santi deduced, staring at the little glutton.

    ¡°Much better than the ration bars. And we are good friends, are we not?¡±

    ¡°Good enough friends that I¡¯m willing to trust you with an important task tonight.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Have you ever peeled a potato?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t say that I have.¡±

    ¡°Come my friend and I will introduce you to peeling potatoes. It is a very important job.¡± Santi led him into the house and the kitchen that they were all using. Santi had salvaged what he could from their destroyed kitchen and the heavy cast iron pans were still being used.

    Bianca and Cam were sitting around the table, sipping on tea, while they talked quietly. A pile of forearm length potatoes sat behind them in a red plastic bucket. Thick stalks of fresh asparagus were on the counter and the deer that Chad had brought down a day ago had been butchered and choice cuts brought over.

    Cam and Bianca took one look at the duo, glanced back at the pile of vegetables, and fled without a word. Cam engulfed Bianca¡¯s free hand in a smooth motion as they raced away.

    ¡°They will not be partaking in the peeling of potatoes?¡± Grimvr asked.

    ¡°They are weak people, my friend. Not worthy of the task before you.¡±

    ¡°I am beginning to feel as if I have been tricked.¡±

    ¡°No, no, not at all. You¡¯re going to earn your food tonight though,¡± Santi let slip a now rare smile as he grabbed a knife and showed Grmivr the proper way to peel a potato.

 Ch. 3.2 Family Dinner

    2.

    ¡°Damn, this is good Santi!¡± Cameron stated between heaped forkfuls of mashed potatoes. His plate, once a platter, was nearly cleared as he attacked the meal with an energetic zeal. All around him, those who had been Acolytes for a while, were eating with an extra level of appreciation. It was one of their first meals made with appropriate food sources that weren¡¯t the ration bars they¡¯d been earning in award chests.

    Daniel and Hana were, for once, not staring at each other as they both hovered inches from their plates. Bianca was only a bit more restrained while Yessenia sat quietly and ate slowly. Each bite chewed with a thoroughness that was almost mechanical, her eyes glazed over, lost in thought.

    Chloe and Rayleigh were both to Santi¡¯s left, the two girls having rekindled their friendship over the last few weeks. With Abraham gone and Rayleigh now in charge  the point of contention between them was gone and they wasted no time in reconnecting.

    Grimvr was eating the potatoes like he was angry at them and after having spent an hour carefully peeling and cleaning them, Santi could understand that frustration. Tank sat next to Grimvr and the two spoke in quick sentences, chuckling often as they both seemed to enjoy the hearty meal.

    Santi could begin to understand why Dad had liked cooking so much. The act itself was peaceful in a way, rewarding to see the dishes he ended up with from the raw ingredients they had started with. The real reward was seeing everyone¡¯s joy in eating his work. They enjoyed what he had spent time and labor doing, his hard work instantly rewarded not in levels and shed blood, but in smiles and laughter and the scrape of metal on porcelain.

    ¡°Enjoy it while you can. The first crop wasn¡¯t big enough and it¡¯ll be a while before the second crop. The meat is starting to get easier to source at least, more and more animals have survived the burst and managed to level. Tristan took some type of hunter class and has been showing people how to track them.¡±

    ¡°The meat is good, don¡¯t get me wrong. But, damn brother, these potatoes are heavenly.¡±

    ¡°Acolyte level food. New taste buds and higher perception to fully experience the meal. I did the bare minimum on them.¡±

    ¡°If this is the bare minimum, I don¡¯t think I could withstand a full gourmet course,¡± Chloe said. Her plate was cleared and she was leaning back in her chair with her fingers threaded over her stomach.

    ¡°Just wait till a [Cook] or [Chef] class appears. We¡¯ll be eating good,¡± Santi told them. He could remember the camp foods that their [Cooks] had made and heard rumors of the heavenly delights Disciple level [Chefs] could create. Far above his paygrade, it had been something the Council of Champions had been able to partake in or what the ultra wealthy had managed to buy.

    ¡°I think Dad would have liked being a [Cook],¡± Yessenia finally spoke up and the room fell into silence as everyone¡¯s eyes turned to her. She had been so quiet for so long that hearing her speak in a public setting was tantamount to watching lightning strike twice.

    ¡°I think he would have too,¡± Bianca said, breaking the silence and everyone turned their gaze away from Yesi. Santi felt the familiar rush of rage and sorrow he felt every time he was reminded of what happened to her. The helplessness of not being able to fix it.

    ¡°Found another den. Well Delilah and her scouts did. A day or so Northwest. Close to the coast. She said it was too dangerous for her or even my team to handle,¡± Daniel said as the table discussion changed from the joy of food back to work.

    ¡°Alright. Chloe, what¡¯s our schedule looking like?¡± Chloe had taken over the team¡¯s scheduling once she realized Santi was often double booking or even triple booking them to be at places. Santi was more than happy to have her deal with the executive functions while he worked on drills and teamwork.

    ¡°Free for two days. Got a rift that Rayleigh and her team said they can clear out, but wanted back up just in case,¡± Chloe said.

    ¡°Rayleigh, do you guys actually need the help?¡±

    ¡°Probably not. We¡¯re just thin on veteran people. Almost everyone is new and raw. Even in comparison to where we were. It¡¯s some type of spider monster and it¡¯s low Acolyte, maybe even peak Initiate rift.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s it at?¡±

    ¡°South East. Tiny little town of about four hundred or so people. Rift cleared the whole town we think. There¡¯s some spider webs and stuff everywhere, Daniel¡¯s people didn¡¯t think it was too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Daniel, peel a trio of your people over to Rayleigh¡¯s clear team. We¡¯ll get Helena to put up two squads for backup but have it be Rayleigh¡¯s operation.¡±

    A round of affirmatives rang out across the table. It was getting easier and easier for him to issue orders like this. Finding the right people to train and organize had been the key. Torin and Grimvr had been a massive help as they had started to provide training and materials that allowed the settlement to be successful. There were plenty of people in the settlement with the right mindset and skills to organize and Santi had been working on finding them and putting them in place to succeed. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°Daniel, Hana, I want both of you with us when we do and meet up with Delilah. Tank, can you get free from the clinic?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been slow. Shouldn''t be a problem at all,¡± Tank rumbled from the end of the table.

    ¡°Grimvr, get Torin¡¯s permission and you can come with us.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°I want to come as well,¡± Mom¡¯s voice carried across the room as she and Torin walked in. She still wore her armor and her face was covered in a sheen of sweat. The heady mix of body odor and armor came with her as she grabbed a plate and began to fill it with the leftover in the middle of the table.

    ¡°Grimvr, we shall both go. I must see how my works perform,¡± the older dwarf slapped Grimvr on the shoulder as he walked past him and began to fill his own plate. Everyone shuffled down, creating spots for the two older people to squeeze into as chairs were grabbed for them.

    ¡°Are you ready for that, Mom?¡± Yesi asked, voice trembling.

    ¡°Torin has given me the best weapons aside from Santi¡¯s morph blade. I¡¯ve trained hard and have the skill, I just need the levels now.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to fight effectively in the den at all, but we can search for opponents for you,¡± Santi said. If his Mom could get the levels necessary to evolve it¡¯d be a massive weight off his shoulders.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I need. Torin will stay with me.¡±

    ¡°I shall,¡± Torin promised as he poked with his fork at the mountain of mashed potatoes, looking at Grimvr with confusion written across his face.

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious, Hall Master. Try it with the brown sauce.¡±

    ¡°Yesi, you should come as well. Try out your power in the field,¡± Santi floated the suggestion to his sister. He cringed inwardly as Yesi seemed to fold under the weight of the possibility of leaving her sanctum.

    ¡°No¡­maybe, ummm,...next time,¡± she stammered, face burning red with shame as she stood in a hurry, leaving her half eaten plate behind her as she fled out of the room.

    The mood soured as everyone stared at her now deserted seat. Santi wished to have Abraham in front of him again, just to rip him in pieces for what he had done to Yessenia. Santi heard her crying at night, the strangled screams as nightmares tore at her, the haunted look in her eyes.

    ¡°Is there a therapist or someone who could work with her or something?¡± Rayleigh asked, concern on her face.

    ¡°Tank?¡± Santi asked. A psychiatrist would have been in his friend''s sphere of responsibility.

    ¡°Doc Evans has some training. She started that way and then decided to become a R.N,¡± Tanks said. Santi wanted to pound his head on the table. A partially trained therapist.

    ¡°See if she¡¯s open to talking to her,¡± Mom said. Tank glanced at Santi for confirmation, but was already nodding along.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask her in the morning,¡± Tank confirmed.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Mom said as she went back to eating.

    ¡°So tomorrow then?¡± Chloe asked. Santi nodded to her and the rest of the group got up and started to clean their dishes with a bucket of soapy water that Santi had pulled earlier. Germs weren¡¯t much of a threat to them now, but it was still gross to eat off dirty plates.

    ¡°Did Delilah say what type of den it was?¡± Santi asked, wanting to get away from the sudden social awkwardness and on to dealing with the threat of the den.

    ¡°Not really, she sent a messenger from one of our outposts to us to relay where it¡¯s at and threat level.¡±

    ¡°Has the messenger relay system been working well for you?¡± Santi asked. It had been his suggestion to do since no one had managed to take an effective long range communication skill.

    They¡¯d place speed based builds in small, well hidden locations and they acted as small hubs for messages for the further ranging teams. It allowed for faster communication and kept the scouting teams in the field for longer. When Yessenia recovered a bit more and could be persuaded to go out in the field, Santi was going to get her to lay some basic protections around the hubs.

    In the future, as they grew, he¡¯d need to establish forts and outposts further away from the settlement. There were just too many people to close by right now. They would begin to hunt the region into extinction and there wouldn¡¯t be enough experience or potential to continue leveling for the lower level people.

    ¡°It¡¯s working well. Need to improve the defensese around them though. Lost one of the hubs to the Northwest near the mountains two days ago.¡±

    ¡°All hands went down?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I went up there with Hana and some of my higher level guys. There were four runners assigned to the spot and we found all four bodies and a bunch of some type of insect monster.¡±

    ¡°Ants?¡±

    ¡°Beetles, they were as big as a car though and tough. Stabbed a few and their carapace was thick and resistant to damage. We harvested what we could and I¡¯ve had a team looking for where the bugs could have come from,¡± Daniel reported in.

    Santi sat back and thought on that. They hadn¡¯t found a hint of Duncan yet, but to the Northwest there were plenty of small towns and then eventually the mountains. Duncan was savvy enough he would cover up the elimination of an outpost and the loss of that outpost would severely limit their ability to report what was going on that way quickly.

    ¡°Find a new place to set up and we¡¯ll take Yesi there after we clear out this den. We¡¯ll reinforce the outpost and start searching that region. I don¡¯t like having a threat that can take out an outpost like that,¡±  Sanit ordered.

    ¡°They were only Initiates, peak, but still? It shouldn¡¯t be a threat to us,¡± Daniel wasn¡¯t arguing, but he was searching for a reason for Santi¡¯s new apparent concern.

    ¡°Only if it really was bugs. We haven¡¯t seen hide or hair of any of the traitors or that band of humans they were partnered with. Wouldn¡¯t be hard to lead a group of low level Acolyte bugs to a base and just watch the fireworks. Send runners and put all your people on alert up there, double up the patrols and increase the frequency of check-ins.¡±

    ¡°You got it, boss,¡± Daniel said. Hana was already scribbling Santi¡¯s orders on a little pad of paper she carried around.

    ¡°Everyone get some sleep, tomorrow we¡¯re off to kill some monsters,¡± Santi broke up the family dinner and sat back in his chair while everyone slowly trickled out. He sat in the empty room for a long time.

 Ch. 3.3 Raiders

    3.

    The early summer heat had parched the surrounding countryside, turning once lush fields into barren, sun baked earth. Santi and the rest of the war party moved at a fast clip, their breaths easy, even under the fast pace. Mom was the weakest of them and she managed to keep up with them, even if she was near the rear of the pack.

    A single drop of sweat rolled down Santi¡¯s face as he kept pace, running behind Bianca and Chloe. Both of the girls were more heavily invested in physical stats than he was and without his titles he would have been left in the dust by them. As it was, it required a bit of effort to keep up with them.

    ¡°How often do patrols come through this area?¡± Santi asked Daniel, the taller scout gliding along next to him. Daniel and Hana¡¯s company of scouts and rangers, along with Chad and Tristan¡¯s hunters, were the only ones who made it out this far on the regular. Helena kept her people closer to home and Santi only led his party out for heavy fights.

    ¡°Not frequent. We mainly stick around towns or anything that we can get supplies from. These long country roads get people on occasion, but not often enough for them to be deemed safe to travel,¡± Daniel explained.

    The last few weeks had seen a small trickle of people leaving the confines of Homebase and its immediate surroundings. None of them had left the relative safety of the city and the high ranking fighters living there, but it wouldn¡¯t be long. There had been a handful of people found to the South and East and directly West. Anything North and Northeast was barren of life though.

    From what Daniel had reported people had survived. The amount of dead wasn¡¯t high enough and there were signs of class skills and spells used on the buildings or surroundings. Dead monsters and campfires, but everything had been pulled up and disappeared further toward the heart of the nation.

    In time smaller communities would be absorbed. Small groups of survivors banding together to build rugged communities based around a dungeon or good hunting grounds. They would need the support of a larger community and Homebase would be the hub for this entire region. The wealth of Northern California could pool toward him, treasures, monster parts, crafters, and anything else would come to Homebase and the Pillar he would claim.

    They needed safe roads for that to happen. Continuous patrols that would purge the nuisances and alert them when real dangers arrived. Daniel and Hana¡¯s small company would be the first step and with the growth in numbers the job would be placed on Helena¡¯s head. Part of internal security. A good place for young warriors to test themselves and grow accustomed to the dangers of the new world without quite leaving the safety of the nest.

    ¡°When we get back I need you and Helena to get together and start mapping out routes for patrols. She¡¯ll provide the manpower and you provide the intelligence.¡±

    ¡°You got it boss,¡± Daniel said while flipping a snarky salute. Some of the man¡¯s earlier attitude had begun to creep back into their interactions as time distanced themselves from the acts Santi had committed.

    ¡°There¡¯s something up ahead Santi,¡± Bianca said, her hand straying to her hip where her macuahuitl sat. Santi looked past his sister and towards the ground ahead of them and saw what she had seen. A quarter mile or so ahead was a pair of abandoned wagons. The full sized one¡¯s people used to carry around their kids'' crap during soccer games.

    Goods were spilt across the ground, crushed food and water bottles that had rolled away in the gentle summer breeze. The wind shifted and Santi caught hints of blood on the air.

    ¡°Mom, get to the center of the formation, Torin you have her?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯ll be safe with me,¡± the Hall Master confirmed, pulling a heavy hammer that he used two hands to heft around from his belt.

    ¡°Grmivr, right behind the girls and Cam. You¡¯re relief. Everyone else, normal positions.¡±

    Daniel and Hana both disappeared and split apart, heading in different directions. The shadows were thin, but Daniel had been working hard on his skill and managed. Hana simply bent light around her till she was nothing more than a heat mirage.

    Tank stepped up and slightly behind Santi, unlimbering his new and improved mace that Grimvr had crafted him. The bulbous head of the mace was ridged and had a weight to it that would have caused a pre initialization human to struggle. Tank swung it about in lazy circles with ease as he scanned their surroundings.

    Without Chad they were lacking a true distance fighter aside from Santi, and he was their most effective fighter overall. Currently his spell and skill set put him as a medium range fighter, but he could pinch hit wherever the team needed him.

    Mom gripped her own spear tightly, but there was no trace of fear in her eyes as she looked around. There was a hunger there, a desire for action and blood. Torin was next to her and Santi had to focus on what was going to come next if he wanted to make sure they all stayed alive. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    The team slowed down, moving more cautiously as they crept closer to the signs of violence. Santi was able to fully view the wagons and abandoned supplies. Mainly dry food, crackers, dried fruit, nuts, granola, and bottled water. There were some scattered clothes, blouses and pants that blew in the wind.

    ¡°Oh fuck,¡± Bianca cursed, horror in her voice as they looked closer to the ditch that line the field. Santi peered down and quickly identified the scents of blood.

    A pair of women lay slack and still in the bottom of the ditch, their clothes stained from battle. A broken kitchen knife was near one of them and the other had a claw hammer that was just outside of her reach. The violence inflicted upon them was monstrous and they all stared down at them in horror.

    ¡°What the fuck,¡± Bianca whispered while Cam leaned over and vomited.

    ¡°DANIEL, HANA, FIND ME TRACKS!¡± Santi barked. He knew the darker sides of man, the depths of villainy that waited. He would not allow it to fester.

    ¡°Let¡¯s bury them. Bianca, Chloe, do you think you can move them while we dig?¡± Santi asked them.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll do this,¡± Mom spoke firmly even as a tear tracked down her face. The two younger women nodded and the team broke up quickly. The work to dig graves was quick and easy compared tidying the bodies and placing garments on them. The burial was quick and with few words and Santi prayed that the two women would find peace. In total it had taken less than thirty minutes from sighting the two destroyed wagons to burying the two victims.

    Daniel and Hana had found the tracks and were waiting patiently until the final bits of earth filled the grave. The wagons were rooted through, but little of it held any value to them. They were beyond the food available in it and the weapons were basic tools that could have been found in any garage.

    ¡°They came from the North and are heading West. Directly toward where we¡¯re supposed to be going.¡±

    ¡°How many?¡±

    ¡°No idea, lots though. Footprints everywhere, the ground is too hard to leave easy to identify prints.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Last thing we want is them finding Delilah and her team. Double time it,¡± Santi issued his orders and the rest of the group fell into line as they started to pick up speed. They raced across the hot blacktop, the asphalt emanating heat like a furnace. The shorter dwarves weren¡¯t holding them back, their legs pistoning as they ate up ground in a hurrying race against time.

    ¡°Daniel, you and Hana push ahead and try to warn Delilah and the others,¡± Santi said as they got closer to the small beach town that the monster den was supposed to be in. Both of the scouts pushed off as fast as possible, sprinting ahead as they disappeared from view.

    The rest of the team continued their pace, eating into the timeline that Daniel had said it would take. The day of travel timeline completely obliterated as they pushed their Acolyte bodies as hard as they could. Mom was a ragged mess, sweating profusely as she gasped in breaths, but she continued on.

    Torin had offered to carry her, but had been met with a stony eyed glare that had quieted the dwarf. She was on her last legs though and would be of little use in the upcoming fight. They had caught signs of the passage of the raiders. Discarded food packets, empty water bottles, a shoe, several signs of bowel relief. They were closing in on them, but Santi was worrying that they¡¯d be too late to find the small team of scouts

    ¡°When we meet them, Mom and Torin stay in the backline with Tank. Guys, this will be your first time truly fighting other people. The little skirmish downtown, well, you weren¡¯t prepared for that. This will be different. They will have skills and spells just like you. And they will scream and beg for mercy, plead to be arrested or to face a jury or anything to stop their immediate deaths. They all die. Every. Single. One. Am I clear?¡±

    ¡°Crystal,¡± Chloe growled. Her black hair was pasted to her forehead as she ran a thumb along the edge of her axe. They were approaching the edge of the town and Santi saw some of them.

    Dirty and ragged they walked around the town without a care. They were thin, emaciated with stringy hair with hard looks to their faces as if they were carved from granite. He counted seven with a glance as they wandered around, poking their heads into abandoned buildings or just wandered the road.

    The town wasn¡¯t even a town. It was just a single road with buildings on either side of it. A few gas stations, a diner, post office, firehouse, and then a trio of side roads that branched off with single family homes on either side. The sound of the ocean was close, the heady scents of the brine filling his nose with every breath.

    The den was somewhere close by, Delilah and her team hidden from both the raiders and the den. Santi was scanning the area as fast as possible, looking for clues to where everyone was.

    ¡°Everyone, gear up. Helms, armor, weapons checks, all of it. Grab a couple drinks of water and catch your breath. We¡¯re going to be going in fast and ending them fast, understood?¡±

    A round of nods and affirmatives came through as everyone took a knee and drank and checked their weapons and armor. Santi touched the metal breastplate that Torin had made for him. It was lightweight, an alloy of supernatural design that was a dark cobalt color. It left his arms free, but all of his vitals covered in hard steel, or at least the dwarven equivalent of steel.

    At the far edge of town, movement broke out. A burst of energy, a flash of fire, and a man¡¯s shrill scream. The town erupted like a beehive, over a dozen dirty figures running out of the buildings in a rush, brandishing a variety of crude weapons as they raced toward where someone was burning brightly.

    At the same time, closer to the sea, in sandy soil that had a thin covering of stringy grass, the earth erupted. Black proboscis, glittering eyes, eight legs on each side of a nine foot long body that wiggled as it raced toward the sounds of fighting. The sandy soil trailed off of it as its dagger-like claws tore into cement like it was dirt as it caught the first of the raiders with its long nose.

 Ch. 3.04 Cursed

    4.

    The long trunk of the monster twisted and curled inward and the distant figure¡¯s screams were faint and hardly carried in the air. Blood dripped out of the monster¡¯s trunk, splashing on the ground as it continued on its way toward the heart of the small town. The rushing raiders stopped in fright, the fight they had been looking for larger and more dangerous than they were ready for.

    Santi¡¯s team was running in tight formation, their practice over the last week¡¯s showing. Mom and Torin lagged behind while Grimv stuck to his place without need to be nudged in place. The dwarf was sturdy and ready for a fight with his axe in hand. Cameron, Bianca, and Chloe forming a wedge with Cameron in the center. Grmivr drifted behind them while Santi let them get a bit ahead of him. Tank, Torin, and Mom were the last of the group about ten feet behind him.

    The raiders were running without looking, fleeing the monster as it ravaged a building and a slower moving man. The man was throwing around skills, blue blasts of ice exploding in bursts around the creature¡¯s chitinous shell. It had little effect on the monster, it simply lifted a long leg and stabbed down at the man. Concrete exploded as the street shattered like a bomb went off as the man rolled and got away from the stabbing appendage.

    While those two were occupied in the center of town, the first trailing edge of the raiders finally turned to see Cameron and the two women flanking him. They were fully armored and armed with weapons built by Grimvr and Torin. Santi was ready to step in if they hesitated as the first of the dirty raiders charged at Cameron, screaming a wordless warcry.

    The raider was hoisting a heavy sledgehammer over his head, pale face coated in dirt and dried blood as his black eyes were wild with rage and fear. Cam¡¯s golden shield was cast as the raider swung down, interposing itself between Cam¡¯s slightly less dense head and the heavy steel hammer. The steel hammer hit the gold shield with a burst of power and the sound of a crunching glass, but the shield didn¡¯t break.

    The man stared at his weapon stupidly as Cam struck with a single minded purpose, his long hatchet slicing through the man¡¯s stomach with no resistance. Cam shouldered the man off his feet, tossing him like a child as he kept moving forward.

    Bianca slashed as the man passed by her, her blade tearing away flesh and finishing the man before he could even hit the ground. The whole interaction had been done in two seconds, their training paying off. Santi had been pushing them hard, making sure they knew how to fight as a team.

    Then the main part of the fleeing raiders were overrunning them. Cameron held his spot without fear or hesitation, his shield and hatchet moving in tandem. Golden shields appeared in quick succession as attacks slid off of his defensive skills. The raiders were peak Intitaties, their skills and spells not having the oomph needed to break apart the defensive skills that Cameron was activating.

    Bianca and Chloe were doing their parts, their weapons blurs as they chopped and hacked their way through the drifters like they were nothing but driftwood. Neither woman showed any reluctance as they took lives for the first time, killing without hesitation as the weaker fighters couldn¡¯t hope to match them.

    It took only a minute and the first batch of fleeing killers were laying on the ground in broken pieces alongside the road and they were pushing into the actual town. The ice mage was still dueling the monster, bursts of frozen power washing over the ground as the man hadn¡¯t stopped casting. He was throwing around enough power faster enough that Santi could make the guess that he was at least a mid thirties Acolyte.

    ¡°Mage and monster!¡± Santi barked, steering the team toward the main fight. Cam was chugging forward like an indomitable train, angling toward the monster. Santi risked taking his eyes off the fight for a moment to [Identify] both the monster and the man.

    Mutated Mole Crab lvl. 46

    Cursed Ice Mage lvl. 38

    ¡°Careful with the mage, he¡¯s cursed!¡± Santi told the team.

    ¡°Da fuck does that mean?¡± Cam asked without turning.

    ¡°There¡¯s more than one way of evolving. He¡¯s going to be like one of the cursed things we¡¯ve killed.¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    [Air Manipulation] tugged the mage¡¯s foot to the side as the mole crab stabbed at him again. This time he couldn¡¯t move away fast enough and Santi almost ended the problem then and there. The ice mage made a wall of ice in front of him, water particles condensing into a misty wall before flash freezing. The crystal ice had threads of inky darkness in it, worms of corruption that wriggled inside the ice.

    Ice exploded as the leg smashed it apart, spraying out the corrupted ice like shrapnel. Cameron cast a shield in front of Bianca and lifted his own personal shield up to cover his face as Chloe ducked behind the bigger man¡¯s back. Santi cast [Gust] and sent the ice away from the group.

    A drop of blood splattered the ground as the monster¡¯s leg dripped blood, its tough chitinous shell finally broken. A trickle of darkness swirled around the ice mage, darkening the air around the man as the iron scent of blood consumed the area. The monster froze, leg frozen high in the air as the swirling chaos around the ice mage flowed around it, seeping into the wound.

    The monster stopped, frozen for a long moment,and then it fled, retreating as fast as it had come. The mage turned around to face them, his face haggard as he lifted his hands up to them. Whatever curse he had, it was powerful enough that he had managed to corrupt a higher level monster than him with only one wound. Not something that Santi wanted to have around his people.

    [Gust] picked up the thin mage and threw him like a baseball, flying through the air until he crashed into the building across the street. The wall didn¡¯t break, but the mage did. One of the problems with only putting stat points into one area. Bones were sticking out of the mage¡¯s body while limbs were twisted in the wrong way.

    ¡°Careful, no kill notification,¡± Santi warned as the team slowed down. Black and red energy spread around the downed mage¡¯s body. Bones snapped back into place, limbs twisted and ground as they fitted together properly.

    ¡°Shit, that¡¯s gross. Kill him, skills only!¡± Santi barked his last order and Bianca stepped forward. Of all of the rest of the team she had the closest to a long range attack. A skill she had picked up and been working hard on since Dad¡¯s funeral.

    A simple spark ignited off the tip of her weapon, blue-white and burning with an intensity that Santi could feel from feet away. She flicked her wrist, the macuahuitl snapping like a baton to send the flickering ball of fire away.

    It crossed the distance in a blink of an eye and ignited with a whoosh and burst of intense heat as the body was consumed in a heartbeat. The kill notification dinged a second later.

    Cursed Ice Mage lvl 38

    (Blood Thirst)

    ¡°Don¡¯t get close to any of the others who are marked as cursed. You don¡¯t want an infection like that,¡± Santi warned them.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Tank asked, having not been able to see what was going on.

    ¡°Its another way of evolving. It¡¯s not advised,¡± Grmivr said stone faced. Santi was sure there was a thread of humor in there.

    ¡°Stay focused, there¡¯s still plenty more of the raiders around here. And the monster,¡± Santi chided the team.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Daniel and Hana?¡± Chloe asked, looking around carefully. Bianca hadn¡¯t taken her eyes off the burning wreck she had created.

    ¡°Who knows, they¡¯ll show up soon enough. Shit, behind us!¡± Santi caught sight of a new wave of ragged raiders wielding a motley mix of weapons as they came screaming out of hiding now that the crab had been pushed back.

    Mom spun, shield rising to cover her body as her spear rested right above the edge of the shield. Santi watched as time seemed to slow as she stepped forward and lunged, spear point glinting in the light as it passed in a blur toward the leading attacker.

    The spear spun and turned, broad leaf point parting flesh with ease, shattering bone like dry wood, and ending the raider¡¯s life with ease. Mom twisted and pulled the spear free, using her shield to stop a stray blow while she stepped back to avoid a second attack.

    Tank stepped forward, covering Mom¡¯s blindside as his maul proceeded to obliterate a human into just paste. Torin watched with his hammer, eyes alert and ready to step in if Mom floundered or hesitated.

    She didn¡¯t.

    She attacked with economical precision, no wasted movements as she butchered the enemy Initiates with ease. Their makeshift weapons hardly scratched her shield as with every strike she killed. Tank backed up as the pressure lessened and Chloe and Bianca stepped up to cover her sides while Cameron waited to slide in to replace her as she tired.

    She didn¡¯t use any skills or spells, just her own endurance and strength with plenty of practice. The two girls didn¡¯t simply slaughter the enemy, but rather let Mom get the kills, harvesting potential and experience. Santi watched in awe and horror as his quiet, iron-willed, patient, and kind mother, killed and killed and killed.

    The newest wave broke as fast as it had come, nine bodies laying on the ground felled by Mom¡¯s spear. It was like watching a machine complete a task, a testament to Torin¡¯s training.

    ¡°Mom, you ok?¡± Bianca asked as they stared down at the dead bodies.

    ¡°Yes. Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± Mom asked, her voice soft and clipped as she wiped the bloody spear clean on a dead man¡¯s shirt.

    ¡°No reason,¡± Bianca said, but she stayed close to Mom¡¯s side as everyone milled about in the center of the town, looking for Daniel and the other¡¯s. There was movement here and there, people moving about as they darted around the buildings, more of the weak raiders who hadn¡¯t died yet.

    ¡°There''s got to be a few more of the Acolyte level fighters around here somewhere. Stay on guard, but let¡¯s start moving to try to find Daniel and Hana.¡±

 Ch. 3.5 Infection

    5.

    Fire licked at the homes as Bianca¡¯s cleansing flame grew to slowly encompass the house and then the others around it. Red and blue flames leapt from roof to roof, increasing in size and ferocity as the small pit stop of a town emptied itself out. There were more raiders than Santi would have thought possible. Over a score of them left alive, gathering around two men who were barking orders.

    Black lines ran across their skin like sticky webs of corruption, pulsing with every word and gesture. The men around them listened and obeyed with speed, fear of their commanders greater than their fear of Santi¡¯s team. He would have to see about changing that.

    ¡°We crush them, I want one alive though. Not the cursed bastards, but one of the others.¡±

    ¡°Thought we said no survivors?¡± Cam asked.

    ¡°There won¡¯t be survivors after I¡¯m done talking to him,¡± Santi said. There was a momentary stillness, then everyone seemed to recall the two women on the roadside and all thoughts of mercy fled. The squad formed up into their normal formation and began to march with the cleansing flames behind them.

    Santi watched the raiders with one eye, while with the other he kept a lookout for Daniel and Hana. The two had a bad habit of disappearing and a great habit of showing up unexpectedly. They wouldn¡¯t stay out of this fight for the entire time but would likely hop in when the fight got down to the nitty gritty and the raiders were too busy to pay attention.

    The slapping of their feet on the pavement was loud in his ears, his breaths ragged as he let that wrath that he had been carrying around for months begin to billow inside of himself. Heat suffused his chest as he spun his mana through his body and into the atmosphere, drenching the area around them with his power.

    The trick was something that was easy in theory but tough in practice. It was similar to what Yessenia had done to activate her rituals but scaled up. It would taint the area around him with his power, his flavor of magic. While it wouldn¡¯t stop enemy mana based attacks, it would help diffuse them, make them easier to block or parry and at the same time allow him to cast his own spells with less resistance.

    [Crosscurrent-Orb] spun free of his hand, passed between Chloe and Cameron¡¯s head and crossed the distance between the two groups in a flash. The tightly packed raiders, who were trying to form some type of unarmored shield wall, were thrown apart like matchsticks in a hurricane. The two Acolytes in the center of the formation didn¡¯t budge, both of them weathering the storm with grimaces.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let those fuckers touch you!¡± Santi reminded them as Cameron closed the distance, raising his physical shield while using his skill to block a lobbed pearlescent attack that splashed harmlessly off the golden barrier.

    Cam struck like lightning, moving with the dreadful efficiency that let him move faster than he should. The hatchet sheared apart meat and bone and a limp hand fell to the ground, its former owner screaming in pain as he clutched at the severed stump.

    Bianca and Chloe were cutting and slashing, ripping apart men with no hesitation. The two enemy Acolytes were backing up, fear in their eyes as they began to break away from their dying followers.

    The poor shield wall was destroyed and now the team¡¯s wedge formation was shedding attackers, sending wounded and dying men to land behind the front line trio so that they could be ripped apart with ease by the others. Mom¡¯s spear was moving with brutal power, killing with every blow. Torin and Grimvr were unphased as they butchered while Tank held a faint grimace as he brought his maul down to end suffering.

    Santi let them work, none of them aside from Mom were earning anything of note from this. But not everything was about experience and potential gained. Something had to be done, some monsters had to be killed lest they grow and fester in the wounds of the worlds.

    Santi kept a careful watch on the two cursed Acolytes and the madness in their eyes. The bloodlust was growing until there was another palpable aura around them, a blood red and foul black aura that sank into the few survivors around them. The newly infected smiled, baring their teeth as their necks stretched taunt. They howled a fierce cry that broke over the team as they charged with reckless abandon.

    ¡°Cut them down,¡± Santi yelled, but he could feel the aura of bloodlust infusing him even as he said it. Each of the infected was a carrier, growing the curse as they raced to die on Santi¡¯s team''s weapons. Gore flew in long strings and bone was cleaved and flesh split, but the berserk Initiate class fighters didn¡¯t care.

    They howled and snapped their mouths, trying to bite even as they were trimmed of offensive limbs. Weapons were abandoned as they tried to use their fingers and nails like beasts. For a moment there was a shift in the balance of power as Cameron and the others were stymied, their superior stats not allowing for them to be overwhelmed, but lacking the experience to fight through the madness. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Santi stepped around them.

    The morph blade extended and struck like lightning, taking heads with each flick of his wrist. Bodies fell around him like leaves as Santi charged straight toward the two Acolyte¡¯s and the source of aura that was empowering the weaker fighters. Both men seemed to teeter on losing themselves to the curse¡¯s power, or breaking and running. Fear and death warred in their eyes as the aura around them strengthened to the point of becoming a miasma around them.

    [Gust] staggered them and pushed back against the miasma while the morph blade lengthened to a lance and Santi lunged. The tip of the lance punched through a thigh, breaking bone and emerging out the other side with a wide spray of blood. It was enough to tip the two men over and into madness.

    The impaled man ran up the lance. He drug his wounded thigh further down the lance so he could reach Santi with his own homemade spear. Santi ducked his head and retracted the lance, ripping free of the thigh in a burst of destroyed muscle. Any normal, sane, person would be down for the fight, Acolyte stats or not. The femur was destroyed.

    The man didn¡¯t stop, he stepped on his broken and bleeding leg like it was completely fine as a bloody froth stained his teeth. His spear flashed out again and Santi removed the head of it with a simple block, his own weapon slicing apart the wood as if it was rotten.

    A ball of flame lobbed past his head and struck the second cursed man. He went up like a torch, the flames burning away the miasma that clung to him breaking through the curse¡¯s seeming  granted immunity from pain. His screams filled the air, pain and terror and something darker and more twisted underneath each howl.

    Santi kept his attention on his own foe who had closed to grappling range, ignoring his wounds in his determination to grab Santi. The man didn¡¯t use any skills or spells, just enhanced stats as his clawed hands scratched at Santi¡¯s unarmored biceps. He extended a blade and circled it quickly, removing both of the offending appendages, but not before bloody furrows were staining his shirt.

    Santi finished the Acolyte with a hammer blow to the skull, caving in the man¡¯s head with a finality that no driving bloodlust could cure. He turned back to look at the others and was happy to see they had managed to drag one of the raiders off to the side, pinning him to the ground with a spear through the knee.

    With the two Acolyte¡¯s dead, the fight faded in the survivors as their wounds overrode what little remained of their killing frenzy. They didn¡¯t last long after that as blades fell like rain, cleaning away the filth of the world.

    Santi walked past the dead and looked toward their captives as his heart continued to beat frenziedly in his chest. The morph blade extended into a full sized halberd with a keen headsman edge. An urge to continue on, to finish the miscreant whispered in his mind.

    Infection of Bloodlust

    (Lesser)

    ¡°Shit.¡± Santi retracted his blade and backed up quickly. He couldn¡¯t allow the curse to gain any traction. If he fell into its primal urges it would grow stronger. Curses fed on strong, normally negative, emotions. In a world consumed by the System, bloodlust would be one of the more treacherous curses.

    ¡°Santi, it¡¯s saying your infected?¡± Tank asked, his maul held out to the side.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s weak. Just makes me want to hack away a bit, see some blood flow, you know?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s rhyming, something''s wrong,¡± Bianca said as she stood a few feet away.

    ¡°He¡¯s fine as long as he controls it. If he starts to feed the curse and it grows stronger, then he¡¯ll become a threat to everyone. For now just try to keep him away from the curse¡¯s stressors,¡± Torin supplied helpfully. It was nice to have someone who understood the System around to explain things he couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°So, he shouldn¡¯t be fighting in a monster den or hunting down criminals?¡± Cam asked.

    ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Thorin said. He wasn¡¯t as wary as the others who were looking at him like he was a rabid animal. There was still an edge of wariness though as he kept his weapon close.

    ¡°So, we¡¯ll have to tackle the den without him? That¡¯s not going to be easy,¡± Chloe groused.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. We regroup with the others and leave Santiago here with his Mother and the scouts. I¡¯m strong enough to cover for most of his ability and leadership. We¡¯re a decently rounded team,¡± Torin supplied.

    ¡°Good idea. Torin will take command, heed his orders and trust him. He¡¯s the Hall Master for a reason. We need to break that den before that infected crab thing spreads it to the rest of the den. Don¡¯t need bloodlusted monsters running around,¡± Santi ordered the group. He was mad about losing out on the den and what would the harm be in going on one raid? His willpower was strong enough that he could resist the curse. Falling behind on the leaderboards could affect him negatively in the long run. Maybe he should go.

    That train of thought stopped him in his tracks with his mouth open, ready to countermand the orders he had just given. Curses could be nefarious, wheedling their way into his every intention to lead him toward a solution that it craved.

    ¡°Oh fuck it all, go clear it up and hurry it up. I don¡¯t want to be here all day. Me and Mom will go find our errant spies and see what this one has to say,¡± Santi said, pointing at the quietly crying man.

    ¡°No need to yell, we¡¯re right here. Tank we¡¯re going to need some assistance. All three of them are hurt, nothing severe but we got caught up with one of the smaller bands of the raiders near the edge of town,¡± Hana said, jogging toward them as she dropped her light illusion.

    Her and Daniel really did enjoy sneaking up on people and being dramatic with their entrances. It could be annoying. He should stop them from doing that, tell them they needed to be disciplined, and if they didn¡¯t, well he could always make them.

    ¡°Fuck, this curse is fucky. I don¡¯t think being around the rest of these guys is helping anything. Tank, go and heal them scouts, Hana and Daniel, go find the den and see what¡¯s going on. Reconvene with Torin and go scour the bastard. Bianca, cleanse the area please, it¡¯s giving me good ideas.¡±

 Ch. 3.6 Answers

    6.

    The town burned behind them as Bianca¡¯s cleansing flames consumed it all. Mom had helped drag their prisoner away from the strip of town while Santi patrolled the edges. [Gust] would send the fire screaming back in on itself rather than letting it grow and spread. Delilah and the two other scouts had been treated and sat away from the prisoner, often shouting encouraging words as Santi ran around in circles on his firefighter duty.

    Tank had rejoined the team and the rest of them had set off under Torin¡¯s leadership. Santi knew the older dwarf had the experience and skill to lead them, but he still worried. If that crab had spread the curse in its colony then they could be looking at a tough fight without him.

    As he slowly suffocated the fire, he worked his way back toward where the prisoner was. The great thing about magical flame was how fast it faded away when mana no longer fed it. Normal flame was easy enough to smother with the proper application of [Air Manipulation]. He could have made a killing working in the hills and mountains in the north before the integration.

    ¡°You all done Mr. Firefighter?¡± Delilah drawled as she sat with a bandaged leg out in front of her. A bad gash had cut her down to the bone but a bit of time with Tank had made it a rather simple, but long, cut. The scout was small and compact like a gymnast with a pixie cut of black hair and freckles covering her face from hairline to chin.

    ¡°For now, keep an eye out in case it takes off again. Ignore the screaming.¡± Santi passed by them and he heard some chortling and suppressed giggles as the two other women laughed at Delilah. Santi didn¡¯t think they were laughing about him implying what he was going to do to their prisoner.

    ¡°Mom, he say anything?¡± Santi asked as he walked up to them. The man was still laying on the ground and looking pale from blood loss.

    ¡°Just begging.¡± Mom had a hard look on her face as she stared down in judgment at the raider.

    ¡°Alright. What¡¯s your name?¡± Santi stood a few feet away from the man and kept his voice calm. His instincts were betraying him, telling him to smash the man and listen to the harmony of agony in the summer air.

    ¡°It¡¯s in you. I can see it. Just like it got all of us.¡±

    ¡°The curse? It¡¯s trivial, I¡¯ll ride it out and destroy the cursebearer and I won¡¯t have to worry.¡± The prisoner chuckled, quick and sharp exhalation that expanded into a full blown belly laugh. He leaned back on the ground and just laughed.

    ¡°Tony. My name is Tony,¡± he finally managed to get out.

    ¡°Ok, Tony. We found those girls on the side of the road and what you did to them. You¡¯re not coming out of this. Your only choice is slow or fast, you understand?¡±

    ¡°I deserve it. We all do. It¡­it gets into your dreams. You smell it, the blood, the pain, you start to crave it. You don¡¯t understand what it is and who she is.¡±

    ¡°She?¡±

    ¡°Mercy. She calls herself Mercy.¡±

    ¡°How dramatic. Where is she?¡± Santi had seen his fair share of over pompous people who had found their end eventually.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know. She found us at the border, in the mountains. We were doing ok, but she came from the North with a bunch of people. Fighting and killing anything that walked. Join or die. That was all she offered us. She burnt down our home and forced us to move.¡±

    ¡°How many?¡±

    ¡°Fuck man. Who knows. We¡¯re always gaining people, but we¡¯re also losing people constantly. Its a fucking bloodbath every day. Survival of the fittest. Mercy chooses who she raises up, is given her gift she calls it.¡±

    ¡°An infection?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what the System calls it. It changes them. Those who survive it, they evolve, can start getting levels past twenty-five.¡±

    ¡°How many have received her gift?¡±

    ¡°100 or so. They fight and die all the time too though. You don¡¯t understand, when you¡¯re in that camp, it''s in the air, the ground, and water. You just need to cut and cut and hit and see the blood fall. I¡¯ve seen mothers kill their sons, husbands their wives, brothers murdering the brothers, it''s a nightmare, an unending beautiful nightmare,¡± his face cracked wide in a manic smile as blood dripped out of his nose and eyes.

    ¡°What were her plans?¡±

    ¡°Fight. Kill. Move. That¡¯s all she ever did.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t know where she¡¯s moving too?¡±

    ¡°South and East, toward Nevada.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°Other than that you don¡¯t know her numbers, her intention, or her goals?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Mom. Can you do this? I shouldn¡¯t be doing anything that reeks of bloodshed for now.¡±

    ¡°Move.¡± Mom gently guided him away with a single hand while glaring down at the doomed prisoner. The man¡¯s smile continued on even as the broadhead of the spear passed through his chest.

    ¡°Leave the corpse. When Bianca comes back I¡¯ll have her burn it,¡± Santi said as they moved back towards Delilah and the others.

    ¡°How bad is it? This infection you have now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s marked as lesser, so it shouldn¡¯t be a major concern as long as I don¡¯t feed it.¡±

    ¡°By fighting?¡±

    ¡°By giving into the thrill of the fight.¡±

    ¡°Your father was ok with you having your secrets. You know too much and you don¡¯t act like my little boy who went away just a few months ago. I still see him now and then, and I know my Santiago is still there. When you¡¯re ready, I¡¯m willing to listen,¡± Mom spoke quietly and without looking at him. It was the closest anyone had come to calling him out for a long time without explicitly knowing.

    ¡°If I had secrets, I wouldn¡¯t,¡± the geas tried to slow him down, but he managed to force the words out before it constricted tight around his throat like a garotte.

    ¡°Ok. I love you, regardless.¡±

    ¡°Love you too, Mom.¡± The blood was still dripping off of her spear from the execution blow.

    ¡°What infection?¡± Delilah asked, this time without the sly smile and flirty looks.

    ¡°Curses. When you clear them you have to be careful not to let them spread. It can infect you, bleeding into your personality and behavior. If you continue to let it fester it¡¯ll consume you until you become a curse anchor.¡±

    ¡°And what¡¯s what was in them is now in you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that sentence makes sense. But, yes I¡¯m infected by their bloodlust. I have a much higher willpower than they did. I¡¯ll control myself until we destroy the origin of the curse.¡±

    ¡°Big words,¡± one of the other girls said. Tammy? Denise? Kammie? What the hell was her name?

    ¡°I have my family and friends to keep me in line,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°Someone wants to keep you in line,¡± the third scout said, looking at Delilah with a sly smile. Delilah blushed but didn¡¯t look away from him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think Chloe would approve of that,¡± Mom said with a straight face. All three of the other girls stilled and their smiles grew more wooden. Chloe had a reputation for bloodshed and violence that was becoming a bit worrying.

    ¡°Fuck it, shit or get off the pot,¡± Delilah said with a bit of her old swagger. Santi noticed she wasn¡¯t quite as boisterous as she had been minutes ago.

    ¡°Can you tell me how the new program is working with Daniel?¡± Santi asked, eager to change the subject.

    ¡°Trying to get us to spill on the boss?¡± The third girl asked. She had grown a bit more serious and there was a hesitancy in her words. Could be they had something to hide, or it could be nerves about talking bad about Hana and Daniel.

    ¡°No, I just want to see how everything is developing out here.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s going good. Lots of little monsters that we kill, find survivors and send them towards Homebase. Find possible supplies that haven¡¯t been destroyed and mark them down for Rayleigh. Pretty easy stuff for the most part,¡± Delila said.

    ¡°Anything strange going on? Monsters acting weird or people wandering around being psychos?¡±

    ¡°Like these assholes were? No nothing like that. Got some people who are running around looking for fights. Lots of people not knowing how to get past the level cap too. They always ask when we show up and tell them we have people who are Acolytes.¡±

    ¡°Any of those crazies running around killing monsters seem willing to come and sign up with us?¡±

    ¡°Maybe if someone other than us was asking. You or Cam or even Chloe. Someone stronger than them. They don¡¯t respect us since we¡¯re capped and haven¡¯t gotten beyond the cap.¡±

    ¡°Remind me when we get back, I¡¯ll have Yessenia bump you three to the front of the line for meritorious service to the community.¡±

    ¡°We can wait our turn,¡± the second girl said. She had a bit of a scowl on her face.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done a great service to the community, you deserve the reward.¡±

    ¡°No. We can wait. It won¡¯t look good if only fighters get to go past the cap or skip the line. We don¡¯t need that type of negativity around us,¡± the girl explained.

    ¡°Is it that bad in the main part of the camp?¡± Santi asked, genuinely curious. The last few weeks he had been swamped with fights, training, and organizing the further development of the camp. He hadn¡¯t had time to walk around and listen to the common people.

    ¡°It¡¯s not quite there. But now that the camp¡¯s calm and all the monsters are gone from the region, they¡¯re starting to question why all our resources are going towards the fighters and not towards infrastructure. Only a few crafters or farmers have gotten the levels up and they¡¯re all close to you guys. Or were close with your Dad. People are starting to talk about it and I¡¯d rather we not be part of that conversation,¡± she said.

    ¡°Well, shit. I¡¯ll have to talk to Yessenia when we get back. Maybe a lottery system or something.¡±

    ¡°Or get a second person doing the rituals?¡± Delilah asked. There was a hint of an answer in her question. She had someone in mind and was hoping to see how receptive Santi was to the question before risking her reputation and relationship with him.

    ¡°Do you have someone in mind?¡±

    ¡°A friend. He¡¯s in one of the other scout groups,¡± Delilah said, eyes keen and interested in the conversation. The other two girls looked at her and comprehension bloomed bright across their faces and wild smiles appeared.

    ¡°Keegan?¡± the second girl whispered to Delilah loud enough that even Mom could hear her.

    ¡°Yeah, Keegan. He¡¯s one of the best we have. Can¡¯t sneak around to save his life, but he makes traps and lures and has more monster kills than anyone except Daniel and Hana. He¡¯s also level capped but he has some treasures that should improve his affinity and power it all, he just needs it to get done,¡± Delilah said in a rush.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ask Daniel and Hana about him when they come back. Do you know where he is currently?¡± All of the girls suddenly looked pale and drawn as their faces blanched.

    ¡°The North, he was headed further up the highway towards the mountains.¡±

    ¡°Shit. I think our plans are going to have to change a bit, Mom.¡± Santi looked over to Mom who simply shrugged. She couldn¡¯t care where they went right now, she just wanted to be out and doing something.

    ¡°Alright. When Tank gets back I¡¯ll have him bust out the healing potions and get you all on your feet and then we¡¯re heading to the North.¡±

 Ch. 3.07 New World

    7.

    ¡°To recap, there¡¯s a horde of cursed people who came from over the border, down the mountains and are now spreading like an infection. We have the remnants of the traitors and those who were helping them somewhere to our North East, and you want to go looking for a scout who might be able to get a class similar to Yessenia¡¯s to help alleviate the bottleneck of evolutions,¡± Tank was looking mildly concerned.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And said scout just so happens to be somewhere North of us, where all the enemies are?¡±

    ¡°Pretty inconvenient, but yes. At least Daniel and Hana believe he¡¯s up there. They lost their group of runners so we¡¯ve lost contact with some of the scout teams.¡±

    ¡°You also have a curse of bloodlust. That makes you want to go and kill people, monsters, or anything that looks at you sideways?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s contained. My willpower is my second highest stat. I can keep it under control.¡±

    ¡°So, again, I¡¯m just reiterating what you said. After getting cursed, you decide the next best thing is to run to the North where all your enemies are and there¡¯s definitely going to be a bunch of fighting and killing?¡± Tank pursed his lips and cocked his head as everyone turned to look at Santi.

    ¡°I¡¯m in control. It¡¯s what needs to be done. We drop Torin and Mom off and head up with some of Rayleigh¡¯s heaviest hitters and anyone else we can scrounge up. Grab some of the golems and we crush them all.¡±

    ¡°See, that part is what¡¯s worrying me. The whole smashing and killing all your foes. It reeks of not being in control.¡±

    ¡°I agree with you, but it needs to be done. The longer I have the curse, the worse it will get. We have to destroy the anchor being and isolate the curse. Actually, we need Yessenia to come with us. We¡¯re going to need a powerful ritual to dispel the curse if it¡¯s as strong as I think it is.¡±

    ¡°Yesi isn¡¯t going to come out here with us,¡± Bianca said.

    ¡°She will if she feels safe. We¡¯ll bring her golem with us, and Mom and Torin can stick with her.¡±

    ¡°So, now Mom and Torin are coming?¡±

    ¡°Listen, I¡¯m trying to come up with this on the fly. We have enemies in the North. Two camps of them. Both are growing and both are existential threats to us. They need to be eliminated. Is this true?¡± Santi looked around to the faces all staring at him. Delilah and the other two girls were off to the side as far away from Chloe as they could get without making it too obvious.

    ¡°Yeah, that seems about right. If the information you tortured out of that guy is true,¡± Cam drawled.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t torture him. He spilled without us doing a thing. If anything it was a mercy killing on our part.¡±

    ¡°What we need to do is go home and regroup. Plan out a full sized expedition, have Daniel and Hana¡¯s people move North aggressively and find where the enemy is. We build up a strike force of the best people we can get. Armor them up, train in large scale movement and then we move. Also,we need to get food and supplies for a company of Acolyte fighters, which means more farmers and hunters, and all that other shit, need to be Acolytes.¡± Cam rattled everything off while everyone stared at him slack-jawed. He caught the looks and his cheeks flushed as he looked around.

    ¡°What? I like military history. Amateurs argue tactics, professionals talk logistics. Shit, I think that¡¯s the quote. Regardless, we need arms, armor, food, transportation, and then finally men. Otherwise we¡¯re going to get a day or two from Homebase and run out of food and that¡¯s going to be the end of all of us.¡±

    ¡°The tall one is right. We need to return to the forges and arm ourselves,¡± Torin said. Heads began to nod all around him and Santi could feel impatience surging through him. He wanted to act. To strike. He took calming breaths and focused on isolating that treacherous thought and slowly strangling it.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We retreat back home and get armed. But in the meantime, I¡¯m going with Daniel and Hana and we¡¯re scouting it out. I need to see just how strong this horde is.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t, I need to get all my people ready. We¡¯re scattered to hell and gone doing recon. Need to gather everyone up and plan out a strategy and routes.¡± Daniel was firm, his accent thickening as he spoke. Part of Santi was proud of him for standing up and not backing down and being a leader.

    The rest of him was irritated that he wasn¡¯t going along with his plan. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go. Me and Chloe and Santi. Fighter, mage, scout. We can move fast and quietly and have the firepower to knock anything out that runs into us and the speed to escape if it goes bad,¡± Hana spoke up suddenly.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that. Chloe?¡± Santi spoke quickly as the momentum for his plans swung back in his favor.

    ¡°I¡¯m good with that. I¡¯m just thinking you¡¯re a little too eager to go and potentially be fighting. Shouldn¡¯t you be organizing everything?¡±

    ¡°A good leader knows when to delegate. Cam and Bianca will be organizing the fighters. Torin and Grimvr will gather the arms and armor. Daniel will get our scouts in line and Mom can get Yessenia out of her cave. Tank, I¡¯ll leave logistics with you? Food, medicine, camping gear?¡±

    ¡°I can do that. We all can do that. But, Santi, you should be at home being the leader of this. You are the leader of the community.¡±

    ¡°100% honesty right now. I never wanted to lead the settlement. I took charge because that was the best way to do it. Dad died the next day. The world is changed and we can¡¯t be like old world leaders. Alexander ruled his Empire from the saddle. Caesar became Caesar at the head of his legions. It¡¯s going to be the same for us. Our leaders will be moving, fighting, working hard to get stronger and stronger. We can¡¯t be staying at home filling out paperwork because at the end of the day what happens when a horde of cursed warriors comes knocking?¡± Santi looked around at the group. Months of repressed thoughts finally having an outlet. Most of them knew what he was saying, they might not have internalized it, but they knew.

    ¡°That horde of warriors kills us and takes our shit if we¡¯re not strong enough. And as the leader of this settlement, I can¡¯t just be a figurehead for people to rally behind. I need to be at the forefront. Marisol and Helena and others will be ministers or chancellors or whatever the hell we¡¯ll eventually call them. They¡¯ll be our paperpusher and run the day to day. We will be on the frontlines, fighting and saving people,¡± Santi finished his impromptu speech and looked around at his friends and family.

    ¡°Santi, I don¡¯t know how people will feel about this. If we¡¯re always gone, why would they continue to support us? If we can¡¯t answer to them, be responsible leaders who are there to be held accountable, why would they continue working?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°Simple. The world sucks and the area we are creating is safe. There are laws and order here. There are no monsters prowling their streets and eating them. We will continue to lean towards our democratic heritage, there will be elections inside of the city for, let¡¯s say Mayor, or Sheriff. Local leaders. But at the end of the day, once they start to understand what this new world is. They¡¯ll realize how good they have it. They can be safe and have families and be prosperous.¡±

    ¡°A benevolent dictator?¡± Tank¡¯s voice was filled with scorn.

    ¡°What would you have me do!?¡± Frustration welled through Santi. They didn¡¯t understand. It¡¯d been months since the Initialization and they still didn¡¯t understand!

    ¡°Set up elections and have the person with the most charm and charisma win. Have them capitulate the first time a threat arrives? What happens when a powerful monster comes roaming by and they decide it¡¯s better to sacrifice a few small towns to save the few? When they tell those with the strength not to act because they won¡¯t like the results? What happens if we¡¯re not here and the next strongest person decides they don¡¯t like taking orders?¡±¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, man. I don¡¯t know. This just feels wrong to me.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel right to me either, Tank. Do you think I want to be a dictator? You think I wanna be hated and reviled? They¡¯ll eventually hate me when I ask for more than they¡¯re willing to offer. When the threat is so large and great that I might not be able to stand against it. They¡¯ll remember all those times I told them to do something that was for the good of the settlement and they will spit on me. It¡¯d be easy to let Marisol or Helena or someone else take over and run this place and just be the heavy for them. Until they decide to do something that¡¯s against my conscience. Then what? Do I uphold their word as law even if it''s wrong. Even if I know it will lead to destruction and death?¡± Santi looked around to his core group of followers. Friends and family, forged in blood and tears with bonds that were as thick as oak trees. They needed to understand.

    ¡°We¡¯ve grown up and lived in a time of systems. Government had rules in place, order was followed because that¡¯s what we always had. We can¡¯t comprehend the chaos that is happening now because we¡¯ve never experienced it before. Warlords and petty tyrants happened elsewhere, not here. Well, now it¡¯s here. There is no more systems of governance, the social contract is completely shattered and gone. The ideals we held dear are gone. We can do our best to remain good and just, but this is the end of our civilization. We may survive as a species, but our civilization is gone. The longer we hold on to what was, the longer it¡¯ll be before we can forge something new.¡±

    There was a silence on the hillside they were on as everyone looked at him. There was understanding blooming in some eyes and resentment in others. He couldn¡¯t tell if the resentment was aimed at him or if it was because he¡¯d finally shown them the gravestone of their world.

    ¡°Now. Does anyone have any problems following my lead. Please, speak now and tell me. We can¡¯t have any type of resentment building between us. Aside from Yessenia, everyone I love is here right now. You are the people who will lead us to a new future, the forgemasters who create the next great world and safety for our species. We can not have infighting amongst ourselves. So, please, tell me right now.¡±

    Cam was solid as always, simply nodding. Mom¡¯s face was a blank slate while Torin and Grimvr simply nodded as he spoke of what everyone who survived the Initialization knew. Daniel and Hana were holding each other¡¯s hands but were serene and simply nodded to him when he looked in their direction. Their three scouts had wide eyes as they had been looped into a conversation far above their heads, but when Santi met their eyes they all nodded along.

    Santi met everyone¡¯s eyes until they agreed with him until Tank was the last. Santi hurt because the big man¡¯s acceptance was something that he wanted. The man¡¯s moral compass was absolute and he had never wavered from doing the right thing. If Tank rejected him, Santi didn¡¯t want to think about it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it. I hate it in fact. It goes against everything I believe. That man is equal to each other, that all of us matter. That no one should be above the other simply for being stronger or faster or anything. Everyone is equal.¡± Tank¡¯s face broke as his shoulders slumped.

    ¡°That world is gone though. I¡¯ll follow you Santi.¡±

 Ch. 3.08 Different Conversations

    8.

    They passed by the end of the road and split apart. Santi, Chloe, and Hana broke off from the group and started to head North. The countryside was nothing more than wilted and dead vegetation with little to see besides barren fields. The interstate was nothing but abandoned cars and skeletons. They pushed up further and further away from Homebase and toward where Daniel¡¯s relay team had been wiped out.

    The beatles could have killed them. That was always a concern when working far away from the succor of high ranking fighters. Or it could have been the Apostate covering it up. Santi liked to think it was most likely the Apostate. If it had been the new enemy, they wouldn¡¯t have tried to cover it up with the beatles. There would have been heads on pikes and fires and bloodshed up and down the interstate corridor.

    That didn¡¯t preclude the warlord and her bloodlusted cursed warriors weren¡¯t in the region. They just hadn¡¯t found anything to kill and parade around,yet.

    The first hour was spent in a leisurely jog as they headed closer and closer to the mountains that separated California from Nevada. The towns grew thin and scattered as they kept moving further up. At the second hour mark, Chloe finally broke the silence.

    ¡°Delilah seemed pretty interested in you,¡± her voice was neutral, no hint of her mood as they moved.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Santi was treading dangerous water.

    ¡°She¡¯s pretty.¡±

    ¡°You think so?¡±

    ¡°I do. Don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Was busy being cursed and whatnot. Didn¡¯t really look. You should ask her out if you think she¡¯s pretty,¡± Santi threw it back at her. Chloe looked at him with a shocked face.

    ¡°You¡¯d be ok with me asking someone out?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re your own person.¡±

    ¡°Ok. Then I¡¯ll ask out the person I want to ask out.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s you.¡±

    ¡°Even better,¡± Santi could feel a bit of a smile break on his face.

    ¡°That a yes?¡±

    ¡°Enthusiastic, yes.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s our first date?¡± Chloe asked. They had never broken their stride but Hana had pulled ahead of them to give them a semblance of privacy.

    ¡°You asked me out. It¡¯s on you.¡± Santi was smiling widely now as Chloe was looking at him with a bit of mischief in her eyes. She was enjoying the back and forth.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to think about it then.¡±

    ¡°You ask me out and don¡¯t even know where you want to take me? I don¡¯t think you¡¯re taking this seriously.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m quite serious about this. Not exactly like I can take you out for a Friday night dinner and movie combo.¡±

    ¡°I always thought that was a flawed date. It should be movie and then dinner,¡± Santi said, glad to have something to talk about while they moved.

    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°You have something to talk about during dinner. You can get to know a person by how they think about a movie.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. I took my movies very seriously.¡±

    ¡°I would have never thought you were a movie bro.¡± Chloe looked a mixed of perplexed and disturbed as if she didn¡¯t understand how she could have missed something like that.

    ¡°What about you? What did you like to do before, well, this?¡± Santi didn¡¯t know her well, didn¡¯t know any of them really. For the last months they had been living in a state of constant fighting and killing, living on the edge of survival.

    ¡°I like movies myself. Primarily horror and romcoms.¡±

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s a fun combo.¡±

    ¡°Not going to say anything about it?¡±

    ¡°What would I say about it?¡±

    ¡°That it¡¯s girly or cliched or something like that.¡±

    ¡°I love romcoms. They¡¯re hilarious and easy to watch. Makes me happy watching them.¡±

    ¡°Figured you¡¯d watch some deep, indie movies with hidden depths.¡±

    ¡°Oh,no. I¡¯m an idiot. Can¡¯t figure out the hidden depths of things if they¡¯re staring me right in the eye. I like action movies, comedies, and anything else that¡¯s entertaining.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°If we had any type of electricity I¡¯d have to take you up on watching a romcom.¡±

    ¡°I would have loved to watch romcoms with you,¡± Santi smiled at her and felt for the first time in a long time, light and free. The heavy depths he had been swimming in seemed to, for a few moments at least, have lightened.

    ¡°Hey, I see something coming up? Smoke.¡± Hana spoke up and Santi turned to look toward the horizon. There was a thin tendril of smoke rising and Santi felt the depths pull him back down as his heartfelt smile slid away.

    ¡°Alright. Hana, can you go and take a peak without being seen?¡±

    ¡°I hope so, otherwise I¡¯m in the wrong line of work,¡± Hana said. Her camouflage wrapped around her and she disappeared from sight.

    ¡°Just me or does she seem more communicative without Daniel around?¡± Santi asked Chloe.

    ¡°I think she feels a bit disrespected by that question. You wouldn''t have asked Daniel that would you?¡±

    ¡°Probably not. I¡¯m used to him being a sneaky fuck though. She¡¯s just become a sneaky fuck though. Class wise anyway.¡±

    ¡°Trust her to do her job. Should we stay here, or keep moving up?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s push a bit further up. Stay on the interstate though.¡±

    They moved slowly, giving Hana time to look without encroaching on her. The smoke was miles away, but with their ground eating stride it wouldn¡¯t take long to reach it. The two companions shared a silence, broken at times by discrete looks at each other as the new shared closeness seemed to alleviate a bit of the tension that had been there.

    They went for another mile before stopping, the smoke clearly from a large fire with how thick it was. It was a multitude of plumes all intermingling together as they raced upward, forming one giant pillar.

    Santi tried to rack his brain if they¡¯re had been a town or camping ground in that direction but he couldn¡¯t remember. If he was lucky it was the horde of cursed warriors. He could slip in amongst them, kill Mercy, and then be free of the curse in only a few hours. He had a feeling they were catching the tail end of something.

    Hana came back two hours later. She was a bit wan, green around the gills as she walked up to them. Santi waited as she leaned back against the guardrail, hands on her knees as she looked up to them.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing living up there,¡± she reported. Santi started toward the fires. Whatever had spooked Hana was something he needed to see. The last few miles flew by as he hit his full speed, having left the two women at the mile marker as Chloe had passed on seeing what it was that had Hana so shaken.

    He came up to it and was taken aback. It had been a trailer home. Or at least it had started off that way. It had spilled out of its confines, fifth wheels, camping trailers, tents, and any other type of semi-movable housing deployed all around.

    Gas stations and convenience stores were posted around the edge of the community. A few more permanent houses had been placed around with small fences marking out their territory.

    Corpses littered the ground. Partial bodies, broken limbs, blood and gore painting every inch of the ground. The trailers burned, some already smoking ruins while others were still ablaze. The small house was nothing more than a charnel, the picket fence standing unstained in a mimicry of normal life.

    Santi walked the edge of the perimeter of the slaughter. He tried to understand what he was seeing. This had obviously been an encampment of some size and likely some power. They had managed to stay safe against the animals and monsters out here. It hadn¡¯t been enough.

    Santi could see the burnt remnants of where skills and spells had splashed against concrete or a building. The feel of spent mana was in the air, the hints of crazed pain and lust that called to his own curse. Mercy had come and paid a call. The prisoner had said she had done the same thing to his home. Join or die and then burn down the town.

    Santi could see how she would roll through Homebase and its environs. There were a hundred or more Acolyte warriors in the warband, more than enough to slaughter what few fighters of strength Homebase had outside of Santi¡¯s team. He¡¯d have to thin the horde, trimming the fat from them like he had with cyclops rift.

    His heart beat a flutter at that thought. Of the continuous skirmishes, fighting and killing in a contest of a few vs. him. He¡¯d revel in it, his speed and strength greater than theirs, his heart singing as he spilt the blood of his foes like water during the rain.

    Santi stilled and focused on his will. The strength that had let him come back from the original timeline. To see the world whole again even when he knew it was ending. He purged himself of the desire to kill and fight. It took time but as the bloodlust wore off he could feel the effects of the curse more strongly.

    It was an aura that drifted and rose with the smoke, that glittered in the coagulating blood, sitting on the corpses of the dead. No longer lost in its heady aroma, he could feel how it was different. It was no longer suffused but a separate entity that sat ugly and bloated.

    Santi walked away, circling around the town as he searched for tracks. The ground was dry and hard, holding little in the way of footprints. The passage of so many was impossible to miss. He found where they had come from the Northwest and where they had left heading Northeast. Blood drops on the ground showed their path, heading toward the mountains.

    Santi followed for a ways, traveling with ease as he searched for where they could have stopped or if there was any who had been left behind. He needed more accurate answers than what the single prisoner had given him.

    For a mile he went further up, stopping in the shade of a copse of trees. He drank a bit of water, but other than that there was little for him to do. He¡¯d go back and get Hana and Chloe and chase after the group, trailing them as they went further towards the mountain.

    ¡°I see you¡¯ve managed to get yourself cursed,¡± Duncan¡¯s voice rang from his left. Santi whirled, blade extending to slice apart a thick tree. No blood flowed, though the tree slowly toppled over, crashing to the ground with a thunderous boom.

    ¡°While not polite, I do understand. Now that you¡¯re no longer enraged, may I come out? Or are you going to try to kill me?¡± the shadows reverberated and pulsed and even with [Air Current] Santi couldn¡¯t tell where he was. It wasn¡¯t like with Daniel who simply cloaked himself in the shadow. The Apostate was one with the shadows, a much higher affinity than whatever Daniel had.

    ¡°No promises. You did kidnap my sister.¡±

    ¡°You cut off my arm. I think that¡¯s fair enough.¡±

    ¡°And my father?¡±

    ¡°I had no part in that. Abraham committed that crime and he paid for it with his life.¡±

    ¡°Why are you talking to me and not trying to kill me?¡±

    ¡°I can ask you the same. You¡¯re reasonably intelligent and much more powerful than I gave you credit for. You can understand what a curse of this magnitude, spreading in the way it is, can be viewed as a greater threat than our little grudge?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call what we have little,¡± Santi said dryly, still searching for wherever it was that the assassin was hiding.

    ¡°It is compared to what a curse like the one spreading can do. It¡¯ll eat this area dry. Killing and growing like a plague. We need to break it and neither of us have the numbers to do it alone.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d think I could do a decent job of it.¡±

    ¡°This is why I said you were reasonably intelligent.¡±

    ¡°The old enemy of my enemy is my friend gambit. Then we go back to killing each other when Mercy is killed?¡±

    ¡°Is that the leader¡¯s name? Mercy?¡± the shadows chortled, a dry sound of amusement. Santi could picture that laugh in a conference room talking about the sales figures for a quarter. Not the laugh of a man who had tried to sell the world out.

    ¡°I thought it was a bit apt too.¡± Santi allowed a smile to brush past his lips. He was cold inside, ready to move at a moment''s notice.

    ¡°There¡¯s a few killers left. I¡¯ll give them to you in exchange for helping me purge the curse. You¡¯re already planning on doing it, might as well coordinate so it¡¯s done right,¡± Duncan continued after his laughing fit passed.

    ¡°Alright. Come out, I promise not to kill you immediately.¡± The promise of the last of the traitors was too sweet to dismiss out of hand.

 Ch. 3.09 Arrival

    9.

    Santi watched as Duncan materialized ten feet to his side. Not from the pool of shadows at Santi¡¯s feet, but rather a further away, slim sliver of shadow cast by a slight crest of the land. The plain faced man was dressed in a plain black sleeveless workout shirt that hugged his lithe frame. The ugly red wound that Santi had afflicted on him was apparent as Duncan stayed a few feet away from him.

    ¡°This is the worst wound I¡¯ve taken. I fought Champions and they couldn¡¯t do what you did. You should be proud,¡± Duncan¡¯s voice was flat and emotionless, his eyes blank pools.

    ¡°My father taught me to finish my work and do it right. Can¡¯t be proud of a half completed job now, can I?¡± Santi met his gaze and didn¡¯t flinch. He belonged here, standing equal to the former Champion.

    ¡°Big claims. Yet, we are not here to measure our mutual animosity, but rather to forge a brief alliance to deal with a greater threat.¡±

    ¡°The curse.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Did you ever see Toronto?¡±

    ¡°No, never made it there. Why?¡±

    ¡°A curse took root there. Powerful thing, gluttony. Ravenous hunger that consumed everyone it touched. It spread and spread and spread until the entire city was consumed. I wasn¡¯t in charge of the operation to break it, but I was there. Santiago. It was one of the worst things I¡¯ve ever seen in my life. I don¡¯t want to witness something akin to it again.¡± Duncan appeared to be truthful, but the master assassin would have no problems lying to him.

    ¡°Mercy is a bloodthirsty killer, but from what I heard, they are more than happy killing themselves to feed their curses. They could burn themselves out before they become a problem.¡±

    ¡°The chaff will be blown away, it won¡¯t die though. The strong will only grow stronger, spreading their rage and hatred as they do so. They won¡¯t destroy themselves, at least not without erasing large swathes of the region.¡±

    ¡°So, a truce of sorts. I can keep my desire to rip your heart out of your chest for a while longer. Can you keep it professional?¡± Santi asked as he waited, nerves stretched thin for the first hint of betrayal.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been a consummate professional. None of this was ever personal. You are simply in the way of my Lord¡¯s will.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where they¡¯re going?¡±

    ¡°The horde is moving erratically, turning and switching direction on a dime. They¡¯ve backtracked before, swung wide of easy to conquer areas just to hit areas with strong guardians. They don¡¯t discriminate, they attack monsters, animals, or people. Nothing is beyond them.¡±

    ¡°So, no?¡±

    ¡°Currently I don¡¯t. I can keep an eye on them while you rally your people.¡±

    ¡°So you track them, I get my people, we find where they¡¯re at and then destroy them all in one big move?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And the inevitable betrayal and backstabbing?¡±

    ¡°After we¡¯ve destroyed the curse¡¯s anchor.¡±

    ¡°Excellent.¡±

    ¡°I see why Marley loved you.¡± Duncan said it with such sincerity and deadpan tone that Santi didn¡¯t register it at first.

    ¡°Who the fuck is Marley?¡± Santi spat, but his mind was twisting. Her face changing in his mind, growing imperceptibly more full, lips plump, nose shrinking and becoming dainty as a blush and freckles appeared in his mind.

    ¡°Ahhh, I see. Makes sense. The ritual sent our memories back and without her class, oh well. You¡¯ll wake up in a second and won¡¯t remember a thing of this. Poor bastard, putting you out of your misery would be a kindness.¡±

    ¡°Marley and me were good for each other. I couldn¡¯t believe she was alive when I found her,¡± Santi said. Something was off, his sense of time was wrong. He was missing seconds. Twenty-six of them. Since coming back he was never missing time. He knew every moment of the day like he knew his own name. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Lots of names for that one. She played her parts well. I was honestly surprised when she was able to ascend to become a Champion. Didn¡¯t think she had it in her, but she was a welcome addition to our number.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where she is? I have some questions I would like to hear her answer.¡±

    ¡°Vaguely. She¡¯s like me, lots to do and so little time. She was deployed in the South though. Atlanta birthed so many Champions, couldn¡¯t let it go without a bit of a nudge.¡±

    ¡°Is that your goal? Change the futures of our Champions, pull them to your side before they realize what you are?¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯s to change them so they don¡¯t become what they did. If they join the better, it is only right to bow to the power of our Lord. Yet, as long as they don¡¯t stray, they can continue to grow. Those we didn¡¯t think would change have already been pruned away. You were the last piece of business I had on the West Coast.¡±

    ¡°Glad I could ruin your plans then. So, want to tell me more of what you all are going to do? Monologue to me, your evil plot?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not evil. It¡¯s the same as you¡¯re doing. Grow strong and protect people. It¡¯s easy to hate someone when you don¡¯t know them. You should be more unbiased, it might open your eyes.¡±

    ¡°Please, you can save the propaganda for your recruits. I walked your camps, the detention centers, the rituals, and everything else. I know what you and your people are.¡±

    ¡°Pity. I had hoped to spare Claire some heartache from killing you. I¡¯ll keep tracking the horde and we¡¯ll meet in two days at the little outpost your scouts were killed in.¡±

    ¡°It was you.¡±

    ¡°No. But I watched.¡± Duncan slipped away without a word and part of Santi thought he had made a mistake. He should have struck while the assassin stood there unarmed and unprepared. Ended him before he could have a chance to betray him.

    There were the missing seconds to think about. Duncan had said Marie¡¯s name and the world had fuzzed out again. He had felt it before, he searched and strained for a moment before those gray walls rose up. They were lesser this time and part of Santi screamed as he realized what was happening to him. The walls fuzzed out and grew thin and shapeless, becoming a fog that drowned him.

    Santi blinked looking around the sunny hillside. He had to get back to Chloe and Hana. They had been waiting for a while and he didn¡¯t want the two of them to worry about him. Not after seeing what the horde had done to the trailer park.

    It took only a few minutes to make it back to them now that he was no longer trying to track the passage of the horde. Both women stood around waiting for him, silent and alert as they took cover behind a few abandoned cars.

    ¡°And?¡± Chloe asked as he got down to them. Santi had to hold back a sigh as he began to tell them what had happened. They didn¡¯t know who Duncan really was, but the fact the leader of the group that he had fought had shown himself set them both on alert.

    ¡°He¡¯s a more powerful version of Daniel?¡± Hana asked incredulously.

    ¡°More ruthless and likely a stronger affinity to shadow. I couldn¡¯t sense him this time until he decided to reveal himself. He¡¯s a true threat. Keep a wary eye out for anything that seems suspicious. I don¡¯t trust them, but this cursed group is Wrong. We need the numbers to clear them out.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not disagreeing with you, it¡¯s just. Hard to believe you¡¯d be willing to side with him,¡± Chloe stated her opinion.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it. It¡¯ll be easier to keep track of him when he¡¯s on our side rather than being an unknown running about.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to double-cross him,¡± Chloe said, half-accusation, half-praise.

    ¡°If he doesn¡¯t do it first, you¡¯re damn right I am. The moment the curse holder is dead, Duncan dies.¡±

    ¡°Good. Thought you were getting a bit soft in the head for a moment.¡± Chloe¡¯s smile was kind enough that it removed any sting her words had. Before he could respond the sky rippled silver and a BOOM shook the world. Before the initial shock of the first explosion hit, another rolled over them, then another, blast after blast that shook the ground and rattled their teeth.

    [Air Manipulation] spun up and around him and the women, blocking the rippling sonic booms. Each blast of sound tore at his spells and he was forced to cast over and over again trying to keep himself and the others from being overwhelmed.

    For a few minutes they grabbed and held at each other as the world shook around them. It was as if they were experiencing a powerful earthquake while a squadron of fighter jets soared around them. Then it ended as suddenly as it began.

    Congratulations, you are still alive!

    The Initialization is well under way and many have shown their promise.

    Now, to connect you to the wider world.

    Pillars of Civilization have landed.

    Claim them and grow stronger.

    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Chloe shouted as she clutched at her ears. Hana was on her knees, clutching her head as she worked her jaw up and down to try to have her eardrums pop.

    ¡°Pillars of Civilization apparently.¡± Santi had to keep the excitement out of his voice. The day had been a rollercoaster and now that he was seeing the trails of white vapor rising up not far from him, he was happy to think about what was to come. The mountain of coins he had accumulated

    Access to the markets would alone be worth it. Being the master of a pillar would allow him to know the strongest people in the area. He wouldn¡¯t know their exact location, but the general location of them was more than enough. If he could go and claim one fast enough, he could track both Mercy and Duncan.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I want to see what they are before anyone else.¡± Santi took off, not waiting for either of the women. Both of them followed a second later, their grumbling following behind him.

 Ch. 3.10 Travelling to the Pillar

    10.

    Finding the Pillar wasn¡¯t difficult. The difficulty was in everything else was also trying to find it. Mutated animals, monsters, and humans were all crawling out the woodwork and whatever hidey holes they had sequestered themselves in. Santi was forced to cast spells at a blistering pace.

    Mutated birds were wrenched out of the air and cast to the ground, frail bones shattering. Something big, ugly, and with wings shrieked at them before wheeling away when it watched a flight of birds crash to the ground. The girls were stuck with the things that came bolting out of the countryside and over the interstate they traveled.

    Peak Initiate level goblins, a lost primus, and some lizard monsters that scuttled about in bronze armor. Chloe met them head on without hesitation, her axe a black blur as bodies were dismantled around her. Hana danced in the backlines, disappearing and then reappearing to ram her knife into something¡¯s vitals. She lacked the sheer brutality of Chloe or Santi¡¯s overwhelming power, but she could kill with a practical ruthlessness that was hard to match.

    ¡°Santi! What the fuck are those?¡± Chloe screamed as something trundled out onto the interstate from an abandoned rest station. They were bears. Kinda. Big, hairy, sloped shoulders and triangular heads with beady black eyes. Yellow canines jutted from their jaws as they sniffed with inquisitive, wet, black noses. They rose to their hind legs, towering above all as they looked around with beady eyes.

    It was just the pair were the size of a house.

    Mutated Short-Faced Bear lvl. 52

    Mutated Short-Faced Bear lvl. 54

    ¡°We fighting them?¡± Hana whispered, eyes wide as she took in the North American monstrosities.

    ¡°Fuck yeah.¡± Santi hit a sprint, morph spreading and turning into a long boar spear as he closed in on the two monsters. The lone primus strayed too close, beating its chest and the bear reached out with casual authority and swatted the primus¡¯s head free of its shoulders.

    His heart sang as the lower leveled one fell forward, landing with a crushing boom that shook the earth under Santi¡¯s feet. The ground rippled forth in a wave and Santi leapt with grace, taking flight briefly as he rose up and over the quadruped, sun shining behind him as he began to fall.

    The spear stretched out and the magical blade sheared flesh, fat, muscle and bone, reaching for vital organs as the bear roared in agony.

    It shrugged its great shoulders and Santi was flung like he had been slapped out of the air. The space around the bear simply rejected his presence, slamming him away from the monster.

    Santi spun in mid air, landing light and easy on his feet as he took in the monster and reevaluated it. Not an earth affinity monster then. Something closer to space or mass. Annoying.

    ¡°Careful, don¡¯t get too close. It¡¯s in complete control of its immediate surroundings,¡± Santi called out, warning the two women before they could get too close. The monster was a hard counter to Hana if it could sense her getting close.

    The second monster continued to shuffle away, ignoring its partner as it moved across the interstate and disappeared into the rampant dried brush. Santi watched it carefully with one eye while his other was on the second mountain of fur and fang in front of him.

    The wounded bear was snuffling and licking at its wound, wine red blood staining its pale gray coat. The tongue was dark and purple and much too long.Santi cast [Crosscurrent-Orb] at the beast¡¯s face. The gale force winds ripped at its flesh, flattening its fur and caused its jowls to ripple. It ducked its head and sneezed violently, but otherwise seemed not bothered at all by his most violent attack.

    ¡°Really need a new spell form,¡± Santi murmured as he closed the distance carefully. He prodded at the bear with his morph stretched out to its current fullest extent. The wounds were middling, more irritant than deadly to the bear as it shuffled forward toward him, slowly gathering speed.

    Space shrank as with each slow, lumbering step the bear traveled further than it should.

    ¡°NOW!¡± Santi yelled, hoping that while it controlled space to chase him, it couldn¡¯t stop either of the girls. He jumped at the bear, a manic smile unnoticed on his face, the long spear transforming into a cruel axe as he swiped down to split flesh from bone.

    The bear¡¯s mighty paw rose and glinting black claws hit the axe and the axe blade slid off, redirected in an instant. Santi split the interstate in twain, the axe head burying itself deep as the bear smiled at him from only feet away. A bolt of fear rattled him, shaking the surging adrenaline and desire for bloodshed.

    Santi cast three [Air Shield]s in a row and watched as all three were destroyed with a contemptuous swipe of a paw. It had bought him a moment and that¡¯s all he needed to jerk back and create a bit of space. The bear took a single step and crossed the distance, but spun and growled as Chloe slammed into it, her axe slicing its flank.

    Hana appeared, spells falling away as she rammed home a long dagger into its turned neck, ripping and tearing as she ran away. [Air Shield] slowed the bear¡¯s sudden head turn from killing Hana as she darted away. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    As it turned back and forth to confront the three of them, Santi began to whittle it away. His more rational mind taking control of his bloodlust as they worked with mechanical precision. They had trained for something like this, for hunting more powerful monsters. Without Cameron and his shielding abilities it was up to Santi to play the role of frontliner while Chloe moved to damage while Hana looked for a weakness.

    It wasn¡¯t pretty. A half hundred wounds turned the bear into a tapestry of red, its howls and roars ignored as its more powerful brethren never returned. Santi was panting, gasping and clutching at his willpower as the heady copper scent of blood filled the air. Santi feinted, stabbing at an eye and the bear raised its head, jaw snapping at the spear point. Hana darted in, sliding under and slashing again at where she had already cut it.

    A geyser of red jetted out, blood staining the ground and Hana as she failed to get out of the way fast enough. Santi was forced to cast again to prevent a stomping foot while Chloe hit the beast with a shoulder charge before it could chase Hana. It staggered about, eyes glazed over in fury and blood loss as it failed to make a decision. The decision was taken from it as its tree trunk thick legs buckled and it collapsed to the ground.

    The kill notification was appreciated but Santi was already urging them forward. He left the bear to molder, the weight of a thousands of pounds of meat sitting to rot in the hot sun. If he had a crew with him the harvest would have been plentiful, but he had to keep moving. The closest pillar was going to be a hotbed of activity and he was determined to see it belong to him.

    Neither of the girls said anything to him even if they were coated head to toe in tacky blood. Santi recognized his own state as being slightly cleaner, his weapon allowing him the distance needed to avoid the sprays of blood. Part of him wished he was coated though. That the blood of his defeated floes dripped off of him, a testament to his skills and power.

    ¡°Hana, get up and ahead of us. The Pillar should be close by, it looks like it landed in the middle of that town up ahead,¡± Santi said, nodding at a sun faded green population sign. The smoke of the arrival of the pillar was rising high as a beacon, alerting all to what was coming.

    Hana nodded, face tight with a mix of anger and displeasure, but she did as she was ordered. Her light bending wrapped her up and made her disappear and a moment later Santi felt her leave his sphere of omniscience.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you have that curse under control like you were telling us,¡± Chloe said as they slowed down from their blistering pace into a steadier march. An overpass was coming up which would allow them a decent view of the small town and the two of them walked as they started up it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit more insidious than I thought it was. It got me there for a minute, but I got it back under control,¡± Santi said as they got to the top of the overpass and looked down. It was another one of the small towns that dotted the Sacramento valley, formerly a farming town that had slowly withered as the locals were bought out and driven off.

    A fifty foot tall sliver of silver rose like a pin from the ground, dwarfing everything in height. It was buried through the heart of a brick store and steam and smoke wafted off of it.  All around it battles raged. Humans were the dominant group, in ragged clothes and fighting with a mix of weapons, they killed and died in small clusters. Santi watched as one group turned and fought another, two men dying under a woman¡¯s blister red, skill wreathed fists.

    ¡° Something funky is going on down there. They¡¯re not unified, maybe competing factions?¡± Chloe hypothesized as she watched, slinging her axe over her shoulder. Santi nodded his agreement while he waited for Hana to get back.

    ¡°What¡¯s the plan chief? We go in there, crack some skulls, kill some monsters, and you take the Pillar?¡±

    ¡°That could be what we do. Need to see what Hana has to say. I don¡¯t think cutting a bloody swathe through that melee would be the best for me right now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you think?¡± Chloe smiled as she needled him. She didn¡¯t flinch from the bloodshed, from the hard realities. There was a true core of steel in her that would carry her far if she could stay alive. If Santi didn¡¯t drag her down with his personal dilemmas.

    ¡°I was thinking about first date ideas.¡± Santi raised an eyebrow and turned to her.

    ¡°I think we should go on a picnic,¡± Chloe suggested eagerly.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re just trying to get me to cook for you again,¡± Santi smiled at her as he discerned her intentions.

    ¡°Ughhh, can you blame me? Been eating those nutrition sticks for weeks and finally get one real meal and now we have to go back to the sticks.¡±

    ¡°Better than being hungry.¡±

    ¡°Just because it could be worse, doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not bad.¡±

    ¡°True that. But, yes, I accept your proposal of a picnic.¡±

    ¡°Excellent!¡± Chloe beamed at him with a wide smile and Santi felt himself responding back.

    ¡°You two done?¡± Hana asked as she stood right outside of his sphere.

    ¡°Now you know how all of us feel when you and Daniel do couple stuff in front of us,¡± Santi retorted. Chloe just shrugged, not caring at all.

    ¡°What¡¯s it looking like down there, besides the scrum.¡±

    ¡°Three factions of humans. They each have a small camp off to the side and are busy fighting each other. Playing keep away with your pillar. I don¡¯t know if any of them really want it, none are being aggressive about putting their reserves forward to claim it. Maybe sixty of them all together with another twenty or so in the actual fight. Monsters aren¡¯t organized at all aside from those lizards in armor. Just a few Acolyte monsters, all of them weak.¡±

    ¡°So far.¡±

    ¡°So far,¡± Hana agreed as she sipped on some water.

    ¡°March down there, crack skulls, kill monsters, and take what you want?¡± Chloe asked again.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can avoid cracking skulls. Hana in your quick in and out, did you see any of them that looked like they¡¯d be willing to talk or at least not try to kill us immediately?¡±

    ¡°One of the groups has skulls, human mind you, hanging from chains. All men, no children with them, no women, no younger men either. Second group is a mix of middle aged people and they¡¯re the ones who are playing it the most defensively. They¡¯re also the smallest, but that woman down there with the red fists is with them. The last group is like us, younger and more flexible. They¡¯re mixing it up without a care in the world, but they¡¯re also killing the others whenever someone steps in front of them.¡±

    ¡°A group of killer assholes, careful middle aged fighters with a heavy weight, or a bunch of younger hot heads. Those are my options?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Chloe, I think we¡¯re going to get to crack some skulls.¡±

 Ch. 3.11 Meeting the Neighbors

    11.

    Slipping off of the overpass and into the town was easy enough. Everyone was busy fighting, slashing, stabbing, burning, and killing in an orgy of destruction that called to Santi. He forced his will to crush down the urges, focusing on their objectives as Hana led them to the camp most likely to follow them.

    The cautious middle aged group was deep in the center of the destroyed downtown. They had taken over a cored out building only a few blocks from where the Pillar of Civilization sat. The fighting around the pillar was a mess of a melee, with dozens fighting, ducking in and out of buildings, around burnt out cars, and piled up rubble. None could get to the pillar, dying as all the factions turned on any who closed in on it.

    The woman with the burning fists was duking it out with some low grad Acolyte monster. She was holding her ground, but not being able to overwhelm it as they fought through the ruins of a fast food restaurant. Santi got one last look at her as she hit the heavily armored monster in a burst of power, staggering it but not sending it to the ground.

    ¡°She¡¯s solid. Would be a good addition to Rayleigh¡¯s crew,¡± Santi remarked to Chloe. Chloe just grunted, eyes sweeping all around her as she kept her axe ready to intercede with anything that came at them.

    Hana kept moving at a brisk walk, her own knife clutched and at the ready. She didn¡¯t turn and listen to them, simply pausing at the edge of a building to peak around it. She darted around the corner and Santi followed after as they kept moving toward where the group was located. As Santi turned the corner, a shape leapt free of the second story window, landing between him and Hana. Santi lashed out without hesitation and cut the lizardman in half without pausing.

    He stepped past the dead creature even as its body settled, head swiveling and alert. Hana glanced back, startled by the sudden violence. Santi just pointed towards his own eyes and then up. She nodded slowly and began to check the upper levels of things as she walked.

    They moved slowly, never exceeding a slow walk as they moved around buildings and fights without interfering. Nothing here was strong enough to honestly challenge them, but getting dragged into the quagmire would only slow them down further. It was something that he had to remind himself frequently as he wanted to solve the quagmire mess by simply killing everything in the town. At least, a small part of him did.

    An incessantly annoying growing small part of him. Santi was forced to push it down, the niggling thoughts that wormed its way through his mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s just up ahead. There¡¯s someone on the roof watching,¡± Hana said as she peeked around the corner at where the new group was located. Santi leaned over and saw where she was pointing at.

    A single person sat by the ledge watching the streets and another lounged hidden across the street. Hana had missed the person, Santi only seeing them when he glimpsed them in the reflection of a window.

    He crossed the street after [Identifying] the sentry and realizing she was just a peak Initiate. He gave her a little wave as he walked, even as she bolted upright and promptly disappeared. A hole or quick escape route on the roof that allowed her to quickly get to the others.

    Santi wagged a finger at the second sentinel who was rising up and drawing an arrow back to fire in her bow. She froze, looking surprised as Santi walked straight through the kill zone and into the  building. Chloe and Hana followed behind, both of them looking at who Santi had waved his fingers at.

    ¡°How¡¯d you know they were there?¡± Hana asked.

    ¡°Reflection in the glass over there,¡± Santi tipped his head subtlety towards where the glass was. He didn¡¯t want the archer to see what had given her away. Not till they were officially aligned with him.

    ¡°Smart,¡± Hana whispered. Chloe just shrugged a shoulder as they marched through the broken front wall of the store.

    A pair of burly older men rose up to block their passage, their faces twisted in fear as they used a skill to identify them. Both backed up a few steps and Santi passed by them with just an easy nod.

    The linoleum floors were dirty and scratched, light streaming though behind Santi as he looked at the group of people huddled around the main table. They all looked at the three of them and slowly straightened up. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡± a slightly older man asked. His shoulder length hair was iron gray and fine as silk. He wore a patched flannel shirt with rolled up sleeves exposing corded forearms covered in military tattoos. His dark eyes were unflinching iron pits of determination. Even with Santi¡¯s higher levels and power, he didn¡¯t seem phased.

    Warrior lvl. 25

    To get the class of a warrior right off the bat spoke much of his disposition and skill set. The tattoos, build, and the way he carried himself all but screamed that he was a former active military member. These types of men and women had often managed to have early success, plying their skills to great effect. It was later down the line when things veered away from the team work and early days of the integration that they struggled. The personal growth needed to pass the next level of cap points was something that you could not do without a significant amount of resources. It required a greed that many of them couldn¡¯t or wouldn¡¯t express.

    ¡°My name is Santiago Silva and I have come to claim that Pillar of Civilization.¡±

    ¡°Pleasure¡¯s yours I guess. I¡¯m Frank.¡±

    ¡°Pleasure is mine Frank, I would like to help out with your situation outside but I would like to know what¡¯s actually happening before I start cutting.¡±

    ¡°Town went to shit. Some fucking nutters decided this was the time to start a death cult since nothing matters. Extreme nihilism but they¡¯re incompetent for the most part. The real worry is the kids. They¡¯re drunk on power and don¡¯t want to hear anything about slowing down and taking it slow. Maya got into it with one or two of them and it¡¯s been bad blood since.¡±

    ¡°The kids, can they be reined in or is it to the death?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°We want them back in the fold. They¡¯re good people, but, this power they have. It¡¯s made them hard headed. Constantly going on and on about grinding levels and finding treasures and powers. None of them have managed to get past twenty-five like you though.¡±

    ¡°Something I can help with if you¡¯re willing to sign up with my people.¡±

    ¡°You have people?¡± A woman asked suddenly, fear and hope intermingled in her voice.

    ¡°Yes. We have people. A full on town about fifty miles from here. Got a couple thousand people, farmers, armorers, clean water, the works.¡±

    ¡°Can we go there?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We are working on spreading out a bit, trying to establish smaller villages and towns to reduce the strain on our infrastructure. I just want you to know that before I bring you folks along.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯d have to settle a town. Again?¡± the same woman asked, eyes sinking downwards in defeat.

    ¡°Yes. But you¡¯d have support. I have teams of fighters who roam the area, scouts who hunt monsters, the whole kit and caboodle.¡±

    ¡°And all we need to do for that is help you with claiming the Pillar?¡± Frank cut in.

    ¡°No. You can get all that by just promising to follow our rules. And not getting in my way when I start working on claiming the Pillar.¡±

    ¡°Dillan, go and get your sister and everyone else. Pull back everyone from the pillar,¡± Frank ordered quickly, one of the large men who had confronted them when they walked in turned around and went out the hole.

    ¡°This should take a few minutes. You are sure you don¡¯t need any manpower from us in clearing the area?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Just clear out the people you want to stay alive.¡±

    ¡°Santi, you¡¯re slipping,¡± Chloe leaned in and whispered in his ear urgently. The whispered words were hardly more than the sigh of exhalation but loud enough that they rang through his growing haze of bloodlust.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep the kids alive and relatively unharmed,¡± Santi amended after a second. People relaxed subtly around him. They hadn¡¯t been about to stop him, but they weren¡¯t exactly thrilled with his earlier words.

    ¡°Shit, you¡¯re all kids yourself,¡± the woman from earlier said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us, we can handle ourselves. Just get ready to move once I claim the Pillar.¡±

    The three of them separated from Frank and his people and walked out of the store. The negotiations had been short and sweet just like Santi liked them. It was easy when you came from a position of strength and offered the other party everything they wanted.

    ¡°Santi, are you sure this is how you want to play it? Your curse is affecting you,¡± Chloe leaned, the warmth of her body present against his back.

    ¡°It is. I can¡¯t deny it. We still need that pillar and everyone is in my way to getting it.¡±

    ¡°Let me and Hana deal with it then. We¡¯re strong enough to do it. We can¡¯t be losing you to some type of fucking madness right now.¡±

    ¡°I agree with whatever Chloe is whispering into your ear,¡± Hana said without turning to look at them.

    ¡°Alright, you two go and clear the way then. Give Dillan a minute to get his people out of the way and then you two can get to work. I won¡¯t step in unless you need help.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t,¡± Chloe said without hesitation.

 Ch. 3.12 Delegating

    12.

    He really didn¡¯t need to help them. The  women were like two goddesses of war out on the battlefield, the peak Initiate level monsters and fighters failing to slow them as they massacred their way across the field. Santi watched in rapt appreciation as Chloe split a lizardman in half then spun and bisected a second one, turning the two into four pieces all in one long smooth motion.

    Hana was quieter, she didn¡¯t stand in the center of the field like Chloe did, calling all attention to herself. She wove a trail of death across the battle with barely a ripple of her presence. Santi caught glimpses of her as her cloaking ability fell right as she stabbed. She hadn¡¯t mastered holding the cloak while stabbing, but it was coming along better than it had. Santi thought she might do well with a distance weapon, a shortbow, crossbow, or even a javelin. Something to keep her at range and striking invisibly.

    It had been awhile since he could just sit back and watch others. It was illuminating. Chloe shifted her weight too much when she struck, her center of balance changing in ways that would be easier to counter. Hana had a habit of only striking from the right back side. Never directly behind or to the left, obviously favoring her strong dominant hand.

    Easy things to see with a birds eye view of a larger battlefield, but not quite as easy when one was in the thick of it. He wondered to himself what else he had been missing by being too deep in the middle of things. His musings were cut short by a group of people walking up to him, the fighters pulled back by Frank¡¯s orders.

    The first was the fistfighter, Maya, and then behind her was her brother Dillan. The larger man was a walking mountain of muscle, but he trailed his younger looking sister like a hound dog. Now that he was closer he realized that Maya was probably closer in age to the young folks than she was Frank. Late twenties, maybe pushing thirty.

    Pugilist lvl. 25

    A boxer of some sort, she had the build for it. Long arms, powerful shoulders, a balanced walk with a spring in her step. Her brother was a poor imitation of the restrained violence that Maya projected so casually.

    ¡°You¡¯re not down there helping them? Can¡¯t handle the fight?¡± Maya asked, her voice edged with adrenaline, she was still floating high from her fight and was only now starting to come down. She was looking to push, to start something to keep herself up and going, keeping the engine revved so to speak. Santi took it all in and just leaned back and watched his two friends, or whatever Chloe was now to him, continue to fight for him.

    ¡°Naw, blood makes me squeamish and the girls wanted to blow off some steam. Said I¡¯d stay up here and watch out in case anything jumps them.¡±

    ¡°Smartass then. Makes sense your a mage. Wizard types are always snarky in books.¡±

    ¡°You can read?¡± Santi asked as innocently as he could.

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that question mark next to your class I would box your ears,¡± Maya said with a vicious grin. There was no mistaking the pleasure in her eyes as the two settled down for a verbal spar. Both of them wanted to be out there fighting, but she was outclassed and he couldn¡¯t keep feeding his curse.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t pick on people smaller than you,¡± Santi said as he watched Chloe slice the monster Maya had been dueling in circles. The axewoman took two swipes to kill it, dispatching it as easily as she had the Initiate level monsters.

    ¡°Guess that means you can pick on anyone?¡±

    ¡°Yup, perks of being small. I¡¯m always the underdog,¡± Sants said while he watched as the other fighters marched down to the store that Frank was holed up in. Dillan looked at them and then shrugged before heading down himself.

    ¡°New world. Size don¡¯t mean shit. Look at my brother, looks like a hill that sprouted legs. Can¡¯t fight for a shit though. Not this new way. Just not fast enough on the uptake.¡±

    ¡°Tell him to put points into intelligence and not just strength and durability.¡±

    ¡°You can tell that from just glancing at him?¡±

    ¡°Close enough. I¡¯m observant. Just like you have a bunch of points into dex, perception, and strength. Good blend of striker and speed with the ability to find weaknesses and hit them. Lower end of the mana and willpower range, not a ton of vitality or durability either. Trust yourself to avoid being hit.¡±

    ¡°You are good. Dillan wanted to be the big guy around here. Help people out, keep them safe, so he needed to be big and tough. It worked for a bit, but he got too lopsided and then the level cap.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°We can help with that.¡±

    ¡°You can break us past the cap?¡±

    ¡°With a few ingredients. It¡¯s not always the most pleasant experience, just to warn ya,¡± Santi shuddered as he thought of his own evolutions.

    ¡°We all want it. More and more of those beasts coming over and their levels are getting close to the thirties. Me, Frank, Dillan, and a few others used to be able to work to get them down. Now, we just have to hide.¡±

    ¡°We can work on that. My sister normally does the evolutions, but she¡¯s a bit backlogged. We can always work out something here when I claim the pillar.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so important about it anyway?¡±

    ¡°Why are you asking me, you were the one actually down there fighting for it.¡±

    ¡°That was just to stop the skeleton fucks from having it. The kids hopped in and then all the monsters started coming down. Turned into a right clusterfuck,¡± she emphasized the point by spitting powerfully on the ground.

    ¡°The System sent it. That¡¯s all I need to know,¡± and could say, Santi thought bitterly. While Akthry was helping him, the geas was a damn migraine.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a big one. Your girls can kill it?¡± Maya asked as a new monster announced itself by plowing though a small building, sending materials flying everywhere. Santi took a look at it and fought his instinctive urge to shudder, he didn''t like snakes. It was the way they wiggled about that had always made his skin crawl.

    Serpentine Explorer lvl. 34

    ¡°They should be fine. It¡¯s right in their wheelhouse.¡± Both of the women were higher level than it, but not by much. The flashing fangs dripped poison, the ground smoking whenever a drop landed. Its gleaming skin was emerald with black markings in diamonds running its length. Its copper colored hood flared as it hissed, two weak talon tipped arms stretching out as Chloe threw herself at it.

    Santi watched as she rippled, skin taking on a sheen as the snake spat venom at her. Instead of hitting vulnerable flesh, it splashed harmlessly off of metal, her newest armor skill working well with her affinity. She slashed and her axe split scales, blood rolling out in a wave of steaming crimson as the snake hissed and roared, rising up and wiggling backward.

    Right into Hana. The small assassin appeared next to the coils, blade flashing as she rammed it into the side of its face. She twisted and tore, disappearing as the snake jerked to the side, spitting another well of venom at the where the small woman had been. Santi hoped she¡¯d gotten out of the way in time. He didn¡¯t want to tell Daniel his girlfriend had been killed by an overgrown snake while he sat on his haunches.

    Maybe he should get up. Just in case.

    The thoughts warred in his mind until he got them under control. He loosened his white knuckle grip on his weapon, taking a calming breath as he looked at Maya. She was watching him with an interested look, half torn between excitement and fear.

    ¡°You¡¯re strange. Just now, I could swear I was going to die,¡± she whispered the words but to Santi they were a screaming recrimination.

    ¡°Going through something right now. I¡¯ll get better.¡±

    ¡°Your friends just killed that snake.¡± Maya pointed and Santi looked to see that she was right. The snake had been split down the center while another two deep puncture wounds on its face showed Hana¡¯s work. They had eventually managed to hit something of value and the monster was dead.

    The field of battle had emptied as all the monsters were slain. The girls hadn¡¯t interacted with either group right off the bat, instead focusing their work on the monsters and mutated animals, purging them from the region before they went back to the humans.

    While they did that the surviving humans had shown remarkable critical thinking and had fled as fast as their legs could carry them. Santi would have to go and hunt down the death cult, but he could wait till after the bloodlust was banished. That or after he had gotten Frank¡¯s crew leveled. He had a feeling Maya and Frank wouldn¡¯t mind dealing with them.

    ¡°Wanna see the pillar?¡± Santi asked as he got up. Maya was another of those people. The fire burnt in her brightly. She had the drive and passion to push her boundaries far enough to glimpse true power. Maybe not a Champion, but a Disciple for sure.

    ¡°Damn straight. Spent hours running around fighting for it, want to see what all the fuss was about.¡±

    Santi pushed his way downtown, mindful of keeping Maya close by and not simply sprinting to the pillar. He had never had one before, the power of the pillars kept in the hands of the strongest around. Most Champions had one if not a collection of them.

    ¡°Cleared all your lightwork for you, boss¡± Chloe called out sarcastically, axe slung over her shoulder as she walked over to them. He could feel Hana off to the side, working her way closer but not introducing herself right now. She really had been picking up habits from Daniel.

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll be writing up a good performance review for your next evaluation,¡± Santi smiled at her, letting a peek of his true emotions through. Chloe¡¯s clouded face drained of negativity as she smiled widely back at him.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s gross,¡± Maya remarked snidely as she walked past them to look at the Pillar of Civilization.

    ¡°It is,¡± Hana declared as she materialized next to Maya, blocking her from touching the silvery metal of the pillar.

    ¡°Glass houses, Hana. Glass houses.¡± Chloe shot back, but the look of happiness on her face didn¡¯t diminish one iota.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see what this baby holds for us,¡± Santi said, stepping around Maya as he reached up to connect to the Pillar.

 Ch. 3.13 Diplomacy

    13.

    Santi¡¯s fingers brushed over the warm metal, heat emanating off the surface. A burst of pain and knowledge shot through his mind. A connectedness as his mind expanded, surpassing its limit as knowledge flowed through him like a rushing river.

    Pillar Connected

    Santiago Silva Air Mage lvl. 44

    Confirm Claim?

    With a single thought Santi confirmed his desire to claim the pillar. More power surged through him, an electricity that had his hair rising on his head and arms, taking his breath from him as he struggled to contain it all. He could now appreciate the strain people had talked about when claiming the pillars.

    24 Hour Challenge Period Started

    Survive against all Challengers

    ¡°What?¡± Santi whispered as he stared at the newest block of floating text. He couldn¡¯t remember this in the last timeline. How could he have not known of this, or was it something new?

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Chloe asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s a wait period where people can challenge me.¡±

    ¡°Figures. Nothing is easy.¡± Chloe simply shrugged.

    ¡°This is an impediment to our plans. I won¡¯t be able to move this until it¡¯s claimed. I need to stay here and hold this until it¡¯s ours.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t forfeit it and get another one later?¡± Hana asked.

    ¡°I mean, I could. But, in the meantime others have this. People who may not be friends. We can¡¯t give up any advantage we can claim.¡±

    ¡°So, what? We just wait here?¡±

    ¡°Me and Chloe wait here. You¡¯re going to run back to Homebase and gather up everyone and send them here,¡± Santi told Hana.

    ¡°And what about Mercy? We¡¯re just going to let her keep running wild?¡± Chloe cut in.

    ¡°No. I have a feeling she¡¯s going to be coming down to us.¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    In response to Chloe¡¯s questions a massive ding took everyone¡¯s attention. The system alert echoed out and every person stopped what they were doing to look at the words.

    Local Challenger to Pillar of Civilization

    Santiago Silva

    24 Hour Window to Contest the Claim is Now Open

    ¡°Oh, shit. You think everyone in the state just saw that?¡±

    ¡°No. It said local. Probably just a couple hundred miles. Mercy saw it for sure.¡±

    A beam of golden light shot free of the pillar, bright even in the sunlight, obvious from miles away no doubt. Every eye turned to look at it.

    ¡°Hana. I¡¯m going to need you to book it. Get there as soon as possible. How fast can you do it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Never really gone all out for a long distance. I¡¯m going to have to cloak myself, there¡¯s things out there strong enough that I can¡¯t fight them. That¡¯ll slow me down. Maybe like an hour and a half, maybe two?¡±

    ¡°Alright get moving, don¡¯t get caught. Bring everyone here, the sooner the better. I have no doubt we¡¯ll be getting some feelers here shortly.¡±

    ¡°You and Chloe can hold the house down here?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me and Chloe. We can last long enough for you to get back.¡±

    ¡°What about us?¡± Maya cut in suddenly, the three friends turning to look at her. She had been standing quietly and observing them.

    ¡°What do you mean? I made a deal with y¡¯all, nothing has changed.¡±

    ¡°They can have whatever deal they want. I want past the cap, I¡¯ll stay here and help you out.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Deal,¡± Santi stuck his hand out, shaking hers as she accepted extra responsibility.

    ¡°Hana, make sure that Yessenia is coming with you. Carry her if need be. Tell her to bring six standard sets of evolution guides. I¡¯m going to see if anyone else will stay here for the possibility of an evolution.¡±

    ¡°Done. I¡¯m good to go?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, bounce. Maya, this place is going to be a battlefield quite soon. We need to get your non-combatants out of here.¡± Maya nodded in acceptance and quickly jogged back to her people.

    Hana turned and disappeared in a single step, rapidly leaving his sphere without looking back or showing a hint of her form. Santi took one last longing look at the pillar and had to sigh. He had really wanted to access the pillar and its functions. Having to survive twenty-four hours before accessing it was frustrating to say the least.

    ¡°Chloe, we need to establish contact with the kids and finish off those weirdo death cultists. I don¡¯t wanna get backstabbed by them at the last minute when we¡¯re facing bigger problems.¡±

    ¡°Need me to clear out the cultists?¡±

    ¡°If you would be so inclined,¡± Santi offered her a wan smile. He was asking her to go and kill a bunch of people. He wasn¡¯t going to order it so easily.

    ¡°Yeah. Yeah, I¡¯ll take Maya with me. Maybe Frank, really see what they¡¯re made of. You get to be the diplomat, I guess.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t ask this lightly. I want you to know that.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Chloe smiled sadly and two of them started off towards where Frank and the others were. The walk was short and the gathering crowd of people watched him with wary eyes. Maya and Frank had their heads close together, whispering to each other.

    Frank looked up as they approached. His frown was fierce and the furrow between his eyes deep. Santi could read the questions on his face like it was a book. He had deeper concerns than Maya had, his concern for his people rand deep and wide.

    ¡°Maya updated me about what¡¯s going on. I don¡¯t like the idea of splitting up, especially if I leave the stronger fighters here to help you. There is no way the others can make it all the way to your place.¡±

    ¡°Agreed. When my people get here, I¡¯ll peel a squad of people off as a protection detail. It¡¯ll take a few hours for them to arrive, in the meantime I need to know where the kids are located. The fight just ended and they¡¯re hurting right now. If there¡¯s a time to bring them back into the fold, it¡¯s going to be now.¡±

    ¡°I know where they¡¯re staying at. It¡¯s not too far from here. I can take you there.¡±

    ¡°No need for that. I want you to take Maya and go with Chloe. Clear out the death worshippers.¡±

    ¡°Dillan can take you then. They¡¯re not far from here. Dillan! Take Santiago to where Zeke has everyone set up, will ya?¡±

    The big man gave a quick nod and started moving, not giving Santi time to issue last minute instructions. Following Dillan he worked through the town. Most of it was in poor shape, destroyed and decaying with signs of battle everywhere.

    ¡°How long have you been fighting these guys?¡± Santi asked. The big man was fairly quiet, his voice a whisper as he spoke.

    ¡°Took about a week for the first group to lose their shit. Everyone¡¯s going to die, might as well be by our hand. Fucking idiots. It was originally just our two groups, but the younger folk didn¡¯t like how Frank was doing stuff. Too slow, too cautious. They split off and a couple weeks ago one of them mouthed off to Maya. That was that.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s Zeke?¡±

    ¡°Unofficial boss. He¡¯s who everyone looks too. He¡¯s not as strong as Maya or Frank, but he¡¯s curious. Looks for answers everywhere. Doesn¡¯t mind getting his hands dirty either, but they don¡¯t have a heavy like us. It¡¯s why we¡¯re still alive probably.¡±

    ¡°They outnumber you?¡±

    ¡°Close, but they¡¯re certainly more aggressive. Start fights pretty much everytime we meet up with them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a joy.¡± Santi wondered how old they were. Frank had called them kids, and Santi had automatically slotted them into that bracket.

    ¡°Not far from here, just have to turn the corner. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be pleased to see me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯re with me, you¡¯re safe.¡± Santi clapped the big man¡¯s shoulder, startling him into walking around the corner and into the line of sight.

    [Air Shield] stopped some form of magical attack, dissipating it in its chaotic environs with ease. Dillan had only begun to start grasping he was under attack as the energy was dispersed. Not a fighter then, despite his size and levels.

    ¡°Fuck, Dillan! You scared the shit out of me, man. I didn¡¯t mean for that,¡± a younger looking boy said. He couldn¡¯t have been older than fifteen, pimples still angry on his face. His blonde hair was slicked back and his face pale as he looked up to the huge man. Santi didn¡¯t think he had even been noticed behind Dillan¡¯s bulk.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Zeke?¡± Dillan didn¡¯t mention the fact his face had almost been melted off, just moving straight to business. That Santi could admire. Even if the goliath¡¯s reflexes were the same sharpness as a rock¡¯s.

    ¡°Inside. He¡¯s fucking pissed, dude. I wouldn¡¯t go and talk to him right now if I was you.¡±

    ¡°Not me wanting to talk to him. This is Santiago. He¡¯s the one who took over. He wants to talk to Zeke.¡±

    ¡°Oh, fuck. Uhmmm. Yeah.¡± Santi met the kids eyes and saw the mix of fear, anxiety and uncertainty.

    ¡°Just stay here you two,¡± Santi breezed past them, eyes on the building that they kids were holed up in. It had been some type of store before, old brick work was still there, but the everpresent cars had been used to form thick barriers around it, leaving little to the eye. They had no other guard than the stammering teenager and Santi felt his disappointment grow.

    He barged through the door and not a single spell or skill tried to kill him. The arguing voices were louder in here, people fighting for what to do. Nearly thirty teens clustered around a small room, all of them shouting and screaming at each other.

    Santi looked back at the door and wished he had given Chloe this job while he exterminated the skull guys. There was no whisper of the bloodlust in that thought, just an abject hatred of dealing with this age bracket.

    [Air Manipulation] helped him as he shouted, a wordless roar that deafened the room, amplified and spread by the wind he summoned and controlled. Everyone stopped fighting and everyone turned to look at him.

    ¡°Which one of you is Zeke?¡±

 Ch. 3.14 Negotiations

    14.

    ¡°I¡¯m Zeke!¡± A voice boomed out from the crowd of shuffling around bodies and Santi watched as the crowd broke apart to let a slightly older boy walk out. He was younger than Santi¡¯s current body, but it wasn¡¯t by much. Tall and lean, borderline emaciated with sharp cheeks and a long nose. Black dreads fell past his shoulders, gold glittered in both of his ears, diamonds shining in the light.

    He flashed a sparkling smile, his charisma undeniable. Santi stared at him, focusing on the edges of the young man and felt the illusion crack under his scrutiny. Zeke was still there, everything he had observed was the same, but the glamor of it fell away. Some type of leadership class. Frustrating.

    ¡°I¡¯m Santiago Silva. I¡¯m a leader from down the way. It was my friends that cleared out the battlefield earlier.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re with you?¡± Some of the man¡¯s swagger slipped away. Santi could emphasize with that. The two of them had likely left a permanent impression on them. Something like their display earlier today would have left him shocked when he was a young Initiate.

    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re with me. As is Frank and Maya. I want to extend that offer to you too.¡±

    ¡°Maya? Yeah, we don¡¯t fuck with Maya. She fucked up some of our people and we can¡¯t just let that go.¡±

    ¡°Listen. I don¡¯t give a fuck. I¡¯m not saying you have to be friends with her. I can set you up with a small town or area far away from her and Frank and their group. Get you supplies and the knowledge to break through the level cap you¡¯re at. All I ask is to keep the violence relegated to monsters and in self-defense.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d give us all that and just to stay out of the way? Get us out of this shithole and show us how to push past twenty-five?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Pretty simple rules. We work with you if you follow the rules. And the rules are don¡¯t start shit and to contribute to the community. Well, there¡¯s actually more rules but that¡¯s what they boil down to.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the catch? I know there¡¯s a catch.¡± The crowd behind Zeke shifted and looked about, eyes watching Santi warily. There was the teenage distrust there, the hard eyed cynicism, the disbelief and natural arrogance of children becoming adults. It helped that Santi looked close enough to their own age.

    ¡°The catch is I¡¯m in charge. Period. We have rules, we follow the rules, we all benefit. But I¡¯m not putting up with bullshit. You want to dick around?You can find your own way.¡±

    Everyone shifted around, glances  shot at each other as they reacted to that. Most didn¡¯t like it, but they were waiting for Zeke to react. Santi could read the boy¡¯s face like a book, whatever background skill he was using was broken by his higher stats. There was exhaustion etched into the bags beneath his eyes. Anxiety and a grayness, a pallor that refused to leave even with his higher stats. Heavy was the crown indeed.

    ¡°What about the others? Faulkner and his fucking psychos? Are they welcome too?¡±

    ¡°No. They¡¯re not. Chloe, the axe girl, is going to take care of them with Frank and Maya right now.¡±

    ¡°And when you say take care of them?¡±

    ¡°Chloe is killing them.¡± Santi said without hesitation

    ¡°Just like that? No trial or process or anything?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re walking around carrying human skulls and talking about how life is pointless and people should die. They¡¯re killers and we don¡¯t put up with shit like that.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re strong. Is your girl enough?¡±

    ¡°Chloe is more than strong enough to deal with them.¡±

    ¡°We need to talk about this. But, if you can make sure we¡¯re away from Maya and Frank, I don¡¯t see why not.¡±

    ¡°Talk it over. Frank and the others were the ones who pushed me to reach out and be diplomatic, just to let you know. They want to have a relationship with you guys.¡±

    ¡°That can be for the future. Can you give us a few minutes?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Santi walked away, giving them a bit of space but still close enough to hear them talking with his advanced senses.

    Most of the talk was around how they were all exhausted. They were hungry and sleep deprived, the constant fighting had sapped them of their strength of will. They were continuing on with pure grit and stubbornness. They needed this, needed the relief and break from the ongoing initialization. Zeke came back a few moments later and nodded. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°What do we need to do?¡±

    ¡°Just travel to our town. It¡¯s about fifty miles from here. I have some of my people coming. When they get here I¡¯ll split off a squad to escort you and Frank¡¯s non-combatants out of here and to our town. You¡¯ll be processed at the central location, given a spot, food, responsibilities, and the rundown on the rules. When we finish with this Pillar, we¡¯ll work on getting you guys past your caps.¡±

    ¡°We have to travel with Frank and Maya?¡±

    ¡°No. Frank and Maya will be staying here with me. Along with some of their better fighters.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll do the same. Me and a few others will stay and show our worth!¡± Pride suffused his voice. There were some nods around from some of the rougher looking people in the group. The fighters in the group who had more pride than sense.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Gather up your belongings and move toward where Frank and his group is set up. That¡¯s going to be our staging area to move out. My people should be here in a few hours, but we might start getting visitors sooner than that.¡±

    ¡°Visitors?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. You didn¡¯t see the giant golden beam in the sky?¡±

    ¡°Oh, well fuck me. Look at that.¡±

    ¡°Bruh, it¡¯s hella bright? How¡¯d you miss it?¡± Santi asked the leader of the group. The teen simply shrugged.

    ¡°Was a little busy with the whole murder sisters. Weird shit happens around here all the time nowadays if you haven¡¯t noticed.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Anyways, everyone who wants a shot at the pillar will be coming to challenge me. Need to get your people out of here before it gets too busy.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll get moving. Just keep Maya away from us. I¡¯ll keep my people in line.¡±

    ¡°I can do that. See you in a bit.¡± Santi left them, gathering Dillan and moved back towards where Frank had set up his headquarters. They were still gone and Santi was forced to sit around with a bunch of nervous strangers staring at him. It took Chloe twenty minutes to come back.

    The petite woman walked back with blood smeared across her face, partially wiped away but part of it missed. There was a hard look in her eyes, a fragility disguised as iron. Santi rose and went to her even as Frank and Maya walked by, both of them giving her respectable nods while neither of them had the same looks on their faces. Frank was a former soldier so he could understand that, but Maya was a hard woman if she had gone to a killing like what had likely just happened and came back as if nothing had occurred.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Santi said as he got close to her. Chloe looked at him with a vague blank stare for a second before life flared into her eyes. He wanted to reach out to her, touch her bloody hands and the white knuckle grip on the handle of her system generated axe.

    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± Chloe bit each word sharply.

    ¡°Are you ok?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. No injuries. Mission accomplished.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Why don¡¯t we sit down and you can talk to me for a few minutes. We¡¯ve got some time before anything should pop up.¡± Santi guided her to the side of the building. He wove his [Air Current] around them to help prevent eavesdropping.

    ¡°What do you wanna ask?¡± Chloe said as they sat down. Her white knuckle grip hadn¡¯t relented.

    ¡°When me and Cameron were kids we used to play outside all the time. You know, kid stuff, just running around in the backyards with interesting sticks and pretending to be knights or soldiers.¡± Santi let his mind drift to those easy memories. They were distant things, buried under the weight of his life, but they still felt warm when he visited them.

    ¡°I always wanted to be a knight. It¡¯s just a kid thing I think. Saw Aragorn charge the Black Gates, you know. That was so cool.¡±

    ¡°Thought knights were supposed to be tall?¡± Chloe asked quietly, just a hint of warmth in her voice.

    ¡°Oh they are. It¡¯s an unfortunate reality. To be a knight you need to be tall. It¡¯s why I became a mage.¡±

    ¡°You became a mage because you¡¯re short?¡±

    ¡°Close enough.¡± The answer was similar. He had been scared. Scared of fighting close enough to smell sweat and blood and fear. He had wanted the distance that a mage had promised.

    ¡°Cam makes a good knight I think. Big and strong and noble. Even has a shield. Need to get him a horse and sword.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a good knight. I think you would have been a good knight too. Regardless of how vertically challenged you are.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, I appreciate it. But, what I wanted to say was when we were kids it was always the unending hordes. The bad guys, right. Goblins or orcs or whatever. The other thing. It wasn¡¯t people you normally see in the grocery store. Your neighbor. That¡¯s a lot harder to do.¡±

    Chloe went quiet, her small smile leaving her face as her back stiffened. Santi couldn¡¯t tell if she was reacting to the subject or if it was her worrying about how he viewed her.

    ¡°The first time I killed someone I broke down. Cried and threw up. She haunted my dreams for a long time. How still she was, her face slack and pale. It wasn¡¯t like we played about in our backyards in the suburbs. There was no honor or glory or whatever it was that I thought there was in killing someone.¡±

    ¡°They weren¡¯t the first.¡±

    ¡°I know. They won¡¯t be the last either. Might not even be the last today. I just want you to know you¡¯re not alone. With whatever it is you¡¯re feeling, whatever you experienced. You¡¯re not alone.¡± Santi risked reaching out and placing his hand over hers. He could feel the tension in her knuckles, the tendons straining, all the while she didn¡¯t look at him.

    ¡°Thank you. I just need to work through this. It was bad over there. They¡­ they might have been closer to your childhood enemies than whatever humanity they should have had.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s good that they¡¯re gone. I¡¯m sorry it had to be you that experienced that, but I¡¯m glad they¡¯re gone.¡±

    ¡°It had to be done. Santiago, there were things in there that I just haven¡¯t seen others humans do. It was like a monster den.¡±

    Santi let her vent, speaking quietly of what she had seen. There were no tears or frustrations, just a nauseating description of what the death worshippers had been doing in their portion of the town. Santi wasn¡¯t shocked, there were plenty of things he had seen that defied decency or humanity. Whatever Mercy was, she was the herald of worse things to come.

    Monsters and mutated animals were the, in the end, weakest of threats. It was the sapients, the invaders and humans who had done the most damage after the initialization had stabilized.

    Santi wedged himself closer to Chloe, offering her the warmth and solidarity of his shoulder. His hand didn¡¯t waver from her as she spoke. When she finally finished, some of the strain had disappeared from her as she finished

    Santi heard the tromping footsteps of Zeke and his people. He read the strain of the older people as the kids came back home. In a moment he would have to come out of his little cocoon of magic and tackle the responsibilities of leadership. For this moment he could continue being a friend.

 Ch. 315 GOAT Party

    15.

    Two hours of silence. Awkward silence. Tension so thick that Santi could not only cut it, he could proceed to dish it up on a plate after cutting it. Zeke was sitting with a knot of his fighters, all of them working hard on not making eye contact with Maya. Maya was crouched against a wall with a cat that ate the canary grin as she watched them. She was going to be a problem, there was too much instigator in her for being a stable presence in the community.

    She didn¡¯t seem the type to stick around one spot for a long time. There was too much to explore and see. She would go far, gaining levels and power if she could keep herself from getting killed.

    Zeke had the presence to be a good leader. Solid and reliable with plenty of patience. He wasn¡¯t bothered by Maya¡¯s staring or the creeping tension or the thought of a fight coming. He simply stood there like nothing was wrong, quietly talking to his people when needed.

    ¡°How long do you think before Hana gets back?¡± Chloe asked. Santi could tell it was more to break the silence that had been growing than an actual desire to know when Hana would be back.

    ¡°She should be getting back to Homebase soon enough. Couple hours to rally everyone then couple more to get back here. That¡¯s if nothing has gone to shit.¡±

    ¡°Somethings definitely gone to shit. It always does,¡± Chloe remarked dryly.

    ¡°It¡¯s the apocalypse. Something definitely went wrong,¡± Santi said, agreeing with her.

    ¡°Probably tomorrow then. At dawn to make it much more dramatic.¡± Chloe was smiling gently.

    ¡°Of course, right as we¡¯re about to be overrun,¡± Santi played along. Others were turning to look at them with some puzzled looks.

    ¡°Hey! We have movement!¡± a voice cried out, the watcher on the rooftop. Santi perked up, finally having some type of action.

    ¡°Where at?¡± Frank called out, taking control of the environment in an instant. Zeke might have a leadership class, but he didn¡¯t have the older man¡¯s experience. Zeke and his people rose up silently, gathering their weapons. They gripped them with white knuckle ferocity, nervous but determined. Maya simply had a feral smile on her face, vicious and predatory as she cracked her neck.

    ¡°Coming from the overpass. Single person, uhhh, thing?¡±

    ¡°You all stay here. I¡¯ll call you if we need help.¡± Santi waved at the two groups as Chloe followed behind him. The two sets of people looked at him with a mix of surprise and gratitude. Santi wanted to keep them in reserve in case anything happened, but they were likely going to be seriously outclassed.

    Santi walked out of the torn up store and jogged up towards the overpass they had come down hours ago. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest as he worked his way up towards the overpass.

    ¡°Calm down, you¡¯re walking so fast,¡± Chloe complained as she had to do a little hop skip to catch up to him.

    ¡°I¡¯m bored. Want to get this shit kicked off as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°You do, or the curse does?¡±

    ¡°Little of both?¡± Santi shrugged as he started walking up the slope of the overpass.

    ¡°Wonder what it is. Think it¡¯s Mercy and her people?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. Doubt it though. It¡¯s supposed to be a big group, they don¡¯t move as quickly as a small group can. Monsters will be faster. Some individuals or small groups might get here quicker.¡±

    ¡°Like that guy? The shadow assassin?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he was close by too. He could get here quick.¡±

    ¡°Think he¡¯ll honor your temporary truce?¡±

    ¡°Fuck if I know. We stay on guard regardless of what happens, don¡¯t trust him at all no matter what happens.¡±

    ¡°You got it.¡± They crested the top of the overpass and Santi finally got a glimpse of what the watcher had seen. A bloody grin crossed his face, widening out as he stared at the monster who looked back at him with semi-intelligent eyes.

    Satyr Scout lvl. 49

    Bipedal with thick, muscular arms, white fur legs that were capped with goat hooves. A wide wooden club dangled from a four finger hand. Stubby horns poked out from curly white hair and wide dark eyes filled with malice. It grinned, wide teeth stained yellow showing as it started back up the overpass. Every step sent a clop as it moved up the slope of the overpass.

    ¡°Mine,¡± Santi whispered as heat began to suffuse his body. His heartbeat picked up, blood rushing through his veins as he flew toward the monster, morph blade turning into a long sword. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    The satyr moved in a blur of speed, asphalt cracking under its hooves as it exploded forward. Its club whished through the air, aiming for his head as Santi dodged, ducking his head and slashing at waist height.

    The satyr spun gracefully, a few stray hairs coming free of its midriff as the morph blade narrowly missed a disemboweling strike. Santi sucked air through his teeth in annoyance as the fast moving monster dodge back again as Santi threw a flurry of short strikes meant to incapacitate. He targeted the monster''s legs, feinting for the goat man¡¯s throat before twisting trying to cut a knee.

    It leapt back, avoiding the initial slash, but Santi lengthened and thinned the blade, forming an oversized rapier as the slash turned into a lunge. Bone split and blood flowed as the satyr bleated in pain. It never slowed though, a huge overhand blow coming even as its white furred leg buckled.

    Santi twisted and the rough wood grazed his side, tearing at his cheek. He just smiled wider as excitement pulsed through him. A trickle of blood rolled down his scraped cheek, warm and wet as Santi pulled the rapier free and backed up. The satyr tried to follow, but its leg buckled. Panic had started to blossom in its wide dark eyes.

    ¡°SANTI!¡± Chloe yelled, breaking through the red haze that had surrounded him. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. Half a dozen satyrs were racing toward him, all of them bigger and more muscular than the one he was fighting.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Santi spat. [Air Shield] was cast behind the satyr as it tried to retreat. [Air Manipulation] was used to hold the monster''s club down, while [Gust] was cast at the reinforcements running toward them. The gale force winds staggered the racing monsters as loose soil was scoured from the hard packed dirt.

    Chloe¡¯s axe split the air with a scream as Santi held the satyr down. Black steel bit through flesh like butter and the creature¡¯s arm hit the ground. She reversed her momentum and took the satyr through the ribs and worked up, puncturing its heart. Body parts hit the ground loudly as the two of them began to back up.

    Satyr Hunter lvl. 51

    Satyr Hunter lvl. 52

    Satyr Singer lvl. 56

    The three strongest satyrs stayed in the back. The three leading satyrs were all in the upper forties, any one of them a challenge for Chloe likely. These monsters were built on speed and strength, lacking high vitality or durability. The ease in which they had killed the scout was telling, glass cannons instead of endurance fighters.

    That singer could be dangerous, some type of shaman or mage class. Santi hadn¡¯t really seen these types of monsters in his first timeline, but he knew enough of the mythology. If it used magic it would be something nature or music based.

    ¡°Keep the heavies off of me while I kill the singer,¡± Santi barked at Chloe. She simply grunted in acknowledgment, gripping her axe tightly as she squared herself off. Santi let loose more spells, trying to prune away the leading edges of the charge. He needed them to be a bit staggered if they were going to get through it.

    The singer lifted a lute to its full lips and discordant notes came screaming out. Mana tightened around them, thickening the air as Santi could feel the howl of an autumn wind, the decaying of the leaves under heavy rain and mud. The satyrs sped up, Santi¡¯s magic rolling by them like they oil on water.

    ¡°That¡¯s fucking annoying.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Some type of buffing magic, it repels my spells. Going to have to do this the old fashion way.¡±

    ¡°Good to know,¡± Chloe said as the first of the satyrs got within range. Santi didn¡¯t give up on casting. He could overwhelm the singer¡¯s magics with pure brute force, but that would leave him vulnerable as the physical fighters closed the distance. [Air Current] and [Air Manipulation] instead poked and prodded at their defenses, twisting the air around them, trying hard to find a weak point even as he parried a glowing club.

    Whatever power the singer was using was strong, even the morph weapon couldn¡¯t cut through cleanly. Instead it sank deep into the heart of the club and with a savage twist Santi ripped the club free of the satyr¡¯s hands. Santi kicked the goat man¡¯s knee, bone popping under his heel as the monster screamed in pain.

    To his side Chloe was trading blows in a furious exchange.Skills were blurring together as she refused to give ground, trimming the club to kindling as she battered the monster into the cement.

    Santi bit back a curse as a fist came in a wide loop as the satyr refused to die even as its innards fell from its stomach. The wide smile he had cut in the satyr¡¯s stomach had been done when he glanced at Chloe. The satyr had tried to take advantage of the distraction and had paid the price.

    He let the blow land on his shoulder and grimaced instantly at the mistake. His counter strike took the monster¡¯s head, but that fist had hurt. He rolled his shoulder a few times and stepped over the dead body to interdict the second monster before it could reach Chloe. She was winning her fight fairly handedly, but he didn¡¯t trust her to win the two on one.

    The three heavy fighters were in the back, the two hunters standing next to the singer as the singer continued to play its lute. Santi was getting close to working through the defenses, they were more of a blanket cast over the fighters rather than a true shield. Santi bent back at the waist allowing the club to sail by his face as he slashed the scout across the leg.

    Flesh and bone parted as the goatman staggered back. Santi lunged as it backed up, stabbing it through the neck. With a twist he removed the blade and half the beast''s neck. Santi took another look at Chloe and nodded to himself as she stood her ground and had the higher level monster on its last legs.

    ¡°Follow behind!¡± Santi yelled as he rushed forward. Something was telling him it was the wrong move, that with the power the singer was using to protect the others was dangerous to him. He was a mage after all, not being able to cast spells on his enemies was a problem.

    He couldn¡¯t be bothered to care. The hunt was in his mind, his blood humming with endorphins and darker energy. The thrill of the blood in the air had him attacking without hesitation, leaping and twisting like a top as a tendril of the morph blade wrapped itself around him.

    The razor wire was stopped in its track, verdant green energy protecting the hunters hand held scythe. The hunter¡¯s smile blossomed into something feral as its arms blurred. Thicker green energy condensed around it as it attacked with ferocity. Santi met it blow for blow, his own crazed smile matching its smile.

    ¡°Left!¡± Chloe screamed, piercing the haze around him as he changed the morph blade. Clefts appeared in the blade, twisted metal catching the scythe and holding it still as Chloe descended like the grim reaper. Her axe was glowing as it came down like a meteor.

    A second scythe appeared, catching the axe in an explosion of light as Chloe¡¯s skills tested the defenses of the singer''s magic. The magic won. Chloe rebounded backward as the second hunter crowded her. Chloe¡¯s body flashed to metal, but the scythe still peeled a strip of metal free in a shriek. Chloe bit back a scream as she kneed the goat in the stomach, the blow sounding like a hammer hitting flesh.

    Santi finally felt his spell slide by the defense.

 Ch. 3.16 And Plants!

    16.

    [Air Current] was his weakest, but most versatile skill. He finally wormed his way around the hunter¡¯s defenses, finding a pin gap where the thick magic lacked the strength to repel his power. Santi was forced to dodge the curved edge of a scythe as he focused his strength, pouring mana into his skill as he contested the higher ranking singer.

    He won.

    There was a sudden silence as the lute cracked audibly, the power Santi had funneled at the satyr¡¯s magic shattering the focal point of the casting. The singer bleated in surprise and pain, backing up quickly and beginning to hum loudly almost instantly. The magic had unraveled the moment silence had fallen and Santi hadn¡¯t waited a moment to start the end game of the fight.

    [Gust] swept his own opponent back, throwing the heavy satyr off its hooves and toward the singer. The singer¡¯s tune was quickly broken as it leapt over its defender¡¯s body. Santi lunged toward Chloe¡¯s opponent, morph changing into a lance as he stabbed at the goats lower back. The satyr spun with a quickness that shocked him, the scythe knocking aside the lance¡¯s point.

    Chloe¡¯s axe bit into where the shoulder meets the neck in a spray of blood. The satyr screamed in agony as she ripped and tore the wicked axe head out. Santi felt the warm blood spray across his face. He licked at his lips even as he finished the wounded creature, stabbing it through its chest.

    The ding of the kill notification was a distant sound as he spun around to face the second hunter. It had gotten back to its feet in the second or so it had taken for Chloe and Santi to kill its companion. It¡¯s bestial features were controted with rage as the hand held scythe split the air all around him. Each of the blows rang out, his arm growing numb from the heavy blows.

    Chloe came to the side, her axe aimed at a knee. Blood was running from her arm where the other hunter had stripped a piece of flesh free. The satyr spun, targeted leg straight out in a vicious kick that caught her in the stomach. Santi lengthened the blade and slid it along the monster¡¯s forearm, splitting flesh like paper. It screamed and caught its balance, blade arm going limp as Santi snapped his wrist upward. Blood geysered out as the satyr¡¯s head fell free from its body.

    The singer was running, trying to escape with what little time its two protectors had given it. [Air Shield] cut off its retreat while Santi raced toward it. He wasn¡¯t going to let his prey escape, not now while it was on its last legs. The satyr bounced off the shield and spun, a long wooden dagger being produced from somewhere. Santi lifted the morph as it transformed into an executioner''s axe and reared back.

    The singer stabbed itself in the throat. Santi froze, puzzlement and alarm breaking the hold the curse had on him. He watched as the monster''s blood flowed like a river down its throat, matting the beast''s hair as it plummeted toward the earth. Its black eyes met his own for a moment and triumph shone through them even as it slowly fell to the ground.

    ¡°Santi, what the fuck was that?¡± Chloe asked as she jogged over to him, both of them staring down at the dead satyr.

    ¡°No idea, but probably nothing good.¡± Santi cocked his head and then reached down to pry the wooden dagger free of the satyr¡¯s neck. The dark wood was drenched in blood but the moment he pulled it free the blood absorbed into the dagger like it had never been there.

    Sacrificial Dagger

    Used in magical rituals, the dagger can aid in the transition of life to magic

    ¡°Have I ever told you how much I detest these descriptions?¡± Santi asked Chloe.

    ¡°Nope. That description is only kinda useful. I guess it used itself to do some type of magic?¡±

    ¡°Sacrificed itself to do something.¡±

    ¡°But what?¡± Chloe pondered as she looted the two dead hunters. The scythe daggers they had been using were sturdy Acolyte grade weapons and those were rare enough nobody would be leaving them to waste.

    ¡°Nothing good. Satyr¡¯s magic is normally nature based or music magic. Who the fuck knows what¡¯s coming. Let¡¯s get back to the camp and try to get them ready.¡±

    ¡°If this is going to be the threat level for everything coming for us, they won¡¯t be helpful at all.¡±

    ¡°These were just the fastest who weren¡¯t in the immediate vicinity. This could be the peak of them.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Not with our luck. Santi, I don¡¯t think I could have handled one of those hunters by myself. They were too fast and strong. I could take the hits, but I couldn¡¯t land any of my own without your help.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m here then. We keep working together and we¡¯ll be fine. We just have to hold out till the rest of the team gets here and then we¡¯ll be good.¡±

    ¡°It is a good thing you¡¯re here. I still need to get stronger though. I can¡¯t be relying on you to carry me in these sorts of fights.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°More training with Grimvr then. And levels. That¡¯s all we can do. Put in the effort and reap the rewards.¡±

    ¡°Did you just use the word reap because they had scythes?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± Santi smiled at her, breaking the tension as she rolled her eyes. He still saw the tick at the corner of her mouth as she fought back her own smile. They broke away from the still bodies of the dead satyrs and headed up the overpass and back toward the town.

    They got to the top and looked down upon chaos. The hundred, if not thousands, of small trees and plants had come alive. Chlorophyll green spirits slashed and attacked as the survivors tried to hold themselves up. Frank was barking orders as his sword, a strip mall looking katana, wreathed in orange flames cut a bush in half. The spirit surrounding the bush screamed into the air and evaporated leaving only the burning bush behind.

    ¡°That didn¡¯t take long. They look weak though.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re small. Look for anything bigger, mature trees or those tall ass privacy shrubs.¡± Santi was scanning the small downtown region even for any threat as he looked down at the monsters.

    Neophyte Dryad lvl. 17

    (Enraged)

    ¡°Enraged? I haven¡¯t seen that.¡±

    ¡°That singer kinda fucked us over. Look there¡¯s a palm tree,¡± Santi said, nudging Chloe as they watched the long tree walk forward, fronds swaying. The ephemeral shape of the dryad was more formed around it. It had a fully formed body with emerald tresses that swayed in rhythm with the fronds.

    Juvenile Dryad lvl. 43

    (Enraged)

    ¡°You can handle that one yourself?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I can handle it. Why aren¡¯t you interested in it?¡±

    ¡°Look that way,¡± Santi said, pointing out what he¡¯d spied sneaking closer.

    ¡°Shit. Guess they weren¡¯t alone. Can you hold them till I finish the tree off?¡±

    ¡°Got to do it. Finish it quickly and you can come and save me.¡±

    ¡°I get to play the hero? Well can¡¯t let you down then. Get cracking,¡± Chloe shoved him with a shoulder and flashed a smile that had hints of concern in it. She raced down toward the melee, trying to interdict the palm tree dryad before it reached the group of fighters.

    Santi followed after her, peeling off to the side towards the trio of satyrs sneaking their way toward the pillar. They couldn¡¯t take it from him by touching it, they needed to kill him or force him to leave the area around it to claim it for themselves. Once it was confirmed his, then the only way they¡¯d get it was by prying it from his cold dead fingers.

    The three monsters didn¡¯t know that. They were getting close to the pillar using the distraction caused by the original singer''s sacrifice. Santi was racing down toward them without a thought, his blood already humming in anticipation again. The curse was rather insidious, Santi could understand how the others had been lost in the curse.

    Satyr Hunter lvl. 50

    Satyr Hunter lvl. 52

    Satyr Singer lvl. 54

    Weaker than the previous squad of satyrs, but he was alone this time. It would be a challenge, all three of them higher than him, but he had plenty of advantages of his own. He sped up, muscles bunching tight to explode thunderously as he shot towards them. The two hunters looked up in time to meet him, their flashing blades rising up to attempt disemboweling strikes.

    He swept aside both of them like they were nothing before him, his blade smacking both of the daggers to the side as he landed in a crouch right between the satyr hunters. The singer was lifting its lute to its lips, ready to start playing as Santi cast [Crosscurrent-Orb] right at his feet. [Air Shield] and [Air Manipulation] tamed the wind around him as the two hunters were lifted from their hooves and tossed away like leaves. The singer met his gaze with wild, fear filled eyes. Santi struck once, morph blade drinking deeply from the rich blood of the powerful monster.

    Santi watched as the life faded from its wide eyes, letting it slump to the ground as the two hunters began to work their way back to him. Without their protections though, they were vulnerable. [Gust] picked the one on the right up and threw it through the remnants of a wall of a former fast food restaurant. He turned to the left one and stood there, waiting as the satyr charged him.

    It swung horizontally, razor sharp tip aiming for his throat. He stepped back and let the scythe pass him. He stepped back toward the monster in the open space left by the wide attack. A gauntlet formed over his hand and he slammed it into the satyr¡¯s gut. Spikes erupted from the gauntlet and blood coated his arm as Santi kept his eyes locked with the hunters.

    He saw as the rage was replaced with fear. With uncertainty and then acceptance. The satyr headbutted at him, [Air Shield] cast inches from his own face to stop those wicked horns from hitting his vulnerable nose. He jerked his arm upward, spikes tearing flesh away as he ripped and tore.

    He used his free hand to toss the dying satyr to the ground and spun around as he felt as the other hunter entered his range. Santi caught the descending blow and tossed it to the side with a twist of his hips and wrenching his arm. The tip of the scythe dagger cut into the asphalt with ease. Santi stomped down on the fragile ankle joint and felt a jolt of joy when he heard bone break.

    The hunter didn¡¯t make a sound as it tried to headbutt him. Santi grabbed its horns and jerked it toward him, making it walk on the broken ankle. It finally screamed as the leg buckled and it fell to a knee. The horns were rough in his palms as Santi jerked its head viciously to the side. The gratifying crack of bone was highlighted by a ding of a kill notification as he let the limp hunter fall to the ground.

    Bloodlust Upgraded

    Infection of Bloodlust

    (Minor)

    Strength becomes you. Blood fuels you.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± Santi hissed staring at the alert. He looked down at himself and saw himself. From neck to shoes he was coated in satyr blood. Thick and tacky with the heady iron scent surrounding him. Every twitch of his body alerted him to the strength running through his muscles, the heady feeling of power that suffused him.

    ¡°Close to ten percent. Maybe a bit more, maybe twelve,¡± Santi muttered aloud, trying to put a number to the curse''s power increase. It was hefty, that was sure. Strong as the coat he had earned. Enough to let him snap a monster''s neck with ease. He was strong for a mage but he wasn¡¯t that strong. He could have gotten it, but not that easy.

    He looked over to the gurgling hunter still holding on to life. The dryads were still rampaging around him, all avoiding him. Chloe¡¯s axe was flashing, bursts of light as she used skills to prune the tree monster. He looked down at the dying satyr and finished it with a thought.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a long fucking day,¡± Santi said with a sigh.

 Ch. 3.17 Wind Storm

    17.

    ¡°How you doing, Chloe?¡± Santi asked as he jumped back, avoiding a crashing knot of roots and earth. Dirt scattered everywhere as the improvised maul exploded in a spray. Loose shards of razor sharp roots sprayed out in a shrapnel blast that Santi was forced to use [Air Shield] to prevent the attack from shredding him.

    The dryad rustled in annoyance, its canopy shaking and releasing a rain of green walnuts to the ground. The morph blade pruned a thick limb that sent a primary branch to the ground in a loud crash. He was forced to the side, further away from Chloe, as another wild wave of magic sharpened branches sliced apart the space he had just occupied.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Got the perfect weapon for this!¡± Chloe barked, a hint of laughter in her voice. Santi risked a look over toward her and saw her covered in bark, sap, and shredded shrubbery. She had been a force of nature in dealing with the forces of nature.

    ¡°Are the others still alive?¡± Santi asked, his vision blocked by the dryad that had inhabited the walnut tree.

    ¡°Most of them!¡±

    Santi mimicked her weapon, turning his long sword into a wide axe and he stopped dodging and began to attack. The fight with the ent was so long ago that it felt like a different life, but the memories were there. He started near the base and worked his way up. The dryad died with a few swift and powerful blows, the weak Acolyte monster dying with little fanfare.

    ¡°How many of these things are there?¡± Maya panted out in exhaustion. The fist fighter was wreathed in small cuts and abrasions as her skill enforced fists punched apart a medium sized lime tree.

    ¡°How many plants or trees were in the city?¡± Santi retorted.The entire downtown region, which hadn¡¯t been in the best of shape to begin with, was looking rather wretched. The entire area was filled with shredded shrubbery and broken trees.

    ¡°FUCK!¡± Maya snarled as she exerted herself. Power surged around her and her red fists cracked the sapling in half, blowing it apart in a shower of splinters.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s fun and easy so far!¡± Chloe said, stifling laughter as she knocked down another tree. With the satyrs dead, nothing had come that could realistically challenge them. They were simply too strong, fast, and durable for the weak dryads to kill them. The amount of the dryads were concerning though.

    Neither Santi or Chloe were strong and fast enough to protect all of their new citizens. The huddled masses had been hustled into the guts of the partially destroyed store and now all the strongest fighters, barring Maya and Frank, were standing guard.

    ¡°Retreat back to the store!¡± Santi ordered. He slashed apart a rhododendron and moved his head to the side to let rose thorns the size of his fingers fly by him. [Gust] cleared the area around him and the others, giving them a clear path towards the store. Maya and Frank ran without word, both of them tired and bloody, while Chloe took her time, slashing apart anything that got too close to them. There was finally a break in the fighting that allowed him to breathe and think.

    That hunting party of satyrs wouldn¡¯t have been it. There was likely more to them and there should be stronger dryads around the small town. Ancient trees that needed something more powerful for them to awaken. If there were more singers, and they were using the first one¡¯s sacrifice as a distraction, then there were likely more out there working on awakening more powerful nature spirits.

    He needed to go and find them, but he needed to get everyone safe before that and cutting apart every overgrown plant one at a time wasn¡¯t working out. Frank and Maya got past the lines of guards and slumped down right past them while Chloe simply took up her place in the line near the center.

    ¡°Is everyone here?¡± Santi asked Zeke. The boy looked about and shrugged.

    ¡°I think so? People are missing, but they might be gone. We had to hurry everyone over here when the fucking plants came to life.¡±

    ¡°Good enough. Everyone, stay inside the shelter of the store.¡±

    ¡°Santi, what are you doing?¡± Chloe asked, more curious than concerned. Her forearm had stopped bleeding and for most of the fight she had taken no wounds from the weaker monsters.

    ¡°Being a real mage,¡± Santi said with a flash of a smile. With a quick run and jump he scaled the side of the building, fingers grabbing the cracks in the broken wall with ease to haul himself up.

    Turning slowly he looked down at the world below him. Now that they had retreated the army of plants were marching in step to surround the store. A wall of vegetation that surrounded the entire block, rustling and shaking, branches whipping the air as they closed in on the thin line of defenders. He scanned them quickly while he mentally prepared himself. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Not a single Acolyte level monster in the horde, all of them having been trimmed back by Santi and Chloe. He still remembered the [Night Hag], the circle around her as blows fell like rain until she had fallen to the much weaker crowd. Chloe was laughing and shrugging it off, but there was danger here.

    He reached into himself, drawing on the mana that filled his body and began to draw it forth. Just like manipulating spell forms, supercharging them was something else that could be done with enough time and practice. The spell forms were like a template, you activated if you had the required resources the spell would work. A year or two into the integration people had started to play around with spells and skills by pushing more into them.

    It went beyond strengthening the spell like he did with [Air Manipulation]. Santi took a deep breath as he began to cast. The familiar feel of [Gust] came to mind, the howling gale kept tame only by his iron will as he began to feed it more and more mana. Pressure built in his body, straining him at the seams as he watched below as his allies held the line.

    A few moments melded into minutes. Blood ran from his nose and ears, distant wetness that he could hardly pay attention to as the entirety of his world had shrunk down to the forest that had filled the area in front of the store. [Gust] was there, aching to be released, but it had grown into a tempest, a shape of unimaginable strength, held back only by Sant¡¯s strength.

    He coughed, blood spraying out of his mouth as he finally released the mutated spell. It was like a balloon popping inside of him as he deflated, his knees buckling as he hardly caught himself on the ledge in time to prevent himself from face planting. The air pressure changed as the world warped, winds that drowned out the world as they were summoned.

    The dryads dug their roots into the earth, sliding through the cracks in the concrete and asphalt to anchor themselves. It saved them for a split second as the earth below and in front of Santiago was scoured clean. Chunks of road, sidewalk, buildings, and dryads were all picked up and flung away as if by the hand of god.

    Six seconds the storm lasted, a gale of such ferocity that Santi watched as buildings were shaken and broken apart, thrown away and out of town limits. As it ended, the winds disappeared like they had never been there, nothing remained of the dryads.

    Hundreds of kill notifications began to rattle through Santi¡¯s skull as he chuckled weakly at the destruction wrought before him. His strength was gone, the effects of the curse fleeing as he depleted himself in the attempt at saving themselves from a death of a half million cuts.

    ¡°Santi? You alive up there?¡± Chloe called to him, her voice filled with awe.

    ¡°Barely,¡± Santi managed to croak out.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming up!¡± Chloe followed her words moments later by crawling up the side of the building and landing in a crouch. She raised her eyebrows at him laying there, propped up against the wall.

    ¡°That took a bit out of me.¡± Santi could already feel mana beginning to flow through him again, thin as a mountain stream at the heights of summer. In a few minutes he¡¯d be able to be functional, but it had taken more out of him that he thought it would.

    ¡°So, didn¡¯t know you had that in you,¡± Chloe said as she stood and looked down over the ruins of the town. Santi looked over at the area and had to shrug weakly.

    ¡°Lot of those buildings were already structurally compromised.¡±

    ¡°Ohhh, is that how you¡¯re going to play it? I¡¯m not strong enough to wipe away a third of a town¡¯s downtown region unless it¡¯s already structurally weakened?¡±

    ¡°I mean, it was.¡±

    ¡°Doth protest too much, I believe. This was impressive Santiago. Terrifying, but impressive. I can guess you needed that build up time to get the spell off? You can¡¯t just do it off the cuff?¡±

    ¡°Takes a few minutes for me to get the power behind it. Only became possible the last few levels when my mana stats were high enough to be worth it. Won¡¯t be doing this again for a while, I feel very wrung out.¡±

    ¡°I can see that,¡± Chloe reached into a pocket and pulled out a stained piece of cloth. She bent over and wiped at his face and ears, wiping away the blood with a faint concerned frown on her face.

    ¡°Is that the same piece of scrap fabric you use to clean your axe?¡± Santi asked as she leaned back, shoving the scrap back into her pocket.

    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s the cleanest thing I have right now and you looked like death warmed over. If you¡¯d gone down to them looking like that you would have started a panic. They¡¯re impressed and scared because of what you just did. You come down looking like you were bleeding out of your eyes and they¡¯ll start thinking maybe you aren¡¯t invincible and they don¡¯t have to listen to you.¡±

    ¡°Heavy is the crown,¡± Santi offered her a weak smile and then his hand. She gripped his hand with a hearty smack and heaved, pulling him up so he could stare at the destruction he had wreaked.

    ¡°There might be more of the satyrs around. Trying to awaken the bigger and older vegetation around here. We need to find them. Go and ask Frank if there¡¯s any old growth, parks, anything like that while I catch my breath. If there is, we¡¯ll have to go and see if we can stop them from awakening those dryads.¡±

    ¡°You got it. Will you be strong enough to get into a fight with more of those satyrs?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be as strong as I need to be. Got a couple levels and I¡¯m going to assign those points. Ohh, and an achievement. Maybe I¡¯ll have something nice to add to the collection.¡±

    ¡°The collection that you always leave at home?¡±

    ¡°Mom will bring it up. Didn¡¯t think this trip warranted my full war regalia for a small den.¡±

    ¡°Proper prior planning prevents poor performances.¡±

    ¡°What are you, a motivational poster?¡±

    ¡°Shut the fuck up,¡± Chloe said, throwing her head back and laughing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go ask Frank, you assign your levels. I got some too, we gear up, catch our breaths and then clear this town of the goats before more monsters show up.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think anything will be coming from that direction,¡± Santi said, waving his hand in the direction he had directed his spell. He had thrown enough debris that way with enough force that it would have required strong Acolyte level monsters to survive.

    ¡°Hana better be dragging them back here. That was a little thorny there for a moment,¡± Chloe said. There was a hint of mischief in her eyes as she swung a leg over the ledge.

    ¡°Thorny? That¡¯s what you went with? Poor punning is unacceptable,¡± Santi said, rolling his eyes as he smiled at her. She simply laughed as she jumped down to talk to Frank. Santi stared at the ruin he had wrought and then brought up his stat sheet. The day wasn¡¯t over yet.

 Ch. 3.18 Breather

    18.

    Santiago V. Silva

    Air Mage lvl. 45

    Strength: 37 (72)

    Durability: 40 (75)

    Stamina: 40 (75)

    Dexterity: 37 (72)

    Vitality: 40 (75)

    Perception: 35 (70)

    Intelligence: 105 (140)

    Mana: 140 (175)

    Willpower: 108 (143)

    Potential: 99%

    Santi looked at the big block of text that composed his stats and had to fight back a smile. They were growing at a quick rate, especially his primary stats. He had only leveled twice in the last six weeks and had used the free points on boosting his physical stats. With the newest level he had put the points toward willpower, the curse was getting the best of him and he needed every spare iota of power he could to battle it.

    From a pure stats point he didn¡¯t think there was anyone who could match him. With the extra thirty-five points over the nine attributes he had three hundred and fifteen extra points. His class was strong, but close enough to average that fourteen stat points per level weren¡¯t an outlier. From pure numbers he had an extra twenty-two levels on anyone who faced him.

    Which led him to his biggest problem as he stared at the list of spells in front of him. The majority of his stats were locked into his mental and mana stats. Stats that were directly tied toward his spellcasting. His spells which weren¡¯t currently directly lethal. He could twist them, overcharge them, or use them to help control the battlefield. His most powerful directly combat oriented spell, [Crosscurrent-Orb] wasn¡¯t a heavy hitter though. It was good in crowds of weaker monsters, but anything durable and it was useless.

    He had his future plans, tempting spell forms that he could use to create powerful spells when combined. Right now though, he was squandering a huge amount of his battle potential by waiting. The enemies coming from them were stronger and stronger, the bear they had fought and killed would have been a brutal fight by himself. He needed something that could punch and put what he punched down right then and there.

    So he browsed the list of spells available to him. Even as an [Air Mage] he had access to spells outside of his affinity. The penalty for using them would be a huge mana sink in comparison to his current spell forms. [Fireball] was classic and could be combined with [Gust] to make raging conflagrations. How many [Fireballs] could he cast before he burned through even his own deep mana pools?

    So he kept looking. If he focused only on basic spells he could get three. Or if he really wanted to spend he could get one common spell. Santi had needs though. His speed was good for a mage, but fighting against Duncan had been frustrating as he couldn¡¯t reposition fast enough. If not for his boosted stats Duncan would have ran circles around him and left him a bleeding mess.

    [Wind Step] cured that.

    Wind Step: An explosive burst of air to propel yourself

    It was a good way to counter the quicker moving scouts and assassins that would be coming. He needed firepower now and only had two slots free leaving him fairly limited of choices.

    Wind Blade: A concentrated narrow band of air, it slices like steel

    He¡¯s had something similar though more powerful in the last timeline. [Razor Wind] had cut through monsters and men alike with ease. It¡¯s weaker, younger sibling was going to be his bread and butter for now. The final spell slot he left open, he would soon have the Pillar of Civilization and with that would be the ability to upgrade spells. He would need the open space for when he boosted up one of his base spells.

    Achievement: Spell Manipulator

    Reward: Loot Box (Lesser)

    Achievement: Peacemaker

    Reward: Loot Box (Lesser)

    Achievement: First to Claim

    Reward: Loot Box (Common) The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Spell manipulator was for his work with [Air Current] and now [Gust]. The wooden box was quickly ripped open and the rack of mana potions set off to the side as the box disappeared. Santi kept his eyes locked on the silver box, afraid as if it would disappear. Common grade loot boxes had been good to him and he wanted to see what it was, but the anxiety of waiting as he ripped open the peacemaker box was pleasant.

    Peacemaker was probably for getting the two factions in the town to stop killing each other. In addition to his own work at home, it was just like spell manipulator in that it had been a cumulative reward. The wooden coins he dumped on the ground were nice, especially with the pillar soon to be open for business, but then he was grabbing the heavy silver lid and sliding it free.

    A blood red circlet sat in the silver chest. Thin with a trio of spikes rising up from it, capped in glittering obsidian. Santi reached down with trembling hands as he pulled the circlet free and ran [Identify] on it.

    Circlet of Lords

    (Upgradeable)

    5% Increase to all stats.

    Another upgradeable item. That by itself made it nearly priceless. If it¡¯s base mode as a five percent increase to his stats then he could only imagine what would happen when he managed to upgrade it. How to upgrade it was a good question, but Santi had a suspicion that he had to acquire more Pillars of Civilization and extend his territory.

    Donning it, he felt it stretch out wide as it settled on his head. For a moment there was peace as he turned his head this way and that to feel how the circlet moved. Then it burned and pain wracked through his head, he could feel blood rolling down his skull as he reached to grab and tear the circlet free. Then it was over, fast as it had begun, the thin trickles of blood leaving stains down his cheeks the only sign that violence had occurred.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Santi muttered as he ran his hand over the cool metal that was now welded into his head. He tugged at it and felt skin starting to pull and decided to leave the circlet where it was for now. The silver loot box had disappeared while he had been occupied and now he was standing by himself, and the pile of wooden coins and mana potions, waiting for Chloe to come back.

    Santi grabbed a single mana potion and pulled the stopper out of it. That empty feeling inside of him had slackened somewhat, but he wasn¡¯t there yet. He drank the potion in two quick chugs and started to shiver as the icy potion ran down his throat. The taste of mint exploded on his tongue and he felt the sudden surge of mana racing through his body. He still wasn¡¯t fully recovered, but he was closer to full than he was half full.

    He¡¯d leave the rest of the potions up here for now. He cursed not having a better way of moving the fragile bottles around. Once the pillar was up and he could buy directly from the marketplace, but the cost of the potions had been high in his last life. He didn¡¯t want to be wasting money on having broken bottles in his pockets as he ran around fighting.

    ¡°Hey, you ready?¡± Chloe shouted up at him, not bothering to scale the side of the building. Santi left the pile of money and potions and hopped over the side to land next to her lightly. He kept his newfound spells to himself, he trusted her, but he didn¡¯t know who was around. Duncan had managed to sneak up on him and he didn¡¯t want the sneaky bastard to know he had chosen more spells. The element of surprise was what was going to allow him to kill the Apostate.

    After they dealt with Mercy.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t know you were into headwear. Not exactly your color though.¡± Chloe was looking at the circlet, her eyes a mix of curious and greedy.

    ¡°You take what you can get. Plus side to taking over the pillar, gives me a nice boost. Need the help with this damn curse, it¡¯s more insidious than I had thought.¡±

    ¡°You underestimated something? No, that can¡¯t be right,¡± Chloe said sarcastically.

    ¡°What? I appropriately guess how dangerous things are.¡±

    ¡°No you don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Am I alive?¡±

    ¡°Somehow,¡± Chloe said, her smile was still there as they walked away from Frank, Maya, and Zeke. Santi hoped they wouldn¡¯t revert back to their natural state of murderous rage with each other. He had just earned a nice achievement for keeping them from killing each other.

    ¡°See, if I¡¯m alive and almost everything else is dead, then I¡¯m a good guestimater in danger levels.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a real word.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t flee to technicalities because I¡¯ve disproved your point.¡±

    ¡°You like this, don¡¯t you? The verbal sparring?¡±

    ¡°Normally it¡¯s fun. With this curse, it¡¯s pushing me to all sorts of confrontations. It¡¯s good practice for me to keep it nice and playful with you.¡±

    ¡°So, I¡¯m just practice?¡±

    ¡°I think this is where I wave the white flag.¡± Santi shot her a quick grin as she led them further away from the ravaged downtown and toward the housing areas that Santi had gone through to find Zeke.

    ¡°Where are we going anyway?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Frank said there¡¯s only one park worth noting that has any type of trees. The rest are all small and are full of kid toys, not a lot of vegetation. This park was apparently built around a tree. An old, big ass tree.¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s satyrs still alive and running around, I can bet they¡¯re going there then.¡±

    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t attack us straight up? Or go in with the dryads?¡±

    ¡°If we killed the strongest of them in that first skirmish, no. They¡¯ll try to even the playing field. They¡¯re smarter than the monsters we fought back at home. Likely has to do with them being higher level.¡±

    ¡°Are we going to have to worry about that more often you think? Smarter monsters? Have them planning ambushes and making alliances like the goblins and hags?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Which is why we¡¯re making alliances and training and planning. At the end of the day we are, or will be, stronger than them. As long as we can keep from fighting with each other, then we have a chance of reclaiming our world for ourselves.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine our world anymore. It¡¯s a dream and every day I wake up in this nightmare. But¡­I like parts of it. I¡¯m strong now, stronger than anything I could have dreamed of before. When we¡¯re all together, I like that. The feeling of togetherness, we¡¯ve all been through it and we can just understand each other. Before this, I don¡¯t know, I just felt like I couldn¡¯t connect easily. Now all of us have something in common at least.¡± Chloe fell silent afterward, a tinge of red on her cheeks.

    ¡°Brotherhood. Siblinghood. It¡¯s what you read about from soldiers. The camaraderie. We¡¯re going through the absolute worst thing ever, but we¡¯re all standing together. I would never wish for this to happen again, but we¡¯re all together now and I wouldn¡¯t want that to go away.¡±

    ¡°Shit, we¡¯re right next to the park. We can pick this up when we¡¯re on our date.¡±

    ¡°Little heavy for a first date. Figured I¡¯d ask what your favorite color was or movie.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know my favorite color?¡±

    ¡°Oh hey, look, it¡¯s a giant tree monster.¡±

 Ch. 3.19 Old Growth

    19.

    Mature Dryad lvl. 68

    (Dormant)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can fight that,¡± Chloe said as she looked up at the giant oak tree. An ephemeral spirit was trying to force its way out of the bark, the limbs shaking violently as the dryad stirred from its sleep.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to agree with you on that. Let¡¯s kill the goats before they wake up the tree.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a weird sentence.¡±

    ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it. Together or split up?¡±

    ¡°Split up. I¡¯ll take the two on the right and you get the three on the left?¡± Chloe suggested.

    The two on the right were both weaker singers, only in the low forties. The three on the right had a level fifty-three hunter standing silently as its two charges, both high forties singers, did their work. Chloe would be able to burn through both of the singers if she could catch them off guard.

    The hunter on the other hand was alert, dark eyes scanning the field around the towering tree, long conical ears twitching back and forth as it kept all its senses alert for anyone. Chloe was good, she had great equipment, but the level disparity was too much. Santi rolled his head, feeling his neck crack as he nodded his assent to the plan.

    The distance between the corner of the block they were on and the middle of the park was two hundred yards or so. There was a slight valley that led to a soccer field that went back up towards the small hill that the giant tree sat on. They¡¯d have to cross the street, down into the valleyl and across the entire soccer field to get to the five satyrs.

    The distance between the two small groups was negligible. Chloe wouldn¡¯t have much room to maneuver in her own fight unless she strayed toward his own battle. Santi wasn¡¯t worried about the two singers she¡¯d be fighting, but he didn¡¯t want to get pincered in the fight. The hunter was too strong for him to focus on all five opponents.

    ¡°On three?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Three!¡± Chloe yelled, bursting from cover in a hard sprint. Her powerful physical stats showed as she was just a dark streak as she headed toward her targets. Santi didn¡¯t let her quick burst of speed take him off guard, he was right on her hip, racing for all he was worth even as the hunter turned to look at them.

    [Gust] smashed the hunter and its two singers, pushing them backward as their hooves tore furrows into the earth as they fought to hold their ground. The hunter¡¯s sickle blade came out from a sash it wore around its waist as it lowered its head, bellowing a screeching warcry as the spell faded and allowed the monster to charge him. The two singers turned back to the tree, their music picking up its pace as they hurried to complete the awakening of the powerful dryad.

    Santi and Chloe flew down the slope of the hill, hitting the soccer field and crossing it in the blink of an eye. The ground was dry and hard packed, giving Santi firm footing as he dug deep, rocketing up the hill in a single bounding step. The crest of the hill came up and he was inundated with an angry goat, its sickle dagger coming down and across to sever his throat.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Santi shouted, the morph blade barely turning the dagger away from him as the heavier monster hit him in the stomach with its shoulder. Physics won out and Santi¡¯s momentum was reversed, him and the hunter falling back down the hill while Chloe headed toward her targets.

    His back hit the earth and he was able to wedge his foot up and into the satyr¡¯s gut, pushing up and shoving the monster backward, toward the street they had come from. The heavy hunter was sent sailing even as Santi continued to roll backward, the explosive kick adding to his backward momentum.

    Santi stabbed the morph blade into the earth and slowed himself as he got his feet back under him and stood upright on the soccer field. The hunter had already regained its feet and was launching itself down toward him with its evil looking scythe flashing in the sunlight. The glint of light twisted and stabbed as the hunter directed the gleam at Santi¡¯s eyes. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    Blinking suddenly teary eyes, Santi lashed at knee height with a whip, feeling out where the goat was with his spell forms. The satyr leapt over the tendril whip and landed with ease. Right as [Crosscurrent-Orb] detonated. Earth and dried grass was shredded in a blast of power, the satyr picked and flung to Santi¡¯s right. Dust rolled out as the dry dirt spread out in a haze, Santi racing through it without hesitation as the hunter rolled and came upright.

    Both of their visions obscured, Santi relied on his spells while the satyr used its superior hearing, sensitive ears twitching constantly as it caught every whish of displaced air as Santi wielded the morph blade as a longsword, trying his best to cut down the higher ranked monster quickly. Chloe was by herself against four singers and he couldn¡¯t spend time slowly whittling down his only opponent.

    The scythe¡¯s tip caught the edge of his blade and twisted, forcing him to strike the ground as a furry fist came flying at his face. Santi jerked his head to the side as hard as stone knuckles scraped across his jaw. The morph weapon turned to liquid and freed itself, forming up and over his fist into a thick spiked gauntlet.

    Santi punched the goat in the side, bones crunching as he pulverized the satyr¡¯s rib cage. The monster screamed in pain as Santi twisted his arm, ripping the spikes free in a spurt of warm blood. His free hand reached up and grabbed the goat¡¯s horns, the smooth texture warm under his palm as he brought the taller satyr down to his eye level.

    Pain blossomed through his leg as the satyr slashed him, but he was beyond that at the moment. Adrenaline was coursing through him as he reared back and hit again and again, mulching the satyr¡¯s left side. The monster¡¯s hot breath washed over Santi¡¯s face as it screamed, pain and rage intermingling as it tried to gore him through the eyes with its horns.

    His offhand strained as he kept the powerful monster from killing him while a smile spread across his face. He kept hitting the beast, anything that he could reach while the monster slashed wildly at him, scraping off his metal breastplate in showers of sparks. Twice more the blade found flesh, slicing deep on the outside of his leg.

    ¡°Come on, you have more! Fight me!¡± Santi screamed, his heart was racing as the curse surged through his body. Power was infusing him as he twisted the satyr¡¯s head sideways and forced it to its knees. He rained blows down on it without hesitation, smashing bone and pulping flesh until the ding of the kill notification sunk through his killing haze.

    He let the hunter fall dead as he shot up the hill, the wounds not slowing him as he continued to hunt for more opponents. Santi willed himself to force the red haze in his vision down. Chloe was fighting two singers at the same time, both of them dodging and twisting as she slowly whittled them down. Neither had any physical weapons, relying on their sharp hooves and wicked horns as they tried to avoid Chloe¡¯s deadly black axe.

    The other two were singing and dancing, their music a discordant harmony that raked at his soul. It seemed to be pissing off the dryad too, making it struggle fiercer and fiercer as it struggled to work itself out of the confines of the tree and into the waking world.

    He attacked, morph piercing the closest one¡¯s skull like a balloon. He twisted his wrist and ripped it free of the satyr¡¯s skull as he lept over its falling body to slay the second singer before it could fully comprehend his arrival. The horrible sounds faded, lingering in the air for a few moments even with the death of the singers.

    Santi spun and watched as Chloe finally landed a deadly blow. Eviscerating a singer that was just a bit too slow to back up. She shoulder checked it as it was bowed over and closed in on the final singer who had decided to try to flee. While fleet of hoof, it took a second too long to turn and Chloe¡¯s axe was buried in between its shoulder blades as she rode it to the ground. With another brutal strike she took its head and gave a mercy blow to the first singer she had gutted.

    ¡°You good?¡± Chloe called over, standing over the headless corpse of the satyr. Santi was busy watching the tall oak tree to see if it was going to wake up or not. The thick chlorophyll green spirit had been strengthening in density the entire time they were fighting and now it had stopped, frozen partially freed of the tree.

    ¡°Yeah. Had a moment, but I¡¯m okay now.¡±

    ¡°No homicidal urges?¡±

    ¡°No more than usual.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Chloe chirped and came away from the dead corpse to stand next to him, her shoulders relaxed as she stared up at the entombed dryad.

    ¡°Could we kill it and harvest the experience?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Probably not. The system doesn¡¯t seem to give us freebies so far. Probably wake it up the moment we hit it and it decides to kick our ass.¡±

    ¡°So, we don¡¯t touch it and just leave it sitting here. Like an unexploded bomb?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Let¡¯s get back to the others and get ready for anyone else who decides to come and challenge me for the pillar.¡±

 Stub Announcement

    I am thrilled to announce that I will be stubbing on December 20th thanks to the awesome work of my publishing team Shadow Light Press, who have helped clean up my novel to an amazing degree, made the amazing artwork, and are handling this launch along with so many other small details that I could never imagine. I will have a link soonish and will post that for anyone who wishes to support me by buying the book. I will continue to post on Royal Road and look forward to finishing Santi''s story with all of you. Book 1 is through chapter 59.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

 Ch. 3.20 Apostate 5

    20.

    Naomi blocked the heavy swing of the minotaur¡¯s club, her sword hitting the magically hardened wood with a clear ting, rattling her hands as she pushed back the monster¡¯s attack to the ground. All around her was chaos as her team fought back against the tribe of juvenile minotaurs. Alan stood toe to toe with the only mature minotaur to take the field. The bull headed monster was landing bone shattering blows with every swing, Alan¡¯s body deforming and bursting apart with each strike.

    His body reformed as fast as it was torn apart. For every blow that landed, Alan hit the beast three to four times, his bare knuckles a blur of blood as he punched the monster. Aura was slowly gathering around him, a red-purple ugly bruise of power that was slowly rolling up his body with every strike. His hands and forearms were coated in the aura so thickly that Naomi couldn¡¯t see through it to his hands.

    Naomi was forced back to her fight as the minotaur lowered its head and tried to charge, yellowed horns still covered in sticky red-black gore attempting to skewer her. She struck its head with her circular shield, the sharp edge flaying flesh and cutting to bone as she tossed the seven foot monster to the ground.

    As it flew by her, she slashed with her longsword, hamstringing the monster as it landed on the ground. It mooed in rage as she walked and got atop of it, heavy boots pinning its arm as it tried to rise. She lifted her sword perpendicular to the ground, point down, and severed the spine with a single thrust downward.

    Now free of the annoying monster she looked back to watch as Alan did his gristly work. In the time she had looked away, the aura had crept to his biceps. Each of his blows punches landed with cataclysmic force now, rocking the nine foot tall minotaur backwards with every strike.

    The minotaur was beginning to look panicked as Alan refused to die. Blood burst from its bovine lips as Alan stuck hard, bone breaking in the minotaur¡¯s chest. It staggered, roared in rage, and then brought around its large club in a massive overhand strike. Alan punched up, aura swirling around him so thickly it was like a blanket. The aura condensed around his fist and when it connected there was a burst of power as the club shattered apart like cheap glass.

    The minotaur stood stunned for a second as Alan began to start the process all over again. His first punch was weak, just his regular strength that the minotaur hardly noticed. The  next, only a half second behind it, was slightly stronger. Naomi watched as Alan launched a flurry of jabs, each strike growing his strength as he stole from the minotaur.

    She quickly went to help one of her people, a processor named Aida, who was trying to run away from another juvenile minotaur. She stepped in the charging monster''s path, catching a crushing blow with her shield while she stabbed upward with her longsword. The creature¡¯s rush forced itself onto the sword, sharp steel parting flesh and muscle as she twisted and tore the blade free, ending the minotaur¡¯s life.

    Aida was panting hard, her oversized pack dwarfing the small woman. Her emerald eyes were filled with fear as she looked around her, shrinking into Naomi¡¯s shadow as survivors of the fight started flocking to her.

    ¡°TO ME!¡± Naomi roared, lifting her sword over her head as she tried to rally those of her party still alive. They had set out days ago with nearly forty people, much more than she had been planning on going with. There were simply too many people who had wanted to go and too many objectives to achieve with just a small war-party. Now nearly a third of them were laying on the ground, still forever.

    Her fighters were mostly fine, one or two having fallen in the surprise of the ambush. It was her gatherers and processors who had taken the worst of the losses. They had managed to collect plenty of rare ingredients and build caches on their way here that would be useful later. Now they would have to build cairns for the dead. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Everyone drifted to her while watching Alan¡¯s duel. It was devolving from a closely contested contest of strength and endurance into just a beating. The minotaur refused to back away, but Alan was overwhelming it with every passing moment. Each blow collected more of that ugly aura around him until, as the minotaur began to sway on its feet, he struck with a single hook and the aura condensed down to explode in a burst of power that disintegrated the minotaur¡¯s head.

    Silence fell over the deserted town center. There was a den around here somewhere, likely with a few more minotaurs lurking around, but for now it was peaceful. Alan stepped away from the dead cow, shaking his hands out as if they were asleep. His gaze was still sharp, lucid, no trace of madness on his face.

    ¡°Alan? You good to hunt?¡± Naomi asked him. They were closing in on his hometown, only a day or two away at their current pace, but he had yet to turn down a chance at hunting down monster dens.

    ¡°Yeah. You coming with?¡±

    ¡°No. I need to stay here and set up camp. Lucas, Gio, Darnell, and Monica, go with Alan and clear the den. Bring back whatever we need here. Aida, I want you to start securing everything from the fallen. Anything that we can use and need or be repaired. We¡¯ll secure a cache here. Josie, you and two others, start grabbing anything burnable and start building pyres.¡±

    Everyone got to work as she took the remaining fighters and spread them out in a loose perimeter. She had sent her top fighters, aside from herself, to go with Alan. Those who remained were fresh Acolytes with little higher end fighting experience. They were rattled, the speed and ferocity of the minotaurs had taken them off guard and they were reacting badly to how quickly they had lost friends.

    She went to each of them, checking on them, touching a shoulder or arm, trying to ground them. She told them they had done well, that they were good warriors. She judged each of them silently, none of them were going to ascend past peak Acolyte. They lacked the strength of will, the iron conviction to keep pushing past all normal boundaries. They would still be valuable. They could contribute and add to the community she was building and thus they were worth the time she invested in them.

    It took over an hour for Alan to come back with all of her fighters still alive. He held a pair of minotaur horns, silver and gleaming with power, one in each hand. The team she had sent with him looked at him with a mix of awe and fear. His clothes were little more than blood soaked rags that hung off of him, offering little shielding from roaming eyes.

    ¡°Alan? Do you want some clothes?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, oh yes, that¡¯d be helpful. Seems it¡¯s a bit drafty.¡± He looked around expectantly, a small smile on his face.

    ¡°That was terrible. Leave the horns with Aida and get some fresh clothes. We¡¯re going to burn the bodies and get a move on.¡±

    ¡°Damn, how many did we lose?¡± Alan asked. He looked at the corpses with a hint of sadness in his gaze. The dead had been gathered and pulled onto hastily built pyres of broken apart wood and soaked in gasoline.

    ¡°Seven dead. Mostly from support staff, but Benny died saving Conrad and Bethany.¡±

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Their conversation was interrupted as the system alert of the pillars flashed before Naomi¡¯s eyes. Columns of fire entered the atmosphere, the sonic booms of the shattering sound barrier a constant crash against their ears as people fell to the ground, covering their ears and yelling as the Pillar of Civilization¡¯s arrival acted as an assault upon the world.

    Naomi stood her ground, weathering out the assault as everyone else collapsed to the ground. She had the highest physical stats of everyone and even this was a war upon her senses that she struggled to withstand. As fast as it came, it ended.

    Echoes of the entrance still rumbled across the world, but the painful attack was over. Naomi scanned the area, looking hard for any sign of a close-by pillar. She had been waiting for this before their expedition had set off, finally giving in to Alan¡¯s requests when they hadn¡¯t arrived soon enough.

    Now they had landed in her lap while she was away from her base of power and lacking the man power needed to hold one. She looked around at the others clustered about, read the looks on their faces as they slowly got to their feet. Alan looked about, a mix of irritation and concern on his face.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to have to get one of those, Alan,¡± Naomi said. She wasn¡¯t going to yield the possibility of gathering the resources of a single pillar if she could avoid it.

    ¡°There¡¯s a plume of smoke coming from the direction of home. Two birds, one stone,¡± Alan offered the suggestion.

    ¡°It will slow us down. Might take us longer to find your son.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s survived this long, he¡¯ll last a few more days. You say we need it, then we need it.¡±

 Ch. 3.21 Besieged

    21.

    The moon¡¯s light gave Santi enough illumination as he pulled the spike free of his leg. Cursing bitterly he looked at the mutated porcupine that he had just put down. Dead mutated animals littered the edge of the city, drawn in by the power of the Pillar of Civilization. No other monsters had arrived yet, but it had still been enough to push him and Chloe to the near breaking point.

    A huge condor lay in broken pieces off to his left, Chloe slumped next to it breathing hard as she clutched at her shredded left arm. Her blood looked black in the dim light and Santi limped over to her, exhausted from the marathon fighting. Even his monstrous mana stores were running low, having burned through another two of the mana potions he had earned.

    Chloe was in even worse shape, often having to back out of fights to recover before she could help him deal with the worst surges. The mutated mammals hadn¡¯t been terrible, but the ants had nearly killed them. Scores of the low level Acolyte ants had nearly overran them, the two of them forced to overexert themselves to push them back.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Santi offered her  a smile as he let his knees fold as he fell next to her. He gently grabbed at her torn up arm, turning it this way and that as he looked at the deep furrows the condor had inflicted on her.

    ¡°How you doing?¡± Chloe asked, exhaustion and pain robbing her voice of any of its normal joviality.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t been consumed by an all consuming bloodlust that makes me a raging monster. Yet.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the yet part.¡±

    ¡°For me, it¡¯s the you bleeding out part. Let¡¯s get you back to the others. Get some bandages on this. The others should be here soon enough.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been saying that for hours.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll eventually be right.¡± Santi grabbed her under her arms and pulled her up, ignoring the grunt of pain as he leveraged her good arm over his shoulder so she could lean on him. She never set down her axe as he led her toward the repurposed store.  Chloe just grunted as they continued over to the store.

    Maya, Frank, and Zeke were standing there, watching them come in with concerned expressions. Or maybe they were looking at shadows, the light was weak enough and without the evolution they¡¯d have a hard time peering through the darkness. With enough stats to their perception they¡¯d probably be able to see the two of them.

    ¡°MEDIC!¡± Santi barked. Movement came behind the three leaders and a pair of people Santi hadn¡¯t talked to yet came running out, scooping Chloe up and leading her off towards the store. She waved at him weakly with her axe still in hand and he leaned up against a wall to talk to the three leaders.

    ¡°That was the last of them. Got a few more hours to go.¡±

    ¡°Wish we could be of help. Everything coming this way is overleveled. Didn¡¯t expect so many Acolyte monsters were around,¡± Maya said. She actually did sound disappointed that she couldn¡¯t fight. Zeke simply shrugged, not sad at all in the fact he wasn¡¯t out there in the fray. Frank was placid, calm in the face of the chaos, alert for any trouble that could come his way.

    ¡°These are just the survivors. I would be willing to bet that outside of the town limits is a bloodbath as all the mutated animals and monsters are fighting to get towards the pillar. When the pillar is finished calling everything towards us there will be some good harvesting to do. Hopefully Hana brings enough people to get it done right. Can¡¯t have all this food going to waste.¡±

    ¡°I miss pizza,¡± Frank said suddenly.

    ¡°I¡¯d murder for a pint of ice cream. Literally murder,¡± Maya threw in her two cents.

    ¡°You¡¯ve murdered for less,¡± Zeke hissed under his breath as he looked off to the side. Everyone ignored him.

    ¡°You¡¯re bleeding.¡±

    ¡°I noticed. It was a porcupine.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they herbivores?¡± Zeke asked, looking back at them from his spot against the wall.

    ¡°Yeah, it didn¡¯t try to eat me. Just stabbed me with its quills. Big ass quills.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s even worse. At least a carnivore is trying to eat you. That porcupine just fucked you up for no reason.¡±

    ¡°It didn¡¯t fuck me up. It just stabbed me a little,¡± Santi defended himself as he lowered himself to the ground.

    ¡°Regardless. I¡¯ll go and see if there¡¯s any bandages around.¡± Zeke fled from the group without hesitation.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think he likes us,¡± Maya said straight-faced.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to agree with that statement. Killing his friends didn¡¯t ingratiate yourself to him.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s probably my bad,¡± Maya said with a shrug.

    ¡°Probably?¡± Frank and Santi asked at the same time.

    ¡°Definitely my bad.¡± They all sank into silence as Santi strained his hearing to hear if anyone or anything else was pushing toward the store. He could hear the breathing of the survivors in the store, but nothing else. Just a warm summer night breeze blowing across the town.

    Zeke came back with a bunch of boiled cloth squares that he handed to Santi. Santi rolled down his pants and wedged the squares on his blood slick thigh. They wouldn¡¯t be of much help, but something was better than nothing.

    ¡°How¡¯s Chloe?¡±

    ¡°Tough as hell. Wasn¡¯t making a sound as they cleaned her up.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Chloe. She¡¯s going to be something special.¡±

    ¡°When are your other friends coming?¡± Zeke asked.

    ¡°Should have been here by now. Any minute.¡±

    ¡°You have a lot of faith in them,¡± Frank commented.

    ¡°I trained them. It¡¯s going to be rough out there. I doubt that they¡¯ll be able to get to us without a hell of a fight.¡±

    ¡°Think there¡¯s really that many monsters and animals out there?¡±

    Santi could feel it. The blood splashed on the thirsty ground. Torn flesh and dying hearts. The curse surged in his veins, pushing, wanting to go out there into the night and revel in the violence of it all.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Santi looked about, feeling a stir in the shadows. Either Duncan or Daniel. Daniel would try to sneak up on him and scare him through. Not alert him of his presence by being clumsy just in range of his spell forms, but not in range of his morph weapon.

    ¡°You all go in the store. There¡¯s someone very dangerous here,¡± Santi told them as he got to his feet.

    ¡°No need for that Santiago. I¡¯m not their enemy.¡± Duncan walked out of the dark like it was a pre-integration summer night and that the town wasn¡¯t surrounded by hordes of fighting and dying monsters.

    ¡°You¡¯re all of humanity''s enemy, traitor.¡±

    ¡°Harsh words from a dictator. My actions aren¡¯t for personal gain, but in service of something more.¡±

    ¡°All of you, get inside of the store. Now, please.¡± Santi felt the others walk back into the guts of the store, Zeke looking interested in staying while Frank just tugged Maya along.

    ¡°I think you have either the greatest eye for talent in the world or the most luck I¡¯ve ever seen. The woman and boy will both be monsters if you can keep them alive and growing.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing here, Duncan? Miss me already?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy killing you when this is over. But, to honor the spirit of our tentative agreement, Mercy¡¯s people are fighting yours a few miles outside of the town.¡±

    ¡°Casualties?¡±

    ¡°Many. Most of them the cursed. You have trained your people decently and the dwarves are a massive boon. Their weapons and armor and golems are decimating their ranks. The problem is several of their strongest have broken free and are racing here.¡±

    ¡°Acolytes?¡±

    ¡°Yes. All of them forties plus. And fueled by a curse. They¡¯re carving their way through the wall of flesh that¡¯s outside of the town. I can¡¯t have you dying yet. Need you alive to help me kill Mercy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re here to help me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a bit slow. Yes. I am here to help you. My people will fall on the horde of the cursed that are occupying your people. I only have a few scouting teams around, but they¡¯re good. It should be enough to clean them out of the area. Once the cursed are killed, they have orders to retreat back to our staging area. You and I will kill the Acolytes on their way here.¡±

    ¡°And you won¡¯t ram a dagger in my back because you need me to help kill the curse holder.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I won¡¯t stab you in the back again because I need you. Once she¡¯s dead and the curse is broken, we can go back to killing each other.¡±

    ¡°How many are coming?¡±

    ¡°Five at minimum. Maybe seven. It¡¯s very chaotic right now. That pillar is like a beacon to anything and everything out there right now. It was a struggle for me to make it into the town. Your little scout tried but was rebuffed. Repeatedly.¡± There was an edge of smugness to his voice.

    ¡°You have a decade of experience on him. Why are you proud of doing what he can¡¯t. It¡¯s like taking candy from a baby.¡±

    ¡°Spoilsport.¡±

    ¡°What direction are they coming from?¡± Duncan simply waved in the same direction that Santi, Hana, and Chloe had come from.

    ¡°I stand in front and draw all the attention and you stab them in the back?¡± Santi asked. It was a simple and easy plan that could work out decently.

    ¡°Works for me. Your girl going to be ok back there? Her arm didn¡¯t look good when you came in.¡±

    ¡°How long have you been watching us?¡± Santi asked, suddenly suspicious of the assassin. How soon was it till the wave of cursed Acolytes got here if Duncan could snoop around and spy for the better part of a quarter hour.

    ¡°Get better at sensing me. Basically had to wave a flag for you to notice me. Nice crown by the way, really helps with the dictator image you have going.¡±

    ¡°How has nobody killed you yet? You¡¯re annoying as fuck.¡±

    ¡°Plenty have tried. Now, are you in condition to do this? You''re looking a little tired.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I can handle my end. They can be here any minute you said. I don¡¯t want this fight happening where there can be collateral damage.¡±

    ¡°After you,¡± Duncan said with a thin smile, waving his one arm into the darkness.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not happening. You can go first and I¡¯ll follow behind.¡±

    ¡°How can I trust you? You¡¯re just as likely to stab me in the back as I am you?

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to stab you in the back to kick your ass.¡±

    Duncan fell silent for a moment and then glanced down at his missing arm. His faint smile faded and an ice cold certainty filled his face.

    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t, did you. I¡¯ll get my pound of flesh for that, don¡¯t think you¡¯ll get away with taking my arm. After.¡±

    ¡°After.¡± Santi agreed.

 Ch. 3.22 Unlikely Alliances

    22.

    Santi followed behind Duncan as the two men left the false safety of the others. Only Chloe would have been of any help and she was laid up with her arm ravaged and her energy exhausted from the fight. Santi quietly pulled another mana potion out of the pockets of his torn up pants and sipped it down slowly. The cool mint taste had become a raging, icy, fire that ravaged his throat.

    It did stir his mana though and he could feel himself regenerating slightly faster than he had been. He was still in rough shape when it came to a pure casting standpoint, but then again, he hadn¡¯t been purely relying on his mage skills since this initialization had started.

    The morph weapon on his wrist was a limp wire that radiated happiness. It had drank deeply tonight, consuming blood and potential in equal measure as they cut their way through the horde of monsters and mutated animals that had fought their way through the slaughter happening on the outskirts. Even as they walked closer to the edge of the ruined downtown, Santi could hear the fighting.

    Animal screams of pain and rage and the thunderous boom of high ranking monsters locking horns with one another. All over the power that Santi was claiming for himself. It was a heady feeling, that they wanted what he had. His chest puffed out and his tired body found a bit of energy to get him to walk with the hint of the old spring in his step.

    Santi couldn¡¯t tell if it was the curse, feeding him a bit of energy as it felt the carnage all around him. Or his own ego, small and battered as it had been, rising to the occasion. Between the slight boost and the mana potion he almost felt human again.

    They made it to the edge of the downtown region, Duncan not saying a word as he began to meld into the shadows off on the side. Santi instantly alerted as the assassin began to do his thing, Santi¡¯s instincts not allowing him to relax as the killer tried to hide.

    ¡°Where you going?¡± Santi spat out as the morph blade became his trusted saber.

    ¡°I¡¯m not exactly a stand in front of someone and punch them in the face type of fighter. I do my best work quietly and unseen. You¡¯ll have to stand there and keep their attention.¡±

    ¡°So I stand here and get punched in the face?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re slow, then yes.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you. Can¡¯t wait.¡± Duncan looked towards Santi and smiled viciously.

    ¡°The minute Mercy is dropped, you and me are going to war again.¡±

    ¡°Promises, promises,¡± Santi taunted back as his heart began to beat harder.

    ¡°They¡¯re coming down the road right now. You hold their attention, I¡¯ll finish them off.¡± With that, Duncan completely disappeared from sight and Santi¡¯s other senses. Santi wanted to bite back a curse as Duncan dipped, but he let the words stream out anyway.

    ¡°Getting sick of dickheads always disappearing like that.¡±  Santi looked toward the edge of the town and waited. Duncan had been right, it didn¡¯t take long before the cursed Acolytes came out of the dark. Six figures, drenched in blood, some limping, walked slowly toward him. Santi stood straight and unafraid as the curse in his body stirred, resonating with the more powerful curses that the Acolytes had.

    ¡°Brother!¡± the lead shouted, his voice a thunderous boom across the night. He swaggered forward, half a stumble as if he was drunk. The pale light of the stars showed him dripping wetly as he lifted a heavy spiked maul to his shoulder. Santi ignored the attempt at fraternity and simply raised his saber to shoulder level, aimed at the cursed Acolyte.

    ¡°So be it, you will not be the first who has met their end at my hand. I will crush you and take the Pillar for myself.¡±

    Cursed Barbarian lvl. 44

    (Blood Thirst)

    ¡°Oh, fuck, he¡¯s kinda high leveled,¡± Santi muttered to himself even as the man lunged into action. His powerful stats allowed him to move in nothing more than a blur, the spiked cudgel hissing through the air as he directed it toward him. Santi swung his saber and met the cudgel in a blast of force. The cudgel didn¡¯t yield, steel scraped on whatever it was the morph blade was, as Santi was forced back.

    A System granted weapon then. High quality, but not a growth weapon like the morph blade. A hazy red aura appeared over the man and his blows picked up speed, Santi struggling to match the man¡¯s physical stats. An aura skill, or an enhancing skill, nothing that he wanted to match in pure physical stats. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    Santi jumped backward and allowed the cudgel to sail by him, to crack asphalt into powder in a spray of chunks. He reversed his momentum and lunged upward, knee leading the way as his knee hit the barbarian¡¯s chin. Bone cracked and the barbarian staggered backward while Santi was forced to catch a long spear strike with his saber, turning the broad head away from his ribs as the second of the cursed came at him.

    Cursed Spearmen lvl. 41

    (Blood Thirst)

    ¡°Fuck off, I¡¯m busy!¡± Santi snarled at the spearmen, irritated that his duel had been interrupted. He slashed three times as fast as he could while the barbarian was still reeling from having his jaw broken.

    The spear holder was able to catch each blow, speeding up as his spear tip caught the morph blade and shoved them to the side like nothing. Santi was rapidly reaching the levels where even his titles wouldn¡¯t let him compete directly physically with physical fighters. It was why he had spells.

    [Crosscurrent-Orb] detonated in a massive explosion, tossing the barbarian backward before the barbarian could get close to him again. Santi dropped to a crouch as a skill activated, a cool blue light surrounding the spear as it suddenly triple thrust over his head fast enough that after images were left behind.

    The saber lengthened and cut across the leading quadriceps of the spearman¡¯s leg, parting flesh like paper. The lean spearman smiled and howled in a mix of pain and pleasure, stumbling as his leg collapsed underneath him. Santi leapt backward as two more of the cursed came chasing after him. A burst of fire rolling over him, kept at bay only by his [Air Current], the flames flicking at the edge of his skin.

    ¡°Anytime Duncan,¡± Santi spat, dodging a rock that was hurled at him, air cracking as the golden glowing rock flashed by.

    Four Acolyte warriors were homed in on him, their skills flashing and burning as Santi pushed himself to the fullest of his abilities to simply stay alive. His morph blade was an amorphous blur, changing to meet every attack as Santi ran backwards, circling around to keep the four fighters from overwhelming him.

    Santi nearly missed Duncan entering the fight. The assassin simply stepped into being, his knife tearing apart a throat in silence, skills at play. The furthest cursed warrior, some type of healer, died without making a sound. The others were too lost in their own battle to notice the least of them dying.

    Santi stabbed down and caught the barbarian¡¯s foot, splitting the foot in half as he twisted and ducked to dodge a spear strike. Flame spitted the air around him, burning at the spearman as the fire mage began to act wild. There was chaos in the air, joy in the fight, the thrill of death being only a misstep away. Even as blood began to soak their clothes as Santi cut them, they were growing faster and more wild.

    A laugh started to rattle around in Santi¡¯s chest as he ducked and slashed, severing a few fingers from the barbarians off hand. The bigger man simply roared, never slowing as more and more skills came out to contest Santi.

    Duncan killed the next one, an archer who was dancing around the edges of the fight, not lost to the siren¡¯s call of his curse. A shadow clone emerged from one side, causing the archer to jerk away and fire his bow into the shadow. The shadow fell apart even as the archer¡¯s lunge carried him onto Duncan''s knife. None of Santi¡¯s opponents noticed the second death.

    He pushed off hard, taking a grazing wound along his ribs from the spear user as he crossed the distance toward the rock thrower. The long lanky woman¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as Santi cut apart a wall of flame, emerging from the other side slightly singed. He speared her through the chest, cracking apart ribs like they were dry branches as she died without making a sound.

    He kicked her limp body away, his body straining as he was forced to spin and knock aside the next cudgel blow. The spiked cudgel hit and tore into the ground while the spear user lunged, crossing more ground than possible as he used another skill.

    [Gust] pushed the spear away from him and the spearman flew past in a blur. Santi redoubled his attack on the barbarian, slicing away skin and slivers of cudgel with every blow as the fire mage circled around them, trying to get a clean shot on him. Santi stuck close to the barbarian, using his weapon¡¯s superiority to keep the huge man from overwhelming him.

    He spun the blade around into a shield, swatting the cudgel away, and turning into a knife to slash along the barbarian¡¯s arm. Blood was spilling, filling the air with its iron scent, warm on his skin as he kept cutting and slicing, tearing apart the barbarian as power surged through his body.

    Heat exploded over him, his senses hardly reacting in time as he cast [Air Shield] to stop the fireball from consuming him. The barbarian wasn¡¯t as lucky. His skin blackened and burned away, hair disintegrating even as he screamed, cudgel going from blue-black to red-orange.

    Santi leapt away from the barbarian and toward the maniacally grinning mage. The man was lost in the madness of the fight, fire streaming off his fists in waves as he lifted his hand to punch at Santi. Santi cut the man¡¯s hands off, the morph blade not bothered at all by the fire magic.

    He reversed the strike and relieved the mage of his head. Santi looked back in time to watch Duncan appear to finish off the barbarian with a single strike. The spearman was running back toward him as fast as possible, but Santi had his feet set and his heart was sure. He moved with ease, stepping forward and toward the man as the spear flashed past him. Santi sliced hard, taking the man¡¯s head without hesitation.

    As fast as it had started it was over. He had killed three of them and Duncan had claimed three. The levels were waiting for him, ready to claim his new stat points in a moment.

    ¡°We¡¯re done here. You¡¯re fairly effective. Pity I¡¯m going to have to kill you.¡± Duncan was down the street from him, not willing to be within striking range of Santi. Santi couldn¡¯t blame him.

    ¡°Go now, or we can finish what we started weeks ago. When I¡¯ve gathered my people, then we can discuss finishing Mercy.¡±

    ¡°And how will I know?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be spying on me, like you always do.¡±

    ¡°See ya around then, Santiago. Try not to die till I can kill you.¡±

 Ch. 3.23 The Toll

    23.

    They came two hours after dawn. Cameron led them through the ruins of the city outskirts, his armor dinged and bloody. His shield was a battered wreck that he let hang by his knees as he trudged at the front of the group. The rest came behind him in a ragged line, all of Santi¡¯s friends and family still alive. A heavy weight left his shoulders as he saw them all, Tank, Bianca, Daniel, and Hana. Yessenia was walking in the center, her massive golem drenched in gore, by her side.

    Grimvr and Torin were next, Mom between them looking blankly about her. Behind her trailed twenty or more people, all of them looking worse for the wear. Rayleigh had a group of her own people that clustered around her, seeking her stubborn strength after the tribulation they had just endured.

    Chloe leaned against him, more in exhaustion than in any type of affection. After he had finished off the Acolytes, more and more monsters had come. Chloe had come out of the store, tired but willing. She had killed her fair share before the waves had finally broken, thirty minutes before dawn.

    They had rested, sitting next to each other and waiting to see who would be coming out of the frenzy outside. Santi didn¡¯t know how large of a group had originally come, who had answered his call, but he was staring at a battered and exhausted group. He could only imagine who had been left in muddy ground.

    ¡°Cam! Good to see you. Tank, you have any juice left in the tank? Me and Chloe are torn up,¡± Santi said to them as they walked up to him. His wounds were half healed, coagulated messes that had drenched his clothes and were now tacky and stuck to his skin.

    ¡°Santi. This had better been worth it. There is enough dead left behind us to fill a cemetery,¡± Tank¡¯s voice was dead and flat. Exhaustion shot through his body as he staggered up to them. Santi pulled a mana potion free, his second to last one from the box he had earned, and handed it to the medic.

    Tank didn¡¯t even hesitate as he grabbed the potion and drank it down in a single swig. He went to Chloe first and started to do his work while Santi headed toward Cam and Bianca. The rest of the war party was breaking apart, collapsing into the street or against a wall, spent to their last.

    Bianca leaned against Cam who still stood tall. Mom marched toward them in a clatter of metal, her once pristine armor dented and battered. Torin stayed next to her, his hammer held easily in his hand, still dripping his opponent¡¯s blood. Grimvr stuck with Yessenia as they marched straight into the grocery store without looking at him.

    ¡°Are you guys ok?¡± Santi whispered to his best friend and older sister.

    ¡°Fuck no, Santi. That¡­that was horrible,¡± Bianca whispered towards him, seeming to draw strength from leaning against Cameron.

    ¡°Santi. It was a nightmare. That shit. That shit, man,¡± Cam swayed and Santi reached out to grab him and by proxy his sister. The three formed a tripod for a moment, helping each other stay upright. Cam got his legs back under him and Santi lead them to a partial wall and they all sank down. Mom and Torin followed after, but didn¡¯t crowd them.

    ¡°It was just a wall of flesh and blood and teeth, Santi. There were so many of them, they just kept coming and coming and coming. Then there were the other people. The cursed. They were worse. They laughed and howled when we cut them, they didn¡¯t care no badly how we hurt them. They only stopped when they died,¡± Bianca whispered, curling into Cam.

    ¡°How many were there?¡±

    ¡°Fuck man, who could tell? There were lots of them, dozens, fuck maybe a hundred. Most were weak, sub twenty-five, but there was maybe three or four who were strong as us. Me and Bianca got one of them and Grimvr, Daniel, Hana, and your Mom got another. Torin killed one and Yessesnia¡¯s golem got another,¡± Cam cut in. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°We need an accurate count. That scout we snagged said their camp numbered in the hundreds if not thousands, but they had roughly a hundred Acolytes. Six made it into the town and you got four. That¡¯s ten percent of their Acolytes right there. Then the ones we got on the coast. They¡¯re thinning down.¡±

    ¡°Santi, we lost a lot of good people. We can¡¯t afford another victory like that,¡± Cam interjected.

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Tank said as he came leading Chloe over. Chloe slumped to the ground while Tank leaned over, resting a warm hand on Santi¡¯s shoulder as spells started to work on him.

    ¡°Then we need to be smarter. They outnumber us and can absorb losses we can¡¯t afford. Where¡¯s Daniel?¡± Santi asked, looking around.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go get him,¡± Mom said, breaking off to go find the elusive scout.

    They all settled down to wait as Santi thought feverishly. His mind was in a thick fog, tired and drained of all energy, but he could feel things connecting. Dots connected together as he thought of how to solve his problems.The variables were sliding together, the pillar, the beatles, missing scouts, his sisters class.

    Daniel came up, walking slowly and without hurry as Hana trailed behind him. Mom was nowhere to be seen and Torin frowned when he failed to spot her. He turned and marched off without a word while Daniel sank into a crouch across from him.

    ¡°You called?¡±

    ¡°The scouts you lost to the beatles. Where were they? From here.¡±

    ¡°Little North and East. Maybe thirty miles.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where we¡¯re going then. Let everyone catch their breath, any who are still able to fight will move toward where we lost the scouts. Me, Chloe, and Daniel will go find Keegan. Those who are too hurt to fight will lead the community here back to Homebase. Everyone else will go to where the scout base was wiped out.¡±

    ¡°What are you planning, Santi?¡± Chloe asked sleepily next to him.

    ¡°We have too many enemies and not enough allies. But, Duncan told me he didn¡¯t kill that base and I believe him. Which means there¡¯s a high level bug nest close to that town. We¡¯re going to make a trap and we¡¯re going to endure. Yesi¡¯s going to need a lot of supplies and we have plenty of ingredients sitting right outside the town limits moldering right now.¡±

    ¡°Who the fuck is Duncan?¡± Cam asked. Santi ignored him for the moment as he continued to come up with a plan on the fly.

    ¡°Someone go and grab Yesi. Her grimoire will have the ingredient lists she needs to make something special. I¡¯ll pay anyone who goes out there and works collecting five wooden coins and open up the market to them immediately when I finish claiming the pillar.¡±

    ¡°Are coins really worth that much?¡± someone muttered. They definitely were, but only Santi and the dwarves knew that. The wealth his Mom and Dad had acquired while running their little restaurant was impressive. It¡¯d be more than enough to pay back Torin for his time and work, if he would accept it.

    ¡°How soon till it¡¯s yours?¡± Chloe muttered.

    ¡°Later today. We will have it set up before we move out of here.¡±

    ¡°I need a nap,¡± Chloe declared, closing her eyes and falling asleep nearly instantly.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting off track. So, we¡¯re going to lure everyone up there and somehow lure a bunch of high ranking bugs into the fight and just hope we get out of it ok?¡± Bianca asked.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be more than just hoping it goes ok. We¡¯ll work it out, but Yesi is going to play a big part. We just need to find her the right ingredients and a good power source.¡± Santi¡¯s mind flashed back a particular rift heart that had been stolen from him. One that hadn¡¯t been used for the earlier ritual that Duncan and his faction had planned.

    ¡°There¡¯s plenty of ingredients, but where are we going to get a power source? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any rifts around here for us to take.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re good now, Santi. I don¡¯t have anything left in the tank anyway,¡± Tank said, as he stepped away from Santi. The healing had been more subtle than a healing potion, but it still felt good.

    ¡°Did you just make a pun off of your nickname?¡± Santi said with a chuckle so weak it barely passed his lips.

    ¡°Yes. Laughter is the best medicine. What we need, all of us, is some sleep. We¡¯re all burnt out and at the edge of our abilities. Need to heal up and prep for tonight. Doctor¡¯s orders.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t ignore the doctor. Someone gather up the community members from here and have them do the harvesting. Five awake and on watch, the rest sleeping.¡± Santi¡¯s orders were met with a wave of nods and acceptance as everyone staggered to their feet and headed toward the burnt out store that Frank and Zeke¡¯s factions were set up in.

    Santi had a moment of isolation as everyone left, only Chloe, slumped against the wall next to him snoring softly, his only company. He had a long line of notifications he had to scroll through, but his eyelids were drooping shut and he was struggling to stay awake.

    With a groan of effort he got up, his knees weak and wobbly as he scooped up Chloe. She hardly stirred against him as he started off toward the store. He had a tentative plan, he had the pillar, and he had enemies. His allies were with him, now all he had to do was execute the plan.

 Ch. 3.24 Options

    24.

    Santi stared up at the pillar in the midday light. He watched as the seconds counted down the last few seconds as the pillar unlocked and he could fully utilize it. The stench was truly becoming something else, the hundreds of corpses littering the perimeter of the town had a phenomenal stench that had Santi wrinkling his nose.

    Frank and Zeke¡¯s people were out there in that charnel house, gathering up supplies under Yessenia and Grimvr¡¯s watchful eyes. Santi didn¡¯t know how they had convinced Yessenia to go outside, but someone had done it. Now a pile of grisly remains were being piled up around her, all of which she looked at dispassionately.

    Santi was worried about that blank look in her eyes. The way she seemed to be just walking though the world in a daze. Fear and anxiety were all that broke through that daze and Santi didn¡¯t know how to fix it. That familiar rage at Abraham burned up hot and fast in his gut.

    Mom and Torin were cleaning their armor. The older dwarf showed Mom the proper maintenance needed for her armor and weapons. Mom took to it with the single minded determination that she had been exhibiting since Dad had died.

    Killed. Since Dad had been killed. Santi looked away from them and back towards the pillar as the countdown ended.

    Congratulations, you¡¯re still alive!

    Now the Owner of 1 Pillar of Civilization

    You have 1 Free Move for this Pillar

    There were more of course, walls of text that Santi scrolled through that described the minutiae of what he could do with the pillar. Even with his high intelligence allowing him to process information at superhuman speeds, it took him the better part of a half hour to read it all.

    Everything was there that he expected. The wealth of options a pillar gave its owner was well known, but there were a few caveats he hadn¡¯t known about. He would have to adjust some of his plans, but for now everything could work short term. Santi dismissed the Owner¡¯s Manual and entered into the menu section for the first time.

    Owner¡¯s Menu

    Market Place

    Map

    Survey

    Taxes

    Santi locked his eye on the map tab and clicked it. A topographical map sprung up in his vision, the pillar and everyone else disappearing. The map was topographical, the valleys and hills of craggy Northern California easy to read for a twenty mile circumference. Santi didn¡¯t need to know the lay of the land, for the map didn¡¯t reveal any of the towns or settlements, just the geography of the area.

    And little blips that showed people who had the System. Santi saw the cluster of blips all around him, the scattered line right outside of town of the scavengers. He even saw one or two hiding about inside the town, either survivors from that death cult or people shirking work.

    He saw the watcher who was outside of town. He clicked the blip with his mind and a small screen popped up.

    Scout lvl. 31

    That was the only information the pillar offered him. The scout was either one of Duncan¡¯s or Mercy¡¯s. He needed both of them to know what he was doing, so he left the scout alone for now. Santi wished the pillar allowed him to see names of people, but class and level had to be good enough for now.

    He pulled up the market menu and frowned when he saw so few options. None were of much interest to him currently, most of them having to do with settling a region. Once he had the pillar back at Homebase, then he could fully utilize things like irrigation lines and purifying ponds and enriched topsoil. There were survey probes which cost ten wooden coins each. Most of Santi¡¯s horde was back home, but he had enough to buy three of them. Santi felt the weight of the coins disappear from his pocket as the pillar absorbed them.

    The map dissolved and he was back in front of the pillar as  three circular, purple glass orbs appeared in front of him. He had to reach out and snag them before they hit the ground, the heavy weight of them taking him off guard for a moment. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Oh shit, what¡¯d you buy moneybags?¡± Cam asked him and Bianca came strolling up to him hand in hand. Some of their swagger was back after getting a few hours of sleep and scrubbing the blood off of themselves. Cam¡¯s shield was dented but the scraps of flesh and blood had been washed off and he looked presentable enough. Bianca macuahuitl hung from her hip, clean of any detritus, and she had found spare clothes somewhere and managed to tame her hair.

    ¡°Probes.¡±

    ¡°For a first date?¡±

    ¡°Survey probes for the area, dick,¡± Santi said trying to hide his smile as Bianca shoved Cam with her shoulder, absolutely not moving him at all.

    ¡°What, he¡¯s been weird lately. I just wanted to check,¡± Cam defended himself while Chloe looked at him with an arched eyebrow, not deigning to respond.

    ¡°Yo, DANIEL!¡± Santi hollered, looking around for the sneaky scout.

    Daniel and Hana poked their heads out from around the corner. Santi jerked his head, telling them to get over here. Each of the probes were cool and glassy, but the weight was enough that it was irritating to hold.

    ¡°Toys for us?¡± Daniel asked as they got closer.

    ¡°We all know you heard us talking. Yes, they are for you. You and Hana each get one, take them out through the town. I want to see how accurate they are with recording data. Cam, want to take the third and go the other way?¡±

    ¡°Why me?¡±

    ¡°Because your jokes suck.¡±

    ¡°It was funny.¡±

    Everyone looked at him and silence fell over them all. Cam looked back and forth, a look of betrayal slowly spreading over his face as he realized nobody was coming to back him up. Finally, he turned to look at Bianca who just looked disappointed.

    ¡°Fine. Come on, amor, you can show me the town,¡± Cam said sarcastically as he grabbed one of the probes with his giant hand before walking off with Bianca. Everyone turned to look at Santi, faint smiles on their faces.

    ¡°All of you, off, scatter, begone. I have stats to go through.¡±

    ¡°So, just you and Chloe,¡± Hana began, but Chloe cut her off.

    ¡°Actually, I want to take a stroll myself. Me and Hana, some girl talk. No boys allowed.¡± Chloe grabbed Hana, interlinking their arms and the probe in one smooth motion before leaving Daniel and Santi standing by themselves.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think the two of them together is a great idea. Sneaky and muscles,¡± Daniel said.

    ¡°It¡¯s the apocalypse. We have more pressing concerns than our girlfriends chatting together.¡±

    ¡°Ye of little faith. Give me that probe. I¡¯m leaving before they get back.¡± Daniel snagged the probe and went off in the opposite direction of the girls and Santi finally had a moment to himself as he walked a few steps away from the pillar to go over his gains.

    Santiago Silva

    Air Mage lvl. 49

    Strength: 40 (75)

    Durability: 40 (75)

    Stamina: 40 (75)

    Dexterity: 40 (75)

    Vitality: 40 (75)

    Perception: 35 (70)

    Intelligence: 114 (149)

    Mana: 149 (184)

    Willpower: 120 (155)

    Potential: 99%

    The gains were quick and easy to find, extra stat points allocated to strength and dexterity to make them equal and the final points towards his waning willpower. In the quiet afterglow of a large affixation he could admit to himself that he wasn¡¯t controlling the curse.

    It was insidious. Burrowing itself deep into his psyche, whispering to him to cut and cut and bathe in the blood that was flowing. It spoke to that rage nestled deep in his chest, that hurt and emptiness and pain.

    It told him it could make it all go away.

    If he gave in.

    So he allocated extra willpower points to the stat and felt that the thick wall he had built around those treacherous thoughts grew just a bit stronger. It was unfortunate there were so many cracks in it.

    There were no awards for the butchery he had participated in last night. No alerts of the curse gaining in strength, for which he was grateful. At times last night, when the fighting was the fiercest, when his strength flagged and his mana was running dry, he thought about letting those walls fall and embracing the curse.

    The heavy thump of a golem¡¯s footsteps stirred him from his daze as he watched as Yessenia and her protector came up towards him. Yessi was dressed in an oversized sweater that fell to her knees, the gray garment stained up to her elbows with all sorts of gore. Her golem was spotless, just dull gray metal that didn¡¯t reflect the light as it marched.

    ¡°Santi, I got everything that the book says we need. Except for the power source,¡± Yesi¡¯s voice was whisper quiet as she stood next to him.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to work on that. Is the grimoire unlocking more spells for you to study?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Every time I get to a new level more diagrams open up for me to study.¡±

    ¡°Are you confident in the final spell? It¡¯s a lot more complex than most of them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to need two days at the minimum to set up the final spell. It needs to see both starlight and sunlight, and some of the ingredients I have need to be purified. Which is a skill I just had to buy by the way.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s say three days from today then. We¡¯ll move all up together and I¡¯ll leave you and some guards there to set everything up. I¡¯m going to have to go and kick a hornet¡¯s nest.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a normal day for you. I understand the other spells, but why the exorcism spell?¡±

 Ch. 3.25 The Groundwork

    25.

    So few were left. The majority of the reinforcements Santi had called for had been injured or killed and the majority of the survivors had escorted Frank¡¯s and Zeke¡¯s people back to Homebase. Santi¡¯s team, plus his Mom, Torin, and Yessi and her golems. Rayleigh had four fighters left, all Acolytes in the low thirties. Frank, Maya, and Zeke had all come with them, not having been asked but told. Their own evolutions coming soon enough.

    They had all watched in awe as the Pillar of Civilization had shrunk, falling into itself until it was nothing more than a thick seven foot long staff. Santi had it over his shoulder as he walked, eyes alert as they entered into where Daniel¡¯s scouts had been killed. The heavy staff on Santi¡¯s shoulder was reassuring as they looked around the cluster of buildings that composed the entirety of the town.

    Population 545. There were no apartments, no large homes. Most of the surviving houses were tract homes, easily thrown up and left alone. It was these little settlements, little more than villages, that survived the best. The populations were wiped out in most cases, but the infrastructure didn¡¯t take quite as much of a beating.

    It was a decent place to have a small team of runners. Close to the interstate, could move in any cardinal direction with ease. Slightly out of the way so nobody should have ran over it without searching for it. The carcasses of the dead beetles were still there, massive and hollow, eaten out by other wild monsters or animals.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this cozy,¡± Santi said, leaning toward Cameron. The bigger man just looked around and raised an eyebrow at the deserted town.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to be doing whatever it was Daniel had them doing way the fuck out here.¡±

    ¡°They hung out and played board games or card games most of the time,¡± Hana supplied.

    ¡°Boring.¡±

    ¡°Then they all got killed,¡± Santi reminded Cam.

    ¡°Yeah, there is that part. Bored to death.¡±

    Everyone pulled away from Cam as he stood there, his dark humor not landing. Bianca was shoulder to shoulder with Yessi as the two of them, and Yessi¡¯s golem, marched into where the scout¡¯s building had been.

    ¡°Fuck, everyone¡¯s a critic,¡± Cam grunted as he started to move toward the dead beetles. Chloe went with him, the two of them the physically strongest people in the small group, and they began to haul the corpses out of the way while Santi looked around for a good spot.

    He couldn¡¯t access the pillar while it was in its travel mode and if he wanted this to work he was going to need the map. The three probes had provided a very accurate topographical map and the plan was for Daniel, Hana, and Bianca to move around town and develop a good map of the town and the surrounding region.

    The heavy spells Yessenia would be making over the next few days would require an accurate knowledge base of the terrain. Now that they were progressing past the easy ritual spells, things like altitude and slope of the land could affect the spell. It was rapidly growing beyond Santi¡¯s limited knowledge, but Yessi was sinking into it like a duck to water.

    She had plenty of work to do and the math of building a half dozen spells, most of them overlapping, had been enough to make Santi¡¯s head hurt. Yessi¡¯s skills had been useful, shaving so much time off the effort that Santi had a brief moment of jealousy. He had faith that she could figure out all the spells needed to activate their trap, now it was just up to him to get the power source for the biggest of the spells.

    He¡¯d need to get it from Duncan. He didn¡¯t think the assassin would just hand it over, he¡¯d need to have something in return. Something of equal value to a powerful rift heart. For that he¡¯d need to start searching, these sparse areas likely had a few secrets hidden in them.

    First was to establish a small base here while he went and found the missing scout, Keegan. He¡¯d take Daniel, Hana, Chloe and Tank. The rest of the group would stay here and protect Yessenia and prepare for the siege that was coming. The two dwarves would be massive help here, the experienced builders would have tricks up their sleeves that would help even the field.

    In the center of the small town was a little field, that was more a large yard than anything. It was surrounded by ribbons of concrete, the roads all barely single lane. It was good enough for him. Santi speared the pillar into the earth, the heavy staff spearing into the hard packed dirt with ease. With a thought the pillar began to grow, stretching up higher and higher.

    The menu popped into his mind and he quickly checked the map. There were no other people around and a little bit of tension left Santi¡¯s back after seeing that. The scout had been left behind in their fast paced march to the outpost. Duncan would be around, but Santi needed to see him later, not sooner. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Santi left the pillar there and went back to the outpost that the runners had been housed in. It was a simple building with just a bit of plywood over the windows and the backdoor barricaded. The girls had pulled out what little was left of the runner¡¯s personal possessions, tossing them on the lawn without a care. The dwarves were looking around, pointing to this and that, their guttural native tongue gruff and grating.

    ¡°Pillar¡¯s set up. Probes are deployed. Should have a decent map of the area in a few hours.¡±

    ¡°Will we be able to access the map while you¡¯re gone?¡± Bianca asked.

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll set you, Cam, and Torin as being able to access it. Won¡¯t be able to do any of the functions I can do, but you¡¯ll be able to use the maps.¡±

    ¡°You trust Torin?¡±

    ¡°Trust him far enough. We have an agreement and he won¡¯t break it.¡±

    ¡°If you say so. Mom likes him. Don¡¯t know if I like who she is right now.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think many of us like who we are right now. Work got to get done. You going to be fine without me?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. Torin is impressive, have no idea how those cyclops captured him.¡±

    ¡°Numbers can still overwhelm people. At least, so far it can.¡± Santi had an image of a Champion, wreathed in lightning, as Disciples and peak Acolytes threw themselves at her. They all burned, turned to ash with a flicker of the fingers. At a certain point one would be strong enough that only their equals could match them.

    ¡°Get your ass in here and help out. I don¡¯t care how big and bad you are, you¡¯re still my little brother and you don¡¯t get to stand around while I clean.¡± Bianca had a fake stern look on her face and Santi felt grateful to her. At times he felt strange. Like he wasn¡¯t who he thought he was. That the person who was accomplishing the things he was accomplishing, the man people looked to for advice and leadership wasn¡¯t him. Just someone walking around with his face and body.

    His family helped ground him. Remind him that he was still Santiago. Which was something he sometimes forgot. He looked at the pool of silver metal wound around his arm, the numbers floating in his eyesight, and he saw the fields of the dead who¡¯d died to his hand and he forgot who he was, lost in who he was becoming.

    The inside of the outpost was mostly already cleaned out. Personal belongings strewn out and any food thrown away to get rid of pests. The food was too weak for them to eat and was already moldering. He saved a few books and  a deck of cards, but otherwise everything was thrown out. Yessenia quickly found a bedroom in the depths of the house and claimed it as her own.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget you need to get those evolutions done!¡± Santi yelled after her. She had been more out and about the last day, but she was just as withdrawn as ever. She only talked to the family, even giving Cam just one word answers.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure it gets done. Those three going to get along or kill each other?¡± Bianca asked of the newest acquisitions to their little band. Santi had to think of it as he drug a couch against the wall and fluffed a few pillows.

    ¡°I think they¡¯ll get along a bit better now that they¡¯re no longer competing for the same resources. Maya needs to be kept away from the rest of the group though. I think she¡¯ll make a good addition to Rayleigh¡¯s teams, or maybe even a heavy hitter like Daniel and Hana. She has the spirit for it, the drive.¡±

    ¡°As long as she keeps that drive and spirit pointed away from us.¡±

    ¡°If she steps out of line and threatens the family, I''ll put her down.¡±

    ¡°Get in line. I won¡¯t let anything hurt us again.¡± Bianca was fierce, her eyes set and hard, a scowl on her face. They both remembered the day Abraham had come and how neither of them had been there. A lesson carved into their souls.

    ¡°I should have ended that before it started. I was weak and we¡¯re all paying for it. I¡¯m sorry Bianca.I brought you into the town I built and told you it was safe. I was wrong.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Abraham¡¯s fault. He was the one who did it. His insecurity and greed is what killed our father.¡±

    ¡°I know that. I understand that. I still blame myself.¡±

    ¡°I love you Santi. Dad loved you and Mom and Yessenia loves you. No one blames you for what Abraham did.¡±

    Santi felt tears pricking at his eyes as he dropped the fluffed pillow to the edge of the gray couch before flopping into it. Bianca sat down next to him and leaned against him, the two siblings staring at the undecorated wall across from them in silence for a few minutes.

    ¡°Remember how he always sang the wrong words to Mom¡¯s music?¡± Bianca asked.

    ¡°She¡¯d get so pissed, but would always laugh in the end.¡±

    ¡°Vicente! That¡¯s not how it goes!¡± Bianca said in a terrible impression of their mother. Both of them laughed and the tears did slide down his face then. It was a good thing though, the old memory bringing the warm comfort of familiarity rather than the sting of loss. They sat there, just talking quietly to each other stories of before, mainly of Dad, but of just before.

    They both pretended to not hear the sobs behind them coming from the hallway where Yessenia sat, not strong enough to sit with them. When Mom came in she took one look and then held up a hand, preventing whoever else was following her to stop. She closed the door and walked past Santi and Bianca and into the hallway. The sobs grew louder, heart wrenching wails as the bottled up emotions Yessenia had been holding for months finally broke free with the gentle reminder of happy times.

 Ch. 3.26 Setting the Stage

    26.

    Santi left the others behind as he started to work his way up and into the dry brush and hills. The prickly plants around tugged at his pants, leaving burrs in the hem and in his socks as he kept moving up. The hill was nude, bare of any vegetation aside from scrub as he kept climbing.

    It had taken three hours before the [Scout] had appeared again. When they had shown up, Santi knew that Duncan wasn¡¯t far behind. He needed to talk to the man to start the next part of his plan. Without a way to contact him directly, he just had to hope that this would work.

    He pulled out his bottle of water and drank it while he sat. He munched on a meal stick and waited. And waited. And waited.

    The sun sank below the horizon, dusk flowing across the land. Santi kept waiting, his senses stretched wide and far. Duncan would be coming soon enough, the twilight of the world his perfect operating time.

    The assassin came right as the entirety of the world teetered on falling into darkness, the bruised horizon hardly emitting light and the stars yet to make their appearance. Materializing unseen and unfelt, the palid faced man walked up to him with little thought of his own safety.

    ¡°We keep meeting like this and your girlfriend might start getting upset,¡± Duncan called, his one remaining hand close to the pommel of his knife.

    ¡°I need that riftcore you stole from me.¡±

    ¡°Sure, let me just hand over a powerful possession to one of my enemies,¡± his tone dripped with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes. The longer he interacted with Santi, the more personable the man got, little slivers of his personality showing.

    ¡°What do you want for it?¡±

    ¡°Your help. Mercy is about four days out. She crossed the mountains into Nevada and is razing what¡¯s left of Reno to the ground. If she backtracks, and she should, after us killing a bunch of her people, it¡¯ll be four days. I found a dungeon but I¡¯m missing a good mage.¡±

    ¡°A dungeon run? You want me to participate in a dungeon run for a riftheart?¡±

    ¡°You participate and don¡¯t claim any of your share. It¡¯s a five man dungeon, you can bring your girlfriend or the healer. I keep all of the dungeon rewards, I pay you with the riftheart.¡±

    ¡°This seems much too good to be true. What¡¯s the catch?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s a level fifty dungeon. None of my people can handle it. Rewards will be juicy since we¡¯ll be the first clear team.¡±

    ¡°Average level in the dungeon is fifty, with the boss monster probably being close to sixty?¡±

    ¡°Probably sixty-five. The dungeon hasn¡¯t been cleared yet afterall.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a big ask. You, me, Tank, and two of your damage fighters?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I got a pair of guys. Bout as good as your girl, but not quite up to standard. No defender class though. Your friend isn¡¯t good enough yet to do it.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t drag them into a level fifty dungeon. Even with the two of us, this is a big ask. What¡¯s the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Labyrinth.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have a pathfinder,¡± Santi protested, even as he started to feel the itch to try it. If there was any dungeon type to attempt with a level discrepancy, it was a labyrinth.

    ¡°Please. I¡¯m a former Champion. I could figure out the way through the labyrinth by myself. Killing everything in it on the other other hand.¡± He shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°This the only way you¡¯ll give me the riftheart?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Fuck. When?¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow at dawn. It¡¯s closer to your home. Four to six hours of hard travel. Your medic should be able to keep up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go let them know. Bring your people here to stage. I have a plan to lure Mercy here. Trap and kill her and her people.¡±

    ¡°Was wondering what you were planning on doing. This is agreeable. Should only take a day or so to get there and back.¡±

    ¡°Meet you in the morning then.¡± Santi stood and left, exposing his back to the assassin. Part of him was waiting for the blade to enter it, but nothing came of it as he walked back to their new camp. He slowed his steps and thought of what was going to happen, rationalizing and plotting his steps out. Every step of the plan was analyzed and attacked in his mind as he searched for hints of the curse¡¯s influence. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Santi needed the riftheart. There were no other power sources that he knew of that he could acquire in the necessary timeframe. Was this plan the only plan that could work? Probably not, but it was the best he had at the moment. It would accomplish multiple goals at the same time and offered the safest path with the least amount of weak points.

    Would Duncan betray him in the dungeon? Doubtful. Not as long as Mercy was alive. What was the dungeon reward and why was he so certain he needed it? The expansion of Earth¡¯s potential had changed the dungeon spawns, none of them having appeared around Homebase. So how did Duncan know what this one had?

    His ruminations were cut short as he entered the little town they were planning their ambush in. Some of Rayleigh¡¯s people were awake and on watch, hiding behind cover on rooftops as they looked about for threats. He waved lazily at one of them and marched into the house that his team and family had occupied.

    Their evolutions had reduced the biological need to sleep, but there was still the psychological need for it. Sometimes the brain just needs to be shut off for a few hours. His Mom was sprawled out in the corner, her arms and armor stacked neatly next to her as she snored softly.

    Daniel and Hana had called the other bedroom and were locked in there. Chloe, Bianca, Cameron, and the dwarves were playing a vigorous game of dominos. Santi watched them play for a moment before deciding all five of them were cheating and not in the same ways.

    Yessi was in her bedroom, locked away from the world for at least a little while. Tank was perched on the too small couch watching the game with a smile on his face. Santi flopped down next to him and pulled his boots off and started picking at the burrs stuck to his clothes.

    ¡°Get done what needed done¡± Tank whispered.

    ¡°Yeah. Going to get the riftheart. Plans changed though.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s kinda the running theme with this group. Plans always change.¡±

    ¡°You know what they say, plans never survive first contact with the enemy.¡±

    ¡°Santi, your plans don¡¯t survive the walk to the enemy.¡±

    ¡°Fuck off,¡± Santi shoulder bumped the bigger man, hardly stirring him.

    ¡°So, what''s the new plan?¡±

    ¡°Dungeon run. You, me, Duncan and two of his guys.¡±

    ¡°Me. Not Chloe? Or Cam?¡±

    ¡°Naw, they¡¯re needed here. When Daniel and Hana disentangle themselves, they¡¯ll have to go and find Keegan. Chloe, Daniel, Hana, they can move fast and bring Keegan back. You guys heard that, right?¡± Santi said, turning to look at the five rowdy dominos players. He got a quick thumbs up or nodded heads as nobody looked up from their hands.

    ¡°Rayleigh and her team will stay here, along with Mom, Torin, Grimvr, Cam, and Bianca. They¡¯ll provide security and help for Yessi. We get this set up right, we can save a lot of lives.¡±

    ¡°This Duncan. He¡¯s going to fuck us over, yes?¡±

    ¡°Undoubtedly. Doubt he¡¯ll do it in the dungeon. He needs me and you are valuable.¡±

    ¡°Told you that the healer is the most important person on the team,¡± Tanks smiled widely.

    ¡°Yes, yes you did. And it¡¯s true, especially now. We¡¯ll split the health potions, give Chloe and them a couple a piece, leave some here, and take the rest.¡±

    ¡°How dangerous is this dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Dangerous enough that Duncan needs me to clear it.¡±

    ¡°And what does he get from it?¡±

    ¡°The rewards from clearing it.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. What is it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°I think that''s what we need to focus on. If he¡¯s willing to take this type of risk, the dungeon, you and me, whatever, then the reward has to be something he thinks will tip the balance.¡±

    ¡°It could be a future thing he has going on? Plans on plans on plans.¡± Santi didn¡¯t think that was likely what was happening, but it could be.

    ¡°He knows you''re going to kill him. He knows you¡¯ve already beaten him once, took off his arm. I will assure you that he believes that what¡¯s in that dungeon will give him the edge in the fight.¡±

    ¡°Tank¡¯s right!¡± Chloe yelled over her shoulder. She shoved a handful of dominos to her right and into Grimvr¡¯s stack. Santi was sure that none of them actually knew what they were doing.

    ¡°Damn straight. So how do we counter this plan he has?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s focused on me. I took his arm, I beat him. He¡¯s not thinking about the rest of us. Let him focus on me, make all his preparations for me.¡±

    ¡°Uhmmm¡­Santi, that¡¯s what we¡¯re trying to avoid?¡± Tank asked, genuinely puzzled.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s how we beat him. He hard counters me. He plans everything out, thinks it through, makes contingency plans, everything about me.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh, then we just stalk up behind him and hit him in the back of the head while he¡¯s not looking?¡± Tank asked, half joking.

    ¡°Close enough. I¡¯m playing this one close to the vest. Not that I don¡¯t trust you guys, it¡¯s just loose lips sink ships.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Have to be careful with sneaky fucks running around.¡± There was a chorus of amens and nodded heads as everyone agreed.

    ¡°Did someone say my name?¡± Daniel asked as he walked out of the backrooms. He sat down between the Santi and Tank.

    ¡°Your counterpart,¡± Tank supplied.

    ¡°Ohh, that asshole. Can¡¯t believe he literally snuck around my city. Didn¡¯t get a single good look at him while it was happening too.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s damn good. So we keep our plans quiet and to ourselves. If anything happens to me, Yessi has what you need.¡±

    ¡°Not a huge fan of this secrecy. But if you think it¡¯ll work, then let''s do it. When do we take off?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°At dawn. We meet Duncan outside of town and we hit the dungeon.¡±

 Ch. 3.27 Truce

    27.

    Santi and Tank left right before dawn. Heading down and out of the town and toward the edge where Duncan and his two followers were supposed to be waiting. The predawn darkness shielding little from Santi¡¯s advanced stats. Tank was yawning, his pack strapped tight to his back and his maul on his hip.

    They had stayed up late, planning out contingencies and talking their way through what Duncan and the others could do to them in the dungeon. Santi couldn¡¯t tell Tank the details of what a labyrinth dungeon was, but he was able to lead him to conclusions that were close enough to what they needed to know.

    There was something liberating in talking with Duncan. Not having that constricting feeling creep up his throat as he struggled to bring forth his information and memories. Not that talking to Duncan was enjoyable or something that Santi was looking forward to, just that it was liberating to have someone know what he knew.

    ¡°Where are they supposed to meet us?¡± Tank asked as they left the outer edge of the town and started down the country road that connected it to the rest of the world.

    ¡°We¡¯re right here,¡± Duncan said. All three of them materialized. The two brawlers next to him were equipped as close quarters fighters like Bianca and Chloe. Santi added a group cloaking skill to the list of Duncan¡¯s abilities.

    Duncan carried nothing aside from the long knife on his waist. His two followers were different. Both were big and broad men and were heavily laden with gear. Bulging packs and weapons hanging from every available place.

    ¡°Found ¡®em,¡± Tank deadpanned.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get moving. After you,¡± Santi waved to the road ahead of them and Duncan just smiled before turning and beginning to jog. The two men with him were silent guardians, neither of them saying a word as they all set out.

    Time went on as the distance stretched out, the sun rising and creeping higher and higher over the horizon. The day¡¯s heat began to creep over the land and Santi felt a tingle of sweat break out across his forehead. At noon Duncan signaled a stop at a rest stop. He scouted it quickly, sliding through the stop before coming back with the all clear.

    Tank had begun to struggle near the end of the run as they were moving faster than any bicycle could reach. Santi had to think that by the time he reached peak Acolyte his jog would be close to a cruising car speed. Tank sipped from his water bottle as he leaned against the wall of the rest stop, hiding in the scant shade available.

    ¡°How far did you think we traveled?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°About two and a half minute miles. Six hours, but we had to backtrack a few times. Probably eighty-five miles are so,¡± Santi gave it his best estimation.

    ¡°Fucking hell man, that¡¯s insane. Not car speeds insane, but on foot and just jogging?¡±

    ¡°Fairly straight route and nothing has jumped us yet,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°Think we¡¯re going to get jumped?¡± Tank asked. The two bruisers turned to look at him, interest plain on their faces.

    ¡°For sure. There¡¯s plenty of strong monsters around here and none of them would mind eating us for a snack. There¡¯s Mercy¡¯s people roaming the hills and we have gear and levels they¡¯d like. Then there¡¯s the animals out there too. Fought a bear with Chloe and Hana that was strong as hell. It had a partner that was higher level and that one walked away and is out here somewhere.¡±

    ¡°How high of a level was it,¡± one of the bruisers asked.

    ¡°Mid fifties. The one we killed was in the low fifties.¡± Santi glance and [Identified] the man.

    Warrior Adept lvl. 38

    On his way to becoming a [Warrior] or a [Knight] or some other basic martial class. Nothing fancy, but basic soldiers could kill you just as easily as some prodigy. Santi had to remind himself of that sometimes, as his power kept creeping up further and further from everyone else. He wasn¡¯t invincible and it wasn¡¯t just the other regressors that were a threat to him.

    ¡°Dunc could have taken it,¡± one of the men said, his surety in the outcome absolute. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°Duncan could have taken it. With enough time and effort,¡± Duncan said as he came around the corner, sitting close to his men but still having a distance between them.

    ¡°My class and skill set is set up to be a man killer. I eliminate threats soundlessly and disappear without a trace. Standing toe to toe with someone is not only against my nature, but more importantly, against my build,¡± Duncan informed the men while pulling out a small ration packet.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you two are for,¡± Santi said, smiling at them grimly. While strong enough out here, in a level fifty dungeon, they¡¯d be ghastly outleveled.

    ¡°You two know a lot about this shit. How is that?¡± The second of the two bruisers had a quiet voice and his eyes had a sharper intellect than Santi had given them credit for.

    ¡°What are your names?¡± Santi asked, trying to buy time. He didn¡¯t think they really needed the two, in all honesty, Duncan and Santi could probably do the dungeon themselves. Better to be on the safe side and have the extra bags of meat walking around.

    ¡°Trevor,¡± the inquisitive one said, poking himself in the chest with a hairy knuckle.

    ¡°And that¡¯s Bo. My little cousin.¡± His distrustful eyes never left Santi and Duncan. He was a follower, but wasn¡¯t a blindly loyal follower. Tank kept eating quietly, sipping from the water bottle every now and then.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you before Trevor. Most of this knowledge is simple deduction if one applies the right type of logic to it.¡±

    ¡°Video game logic?¡± Trevor spat contemptuously.

    ¡°Or role playing game logic, if one wishes to be pedantic.¡±  Santi let Duncan handle the questions from his subordinate. While Trevor seemed to be distrustful, Bo looked horrified that his older cousin was calling out Duncan. There was a shine of hero worship in his eyes every time he looked at the assassin.

    ¡°If it talks like a duck, walks like a duck, and looks like a duck, it¡¯s probably a duck,¡± Santi threw in.

    ¡°If you are able to accept that our world has now been set up like a video game, or role playing game, then the logic is to build yourself, stats, skill, spells, around a build. You fit into a mold so to speak. I travel a lot, so I picked a class and abilities that make it safe for me to move undetected and to kill quickly. Santiago picked a mage class because he¡¯s a tiny asshole and couldn¡¯t fight hand to hand immediately.¡±

    ¡°Close enough,¡± Santi let Duncan have it. The first time he had chosen mage was so he didn¡¯t have to fight close quarters.

    ¡°Now, on the other hand, you two bruisers are part of a group. A group who have vulnerable people in it. So you are designing your build around being strong and durable. You can take punishment and dish it out in equal measure. Santiago¡¯s friend, Dexter, is a healing mage. He believes he¡¯s best suited for keeping us alive.¡±

    ¡°How the fuck does he know my name¡¯s Dexter?¡± Tank whispered into Santi¡¯s ear. That was an excellent question that Santi didn¡¯t want to think about. Either there was a spy in their camp, a strong possibility, or Duncan¡¯s abilities were far greater than even he had assumed.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who helped us figure out our builds,¡± Trevor murmured, eyes glass with calculations.

    ¡°Correct. The best way you could help me, and by proxy your friends and family, was by building yourselves up like this.¡± Duncan spoke as if manipulating people¡¯s entire future were the most simple of things. Santi knew he could be an asshole, but he had never tried to steer someone¡¯s build and future like this.

    ¡°You¡¯re a peach,¡± Santi said, shooting a dagger smile at Duncan.

    ¡°Santiago, you are standing inside of a glass house. You¡¯re a tyrant disguising himself as a benevolent dictator. You¡¯re even wearing a crown,¡± Duncan waved his only remaining hand at him.

    ¡°True, but I admit it to everyone. They know what they¡¯re signing up for when they join us. I don¡¯t manipulate people into changing their futures without giving them at least the courtesy of telling them why,¡± Santi countered. Even to him it seemed hollow. It was better than what Duncan was doing. Right? The inner thought was like a loose tooth that he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about.

    He had come back on accident, but they had planned on it. They had banked on their methods succeeding and Duncan had said it was to prevent bloodshed. That their goals were similar. He didn¡¯t believe him, but as time wore on and he was the last one left, how much could he trust his memories? Something was wrong, he knew that. Time was missing. And now he had someone who had lived through it all only feet away from him and they were doing the same things. Just in different ways.

    Was it really so different?

    He shrugged the treacherous thoughts off with memories of what the Apostates had done. The friends they had killed, the death they had wrought. They were different. How one accomplished their goals mattered. Even in the midst of the chaos of the apocalypse, what and how they did what they did mattered.

    The meal became remarkably silent and then they were on their feet and moving again. Duncan often took off, scouting the way ahead of them, leading them around strong beasts and monsters. This wasn¡¯t a leveling hunt, but an expedited dungeon run. If they had to run an extra half hour to avoid a fight, they did. There were no backups if one died out here and the dungeon run was the most important thing on Duncan¡¯s mind.

    Santi was still thinking of the war kit he had in his bags. The coat, amulet, and dagger. All three of them made for fighting and surviving against sapients. He didn¡¯t think Duncan would betray him inside of the dungeon or even after they got out. Santi just didn¡¯t trust the man to not go armed with his best weapons. He had already been caught a few times without them and that wasn¡¯t going to happen again.

    It took another six and a half hours to make it to the dungeon and Santi was surprised to find themselves getting close to Chico. They veered East though and went further into the mountains. There along the denuded burned forests was the entrance to the dungeon.

 Ch. 3.28 Into the Dungeon

    28.

    Nestled among the burnt trunks of blackened trees and scarred landscape was a doorway. Santi breathed deeply, appreciating the thick layer of mana, the drifting tides of it as it was pulled in and filled the area. It was like wading through a warm sea, the pressure in the air a pleasing presence.

    The doorway was cut into the side of the hill, a gaping void that was filled with the dazzle of stars. The frame of the large doorway was made of a glowing silver metal that Santi knew was mithril. The swirl of mana was pulled inwards, flowing like a river into the mouth of the dungeon.

    Dungeon of the Burning Hills

    Lvl. 55-65

    ¡°You told me it was a mid fifty dungeon, Duncan.¡± Santi couldn¡¯t keep his eyes off of the levels. The levels were the range of the monster levels in the dungeon. It should have had a much smaller range if Duncan had been telling the truth.

    ¡°It was when I found it a week ago. Only forty-nine to fifty-eight. The mana pull is stronger than I thought it was.¡± The assassin didn¡¯t sound perturbed by the increase in levels. Santi knew Duncan could punch over his level, but how much higher was a good question. Santi still couldn¡¯t [Identify] the killer or see his levels, but Santi assumed he was higher than he was.

    Duncan had spent a time traveling and fighting, killing and leveling constantly while Santi was stuck working on building a community and making sure things like clean drinking water were available for thousands. That crops were planted and evolutions were done safely.

    With all his titles and advantages, Santi was stronger than Duncan had been. But just how much had the shadow scout grown since they had crossed paths? Duncan had effortlessly killed his targets in the fight with Mercy¡¯s Acolytes, and none of them had been weak.

    ¡°Tank, when we go down there, don¡¯t engage any of the monsters. Let me or Duncan deal with it.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re still going down there?¡± Tank asked incredulously.

    ¡°Damn straight. We need the riftheart and this is the only payment he¡¯s accepting. Just play it cool and safe and we should come out of here with some extra levels.¡±

    ¡°Santi. Are you¡­you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. No bloodlust at the moment. We do this carefully and we will be fine. I can hit hard enough and Duncan is a good enough scout. Just don¡¯t fight anything one on one, alright?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the boss.¡±

    ¡°Ain¡¯t that the truth.¡± Santi shook his head, the weight of the crown pushing on his scalp. He forgot it was there most of the time, just resting there without notice. It was weighing on him now as they walked toward that hole in the side of the hill.

    Duncan took the lead, followed by his two goons and then Santi and Tank at the rear. The Apostate went though the portal without hesitation, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Trevor and Bo jumped through after a miniscule hesitation, then Santi was staring at the dungeon entrance. It had been years since he had done this.

    The dungeons were places for people to practice and level. There was no potential to be harvested, but plenty of experience and rewards for clearing them. By the end of the last timeline Santi had exhausted his potential, it drained away faster than he could earn it. He had been near the peak of Disciple and there was little to no reason to enter a dungeon.

    ¡°You good?¡± Tank whispered. Santi just nodded and stepped into the entrance of the dungeon. There was a sinking sensation, as if going down a slide, slick with grease. All light disappeared and Santi sat in the darkness for a moment before he felt solid ground beneath his feet again.

    Torches burned, dim and smoky along rough natural walls of rough hewn stone. The tunnels were narrow and the haze of the smoke tickled the back of Santi¡¯s throat as he walked forward. Trevor and Bo were both standing still, their weapons drawn as they peered down the dim path.

    Trevor pulled out a long handled hatchet in one hand and a thin knife in the other. Bo was armed with a wide metal club that looked like a bat had been squished down to a stub. Both of the bulky men were staring, nervously shifting back and forth as Santi got to them.

    ¡°Duncan?¡±

    ¡°Entered immediately and said he was scouting and to wait.¡± Trevor¡¯s voice didn¡¯t tremble, but the fear was there. Tank sidled up next to Santi, his own club in his hand, and they both looked about. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°This is just¡­kinda boring?¡± Tank said.

    ¡°Ohhhh¡­.Tank, you know better,¡± Santi groaned. Tank¡¯s big head lowered and he shook it in disbelief.

    ¡°I fucking jinxed it.¡±

    ¡°Yup, here something comes now,¡± Santi said, his sharp eyes picking up movement as something broke free of the wall. Santi had a sinking feeling he knew what the mob type was going to be in the dungeon as the monster began to slide toward them.

    Earth Elemental lvl. 55

    [Gust] slowed it down, but the screaming winds did nothing to break its rocky countenance. [Crosscurrent-Orb] had more success, the wild tempest winds finding crevices to rip at and peeling apart some of the stony armor around itself.

    ¡°Blunt weapons, clubs and hammers, or a fucking pick. You¡¯ll shatter that axe hitting stone like that,¡± Santi warned as his spells wore off and the elemental continued to rush at them without slowing.

    ¡°That thing is way to fucking strong. We won¡¯t do shit to it,¡± Bo muttered as he shifted his grip on his club. Santi had to agree with the thumper, there was going to be very little they could do right away.

    ¡°Keep that thing away from Tank.¡± Santi lunged, shoving off hard and sliding between the two frontliners. The morph transformed into a lance, the tip narrow and rapidly broadening as Santi targeted a chip in the monster¡¯s stony exterior.

    Closer now that even the poor lighting couldn¡¯t disguise it, it looked nothing more than a pile of rocks in a vague outline of a human. Its legs melded with the floor, so it didn¡¯t step so much as it was propelled forward.

    Santi¡¯s aim was good, the tip of the lance fitting into the crack in the dark stone and then splintering it apart as he continued to force it deeper. His strength and speed helped, but the monster was a higher level than him. It didn¡¯t die, or even look perturbed that there was now a metal shaft wedged in its core. It just kept moving.

    Santi cursed all durability and strength builds as he was shoved backwards, inches from its grasping, thick fingers. Each time they missed his throat, they clacked off of each other. Santi imagined the lance expanding out like in a line. Rock split with a thunderous crack and the elemental groaned, the sound reminiscent of a landslide.

    Behind the thick plate of its outer layer was shifting mounds of soft, moist earth, glints of metal inside. And a pulsating, brown gem.

    ¡°The gem!¡± Santi yelled as he was forced to disengage, the elemental suddenly lengthening its arm and striking at him with a closed fist. He ducked the fist, but not the sudden spike that erupted through the ground, piercing his calf. He bit back a scream as the first of the blood dropped to the dungeon¡¯s floor.

    Bo lunged, his club a blur, a blue skill aura haze around the man that enhanced his speed. The metal club connected to the pulsating gem and the sound of glass shattering filled the air as the elemental froze.

    ¡°It¡¯s not dead. Dig, dig quick. Rip all of it out.¡± Santi had to grind the words out as he tried to free his leg from the spike in his calf. The soft soil was streaming out in a wave, making a small mountain on the floor at the elemental¡¯s feet. The shard was already piecing itself back together, crystal wiggling through dirt and melding.

    Trevor reached in with a bare hand and grabbed the biggest piece, yanking it free with a sucking sound as the elemental broke apart in a spray of dark soil. The spike in his calf fell away and Tank was grabbing him and running a litany of spells over him that immediately eased the pain in his leg.

    ¡°I see you already found the guardians. That was my fault, I stumbled over a trap on my way down the hall,¡± Duncan said, not sounding sorry at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it. Here, give me a hand up¡­oh I mean give me your only hand up.¡± Santi shot him a vicious smile.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t very good,¡± Tank whispered, looking disappointed at him.

    ¡°I agree with Dexter. You can do better when needling someone Santiago.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t get a kill notification or experience for that? What the hell?¡± Trevor said, being the only adult in the hallway apparently.

    ¡°It¡¯s not dead. As long as the core remains somewhat whole, the elemental lives. It¡¯s just stuck right now with no way to build an avatar.¡± Duncan¡¯s plain voice was a monotone as he reached out to grab the orb. Most of it had already melded itself back together when Trevor had yanked it free, just a corner piece missing.

    ¡°So we get no fucking experience or levels in here?¡± Trevor asked, eyes narrowing.

    ¡°There¡¯ll be plenty of levels. It¡¯s just that elementals don¡¯t die easily. Also, these cores are good for future evolutions. Like your brother¡¯s. He does have an earth affinity, right?¡± Duncan said, looking into Trevor¡¯s eyes without blinking.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Trevor spat out.

    ¡°Good. Wrap this up tight so no part is touching earth and then put it in your bag. The plan will be thus. I will go down and figure out the path forward. Follow my markings. Try not to die and assist Santiago when he requests help. This first level looks to just be a maze. If there are traps, I¡¯ll leave a sign for you.¡± Duncan turned and faded from view as he went back up the tunnel the elemental had come down from.

    ¡°Wow, that guy is just a peach. The subtle threatening is a nice touch,¡± Tank said. Bo shot him an angry look while Trevor just looked angry. Santi could see where Trevor¡¯s rage was coming from, the forced impotence of the situation, the secrets and suspicions coming to the forefront.

    He had a premonition that Trevor wouldn¡¯t be making it out of the dungeon and back to the main group. Not with how Duncan operated.

    ¡°He¡¯s a prick, but he¡¯s right. Wrap it up and keep it from stone or soil. It¡¯ll be a nice piece in an evolution ceremony.¡±

    Trevor didn¡¯t say a word as he pulled out a strip of cloth, it looked like it was a shredded shirt. That there were bundles of the torn up clothing spoke volumes. Duncan had known, or at least had very strong suspicions that the mob down here could be harvested like this.

    Which brought Santi back to his and Tank¡¯s conversation last night. Duncan wanted something out of this dungeon, besides the experience. It likely had something to do with killing Santi, which Santi wasn¡¯t a fan of. He now had his first clue as they stepped over the lump of broken apart stone and went further into the dungeon.

 Ch. 3.29 On the Ledge

    29.

    [Gust] swept the ledge clear in front of them, shadowy forms full of hate and wrath being plucked and thrown into the void below them without a sound. Kill notifications dinged in his head, but Santi was too busy fighting to pay attention to them.

    Things had been going too well, Duncan leading them through the labyrinth dungeon with few problems. More of the earth elementals, all of them high ranking but easy enough to kill. Traps had been found dismantled or yellow spray paint sprayed around activation triggers. Santi had to admit that Duncan was good at this, leading the party deeper into the depths while Santi and the others fought the few enemies.

    Until this damn ledge. Running along the side of a deep canyon that even his enhanced senses couldn¡¯t see down, they had been beset on both sides by these creatures. Formed of magic and with little to no physical bodies, they could only be killed with skills. Skill or spell that Santi had few of that could be used in the tight confines or without giving up the secret of his newly acquired spells.

    Even the innately magical morph blade simply dispersed the [Shadow Reaver] bodies, they reformed minutes later, no harm done. He had started to throw them down the ravine where some of them died, which was somewhat worrying. What was down there that could kill a magical being that didn¡¯t have a physical body? Santi was forced back to the fight as more shapes blurred toward him, dimming the blue light of the flickering torches.

    ¡°Santi, these guys are getting tired. I don¡¯t know how much longer they can hold on!¡± Tank yelled from right behind them. Santi had taken the lead while Bo and Trevor held the rear clear of the reavers that Santi had dispersed. Neither of the men had the pure power to kill the reavers, but they seemed to be weak for a few moments while they regathered from Santi breaking them apart.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Santi spat as he turned the morph blade into a whip and slashed apart the approaching cloud of shadows. Puddles of shadow burst everywhere, landing along the narrow ledge before hurrying to scamper together. [Gust] blew most of them into the ravine as Santi continued to race down the rocky path.

    ¡°Keep ¡®em on their feet, we should be close,¡± Santi said, eyes looking for the markings that Duncan had been leaving for them. The bright yellow spray paint had been a good choice, but he hadn¡¯t seen the marks since they had gotten on the ledge.

    ¡°Think he died?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re not that lucky,¡± Santi said with a dark chuckle.

    ¡°You¡¯d be right.¡± Duncan stepped out of a crease in the rock, his dagger plunging into a reaver and then twisting, shadows slinking up his arm and into the reaver. The creature writhed for a second then grew still and began to fade away as thicker and thicker shadows coated Duncan, feeding back into him.

    ¡°Really? You brought us here to work on your affinity?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s just a bonus. Follow me, this cave opens up to the next passage.¡± Duncan turned and weaseled his way back into the crease and when Santi got closer he saw how the crease in the wall was actually a disguised tunnel. One couldn¡¯t see the entrance without walking past it, the outcropping of rock stopping it from being visible. Someone in a fight and hurrying along might not have even seen the disguised tunnel and continued along the ledge to where another tunnel would be. Likely they would connect eventually, but secret paths always offered better rewards.

    Santi turned and pushed Tank toward the tunnel, the bigger man having to suck in his already flat belly and twist this way and that to get past the chokepoint. Trevor was next, sweat slick across his pale face as he had to take his bag off and shove it in first and then weasel his way through.

    ¡°GO! I¡¯ll hold the way!¡± Santi said. Bo nodded in thanks and began to strip his own heavy pack off, laden as it was with earth elemental hearts, and then began the slow process of worming after his cousin. Santi turned back to the narrow ledge, swarming with undefined blobs of shadow. He glanced back to see that no one could see him and then turned the morph into a staff, slamming it into the ground and shouting at the top of his lungs, words bouncing and echoing in the vast underground cavern.

    ¡°YOU, SHALL NOT PASS!¡± [Gust], reinforced by [Air Manipulation] whisked the path clear in a screaming howl as the reavers were tossed into the darkness. Santi had a stupid grin on his face as he followed after the others, scanning his kill notifications with one eye as he maneuvered the tight passage much more easily than his other party members had.

    The [Shadow Reavers] had all been on the low side of fifty and he only had a few of the kills, but it was enough to boost him another level. He was only one level away from fifty and another spell point. It couldn¡¯t come soon enough, and now with the Pillar in his possession, he could begin to rework his build a bit. If he had enough money.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    He glanced down the tunnel and saw the shapes of the rest of the party, waiting on him and decided he¡¯d put the stat points in now. He needed every advantage he could and the dungeon was a bit more dangerous than what Duncan had originally said it would be, which wasn¡¯t a surprise.

    Santiago V. Silva

    Lvl. 49 Air Mage

    Strength: 40

    Durability: 40 (75)

    Stamina: 40 (75)

    Dexterity: 40 (75)

    Vitality: 40 (75)

    Perception: 35 (70)

    Intelligence: 117 (152)

    Mana: 155 (190)

    Willpower: 125 (160)

    Potential: 99%

    He put the spare points into mana and willpower to give them more aesthetically pleasing numbers and kept moving without slowing down. The increase in his stats were so minimal that he hardly felt them, simply a drop in the bucket as his mana and willpower began to outdistance everything else. Especially with the titles he had earned.

    A killer like Duncan, who was likely higher leveled but lacking the titles, would have a few higher stats than he would. Santi hadn¡¯t quite figured out his rough numbers, but with how fast the man was and how easily he used his magic based skills, he had to be over a hundred points in dexterity and mana. Willpower would be a good tertiary stat for him, seeing as he had managed to escape even after Santi had cut his arm off.

    It was likely that Duncan¡¯s primary stats would be above his own primary stats without the titles. Santi doubted the level gap was enough that he significantly outpaced him in their main stats. With how easy Duncan was ghosting around the dungeon, he was close to the sixties.

    ¡°We heard that,¡± Tank whispered to him, a faint smile on his face as Santi took up his place right behind the cousins.

    ¡°What happens in the dungeon, stays in the dungeon. Ok?¡±

    ¡°You got it, boss,¡± Tank said with a chuckle.

    ¡°Done playing grabass?¡± Duncan asked. There was a bit of strain around his eyes and shadows slunk around his skin like shifting tattoos. Santi didn¡¯t want to imagine what upgrading an affinity at the higher levels was like, but it looked like it was quite unpleasant.

    ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re about to go down to the second level. Which means there¡¯s a mini boss down ahead. Full boss will be at the bottom of the dungeon and if it follows in the theme, it will be at the high end of the dungeon levels. What we¡¯re going to fight soonish, will be mid level, close to sixty. Are you guys ready for that?¡±

    ¡°I got three levels already. Shit¡¯s been ranking me up quick! Hasn¡¯t been this easy since the beginning,¡± Bo said, his voice excited. Most of that was due to Santi cutting away heavy defenses and letting the cousins get the kills.

    Trevor was silent as his eyes glazed over and then he shuddered and gasped as he put points to good use. Trevor shook his limbs and smiled, reveling in his newfound strength.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t gotten shit,¡± Tank muttered. There had been precious little healing required and so far he hadn¡¯t gotten to use his club at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry buddy, your time is coming.¡± Santi couldn¡¯t tell him about the nice boost for clearing a dungeon that would dwarf what few levels they would earn killing the dungeon¡¯s denizens.

    ¡°Do you know what the sub-boss is?¡± Trevor asked. The more suspicious of the pair, if there was any division, he¡¯d be the easier one to work to Santi¡¯s side. The wind mage kept an eye on him.

    ¡°No. We¡¯ve fought earth elementals and shadow creatures. Probably an escalation of those. Now I¡¯ve only gone down this hallway a bit, but I can tell you there¡¯s not much further to go before we get to an atrium with polished stone and a bunch of bright torches with stalactites on the floor.¡±

    ¡°Stalagmites. Stalactites are on the roof,¡± Tank corrected him with casual ease. Santi looked at his big friend and then shrugged, he didn¡¯t know the difference. Duncan looked at the two of them and his brow dipped as a frown crossed his face.

    ¡°Does it fucking matter?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I just wanted to make sure you knew. Proper wordage does matter.¡±

    ¡°Is wordage a word?¡± Santi whispered to him. Tank just shrugged, face blank as Duncan blinked at them a few more times.

    ¡°Forget it. When we enter, we do so as a team. I¡¯ll ghost and flank whatever it is, Bo, Trevor, you two will try to keep its attention. Move it around, keep ahead of its attacks, the usual. Santiago will hit it as hard as he can and keep hitting it until it''s ready. If there¡¯s a way for me to get a good hit on it, I will. Dexter will keep everyone alive for as long as he can. Dump the gear when we enter the circle, you¡¯ll need to be able to move quick.¡± With that, Duncan turned and moved down the circular tunnel, disappearing down its gentle slope.

    ¡°After you,¡± Santi said, waving the two bruisers forward as he and Tank followed behind them. Trevor lagged a few steps behind his cousin and turned to whisper to Santi.

    ¡°You two are weird, but you seem not quite as nutty as Duncan. That man is like a fucking snake, ice-cold. If shit goes pear shaped, and it will, would you be looking for a new recruit?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think your cousin will be quite as willing as you are,¡± Santi hedged. Duncan¡¯s perception stat was likely high and hearing in a tunnel that amplified acoustics would be an easy trick. The possibility of pulling a veteran Acolyte fighter to his cause was too juicy to let go.

    ¡°He¡¯ll do what¡¯s good for him. He likes Duncan, bit of hero worship, but we¡¯re tight. I¡¯m all he has. He¡¯ll come with me.¡± Trevor didn¡¯t look certain about that last part but Santi didn¡¯t bother to challenge it.

    ¡°I won¡¯t put a blade in you if you don¡¯t try to bludgeon me, how bout that?¡±

    ¡°I can work with that. Thank you.¡± Trevor turned back around and caught up to his cousin while Tank and Santi kept walking side by side.

    ¡°Duncan definitely heard that,¡± Tank said.

    Santi just nodded. The betrayal was going to happen, he just didn¡¯t know when. He was starting to think that Trevor and Bo weren¡¯t going to be coming out of this dungeon.

    ¡°Just be quick and light on your feet. Grab me my jacket out of my pack too. It¡¯s time to bring out the heavy weapons.¡±

 Ch. 3.30 Earthshadow

    30.

    Santi took in the smooth polished stone, the mirror finish reflecting the light as they got closer to it. A wide platform in the middle of a land bridge across a chasm, forcing the dungeon goers through it to advance. The fact they had taken a small ledge downward to the path they were now on was a hint that finding the secret tunnel wasn¡¯t necessary. Duncan had helped them by shaving time off of their journey.

    Torches ringed the platform, scores of them fighting off the deep darkness of the cavern and giving everyone a clear view of the runes etched into the stone. Each one was carved and filled with silver, a supernatural light pulsing through them. The entire platform screamed bad vibes, every ounce of his cautious nature saying don¡¯t get on that platform.

    It was the only way deeper into the dungeon though. Duncan was perched on the edge right before the platform, his eyes sweeping about, searching and analyzing. Santi copied him, looking for any hints of what was about to come at them.

    ¡°So, this place is definitely going to suck,¡± Bo said. He shuffled his pack and clenched a club tightly.

    ¡°Oh, fuck yeah. Hundred percent a trap,¡± Tank said. He smiled widely and clapped Santi on the shoulder.

    ¡°You ready to start carrying, bud?¡±

    ¡°Just stay alive.¡± Santi stepped out onto the platform and held his breath. Nothing changed. The torches continued to flicker and aside from their breathing it was silent. Santi worked his way closer to the center, Duncan slinking around the side while Bo and Trevor walked right behind him in a delta, with Tank in between all of them.

    ¡°Where is it?¡± Trevor hissed, tension in his voice as he hunched over, looking around frantically as they reached the center of the platform.

    ¡°Chill, just be ready to¡­¡± Santi was cut off as something came dropping in from above. His spell forms warned him and he had enough time to cast [Gust] behind him, throwing his three allies backward even as he dove forward.

    It landed silently and Santi felt as the air was sliced apart where he had been standing. There was no hiss or whistle of claws sliding through the air, just the eerie silence and the feel of the creature blocking the airflow.

    Santi rolled to his feet and slashed back at it, his morph blade a comically overlong sword. It tore at something, but all sound had ceased. There was nothing in the air but a stillness, even the harsh rasp of his breath smothered by it. Santi looked at the creature and took it in.

    It was a shifting form, mostly humanoid and made from slick stone. Shadows crept and danced around it, blurring the edges of its form as it towered over them. Gemstones glinted where eyes should have been and its four arms swung about in silence, Trevor and Bo racing away while Tank rolled hard toward the edge of the platform.

    Duncan sprinted and disappeared as Santi jabbed at it twice, clipping the edges of the behemoth and sending pieces of stone to fall to the ground. Santi lured it closer to the center of the platform as the behemoth followed him.

    Earthshadow Elemental lvl. 60

    Santi tried to call out, but no sound crossed the platform. Something was off about that, this type of monster shouldn¡¯t have any type of sound magic. Its presence didn¡¯t seem to control anything related to sound either, it was big and strong and the shadows danced all around it, edges forming and slashing at Santi like blades.

    Nothing to do with sound though.

    He looked back at the glowing runes. They were brighter now, nearly luminescent against the stone. He turned and slashed down at a rune, the blade slicing through stone like butter, the rune cracking apart with a thundercrack and a bolt of light. Sounds flitted through immediately for a brief moment, shouts and cries and the rumble of stone on stone. Then the bubble of silence reaffirmed itself and Santi was forced to leap back as a fist hit the ground in front of him.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    Trevor struck a leg from the back, his club rebounding off the thick leg like it was made of rubber. Bo hit the opposite leg with the same lack of effect, his mouth twisting in a silent curse. Tank was rotating around, getting further away from the monster, but Santi thought that if the giant monster landed a hit that it would be the end of them.

    While the giant elemental spun on the two bruisers, Santi sped about, slicing at each of the runes. Tank watched what he was doing and started to do the same. Slamming his mace down on the runes and cracking the delicate runes. More and more sound filtered in and Santi yelled at the two men, trying to organize them. Half his words were stolen, not traveling the distance needed.

    Santi stopped attacking the runes and leapt back at the elemental as Trevor was flung backward  from the close impact of a Volkswagen sized fist. Bo stumbled, frozen as the elemental turned to give Bo all its focus. Santi formed the morph weapon into a large hammer, a pick emerging from one side and slammed it into the creature''s knee.

    The strength boost from the jacket and the full increase of the crown showed out and a fist sized piece of rubble went flying as its leg buckled and it fell. Santi was forced backward as the elemental spun, backhanding at him. [Air Shield] popping in a burst of wild winds, sending pebbles and pieces of stray rocks spraying out.

    Santi avoided the actual hand, but the wake of its passage caused him to fall back on his back. The elemental rose up and towered above him, form sheathed in blurring waves of physical shadow. Duncan appeared, blade in hand and he caught Santi¡¯s eyes. There was a moment of hesitation, the space between heartbeats, then Duncan was stabbing.

    Skills appeared, shadow clones and a second dagger appearing out of nowhere, both blade shearing apart stone like it was butter. The creature went rigid and shook, chunks of stone falling free to hit the ground. Santi got back to his feet and sprinted away as Trevor and Bo both stepped up, attacking from either side to alleviate the pressure on their boss.

    Tank broke the last of the silence runes and sound filled the platform again. Trevor used some type of skill that coated his weapon and he broke the elemental¡¯s foot in half, the sound of stone cracking splitting the air.

    ¡°Keep its attention!¡± Santi yelled at the cousin duo as he skidded to a halt. He sprang back toward the elemental, leaping with all his considerable strength up and toward the creature. He rose up and over the top of the monster¡¯s head and began his descent. The hammer whistled through the air and Santi roared a challenge toward the high level monster as he splintered its head.

    Gemstones popped free and landed on the platform with the sound of chimes in the wind. It staggered and stumbled to a knee, before surging upward again even as Santi landed awkwardly.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Santi spat as he leapt forward into a shoulder roll and passed between the elemental¡¯s legs. Trevor and Bo attacked from different angles and Tank jumped forward and struck the same knee where Santi had already hit it. Another chunk of rock came splintering off of it and then Bo hit it a second later in the same spot. The knee cracked and split like rotten timber and the elemental crashed to the ground.

    Santi circled with the others as the rest of the group fell on the elemental like a pack of wolves. Hammers and maces chipped and cracked stone as it flailed about ineffectively. It was a big monster, but it was easy to fight as long as they stayed ahead of its wide swinging hands.

    Until it stopped swinging its hands. It slumped down, slate cracking and splitting to fall like rain. The shadows deepened and strengthened, pouring out of the wide cracks in its body. The entire body crumpled, leaving nothing left but the silhouette of its body.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not great,¡± Santi muttered as he raced to grab Tank, dragging the healer out of the way as the elemental sank into the platform, swinging across the stone like it was water, leaving the encirclement like it was nothing.

    Duncan stuck again. A blur against the polished stone as he intercepted the fleeing elemental, tangling with the creature and the elemental burst free from the stone. It was missing an arm and staggered about wildly, striking out in every direction as Duncan rose out of the stone on the other side of the platform. He was covered in sticky shadow, covering every inch of him as he strained to consume the piece of the elemental he had just truck off of it.

    ¡°That¡¯s fucking creepy,¡± Tank said. Santi could only nod in agreement as he cast [Gust] and watched as the elemental fragmented, ragged chunks of its arm broke off to fly off the platform.

    Its remaining arm became a spear and it struck out, stabbing through Trevor¡¯s gut in a burst of movement. The man screamed in pain and Tank was rushing toward him even as Santi cast another [Gust] shoving it back and away from the wounded frontliner.

    Tank grabbed Trevor and dragged the stunned man away as Santi got close to the wounded elemental. It thrashed about, thinning and growing hazy as extra limbs shot out of its body. Bo hit it from behind with some type of crushing skill that broke another piece of the shadow off.

    Santi stabbed it through the middle of its torso, and twisted the blade. He formed hooks on the blade and ripped the sword free. The creature was dying slowly, breaking apart slowly as Santi continued to cut and rip free pieces of its body. It didn¡¯t die quickly, taking minutes for Bo and Santi to kill it.

    An achievement popped in his feed as Santi slumped down on the platform. He was tired, sweat slicking his shirt as he stared at the stain where the shadow had been.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t too bad,¡± Duncan wheezed, his features still strained. Tank was bent over Trevor, still working to keep the man alive. Santi shook his head, the Apostate¡¯s naked desire for power blatantly apparent to all of them. Even Bo shook his head as they waited for Trevor to get back up.

 Ch. 3.31 Clearing the Air

    31.

    The platform was silent as they slowly regathered their strength. The boss had been tough, but manageable. Trevor and Bo had been somewhat useful, pulling his attention enough for him to regroup. Duncan sitting there slowly digesting the pieces of shadow he had ripped free from the [Earthshadow Elemental]. There was a certain bravado to being able to willingly risk your life by trying to upgrade your affinity in the middle of a fight.

    Santi still wanted to punt him off the platform and into the chasm.

    Tank stood up and let Trevor get to his feet slowly. Tank walked over to Santi while Trevor just stood there for a moment, shaken by what had just happened. Duncan didn¡¯t try to offer him any sort of support, just letting him stand there alone.

    Trevor¡¯s eyes were filled with impotent rage and fear, the last moments of the fight filling his vision as he had been pulled away from death¡¯s doorstep. Then it vanished, flashed away in a puff of self discipline as Trevor mastered himself. Even with his higher stats, Santi had to look for the indications of the man¡¯s rage and hatred, so masterfully hidden.

    Duncan started walking, crossing the scarred platform and further into the dungeon now that Trevor was walking. Santi wanted to wait, let the other man recover, but it wasn¡¯t his rodeo. Both he and Tank were still on their feet and with most of their mana in reserve. Santi wasn¡¯t willing to rock the boat this close to the end.

    ¡°He¡¯s a dick. Even if he hadn¡¯t done all that shit, I still wouldn¡¯t want him around,¡± Tank said. The healer didn¡¯t bother to lower his voice and both of them knew the Apostate could hear him.

    ¡°Well, he¡¯s who we¡¯re stuck with. We clear this, he gets the loot, we get the riftheart.¡±

    Trevor and Bo followed after their boss while Santi and Tank slowly skulked forward. The boss monster was little more than a stain of scattered oily shadows but Santi kept the location in mind. If he had his full team they could farm this area fairly easily, especially after he accessed the markets through the pillar and had them properly equipped.

    Then harvesting monsters like this would become worthwhile. He¡¯d have to keep his eyes open for someone who could be an [Alchemist] or something similar. Proper supplies for harvesting too. The thought of the wealth of gear was intoxicating. The thought of all his liquid wealth disappearing in a few minutes to provide said gear was sobering.

    ¡°What are you sighing about?¡± Tank asked as they started off of the platform.

    ¡°Just how much shit  I need to buy to really get up and running. It¡¯s going to be expensive.¡±

    ¡°I mean, you¡¯re just investing right? In the long run you¡¯ll make your money back and then some.¡±

    ¡°Hey, just let me mope for a minute about all my hard earned money leaving.¡±

    ¡°Ohhh, you¡¯re in one of those moods. Bet if Chloe was here you wouldn¡¯t be all mopey.¡±

    ¡°Wrong. I¡¯d be even more mopey and dramatic,¡± Santi said, smiling brightly at his friend. The two of them chuckled as they left the pale light of the platform and entered the dank tunnel to go further into the dungeon. Bo and Trevor were stopped a few feet in and Ducan¡¯s form was hardly visible in the poor lighting just a few feet further in.

    ¡°Looks like the dungeon changes up from here on out. Labyrinth,¡± Duncan said as they all clustered up. Santi peered past him and whistled softly at the maze they were staring down at.

    There was a small trail, no larger than a footpath, that led down and into a maze carved into the stone. From their vantage they could only see the first few switchbacks and dead ends before the gloom blocked the rest of their view.

    ¡°More traps, probably enemy mobs, and of course the maze itself. Pass me some fresh paint,¡± Duncan said, holding a hand out. Trevor unslung his bag and handed two cans of yellow paint to Duncan before restrapping his bag to his back.

    ¡°I¡¯ll push forward and explore the routes. Santi is on guard duty. Should be similar to what we went through in the caves. Move slowly and carefully. Unless it¡¯s time to move fast,¡± Duncan¡¯s last words were said with a sardonic smile as he started down the trail and into the labyrinth.

    ¡°I want to hit him with my club. Repeatedly,¡± Trevor hissed quietly. The look his cousin shot him told Santi that Trevor hadn''t been quiet enough.

    ¡°I¡¯ll lead, then Tank, then you two. Stick close together. Nobody gets lost today, alright. Stick tight and we will get through this,¡± Santi gave his encouragement and then was moving down the path after giving Duncan a minute or three head start.

    The path led directly into the narrow ravines of the labyrinth''s walls, hardly more than four feet wide and soaring up to touch the roof of the cavern. The slight dip in the floor was hardly noticeable, but they were continuing to move further and further downward with every step. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    Higher and higher the walls rose up and over them. Thin strips of lichen glowing blue gave the only light and it was hardly enough to break the grip of darkness. Tank¡¯s labored breaths behind him and the soft chatter of the cousins were the only sounds he heard. Santi strained his eyes, looking for the tell tale sign of Duncan¡¯s paint.

    Thin passageways broke off every ten to fifteen feet, spidering away and twisting in ways so he couldn¡¯t see further in. There was a sense of claustrophobia in the maze, as the dark and tight walls pressed in on him. Santi had to focus on moving straight and not worrying about what may be laying around a corner.

    With the solid rock all around him, his spell forms were nearly useless and he was as blind as he had ever been since the integration had started. Each careful step forward was another bolt of excitement and fear as he waited for something to come lashing out from the darkness towards him.

    ¡°This sucks,¡± Tanks whispered. Santi could have kissed him. The sudden break in tension was enough for him to let out a shaky sigh and laugh silently. He pursed his lips in sudden thought and started expanding his mana, sending it out of him and around the small group.

    He faced immediate resistance.

    ¡°There¡¯s some type of spell or magic working in here. It¡¯s probably why we¡¯re all so fucking jumpy rn. I can push it back a bit, but I can¡¯t keep a shield around us and keep moving forward. Let me know when you need a break and we can stop and catch our breath.¡±

    There was a sense of heaviness, oppression, of weight bearing down that emanated from the environment. His own mana, stained by his wind affinity, pushed against it naturally, rebelling and seeking freedom and the ability to move.

    Santi formed a small bubble around their group, but the strain was telling. The dungeon was higher level than him and massive. He was a powerful mage with deep wells of power, but he couldn¡¯t face the entire weight of a dungeon by himself. At least not for long.

    After a few minutes Santi drew his mana back into himself. There was an audible groan from one of the cousins and Santi couldn¡¯t blame him. The dread weight settled back on him, his heartbeat spiking as fear pulsed through him. It was worse than when they had originally stepped into the labyrinth.

    ¡°I have a feeling it¡¯s like going into water. The pressure gets heavier the further in you go,¡± Santi said. They had taken a few minutes to come out of the pressure, but suddenly slamming it back was different  versus acclimating to it as they walked. A much more jarring and disturbing change.

    They continued forward and a few minutes later they found Duncan¡¯s first mark that pulled them off the main trail and into a side passage. The gulley narrowed somehow and Santi had to twist and turn at places, the larger men behind him grunting and groaning as they had to contort themselves.

    A deactivated and dismantled trap was set on top of a rock near eye level, the sharp blades sitting there without any marking. Santi glanced at the alcove they had been pulled from and realized the long scythe blade would have struck his head from torso as he passed by.

    ¡°Careful where you step,¡± Santi whispered behind him and kept pushing.

    More traps showed up, broken down and dismantled. Two more yellow markers, forcing them in more and more narrow passageways to the point even Santi was having a hard time of them.

    ¡°This is fucking ridiculous. We need to get out of here. This isn¡¯t working. Let¡¯s go!¡± Bo was chanting behind Santi as they came up to another marker. This time is seemed to show them the main passageway again, much wider than the cramped confines they had just been in.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a minute here,¡± Santi said and Trevor grabbed his cousin around the shoulder and two of them took their heavy packs off as Santi slowly built a mana bubble around them. It was harder now. The weight of the earth and shadows so heavy that even as he strained against it, pushing more and more mana out of himself, there was hardly a difference.

    It was enough for the others who all groaned in relief, slumping against walls while Santi kept his eyes peeled. Just because there hadn¡¯t been any monsters in the tight confines of the chasm maze, didn¡¯t mean there couldn¡¯t be.

    ¡°Taking a break already?¡± Duncan¡¯s voice came out of the darkness as the average looking man walked into the temporary camp.

    ¡°Needed it,¡± Santi replied. Duncan stopped right outside of the limits of Santi¡¯s bubble, not stepping into it.

    ¡°It¡¯s worse when you take breaks like this. The weight becomes bearable the longer you hold it.¡±

    ¡°Needed to stop or we wouldn¡¯t be combat capable,¡± Trevor said. He was still clutching his cousin''s shoulder, the two men leaning on each other.

    ¡°Combat will be coming soon enough. There¡¯s a widening spot in the ravine not much further from here. Some type of lizard inside of it. I¡¯ll stick with you guys, you¡¯ll trigger the ambush, and I¡¯ll ambush the ambushers.¡±

    ¡°You got it,¡± Santi said, giving him a cheery smile and a thumbs up. Duncan scowled at him.

    ¡°I really dislike you,¡± Duncan said.

    ¡°I know. Your dislike has cost you an arm and I¡¯m sure I can price in a leg in the next few days.¡±

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that cursed horde, I¡¯d have spilled your blood the minute you walked outside of your camp. You wouldn¡¯t have even noticed you were dead before you hit the earth.¡±

    ¡°Possibly. Or I could have kicked your ass again and this time, there wouldn¡¯t have been anyone to save you from me.¡±

    ¡°Hey, knock that shit off. We need to work together for another few days. Then you two can stab each other to your heart¡¯s delight,¡± Tank broke their staring contest with rational thought. Something Santi wasn¡¯t appreciative of.

    ¡°Hey, let me be toxic. I¡¯m enjoying the threats,¡± Santi said with a half smile.

    ¡°The rest of us aren¡¯t. And while you two aren¡¯t threatened by this, for whatever reason, this is dangerous for us. Our lives are in danger and the threat is real to us. We can¡¯t have the two of you stabbing each other while laughing while this shit is going on. Save it for outside of the dungeon.¡±

    Tank was right of course. There had been so few true threats to Santi lately, that he had lapsed a bit. He had forgotten the edge of the knife they all perched on. At the end of the day, he could have always fled. His skills and power made it a near certainty that if he needed to, he could escape if a fight went south. The last time he had truly been pushed beyond his limits, when death was walking beside him, was when he had crossed blades with Duncan.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be the bigger man here. Until we¡¯re done with our business. We¡¯re professionals,¡± Santi said. Duncan sneered, a retort on his lips. Then he let it fade away and nodded in accord.

 Ch. 3.32 Dungeon Canyon

    32.

    ¡°Trevor, trigger the ambush. Santiago will be right behind and will protect you. Bo, you stick tight with Dexter. This is the only passage through this section, but after this I think  we will be clear of this dungeon. Just don¡¯t accidentally stab each other.¡± Duncan looked at each of them until he got an acknowledgement.

    Santi was still irritated after their last verbal sparring and having to follow the Apostate¡¯s orders did little to relieve that irritation. He nodded and let the morph turn into a short sword, the tight confines of the canyon calling for something a bit easier to use. Trevor shrugged off his pack, rolling his shoulders and shaking his arms out. He grabbed his club and slowly inched his way into the canyon.

    Nothing happened.

    He kept moving slowly. Cautious step by cautious step, eyes sweeping about as he moved in a crouch. Santi could see the nervous energy radiating off of him as he walked. Santi followed after, walking more confidently than the other man as he looked from the corner of his eyes at the cracks and crevices that the ambushers would be hiding in.

    The rock face was covered in cracks and gullies, shadowed and hard to see through, but Santi saw the gleam of eyes. Not often or in great numbers, but they were there and it set him on edge. He couldn¡¯t get a close enough look to [Identify] the monsters, but he had to assume they were stronger than the elementals were but weaker than the boss they had fought.

    Bo and Tank followed after, Duncan nowhere to be seen. Santi hated to admit that the Apostate was good enough to move without him sensing him now. Dunan had managed to become a Champion and it showed. Santi had taken him off guard with his spell sense, but he had quickly adapted and was now invisible to him.

    The first of the attacks happened swiftly, an albino lizard scampered out of the crevice and leapt at Trevor. Its six legs pumped the air as it crossed the gap in the flash of leathery skin. Dagger teeth opened and Trevor was spinning with his club coming to intercept the gecko.

    Canyon Gecko lvl. 58

    Trevor was too slow. The level disparity was too much for the man to close the gap. Santi crossed the distance in a heartbeat, shoving off hard and extending his sword and turning it into a lance. The tip of the lance caught the gecko between the second and third pair of legs and pierced through its skin with ease.

    It gave a sharp cry, wide mouth open fully as its scream echoed down the canyon walls. Santi hefted it up high and let it bleed out across the ground as he looked around the canyon walls. Geckos crawled out of the crevices, eyes blinking slowly as they lined the walls.

    ¡°I think we just fucked up,¡± Tank whispered behind him. Santi had to agree with that assessment. They probably should have sneaked through the canyon. Without lifting a dying gecko up and letting it bleed out while its family watched. Santi shrank the lance and flicked the dying gecko towards the wall. It splattered with bone crushing force and fell limp.

    ¡°They¡¯re fast and probably have a good bite strength. Low durability and no types of special attacks. Just crush the fuckers,¡± Santi said. His eyes were stuck on the blood pooled on the rocks. The curse rose like a dark tide inside of him, starved for hours now, and its hunger was painful.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not good,¡± Tank¡¯s whisper was loud enough everyone heard.

    ¡°Run,¡± Santi said, voice strained. Trevor and Bo listened immediately, breaking into sprints and rushing past him. Tank hesitated a moment before he followed after them. Santi followed behind, blade flashing and carving through geckos as they leapt at him.

    The fast bastards scurried and clung to the walls with ease, moving fast enough that it was a challenge for Santi to keep up. The first kill hadn¡¯t been indicative of how hard the animals were to kill. They were fast and changed direction with violence, their six legs finding traction with ease as they scuttled all around him.

    A leg was lost here, a tail there, a foot here. Still he wasn¡¯t able to pin them down and the frustration mingled with the iron scents of blood in the air as Santi panted heavily, his willpower straining to keep the curse under control.

    [Crosscurrent-Orb] blew apart a group of them, sending the geckos scattering across the canyon. Trevor made it to the end of the canyon and ran right outside of it without looking back. Bo was a half second behind him and then Tank. As Santi got to the end of the canyon pain flared through his ankle and he looked down to see one of the squat geckos biting down on his ankle.

    ¡°FUCKER!¡± Santi screamed, pain and rage mingling as he cut the gecko in half. Blood pulsed, pressure building behind his eyes as he warred against the power of the curse. Bo and Tank were only half way through the canyon and Santi whirled about to look down the canyon. The walls were covered with the scurrying geckos and [Gust] howled down the canyon.

    The lizards grabbed to the walls, their sticky feet holding tight as the burst wind swept by. Santi slashed at two of the closes, the morph extending into whip form to slash them apart with a flick of his wrist. They were incredibly squishy, but their speed was impressive. The bite on his ankle was throbbing, blood pooling into his boot as he grunted and limped backward. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Duncan materialized behind the rows of hunkered down geckos. He massacred the closest lizards, burst damage skills flashing in waves as the lizards died all around him. The man was using Santi as a bait trap, collecting experience to level with ease as the slippery geckos were just beginning to move again after Santi¡¯s spell.

    ¡°Get through the canyon,¡± Santi yelled, slashing another of the geckos and watching as its blood pulsed out of its missing limbs.

    Duncan rolled his eyes, but danced past the scurrying monsters. He was graceful, avoiding attacks by the barest of margins, every slash of his long knife killing another lizard. Santi didn¡¯t want to admit how good the man was, but his skill was showing as his levels had crept up since their encounter.

    Duncan dashed past Santi and Santi reactivated [Gust] to pin down the other lizards before he retreated through the gap of the canyon. The lizards kept scurrying out, dozens of them filling the small canyon like a tsunami but they stopped at the edge of the gulley and ran around hissing and growling before retreating back into the crevices they had been hiding in.

    ¡°That was the most fun I¡¯ve had since coming back,¡± Duncan said. Santi looked around and realized it was just the two of them.

    ¡°And what have you been doing back since we¡¯ve come back?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Dalton Fage, Amanda Johnson, Julia Harden, and Nicholas Spatz.¡±

    ¡°All of them are Champions. Were Champions,¡± Santi said, though he could feel the beginning edges of horror creeping in to chill his blood. Duncan looked at him and smiled grimly.

    ¡°I was an accountant. Didn¡¯t do much in my life before this. Work, home, gym, repeat. Boring life, but it allows you to save money. I can¡¯t tell you how long we planned this out. Figuring out who needs to be where and when. Tracking down and finding out where people were right before the integration. Years of planning and you damn near ruined it all.¡± Duncan looked over his shoulder and down the narrow passage where the others had disappeared down.

    ¡°It¡¯s an intricate plan with redundancy after redundancy. Silas not making the jump hurt. He had a list longer than you are tall to do, we all do. We made contact after the jump, amazing that we could remember our phone numbers after nearly a decade. Changed things about, covered some of Silas¡¯s duties. Some of the secondary objectives had to be dropped.¡±

    ¡°So you just came back in time and talked on the phone?¡± Santi whispered. He couldn¡¯t muster his normal sarcasm. He knew what was coming.

    ¡°For the first day. About six hours of planning had to be done to accommodate your little stunt. Six valuable hours. When I knifed Dalton outside of his house it was strange. Never killed anyone without the System. Was half expecting a notice to still pop up in my feed. Instead he just gurgled at me, so confused and scared. He didn¡¯t look like he did, you know. He was pudgy and had a bad combover. His wife screamed as I stabbed him, over and over. Never felt more alive than I did escaping after that. No skills or spells or overpowered stats. Just my brain and planning.¡±

    Santi remembered Dalton as a serious bald man who looked carved from stone. A titan of muscle and strength that had stood against the tides of cultists, invaders, and monsters without hesitation. He had been one of the most prominent of the Champions who had persecuted the war against the Apostates with a fervor that was impossible to match. He had killed two Apostates in personal combat during the war over the span of three years.

    ¡°Amanda was easy. She was a literal layover stop for me. Left the airport and went to her job. Walked right into the back and got her as her coworkers screamed. I can understand now frontline fighters. The spray of blood and the look of them falling to the ground at my feet. It¡¯s intoxicating. I enjoy killing a person when they don¡¯t know i¡¯m even in the same room as them, but this isn¡¯t a bad way to do it.¡±

    Santi wanted to be sick. Amanda had been a healer. Thousands owed their lives to her. She had stopped plagues with a wave of her hand, swept down onto battlefields and simply stopped death for minutes at a time.

    ¡°I tried for her twice back in the original timeline. Nearly got her the second time, but her protector was too good. They were a good duo. It felt good to see her go down and her wounds to not just seal over. Julia was day two. Broke into her house and used  her service weapon on her. She never even heard me.¡± Duncan paused and looked at Santi and he finally saw the gleam in his normally flat eyes.

    ¡°Nicholas was right as the System activated. I thought I¡¯d get a title for that, but I missed it. Someone must have killed someone in the first moments. Took me five minutes to get to him.¡± Duncan smiled widely.

    ¡°Then there were goals during the opening days. Establishing alcoves of survivors who give tribute to the Patron. Eliminating leadership in groups. Leveling, lots and lots of leveling. Then there was you. You¡¯re just a box for us to tick off. That was a mistake. Should have gotten to you before the System activated. I knew where you were and everything.¡±

    ¡°Daphne,¡± Santi murmured, a picture of the woman¡¯s face flashing through his mind. The picture was blurry, her features twisted and changing until she was literally nothing more than a blur in his mind.

    ¡°Yes. She gave us a whole rundown on you. Only took ten minutes. You didn¡¯t accomplish much and spent so much time just hiding. I really thought you¡¯d be cowering around, maybe a bit stronger or that¡¯d you¡¯d run. We were all wrong about you. And it cost me,¡± Duncan whispered those last words as he stared down at the ground.

    ¡°Fuck you. Fuck you for taking them away. They were heroes. They save lives, and you¡­you,¡± Santi choked on his rage and sorrow. He hadn¡¯t been close to any of them, all four of the Champions so far above him socially that he¡¯d only ever met them a few times.

    But he¡¯d known of them.

    ¡°Tyrants. Murderers. Sociopaths. All four of them. Twisted by the world until there was nothing left inside of them resembling humanity. There were more, so many more names I could have taken. But those were the four worst.¡±

    Santi was trembling in rage. He wanted to kill this vile creature. This shadow assassin with his dead eyes that only showed life when he spoke about his victims.

    ¡°Come on, we have the rest of this dungeon to clear,¡± Duncan said softly, turning and heading toward the others, leaving Santi behind.

 Ch. 3.33 Shadow-Flame Sorcerer

    33.

    ¡°You good man? You look a little, uhmmm¡­well, you look like shit,¡± Tank whispered as they walked behind the others. Duncan had slipped to the front again, but had yet to disappear. Trevor and Bo walked in their own little bubble, set aside from both Tank and Santi, and from their nominal leader, Duncan.

    ¡°Yeah. Just realized something. I¡¯ll tell you about it later,¡± Santi said. He couldn¡¯t get the image of the dead Champions out of his mind. They had been icons to him. Men and women he admired, who had been the benchmarks for competence and skill. They had been the light that humanity had clung to as they weathered the storm of the Integration.

    And now they were gone.

    ¡°You say that a lot. I do expect to get told one of these days,¡± Tank whispered to him.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be one of the first,¡± Santi said as they walked through the narrow tunnels.

    Tank grunted and kept up with Santi, neither of them slowing as they caught up with Bo and Trevor. Santi had a suspicion these two weren¡¯t the best that Duncan had. They had decent levels and their skills weren¡¯t bad, but if this was all he had, Santi didn¡¯t have to wonder what the outcome of a fight between their factions would be.

    No, they were more than likely the B team. The equivalent of Rayleigh and her teams of scavengers. It just added more questions about this whole dungeon run. Obviously Duncan was using it to grow stronger, slowly absorbing shadows from the monster they fought, subjugating them and slowly strengthening his affinity.

    The level difference was enough that it made sense that Duncan would recruit Santi for the run. But why the two cousins? Santi kept an eye on the two of them as they left the convoluted canyon system and came out towards another sub-boss region.

    The canyon mouth had widened out until it was a large cavern, stalactites and stalagmites forming teeth. Bright fireflies floated about the inky darkness, the size of baseballs, each one of the thousands illuminated a few feet around their bodies. In effect it made the cavern gloomy and with plenty of shifting shadows. If the theme of the dungeon stayed the same, they¡¯d be looking at another shadow monster to fight.

    Santi looked at the Apostate who appeared to be nearly gleeful. There was a slight uptick at the corners of his mouth that one might generously call a smile.

    ¡°Want to bet he breaks off again and tries to eat whatever we¡¯re fighting?¡± Tank asked, loudly enough for the two cousins to overhear. Trevor stiffened with anger while Bo looked down toward the ground in apparent embarrassment. The hero worship Bo had towards the Apostate was slowly draining away as Duncan¡¯s greed became more and more apparent.

    ¡°Same plan as last time. Santi stands in the middle and draws aggro, you three distract when needed. I¡¯ll look for a kill shot,¡± Duncan said.

    ¡°Yes, have the mage stand in the middle of the room and get punched. Makes sense to me,¡± Santi muttered under his breath. He let the morph blade pool out of his sleeve and shape into a saber as he walked into the cavern.

    It was noticeably warmer in the cavern to the point he began to sweat under the collar of his jacket. With each step the cavern seemed to heat up, growing with intensity until he was sure he was ready to melt. It wasn¡¯t as bad as the golem rift had been, but there was a level of oppression here that the golem rift couldn¡¯t have matched if it tried.

    The flames of the fireflies grew brighter, but the shadows darkened and twisted. Behind him he could hear the cousins cursing while Tank crept forward as silently as he could. Water hissed, dripping from the stalactites and evaporating as they hit the stalagmites jutting out of the floor.

    ¡°Fuck it¡¯s hot,¡± Trevor cursed as Santi looked for whatever it was that was supposed to be in here.

    A flame flickered above them, a trail of fire as it raced from firefly to firefly. The firefly fell to the ground, squelching as it hit the hard rock floor. The flame stayed in the air though, burning brighter and brighter as a shape began to coalesce.

    Shadow-Flame Sorcerer

    Lvl. 60

    [Gust] swept across the fireflies, pushing them out of the way of the whip of flame. A growl of rage swept out of the back of the cavern as the fire evaporated in the air and a thin figure came stalking forward. It was nothing more than a silhouette with burning pits for eyes and it waved one hand at the deep shadows all around the team. Embers drifted out of the sorcerer¡¯s hand and landed in the deep pools, sitting there floating in mid air as the shadows came to life.

    Shadow-Flame Apparition

    Lvl. 28 This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Kill those apparitions. I¡¯ll lock down the sorcerer,¡± Santi barked as he put on a burst of speed and flew at the sorcerer.

    Dungeons were the most apparent that there was a higher level of intelligence designing things. The monster in them might be a mirror of the outside world, but the way they acted was more game-like. This boss had been using the fireflies to grow in strength, absorbing the literal fire in them to empower itself. If Santi hadn¡¯t stopped the absorption, he had a feeling that these apparitions would have been much more powerful.

    [Gust] staggered the sorcerer, its weak physical stats not withstanding the powerful burst of wind. Santi urged himself on, closing the distance in a blink of pumping legs and then he was leaping at the skeletal silhouette, blade outstretched. The flames burning where its eyes should have been brightened and then a burst of fire leapt from its hands, the outer corona of the blast red, but pitch black shadows formed the core.

    Santi cursed and formed two [Air Shields]. One in front of the flames that burst apart in a second, and the other to the side of his foot. He pushed off, changing his direction, and the beam of fire merely singed him as he landed in a roll. [Crosscurrent-Orb] exploded with a fury that dispersed the flames and threw the sorcerer against a stalagmite.

    Rock exploded into a powder as the sorcerer flailed about, rising to its feet unsteadily. Santi risked a glance at the others and was pleased to see them still holding their ground, fighting with skill and decent teamwork. The two cousins held the attention of several of the mobs, while Tank protected their flanks and continued to help them with what limited healing he had.

    Duncan was again nowhere to be seen.

    Santi looked back at the monster and cursed bitterly. The half second of his attention being elsewhere had been more than enough time. The Shadow-Flame sorcerer had cast its rope of fire again, draining several nearby fireflies of their strength.

    Shadow-Flame Apparitions

    Lvl. 32

    The mobs had strengthened in a heartbeat, the few survivors suddenly pressing hard against the two cousins. They held their own, but were now being pressed much harder than they had been. Santi cast [Gust] again, clearing out the fireflies from around the trail of fire.

    Santi burst into motion again, hating the fact he couldn¡¯t use his new spells in front of Duncan. The man was a nuisance and once he was dead Santi was going to find and open a bottle of champagne. This whole sneaking around thing was beginning to get annoying. He was the one who spied on people after all.

    He dodged around a stalagmite and came face to face with the sorcerer. It lifted a hand and a shield of black flames sprang into being in one hand while in the other a sword that leapt out to nearly skewer Santi. He hurriedly blocked the flame blade, sending it into the stalagmite he had just rounded.

    The rock screamed then erupted in a shower of rocks that pelted his back, but didn¡¯t penetrate the jacket. Santi had the morph blade stretch out into a long rapier as he lunged, the tip of the sword just narrowly being blocked by the top of the shield. The creature was terribly coordinated, flailing away as Santi cornered it with solid, technical footwork and swordplay.

    The creature roared, a shattering sound, and flame leapt from its now formed mouth in a gout that reached the ceiling. It billowed about along the ceiling, fireflies consumed in a burst of flames until the entire ceiling was aflame and crawling down the stalactites.

    ¡°What the fuck!¡± Trevor yelled, as he used a skill to break apart one of the apparitions.

    ¡°Start moving to the end of the cavern. This thing¡¯s nearly done,¡± Santi yelled back. The monster was getting desperate, using powerful attacks that hurt the entire cavern in an attempt to slow him down. This was why mages didn¡¯t fight in close quarters typically, their skils were better suited for long range and powerful AoE attacks.

    Santi stuck close to the sorcerer, attacking in a blitz of lightning fast actions that ringed the creature in. It grew erratic, slashing wildly with its sword as its apparitions tried to peel away from the others and make it towards their duel. Trevor and Bo did their jobs though, keeping the mobs busy even as they retreated.

    Santi ducked under a wild swing and repeated his earlier trick, and this time managed to stab through the silhouette''s thigh. Shadow popped and fire emerged, spraying about in a thin stream like a leaky faucet. It screamed again and lashed about with a wild swing that Santi was forced to block. The power behind the blow was staggering, but his own inflated stats helped him stay on his feet as he grunted and threw the creature back.

    The fires were down the stalactites and now dripping all around them, running like rain to splash about in fiery explosions. [Air Shield] stopped one from landing on his head and he had to cast another to protect the group. The moment of inattention cost him as the sorcerer next slash burned a fiery line down the outside of his right thigh. Santi gritted his teeth and bit out a curse as his own counter-attack cut apart the creature''s hand.

    The sword fell apart as the hand burst apart in a wild spray of its fire-blood as it screeched again. Santi dodged the burst of flame and slashed under its shield and cut a leg free. The sorcerer fell to the ground, the fire from its wounds beginning to dribble free.

    That¡¯s when Duncan appeared. He simply appeared from one moment to the next. Duncan¡¯s one remaining hand speared out, wreathed in shadow and pierced the sorcerer¡¯s skull. The creature stiffened for a moment and then squalled in pain as Duncan dragged a piece of the monster free. The squirming mass was dark at pitch and wiggled like worms. Duncan opened his mouth and shoved the mass in, his face darkening and then he gasped as the knot of wiggling shadow disappeared down his throat. Duncan staggered, knees weak suddenly, and then he went to a knee.

    Santi looked back at the sorcerer, who was looking much worse for the wear. Its body had become a light gray, its inner fire overwhelming its shadow aspect. Santi stabbed it through its head and the monster stiffened and died suddenly. The whole fight had been much easier than the last, much tankier boss.

    Santi looked at the burning inferno around them and then cast an [Air Manipulation] reinforced [Gust] that swept the flames down and created a temporary tunnel for him and Duncan. With great distaste, Santi reached over and grabbed the limp assassin and hauled him to his feet. The man smiled and his teeth were stained black.

    ¡°Worth it,¡± he muttered. Santi rolled his eyes as he dragged him out of the cavern and into the next portion of the dungeon. They had to be getting close to the end.

 Ch. 3.34 Puzzle Wall

    34.

    ¡°Just me or was that easier than it should have been?¡± Trevor asked as they all caught their breath in the passage leading to the next zone. Santi wanted to groan at the man jinxing them but managed to keep his displeasure to himself.

    ¡°This dungeon is much more like a game than the world is. Even with the stat screens. This shit is designed and the bosses are designed too. We must have missed something with the first boss, but this one had a power up mechanic that Santi stopped,¡± Tank explained. Santi looked at the big man and nodded in affirmation.

    ¡°Earth, then fire, what¡¯s next, air or water?¡± Bo said with a chuckle

    ¡°Neither. This next fight should be the last one. We get through this last part of the dungeon, clear the boss, and we¡¯re in the free and clear,¡± Duncan said.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Trevor asked with suspicion.

    ¡°Because if you come up here you can see the exit and the final boss,¡± Duncan said. The entire group moved as one to stand at the edge of the platform, a metal walkway leading down and to a gate. They could see over the gate and there was one more platform waiting for them, and then beyond that was a gate where even from here they could see the portal rippling with sunlight.

    ¡°Want to bet the gate is a puzzle gate?¡± Duncan whispered so softly that the others couldn¡¯t have heard. Santi shook his head imperceptibly. It would have been a bad bet to take. They all moved off the ledge of the platform and down the metal walkway and toward the towering gate.

    It was silver and glowed brightly, blue runes shining brightly enough that it stung Santi¡¯s eyes as they got closer. It was nine feet tall and arched, stretching from edge to edge of the platform they stood on. On either side was just an endless void, dropping away into the center of the world. Something stirred in that darkness, swirling about just outside of the illumination of the gate.

    Going around would be impossible. Santi was sure that the minute someone tried it and veered outside of the protection of the platform and the light of the gate, that they¡¯d meet a grisly fate. Duncan marched right up to the gate and peered his head back trying to take it all in.

    Santi stood next to him and they both just looked at the thing. The mirror finish of the silver gates reflected the lights of the dancing runes, pushing it further out against the encroaching darkness. Both men cocked their heads at the same time and hummed in frustration looking at it.

    Different shapes of runes flowed about, dancing from one end of the polished silver to the next in a dizzying pattern. Santi tried to figure out the pattern, but he had never been good with these types of things.

    ¡°You guys figure it out?¡± Bo asked as he trooped up towards them. The big man looked about and then back at them.

    ¡°No, not quite yet,¡± Santi said as he tried to unfocus his eyes to see the pattern.

    ¡°You should probably hurry it up, the lights getting dimmer,¡± Bo said. Both Santi and Duncan froze and turned back to the man.

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Duncan asked.

    ¡°When we first got here, that rock over there was fully illuminated. Now it¡¯s not,¡± Bo said, pointing toward a rock sitting on the edge of the platform.

    ¡°Timed puzzle, shit,¡± Dunca said, his head snapping back toward the gate.

    ¡°You notice anything else, Bo?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Yeah, the thing is a pattern. Those square ones with the rays coming out of them, well anytime a U hits one, the U changes direction. There¡¯s also three locks in that door. Or at least three zones the U is avoiding.¡±

    Duncan and Santi turned back to the big man. Bo just shrugged his wide shoulders at the looks of amazement they shot him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been good at pattern recognition stuff. Love doing puzzles¡± Trevor snorted behind them as Duncan and Santi shoved Bo toward the door.

    ¡°Alright, you tell me what to move and where to get those U¡¯s where the locks are supposed to be,¡± Duncan said. His one hand went up and the moment it touched one of the runes, the rune flashed gold and froze at his finger. Bo started to quickly bark out orders, his own hands excitedly showing Duncan where to place what rune. When Duncan released the rune they stayed locked in place, sending the entire stream of runes scattering into new patterns.

    The light also started dimming noticeably faster. Santi turned back to the catwalk they had come down and chuckled to himself. Shapes were coming out of the abyss, crawling up the platform and dropping soundlessly to match eyes with him. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Shadow Elemental lvl. 56

    ¡°We¡¯ve got company. Hurry it up with that door,¡± Santi said over his shoulder as he moved in front of Tank and Trevor. The two big men slid behind him, with Tank getting close to Duncan and Trevor with his club in hand.

    ¡°Just give us time, we¡¯ll get it done,¡± Duncan snapped back. The light faded further, until it barely reached the perimeter of the platform. The elementals surged forward and Santi surprised them by lunging out of the protection of the light, morph blade slicing apart the creatures with ease.

    The magic weapon and Santi¡¯s own spells were a horrible matchup for the elementals and they died much easier than they should have. Each strike of the morph blade splintered them into a revealed a core of inky blackness that Santi grabbed with [Air Manipulation]. He threw them backward and toward Tank even as he cut, ducked, sliced, spun, and cast spells in a whirlwind of destruction.

    Pain flared through his leg and it nearly buckled as he was just a half step too slow. Shadow claws parted his pants and boots like they were tissue paper and Santi¡¯s blood splashed across the ground. The curse growled in his chest, eager at the scent of blood.

    Santi jumped backward, into the fading light of the protection of the gateway. Tank was there instantly, hand clamping on Santi¡¯s shoulder. The healing spells washed over him, helping slow the blood loss and speed up his one naturally fast regeneration rate.

    The mass of shadows he had leapt in had thinned a bit, but more and more of the monsters were crawling up the sides. It was good leveling though for him. Santi looked at his kill notifications and grimaced. Not quite to fifty yet.

    The light from the silver gate was fading quickly. Dull golden runes spotted all up and around the gate, replacing the bright blue-white ones. Nearly half the platform was now in darkness and the horde of elementals was getting closer. Santi wished for a fire mage right about now.

    He leapt back into the crowd, using a razor whip to slash apart half a dozen of the shadowy forms. They tried to reform, but Santi was faster, [Air Manipulation] yanking away their cores like they were candy from a baby. He pushed them back with a combination of lighting fast strikes and [Gust] throwing the creatures off the side of the platform. It wouldn¡¯t kill them, but it might buy them a few minutes.

    ¡°How much longer?¡± Santi yelled, forced back as a strike cut him down his already bad leg.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Santi screamed, leaping off his good foot and back to Tank. The healer shoved a healing potion in Santi¡¯s hand and then stepped forward with his club glowing with his only attack spell. The blast of the blow sent the elementals backward for a few moments, but they quickly surged back. It was enough time for the potion to heal most of his lame leg and then Santi was holding the bridge again.

    Shadow Elemental lvl. 59

    ¡°They¡¯re getting stronger! Hurry it up!¡± Santi yelled at the duo as he cut apart a weaker elemental. He was too slow to snag its core and the tattered remnants of the elemental fled, already regrowing its severed limbs. Santi cursed, ducked under another strike and leapt back into the thin layer of light still offering its protection. They were now only a few feet away from the back of Duncan and Bo, the two men working desperately as most of the symbols were now gold.

    A great clunk sounded behind him and Santi looked back to see that one of the divots had a U rune drop inside of it, unlocking it. Only two to go, but it looked like it would be faster with most of the routes already blocked off to herd the proper runes into place.

    The space the light illuminated was now only a few feet wide. A wall of shadows loomed up and over them, Santi couldn¡¯t even see the differences in the elementals as they all formed together. His morph blade was a storm of movement, silver slashes slicing apart the darkness and keeping it at bay.

    Trevor was gripping his weapon and trembling, so terribly outclassed that he wouldn¡¯t last a moment. Then again, Santi wouldn¡¯t last much longer with how many of the elementals were crowded about the platform. Santi spat another curse and then a prayer of thanks as a second clunk happened.

    The light was nothing more than a dim glow, projecting only feet from the gate. Santi¡¯s back pressed against Bo¡¯s back and he cast [Gust] again, pushing the elementals back a few feet. If he had the time, he could overcharge the spell like he had done in the township. It would leave him drained and they were about to leave this platform and enter directly into a fight with whatever was on the other side of the gate. He didn¡¯t have the time anyway.

    The tide of shadows surged back toward them the moment the spell faded, a wall of claws and indistinct shapes. A final clunk happened and the light faded for a moment leaving them in darkness. [Gust] and [Air Shield] were cast back to back and then the gates flared, brighter than before. The elementals dissipated, flowing away like the water receding from the bay, and the platform was bathed in light again.

    Santi exhaled heavily and turned back to look at the gates which had begun to laboriously swing open. Duncan looked back at them and then at the bag that they had collected the elemental cores in. The naked avarice in his eyes gave Santi pause, but then they were all shoving their way through the gate and onto the next platform.

    Santi watched behind them until they were clear of the gates which had already begun to swing back shut. Turning he saw that they were standing on the last platform, the only illumination the gate showing the way outside. A single figure stood between them and the gate.

    Tall and broad with a massive obsidian sword on his shoulder, his pale face was bloodless and his eyes were swirling voids. Dark armor and a flowing cloak of tattered shadows floated on an invisible wind, drifting around him as Duncan slowly started to edge around the corner of the circular platform.

    ¡°I see you, brother. First to claim the key I guard. You are not strong enough,¡± the figure said, voice the sound of velvet decay, its eyes glaring at Duncan. The one armed assassin just smiled politely and pulled his knife out.

    Santi used [Identify] on the creature and wanted to go back through the gate. The dungeon boss was powerful and if what he had just said to be true, then this was some type of challenge dungeon that Duncan had lured him into. It now made a lot more sense why he insisted that all loot go to him.

    Shadow Knight lvl. 65

 Ch. 3.35 Shadow Knight

    <ol start="35">

    <li> </li>

    </ol>

    The knight moved in a burst of speed, heading straight toward Duncan before anyone could speak. The wide sword cut the air with a howl and Santi cast a series of [Air Shields] as fast as he could. Each of the shields burst apart in a tempest of wild winds that scoured the platform of any dust or debris on it. Duncan was moving, his shape blurring around the edges as he tried to fade away.

    The knight¡¯s sword passed by where Duncan¡¯s neck had been, but he was quick, spinning around and using the momentum of the missed blow to aim for the assassin''s waist. Duncan bent in half and the sword cut apart nothing as the assassin disappeared from sight.

    The knight just snorted and then spun on the rest of them, lunging across the platform in an explosive surge of momentum. The huge knight was angling toward Tank, who was looking up with wide eyes, and Santi was forced to cast [Gust]. At Tank.

    The big man was picked up and thrown backward and he avoided the knight¡¯s landing. A ripple rolled out from the monster, shadow undulating like waves, grabbing Bo and Trevor and tossing them toward the edge of the platform. Santi bit out a curse and grabbed them with [Air Manipulation], blowing them toward the ground. Both men bounced hard, but were scrambling to their feet in moments.

    Santi darted toward the knight, [Gust[ hitting the waves of shadow and they blew apart, the force of the blast rattling Santi¡¯s bones. He gritted his teeth and kept moving, blade transforming into a longsword as he stabbed at the knight. The monster was nimble, spinning on a heel and swatting aside Santi¡¯s thrust. Santi recovered, stopping his charge and retracting the blade into a shield to block the knight¡¯s riposte.

    It felt like getting kicked in the chest by an elephant. The air rushed out of his body and his bones creaked dangerously as Santi staggered several steps, the knight not letting him recover. The huge broadsword swinging toward him in an overhead chop as if to cut him in half.

    Santi dodged, leaping to the side and rolling on his shoulder. The broadsword hit the ground in a thunderous explosion, sending shattered pieces of stone flying about as if a bomb had gone off. Santi used an [Air Shield] to stop from being pelted and darted back at the knight. They exchanged three blows in the space of a moment, their blades ringing like bells as Santi was forced to push himself as hard as he could to match the knight¡¯s strength. Even with the coat on to push his strength, it was all he could do to stop from being blown away.

    He disengaged, rolling under a crosscut, and darted a few steps back. The knight looked unbothered, stomping forward as Santi tried to lead the knight close to the center of the platform. Trevor and Bo were going to be useless in the fight, the level disparity too high for them to even begin competing in it. Santi looked at the shadows and started to pray that Duncan would come and land a blow soon.

    The only thing Santi had that could bother the monster was going to be [Wind Blade] and he didn¡¯t want to expose that to Duncan and give the man time to figure out how to counter it before their final duel.

    ¡°Incessant ant. Just die,¡± the knight said. Its voice was flat and tired as it lifted its broadsword up and started toward him. Trevor and Bo decided to be dumb, leaping at the knight and their hammer blows coming in to bounce off of the armor. Santi had to cross the distance in a heartbeat, morph slashing at the knight¡¯s throat, to stop them from dying. Shadow spikes erupted out of the back of the knight¡¯s back, piercing the two men who screamed in agony.

    The knight blocked his blow, the morph sliding across the broadsword, peeling a thin layer of steel off of it. Tank was quick, grabbing the two men and pulling them back as Santi sent two more quick thrusts at the monster¡¯s face. Santi extended the blade at the last moment and skin parted, a thin line of inky black trailed out of the cut on the knight¡¯s cheekbone.

    It froze as if shocked and one gauntleted hand touched the thin line. Its blood didn¡¯t flow so much as slink, thick and gooey like webbing, and the knight looked at its finger with a puzzled look.

    ¡°You managed to cut me. Impressive.¡± It snapped its wrist and the drop of blood was thrown away and toward an empty place on the platform. The blood exploded, expanding in a wave of webbing that forced Duncan to materialize, trapped in the webs as he was closing in on the creature¡¯s blindside. It looked at Duncan and snorted contemptuously.

    ¡°Did you really think you could hide in the shadows from me? I am the shadow,¡± the knight said. Santi cursed and cast [Wind Blade], a crescent of air forming at his hand and then rushing forward. It didn¡¯t howl like his other spells, but screamed. The blade crossed the distance in a heartbeat and the knight moved at full speed for the first time.

    Its sword swept up and intercepted the spell, breaking it in a shriek of dispelled air. The knight¡¯s void-like eyes glittered as it locked onto Santiago with its full attention. It leapt and Santi was immediately forced to use his second hidden spell, [Wind Step] to avoid being split in half. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    The burst of speed sent Santi flying away from the knight and his injured comrades. Duncan was busy hacking away at the webbing while Tank worked tirelessly to try to keep Bo and Trevor alive. Santi was alone with the boss and he had its full attention.

    The knight came rushing towards him and Santi leapt to the side, [Wind Blade] cast and directed towards the knight¡¯s knee. Santi attacked as the knight blocked, [Wind Step] letting him redirect himself up and towards the knight. He slashed at the knight as he flew over the knight¡¯s head, the whip tendril slashed into the creature¡¯s trapezius muscle.

    The knight blocked the [Wind Blade] and cried out in pain as his neck muscle was sliced apart. Santi landed easily, casting [Gust] and reinforcing it with [Air Manipulation], driving the knight further toward the edge of the platform. The knight stabbed its blade into the ground and ground to a halt, feet from the edge.

    It growled, rattling the air as it snarled. Duncan finally finished cutting through the webbing and was moving further along the edge of the platform. Santi was hoping the assassin would hurry up and start helping him.

    The knight pulled its sword free of the platform and started marching forward, the ground shaking under its feet. Blood was running down its neck and under its armor as it marched forward without blinking. Duncan disappeared, fading away from view again. Santi wanted to shake his head in annoyance, the man had been beaten already, but he wasn¡¯t willing to learn new tricks.

    ¡°Fucker is annoying,¡± Santi whispered under his breath. The blood the thing was leaking wasn¡¯t triggering his curse and there were small favors indeed. It was built like a tank, absorbing every thing that Santi could throw at him while having several crowd control abilities. Its movement speed was based off pure stats; there had been no trace of mana when it had blitzed them, just pure strength.

    Santi hit it with two [Gusts], cast back to back and watched as it dug in its heel and refused to budge. But it stopped moving forward for a second. [Wind Blade] flew at the creature, disguised in the howling gale. The knight brought its blade up at the last moment, breaking the spell right before it hit the knight¡¯s neck.

    Santi hadn¡¯t waited for the knight to defend itself, shooting toward it with [Wind Step]. He crossed the distance in a heartbeat, the speed causing his eyes to water. Santi fell to his knees, sliding across the ground, scraping the hell out of his knees as he did so. The knight¡¯s reflexive attack sailed over Santi¡¯s head while Santi¡¯s attack hit the thinly armored knee in a burst of sparks and black blood. The knight roared in agony as its leg buckled and it staggered a step.

    Duncan made his appearance as it staggered around, his knife was wreathed in abilities and skills as he buried it in the creature¡¯s neck. Blood gouted out and the knight swung a thick arm, connecting with Duncan¡¯s ribs. Bones broke like kindling and the assassin was flung away.

    Santi didn¡¯t relent, rising to his feet and stabbing at the creature''s face. The knight¡¯s blade blocked the morph blade and it was strong enough that Santi¡¯s wrist went numb. Santi cast [Crosscurrent-Orb] at point blank range. The blast of wind ripped at the knight¡¯s face, shredding flesh and taking one eye. Santi stabbed at it, blade lengthening and aiming for its neck.

    Then he was flying backward.

    The knight had punched him with its free hand, bone breaking in his chest as he was flung backward like a limp rag. He landed, the sensation distant as he skipped across the stone, rolling twice as he torturously coughed once.

    Time slowed, red hazed his vision and his next breath was full of molten nails that ripped at his lungs. His arm twitched, the morph weapon flinching as steps rattled the platform again.

    Then the pain was fading. Bone cracked back into place as the comforting taste of a healing potion wreathed his tongue. Tank¡¯s face loomed up and into his field of view, his scowl deep and concerned. Santi coughed again, weakly, as he struggled upwards. His chest wasn¡¯t fully healed and every breath hurt as he rose up.

    The knight was only a few feet away, looming up and over them both. Santi wasn¡¯t going to make it up. Tank looked up and rose, a titan of flesh as his heavy club came up, wreathed in red as his only attack skill came into being.

    ¡°No,¡± Santi tried to say. The words weren¡¯t coming out, panic setting in as his friend stood alone. Not again. Not again.

    Tank stepped forward, placing himself between the knight and his patient.

    The knight came forward, sword rising in the air.

    Tank lifted the club and lunged at the knight.

    So slow.

    Then Tank hit the ground and a burst of red light lit the platform.

    The knight was thrown backward and Santi managed to get fully to his feet. The knight landed and rolled to its feet as the rest of the potion finally finished its work. It was looking ragged, face shredded, blood pulsing out of its neck, down its leg, and now its free arm was jagged and broken.

    Santi lurched toward it as the knight struggled to get up. [Wind Step] sent him across the distance in a second, but he was still too late. Duncan appeared, knife in hand and rammed it into the knight¡¯s neck, twisting and ripping it free. Blood geysered out of the knight as Santi saw his kill being stolen right in front of him.

    The morph lengthened into a lance and punched through the knight¡¯s remaining eye, erupting in a spray of gore. The kill notification dinged through his head and then Santi saw the alert.

    Dungeon Cleared

    Grade: A

    Rewards: Calculating

 Ch. 3.36 Leaving the Dungeon

    36.

    They all stood there in silence, the only light coming from the doorway behind them that showed their way free of the dungeon. Trevor and Bo were looking at Tank with a lot more respect than they had when they had entered the dungeon. Saving someone¡¯s life could do that.

    Duncan¡¯s eyes were unfocused as he stared off into the distance. Going through the status screen and the notifications that were likely popping up. Santi wasn¡¯t touching any of his till they were away from the assassin and into the hills and away from his prying eyes.

    He was sore about losing his secret aces, but the boss monster had been too strong for him to simply try to whittle it down. The creature¡¯s speed, strength, and durability had been impressive. Now they were all waiting as Duncan worked his way through his changes.

    ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate,¡± Duncan said. He looked toward Trevor and Bo, who¡¯s eyes had unfocused themselves as they took their own level ups. They hadn¡¯t been super helpful, but they had done enough against monsters heavily outleveling them that they had earned a few levels themselves.

    ¡°Hmmm?¡± Tank inquired. The large healer was staying alert, not lured off by the promise of prompt screens.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t quite hit my level. I can feel it, just standing on the precipice. So close,¡± his voice trailed off as both Bo and Trevor finished their level ups. Both men were smiling as they looked at each other.

    Duncan reached over and slit Trevor¡¯s throat.

    The room went quiet, shock running across it. Bo¡¯s mouth gaped open, eyes filled with betrayal, pain, and confusion. Duncan stepped to the side, letting the arterial spray fill the space he had just occupied. Before anyone could move, a shadow blade emerged from the ground and rammed itself into Trevor¡¯s chest, killing the man.

    Duncan stabbed Bo, his arm pumping with machine gun speed, killing the second man before he could begin to defend himself. Santi grabbed Tank, throwing the healer behind him as the morph blade spun into a saber and he stepped between Duncan and Tank.

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it. A deal¡¯s a deal.¡± He waved the bloody knife at Santi as he bent down and started to tug the heavy bag Bo had strapped to his back off. He grunted in annoyance and wiped the knife on the back of Bo¡¯s shirt before sheathing it. He looked over and met Santi and Tank¡¯s horrified looks.

    ¡°You thought these two were going to make it out of here alive? How charming,¡± his voice had a cheer to it as if he really did the thought of not murdering comrades was charming. Santi was holding down bile as he stared at the two men.

    They had died so fast. There was nothing he could have done. They weren¡¯t his people, they weren¡¯t his responsibility to protect or lead. But they had been people. Decent enough people who didn¡¯t deserve to be knifed by the man who was supposed to be leading them.

    ¡°Why?¡± Tank asked in little more than a whisper.

    ¡°I needed the levels and they were here. If not here, then I would have taken them out on the way back, after we dropped you off. They had seen a bit too much and were getting too friendly with you. Now, I just tell their friends that you killed them, like you did their other friends, and they¡¯ll hate you more. Keeps the questions down that way,¡± Duncan explained as he rifled through the bag before heading over to Trevor¡¯s corpse and beginning again.

    ¡°You thought I didn¡¯t see you two working on them as we came down here. Trevor wasn¡¯t quite as devoted as Bo, but he was loyal. Until he met you,¡± Duncan jerked his chin toward Santi.

    ¡°Can¡¯t have a split house, Santiago. He goes to the group and tells them all about you and how wonderful you are and how I acted, and next thing I know, they¡¯ll be talking about mending fences. That what happened should be put aside, maybe we shouldn¡¯t kill you. And I can¡¯t have that.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck is wrong with you?¡± Tanks said, his hand straying toward his club.

    ¡°Careful Santiago. You two keep your word, I¡¯ll keep mine. I don¡¯t leave this dungeon, my people not only won¡¯t help you, they¡¯ll make damn sure Mercy¡¯s finishes you off.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°Tank, chill. Just for a minute.¡±

    ¡°Fuck that Santi. He killed them! For no fucking reason, he just murdered them!¡± Tank¡¯s voice was filled with anger and his hand finished wrapping around the hilt of the club.

    ¡°And if we bring the murderer to justice, everyone else dies. We need his numbers to beat back Mercy. We need Duncan too. Aside from me, he¡¯s the most powerful person in the region and Mercy is going to be a nightmare even with Duncan. We can¡¯t square shit up right now,¡± Santi pleaded. His mind was racing.

    If Tank pushed this, Santi would be forced to kill Duncan. He¡¯d split the assassin in half without a moment¡¯s hesitation, without remorse to keep Tank alive. Then they¡¯d have to move, abandon Homebase and everything they were building. Head South towards Mexico, hope to establish themselves there.

    ¡°There has to be a line. There has to be,¡± Tank whispered those last words, so full of sorrow that it broke Santi¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Duncan crossed the line a half dozen times, and we will get square. There will be justice, it just can¡¯t be right now,¡± Santi said. Duncan snorted softly, the exhalation so faint that Santi hardly heard it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here. I can¡¯t stand him.¡± Tank burst into motion, heading toward the gate.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want the riftheart?¡± Duncan said and Santi paused. It was why they had come out here and done all of this afterall.

    ¡°You have it here. Brought it into the dungeon?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Yes. You did your part and have fulfilled the bargain. I¡¯ll have my people ready to join the fray when Mercy comes down on you. You still haven¡¯t told me how you get her to attack you,¡± Duncan said.

    ¡°Just have your people ready and I¡¯ll get Mercy to come to me.¡± Santi reached a hand out and Duncan withdrew the riftheart from the bag. Metal chains with runes carved into them were wrapped around the ball of power, each of the runes glowing dimly in the dark.

    Santi grasped the riftheart through the chains and felt the pulse of power through the chains as it forced his mana down and contained it in his body. With a bit of effort he could push through the binding chains, but the fact that they already had at least one binder powerful enough to make these irons was concerning.

    ¡°Nasty aren¡¯t they? Was planning on using them on you, but our guy just isn¡¯t strong enough to really make it worth the time and effort. You can keep the chains, free of charge,¡± he offered with the hinting mockery of a smile. Tank grabbed Santi¡¯s other arm and the two of them walked out the dungeon and into the sunlight.

    Exiting Dungeon

    Rewards Not Settled

    Once you have left, the rewards can¡¯t be retrieved

    ¡°We need to get moving,¡± Santi said as he shoved the riftheart into Tank¡¯s backpack.  Tank just grunted in affirmation and the two of them set off quickly. Santi led the way as they backtracked, his mind still reeling from what had just happened.

    It wasn¡¯t the Apostate killing his own followers. It was how easily he had done it. Both of them had been decently leveled Acolyte¡¯s with a lean toward the physical side. Yet, Duncan had overpowered both of them so easily it had been almost laughable. His knife was obviously System forged and he had some skill related to killing players, but Santi was forced to re-evaluate where Duncan¡¯s actual levels were. He had to be close to sixty.

    A full ten level disparity between the two was covered by Santi¡¯s titles, but the extra skill slots the man had made it more dangerous. He had managed to avoid showing Santi any skills inside of the dungeon and had managed to get Santi to reveal his. From an information gathering point, the dungeon run had been a total disaster.

    He had the riftheart back though and the number of alerts on his feed was enough to make him a little giddy. He had cleared to level fifty, which opened another slot for him, and then there was the Pillar and the wealth of coins he had that could make up for the slots being used already. There was much to do, but he couldn¡¯t risk doing anything while they were on the road.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe he killed them.¡±

    ¡°He caught me off guard too. If there had been an attack, I was expecting it was going to be at you. Try to remove our most powerful healer and then see what happens from there. I never expected him to kill his own people like that,¡± Santi said. They were moving at a good clip, neither of them caring to see what type of monsters or mutated animals were out and in the woods.

    ¡°They were his people and he just¡­¡± Tank shook his head as he let the thought trail off into the aether.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t understand. The world has gone to shit. Monsters are literally appearing from thin fucking air, people have become consumed by curses, there¡¯s portals to slices of different realities, and he¡¯s killing his own.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s fucked up. He¡¯s a rabid dog that needs to be put down.¡±

    ¡°Is he rabid though? Everything he does seems measured and weighed. Even killing Trevor and Bo, it was done so calculatingly. He¡¯s a fucking psychopath.¡± Tanks shook his head slowly as he finished the thought.

    ¡°Can¡¯t argue there. He¡¯s dangerous though. The moment Mercy goes down and her curse is lifted, we¡¯re taking him, and anyone of his people who fights back, out. He knows we¡¯re going to be coming too and he wanted that reward bad,¡± Santi promised.

    ¡°We have our plans and our counters. We just have to trust in each other to get it done. But first we cleanse the curse,¡± Tanks said. Santi nodded and the two of them continued on in silence.

 Ch. 3.37 Orb of Holding

    37.

    ¡°Damnit!¡± Tank spat as he dodged a wide sweeping blow from the hissing mountain lion. Talons flashed by his face, splitting the air as Santi turned around in surprise, as the mountain lion had arrived soundlessly. Santi dashed in front of them with [Windstep] as his blade lengthened into a spear. Santi stabbed the mountain lion through its chest before it could react. The lion coughed once and went still, legs going limp and collapsing as the two men stood there in silence.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t sense that at all?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°Not at all. Just came out of nowhere,¡± Santi said a little breathlessly. The scent of blood in the air was intoxicating and he pulled his spear free as the two of them looked at each other and laughed anxiously together.

    ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± Santi said, the road signs slowly showing the distance traveled for themselves as they got closer and closer.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired. Let¡¯s get there and get this over with. ¡° Tank rustled his shoulders, settling the pack carefully on his shoulders as they turned and kept going. Santi looked down at the pelt of the cougar, the low level Acolyte animal would have made a solid pelt or leather armor.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Santi. Stop sniffing the air like a weirdo.¡± Santi came back to himself, pulling his eyes off of the dead big cat and then they were traveling again in moments. The heat of the sun was pleasant against their skin, their natural resistances enough that even the California summer was growing to be easily tolerable.

    ¡°What do we tell everyone when we get back?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°We went and did the dungeon. We have the riftheart. That¡¯s all there is to it. Duncan used the dungeon to try to improve his affinity and it probably worked or got close to succeeding. Did you level?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I got a few. You?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I need to figure out my levels and go through these achievements when we sit down.¡±

    ¡°Still trying to be somewhat balanced?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°Not really. We¡¯re passing the point where I can keep up with physical classers even with all my advantages. It¡¯s better for me to start focusing on my weak points and allowing gear and titles for the disadvantage. Time to start leaning into the mage class,¡± Santi said. It had been growing obvious for a while now that he was starting to be surpassed physically.

    Magically there was no one who could rival him, but without combat specific spells he had been forced to augment his combat with magic rather than augment his magic with swordwork.

    ¡°I suggest the same for you. I don¡¯t know the attribute spread for your class, but I¡¯m assuming it''s similar to mine. Leaning into mana stats, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no. I am a [Combat Medic]. I get strength stats right off the bat and a few durability points. The majority go toward spell casting though.¡±

    ¡°When the market is fully functional, or the dwarves get going, we equip you in armor that will protect you and items to improve strength. Lean into the mage portion of the build and just keep the heals flowing. Won¡¯t be as squishy as most healers but you won¡¯t be as powerful as them medically.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to heal a battlefield to perfect health. Just keep you alive until we get back to the real doctors.¡±

    ¡°There is definitely a place for a class and build like that. Splitting the difference between a physical classer and a true healer, you¡¯ll never reach the pinnacle of strength like that though. You can¡¯t completely split yourself, eventually you have to pick a direction,¡± Santi warned.

    They turned to the final stretch of road that led to their new camp. Santi was pleased to see a barricade had begun to be built. It wasn¡¯t the poorly done ones they had done either against the cyclops, as the effect of skills were evident. Cars had been melted into one another, melding together to form a mass that blocked off the road except for a single choke point.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you been splitting your attention?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°Yes and no. My class dumps almost all my points into mana based abilities and then I use my few spare points to bolster weak zones. I have my titles and gear now that help me cover the distance between me and a physical classer. By the time someone like Cameron or Bianca or Chloe reaches my level though, they¡¯ll have a base strength that is equal or surpasses mine, even with all my advantages.¡±

    ¡°But your magic abilities will far outclass theirs?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, I¡¯ll run circles around them magically. Biggest issue right now is most of my spells are more utility than combat. I can shape and change them to be combat focused, but at the end of the day they aren¡¯t as impactful as say something like [Firebolt].¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°Your sister doesn¡¯t use her affinity that much, just the one skill.¡±

    ¡°She has shit mana. She can¡¯t use her abilities as frequently as I can or even you and Cameron. Cameron is nicely balanced, but so many of his abilities use mana to create shields, he needs to be.¡±

    ¡°Really is like a game. What a fucking world,¡± Tank whispered the last part as they got closer to the barricade. Santi felt the hairs on his neck rise up as he stared at the barricade. It was eight feet tall but there was an ominous dread emanating from it as he stared. Either a skill or a spell that Yessi had laid down upon it.

    ¡°Come on in,¡± Maya yelled, her head peeking over the top and waving them in. Santi hadn¡¯t felt her on the other side of the barrier, in fact he couldn¡¯t sense anything beyond the barricade. Another layer of obfuscation that they had laid down.

    A small passage was created in the middle of the barricade, hardly large enough for Santi to pass through easily, Tank was forced to turn sideways and take his pack off to get through.

    ¡°Your dwarf friends are quite industrious. Going to have a wall up and around the whole damn town before the day¡¯s over,¡± Maya said as she sat back down on a ledge. Her head was completely hidden from the outside world, keeping the appearance of an abandoned wall.

    ¡°Good. Where is everyone?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Everyone is working around town. The others haven¡¯t made it back yet. I got stuck up here on watch duty,¡± she yawned as she spoke, boredom and not exhaustion easily seen on her face.

    ¡°How did the evolution go?¡± Santi asked as Tank shrugged his pack back on.

    ¡°Hurt like a bitch. Gains were nice though. Ready to test them out for sure. The others said they¡¯d take me out for a hunt and level party later as we try to find those bugs,¡± Maya said.

    ¡°Alright. Keep an eye out and I¡¯ll talk to you later,¡± Santi waved a hand at the woman and then he and Tank set off. Santi was heading straight for the Pillar of Civilization which rose up in the middle of the town. He had a level worth of stat points to distribute and the awards to go through, then the kit change up.

    ¡°Take the gear back to the house, give Yessi the riftheart when you see her. I¡¯m going to get through all the changes and then start baiting the trap,¡± Santi explained to Tank. The other man grunted and peeled away as Santi reached the Pillar.

    Santiago V. Silva

    Level 50. Air Mage

    Strength: 40 (75)

    Durability: 40 (75)

    Stamina: 40 (75)

    Dexterity: 40 (75)

    Vitality: 40 (75)

    Perception: 36 (71)

    Intelligence: 120 (155)

    Mana: 160 (195)

    Willpower:130 (165)

    Most of his spare points had been added to willpower, desperately trying to hold the curse at bay. Santi now fully understood how others had fallen to its insidious whispers that constantly attacked at his restraint and tolerance. The desire to simply solve every problem with bloodletting was monstrous and lurked in the background of every decision he had made for the last few days.

    Achievement: Clear a Dungeon

    Reward: Minor Loot Box

    Achievement: Kill a Monster 10 levels above you

    Reward: Minor Loot Box

    X3

    Achievement: Survive a Monster 10 levels above you

    Reward: Title Cockroach Accumulation 10%

    X3

    Thirty percent into title accumulation was nice. Fighting and killing the bosses in the dungeon had rewarded him handsomely, but the five percent extra gain he had had as an Initiate was missing. It also marked the halfway point of climbing through the Acolyte tier and another spell slot he could work with. He wasn¡¯t looking forward to the next step in his plan.

    He opened all four loot boxes and the only thing he got was another mound of coins that piled up into a neat pile at his feet. Thirty coins from each of the boxes. Santi actually counted them this time and frowned, he could have sworn there had been more last time.

    He touched the pillar and connected with it and quickly sorted through the menus. A quick scan of the map showed a nice layered topographical map that stretched out for miles. There were a few [Scouts] or their equivalent outside of the town, but nothing he had to worry about.

    He brought up the merchant windows and began to search. There were two merchant windows, one from the System directly that offered all sorts of low end supplies at high prices and then the on world merchant site which was for trade amongst the populace. Currently the inter world trade window was empty, but in a few days or weeks it would swell with new users and the market would be flooded with low quality goods.

    Santi focused on scrolling down the list of the offerings from the System until he found what he wanted. He wanted to wince at the price, but a hundred tokens wasn¡¯t the end of the world. With a thought the majority of the pile of coins at his feet disappeared and with a pop a small cardboard box appeared at Santi¡¯s feet.

    He pulled it free and looked at the small orb that had just absorbed so much of his earnings. It was a clear globe and when Santi grabbed it, it felt like the most flimsy piece of glass in the world, ready to shatter under his fingers with just the wrong move.

    Orb of Holding (Basic)

    Pull a skill or spell from your body and place it in the Orb.

    Santi had never used one of these before, but he knew people who had. It was an expensive and painful way of fixing a mistake. Santi was looking at his [Crosscurrent-Orb] and getting ready.  [Gust] was too useful currently, but the orb attack was weak and could be replicated by other abilities. Freeing up the third slot so he could take a common level skill was too tempting.

    He activated the orb and selected [Crosscurrent-Orb]. For a moment, nothing happened as he stood there holding the orb. Pain exploded in a white sheet that drove him to his knees as his very body trembled and shook violently. It was like hooks he hadn¡¯t known existed were being yanked free of his body.

    Santi blacked out and fell on the dry grass in front of the pillar.

 Ch. 3.38

    38.

    ¡°You alive?¡± Cameron asked, leaning over Santi and blocking out his view of the warm sun above. Santi grunted as he squinted at his overly large friend and the large shadow he cast. Cameron was nothing more than a silhouette against the sun and even then, Santi could see the mocking smile he was wearing.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Santi choked out, struggling to sit up. He felt as if he had been rolled through a press, drained of all energy and left to die as he coughed once as he looked around himself. An hour and twelve minutes had passed since he had lost consciousness and it didn¡¯t look like anyone had come and pulled him away from the pillar.

    ¡°Tank said you were alive after we found you sleeping. I waited around for you to come to, just to make sure though. Cause, I¡¯m your best friend,¡± Cam said, a bit too innocently.

    ¡°Did you draw something on my face?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Cameron said unconvincingly.

    ¡°Is it genitalia?¡±

    ¡°Would you be mad if I said yes?¡± Cam asked, the hidden glee in his voice not quite so hidden. Santi wiped at his face and then rubbed his eyes as he staggered upright. His legs were wobbly and he was having a hard time seeing, his vision blurry and strained.

    ¡°So, what were you doing that made you pass out?¡± Cam asked as he leaned against the pillar and looked at Santi expectantly. Santi looked down to see the orb sitting there in the grass. He picked it up and held it up to Cameron who peered at with a scrunched up look on his face.

    ¡°It¡¯s a snow globe?¡±

    ¡°Skill orb. It pulled out one of the spells I didn¡¯t use and stored it in here,¡± Santi explained. He was ready to look at his new spell he could take now that he had three open slots, but the drain on his body made him nervous to take a new one. The ripping at the soul was dangerous and the last thing he wanted was to somehow fail when acquiring a new spell.

    ¡°You can do that?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. It costs a good chunk of money and it''s incredibly painful, but you can take a skill or spell out of your slot and hold it in one of these.¡±

    ¡°And you can put it back in whenever?¡±

    ¡°Probably want to wait a little bit after taking it out, and the orb will shatter when the spell or skill comes out, but yeah.¡±

    ¡°Could I take that skill?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Santi waited as the implications sunk through Cam¡¯s head.

    ¡°So, if I found the right person, I could start taking skill and spells outside of my class selection?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. They won¡¯t suit you and might be a struggle to use, but you can. For the most part we get offered skills or spells that fit our class or affinity. For me it''s wind spells and some basic others like [Identify]. You have tanking skill and earth based spells, etc. etc,¡± Santi emphasized the point by rolling his hand to show it going on and on.

    ¡°Got any water?¡± Santi said, mouth feeling dry.

    ¡°Naw, but there¡¯s some at the house. Let¡¯s get a few other people gathered up and hear this. I think this could be big,¡± Cam said, his hand slipping under Santi¡¯s arm and helping steady him as they walked back to their temporary home.

    ¡°It could, if you had the money, the right set of class types and spell types, and of course, access to a Pillar. Then you could have all sorts of hidden talents ready to go,¡± Santi said.

    "Just hold it in for everyone else. We were taking a break for lunch and that¡¯s why I was over there,¡± Cam said quickly.

    ¡°So I don¡¯t have a penis drawn on my face?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t say that,¡± Cam said, a smile perking the edge of his mouth. Santi rolled his eyes and they continued in toward the house. He looked around as he walked there, his legs slowly growing firm beneath him as he recovered from the trauma of having a spell ripped out of his soul.

    ¡°It¡¯s looking nice out here. Or at least better than it did,¡± Santi said. Cam grunted, but there was a hint of pride in that grunt.

    ¡°Torin and Grimvr are machines and all of us being Acolytes has really sped it up. Can do the work of four or five men with ease. And that¡¯s just with stats, not including spells or skills.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    The streets had been cleared of debris and paint had been laid down carefully. Santi knew how the design worked, he had helped make it after all, but seeing pieces of it was interesting. He knew Mercy and her band of cursed would have no idea what this was, but Duncan might. A Champion accumulated enough knowledge that it was unwise to assume they were ignorant about anything, even if it was outside of the realm of expertise.

    It wasn¡¯t like the spell form would be dangerous to Duncan after all. Santi doubted the man would worry much about it.

    They walked into the house and Cam let Santi go then proceeded to flop on the couch, a piece of wood cracking as he landed with all his weight on the cheap furniture. He sighed once and then looked up at Santi.

    ¡°Hey, might want to try to scrub your face before everyone else gets here. Looks super unprofessional,¡± Cam said. Santi flipped him off and went to the restroom and saw that Cameron had indeed drawn a comically large penis across his cheek.

    It took a minute to scrub off and while he was at it he gave himself a bird bath in the sink, scrubbing off the remnants of the dungeon into the dirty porcelain before retreating back into the living room. Over the next five minutes the majority of the inner core group showed up, only the trio out looking for Keegan still missing.

    Rayleigh came too, but left her few people standing guard with the newcomers. She sat down next to Yessenia and the two whispered to each other as the rest of the family and friends showed up.

    ¡°Alright, so what happened?¡± Bianca said the moment everyone had settled down.

    ¡°Why were you out cold in the middle of the lawn?¡±

    Santi explained everything to them about the skill orb holder and how they could replace their skills or spells. And the cost to do so.

    ¡°So, you could give me your wind spells?¡± Bianca asked.

    ¡°Yeah. They wouldn¡¯t suit you at all, but you could take this one and absorb it if you have the space to slot in a basic level spell.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s to stop people from mixing and matching to their hearts content then? What¡¯s the point of having a class?¡±

    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be efficient. Like you would be able to maybe cast this spell two or three times before your mana starts getting drained. I can spam it as much as I want. My affinity and class are better suited for it. Same with any of yours or Chloe¡¯s endurance skills that enhance your physical stats. I could do it once or twice, but the boost just isn¡¯t worth it,¡± Santi explained.

    ¡°What about spells or skills that work in concert but are out of your class?¡± Mom asked, she was leaning over and very intent.

    ¡°Cost is quite prohibitive. Then the pain of having it ripped out and you''re no longer able to access that spell again. If I give [Crosscurrent-Orb] to one of you, it''s no longer available in my spell inventory to choose again. This isn¡¯t a way for you to spam instant skills for other people, but a drastic way to make a bit of coin or retool your build.¡±

    ¡°Make coin?¡± Cam perked up at that.

    ¡°The market option on the pillar. You will be able to sell goods across to other pillar owners for money. The System will take a bit of the money and the owner of both pillars will take a piece, but you¡¯ll be able to trade goods. Like these spell orbs,¡± Santi said, hoisting said orb up for everyone to see.

    ¡°So you owning that pillar means you get continuous money by people buying and selling goods?¡± Mom asked.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m the government basically.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± She nodded her head and sat back.

    ¡°For our group and close friends, I can keep the tax low while others are charged higher. It¡¯s another way to incentivize cooperation. The more of these pillars I control, the more nodes we have to trade. After this is over, we¡¯ll be working on acquiring more pillars and establishing small trading outposts around the area, all tied to our central pillar. But, that¡¯s for the future.¡±

    ¡°So if we fuck up or find a skill or spell that someone else has that we like, we could have them trade us?¡± Bianca asked.

    ¡°Yeah, but again. It¡¯s expensive and painful as fuck. I don¡¯t recommend it.¡±

    Yessenia was looking at him with a frown and Santi had a sudden idea that she had seen a ritual in her spell book that he had hoped wouldn¡¯t be there. After that, the group broke up and ate lunches of ration bars and just chatted with each other. It was good to see Yessenia in the group setting and not hiding off to the side or retreating to her room.

    As the group broke up and everyone went back to their respective jobs, Yessenia remained behind. She waited till the door closed and then pulled out a thin piece of chalk from one of the myriad of pockets she had on her cargo pants. She went over and made a quick Silence  rune on the door and imbued it with a brush of mana. Santi felt his eyebrows raising at the quick and efficient use of the rune.

    It was a relatively quick and fast method of ritual magic and quite weak by itself. The rune would keep all sound from escaping the house for a few minutes or until someone with the right knowledge broke it.

    ¡°There¡¯s a spell in the book called Skill Extraction. Could it be used on someone unwillingly to take their spells or skills and store them in one of those containers?¡± She was looking at him with an iron gaze that Santi both admired and was a little scared of.

    ¡°Yes. It can strip someone unwilling of their skill or spell. It can¡¯t be targeted though, so it just rips them out one at a time.¡± It had been a way of punishing transgressions for some of the more authoritarian groups. Or a way of blackmarket peddlers to sell in demand skills and spells.

    ¡°The ingredients are easy and it doesn¡¯t take much to power it.¡± The question was left unsaid.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want us to be those types of people. The pain of what I just did was excruciating and it was on my own free will. It¡¯ll likely take me the rest of the day to feel better and be ready to take on a new spell. We won¡¯t force anyone to do that.¡±

    ¡°Even people like Duncan?¡±

    ¡°Especially people like Duncan. He¡¯s ruthless and dangerous and it doesn¡¯t matter what wealth we can obtain from him. It''s morally wrong and it''s how people like him became people like him. He wasn¡¯t born evil, he just kept making these types of choices over and over again. We end the threat, quickly, cleanly, and permanently. I don¡¯t want to hear about these spell holders popping up on the market place, ok?¡±

    ¡°As long as we¡¯re on the same page.¡± Yessenia turned and left, wiping away the chalk rune on the door before walking out and into the street to continue her preparations. Santi sank into the couch and looked at where his little sister had just left and thought of her words.

    She had been more than willing to do it. There had been hints of eagerness there.

 3.39 Chloes Return

    39.

    Santi stared down at the lines that everyone had worked so hard to build over the last day. Chalk outline with an adhesive laid down that held salt in place, all of in combining to form one of the largest groundwork spells he had ever witnessed.

    The complexity of the regression spell had admittedly been far more superior, but the sheer size of this one dwarfed what the Apostates had managed to accomplish. It spread across an entire town, from the newly erected barricades all the way to the pillar standing tall in the middle of it.

    Power buzzed faintly, just at the edge of his ability to sense. Ambient mana was flowing at all times and the array was slowly pulling it into itself. With enough time the array could theoretically collect enough mana to power itself. If nothing broke the array lines and interrupted its growth.

    He could always buy an array from the pillar that could draw more ambient mana towards it, but he didn¡¯t want to waste the money. At least, not when he had a riftcore that could do the same thing.

    ¡°Incoming!¡± one of Rayleigh¡¯s people yelled from a rooftop a couple houses over. Santi perked up, hoping that it was Chloe and the scout duo. He leapt, grabbing the eaves of the closest house, and then bounded to the top of the roof. He was barely tall enough to see over the top of the barricade and across the dried scrub.

    Chloe was walking in the front, her axe seated on a broad belt he hadn¡¯t seen before. Daniel and Hana were in the rear, their focus fixed on the path they had taken rather than where they were going.

    In the center of the group were three people that Santi had a vague recollection of seeing about. A tall, skinny woman with blonde hair in the middle of the group was wearing tan camo army fatigues with a crossbow on a slung over one shoulder with a green visor that covered her eyes.

    The man on the right was older with a gray and black beard and a shaved head and a pierced eyebrow that glinted from the sun. He was short and broad with an old army jacket and a knife in his belt.

    The man on the left was younger with short curly black hair and similar camo as his two compatriots. He had a pair of binoculars that hung off his neck and had a pack slung over one shoulder that looked half empty. All three of them looked tired and dusty, the hard travel having worn them down.

    Santi gave a quick wave toward them and was rewarded by Chloe waving back at him, a smile spreading across her face. He waited patiently for them, the urge to head towards them strong, but he was trying to keep some decorum. The group slipped past the barricade and into the small town. Daniel and Hana split off immediately leading their three people away towards the house.

    Chloe bounded straight up the side of the house and smashed into Santi before he could react. Her grip was strong enough that his bones creaked as she hugged him and he grunted as the air was forced out of his lungs.

    ¡°Good to see you too,¡± he managed to whisper with the last of his breath. Chloe released him and threw back her head to laugh loudly. Closer to her, Santi could see the strain building up on her. The deep bags under her eyes, the matted tangle of her hair from dirt and dried blood. Her small smile was tired and her laugh forced.

    ¡°I¡¯m used to you being the strongest person I know. It feels weird that I¡¯m stronger than you now,¡± Chloe said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about all that,¡± Santi said laughing even as he left his hands on her biceps. Her warmth radiated through her thin shirtsleeves and Santi felt the edge of tension he¡¯d been carrying since they left for the dungeon slowly dissipate.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be that much stronger than me then,¡±Chloe corrected herself.

    ¡°You¡¯ll pass me up soon enough, don¡¯t worry ¡®bout that. How was the trip?¡± Santi asked, already knowing from the state of her dishevelment. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Fucking nightmare. Wildlife everywhere, a few monsters running about, then finding them was hard enough. Getting back was even worse. Most things we could sneak around or outrun getting there, but with them it became just a long running fight. Got two more levels doing it though. So there¡¯s some good that came out of it,¡± Chloe said. She slowly lowered herself and swung her legs off the gutter, looking around at the drawn on lines everywhere.

    ¡°Are you sure this is going to work?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Nope. I mean, it should. None of the spells we are doing are that advanced, they¡¯re just big. And a few of them. The hard part is going to be timing, which will be relying on you for,¡± Santi said as he sat next to her.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Got to get everything here at the same time. Daniel finds us that beetle nest and you¡¯re going to be our lure,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°Since when?¡±

    ¡°Since you just gained two levels and are our physically strongest person here. I can¡¯t go do it, I¡¯m the bait for Mercy.¡±

    ¡°Thought you said she was going to be coming no matter what?¡±

    ¡°I was lying. Got a resonance spell here near the middle of the town that will amplify the curses call. That is what¡¯s going to drag Mercy to us.¡±

    ¡°Resonance spell?¡±

    ¡°Giant amplifier that will resonate with the curse, amplifying it and projecting it outward. It¡¯ll be like throwing up a big-ass flare for her to see. And a challenge of sorts. She won¡¯t be able to turn it down.¡±

    ¡°Ok. Then when she gets here we use the defenses and spell forms to slowly grind them down?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Close enough. Grind them down and have Duncan¡¯s people hit them from the rear. Catch them in a pincer and fall back deeper into the city and closer to the pillar before we trigger our final trap.¡±

    ¡°The beetles?¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯m leaving it as a surprise. Just between me and Yessenia. You¡¯ll see it when it activates though,¡± Santi promised.

    ¡°Can¡¯t trust me?¡±

    ¡°I trust you. I just can¡¯t trust that Duncan is spying on us. I can¡¯t sense him,¡± Santi admitted. He had thought he had been reaching the levels of skill that the Apostates had when it came to spell manipulation. Duncan had proved him wrong repeatedly with his ability to come and go at will.

    ¡°I¡¯ll breathe easier when he¡¯s dead, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    ¡°We all will.¡±

    ¡°You get a better feel for him on the dungeon run? Maybe discern what he¡¯s actually about?¡±

    ¡°Self-centered, megalomaniac, asshole. He¡¯s skilled though. Very, very, skilled.¡± It hurt that Santi couldn¡¯t tell her exactly what was going on. After his time with Duncan and both of them knowing what they were about and what had happened, the sudden inability to talk about his past was glaring and painful.

    ¡°Sounds like a real piece of work,¡± Chloe said, her eyes locked on her swinging boots.

    ¡°He killed his two guys to finish his leveling off.¡± The words sprung out as Santi began to talk. The words were no more than a stream of consciousness as he described what had happened in the dungeon, the three boss monsters they had killed, and culminating in the death of Trevor and Bo.

    ¡°What a fucking psycho.¡± Chloe turned and spat in distaste.

    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t know what I was expecting when we went down there, but it wasn¡¯t that. I think he¡¯s higher level than me, might be sixty already,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°How? You are constantly fighting and killing things,¡± Chloe said, eyebrows raised in surprise.

    ¡°No. I spend time doing paperwork. Arguing with people about how they need to be a [Farmer] and not a [Warrior]. It just takes more and more of my time the more people we bring in, the more we build out and grow. All he does is kill and hunt. I¡¯ve cleared plenty of monster nests. I think I''m close to the top on some of the leaderboards, but there are people who are only hunting. I have to split my attention. Which means I¡¯ll start lagging further and further behind on pure levels.¡±

    ¡°But, you  have other advantages?¡±

    ¡°I have a strong community. Plenty of strong fighters and I have some of my own aces. The titles and equipment have been a huge boon for me. In the future we will have more gear than others, better support, food, and everything else. And it¡¯s not like I¡¯m lagging behind either. I¡¯m still the top one percent on the planet, just not point one percent.¡±

    ¡°Am I a one percenter?¡± Chloe asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re not far off. Get you a title or some better gear, boost your affinity a bit more, and yeah. You¡¯ll be sitting at the top with me.¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen. We kill Mercy. We kill Duncan. We kill every monster or mutated animal in the region. We build ourselves up. Then we take over the world,¡± Chloe laughed as she said that last part, the final bits of stress fading away as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

    Santi laughed with her and just enjoyed the feeling of not being alone.

 Ch. 3.40 Acolyte 6

    40.

    Naomi looked around the wreckage of the small town and whistled. Whatever had hit this place had hit it hard. There was almost nothing left standing in some neighborhoods, everything torn apart to the foundation. Some buildings had lasted here or there, solitary homes that had missed the razing.

    Alan didn¡¯t even look at them as he walked down a street of crushed cars, broken homes, and skeletons. His eyes were fixed on the cluster of houses that were looking rundown, but not broken apart like everything else. Naomi kept tight to the man. If he fell apart due to finding his son dead, she would give him a clean death. She couldn¡¯t risk him becoming insane again like he had in the last timeline.

    Her team had fanned out through the town, looking for anything of use that could have been passed over. Their packs were growing so large that Naomi was certain they¡¯d have to find a cache soon to store everything. Once she had the pillar back home and started establishing a network this wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡°Right here,¡± Alan said, pointing toward a house with a broken down front door. The large bay windows were shattered wrecks and there was black ichor staining the wood of the windowsill.

    Alan walked in like it was any other day, a jaunt to his step as he swept into his old house. He passed by the overturned furniture, the gashes in the wall, and the broken pictures.

    ¡°Cameron! You here?¡± Alan shouted. The house was silent in return. Alan shrugged and went up and into a room. Naomi followed slowly and carefully, a hand on the hilt of her sword. The man was sitting on the edge of a bed, pulling free dresser drawers and taking the clothes out of them.

    ¡°Alan? I thought we came to look for your son? Not clothes,¡± Naomi said.

    ¡°The chances of him being here was slim. I do need clothes though. I have a habit of tearing mine up,¡± he smiled apologetically at her as he grabbed a rucksack from the closet and started to neatly put everything in it. Alan filled up two thirds of the rucksack and then went through another door in the bedroom, the master bath.

    He came out with a few bars of soap which he threw into the bag and a package of toothpaste and toothbrushes, all of it loaded up without hesitation. Naomi wanted to sigh. They had all of these items already, but there was a comfort of having your own things.

    ¡°I was hoping he¡¯d leave a not or something, but no dice. Let me check next door, Cam¡¯s best friend lived there.¡± Alan slung the rucksack on his back and left the master bedroom without a single look back. Naomi couldn¡¯t tell if the man was insane or just that confident in his son.

    She followed after and entered a house that had just as much damage as Alan¡¯s. If not more so. The kitchen had turned into a warzone with different splashes of blood overlaying one another on the walls. The knives in the kitchen butcher block were missing and the glass oven was broken open with shards of black glass laying on the white tile.

    Alan went up a set of stairs, hollering as he did so, while Naomi stayed downstairs. She walked through the ruins of a life and took in all the pictures of what looked like a happy family. Mom, Dad, two daughters, and one son. They were always smiling in every picture.

    She stopped and looked at the boy again. His features were similar to something. She struggled to recall where she had seen the boy before. A blooming horror washed through her as her instincts screamed at her. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°Alan!?¡± She yelled up the stairs. The tread of footsteps rattled down the house as Alan came hurrying down.

    ¡°Did you find something?¡±

    ¡°No. But who¡¯s house is this?¡±

    ¡°The Silvas, Vicente and Gabriella¡¯s. They moved in a little before my wife passed away. They were good people, helped me through losing her. Their son Santiago is Cameron¡¯s best friend. Think Cameron had a crush on their older daughter, he¡¯d always get flustered and tongue tied around her.¡± Alan laughed as he pointed at a picture she hadn¡¯t seen yet.

    It was off Alan and, presumably, his son Cameron with the entirety of the Silva family. They were all wearing ugly Christmas sweaters while smiling like loons. Naomi felt like a lead weight had been dropped into her stomach.

    What could the odds have been?

    ¡°Santiago Silva? Goes by Santi?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. You know him or something?¡±

    ¡°A friend did. That¡¯s actually where we¡¯re going to next. His college.¡±

    ¡°Well, if Cam stuck with the Silva¡¯s and they didn¡¯t stay here, then Santi¡¯s college makes sense I guess.¡± Alan shrugged his shoulders and spun on a heel and walked right back out the door.

    She had the urge to kill him. To strike his head from his shoulders before he knew what was happening. She could already see the disaster that was coming. How would Alan stay with her when his son was with Santiago? She should eliminate the threat before it became a threat. It was one of the reasons they had come here after all, that they had flung themselves through time to try to change everything.

    To make it better.

    That last thought was the only thing that stayed her hand. She hadn''t come back to be a cold blooded killer. She wanted a world where her girls could grow up safe, where they could have a future. Where they could look up and admire her, follow her example.

    She relaxed and walked out of the house and followed behind Alan as he looked around the old neighborhood for the last time. There was a silent tear trailing down his face as he took it all in.

    ¡°I knew he wouldn¡¯t be here. But I hoped. I hoped I¡¯d see my boy again,¡± Alan whispered. Suddenly the nonchalant attitude and the carefree display made sense. He was masking himself, hiding how much he was hurting and he had done a damn fine job of it.

    ¡°He should be up and at the college then. It should only take us another day, two at most to reach it,¡± Naomi said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have to return that Pillar back home?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll get back home when it gets back home. Who knows, might even find another one or two of them out here while we¡¯re at it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I need to know. I need to know,¡± Alan whispered again, his eyes losing their bright sheen as despair clouded his visage.

    ¡°Hey, we can do this. Another day or two, that¡¯s all you need to hold on for,¡± Naomi said. She nudged him with her shoulder and Alan nodded back.

    Naomi just hoped that Santiago was already dead and that Duncan had been surgical rather than just slaughtering them all. She didn¡¯t want to lose Alan, not after all the time and effort that had went into keeping the man sane.

    ¡°Boss, just about done. This place was picked clean, nothing to find at all,¡± one of her people said. She had thought as much, but it was always better to check than to not check.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s get a move on. New destination!¡± Naomi bellowed and a wave of affirmatives came from her small group. They had lost people, they had traveled up half the state, earned levels and collected enough rare materials it was a minor miracle. They had one more stop to do then she could head home to Marcus and the girls. As long as Alan didn¡¯t go insane. As long as Santiago was dead. As long as her plans could continue moving forward.

 Ch. 3.41 Theres a difference, Daniel!

    41.

    ¡°Those aren¡¯t beetles, Daniel,¡± Santi said, turning to stare at his scout. The other man shrugged as they stood on a small hill looking down to the gulley. It had taken them almost three hours to find the nest and now that they were looking at it, Santi was reconsidering some of his earlier thoughts.

    ¡°They¡¯re bugs. Right?¡±

    ¡°Why do you sound unsure if they¡¯re bugs? Of course they¡¯re fucking bugs. It¡¯s just that they¡¯re termites!¡± Santi said with exasperation.

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference? A bug is a bug,¡± Daniel tried to defend himself as he waved a hand at the mound in the gulley.

    The large mound. That looked more like a hill. That was covered in low-level Acolyte termites.

    ¡°There¡¯s a big ass hive of termites here Daniel. Not a bunch of random bugs that were just hanging out. The difference is in numbers. And they probably have a queen and king.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re a colony bug, with separate types of orders, soldiers, workers, and escalating to a queen and king. Which will likely be much higher level than the workers down there,¡± Santi said, pointing at the alabaster termites.

    ¡°So the; lure the bugs to the party to create chaos plan isn¡¯t going to work?¡±

    ¡°Ohhh, it¡¯s going to work. Might work too well though. We¡¯re also going to have to do something to lure them away from their colony. If it was just a few of them it wouldn¡¯t have been that hard. Beetles could be incentivized through lures or something. A colony like that, the most we will get is a handful coming to investigate. Unless¡­¡± Santi trailed off as he looked at the massive mound that formed the entrance to the colony.

    ¡°Unless what?¡±

    ¡°Unless we destroy the hive the colony is around,¡± Santi looked at Daniel and the other man¡¯s eyebrows shot up.

    ¡°Aside from you, I don¡¯t know if anyone has the power to get that done,¡± Daniel said after a moment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the power to destroy a hive like that. Kill them individually, yeah I could do that. Destroy the infrastructure or threaten it enough that we provoke a killing response as the entire colony comes after us? Naw, don¡¯t have the juice. But I know how to do it,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°Yessenia?¡± Daniel guessed.

    ¡°She could with enough time and ingredients. Which we don¡¯t have. We do have a lot of cars and half full gas tanks around though.¡±

    ¡°Firebomb?¡±

    ¡°Firebomb,¡± Santi confirmed.

    ¡°And they¡¯ll know it¡¯s us?¡± Daniel asked, sounding even more confused now.

    ¡°They will when someone is standing out here when they come boiling out,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°Sounds dangerous,¡± Daniel said suspiciously.

    ¡°Very dangerous. But I do have someone who specializes in escaping and evading. The perfect person for the job really.¡±

    ¡°Shit,¡± Daniel hung his head and said with a heavy sigh. Santi patted him on the shoulder and forced some cheer into his voice as he looked at the scout.

    ¡°Everything we¡¯re going to be doing is dangerous. Would you rather do this or be in the middle of a bloody melee?¡±

    ¡°This,¡± Daniel admitted.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have Hana on the outskirts watching for you to come in. Out of the worst of the danger,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°Thanks. So, time to go and siphon gas out of cars?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Time to siphon gas out of cars. We¡¯re running a bit low on labor really. Rayleigh¡¯s team has all been conscripted to help Yesi and everyone else has their own projects. You have any of your rangers close by?¡± Santi asked, already knowing the answer.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°A couple teams have drifted up this way. Didn¡¯t ask them too, but they know we¡¯re over here and they have been slowly forming up over the last day or so,¡± Daniel said.

    ¡°Alright, get them on it then. Salvage gas, diesel, anything that will burn. Then when the signal goes up, you burn it down,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°And then lead them right into the fight?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the signal going to be?¡± Daniel said as they slunk away from the nest of termites.

    ¡°Will it be cliche for me to say, you¡¯ll know it when you see it?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Very cliched. What will it be?¡±

    ¡°A red flare. That works?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Alright, let me head off and go find my teams then we can start building a firebomb. Or two,¡± Daniel said the last part with a bit of a smirk before slipping away. Santi watched the quiet scout fade away into the brush and nodded to himself. The man was becoming more and more competent and reliable. Santi didn¡¯t think he had what it took to become a Champion, but a Disciple easily enough. In truth the organization he was building could be more helpful than a single Champion could be.

    A few hundred trained and skilled scouts and rangers who patrolled the wastes between cities would have been a godsend back in the first timeline. It had taken too long to organize the first time, too few people had survived and leveled to build a semi-autonomous fighting force that was used to clear monsters or mutated animals in the wild areas. Every single person was needed for the war effort.

    It was a nice sign. A sign of a better world. A hopefully more tame and protected world. As long as it didn¡¯t spiral out of control again. With Mercy¡¯s and Duncan¡¯s deaths this entire region would be free of any type of organization that could oppose him and his plans of settling and pacifying the region. Trade routes, communities, shelters, rangers, and so many more ideas that would help make rebuilding a peaceful society possible.

    And it was all coming down to this fight. Santi could feel the weight of it, the thought of everything being decided on whether or not he could kill them. Then again, everything had been boiling down to whether or not he kept his guts in his insides long enough to establish this safe haven. It was close to being done, the momentum building to the point that even if he was to die, that they could continue on.

    Or if it was time to move on. To leave the nest and find the other Apostates before they came and found him. Before they could drag their armies across the country and leave nothing but a trail of ruin and death behind them. With the Pillars built around his home, he could find a new one and take it with him as he traveled. He was sure that most of the team would go with him, or at least be willing to hear him out.

    Santi pushed the ideas of the future away. Having you head up in the clouds and visions of a future you could make was sure to get you killed in the present. He needed to be focused to ensure the fight went his way.

    ¡°So, the bugs huh?¡± Duncan said, snapping into reality only a few feet away from Santi. It was enough to send an icy spear of fear radiating through him, though he managed to not showcase anything visible. The nondescript man just smiled slowly, no joy in his dead eyes as he looked Santi in the eyes.

    ¡°Do you think that will tip the tide so much in your favor?¡± Duncan asked and Santi had a moment of horror as he thought the illusive scout had figured out the real plans. Then it passed as Duncan didn¡¯t elaborate more on the work Yesi was doing.

    ¡°They have the numbers advantage. I¡¯m creating an anvil in that town, you¡¯re the hammer. The bugs are the coup-de-grace.¡±

    ¡°If you think Mercy¡¯s people are going to fall over and die to some bugs, you¡¯re sorely mistaken about her strength. They¡¯ve been destroying every settlement they¡¯ve found from Oregon to Nevada. We¡¯re not the only strong people around either. The strongest probably, but not the only ones with strength. They¡¯ve been reaping levels from other humans, slaughtering monsters and animals and they¡¯ve conquered every monster den they¡¯ve come across.¡± A flicker of true emotion passed the assassin''s face, so fleeting that Santi almost didn¡¯t believe he¡¯d seen it. Fear.

    ¡°I went up North, close to the mountains and the border and there¡¯s nothing alive Santi. It¡¯s just charred ground and skeletons. Even the damn monsters haven¡¯t come back. These people are a scourge and they must be eradicated to the last person.¡± There was a conviction to his voice, a fervor that bordered on religious zealotry.

    Santi was looking at the man and really seeing him. He was a cold blooded murderer. A psychopath who looked at people like they were no more than bags of experience to further his own goals. And he was scared. He hid the fear in his rage and conviction, but it was there. And it made Santi nervous.

    ¡°You do your part and I¡¯ll do mine. How much time do we have?¡±

    ¡°Another day, maybe two. They¡¯re coming this way, finished off Reno and their celebrations have ended. Nearly a thousand of them, but most of them are low level trash. None of my scouts have seen the inner core. I¡¯m going to go and look at them myself, see if I can clear out some of their Acolytes.¡± Duncan spoke as if infiltrating a camp filled with curse afflicted soldiers was an easy thing.

    ¡°If we can get a more accurate time for arrival and numbers the sooner the better.¡± Santi said.

    ¡°I¡¯m going up there to investigate tonight and will be back tomorrow morning. Your defenses in the camp are looking fairly decent, enough to keep me out. Well¡­I have to exert some effort to get through it at least.¡± Duncan flashed a smile that did nothing to assure Santi.

    The thought of Duncan making his way through the defenses and his surprises being discovered was unpleasant to think about. None of the spell forms were complex and would be easy enough to figure out if Duncan could get enough perspective to understand the town wide formations.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know whether to wish you good luck, or hope that you¡¯re caught and ripped limb from limb,¡± Santi said, leaning on one leg and looking at Duncan. The other man laughed, a dry, harsh bark.

    ¡°You want me alive until the killing is done.¡±

 Ch. 2.47 Tower Climb

    47.

    Santi stalked by the severed heads, ignoring the sloughing skin that drooped off their skulls. Ground glass, as fine as sand, crunched under his boots as he strode into the bottom floor of the tower. The ground floor was a mess of broken furniture and scattered personal belongings.

    The smell of excrement filled the lobby causing Santi to scrunch his nose in distaste. He bent his spell around himself to keep the smells away. Nothing stirred inside of the lobby and Santi looked around casually as he marched toward the stairs.

    The elevators were pried open and the gaping shaft was exposed as a cold current ran out of it and through the lobby. Santi took a quick peek and saw the crushed remnants of the elevator sitting below him. The shaft above had regular lights entering as elevator doors on different floors had been open. He toyed with the idea of climbing straight up, but quickly discarded it.

    The door to the stairs was missing, the hinges ripped free of the doorframe. Santi walked quietly up the stairs. His eyes swept back and forth over the stairwell, looking for movement. The shadows were thick, forming a gloom that was nearly impenetrable. Things shifted and moved above him, but Santi couldn¡¯t care, they were just an obstacle in his way.

    He jogged near silently up the stairs, morph blade extended in front of him in saber form. Something flitted at him and he slashed on instinct, blood splattering his face as the pieces of a monster splattered on the ground around him.

    Mana Warped Bat lvl. 29

    A warbling cry rippled through the air, it wasn¡¯t audible but rather the change in the air pressure in the stairwell. A swarm of bats screaming out as they fell like rain toward him. [Gust] howled up the narrow confines and bodies smacked hard against concrete. Their fragile bodies broke, wings shattering as they fell around him with wet splats.

    The kill notifications were ringing through his head as more and more of the small mammals came flying toward him. [Crosscurrent-Orb] ripped apart a thick knot of them, vicious winds sending the lightweight animals flinging in every direction. [Air Manipulation] formed a light barrier around him as he continued to cast and climb.

    The bats began to screech, the high pitch sonic assaults making him wince before he created an inch thick vacuum around his temporary barrier. His headache returned in force as he twisted his spells and strained to hold everything together.

    The sonic burst stopped as he sent another [Gust] roaring through the stairwell. The bats were annoying but not a threat to him. Aside from the level discrepancy, a sonic attacker against an air mage of significant skill was a terrible match up. Santi had the skill necessary to negate the attacks.

    Floor by floor he continued up, carefully checking each landing to avoid another ambush. There were signs of violence here and there. Bloodstains, partly decomposed bodies, broken handrails and gouged concrete walls. Santi kept climbing and with every step he fostered that killing rage that was growing to consume him as time passed.

    Eventually the bats were done. Scores of them littering the stairs, their small furry bodies twisted and broken. The moment the last one died and their echoing shrieks faded, Santi dropped his temporary shield just in time to hear the heavy thump of doors slamming open.

    A large shape leapt from a landing above him, a crude stone axe in its hand as it sailed down toward him. Santi leapt backward and placed an [Air Shield] in the way, slowing the momentum of the giant ape as it landed. Concrete cracked and the giant axe, it was closer to a maul Santi thought, hit the shield and burst it apart in a flurry of wind.

    The primus was bulging with muscle, its large yellow canines jutted out of its mouth as it howled at Santi. Santi extended the morph blade into a long needle and pierced through its eye without resistance. The giant ape screamed, swinging its arm up and around in a circular motion to rip out the weapon. Santi let it go limp, the metal like a well cooked noodle.

    It slapped on the ground as the ape hopped back, grabbing with one hand at its bloodied eye. Santi formed a razor edge on the morph and cracked his wrist, sending it slashing across the ape¡¯s ankles.

    The ape¡¯s feet were left behind as the ape kept falling forward, screaming as it slashed at his head with the wide stone axe. A distant part of Santi was impressed with how tough the ape was. It didn¡¯t yield an inch even as he cut it to pieces, its single bloodshot eye still glaring at him with.

    Santi stepped back and let the beast crash into the stairs in front of him. The stone axe chipping away at the concrete stairs inches from his feet. Santi formed the morph into a wide hammer and brought it down with finality, using an [Air Shield] to stop the splash of blood, bone, and brain matter. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    He leapt easily up the flight of stairs and over the mess that he had made of the ape. Above him he could hear the hooting of more of the bulkier apes as they started to flood the stairwell. Santi started to run, legs pumping mechanically as he raced upwards. His blade was a blur, slashing open limbs and cutting apart primitive weapons as the creatures kept coming at him.

    Fur and blood coated him like a coat as he got closer and closer. The great beasts were no challenge, pure muscle and endurance. Santi could match them and had powerful magic. His spells threw them sideways, stole the air from their lungs, shoved them into walls, and stopped deadly blows from hitting him. All the while he could chop them apart with a blade that couldn¡¯t be parried.

    A burst of flames filled the stairwell above him as the prey changed tactics. Santi cast [Gust] and caught the flames, redirecting them backwards. Surprised animalistic screams came back to him, but threaded amongst their pain was a human shout of surprise.

    It seemed the bull had been right. Abraham¡¯s crew was here. And they had decided to throw in with the monsters. Santi slammed open the closest door and left the stairwell, not wanting to get pinned down with magic being flung at him.

    The floor had been some type of open office plan. Lots of broken standing desks, popped exercise balls, and shitty office mantra posters. Santi looked it over carefully, searching for anything that might be residing in the ruins of the office space. After a moment, there was no movement and he let himself relax for a second.

    He sat against a wall, letting his mana recover as he tried to catch his breath. It had been a bit of a strain there at the end. He quickly checked through the kill notifications and was shocked at the number of them in his feed. Between the bats and the apes he had earned levels and achievements. He didn¡¯t have time to check them though, the sound of pounding feet on stairs coming toward him.

    He moved down the wall where the doorway was and waited. The door would make a good choke point that would let him thin down the numbers a bit. If the apes had magical backup, it was going to get difficult.

    The wall next to him exploded in a spray of concrete and drywall and one of the monstrous apes came through the wall with a howl. Santi jerked back, barely dodging a balled up fist and did a backward somersault. Another ape leapt through the newly created hole, the two of them instantly tracking him as a human that Santi vaguely recognized followed through the doorway.

    [Air Shield] stopped a decapitating strike and Santi was forced to dodge as a broken desk was flung at him. He fell to the ground as a lance of fire seared his hair and he bit back a curse as he rolled to avoid a heavy stomp. That festering pit of anger broke open and Santi rose to his feet and cast [Air Shield] behind the apes, cutting off the mage from supporting them.

    He slashed and hacked, attacking the two larger monsters with the ferocity of a badger. They struck at him but he used [Air Manipulation] again to form a swirling barrier around him, only his sword arm exposed to their blows. He took the closest one¡¯s head with a heavy slashing hack, the morph blade a scimitar. He kicked the dead body, aiming at the mage who had just broken the shield.

    He felt his knee pop as the torso of the ape rocketed backward. The mage cursed and rolled away as the corpse flew past him. Santi struck seven times in less than two seconds, leaving the remaining ape without its arms or heart. He turned and looked at the mage as the mage scrambled to his feet.

    Santi stalked toward him, each step dreadful in its finality. The man was middle aged, his hair thin and gray with a thick mustache that was more gray than black. His soft brown eyes were wide with fear as he scrambled backward, tripping in his haste to slam back to the ground.

    ¡°Please, we didn¡¯t mean for him to get hurt. I¡­I can show you where your sister is!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll find her myself.¡± Santi slashed once.

    Fire Mage lvl. 27

    The kill notification flashed through his mind and he stared at it for a second. Such a little notification for a human life¡¯s ending. Was that what Abraham had seen and felt when he had killed his father? Did Abraham feel nothing like he felt?

    Santi searched the corpse quickly. He pulled a wallet out and flipped it open and browsed the contents. Creased and faded family photos were tossed to the side, scraps of paper with near illegible writing that Santi had to squint to read. Little notes from a child to their father.

    Garbage.

    His bloody pants didn¡¯t have anything else in them and his only weapon was a cheap belt knife that was chipped in multiple places. He tested the edge and rolled his eyes at finding the blade dull. A mediocre weapon for a mediocre man.

    Santi headed back to the stairwell, careful to check upward and back down for any waiting attackers. The constant stream had stopped finally and he was free to keep going up.

    His knee bothered him, causing him to limp as he kept moving upward. The morph blade was nearly purring in joy on his wrist from the feast it just had. There was a flicker of flame inside of it now as it digested a piece of the fire mage.

    Helena had said there were over a dozen, but he couldn¡¯t be sure. He remembered Yesi¡¯s list and there had been around eighteen names on it that Santi had put in Abraham¡¯s camp. Rayleigh hadn¡¯t betrayed him, but the others were all possible candidates. Up to seventeen, sixteen now, Acolyte fighters ready to throw down to kill him. Plus the Primus Alpha.

    It was a deathtrap up there. There was no denying it. He needed to save the world, prevent the Patron from taking their world. Stripping them of their choices and freedom. He just couldn¡¯t care.

    He couldn¡¯t stop until he saw Abraham dead at his feet. No matter what they threw at him, he was going to kill them all. Every blink of his eyes brought back that memory of the blood smeared kitchen. The twisted wreckage of what had once been a man.

    He couldn¡¯t stop it. Every time that brief darkness interrupted the world, he saw that scene. Every blink further drove home that terrible reality that he didn¡¯t want to accept.

    His Dad was dead. He would never see his father again, hear his laugh or feel his warm hug. He had had it again, for the briefest of moments, he had felt that love again.

    And Abraham had taken that from him. Santi kept his eyes on the top floor where he could feel potential swirling above him.

 Ch. 2.48 Shadows of the Past

    48.

    A thin steel door was all that was between him and Abraham. Santi stared at it for a moment before opening the door and walking in. The room had been stripped down to the bare concrete floors. Floor to ceiling windows had been broken away and a wind ripped through the room in a constant howl. Abraham stood in the center of the room with his people spread out all around him, weapons pulled out.

    Santi looked them over and let his grimace of disgust show. They outnumbered him nine to one and they were scared. He could see it in their eyes, their gaze¡¯s filled with anxiety. They shifted their weight back and forth and were sweating visibly. He wondered where the rest of the cowards were, but he really had come for Abraham. The others would come in time. He started to release his tightly contained mana into the atmosphere.

    ¡°Hello, Santiago. I¡¯m sorry about what happened to your father. It must have been hard to see him die again,¡± Abraham sneered.

    ¡°Again?¡± Santi felt the tug of curiosity rattling the black rage that consumed him.

    Abraham pulled a battered and torn up journal from behind his back and tossed it at the floor. It landed with a sharp crack on the ground and Santi took a look at it briefly while staying alert for a surprise attack. It took only a moment for him to realize what it was.

    The last time he had seen the journal it had been sitting inside of his college dorm room. Right after Akthyr had visited him and placed the geas on him. Santi had a sudden burst of understanding as the foggy memories became clear. The Grandmaster had blocked his memories of it, blurring it all away.

    ¡°How¡¯d you find that?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re scavengers. Went through that dorm you had and my guys found some stuff with your name on it. The journal was a surprise. It made it all make sense to me,¡± Abraham said, his voice low and whispery as he began to scowl. His features furrowed, distorting his face as rage crept through him.

    ¡°You knew! You knew this was coming and you did NOTHING!¡± spittle sprayed out of his mouth as he screamed the last word. The others had anger begin to bleed through their fear.

    ¡°Yeah. I knew.¡± It felt good to say it outloud. To finally say it to someone who would remember, even if they weren¡¯t going to be alive for much longer.

    ¡°And you just let it all happen? All of this!¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t stop it from coming. Just rode it out the best I could and planned for what I knew I could do. Is this why you killed my Dad? For some misplaced thought of revenge?¡±

    ¡°Vicente was an accident. I didn¡¯t realize he was so fragile, and my own strength took me by surprise.¡±

    ¡°Incompetence killed my father? Is that what you¡¯re going with?¡± Santi asked, his voice like ice.

    ¡°Your incompetence killed the world. If you had figured out how to stop this, nothing would have gone this way!¡±

    ¡°There was no stopping it. It''s beyond our control. All I could do was ride it out and save what I could. Which I did.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really care.¡± Santi had been releasing his mana into the surrounding environment since the moment he had walked into the door. His power suffused the area, filling the area with his magic. It made it easier to seize the initiative when he cast {Air Manipulation] and ripped all the air out of the room. He created an airtight barrier around them all and watched with satisfaction as their judgemental eyes became panicked as all the air leaving created a brief whirlwind before there was silence.

    All nine of them stood in an airless barrier, grasping and scratching at their throats as panic overrode basic thought. They weren¡¯t in immediate danger of asphyxiation, their evolution would stretch out what oxygen they had in their blood before they died. They weren¡¯t comfortable with their new bodies and were panicking, scrambling and grabbing at their throats as they fell to their knees, wasting precious time.

    The barrier was thin and fragile. With the power he currently had, twisting a basic spell like this into something complex like the barrier would leave it weak. If they stopped gasping like fish on land and started working towards survival the fight would become closer to fair.

    Santi watched them gasp and claw and die slowly. He stared at Abraham, never looking away from the man¡¯s bulging, fear filled eyes. Santi hadn¡¯t had enough time to really think of how he would feel about killing the man. He had been in a state of shock, letting his anger and pain lead him here.

    Now he was staring down at his father¡¯s killer as he choked to death. And he felt nothing.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯ll come later. When the kill notification comes. What did you think when my Dad¡¯s kill notification pinged you. Did you feel shame, or hate, or did you just think it was your right? Because you were strong? That¡¯s what your whole problem with me was, wasn¡¯t it? I was stronger than you and you couldn¡¯t bully me into what you wanted,¡± Santi said as he waited for them to finally die. Aside from the thin bubble of air around him, the entire floor was in a vacuum. They couldn¡¯t hear him.

    Santi felt a weight in the shadows behind, just outside of his barrier. He glanced backward looking at the empty doorway and the familiar presence. He really didn¡¯t want Daniel to see this, but maybe it was good for his shadow to see the depths of the world.

    A blade flashed at Santi, shattering both his outer barrier and his own personal air pocket. He jerked to the side and a burning pain ripped through him as a long cut opened up on his left arm. Santi slashed out in return, his own blade slicing the air in front of the unfamiliar man.

    A rush of air entered the vacuum in a burst of power, the flash of air throwing the man¡¯s hood backward. Santi¡¯s eyes widened in horror as he stared at one of the Apostates. The man was plain and of average height. Mousy brown hair and flat brown eyes with a medium build. It was a face he had seen before, in the ritual circle, younger and less lined and without scars.

    Santi was forced back immediately as the assassin struck three more times before he could blink. His form shifted as he struck, blurring at the edges and then appearing at a different angle. [Gust] billowed across the small space between them and picked up the assassin and threw him back through the doorway. The killer disappeared as he went through the door, his body melting into the darkness.

    A hammer whistled through the air and Santi spun and fell to his knees, sliding across the polished concrete. His morph blade took the woman¡¯s legs at the knee, her scream shrill and piercing as she fell in pieces to the floor. The other eight of Abraham¡¯s crew were coming fast at him but he couldn¡¯t worry about them. Another regressor was much more dangerous than the entire squad Abraham had.

    He had to get out of the building and do it right now. [Gust] was cast in a full circle around him and Santi poured as much mana into as he could, his body straining under the pressure. The entire scavenger team was picked up and thrown like leaves in the wind and Santi was running toward the windows instantly.

    One unlucky soul had been tossed free, sailing through the window with a truncated scream. Santi watched the man fall and leapt out the window, aiming for across the street. The skyscraper across from them was in worse shape, all of the windows broken and easy for him to clear the distance with a quick cast of [Gust] to help propel him a bit further.

    He flew into the other skyscraper, landing hard and rolling fast to his feet, his heart pounding. The entire time he had come here to kill the bastards who had murdered his father, he hadn¡¯t felt an ounce of fear. That knife coming out of the dark had sparked an icy thrill that had his heart hammering away.

    Santi took in the area he was in. Another ruined office space with lights hanging from their wires, scattered papers and broken furniture. A primus was looking at him confusedly for a second before Santi removed its head. He had to move and move quickly.

    Fighting Abraham and his entire crew was already going to be difficult enough, but with the Apostate here he would need to run. There was no way he could fight a mage killer with the full support of a squad of Acolytes. Santi crossed the distance to the doors and shoved them open and looked down at the winding staircase.

    It wasn¡¯t going to be fast enough. His eyes were drawn to the closed elevator doors and he acted. There was no time to think things through, he just had to move. Ripping the doors open was easy and he looked to see the elevator cables were still intact.

    Santi turned the morph weapon into a hook and grabbed onto the cable. With a thought he closed the hook and jumped down. The morph was able to tighten with a thought, slowing him down as he dropped like a rock. He hit the elevator with a crash, his knees buckling and sending him sprawling. He used the morph to slice apart the top of the elevator in a second, sending a square of metal falling to the interior of the elevator.

    Santi hopped in and gagged instantly. A pair of moldering corpses were strewn about, their flesh mostly decomposed but sealed by the doors. Holding his breath he sliced the bottom of the elevator away and fell again, repeating his trick from earlier. He had to guess where he was in the tower, but he thought he was close to the ground floor.

    He forced himself to stop and looked for an elevator door. It took a few moments of blind searching before he was able to pry it open, using the morph weapons as a pry bar. The moment the door opened he could hear the hoot and scream of the heavy apes as they came flying toward him.

    The alpha had to be close by. The fear Santi had sown in them was gone, overridden by their own anger. Santi booked it straight toward the doors, heart pounding as he screeched out of the door. A pair of apes leapt at him and he disemboweled both of them with a single strike.

    He started sprinting, trying to head toward the outer edge of the downtown district. Santi caught a flash of light and dodged, [Air Shield] stopping a wash of flame from overwhelming him. The odds that Abraham¡¯s second rate crew had two pyromancers wasn¡¯t high, but apparently his luck was shit.

    The man was posted up in the tower he had just left. A good tactical place to be standing to rain down pain on people on the street. There was little he could do except keep running and casting his shield between the two of them.

    The shadows pulsed to his right and he brought his blade up, catching the knife striked headed toward his neck. Icy pain filled his side as a second blade from behind entered his side. Santi bit back a cry and pulsed [Gust] dispelling the shadow magic that had just stabbed him.

    His morph blade lengthened and went whip like and he slashed away the shadows around him. A spike of earth came flying at Santi and he was forced to throw himself into the ground floor of another building. Smaller than the scrapers, it was a run down brick building with its windows having been boarded up. The door was solid wood and smashed under Santi¡¯s lowered shoulder as he rolled away from the burst of magic.

    He grabbed at his bleeding side, his arms still weeping scarlet. There was no getting around it, he was in a bad spot.

 Ch. 2.49 Bad Spot

    49.

    The dilapidated building was a clone of everything else he had seen so far. Strewn about with the debris of the old world. Here and there signs of habitation, the nesting habits of the mutated apes evident to see. Santi looked at the gnawed bones and some of the panic faded away to be replaced by grim determination.

    He wasn¡¯t going to get out of here while the alpha was running about and the Apostate hid in the shadows. Abraham and his crew were the least dangerous thing to worry about right now.

    Santi spun around to watch the door and reacted in time to two level 35 apes running in with crude spears in their hands. The morph blade sheared the twisted rebar with ease and he battered the two monsters into the ground.

    An oily spear of earth came howling through the open doorway and Santi was forced to jump to the side as the primate screams increased in volume. Cursing he stood and raced to the back of the building and to the stairwell. He needed somewhere he could fend off the attacks without being flanked.

    The doors were busted open and when he peered in he saw that the stairs leading up were bare and had a light sprinkling of dust on the railing from disuse. He spun and watched as two of Abraham¡¯s goons followed a wave of ape¡¯s who looked similar to the [Bull Primus] he had killed earlier. However Abraham had forged the unholy alliance with the monsters, it was to be discovered later.

    [Gust] sent the two humans flying backward to hit the back wall painfully, but ultimately harmlessly. It did remove them and their skill and spells from helping the monsters as they rushed into the hallway. Santi started carving them up the moment the lumbering apes pushed through the door frame, tearing them apart in a series of lightning fast swings.

    The morph blade sang in his mind its joy of feeding while a battle lust rose in his chest. He was pinned down and cornered, surrounded by dangerous enemies on all sides. All of the worries and stress of being in charge faded away until the only thing around him was the end of his sword and the foe who was dying on it.

    One, two, then three of the [Bull Primus] were broken on the stairs as they pushed him upward. Santi danced and darted, leaping on the handrails or fighting on the stairs, using his superior reach and agility to kill the brutal beasts.

    A bolt of energy sizzled past his head as he started to fight the fourth, and last, of the apes. The acidic green tinge to the energy bolt was alarming, but he only saw the two humans he had already thrown around. Santi lunged downward, slamming into the Primus¡¯s chest, stabbing through its sternum and out its back. His free hand wedged itself in the monster''s thick, coarse fur as he changed the blade into a half hundred filaments that wreaked havoc in the monster''s body.

    The monster teetered on the edge of the stair and Santi pushed with a gentle use of [Air Manipulation] to send it crashing backward. The two humans who had raced up the stairs to get closer skidded to a halt as the massive body fell towards them. Santi pulled his blade free as the ape¡¯s body took the incoming skills meant for him.

    Flesh sizzled and hair burnt, a terrible smell filling the small stairwell as the body crashed down with a meaty impact. Both of the fighters got out of the way, but Santi was already leaping at them, closing the distance faster than they could react. They stood side by side with shocked looks as Santi hit them.

    The one on the right he hit with a metal enshrouded fist, the skull giving way with a crunch while he snapped a high kick that caught the one on the left under the chin. The one on the right wasn¡¯t dead yet, but blood ran out of his eyes and mouth as he sagged against the wall.

    The other killer was slumped on the landing below them, his teeth scattered like lost pearls. Santi gave the cracked skull foe a mercy blow, taking his head off at the shoulder, before turning to loom above the other one. He needed some answers and he needed them now.

    He grabbed the half conscious man and slung him over his shoulder before running up the stairs as fast as he could. Below him, he could hear the tentative steps of more of the apes and the barked orders of the other humans. The Apostate was nowhere to be seen or felt. [Air Current] was stretched to its farthest reaches as he tried to stay ahead of the assassin. It didn¡¯t give him as much of a sphere as he would have liked, but it was better than nothing.

    He cataloged the assassin''s skills while he ran upwards. He had the blending ability, similar but more powerful than Daniel¡¯s. The shadow blade that had cut him was another one. Both of those skills could be Basic level and only require a single skill slot. The Apostate had a minimum of six.

    Santi thought it over and decided that the Apostate was likely a higher level than him. His title was the most powerful title he had ever heard of and the killer had managed to stand toe to toe with him without a problem even after his ambush had failed.

    Likely had seven if not eight skill slots. Which was going to make this difficult. Shadow based skill set and already had a hiding ability and a sneak attack. If he was a full assassin, which Santi had to assume he was, he likely had a tracking ability and a movement skill. The movement skill would probably be Common and need three slots, which would put the assassin with a minimum of two more skill slots and up to three. Two Basic skills or one more Common. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    This was the trouble when fighting other skilled sapients who had classes. It became a guessing game of what skills and powers they had based on observable data. If the Apostate was who he had been feeling in the shadows around Homebase who he had mistakenly thought was Daniel, then he already knew all of Santi¡¯s skills.

    In the game of information Santi was so far behind he might as well slit his own throat. The true edge he had was with equipment. The morph blade was such a powerful weapon, he hadn¡¯t ran into anything that could stop it since his evolution. There¡¯d be magic and other enhanced weapons later that would likely be able to slow it down, but for now it was likely the best weapon on the planet.

    He had left the amulet at home, too blinded by his anger and shock to think of grabbing it. His small collection of potions were all at home too. It was such a massive mistake, something he should never have allowed to happen. His team would be coming, but if they entered the quagmire he had ensnared himself in, they would get bogged down in it as bad as he was.

    No, they would die. Santi had to acknowledge that. None of them had the experience and skill needed to fight their way into this deathtrap and out again. He would have to do this and get out on his own if he didn''t¡¯ want his friends and families deaths on his head.

    He kicked open a door and scanned the room quickly before tossing the man off his shoulder and onto the dusty ground. He hit with an audible oomph and rolled on his side. The landing shouldn¡¯t have hurt him unless he was the most fragile Acolyte in the world. Santi shut the door and grabbed a desk, picking up the eight foot metal monstrosity and wedging it against the door. It could provide precious seconds when they finally did catch up to him.

    He bent down and grabbed the man¡¯s chin, turning him to look him in the eyes. The man was slightly older, in his mid to late twenties with a prominent widows peak. He tried to struggle, shaking his head this way and that, but Santi¡¯s grip was iron and he didn¡¯t budge an inch.

    ¡°You know who I am?¡±

    ¡°Yeth,¡± the man lisped through broken teeth.

    ¡°What the fuck is going on in here?¡±

    ¡°Fuck off,¡± he sprayed out, blood and spittle landing all over Santi¡¯s shirt. Santi sighed, looked at the door and back to the man.

    ¡°You know what I am, yes? I come from the future, or at least my memories do. In those memories, well, I¡¯m not the greatest person. I was a scout, my job was information gathering. Sometimes that was from people. People who didn¡¯t want to tell me what I wanted to know. You have about three seconds to start talking before I start making new memories.¡±

    The man stared at him, fear laced in his watery gaze as his nerve held by the barest thread. Santi bit back another sigh of exasperation before he stood up and broke the man¡¯s knee with a brutal stomp. The sound of shattering bone was loud in the enclosed space, but it was drowned out by the man¡¯s howls.

    Santi grabbed his chin again and squeezed until he could feel bone shifting. The man stiffened and grew silent, looking at Santi with nothing but terror left in his eyes.

    ¡°What did Abraham do to make the apes fight for him?¡±

    ¡°The rift heart and your sister. The shadow man, he made deals with all of us. We get the rift heart and bring it and your sister to the apes. The apes give us the muscle.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°A ritual. I don¡¯t know anything else. Abraham was quiet about what happens next.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s my sister?¡±

    ¡°The old stadium. It¡¯s guarded by the rest of the crew and some of the smarter monkeys. They have her building a big ritual for them.¡±

    ¡°Who killed my father? Was it Abraham?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­but Derek hit him too.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s Derek?¡±

    ¡°Abraham¡¯s second in command. Your Dad took his eye out, he¡¯s walking around with an eyepatch. He¡¯s at the stadium.¡±

    ¡°Good enough.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to let me go now?¡± he asked, his voice trembling. Santi looked at him incredulously.

    ¡°You killed my Dad and kidnapped my sister then tried to kill me. No, no you¡¯re not going free.¡± Santi picked him up by his chin and dragged him to the door. His keen hearing gave him a brief warning. With a quick fling of his wrist he sent the man sailing toward the door and cast [Air Shield] in front of him just as the entire wall exploded.

    Concrete disintegrated into razor sharp pieces of shrapnel, the heavy desk flung away like it weighed nothing. His captive was turned to a bloody paste as he was defenseless to the explosion. The Alpha walked through the door, long arms dragging on the ground as four [Bull Primus]s stood behind him. Three more of the traitors hung around behind them, but no Abraham.

    ¡°Hello again,¡± Santi said as he kept [Air Shield] running in front of him. The big slump shouldered monster strutted through the ruins of the wall, eyes locked on Santi.

    ¡°Interloper. The Infernal was right, it told me you¡¯d never let me and my people rest in peace.¡±

    ¡°From what I''ve been seeing, your people eat my people on the regular. Not very neighborly.¡±

    ¡°The strong consume the weak.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing with the shadow assassin?¡±

    ¡°He had shown us his Patron and the real power of this world. A being far beyond the Infernal. The sliver of being greater than anything in this known world.¡±

    ¡°That sounds about right. He told you that he will enslave this world?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t. Because that is not the Truth of our Patron.¡± The assassin walked out from behind the Alpha, his cloaking skill falling away.

 Ch. 2.50 Battle Winds

    50.

    Santi watched the assassin carefully as the man weaved through his allies. They all bent away from him, nervous in his presence. A feverish light was lit in the man¡¯s eyes as he began to speak of his Patron.

    ¡°You know nothing of our Lord¡¯s power. It transcends the layers of the Universe to bathe us in his holy light. It is our honor and duty to bow before his will and receive his blessings. Your war against us was based on the false words of liars. Your leaders never listened to what our Lord offered and were greedy to hold onto their own power. They are the ones who prosecuted the war, the death, the suffering.¡±

    ¡°You can lie to them all they want, but I was there. I know what you and your people did. The massacres. The forced conversions. I was the first through the Adirondacks. I saw the camp your alchemist had made and the perversions she crafted.¡±

    ¡°Grace was mistaken in her understanding of our Lord¡¯s words. She was punished for her failures. We hold those who break our covenants to a high standard.¡±

    ¡°Did you tell them about those mistakes?¡± Santi asked, nodding his chin at the others behind the killer. The human members shifted nervously from foot to foot while the monsters didn¡¯t twitch.

    ¡°Mistakes were made in the future which won¡¯t be made in the present. There is no reason to fill their heads with false premonitions.¡±

    ¡°Convenient.¡± Santi was trying to buy time, looking around for a way out. He could always go out the windows behind him again, but he doubted he¡¯d have the same luck he did last time. They were ready for it this time and the building was likely surrounded.

    ¡°I wonder how you can stay out of our Lord¡¯s light after the horrors you saw. What you and your fellows did. The Blackheart. The Rockies. Mexico City. The Great Lakes.¡±

    ¡°The Blackheart was your doing. You destroyed a city of women and children. Killed tens of thousands.¡±

    ¡°Is that what they told you? That¡¯s what the Blackheart was?¡± He laughed, low and slow, his chest hardly moving.

    ¡°That¡¯s what it was.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Are you ready to finish this? Has your mana recovered enough?¡±

    ¡°Going to have to be I think,¡± Santi said through gritted teeth as he looked at traitors. They were the weak link, but he had to get past the Alpha and the Apostate to get to them. He shifted his feet and felt the floor shift under his weight.

    ¡°One last chance. Swear to our Lord and all will be forgiven. Stand in his Light and receive his blessings.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, not happening.¡± Santi lashed out with the morph blade in whip form, arcing it up and under the shield, slashing at the Apostate in an instant. The man twisted, hardly dodging the razor sharp tip from opening his neck. [Crosscurrent-Orb] was cast into the bulk of the bunched enemy while Santi stamped down as hard as he could on the weak floor.

    His foot broke through the weakened floor, the entire floor bowing and giving out in an eight foot jagged circle as he cast [Gust] downwards. Santi landed in a rain of debris, his new [Air Shield] catching chunks of the floor and letting them slide to the side as he turned and ran towards the closed door.

    A burning erupted across his right flank, the collapsing floor having hidden the Apostate as he leapt after Santi. [Gust] sent the still falling debris and the Apostate sailing across the floor as Santi limped towards the door and slammed through it and into the stairwell. Above him he could hear the roar and pounding of feet on the stairs but he didn¡¯t give them any thought, simply jumping over the rail and falling straight down.

    [Air Shield] caught him and then disintegrated as his speed bled away in a heartbeat. He had to cast twice more before he landed on the ground floor and headed towards the lobby.

    A single nervous looking human and a trio of apes stood loitering around and they died in lightning blitz of spear strikes, a cracking whip which turned into a razor rope, and finally a large mace that brained the last ape as it closed the distance to him. The entire fight took only a few seconds.

    It was enough of a distraction to let the speed based assasin catch back up. Santi bent at the waist and spun on his good leg as he sent a disemboweling sword strike toward where he figured the Apostate was. His brief warning of mass entering his personal sphere barely enough to stop a knife driven through his spine.

    His blade tore fabric and scratched skin. Santi could feel the sudden, ravenous, hunger of the morph blade. He could feel it screaming in his mind that it NEEDED the rest of the blood in their foe. It was enough of a sudden urging that Santi¡¯s drive to escape evaporated as he sent a flurry of strikes at the suddenly on the backfoot Apostate.

    The man had a feral smile on his gritted teeth as he dodged everything Santi sent at him. A shadow rose to his side and lashed at Santi, stopped only by an [Air Shield] which caused the shadow attack to disintegrate in the tightly compact swirling winds.

    Santi cursed as the Apostate¡¯s knife dug a furrow along his right forearm, but he struck back by finally landing a solid blow. He turned the morph into a polearm with a hook and managed to catch the assassin¡¯s cloak and threw him to the ground. The polearm morphed into a cruel pick that Santi wedged through the top of the man¡¯s shoulder and deep into bone. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    The Apostate screamed, a shrill sound of suppressed pain as he threw his dagger sidearm at Santi. Santi had to release his grip on the killer to dodge the blow and by the time he finished his spin the Apostate had fled back to his shadows. The entire fight had been a blur of movement, attack and counterattack happening nearly instantaneously at speeds nobody else in the city could match.

    Santi¡¯s chest was heaving as he turned to look at the stairwell as the Alpha slammed through it and came charging at him. A shield of muddy brown energy coalesced around the great ape, similar to that of the Bull Primus, but more potent.

    [Gust] hit and thinned the thick shield and then [Crosscurrent-Orb] detonated right under the ape. The powerful explosive blast of wind knocked the monster sideways and bought enough time for Santi to run out of the building and back into the street.

    It wasn¡¯t empty, but filled with lesser monsters who looked shocked and scared to see him amongst them. They were slow to react, nervous as Santi dragged his blood drenched body through their masses, only striking when one threatened to slow him down. Most fled from him, too weak to obstruct him for more than a moment. Skills and spells splashed around him as the remaining humans and the few monsters that could use them threw everything they could at him.

    [Air Shield] and [Air Manipulation] kept anything from hitting him while [Gust] cleared the way in front of him. Santi could feel the deathly cold ache in his chest as he began to run low on mana. He had never been pushed this far and hard before in this timeline, but he had been slinging spells like he had unlimited mana for almost an hour now.

    He was looking around, desperate to find anything at all to save his ass and get him off the street if even only for a few minutes. His eyes landed on a manhole cover and he went instantly toward it. He directed [Gust] downward and sent up a cloud of dust, pollen, and debris into the air in a crude smokescreen as he turned the morph weapon into a crowbar and pried the manhole cover up.

    The stench was near unbearable, but Santi was beginning to grow weak from blood loss and he didn¡¯t have any other options at the moment. It was to go down into the dark sewers or get hunted down in the streets by his ambushers. He tucked his elbows close to his body and jumped, sailing into the dark to land with a soft splash.

    Santi stretched out [Air Current] to its maximum, holding back a sigh of relief as he was finally able to release his other spell forms as he started to run. He¡¯d hear anything coming down behind him aside from the Apostate and it¡¯d give him the time to cast his shielding spells.

    He splashed along, the muddy liquid up past his ankles as he raced on. The skittering and chittering of rodents was obvious and he felt plenty of small presences all around him in his personal sphere as he kept moving forward. He hadn¡¯t heard anything behind him yet, but he knew they¡¯d follow. He just needed to find a spot to claim his rewards and levels for a quick boost and hope there was something decent in the achievements he had earned that would keep him going for a bit longer.

    He racked his mind, trying to remember where the stadium was. The warren of tunnels underneath the city twisted this way and that, but he thought he was going in the right direction. If they failed to catch and kill him now, they¡¯d undoubtedly be waiting at the stadium for him.

    The minute he caught his breath and managed to slow the bleeding a bit he was going and getting Yesi. There was no way he could leave her in their hands and he had to stop whatever ritual they were planning. His plans for revenge had to be put aside for now.

    Santi found a small nook and desperately crawled inside of it and collapsed down. Every breath was fire in his chest and he was light headed from the exertion and his wounds. His limbs were growing cold and numb and he didn¡¯t have much time before he was going to fall unconscious if the blood loss continued. Blood loss that shouldn¡¯t be happening.

    Santi refreshed his mind about what skills the Apostate had and came to the conclusion there was a bleeding skill he had or something similar. His wounds should have slowed already, his supernatural vitality and endurance slowing down the blood loss. Instead it was pouring out of him like the wound had just happened.

    Santi pressed a hand along the long cut on his hip and pressed down, biting back a scream as pain flared up again. Whatever skill had made the shadow blade it had sliced through him like butter and bypassed his stats.

    ¡°Fucking mage killers,¡± Santi whispered as he leaned back against the damp walls, trying to catch his breath as he scrolled through the long list of kills he had made. None of them stood out as having been significant to warrant an achievement, but there it was.

    Achievement: Not Dying

    Reward: Loot Box (Minor)

    Congratulations, you are an Air Mage lvl. 37

    Santiago V. Silva

    Air Mage lvl. 37

    Strength: 35 (60)

    Durability: 35 (60)

    Stamina: 37 (62)

    Dexterity: 32 (57)

    Vitality: 40 (65)

    Perception: 32 (57)

    Intelligence: 81 (106)

    Mana: 100 (125)

    Willpower: 81 (106)

    Potential: 72%

    Achievement: First to 100

    Reward: Title (Stat-Padder)

    Stat-Padder: The first person to hit 100 points in a single category.

    Plus 10 to all stats.

    The rush of stat points hitting him made his body bow as he kept a scream of ecstasy bit back behind clenched teeth. The rush of stats was massive and he could feel his body changing beneath his skin. It didn¡¯t heal his wounds, but the mass increase in vitality was enough that he was closer to even with blood loss while the stamina helped him catch his breath.

    He was still tired, bleeding, and exhausted, but he had a bit more in the tank now. It was like getting a cup of water in a marathon, refreshing and helped him extend himself, but not fixing the root problems.

    The loot box that appeared between his legs was another matter. Blood slick fingers pried it open and he searched inside, a vial rolling over his fingertips and a scrap of paper. He grabbed both and pulled them free, the box¡¯s presence fading away. He couldn¡¯t see what the vial was, but he had to assume it was a healing potion. The scrap of paper was another note written in luminescent ink.

    ¡°Dear idiot, I¡¯m bending too many rules to keep you alive. Please be smarter in the future if you survive this. You¡¯re the most entertainment I currently have.¡±

    -Akthyr

 Ch 2.51 Plots

    51.

    The familiar taste of a healing potion washed down Santi¡¯s throat and he leaned back to rest for a moment as the potion took effect. It was weak, but enough to start having his wounds begin to knit back together and stop the bleeding. Between this and his now increased vitality, he could keep pushing a bit more.

    The faint sound of splashing reached his ears after only a moment or two of rest and Santi got to his feet in a hurry. He couldn¡¯t let them catch back up with him if he wanted to recover. He got back in the sticky morass of sewer sludge and started trekking forward again.

    Santi pulled a tendril of mana from his exhausted body and used it to wrap [Air Current] tight around him, muffling the sounds of his travel. He thought about the already disintegrated note from Akthyr a moment and knew he would have to think on it longer.

    If the administrator of the integration was pulling strings to keep him alive the biggest question was why? Santi didn¡¯t believe for a moment it was because of entertainment reasons. Then after he figured out why, how could Santi take better advantage of it. Would Akthyr help him to the direct detriment of the Apostates?

    The black passages of the sewers were impossible to navigate, the only sounds were his muffled breaths, resounding loudly in his own ears. The drawback to using his spell like this was it prevented sound from reaching him. He was truly walking blind and deaf down the passages.

    With each step the potion worked more and more of its magic on him. His multitude of wounds closed, though his legs were still weak. He needed the sewers to break the constant press of the enemies who were wearing him down, but he needed to be out of the dark before the Apostate managed to find him. He was still trying to compartmentalize the fact that he had fought an Apostate on fairly equal footing.

    Even with the assassin having the element of surprise and allies, Santi had managed to stay alive and ahead of the man¡¯s dagger. He hadn¡¯t won that fight, but he certainly hadn¡¯t lost it. For so long the Apostates had lived in his head, figures larger than life.

    They had been the primary drivers of the war, their strength the pillars their cult had built their strength upon. To fight one, let alone six, had been something he had never really considered. His plan had been to build a base of power and then find the other Champions. He would become one himself, but in his heart he knew he couldn¡¯t confront them directly.

    That duel had shaken those iron held beliefs. He had stood toe to toe with a magekiller and not died. Santi had to finally admit to himself that what he was doing was great, no, his own personal growth was exemplary. The once much stronger and powerful Apostates were closer to peers than superiors.

    Santi kept moving in silence for twelve seconds, the time it took him to travel eight slow steps, before dropping his spell and holding perfectly still. The sound of splashing was further away than it had been. He cloaked himself again and started moving again, following the tunnel lines away from splashing.

    He rinsed and repeated, again and again as he went down the tunnels, each time the sounds of pursuit got further away. Santi moved through the sewers for twenty minutes until at last the sound of the splashing was gone. Santi¡¯s wounds had dulled to a dull ache and his mana had recovered enough that he didn¡¯t feel like he was dying every time he drew on it.

    It took only a few minutes to find a service ladder and ascend it, pushing the heavy manhole cover off with ease as he climbed free of the sewers. Santi took in his surroundings, having emerged next to an alleyway. Santi crawled free of the sewer, replacing the manhole cover as quietly as possible as he darted into the alley.

    With his back to a wall, he finally looked about and took in the surroundings. He was away from the heart of downtown and the towering ruined skyscrapers. The historical district was still part of downtown but near the periphery. The buildings averaged three stories and were made of faded brown brick. The streets were narrow and tight with a large, ugly, concrete parking structure plopped down at the edge like an obtrusive toadstool.

    Santi looked about, searching for hints of movement. If he recalled correctly, he was only a block or three away from the stadium that his sister was supposed to be being held in. Santi waited a moment more before slinking out of the alleyway, keeping low to the ground he headed towards the parking structure.

    If he cut through the structure he could bypass half a block and have cover. There was always the danger of what could be lairing in the dark structure, but the Primus Alpha was a blessing in disguise. With the head of its opponents decorating his nest, it was apparent that the entire downtown had been pacified by the ape-like monsters.

    Each step Santi took, he was bracing for an attack. Either from above by the apes, or from the shadows by the Apostate. It made more sense for them to have regrouped at the stadium, but he couldn¡¯t be sure of that. Some were obviously still hunting for him in the sewers and all it took for him to die was a moment of inattentionUnauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds later he jumped over a low concrete wall and into the cramped levels of the parking garage. The thick walls and low ceiling made the structure feel claustrophobic even if it was primarily deserted by cars. Santi sprinted, staying low to the ground, across the level. He could feel his skin prickling as if eyes were on him, but no attack came. Nothing entered his sphere of air and there was no outward threat. Still, it felt like he was being watched.

    Santi had lived through too much to ignore the feeling, but at the same time he couldn¡¯t abandon his goal. Yessi needed him and whatever they planned on doing with the riftheart had to be stopped immediately.

    He got to the edge of the garage and jumped straight up and over the ledge, ignoring the stairs, and rolled across the sidewalk. Nothing came. No attack or visible opponent. The feeling lingered. Santi cursed, mind strained from the events of the last few hours.

    ¡°Fuck this, let¡¯s just go get Yesi,¡¯ Santi whispered to himself to help reaffirm his decision. The back of the stadium was visible, the multitude of shops built around it all long abandoned and destroyed. Cars were burnt out wrecks in their parking spots and a trio of police cruisers had been tipped on their side in a makeshift barricade.

    Santi jogged past all of it, hardly glancing at them as he started to climb the many gentle ramps that led upwards. He almost missed the first sentinel, sitting in the ruins of a sports apparel store. The man was short and had sat down on a foldout lawn chair while wearing the same clothes the mannequins were wearing. If he hadn¡¯t flinched as Santi came into eyesight, he would have been fine.

    Santi spun toward him, closing the distance in one long lunge. The morph blade lengthened into a lance as Santi tried to silence the man before he could speak. A acidic green bubble popped into place around the sentinel as he surged to his feet, grabbing a trumpet that had been sitting next to him.

    Santi¡¯s lance broke the shield with only a moment''s resistance before impaling the man. Santi¡¯s momentum carried him into the heart of the store, the dying man hoisted up on the lance before being pinned to the wall like an insect. The dying man gasped, blood leaking from his mouth as he gaped at Santi.

    Santi looked at the man, but couldn¡¯t place him. His jersey of black and purple was stained dark red, and his face was wide with sagging jowls of a large man who¡¯d lost weight recently. The thinning hair was unkempt and his beard was thick and knotted, his appearance quite distinct.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Santi asked. The man¡¯s only answer was the ding of a kill confirmation. Santi retracted his morph blade and looked around to see if there had been any alert raised by killing the sentinel. When he saw no one running toward him to confront him he took the moment to check the notification.

    Horn-Blower lvl. 28

    He had a class that was specifically for horn blowing? Santi frowned as he looked at the dirty brass trumpet discarded on the floor. It could be some type of sentinel class, or sound mage, or, well lots of things. The general vagueness of the System always left plenty to interpretation. The fact he had been sitting here by himself as a watcher likely indicated he was some type of guard.

    The class was unique enough that Santi knew he would have remembered seeing the man around though. Not a lot of people really left practicing their band instruments. Santi bent down and checked his pockets quickly, his mind numb to the ghoulish behavior.

    The man carried a thin wallet in the back pocket of his cargo shorts and Santi quickly opened it. There was no money in it, but rather cut up pictures of people¡¯s faces. Dozens of them, folded and faded already, but the likeness was distinct. His kids probably, the woman a wife, his parents, maybe a brother. Santi tossed it all to the floor as he pulled man¡¯s drivers license free and looked at his address.

    It was from a town hours to the South. He could have been here for business or something and just got caught during the integration, but he wouldn¡¯t have hastily cut out pictures if that was the case. Those pictures looked like the type one would have framed up and around the house. If that was the case, then he had come from the South.

    It wasn¡¯t just Abraham¡¯s men who had been recruited by the Apostate. Santi looked up at the stadium and understood in a whole new light. They needed his sister for a mass evolution of followers the Apostate had dragged with him. The riftheart could fuel dozens of basic evolutions. The Pillar of Civilization should be arriving soon and the Apostate was primed to be able to easily take over the community Santi had built.

    Nobody knew of their evil. Of their corruption. If he was dead and his close friends and family gone with an apparent perpetrator having fled, the thousands of people would be without a protector. The Apostate wouldn¡¯t even have a fight on his hand as he came and converted everyone Santi had worked so hard protecting to his cause.

    ¡°Shit.¡± Santi left the dead man and peeked out towards the stadium. The entrance was elevated away from the street level, but there was a multitude of bars, shops, and maintenance corridors that wove under the steel and glass building. If he got to the correct service corridor, he could infiltrate that way rather than going through the backdoor. If they had one low level guard, they¡¯d have another waiting for him.

    Slipping out of the store, Santi stuck low to the ground, using the multitude of planter boxes to weave his way back down the ramps and toward the passageways marked ¡°Maintenance Staff Only¡±. The door was still shut and locked. Santi threaded the morph blade into the crack and cut the locks, pulling the door open with ease and heading down the passageways to the bowels of the stadium.

    Polished concrete was slick under his feet as he was once again plunged into darkness. At least this time it didn¡¯t stink

 Ch. 2.52 Bar Fight

    52.

    The maintenance halls were just as much a labyrinth as the sewers. Santi quickly grew lost, threading his way from one hall to another. A half a dozen wrong turns finally got him moving in a more productive direction. The faint voices of people could be heard and Santi followed their whispers like a bloodhound.

    The halls carried sound better than he thought, as the distance was greater than expected. It took nearly three minutes of moving at a quiet, slow, jog to finally find where the voices were coming from. It was an underground bar that was being lit with a dozen or so gas lamps. A half dozen men were laying about, drinking different types of alcohol as they talked to each other. A young woman was sprawled across the largest of them¡¯s laps.

    Santi risked using [Identify], needing to know what he was about to get into. If any of their perception and mana stats were high enough they¡¯d be able to feel his prying. The second-to-last thing Santi wanted to do was alert them to his presence before he was ready to act. The last thing he wanted to do was to start a fight with a group of high level classers.

    Brutal Brawler lvl. 29

    Mage lvl. 28

    Quick-Hands lvl. 26

    Bloodhound lvl. 28

    Guardian lvl. 27

    Medic lvl. 30

    War-Leader lvl. 32

    The young woman sprawled out across the big man¡¯s lap was the [War-Leader]. The big man himself was the [Bloodhound]. The others were scattered about, all of them sipping their drinks, not a single one of them having noticed his prying. They were all adequately leveled, a match for his own team. Santi planned out how he would kill them all.

    The [War-Leader] would have the most information, but if she was in a relationship with the [Bloodhound] she wouldn¡¯t talk after he died, at least not quickly. The same was true for the [Bloodhound], both of them were off his list of who to keep alive for information.

    [Medic] had to die to end the fight quickly. [Brutal Brawler] was enough of a hint that Santi knew the man wouldn¡¯t be easy to deal with. You didn¡¯t get a class with the word brutal in it by being easy going.

    [Quick-Hands] was an outlier, another of those strange classes that could be anything. Likely a rogue or assassin, someone speedy and fragile. The [Guardian] was the exact opposite. The other [Mage] could have a trick up their sleeve that Santi didn¡¯t want to deal with. He decided [Quick-Hands] was going to be his target. He mentally prepared his plan of attack, going over the angles and spells he wanted to use.

    Santi sprinted at full speed, straight through the open doors of the bar and leapt off a steel table toward the couple. The moment he made his move they all reacted, but they were too slow. The [Guardian]¡¯s shield came up a second after a comically oversized sword split the [War-Leader] in half at the waist while disemboweling the [Bloodhound].

    [Air Shield] stopped a thrown knife from entering the back of his head. Santi grabbed a loose chair and threw it at the [Quick-Hands] while bounding toward the [Medic], who was staring horrified at his two dying companions. A blue magic shield actually managed to impede his strike for a moment, allowing the [Medic] to scramble away even as the shield disintegrated.

    [Gust] picked up and threw chairs and tables, slamming into the [Guardian] and [Mage] as the spellcaster tried to duck into the bigger man¡¯s shadow. Both of them staggered backwards and their distraction was enough for Santi to finish off the [Medic] with a single swordstroke. Santi spun on his heel just in time to see a chain wrapped fist come flying at him, wreathed in a transparent violet fire.

    [Air Shield] broke instantly on contact, the released winds blowing detritus everywhere as Santi ducked, the fist sailing over his head. With his free hand Santi punched the [Brutal Brawler] in the gut. It was like hitting wood, his hand protested but the wood broke. The melee fight doubled over, a heavy breath whooshing out of him. The man was game though, throwing a knee instantly that connected to Santi¡¯s shoulder, numbing his sword arm.

    Santi rolled with the momentum of the blow, rising to his feet and casting [Crosscurrent-Orb] at the assassin. A half dozen knives were sent spinning everywhere as the explosive winds destroyed their trajectory. The metal clattered around him as Santi rose to his feet to meet the fighter.

    The man¡¯s strength was easily beyond his and his stamina and dexterity were high enough that Santi couldn¡¯t just rely on pure stats to beat him down physically. Santi used [Air Manipulation] and stole the very air out of the man¡¯s gaping mouth. It wasn¡¯t enough to kill him, but the violation shocked him enough that he wasn¡¯t ready to dodge the thrust of a sword through his gut. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Santi twisted and tore, the sword emerging from the man¡¯s shoulder as he fell in red ruin to the ground. A crackling bolt of lightning exploded next to him, Santi¡¯s hair rising as he felt the painful current roll over him. He gritted his teeth and leapt for the [Mage] only to meet another blue barrier in mid air.

    Santi fell to the ground and rolled instantly, avoiding yet another knife and a thin bolt of lightning. The [Guardian] had positioned himself to be between the two distance fighters and Santi. It was good positioning but Santi could already see the strain on the man¡¯s face. Santi had already broken the man¡¯s skill multiple times, each one of them a painful backlash.

    [Gust] amplified by [Air Manipulation] picked up the smaller [Quick-Hands] and [Mage] throwing them both against the far wall and the full floor to ceiling mirrors. The tinkling crash of shattering glass filled the air as Santi sprinted at full speed toward the [Guardian]. The man lifted a heavy sledgehammer and swung as Santi got in distance, but it was easy enough for Santi to shear the weapon in half, the heavy metal head spinning off behind him.

    A final azure shield wrapped around the frontliner, covering him completely as he backpedaled. The shield shattered as Santi stabbed the man through the chest, puncturing his heart with a twist of his wrist. The [Guardian] stood straight, pain and fear in his eyes before life fled and he slumped to the ground.

    Santi killed the [Mage] before the man was fully to his feet, beheading him in a single strike. A final desperate knife came screaming at him, the faint pink outline of a skill wreathing it. As he went to swat it out of the air, it disappeared. The real knife appeared a foot below the original one and Santi twisted violently to the side, but the blade still scratched his ribs as it passed by him.

    ¡°Enough,¡± Santi spat, closing the distance and grabbing [Quick-Hands] by the collar and pulling the taller man down.

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± the knife thrower cursed as he struggled to get free.

    ¡°Stop or die,¡± Santi decreed. For a moment he continued his pointless struggle, but the fight faded from him as the adrenaline was finally overcome by common sense. His team was dead, the room they had been relaxing in ruined. There were no sounds of reinforcements coming and he was standing by himself with Santi¡¯s blade only inches from his vulnerable flesh.

    ¡°A girl was brought here early this morning. Where is she?¡±

    ¡°Up top. Duncan and his lieutenants are up top. In the owner¡¯s booth with the girl and all the other important shit.¡±

    ¡°Duncan?¡±

    ¡°The Prophet! The messenger of our Lord. He saved us all from the monsters and beasts. He led us here and brokered the truce between us and the monkeys.¡±

    So, that was the Apostate¡¯s name. He was the current leader on cleared monster den¡¯s in the area too. It would explain how he had enough levels to challenge Santi and be able to lift a bunch of people into the Acolyte level. Basic evolutions were simple enough to do that a man of his knowledge and skill could pull it off easily enough.

    Then why would he need Yesi? If he was already managing the evolutions he could do it himself. Santi pushed all the stray thoughts away, he couldn¡¯t afford to lose focus no matter how much his curiosity was piqued.

    ¡°Abraham? Where is he?¡±

    ¡°That asshole? I don¡¯t know. He had a small crew of guys, but Duncan didn¡¯t keep them close.¡±

    ¡°How long has he been working with you?¡±

    ¡°Duncan?¡±

    ¡°No, Abraham. Actually, yes, how did you meet Duncan?¡±

    ¡°He saved us. He came from the South, following the highway. He just knew where we were, the survivors. Bands of us, teams, he gathered us all up. Taught us how to survive and organize and how to evolve. He told us of our Lord.¡±

    ¡°How long?¡±

    ¡°The others, his lieutenants, have been with him for a month. He found us two weeks ago.¡±

    ¡°And Abraham?¡±

    ¡°We made contact when we got here, ten days ago.¡±

    ¡°How many of you are here?¡±

    ¡°People, or with the apes? Cause I don¡¯t know how many of the monkeys there are,¡± the man was speaking quickly and with a visible sheen of sweat coating his face.

    ¡°People.¡±

    ¡°Ummm, there¡¯s like twenty or so here, plus Abraham¡¯s group.¡±

    ¡°Here? There¡¯s more of you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Duncan had us set up camps outside of the city, sent scouting teams to the local towns and stuff, try to find other survivors.¡±

    ¡°How. Many?¡±

    ¡°Two hundred or so, I think. It changes constantly. It¡¯s dangerous out there, people die all the time but we¡¯re gaining faster than we¡¯re losing.¡±

    ¡°Fuck. Are they all evolved like you?¡±

    ¡°No, only his group here has evolved. The others are out earning their levels with only a few of us rotating out to check on them.¡±

    ¡°His Lieutenants, how strong are they?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know man. It¡¯s rude to [Identify] and they can all feel when we do it. They¡¯re stronger than Sara, but it¡¯s close.¡±

    ¡°Sara was the [War Leader]?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Fuck, man. They¡¯re all dead.¡± He looked around at the destroyed room and his dead teammates that Santi had scattered about in pieces. The fight hadn¡¯t taken long, two minutes and fifty-eight seconds, but the man¡¯s entire life had changed again. Santi killed the [Quick Hands] while the man was looking at his friends, the morph blade puncturing up and through his brain before he knew what hit him.

    Santi double checked to make sure he got all the kill notifications from the dead fighters and began looting. None of them had anything really of note, most of them possessing nothing but basic weapons or familial tokens. There was a handful of the white wooden coins which he pocketed, but the rest he left with the dead.

    The lounge had been in a state of decay when he entered it, but now it was completely destroyed. Broken stools, chairs, tables, mirrors, and smashed apart liquor bottles were everywhere.

    Santi grabbed one of the lanterns that somehow hadn¡¯t been destroyed in the fight and headed out. Now able to see properly, he was able to piece together how to navigate the service tunnels. Everything was labeled and Santi was quickly ascending and entering the stadium at courtside.

    The waxed hardwood was covered in intricate symbols. Candles were sitting spaced out, but not lit yet. Figures were walking amongst the seats, but none had given a shout of alarm as Santi started to slowly work his way up the stairs that ran down the center of the seats. If the [Quick Hands] had been right, there was a constant sea of changing faces walking in and out of the place and most shouldn¡¯t know what he looked like. As long as he walked like he belonged he might be able to get to his sister without setting off an alarm.

 Ch. 2.53 The Duel

    53.

    Santi made it three steps before the alarm went off. A general hue and cry of shouts, horns blaring in the distance, as guards all turned and looked away from him. People began to clatter and run, racing toward the open entryway and leaving Santi practically alone courtside. He caught snippets of the conversations, but the primary driver of the new alarm was that invaders were entering the downtown area.

    It could only be his team. Santi raced upward, not caring if what few guards remained were suspicious. Everyone else was running and he blended in well enough. He had to finish the fight off before his friends and family got hurt. If he could kill either the Apostate of the Alpha, he could break the stranglehold the groups had of the downtown region.

    He cleared the stairs that were the lower atrium and skidded to a halt as a wide man with a white cowboy hat met his eyes. A machete hung on one hip and a whistle dangled on a string around his neck. The cowboy¡¯s eyes widened in alarm as he straightened in shock, his hand grabbing for his whistle.

    Santi rocketed into him, stabbing three times even as their bodies collided. They hit the smooth concrete and slid, slamming into a wall as the kill notification dinged in his head. Looking around, he saw no one had noticed the brief altercation. He grabbed the man and flung him over his shoulder and started jogging down the wide concourse. An empty bathroom wasn¡¯t far away and he hurriedly dumped the dead man in it before he kept moving.

    He had never been in the stadium before the integration, but had prowled its ruins once or twice. The VIP suites weren¡¯t at the top of the stadium, but rather near the halfcourt line on the middle concourse. He stepped up his pace as the morph blade transformed into his trustworthy saber.

    Santi continued to round the oval concourse and saw the suites. There was a single guard standing bored outside of the doorway. He turned and saw Santi and grabbed for the whistle he had on his lanyard. The guard was too far away for him to reach him in time and Santi cursed not having a lethal long range spell.

    In that brief moment of distraction as his attention was fixed on the guard, he almost didn¡¯t feel the hidden knife heading towards his kidney. He twisted and slashed outward, feeling the distinct clink of steel on otherworldly metal before steel lost. A dagger¡¯s blade went tumbling away as the Apostate was left holding just the hilt of his knife.

    The shrill screech of the whistle blew behind him and Santi knew this was it. His sister was behind that door and the only way he was getting to her was cutting the Apostate down. There could be no retreat now.

    Duncan pulled out another knife from beneath his cloak of shifting shadows and feinted at Santi¡¯s throat. Santi leaned back and slashed at him, extending the length of the saber at the last moment and slicing a thin cut along the Apostate¡¯s face. A trickle of blood flowed out a moment later, staining the man¡¯s face.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be this good, you know. You were just a fly in the ointment, something to be crushed before I continued our plans. I can¡¯t fully explain my surprise when I found this place and saw you.¡±

    Santi attacked, a blur of movement as he used [Air Shield] to prevent the assassin from dodging to the sides. The dual casting instantly caused a headache to sprout up, but he managed to slash a deep wound down the man¡¯s thigh as he was forced to scrabble backward.

    Duncan pulled a potion out of his cloak and drank it in a single, smooth motion. The cut on his cheek healed and the blood that had just started pumping out of his thigh stopped. He continued talking as if nothing had happened.

    ¡°I followed you around for a long time. Saw what you were doing. Similar to what we¡¯re doing, less organized and with poorer leadership, but on the right track. That little spy you have, Daniel, he¡¯s solid. No, that¡¯s a lie, he¡¯s good. You got a couple there who have the potential to be greats. The drive, the inner fire, the ruthlessness. You¡¯ve helped them build good foundations too. Chloe will go far. As will Yessenia.¡±

    Santi threw a half dozen cuts and jabs as fast as he could, but the Apostate managed to match him. Trying to outpace a speed build was foolhardy, but the moment his sister''s name came out of the killer¡¯s mouth, Santi¡¯s rage boiled over.

    ¡°Even you, who was apparently quite competent but nothing special, have managed to rise to a level I couldn¡¯t have expected. I should have killed you the moment I saw you, but I was intrigued. I thought maybe I could get you to side with us, bring your entire settlement over to our Lord.¡±

    ¡°Fucking die already!¡± Santi spat [Gust] caught the Apostate from behind and caused him to stagger toward Santi. He lengthened his saber into a true longsword and stabbed, angling upward to pierce the Apostate¡¯s heart.

    The man twisted at previously impossible angles, the longsword scraping along his ribs instead of his bowels. Duncan grimaced and hissed in pain as he rolled away from Santi, who was following trying his best to finish the man while he was standing and fighting him square. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    A door slammed open and a hoot rang out, echoing across the arena as the [Primus Alpha] ran toward them. It loped with its knuckles on the ground, coming at him sideways like apes did. Santi bit back a curse as he hit it with a [Air Manipulation] reinforced [Gust]. The howl of the wind in the tight confines was deafening and the alpha slid to a halt, its momentum drained away in the burst of gale like winds.

    Santi turned back to the Apostate and spat out a curse when the man had disappeared. Santi had the edge against him in a straight fight, but with him coming out of the shadows, he was in much more danger of being knifed in the back. The primus hooted and a sixth sense had Santi dodging, rolling across the ground just as a hot dog cart came flying at him.

    The heavy cart crashed against the concrete wall and crumpled. The primus picked up speed again, rising to its full height while pounding on its chest with its oversized hands. Each blow sent a ripple through the ground, softening it until it was like taffy.

    Santi struggled to move as the primus charged him. He turned the morph into a whip and lashed out for the upper deck railing above him. The silvery tendril wrapped around it and Santi imagined spikes emerging from the whip to hold it in place while it condensed, pulling him free of the soft concrete.

    The primus skated over the soft concrete, fists slamming into the space Santi had just vacated in a blast. It screamed in rage, scooping its hand into the gooey substance and lobbing it at Santi as he hung in the air, dangling from the rail. The concrete lengthened and became spears as they split the air toward him. Santi released the rail and fell, [Air Shield] shattering one of the two spears into dust.

    Santi landed lightly, his morph blade cutting another spear of concrete that the primus threw. The ape closed the distance, raising its heavy fists up again to smash Santi to paste. Santi slashed it across its broad chest, flaying muscle from bone as the primus brought its balled up hands down.

    [Air Shield] slowed the descending hammerfist for a split second, allowing Santi to jump away. Santi immediately twisted at the waist as another dagger came screaming at him from behind. Santi slashed backward, forcing Duncan to fall to the ground or risk losing his head.

    A hairy fist caught him in the ribs, bones cracked as Santi twisted and was thrown against the wall. Pressure and pain overwhelmed him, as he slid to the ground. His shoulder wasn¡¯t responding properly, something grating in it when he tried to lift his arm. Santi got to his feet and slashed out twice as Duncan closed the distance, forcing the assassin to stop his advance.

    The ape didn¡¯t care at all, taking both of the blows without hesitation. Blood and fur coated the ground as the monster screamed in rage again, punching at Santi. Santi dodged as the monkey¡¯s fist slammed through the wall where his head had been. Dust and chunks of concrete rained down on him as Santi leapt away from the primus. [Gust] hit the creature and sent it staggering a few feet.

    Energy swirled around the monkey¡¯s feet, firming the ground around it as it caught itself. The monster rose to its full height and started to charge back at him, but Santi was running. He leapt off the edge of the concourse, using the morph as a whip again and swinging himself up to the second level.

    The primus proved itself just as agile, leaping and grabbing the edge of the second story, following him with a singular purpose. Santi raced upward, arms and legs pistoning through the pain as he flew up the stairs. The crashing followed behind him like a wake of destruction. Santi could feel the monster''s presence right behind him, feel the hot breath and drooling fangs.

    [Air Shield] was cast behind him without looking and the shock of the [Primus Alpha] was evident as it screamed in rage, bouncing off of the shield even as it broke apart. The heavy thud of its body bouncing down the steep steps was loud enough that it brought a grim smile to Santi¡¯s face.

    He reached the top of the stairs and raced straight up the wall, his morph blade becoming a hook that dug though the concrete like it was putty. He climbed straight up, angling for the rafters that ran across the open space above the court. He leapt, pushing hard enough to crack the wall and sailed toward the beams, grabbing on and hoisting himself up with one hand.

    Up here he couldn¡¯t be surrounded by the assassin and the Primus, and the beast was isolated from its element. There were beams he could move between with ease and Santi had long taken advantage of his familiarity of heights. The primus was grabbing the steel-I beam with a wide hand, crushing the metal with its grip strength as it rose up.

    Above him he felt a stir in the shadows as the Apostate got above him. Duncan would wait to ambush him when he was fully occupied by the primus. The small catwalk wasn¡¯t wide enough for the primus to walk easily. It had to move cautiously, each step careful as it got closer to him. Up here the monkey couldn¡¯t use its earth affinity for shit, its once sure steps now uncertain.

    [Crosscurrent-Orb] detonated above him, the tearing winds throwing Duncan out of his hiding spot. The cat-quick rogue was fast though, spinning in mid air to land on his feet on a catwalk further away. Santi wasted no time as the assassin was out of the way, he simply started to cut the monkey to pieces. His long morph blade sliced strips away like it was nothing as he kept walking backward.

    The [Primus Alpha] chased after him, but its footing was precarious. It made it three steps before its foot slipped. It caught itself with ease, but its momentum was halted long enough that Santi landed two more blows along its right arm. Santi continued to work that arm, slicing and ripping with a barbed whip until the right arm was nothing but shredded flesh.

    The [Primus Alpha] was snarling, nostrils flared as its blood flowed to drench the I-beam. Santi was running out of space to retreat and he hadn¡¯t worn the beast down as well as he could have. He leapt over the next I-beam and when the primus jumped after him he cast a series of spells.

 Ch. 2.54 To the Victor

    <ol start="54">

    <li> </li>

    </ol>

    [Gust] swept the primus down and towards Santi, causing the great ape to slam into the beam with its chest. The entire beam rocked from the weight, but as the primus¡¯s thick fingers scrambled to pull itself up, Santi attacked.

    The morph lengthened into a long lance and he stabbed down, impaling the alpha through its thick trapezius as it jerked at the last minute to avoid the lethal head wound. Its right arm was a mangled mess and now Santi severed the muscles and bones that connected the arm to the rest of the body.

    It grunted and a limber foot grabbed the beam and it hoisted itself up and forced Santi back as it donkey kicked at him. Santi slashed multi jointed toes free of the offending foot, but the beast managed to get back to its feet with a grunt.

    The entirety of its right side was caked in blood, the fur pressed down and sodden. Its right arm hung loose and dangling uselessly while its left lifted up and in front of it in an ineffectual guard. A hint of panic was showing in its face, finally breaking though the rage and pain it had been operating in for the last few minutes.

    Santi had managed to lure it up here and away from its help, from its affinity, to a place where Santi was more even footed with it. Now it was just coming down to the fact that Santi had better equipment than it. Nothing the beast could do could stop the morph weapon and its infinite possibilities. There was nowhere to dodge unless it wanted to fall to the court far below. It could normally survive, but in its mangled state, it would be painful.

    Duncan was drifting around somewhere, waiting for another chance to attack him, but the Apostate¡¯s ally was running out of time. Santi had no doubt that the alpha was just another tool in the man¡¯s box, but it wasn¡¯t an easily replaceable one. He¡¯d come and attack to prevent the primus from dying.

    ¡°Leave and I won¡¯t hunt you,¡± the primus chuffed out.

    ¡°I will be leaving here, you won¡¯t,¡± Santi said, preparing himself for the final clash between them. [Air Current] whispered to him that Duncan was behind him, moving slowly and cautiously.

    ¡°I will protect my nest and my troop. That is all I want!¡± The primus stomped a foot on the beam, causing it to ripple under the impact. The move disguised Duncan¡¯s footfalls. Somehow they were communicating, working together to cover the backstab.

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck what you want. You¡¯re both dying,¡± Santi spat, spinning on a heel as the morph became a long, razor sharp wire that he snapped around him like a halo. Duncan cursed and scrabbled backward as a piece of the man¡¯s nose was lopped free.

    The primus wasn¡¯t as lucky. The razor wire sliced apart flesh and muscle with ease and the monkey¡¯s intestines bulged free of its gut. A scream of animalistic pain and rage battered Santi¡¯s ears, but he was already moving. [Gust] flung Duncan back and off the I-beam and toward the ground. The morph shortened and condensed to a long boar spear and Santi awkwardly grounded himself to take the alpha¡¯s charge. His broken arm was useless, but he did his best as the alpha threw itself at him.

    It was moving too fast to avoid the eighteen inches of sharpened metal that punched through bone like butter. The force of its momentum caused Santi to stagger back,the spear twisting awkwardly in his grip even as the ape¡¯s swiping left hand grazed his chin.

    It was like getting punched by a prizefighter. The world spun and he lost his balance, his foot missing its placement and the sudden downward feel made his stomach lurch as he began to fall.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Santi spat out, blood and a tooth coming free as he turned his tumble into a dive, pushing off with his one grounded foot toward the second deck. The morph turned into a grapple hook and line which caught the railing of the second level with only a bit of help from [Air Manipulation] and then he was swinging back down to the main concourse. Santi landed in a heap, his legs giving out as he fell to the ground, landing on his bad shoulder.

    A terrible boom rattled the stadium as the primus fell to the basketball court. Santi lay there for a split second, breathing through the fiery pain that threatened to overwhelm him. He drug himself up, his massive willpower the only thing keeping him going. He stood there on shaky legs as he looked around the concourse.

    There was no one around, the entire stadium having emptied out to go and fight the invaders. Maybe some of the lieutenants were left in the room with Yesi, but they weren¡¯t poking their heads out. No kill notifications had dinged for either the primus or the Apostate.

    Santi took stock of his situation and decided he was going to finish off the big ape. He couldn¡¯t afford to let the big monster get back to its feet or healed, not after he had spent so much time whittling it down to size. Keeping close attention to his surroundings, Santi started to limp down toward the courtyard.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Minutes ago he had sprinted up them without thought, now every step sent a lance of pain through a twisted ankle and his broken arm and shoulder. Blood dribbled out of his mouth and his tongue ran itself over the spot his missing tooth was supposed to be.

    The [Primus Alpha] was ruined. Bones jutted free of its body, spiky announcements to a great physical trauma. Blood spread out from it like a lake and its eyes were half lidded as it struggled to breath. How it was still alive was a testament to its massive durability and vitality. A pink bubble formed on its thick lips and then popped as it tried to speak as Santi reached it.

    Its left hand trembled, trying to form a fist as its dark eyes raged impotently at him. Santi turned the morph into a wide and wicked axe as he stopped right outside of its range.

    ¡°Told ya, you¡¯re not leaving here.¡±

    The primus could do nothing except gurgle and spit, its lungs not giving it the air needed to breath. The handle on the axe got longer until it was closer to a poleaxe. Santi took careful aim and finished the beast with a single blow, the axe cutting through its neck to embed itself into the splintered court.

    A dagger entered Santi right above his hip. It had been moving so fast that in his battered state he couldn¡¯t have dodged in time. A shadow formed beneath him and a second blade entered him in a mirror of the first. Santi bit back a cry of pain as he lunged over the alpha¡¯s corpse, reaching and dragging the dagger out from his back.

    ¡°Aim was off,¡± Duncan said conversationally as he walked across the court. Santi peaked over the primus¡¯s body and saw the Apostate standing there, holding another dagger.

    ¡°You ruined my plans for this area. I hope you¡¯re happy with that. Without the alpha the rest of them will go wild. I would be willing to bet that even right now the rest of the troop has turned on my men. Not only that but that was a good kill, lots of potential and experience. I was hoping to finish it off before you got here, but that tumble took a bit out of me. Had to drink one of my healing potions.¡±

    ¡°Shut the fuck up already,¡± Santi said as he got to his feet. His entire left side wasn¡¯t working properly, his leg dragging as he got up. He kept the morph in its saber form and lifted it to peer down the blade at Duncan. The plain faced assassin simply shrugged and started walking closer.

    The healing must still be working or the potion had been weak. There was still a slight limp when Duncan moved as he favored his right side. Santi couldn¡¯t move for shit, but he staggered away from the monster¡¯s corpse and stood near the halfcourt line right over the top of the basketball team''s logo and waited as Duncan got to him.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to enjoy killing you,¡± Duncan whispered.

    ¡°Get to it then,¡± Santi said, lashing out with a flick of his wrist. The blade lengthened at the last second, but Duncan dropped to his heels and then sprang directly at him. Time seemed to slow down for a moment as Santi saw what he needed to do and prepared himself.

    [Air Shield] formed at Santi¡¯s sternum and was angled downward, preventing the assassin from hitting his heart or throat. [Air Manipulation] helped tug Duncan¡¯s arm down so the blade was aimed at Santi¡¯s side. Duncan snarled, his face twisting in fury as he felt his aim change. The man was simply too fast and slippery with how wounded Santi was right now. It had to be done like this if he hoped to win the fight.

    The dagger hit him on his right side, beneath his ribs. Pain exploded through Santi as he reached down and grabbed the Apostate¡¯s bicep. The morph turned to liquid and flowed over the man¡¯s bicep like a snake. With a thought Santi severed the man¡¯s arm and hit him with [Gust]. The explosion of wind rocked Santi back even as it sent Duncan flailing across the court.

    He left the knife in his guts as he started to limp toward the crumpled assassin. The man¡¯s stump was pulsing blood and as Santi limped closer Duncan managed to get to his feet, twice slipping in his own pool of blood. Panic and shock filled his face as he started to backpedal and run away, leaving behind a crimson trail as he staggered up the stairs to the concourse.

    Santi lifted a blood hand and cast [Air Shield] in front of the fleeing man. Duncan smashed into the invisible barrier and bounced backward and started to tumble down the stairs toward Santi. Santi waited for him and Duncan finally arrested his fall only ten feet or so in front of Santi. He rose on shaky legs to look at Santi, his face pale and drawn as blood continued to pulse out of him.

    ¡°It¡¯s not supposed to end like this,¡± Duncan whispered.

    ¡°Is it ever?¡± Santi raised his arm, blade lengthening into a spear as the Apostate stood there waiting for his end.

    A bolt of green sizzled by Santi¡¯s ear, searing his scalp and causing him to jerk back in pain. A cry of alarm rose and feet came trampling down the steps as Duncan¡¯s illusive lieutenants finally made their appearance. On instinct Santi tossed a [Crosscurrent-Orb] toward the group as he slid to the ground, careful to not land on the pommel of the dagger still wedged in him.

    The concussive blast of wind covered up a few cries, but when Santi poked his head back up he saw them fleeing with the Apostate wedged between them. They didn¡¯t head toward the VIP box that they had been holding his sister, but rather toward the exit of the stadium.

    ¡°FUCK NO¡± Santi screamed as he got to his feet. Another blast of green light came at him but [Air Shield] dispersed the spell as his attacker stayed behind to slow him down. A short woman with frizzy black hair that shot up around her, her pale features were stern and unflinching as she marched toward him without a weapon.

    Santi wove [Air Manipulation] around her head and strangled her. She missed her step and fell to the ground, fingers clawing at her throat as Santi limped up and over her and headed towards the concourse. Every step was sending bolts of agony through him as he looked at the empty area, the Apostate having escaped him.

 Ch. 2.55 The Spoils

    55.

    The kill notification dinged in his head as the woman died. Santi kept limping toward the VIP box, blood trailing behind him. The arena was deserted but the sounds of fighting outside were drifting in towards him. The primate screams and shouts mingling with the chaos of skills and spells going off in thunderous detonations. Santi kept a hand clenched around the dagger in his gut, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

    The pain was starting to creep up on him, a blanket of agony that pulsed with every shuddering step. Santi focused on keeping moving, not allowing the thought of stopping to enter his mind. If he stopped, there¡¯d be no way he could start moving again.

    The doors to the VIP box were wide open and Santi staggered through them and into the room. The scent of blood was thick in the room, coating it like paint. Yesi lay in a curled up ball in the corner of the room, her sides hardly moving as Santi lurched toward her.

    ¡°Yesi, Yesi!¡± he forced himself to shout, praying his sister would stir. Something squeaked behind him and Santi reacted instantly. Spinning around even through the pain, Santi met eyes with Abraham as the man burst out of the shadows in the corner of the room. In his exhaustion Santi hadn¡¯t realized his near constant spell had dropped.

    Rage invigorated him as Abraham¡¯s dark eyes met his own. The man lunged, extending a spear toward him in a blur of speed. Santi rolled his wrist in a quick circle, the morph blade cutting the head of the spear off. The now blunt end hit him in the chest near his hurt shoulder. He staggered backward, struggling to not fall down at the morph blade turned into a long needle.

    He stabbed weakly at Abraham, the thin point piercing Abraham¡¯s chest. The other man froze and looked down at the thin needle that was buried in his chest, blood just beginning to trickle out of the wound. He looked back up and met Sati¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Do it then.¡±

    Santi had the morph splinter in a thousand hooks and ripped it free.

    Another kill notification.

    Santi stared at the man who had taken from him his hope of having another chance of a full family. There should have been more. More pain, more emotional catharsis, more everything.

    Santi turned away from the corpse and went to Yessenia huddled up on herself in the corner.  Her head turned and Santi could see the devastation inflicted on her for the first time. Her eyes were swollen and bruised, barely more than slits. Her lips smashed and blood dribbled from her mouth as she looked at him.

    ¡°Santi?¡± the whisper was half prayer and half question.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, Yesi. I got you.¡± Santi went to a knee in front of her and almost fell over as she surged into him, her head burying itself in his shoulder. She leaned back instantly and looked down at him, fully taking in his wounds.

    ¡°Oh, Santi. No,no,no.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Tank will get me back on my feet. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Santi struggled up, not releasing his little sister as they stood upright. Yesi looked down at the body and spat on it as they trudged out of the room and toward the front. They were leaning on each other, half supporting each other as they both were too injured to walk without help.

    [Air Current] was cast around them the moment they left the VIP box. In his addled state it took most of his concentration to keep the flow of information from overwhelming him. There was little he could do if there was a foe, his limbs were growing numb and chill was creeping into him. The world was hazy as he focused on step after step, getting away from the monster den.

    The sunlight hit him, the warmth of the sun a distant thing that seemed far away as Yesi took on more of his weight as they exited the stadium. A shadow moved and Santi turned to look as Daniel emerged. A gash was on his face leaking blood but the horror in his eyes as he took them in was evident.

    ¡°Here,¡± Daniel said, shoving a glass vial up to Santi¡¯s lips. Santi swallowed automatically, the sweet relief of the healing potion trickling down his throat. A sharp pain burst through the fog in his mind and he looked down to see Daniel had removed the knife in his gut.

    ¡°Tank sent me ahead to try to find you. Shit¡¯s bad, but we¡¯re all still alive for the moment. The monkey¡¯s went crazy a few minutes ago, started fighting those guys and killing them. Here, Yesi, I have another one.¡±

    Santi could feel his wounds healing, but it was so, so, slow. Yesi shuddered and gasped next to him as she finished drinking her own potion. Santi wondered where the scout, or more likely Tank, had gotten the potions. Could have held them for an emergency or traded someone for them. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Hana?¡± Santi asked while Yessenia tried to recover. His own wounds were closing, the bones in his left arm grinding together. The tooth wasn¡¯t coming back in even if he could feel it pushing against his gums. There wasn¡¯t enough magic left in the potion to finish healing him all the way.

    ¡°She got hit in the head pretty bad by a [Bull Primus]. Tank has her and she¡¯ll be fine but she¡¯s a bit dazed.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s weird.¡± Yesi was touching her face with a delicate finger, tracing her now healed lips and face.

    ¡°Everyone else is ok?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we didn¡¯t get far into downtown before it started getting rough. We backed up and forted up. Brought everyone who¡¯s evolved and we¡¯re holding down a corner building. Had some injuries but nobody was too badly hurt.¡±

    ¡°Good. This is a monster¡¯s den. I didn¡¯t realize it at first, but it is one. I killed the den protector but it still needs to be broken up. I¡¯ll deal with that, take Yesi and loot this place down to the studs.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯d you not realize it was a den?¡±

    ¡°My mind was elsewhere. It¡¯s more subtle than the others too, it helped reinforce my desire to protect my family, to exert my dominance on those who challenged me, everything that I was planning on doing anyways.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you go deal with that and I¡¯ll show your sister around.¡± Yesi looked at Santi with a mix of fear and incredulous fury.

    ¡°Santiago, I don¡¯t want to be shoved off to one of your lackeys.¡± Daniel wisely decided to take his leave and not protest being called a lackey.

    ¡°Daniel will keep you safe and I know. I don¡¯t want you going anywhere without me either, but I have to break up this nest and it''s not going to be pleasant. The pressure of it will press on you in a way you can¡¯t imagine. Help Daniel and meet me back out here in thirty minutes.¡±

    ¡°Santi!¡±

    ¡°No. Just, please. For me. Just give me thirty minutes.¡±

    ¡°Daniel, come show me around,¡± Yesi said, flames of anger in her eyes as she walked away with the scout. Santi turned and walked back into the stadium. Now that he was in a bit better state of mind he could feel the pressure of the den on him more. A need to dominate, to protect, to control.

    He was tired but still aware enough to work his way down toward the tunnels he had been in, following the faint feel of the den like a bloodhound. He passed by the bar he had killed the squad of out of towners. He walked in and grabbed another of the gas lamps and went deeper into the bowels of the facility.

    Twisting and turning down the myriad of halls, he started to see signs of the ape¡¯s occupation. Shredded clothing and bedding forming small nests along the edge of the hall. Santi found the heart of the nest in an abandoned weight room. The mirrors that lined it weren¡¯t broken and reflected the light of Santi¡¯s gas lamp.

    Inside the room the feeling of protectiveness was enough to make him rethink about what he was going to do. Small forms were nestled around in bedding, light reflecting off their eyes. This was what the alpha had been willing to die for. Santi did it quickly and humanely.

    The den broke and he heard more announcements in his mind as he earned more achievements. He didn¡¯t bother looking at them, he couldn¡¯t be bogged down in the minutia of his very long list of kills, achievements and levels. When he was somewhere safe he could check it.

    He searched quickly and thoroughly the ruins of the nesting area. There were a few small small earth treasures which he balled up in some scraps of clothing and tied up before leaving the room.

    The walk back up was slow as Santi needed to try to figure out what he wanted to do. With the potion in his system he wasn¡¯t on death''s door anymore, but he wasn¡¯t far away either. Two potions in the same day, his body was worn out. His mind was frayed.

    Abraham was dead. The [Primus Alpha] was dead. Yessenia was safe. Some parts of Santi wanted to go and keep hunting. Finish off the Apostate while he was injured. But, where did he go? His people had whisked him away and Santi didn¡¯t have any skills or spells to track him down. There were plenty of small towns and even a city not far away.

    Mom and Bianca.

    That was where he was needed. He needed to go home and confront that horrible reality. Santi leaned against a wall for a few minutes, waiting for the appointed time. Breaking the nest had taken less than eight minutes and he wanted a few minutes to gather himself before seeing Yessenia again.

    The image of her battered and bloodied face would stay with him. He had failed to protect them. Had dismissed Abraham¡¯s incessant insubordination. Now he had to bury his father and look his family in the eye. Tears slid down his face as he cried quietly away from where the others could see him.

    His hands trembled and shook as the adrenaline of the fight wore off. He allowed himself five minutes to experience it all. The pain, the hurt, the guilt, and then he boxed it all away. With every slow inhalation he packed it up and steadied himself. It took another three minutes before he was in control again.

    He left the tunnels and waited up by the front doors, ignoring the corpses that decorated the area. Daniel and Yesi came around a few minutes later, both of them grim faced and silent even with Daniel having a heavy satchel of goods. Santi could feel the power wafting off of them even from where he stood.

    ¡°Did you find the riftheart?¡±

    ¡°No. Yesi said it was taken away while she was locked in here. They didn¡¯t trust the monkey¡¯s to not take it. They were going to bring it when the ritual was going to be completed.¡± Yesi just stared at him. She didn¡¯t say a word but there was hurt written all over her face.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Daniel, lead us out. We need to get back to Mom.¡± A tear trembled in Yesi¡¯s eye.

    ¡°Dad didn¡¯t make it, did he?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Yesi straightened up standing to her full height as silent tears tracked down her face. Santi wrapped his sister up in his arms and she leaned into him as he led her out. She didn¡¯t make a sound but he could feel the hot tears on his shirt.

    ¡°It won¡¯t take us long. Seems most of everyone is running out of here.¡± Daniel said as he started leading them home.

 Ch. 2.56 Reunions

    56.

    Downtown had turned into a burning warzone. Corpses lay strewn everywhere with thick knots of the ape¡¯s surrounding singular or some case knots of dead humans. While they had been taken by surprise, the Apostate¡¯s forces had held their own. Regardless, it had been a devastating day for them. With the destruction of the den what was left of the Primus troop would disperse. There was nothing left holding them together and Santi had finally finished clearing the city of the multitude of dens.

    There were a few smaller rifts left, but he¡¯d leave them for those who needed levels and experience. Once this betrayal was fully realized and settled. Once funerals were conducted and the full scope of the damage was seen. Santi had been moving too fast to truly understand just how much Abraham had taken from them while he had been burning from what Abraham had taken from him.

    The man¡¯s blood hadn¡¯t been enough. Yesi stood feet away, refusing to look at him as she held back her tears as they crept through the downtown toward where Tank and the others were. She was still seething with rage and it was mixing with grief. Santi just felt wrung out, exhausted of all his strength and desires. He just wanted to lay down and sleep.

    That¡¯d be impossible, he needed to be strong enough that all could lean on him. That he would be the pillar of his community as they recovered. The loss of the powerful riftheart would set them back and only serve to enhance Duncan¡¯s plans. Santi needed those supplementary classes ASAP and without the riftheart they¡¯d be doing it the slow way.

    Tank and the rest of the squad had fortified a corner store with bars over the shattered windows. Dead apes and people littered the ground outside of the store. Some of the bars were twisted and partially sagging as if they¡¯d been heated and left to droop.

    The moment they turned the corner Bianca was sprinting out of the building like a human missile. She slammed into Yesi, wrapping up her baby sister in a fierce hug as she squeezed her tight. Santi watched for a moment then turned to watch as the rest of them came moving a bit slower than Bianca.

    Cameron jogged to him, his clothes ruined and bloodstained, grief and exhaustion tattooed across his face. His long arms wrapped around Santi and Santi was forced to smell the stench of battle at close proximity as he was hugged. He reciprocated for a moment before patting his friend¡¯s back to let him up.

    Tank was there the moment Santi came up for breath. A multitude of spells crashed over him as Tank worked without a word. He looked as stretched thin as Cameron but the relief on his face was overwhelming.

    ¡°Yesi first. I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not. You¡¯re a mess of half healed wounds, cracked bones, and torn ligaments. Did you already use a healing potion?¡±

    ¡°Two of them.¡±

    ¡°Damnit Santi, this is what you look like after two of them?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m alive and most of them are dead. That¡¯s a win for me.¡±

    ¡°Yessenia, I¡¯ll be over there in a minute to start working on you, just let me get your brother to the point he can stay on his feet,¡± Tank spoke gently over towards Yessenia who still hadn¡¯t been released by Bianca.

    There was no confirmation besides sobbing as the two sisters held each other. Cameron drifted over to put a hand on Bianca¡¯s shoulder and just stood close to offer his support.

    Hana and Daniel had reunited and moved off to the side, sitting down with their shoulders firmly pressed together. Chloe was watching him with the eyes of a hawk, but the warryness of a street cat. Chad kept watch, arrow nocked and ready to be used at a moment''s notice. Santi was glad for all of them, to have come for him and his sister.

    ¡°What was camp like after I left?¡± Santi asked Tank.

    ¡°Shit was going wild, but Helena was locking it down quick. Rayleigh is staying with your mom right now. Safety for both of them. There¡¯s a lot of anger right now to the handful of people Abraham didn¡¯t take with him.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think Rayleigh had anything to do with this. Surprised he left her alive honestly.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s involved either, but people are scared and mad. We haven¡¯t had a human on human crime like this since the initialization. Fights and harsh words, but not this.¡±

    ¡°How was Mom?¡± Tank paused, his skills still working nonstop, as he thought of the right words.

    ¡°Quiet. She didn¡¯t leave your Dad. Didn¡¯t speak, didn¡¯t scream, just sat there quietly until Bianca and Cam left. Shock probably.¡±

    ¡°Go check on Yesi and let¡¯s go home.¡±

    ¡°Santi, you need to take this seriously. You are hurt. Badly. My skills are working but, you¡¯re a mess.¡±

    ¡°I know. We need to get home and try to straighten everything out. Without Abraham there food won¡¯t be coming in. I need to be there and getting things organized.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Marisol is smart and I bet she¡¯s already gotten things moving in the right direction.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m worried about. If she decided to press the issue on leadership again, Tank, I won¡¯t tolerate it a second time.¡±

    Tank grew quiet and his eyes darkened for a moment, his body tensing. For a moment Santi feared his friend would offer a rebuttal, that he wouldn¡¯t understand what needed to be done. Tank sighed, his shoulders slumping and Santi breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get Yesi in shape and then get home then.¡± Tank walked off, breaking up the small cluster of people around Yesi while his skills worked overtime.

    Chloe marched up to him and hugged him, putting her shoulder in his recently repaired sternum and squeezing hard enough that Santi struggled to breathe.

    ¡°Fuck you for running off and not taking us,¡± Chloe whispered harshly, not looking up to him.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t really thinking.¡±

    ¡°We know. I¡¯m sorry about your Dad. He was a good man.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    She squeezed him again and backed up, using the back of her hand to wipe away an errant tear. She coughed once to clear her throat and turned to the side so she wouldn¡¯t meet his eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s done then? Abraham is dead?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dead but it¡¯s not done. There was someone else here who Abraham was taking orders from. It was him that told Abraham to take the riftheart and Yesi.¡±

    ¡°Who was it?¡±

    ¡°Religious nut. Preaching about his lord this and that. He¡¯s good. Very, very, very good.¡±

    ¡°Better than you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m stronger right now, but his class is like Daniel just dialed to eleven. He¡¯s damn near invisible and sneaky with his attacks. If you run into him without me, stick close to Cameron and Tank.¡±

    ¡°You let him live?¡±

    ¡°No letting about it, I kicked his ass but they messed me up pretty bad. I couldn¡¯t finish him off and his people got him out.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you not finish a fight.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the first time and it¡¯s not the last time. I¡¯m alive and that means I can keep trying again and again until I bury the bastard. Just have to keep practicing until I can handle him and his agents permanently.¡±

    ¡°Next time we¡¯ll be there with you. As a team.¡±

    ¡°As a team,¡± Santi agreed, the two of them meeting each other¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Alright! We¡¯re good to travel. Let¡¯s go home!¡± Tank broke the growing tension between him and Chloe. The others pretended not to have noticed and then they were away again. They followed the streets out of downtown, avoiding the freeway that Santi had come from.

    Bianca had dragged Yesi until the three of them were inches from each other, Yesi still huddled into her older sister. Cam walked behind them while the rest formed a ring as they walked in near silence. So much had happened in such a short time frame that Santi was having trouble processing it all.

    Dad gone. Yessenia kidnapped. Abraham killed. An Apostate wounded but alive. The city clear of monster dens. All done in an afternoon.

    It took an hour at their slow pace to make it back to Homebase. A distant train of thought took in the patrols that he saw out much further than normal. They were armed and armored in the first wave of dwarven gear.

    The first patrol that had seen them had taken a trumpet and blasted out a few notes. Moments later the same notes rose again, then again, each growing more and more quiet as the patrols all around them called out. A decent early strategy for an early warning system. Duncan had clearly thought so as well.

    The eight man team had offered them water and food and any assistance they could, but insisted they needed to finish their patrol. Santi and the team took them up on their water but left them with their food. After that encounter they ran into two more patrols before finally reaching the first barricade.

    Everyone was tense, but the looks of pure relief when they saw Santi was enough to make him relax. There was no second attempt at unseating him. The soldiers were too happy seeing him coming back alive.

    They finished their travel, with no one else bothering them until they stood in front of their home. His friends slowly broke away, Chad the first to leave and Chloe the last. She squeezed his wrist and then walked home without a word. Bianca was trembling as she stared at their house and Yessenia was clutching her hand with white knuckled intensity. Cam stood behind them all and just waited for the siblings to take those first steps.

    The door opened first and Rayleigh stepped out. She walked swiftly down the steps and stood in front of them and spoke without pause.

    ¡°Your mother needs you all. You Dad was taken to the hospital. I cleaned up best I could with what I had. I¡¯m going home now.¡± She was looking distraught and nervous as she crossed the street towards her own shared house and Santi took note of the glares she received as she made it to the safety of her own house.

    ¡°Come on,¡± Santi muttered, walking up the few steps and into the house. The smells of violence were buried under the heady smells of lemon scented cleaning supplies. Everything had been cleaned up, plaster, wood splinters, smeared blood. There was still a hole in the wall where his father had been thrown through it.

    Mom sat on the sofa with a blank stare at first. She wasn¡¯t looking at anything or anyone, just staring into space. As they all stepped into the room she looked up and life flickered in her eyes.

    ¡°Yesi?¡± Santi?¡± her voice was quavering, shaking as if she couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing as she rose slowly. Her steps were short and quick, taking her to them in a blink and then they were both being wrapped into a crushing hug. Mom was gasping, choking on her words as she held them.

    ¡°Is he dead? The one who did that to Vicente?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dead. I killed him,¡± Santi answered her.

    ¡°Good. May he never rest.¡±

    They stood there for a few minutes, just all holding each other until Gabriella finally released them. There were quiet tears and murmured words as they all held each other, not knowing what to say or how to act, just living in their shared pain.

    Santi finally got them to sit down and went to the kitchen and started getting tea for them. Cam stood off to the side and helped quietly while the three women talked to each other. Santi prepped a few easy to make sandwiches and cups of cold tea before going and sitting with his family and they sat and drank and sipped their cold tea and ate their sandwiches in silence.

 Ch. 2.57 Goodbye

    57.

    They buried Vicente the next day. Under a hot sun they laid him and the others killed in the rampage atop of pyres. Wood and other flammable items had been stacked up and now everyone was waiting. Santiago stood off to the side, shoulder to shoulder with his family as those who had lost someone walked up and spoke a few words.

    Dale had been a funny guy. Quick to laugh and slow to anger and had liked nothing more than bouncing his grandkids on his knee. He had been killed trying to stop the murderers.

    Maria had been walking with her girlfriend and they had startled Abraham¡¯s group who had cut her down before she could say a word. She had died and left a grieving partner and a shattered sister and mother.

    Coy was coming back from looking for his missing daughter. He had grabbed at one of the attackers when the alarm sounded and had died for his efforts.

    On and on it went, the people left broken by Abraham¡¯s betrayal speaking out of their missing family. Others had died before of course, but that had been for survival. Fighting against monsters, steel against fangs and claws and ravenous gullets.

    Greed and envy had stolen these people¡¯s worlds and now they tried to pick up the broken pieces. Santi had seen and lived this before. How could one pick up the broken pieces and put them back when some of the pieces no longer existed? It left you different, missing and yearning for a time when you were whole.

    Santiago witnessed it all. The tears, sorrow, anger, grief, disbelief, and thousand and one other feelings. [Air Current] stirred the hot air and brought whispers of conversations to his sensitive ears. Nothing alarming, few if any blamed him for Abraham¡¯s actions. In general they raged against the now dead man and his clique.

    Santiago was going to have the others spread word quietly that there were others who worshiped a foreign entity who had tempted Abraham and had him betray his people. Even if he fell to Duncan in their next meeting, he couldn¡¯t allow the community to be swayed by the promises of easy power.

    The morning shifted to afternoon and finally it was their turn. Bianca went first and she managed to say two words before she cracked like precious china. Her sobs swallowed her words as her grief swelled and broke free of the dams she had erected. They let her have a moment and when it was apparent she couldn¡¯t say anything Cameron went and wrapped his arms around her and herded her away and back to the family.

    Yessenia strode forward next and stood with an iron back in front of the community and spoke in a trembling voice that wavered on the precipice of tears. The emotion was so thick that her voice was hardly more than a croak, but Santi used his spell to spread her words.

    ¡°My father was a good man, a kind man. He loved cooking and his kids and we could never tell which one came first.¡± There was a soft chuckle through the crowd at that, a breaking of the tension as others slowly relaxed.

    ¡°He was taken from us. It was too early and he should still be here. He tried to stop them from taking me. He tried so hard¡­I¡¯m sorry, Dad. I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t stronger,¡± her emotions overwhelmed her and she huddled in on herself as she walked over to them. Bianca surged out of Cameron¡¯s arms and wrapped her up in a hug so fierce that Santi feared Yessenia would break.

    Mom strode forward with measured grace. Each step a finality, a stoppage as she strode closer and closer to the mass funeral pyre. She turned slow as a glacier and looked at them all, emotionless and blank. She blinked slowly and spoke softly, only Santi¡¯s spell letting her words travel further than a few feet.

    ¡°Vicente and I have been together since we were children. We raised children, we should have grown old together. Instead I have to watch him leave me. Leave us. He was a strong man, it takes a strong man to be kind. To care for others before themselves. It was weak men who killed him. May they burn for all eternity,¡± rage rasped in Mom¡¯s voice with her last sentence as she walked back to them. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    After the first few days since they reunited Mom had seemed to slink back into herself. She was awake and moving and spoke with the girls, but the energetic and strong willed woman she had been before the integration had disappeared. The scars on her face and the haunted look in her eyes had been clear signs of the trauma she had endured.

    Mom stood with a straight back next to the family and both of the girls grasped her hands on either side of her and they stood there together as Santi walked up to his shroud wrapped father.

    This hadn¡¯t been planned, him speaking last. It just was what had happened. Half the settlement had attended the funerals, filling the field they had cleared and made ready for the burning.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know your friends or family who are up here with my Dad. I¡¯m sorry I don¡¯t know them, having heard your stories of them, I wish I had taken the time to get to know them. We have buried people before. Too many people. This new world we live in is brutal and unrelenting.¡± Santi took a minute and sniffed quickly as his own feeling rumbled through his chest.

    ¡°Dad was kind. He was funny. He was so much that I can¡¯t say it all. The world is darker without him, I know that. It¡¯s darker without all of these people up here. We are a community now, in a way that hasn¡¯t been seen since the medieval times. Our success is our survival, our numbers, our strength. I grieve for my Father and I grieve for those who died trying to stop his killers and save my sister. Let them always be remembered.¡± Santi trailed off as he realized he didn¡¯t want to keep talking. He had planned a speech, a way of hinting at the upcoming wars, of banding together, but he was tired.

    Santi hurried to his Mom and she opened her arms and he folded himself into her loving embrace as the two of them held each other for a few moments. Each of his sisters in turn hugged him and he reveled in that for a moment. His father was gone, but they were here. His sisters and mom and friends who were family. They were still here and he couldn¡¯t collapse, not now, not ever again.

    ¡°Bianca, want to do it?¡± Santi asked, nodding at the pyre. Bianca froze and turned like a statue to look at the mass of dry wood and linen wrapped bodies. She nodded slowly and walked toward the pyre. She pulled out a little pocket knife and used a new skill she had acquired. A spark of flame leapt from the blade and landed on the wood and began to burrow. Flame ate away wood and then the wood burst into a conflagration, the oil they had poured in the heart of the flames licking upward.

    Yesi shook as mana twisted around her. The little grimoire he had earned had given them another gift. A spell of remembrance. Yessenia had spent all night and some of this morning working it out, laying out the spell ingredients and arranging the pyre correctly.

    As flames licked around the bodies, Santi watched as the bodies were absorbed by the flame. They didn¡¯t burn and turn to ash, but rather dissipated into the inferno as it roared. The raw emotion of the grieving, of the happy memories and righteous anger, of love and sadness, it all mingled together and was consumed by that purifying flame.

    Wood cracked and broke to charcoal, sliding away into ashen heaps at a rate that was supernatural. The red-orange flames shifted, lightening, paling until they were near invisible as they burned. The heavy air lightened as the spell worked and Yesi swayed on her feet, face paling as she was slowly drained.

    If a wizard had done this off the cuff it would have taken monstrous amounts of power to accomplish it. A peak Acolyte level wizard if not a low level Disciple. With the spell forms written out in materials, wood, salt, oil, and a few small treasures and fueled by the emotions of a grieving community, it was just at the edge of her ability to complete.

    Santi felt a tingle of pride as his sister held firm and watched as the pyre burned down to nothing. Mounded ash sank into the earth and thick green grass sprang up, flowers flowing fast and heady and a sense of acceptance and love washed over the entire crowd.

    The dead were gone, their spirits whisked off to wherever it was that spirits went. But the memories and the emotions from the living for the deceased were present. They formed the basis of this glade that was growing more and more lush with every passing second.

    When the spell was finished settling, one could walk through here and feel the solemn grace of a graveyard while still seeing the joy of life lived. Santi had seen a few of them with different levels of success.

    Some glades had grown so thick with remembrances that they had become almost physical. Memories forming as one walked, taking up powerful moments that the living had remembered while the spell was active.

    Others had been twisted by hatred and rage. Their memories of life and love consumed by the rage that they had been taken, the sorrow of living while the others lay silent and cold. Nightmares that had broken strong minds, emotions overwhelming and causing curses to form in a constant cycle.

    This one was good. The small talk of happy memories had lightened the mood enough that they shouldn¡¯t have to worry about curses forming. Likely the opposite. This could become a powerful ward for those who were cursed or fueled by curses.

    ¡°In a day or two the field will settle,¡± Santi whispered into Yessenia¡¯s ear. She nodded to him and he slid an arm around her shoulder and started to lead her and everyone else away. The entire procession broke down around him, everyone going home to take a day or two for themselves. Santi didn¡¯t have the luxury. He¡¯d get his family settled and then he had work to do.

 Ch. 2.58 Next Steps

    58.

    Santi sat in his old room in Homebase. The small closet still had the stench of old sweat and cleaning chemicals. Santi sat with his back against the wall and tried to clear his mind before he went through the long list of System alerts that was waiting for him. He had gotten Bianca, Yessenia, and Mom home just fine and Cam had stayed with them while Santi said he had to do some stuff. This was just the first of the things he needed to do before he could rest.

    Primus Alpha lvl. 47

    Abraham Lee lvl. 28

    Dulce Rodriguez lvl. 29

    The last three kill notifications were the three he didn¡¯t want to look away from. Abraham was gone. In the short time that he had been in Santi¡¯s life he had been a minor headache who had rapidly disintegrated a cornerstone of the life Santi had wanted to build. There was no joy at seeing the floating words, no relief, nothing but an emptiness in his chest and heart.

    Dulce Rodriguez had been the woman who had slowed him down when he went to finish off the Apostate. She hadn¡¯t been much of a challenge, but her sacrifice had made sure that he wasn¡¯t going to be able to ever relax until Duncan was dead and buried.

    The Primus Alpha¡¯s death was the final straw of breaking the monster¡¯s grip on the city. There were still a few small rifts here and there and the possibility of a monster den forming was always possible, but for the most part, the city was clear. They could resettle the city, scavenge in relative safety. Rebuild their lives in semi-peace.

    Once Duncan was dead.

    Congratulations, you are an Air Mage lvl. 42

    He had started that dreadful day at level 34. Eight levels in a single day was nearly unheard of. A great feat in most cases, Santi scoffed to himself. There had been great hunts and challenges in the future. Powerful monsters that had been slain that had netted people four or five levels after they brought them down. One Acolyte entering a fight to earn eight levels though was a grand thing.

    He had cut a bloody swath through the downtown and left human and monster alike broken in his wake. There was something sinister about it, killing his fellow man bringing his level up higher and higher. When the pillar arrives it would become like that again, for with the pillar the others would come too.

    Santiago V. Silva

    Air Mage lvl. 42

    Strength: 35 (70)

    Durability: 38 (73)

    Stamina: 40 (75)

    Dexterity: 35 (70)

    Vitality: 40 (75)

    Perception: 35 (70)

    Intelligence: 96 (131)

    Mana: 125 (160)

    Willpower: 96 (131)

    Potential: 99%

    That long and drawn out fight hadn¡¯t rattled him, but had reinforced the importance of having physical stats. Boosting his stamina, dexterity and durability made him feel a bit better about his odds. Perception because of the Apostate¡¯s ability to simply melt into his surroundings. With the titles and careful allotment he could keep up with physical classers for a bit longer.

    Santi reviewed the fight in his mind and believed there was plenty of room for improvement with his current arsenal of spells. He could perform plenty with what he had right now. [Air Manipulation] could be used to mimic plenty of the spells that he would have access to even if they weren¡¯t as powerful or efficient if he had the actual spell. What he really needed was a movement ability, something to help him rapidly relocate when said assassin decided to appear behind him.

    The available spell list was longer than it had been the last time he had looked and now that he had two spell slots open Santi was tempted to give up his plans with combining the spell forms he had seen earlier. It would still require seventeen more levels to have all the slots needed for two common rank spells.

    Finishing things off quickly with his spell forms wasn¡¯t happening. His spells could kill, but overwhelming instant death wasn¡¯t something he could do well right now. With the morph blade he could finish something off quickly. Santi had to wonder if he had made a mistake by not taking [Wind Blade]. He had thought he was right to stay with his path, to continue on with being a pure mage, but in the quiet moments he had to wonder. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Achievement: Kill an Alpha Monster

    Reward: Loot Box (Common)

    Achievement: Kill 10 Sapients

    Reward: Loot Box (Minor)

    Achievement: Destroy a Greater Monster Den

    Reward: Loot Box (Common)

    Achievement: Revenge

    Reward: Loot Box (Lesser)

    Santi hadn¡¯t realized the den was a greater den. The Infernal¡¯s blessing was what had pushed it over the line probably. Greater den¡¯s could overrun settlements with ease if allowed to fester. The strength of the den increased the leveling speed of the monsters and their reproduction and growth. The hundreds of the monsters that had infested the downtown area made sense now.

    Two silver chests materialized first, then the crystal chest, and finally the wooden chest. Revenge wasn¡¯t something too many spoke of in the first timeline, but when a loved one, a member of your bloodline, or even someone you had sworn to protect, died by a sapient being, then it opened up the possibility of receiving a reward. It had been the most reliable way to receive an achievement and many had seen them once the fighting had started to increase amongst each other and the invaders.

    The wooden chest was filled with coins. Literal blood money that Santi had earned from killing his father¡¯s murderer. Santi let the pile of wooden coins spill out across the floor and just shoved them to the corner. There was an urge not to take them, but he couldn¡¯t afford that. For now he would just let them sit.

    Smooth crystal was lifted up with ease and Santi peered down into his reward for killing human beings. He had known how many he had actually killed in his rampage, the kill notifications had made sure of that, but seeing his reward was different. A simple triangular dagger lay on the bottom of the chest.

    It was sheathed in plain black leather with a belt wrapped up around it. There was a good heft to it and when Santi pulled the blade free he saw that the blade was stygian, the faint light spilling through the cracks in the door being absorbed by the metal blade.

    Enchanted Dagger

    When used to end a Sapient¡¯s life, the blade will transfer a temporary boost of 5% of the target¡¯s highest stat.

    Another powerful weapon but not something that he could base his entire fighting style around like the morph weapon. His morph seemed to heat on his arm at the thought, a contented purring rumbling in his mind. Santi looked down at the curled up liquid metal and thought good thoughts about it. How sharp it was, how fast it could change, how powerful it was. The purring grew louder.

    That was something he¡¯d have to ponder later.

    Santi sheathed the dagger and placed it atop of the pile of wooden white coins. The silver chests were next and Santi didn¡¯t hesitate to pry open the first of them. He was sure that the chest was from killing the Alpha when he took in the reward.

    Coat of Strength

    Plus 15 to Strength when worn

    Will Repair Damage with mana

    The long coat was made of black fur so short it looked like velvet, eerily close to what the Alpha Primus¡¯s coat had looked like. Santi pulled it out and shook it, the plush feel of the black fur was like silk between his fingers, slippery and smooth. Santi slipped it on and felt the coat shrink and become form fitting. The stifling room seemed to become easier to breathe in, the heat of the day fading away.

    There wasn''t a  surge of strength but Santi could feel it in his muscles, like a brief pump during the gym. An extra bit of strength that he normally wouldn¡¯t have.

    The final chest opened and Santi reached down and started pulling out small wooden racks of potions. Six pedestals of six potions each. Two healing, two stamina, and two mana. The glass tinkled as he moved it around the room. He¡¯d give one of the racks to Tank and he owed a few potions to Daniel. The other healing potions he¡¯d keep. The stamina could be handed out and around to his frontline fighters as could the mana potions.

    Currently his team was very solid from a non-regressor standpoint. He couldn¡¯t imagine having had their strength originally. They were weeks ahead of where they should be. The issue was Duncan was likely training his people hard, those that had survived anyway.

    The last of the chests dissolved into the aether and Santi scooped everything up. The coat had plenty of pockets and the coins quickly filled. The belt and dagger slipped on well and Santi made sure he could easily reach it with his left hand. The vials of potions were carefully picked up and stacked up and then he was out of the room and heading toward Tank.

    The big man was walking around the medical station, talking to the others as they all worked around the handful of injured. Tank just raised an eyebrow at the six jingling racks of potions until Santi handed the first rack of potions to him.

    ¡°Reward for the fight?¡± Tank asked as he held the potions like they were the most precious thing in the world. To him they likely were, an elixir that could knit together the most grievous of wounds. They were a miracle in a bottle to a medical professional.

    ¡°Yeah. For clearing the monster den.¡±

    ¡°And the coat, knife, and the clacking of coins I hear in your pockets?¡±

    ¡°More rewards. Didn¡¯t seem right to open it all up before we said good-bye.¡±

    ¡°I can understand that. Listen, I¡¯ll finish up here and head over to your place tonight with the others?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. What for?¡±

    ¡°Uhmmmm, I don¡¯t know. The whole group of humans who were fighting with the monsters and Abraham¡¯s people?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah them. Yeah, that''s fine. Swing by.¡±

    ¡°Are you ok, Santi?¡±

    Santiago stopped and looked his friend in the eyes for the first time. How could he be alright?

    ¡°No, but I¡¯ll get there. Come on over and I¡¯ll pass out some of those ration bars I got.¡±

    ¡°Alright man, see you then.¡±

    Santi left Homebase and walked to the dwarves'' house. He rapped on the door twice and waited until Torin opened the door. The dwarf looked better than he had, but the effects of his time imprisoned were still imprinted on his haunted features.

    ¡°Aye?¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow. Send over Grimvr and one other. We begin martial training.¡±

    ¡°Aye. It shall be done. We have started to disassemble the golems and will shortly have weapons for your guard that aren¡¯t trash.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Torin. If there is anything you need, please let me know.¡±

    ¡°I shall. Good evening Santiago.¡± The dwarf bowed his head and closed the door softly. Santi was already walking, heading home. There was more to do, more organizing and restructuring. Training to complete and men and women to arm. Scouts to send out and hunt down those who had escaped him.

    Tomorrow.

 Ch. 2.59 Epilogue

    59.

    Naomi passed the straining plate over to Marcus, smiling graciously as her husband took it. Thick slabs of meat smothered in rich gravy, the heady aromas filled the small dining room as her family and closest confidantes ate dinner. Alan was there, presentable for once in clean clothes. He smiled and laughed as he chatted with both of her daughters at once, holding two separate conversations at the same time.

    The man had been a revelation once he had acclimated to his surroundings. There was a festive air to him, a joy of life that pressed back on the hardships that surrounded them all. He spoke of his son with wonder and awe, always using the present tense as if there was no world in which Cameron could be dead.

    Naomi wished that he would never have to face that harsh reality. So many were gone and the odds of his son living through the past months was just too extreme. She¡¯d be there to help him when the loss finally settled on him, steering him away from the madness of grief. And being prepared to do what was necessary if that madness overwhelmed him.

    Already in a month he had surged to become the second strongest person in the mountain community. He led several small groups, alternating them through as they grew tired while his energy never wavered. A true leech. It wasn¡¯t an attractive class name, but it was powerful. Lots of skills that allowed him to absorb mana, strength, vitality. He could heal as fast as he took damage, every one of his punches growing in strength.

    Marcus and the girls had been shocked when they watched him strip his shirt off for the first time and fight in just shorts. Every inch of his body was a weapon, sapping away with every strike. Alan never said what exactly his base build was, but Naomi had watched carefully. Dexterity, durability, and vitality were her educated guesses for his top three.

    Speed to close the distance, the ability to take the damage he needed to begin his chain of attacks, and the vitality required to keep healing. Willpower was low, his sanity was frayed and trembling on its last legs. No matter how much he smiled and laughed, she couldn¡¯t stop remembering the beast he had been.

    ¡°Love, why so dour?¡± Marcus chided, nudging her and leaning in close. There was no true privacy in a room filled with Acolytes. They had finished their evolutions over the last few days, the cream of the crop and her closest allies the first to breach the bottleneck.

    Key members of the community would go next. The farmers and crafters and some of the defense force who were required to protect the settlement when the fighters were gone. Slowly Naomi would work her way to the bottom levels of the settlement and all those who had yet to find their niche.

    ¡°Just thinking of what¡¯s going on outside of our walls,¡± she replied, offering Marcus a wan smile. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Nasty is what it is. I have nightmares of our trip up here.¡±

    ¡°We were lucky to find you all,¡± Mrs. Park said solemnly. A quiet descended over the table as palpable aura of remembrance and fear filled the room. Naomi felt for them, this was the scariest thing they had ever experience. Yet, part of her wanted to snap at them for being so weak.

    She had lived through the true horror of watching her family die. There had been no safety for her, no community to welcome her with open arms and protect her and guide her. The memories were deep scars that brutalized her psyche and only the sight of her smiling, laughing, living children could soothe those aches.

    ¡°So, you all met as you left the city?¡± Alan asked, leaning back and placing his interlocked fingers over his flat belly.

    ¡°She saved my granddaughter from a lizard-thing.¡±

    ¡°Nia did the saving. It was a perfect shot,¡± Naomi said as her daughter ducked her head as a wave of adoration echoed around the table.

    ¡°That¡¯s good luck there. You¡¯ve been a guardian angel to so many people, Naomi.¡± Alan¡¯s content look flickered and a hint of suspicion and paranoia slithered across his face in an instant. If she hadn¡¯t been looking she wouldn¡¯t have noticed it.

    ¡°It is not luck that we save those who need it. All are welcome as long as they obey the rules of the settlement.¡± The entire table joined voices as the second half the sentence was still rolling off her tongue. She repeated the mantra every time a scouting party went off to prowl the mountain valleys and roads.

    ¡°All of you laugh, but it¡¯s a good sentiment,¡± Naomi defended herself with a quick smile and a swing of her empty fork at the group. The dinner dissolved into simple talk for a while and then naturally broke up. Cleanup was just dishes, all of the food had been consumed down to the last morsel as the new appetites of the Acolyte¡¯s was rearing its ravenous head.

    Alan lagged behind, letting Mrs. Park and Iseul and the others leave in front of him. It was evident he wanted a word and the others were gracious enough to leave promptly. Naomi had a feeling she knew what this was going to be about.

    ¡°Naomi, I just want to thank you for taking me in. You probably saved my life out there and I don¡¯t have the words to express how deeply grateful I am to you for that.¡±

    ¡°But?¡±

    ¡°But¡­I want to find my son,¡± Alan let the facade of happiness and joy fall away and she see the deep yearning in him. It was a wound that would not heal with him sitting her relatively safe and fed.

    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll be joining you though.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I do.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like that?¡±

    ¡°Alan, you¡¯re a dangerous man. When we found you, you were on the brink. I don¡¯t want to see you tip over that edge.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s alive. I know he is.¡±

    ¡°I pray that he is. But I¡¯ll still be going with you.¡±

    ¡°Couple days enough time for you to get everything in order here?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s say day after tomorrow. You, me, and a few others.¡±

    ¡°Marcus and the kids?¡±

    ¡°No. They¡¯ll be staying here.¡±

    Alan looked at her for a moment and that wellspring of anxiety and fear slowly closed and his normal cheerful expression showed back up.

    ¡°Alright. Day after tomorrow we can head up North.¡±

 Ch. 3.01 Sparring

    1.

    Grimv attacked with the ferocity of a feral badger. His axe sang a harmony of death as the sharp steel split the air in a discordant howl. Santi didn¡¯t dance backwards for once, but met him on open ground. The morph blade twisted and struck, wily as a serpent, darting around the dwarf¡¯s guard and striking his thick breastplate with a loud gong sound.

    The dwarf grunted and stopped, surprise crossing his face as he nodded his wide, sweaty head at Santi. It was a good point, their duel not putting the two combatants at even points. Grimvr had earlier managed to land a powerful blow with his axe in Santi¡¯s gut, only the heavy armor he wore prevented himself from being disemboweled.

    The sparring armor was a heavy duty plate that stretched from crown to toes and could repulse nearly any causal blow. Torin had worked hard in weaving his magics in it to make it light and impregnable as long as one didn¡¯t use any type of skills or spells on it. A mundane weapon was for all intents and purposes useless against it.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting better,¡± the dwarf said, voice only partially muffled. The steel had been made transparent somehow and the two could look each other in the eyes as they fought. Torin¡¯s works now graced  both Santi¡¯s own personal collection and Homebase¡¯s practice yards.

    ¡°I had to trick you.¡±

    ¡°Matters little to the tricked if their guts are on the ground. Honor and skill are only useful for the living after all,¡± the dwarf said with a wide grin.

    ¡°True enough. To three?¡±

    ¡°Of course, on my mark?¡±

    ¡°Say when.¡±

    ¡°WHEN!¡± Grimvr didn¡¯t give Santi time to prepare, lunging forward and sending a crippling blow for his right knee. Forced to twist away, his counter lacked the heft and speed needed to bring the smaller fighter down. Grimvr simply smacked the dull point of the morph blade away with a gauntlet.

    The dwarf kept himself tight to Santi, his double headed axe a frenzy of slashing steel that took every ounce of Santi¡¯s ability to stay ahead of. He had the advanced stats needed to beat the dwarf easily, but ever since the dwarf¡¯s evolution a week ago, it seemed to matter little. In a contest of skill, where both parties tried to restrain themselves to a normal level, Santi was coming out on the losing end too often for his liking.

    Santi blocked a swing, diverting the axe away from himself and lashing out with his armored foot toward Grimvr¡¯s side. Steel clanged on steel and Grimvr grunted, but didn¡¯t slow as he let go of the axe and tackled Santi around the waist, driving him into the dirt.

    The dwarf was shorter than him, but heavier, and Santi struggled to get out from under him as metal plated fists rained down on his own armored forearms. The morph blade made it so that he was never unarmed and it changed from a sword to a dagger and Santi drove it at Grimvr.

    Grimvr saw it coming and his thick hand caught Santi¡¯s wrist, holding his wrist still as the two of them strained. The heavy blows continued to come though, battering him around as Santi tried to finish him off.

    ¡°WHAT! ARE! YOU! DOING!¡± Torin¡¯s voice was a bellow across the field, freezing both of them in mid action. They turned and looked at the slightly older dwarf who stood there, face mottled red with fury.

    ¡°Sparring?¡± Grimvr responded, his deep voice suddenly unsure.

    ¡°Sparring requires weapons. Not beating my fucking armor like a pair of drunken pugilists!¡±

    Grimvr scrambled to his feet and offered Santi a hand up, hoisting him with ease. They both pulled their clear helms off and Santi sighed with relief as the fresh air chilled the sweat on his face.

    ¡°Sorry Hall Master. I apologize for disrespecting your craft,¡± Grimvr bent his head in apology and Santi did too, recognizing a cultural lapse here. He had no idea why Grimvr was suddenly so sincere and apologetic and why the normally relaxed Torin looked ready to strangle the two of them at the same time.

    Torin released a huff of air and turned back to the house that Santi and his family had taken up in. After¡­after, they had moved. It had been a quick and simple decision and their limited amount of stuff had taken only an afternoon to move.

    The new house was larger and slightly further away from Homebase which had slowly lost its central importance. Now it was almost exclusively a medical facility that Tank and a few doctors ran. They kept stores of System rewarded health potions there, bought at good price from Santi. A small garrison was stationed in the old house, a half dozen of the better fighters that remained with Helena.

    Most of them had migrated to the new reformed scavengers under Rayleigh. They ranged further and further now, stretching far outside of the city limits and they were encountering more and more powerful beasts. Tristan and Chad had branched off as hunters, chasing game down and bringing back Acolyte level meat for the settlement with a few others.

    The last six weeks had seen their small settlement undergo rapid change as the new order began to sink in. Marisol and Helena kept up their end of the bargain and a Bill of Rights had been drafted and posted along with a set of simple rules and the punishments for breaking said rules. Helena was left in charge of that. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Santi and what was left of his team focused on clearing dens, more troublesome and powerful monsters, and the occasional rift. Chad had left to become a hunter and Tank spent most of his time running his infirmary, but would tag along for the more dangerous runs. Bianca and Cameron hadn¡¯t flinched from the course and Chloe stayed as a central pillar.

    Daniel and Hana had formed a ranger company of sorts, half scouts, half hunters, and completely nutty. When Santi put out the word for a hunt they showed up though, the two of them never going far from each other. Six weeks could change a lot of things, but it also made some things clear.

    It was different. Quiet. Empty. There was a space in all of them now that couldn¡¯t be filled, only covered up. Mom was the worst. Her silence had been broken and her quiet tranquility replaced by a woman driven by raw madness. She trained constantly. With the dwarves, scouts, fighters, scavengers, anyone and everyone who would face her across the dueling ring.

    Every day there were less who were willing to do so. Her skill with the spear Torin had made for her as a funeral gift, another cultural difference, was growing by leaps and bounds. It wasn¡¯t natural. There was nothing natural about twenty hour days of training.

    She lived in the arena, and if it wasn¡¯t for the new requirements to venture out of the city limits, she would be out there. Anyone who wished to leave the city had to be Acolyte level or higher. Peak Initiates could leave the walls of the settlement, but even then they were given strict warnings. It was simply growing too dangerous for those who hadn¡¯t gotten strong enough to fight out there.

    Torin had taken an interest in Mom¡¯s training and had decided he¡¯d craft her armor. Full plate, light as a feather and stronger than oak he had claimed. The translation had claimed it, but Santi figured it was close enough. Going with her shield and spear he had already made her, she¡¯d be the best equipped person in the entire settlement barring Santi¡¯s personal team.

    Yessenia had went in the other direction. She didn¡¯t leave the laboratory she had made for herself underneath the house without family around her. A low level Acolyte golem stood guard outside her door, courtesy of Grimvr who had made it to her to pay for his evolution. Her own evolution had seen her class change from [Planner] to [Ritualist]. It was a powerful class and already multiple spells were placed around the house, just waiting for the right word or trigger to ignite their protections.

    ¡°Good fight. It would have been better if the Hall Master hadn¡¯t interrupted us, but I was sure of victory.¡±

    ¡°Your victory?¡±

    ¡°Oh of course, if it wasn¡¯t for the thick helm, I would have caved in your thick skull!¡±

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that armored gauntlet, this thick skull would have broken your fingers!¡±

    ¡°Oh, lad. I don¡¯t think that had the sting you think it did.¡± Grimvr offered him a sly smile and the two walked to the water bucket they kept in the back under the shade. It wasn¡¯t for drinking, but rather for clearing the sweat, blood, and dirt off of themselves. A little plastic First-Aid kit hung on a hook. The only thing inside of it was a pair of healing potions that Santi had earned two weeks ago.

    ¡°I wanna go with you and your peoples the next time you go out. I need the levels,¡± Grimvr said.

    ¡°That didn¡¯t sound like much of a request. More of a demand,¡± Santi fired back.

    ¡°Damn translator is removing the nuance of my words, I can assure you, I was quite polite with my groveling,¡± Grimvr lied.

    ¡°Oh, might as well. It shouldn¡¯t be too much longer. Daniel said he had found some tracks to where he thinks the others might have fled too.¡±

    ¡°The rest of the traitors?¡±

    ¡°Yes. He¡¯s been searching for a while now. North and East, toward the mountains there. Plenty of small towns and cities they could be hidden in until they reach the mountain passes.¡±

    ¡°Did not Cameron say his father was in the mountains?¡±

    ¡°Much further South. Weeks of traveling from here.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s getting anxious about it. He¡¯s talking to your sister when we all spar together.¡±

    ¡°It makes sense. The competition is almost over and then we can be on our way and start heading down there.¡±

    ¡°I think I want to go with you.¡±

    ¡°Leave your clan mates?¡±

    ¡°This is a new world and I wish to see it. They will understand.¡±

    ¡°I have no objection. I don¡¯t know who¡¯s going to be going yet, but it won¡¯t be much longer.¡±

    ¡°Good, now let¡¯s get dinner ready, shall we?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just freeloading. You saw that deer Tristan brought in and the potatoes that Hestor harvested,¡± Santi deduced, staring at the little glutton.

    ¡°Much better than the ration bars. And we are good friends, are we not?¡±

    ¡°Good enough friends that I¡¯m willing to trust you with an important task tonight.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Have you ever peeled a potato?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t say that I have.¡±

    ¡°Come my friend and I will introduce you to peeling potatoes. It is a very important job.¡± Santi led him into the house and the kitchen that they were all using. Santi had salvaged what he could from their destroyed kitchen and the heavy cast iron pans were still being used.

    Bianca and Cam were sitting around the table, sipping on tea, while they talked quietly. A pile of forearm length potatoes sat behind them in a red plastic bucket. Thick stalks of fresh asparagus were on the counter and the deer that Chad had brought down a day ago had been butchered and choice cuts brought over.

    Cam and Bianca took one look at the duo, glanced back at the pile of vegetables, and fled without a word. Cam engulfed Bianca¡¯s free hand in a smooth motion as they raced away.

    ¡°They will not be partaking in the peeling of potatoes?¡± Grimvr asked.

    ¡°They are weak people, my friend. Not worthy of the task before you.¡±

    ¡°I am beginning to feel as if I have been tricked.¡±

    ¡°No, no, not at all. You¡¯re going to earn your food tonight though,¡± Santi let slip a now rare smile as he grabbed a knife and showed Grmivr the proper way to peel a potato.

 Ch. 3.2 Family Dinner

    2.

    ¡°Damn, this is good Santi!¡± Cameron stated between heaped forkfuls of mashed potatoes. His plate, once a platter, was nearly cleared as he attacked the meal with an energetic zeal. All around him, those who had been Acolytes for a while, were eating with an extra level of appreciation. It was one of their first meals made with appropriate food sources that weren¡¯t the ration bars they¡¯d been earning in award chests.

    Daniel and Hana were, for once, not staring at each other as they both hovered inches from their plates. Bianca was only a bit more restrained while Yessenia sat quietly and ate slowly. Each bite chewed with a thoroughness that was almost mechanical, her eyes glazed over, lost in thought.

    Chloe and Rayleigh were both to Santi¡¯s left, the two girls having rekindled their friendship over the last few weeks. With Abraham gone and Rayleigh now in charge  the point of contention between them was gone and they wasted no time in reconnecting.

    Grimvr was eating the potatoes like he was angry at them and after having spent an hour carefully peeling and cleaning them, Santi could understand that frustration. Tank sat next to Grimvr and the two spoke in quick sentences, chuckling often as they both seemed to enjoy the hearty meal.

    Santi could begin to understand why Dad had liked cooking so much. The act itself was peaceful in a way, rewarding to see the dishes he ended up with from the raw ingredients they had started with. The real reward was seeing everyone¡¯s joy in eating his work. They enjoyed what he had spent time and labor doing, his hard work instantly rewarded not in levels and shed blood, but in smiles and laughter and the scrape of metal on porcelain.

    ¡°Enjoy it while you can. The first crop wasn¡¯t big enough and it¡¯ll be a while before the second crop. The meat is starting to get easier to source at least, more and more animals have survived the burst and managed to level. Tristan took some type of hunter class and has been showing people how to track them.¡±

    ¡°The meat is good, don¡¯t get me wrong. But, damn brother, these potatoes are heavenly.¡±

    ¡°Acolyte level food. New taste buds and higher perception to fully experience the meal. I did the bare minimum on them.¡±

    ¡°If this is the bare minimum, I don¡¯t think I could withstand a full gourmet course,¡± Chloe said. Her plate was cleared and she was leaning back in her chair with her fingers threaded over her stomach.

    ¡°Just wait till a [Cook] or [Chef] class appears. We¡¯ll be eating good,¡± Santi told them. He could remember the camp foods that their [Cooks] had made and heard rumors of the heavenly delights Disciple level [Chefs] could create. Far above his paygrade, it had been something the Council of Champions had been able to partake in or what the ultra wealthy had managed to buy.

    ¡°I think Dad would have liked being a [Cook],¡± Yessenia finally spoke up and the room fell into silence as everyone¡¯s eyes turned to her. She had been so quiet for so long that hearing her speak in a public setting was tantamount to watching lightning strike twice.

    ¡°I think he would have too,¡± Bianca said, breaking the silence and everyone turned their gaze away from Yesi. Santi felt the familiar rush of rage and sorrow he felt every time he was reminded of what happened to her. The helplessness of not being able to fix it.

    ¡°Found another den. Well Delilah and her scouts did. A day or so Northwest. Close to the coast. She said it was too dangerous for her or even my team to handle,¡± Daniel said as the table discussion changed from the joy of food back to work.

    ¡°Alright. Chloe, what¡¯s our schedule looking like?¡± Chloe had taken over the team¡¯s scheduling once she realized Santi was often double booking or even triple booking them to be at places. Santi was more than happy to have her deal with the executive functions while he worked on drills and teamwork.

    ¡°Free for two days. Got a rift that Rayleigh and her team said they can clear out, but wanted back up just in case,¡± Chloe said.

    ¡°Rayleigh, do you guys actually need the help?¡±

    ¡°Probably not. We¡¯re just thin on veteran people. Almost everyone is new and raw. Even in comparison to where we were. It¡¯s some type of spider monster and it¡¯s low Acolyte, maybe even peak Initiate rift.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s it at?¡±

    ¡°South East. Tiny little town of about four hundred or so people. Rift cleared the whole town we think. There¡¯s some spider webs and stuff everywhere, Daniel¡¯s people didn¡¯t think it was too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Daniel, peel a trio of your people over to Rayleigh¡¯s clear team. We¡¯ll get Helena to put up two squads for backup but have it be Rayleigh¡¯s operation.¡±

    A round of affirmatives rang out across the table. It was getting easier and easier for him to issue orders like this. Finding the right people to train and organize had been the key. Torin and Grimvr had been a massive help as they had started to provide training and materials that allowed the settlement to be successful. There were plenty of people in the settlement with the right mindset and skills to organize and Santi had been working on finding them and putting them in place to succeed. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Daniel, Hana, I want both of you with us when we do and meet up with Delilah. Tank, can you get free from the clinic?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been slow. Shouldn''t be a problem at all,¡± Tank rumbled from the end of the table.

    ¡°Grimvr, get Torin¡¯s permission and you can come with us.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°I want to come as well,¡± Mom¡¯s voice carried across the room as she and Torin walked in. She still wore her armor and her face was covered in a sheen of sweat. The heady mix of body odor and armor came with her as she grabbed a plate and began to fill it with the leftover in the middle of the table.

    ¡°Grimvr, we shall both go. I must see how my works perform,¡± the older dwarf slapped Grimvr on the shoulder as he walked past him and began to fill his own plate. Everyone shuffled down, creating spots for the two older people to squeeze into as chairs were grabbed for them.

    ¡°Are you ready for that, Mom?¡± Yesi asked, voice trembling.

    ¡°Torin has given me the best weapons aside from Santi¡¯s morph blade. I¡¯ve trained hard and have the skill, I just need the levels now.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to fight effectively in the den at all, but we can search for opponents for you,¡± Santi said. If his Mom could get the levels necessary to evolve it¡¯d be a massive weight off his shoulders.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I need. Torin will stay with me.¡±

    ¡°I shall,¡± Torin promised as he poked with his fork at the mountain of mashed potatoes, looking at Grimvr with confusion written across his face.

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious, Hall Master. Try it with the brown sauce.¡±

    ¡°Yesi, you should come as well. Try out your power in the field,¡± Santi floated the suggestion to his sister. He cringed inwardly as Yesi seemed to fold under the weight of the possibility of leaving her sanctum.

    ¡°No¡­maybe, ummm,...next time,¡± she stammered, face burning red with shame as she stood in a hurry, leaving her half eaten plate behind her as she fled out of the room.

    The mood soured as everyone stared at her now deserted seat. Santi wished to have Abraham in front of him again, just to rip him in pieces for what he had done to Yessenia. Santi heard her crying at night, the strangled screams as nightmares tore at her, the haunted look in her eyes.

    ¡°Is there a therapist or someone who could work with her or something?¡± Rayleigh asked, concern on her face.

    ¡°Tank?¡± Santi asked. A psychiatrist would have been in his friend''s sphere of responsibility.

    ¡°Doc Evans has some training. She started that way and then decided to become a R.N,¡± Tanks said. Santi wanted to pound his head on the table. A partially trained therapist.

    ¡°See if she¡¯s open to talking to her,¡± Mom said. Tank glanced at Santi for confirmation, but was already nodding along.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask her in the morning,¡± Tank confirmed.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Mom said as she went back to eating.

    ¡°So tomorrow then?¡± Chloe asked. Santi nodded to her and the rest of the group got up and started to clean their dishes with a bucket of soapy water that Santi had pulled earlier. Germs weren¡¯t much of a threat to them now, but it was still gross to eat off dirty plates.

    ¡°Did Delilah say what type of den it was?¡± Santi asked, wanting to get away from the sudden social awkwardness and on to dealing with the threat of the den.

    ¡°Not really, she sent a messenger from one of our outposts to us to relay where it¡¯s at and threat level.¡±

    ¡°Has the messenger relay system been working well for you?¡± Santi asked. It had been his suggestion to do since no one had managed to take an effective long range communication skill.

    They¡¯d place speed based builds in small, well hidden locations and they acted as small hubs for messages for the further ranging teams. It allowed for faster communication and kept the scouting teams in the field for longer. When Yessenia recovered a bit more and could be persuaded to go out in the field, Santi was going to get her to lay some basic protections around the hubs.

    In the future, as they grew, he¡¯d need to establish forts and outposts further away from the settlement. There were just too many people to close by right now. They would begin to hunt the region into extinction and there wouldn¡¯t be enough experience or potential to continue leveling for the lower level people.

    ¡°It¡¯s working well. Need to improve the defensese around them though. Lost one of the hubs to the Northwest near the mountains two days ago.¡±

    ¡°All hands went down?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I went up there with Hana and some of my higher level guys. There were four runners assigned to the spot and we found all four bodies and a bunch of some type of insect monster.¡±

    ¡°Ants?¡±

    ¡°Beetles, they were as big as a car though and tough. Stabbed a few and their carapace was thick and resistant to damage. We harvested what we could and I¡¯ve had a team looking for where the bugs could have come from,¡± Daniel reported in.

    Santi sat back and thought on that. They hadn¡¯t found a hint of Duncan yet, but to the Northwest there were plenty of small towns and then eventually the mountains. Duncan was savvy enough he would cover up the elimination of an outpost and the loss of that outpost would severely limit their ability to report what was going on that way quickly.

    ¡°Find a new place to set up and we¡¯ll take Yesi there after we clear out this den. We¡¯ll reinforce the outpost and start searching that region. I don¡¯t like having a threat that can take out an outpost like that,¡±  Sanit ordered.

    ¡°They were only Initiates, peak, but still? It shouldn¡¯t be a threat to us,¡± Daniel wasn¡¯t arguing, but he was searching for a reason for Santi¡¯s new apparent concern.

    ¡°Only if it really was bugs. We haven¡¯t seen hide or hair of any of the traitors or that band of humans they were partnered with. Wouldn¡¯t be hard to lead a group of low level Acolyte bugs to a base and just watch the fireworks. Send runners and put all your people on alert up there, double up the patrols and increase the frequency of check-ins.¡±

    ¡°You got it, boss,¡± Daniel said. Hana was already scribbling Santi¡¯s orders on a little pad of paper she carried around.

    ¡°Everyone get some sleep, tomorrow we¡¯re off to kill some monsters,¡± Santi broke up the family dinner and sat back in his chair while everyone slowly trickled out. He sat in the empty room for a long time.

 Ch. 3.3 Raiders

    3.

    The early summer heat had parched the surrounding countryside, turning once lush fields into barren, sun baked earth. Santi and the rest of the war party moved at a fast clip, their breaths easy, even under the fast pace. Mom was the weakest of them and she managed to keep up with them, even if she was near the rear of the pack.

    A single drop of sweat rolled down Santi¡¯s face as he kept pace, running behind Bianca and Chloe. Both of the girls were more heavily invested in physical stats than he was and without his titles he would have been left in the dust by them. As it was, it required a bit of effort to keep up with them.

    ¡°How often do patrols come through this area?¡± Santi asked Daniel, the taller scout gliding along next to him. Daniel and Hana¡¯s company of scouts and rangers, along with Chad and Tristan¡¯s hunters, were the only ones who made it out this far on the regular. Helena kept her people closer to home and Santi only led his party out for heavy fights.

    ¡°Not frequent. We mainly stick around towns or anything that we can get supplies from. These long country roads get people on occasion, but not often enough for them to be deemed safe to travel,¡± Daniel explained.

    The last few weeks had seen a small trickle of people leaving the confines of Homebase and its immediate surroundings. None of them had left the relative safety of the city and the high ranking fighters living there, but it wouldn¡¯t be long. There had been a handful of people found to the South and East and directly West. Anything North and Northeast was barren of life though.

    From what Daniel had reported people had survived. The amount of dead wasn¡¯t high enough and there were signs of class skills and spells used on the buildings or surroundings. Dead monsters and campfires, but everything had been pulled up and disappeared further toward the heart of the nation.

    In time smaller communities would be absorbed. Small groups of survivors banding together to build rugged communities based around a dungeon or good hunting grounds. They would need the support of a larger community and Homebase would be the hub for this entire region. The wealth of Northern California could pool toward him, treasures, monster parts, crafters, and anything else would come to Homebase and the Pillar he would claim.

    They needed safe roads for that to happen. Continuous patrols that would purge the nuisances and alert them when real dangers arrived. Daniel and Hana¡¯s small company would be the first step and with the growth in numbers the job would be placed on Helena¡¯s head. Part of internal security. A good place for young warriors to test themselves and grow accustomed to the dangers of the new world without quite leaving the safety of the nest.

    ¡°When we get back I need you and Helena to get together and start mapping out routes for patrols. She¡¯ll provide the manpower and you provide the intelligence.¡±

    ¡°You got it boss,¡± Daniel said while flipping a snarky salute. Some of the man¡¯s earlier attitude had begun to creep back into their interactions as time distanced themselves from the acts Santi had committed.

    ¡°There¡¯s something up ahead Santi,¡± Bianca said, her hand straying to her hip where her macuahuitl sat. Santi looked past his sister and towards the ground ahead of them and saw what she had seen. A quarter mile or so ahead was a pair of abandoned wagons. The full sized one¡¯s people used to carry around their kids'' crap during soccer games.

    Goods were spilt across the ground, crushed food and water bottles that had rolled away in the gentle summer breeze. The wind shifted and Santi caught hints of blood on the air.

    ¡°Mom, get to the center of the formation, Torin you have her?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯ll be safe with me,¡± the Hall Master confirmed, pulling a heavy hammer that he used two hands to heft around from his belt.

    ¡°Grmivr, right behind the girls and Cam. You¡¯re relief. Everyone else, normal positions.¡±

    Daniel and Hana both disappeared and split apart, heading in different directions. The shadows were thin, but Daniel had been working hard on his skill and managed. Hana simply bent light around her till she was nothing more than a heat mirage.

    Tank stepped up and slightly behind Santi, unlimbering his new and improved mace that Grimvr had crafted him. The bulbous head of the mace was ridged and had a weight to it that would have caused a pre initialization human to struggle. Tank swung it about in lazy circles with ease as he scanned their surroundings.

    Without Chad they were lacking a true distance fighter aside from Santi, and he was their most effective fighter overall. Currently his spell and skill set put him as a medium range fighter, but he could pinch hit wherever the team needed him.

    Mom gripped her own spear tightly, but there was no trace of fear in her eyes as she looked around. There was a hunger there, a desire for action and blood. Torin was next to her and Santi had to focus on what was going to come next if he wanted to make sure they all stayed alive. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    The team slowed down, moving more cautiously as they crept closer to the signs of violence. Santi was able to fully view the wagons and abandoned supplies. Mainly dry food, crackers, dried fruit, nuts, granola, and bottled water. There were some scattered clothes, blouses and pants that blew in the wind.

    ¡°Oh fuck,¡± Bianca cursed, horror in her voice as they looked closer to the ditch that line the field. Santi peered down and quickly identified the scents of blood.

    A pair of women lay slack and still in the bottom of the ditch, their clothes stained from battle. A broken kitchen knife was near one of them and the other had a claw hammer that was just outside of her reach. The violence inflicted upon them was monstrous and they all stared down at them in horror.

    ¡°What the fuck,¡± Bianca whispered while Cam leaned over and vomited.

    ¡°DANIEL, HANA, FIND ME TRACKS!¡± Santi barked. He knew the darker sides of man, the depths of villainy that waited. He would not allow it to fester.

    ¡°Let¡¯s bury them. Bianca, Chloe, do you think you can move them while we dig?¡± Santi asked them.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll do this,¡± Mom spoke firmly even as a tear tracked down her face. The two younger women nodded and the team broke up quickly. The work to dig graves was quick and easy compared tidying the bodies and placing garments on them. The burial was quick and with few words and Santi prayed that the two women would find peace. In total it had taken less than thirty minutes from sighting the two destroyed wagons to burying the two victims.

    Daniel and Hana had found the tracks and were waiting patiently until the final bits of earth filled the grave. The wagons were rooted through, but little of it held any value to them. They were beyond the food available in it and the weapons were basic tools that could have been found in any garage.

    ¡°They came from the North and are heading West. Directly toward where we¡¯re supposed to be going.¡±

    ¡°How many?¡±

    ¡°No idea, lots though. Footprints everywhere, the ground is too hard to leave easy to identify prints.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Last thing we want is them finding Delilah and her team. Double time it,¡± Santi issued his orders and the rest of the group fell into line as they started to pick up speed. They raced across the hot blacktop, the asphalt emanating heat like a furnace. The shorter dwarves weren¡¯t holding them back, their legs pistoning as they ate up ground in a hurrying race against time.

    ¡°Daniel, you and Hana push ahead and try to warn Delilah and the others,¡± Santi said as they got closer to the small beach town that the monster den was supposed to be in. Both of the scouts pushed off as fast as possible, sprinting ahead as they disappeared from view.

    The rest of the team continued their pace, eating into the timeline that Daniel had said it would take. The day of travel timeline completely obliterated as they pushed their Acolyte bodies as hard as they could. Mom was a ragged mess, sweating profusely as she gasped in breaths, but she continued on.

    Torin had offered to carry her, but had been met with a stony eyed glare that had quieted the dwarf. She was on her last legs though and would be of little use in the upcoming fight. They had caught signs of the passage of the raiders. Discarded food packets, empty water bottles, a shoe, several signs of bowel relief. They were closing in on them, but Santi was worrying that they¡¯d be too late to find the small team of scouts

    ¡°When we meet them, Mom and Torin stay in the backline with Tank. Guys, this will be your first time truly fighting other people. The little skirmish downtown, well, you weren¡¯t prepared for that. This will be different. They will have skills and spells just like you. And they will scream and beg for mercy, plead to be arrested or to face a jury or anything to stop their immediate deaths. They all die. Every. Single. One. Am I clear?¡±

    ¡°Crystal,¡± Chloe growled. Her black hair was pasted to her forehead as she ran a thumb along the edge of her axe. They were approaching the edge of the town and Santi saw some of them.

    Dirty and ragged they walked around the town without a care. They were thin, emaciated with stringy hair with hard looks to their faces as if they were carved from granite. He counted seven with a glance as they wandered around, poking their heads into abandoned buildings or just wandered the road.

    The town wasn¡¯t even a town. It was just a single road with buildings on either side of it. A few gas stations, a diner, post office, firehouse, and then a trio of side roads that branched off with single family homes on either side. The sound of the ocean was close, the heady scents of the brine filling his nose with every breath.

    The den was somewhere close by, Delilah and her team hidden from both the raiders and the den. Santi was scanning the area as fast as possible, looking for clues to where everyone was.

    ¡°Everyone, gear up. Helms, armor, weapons checks, all of it. Grab a couple drinks of water and catch your breath. We¡¯re going to be going in fast and ending them fast, understood?¡±

    A round of nods and affirmatives came through as everyone took a knee and drank and checked their weapons and armor. Santi touched the metal breastplate that Torin had made for him. It was lightweight, an alloy of supernatural design that was a dark cobalt color. It left his arms free, but all of his vitals covered in hard steel, or at least the dwarven equivalent of steel.

    At the far edge of town, movement broke out. A burst of energy, a flash of fire, and a man¡¯s shrill scream. The town erupted like a beehive, over a dozen dirty figures running out of the buildings in a rush, brandishing a variety of crude weapons as they raced toward where someone was burning brightly.

    At the same time, closer to the sea, in sandy soil that had a thin covering of stringy grass, the earth erupted. Black proboscis, glittering eyes, eight legs on each side of a nine foot long body that wiggled as it raced toward the sounds of fighting. The sandy soil trailed off of it as its dagger-like claws tore into cement like it was dirt as it caught the first of the raiders with its long nose.

 Ch. 3.04 Cursed

    4.

    The long trunk of the monster twisted and curled inward and the distant figure¡¯s screams were faint and hardly carried in the air. Blood dripped out of the monster¡¯s trunk, splashing on the ground as it continued on its way toward the heart of the small town. The rushing raiders stopped in fright, the fight they had been looking for larger and more dangerous than they were ready for.

    Santi¡¯s team was running in tight formation, their practice over the last week¡¯s showing. Mom and Torin lagged behind while Grimv stuck to his place without need to be nudged in place. The dwarf was sturdy and ready for a fight with his axe in hand. Cameron, Bianca, and Chloe forming a wedge with Cameron in the center. Grmivr drifted behind them while Santi let them get a bit ahead of him. Tank, Torin, and Mom were the last of the group about ten feet behind him.

    The raiders were running without looking, fleeing the monster as it ravaged a building and a slower moving man. The man was throwing around skills, blue blasts of ice exploding in bursts around the creature¡¯s chitinous shell. It had little effect on the monster, it simply lifted a long leg and stabbed down at the man. Concrete exploded as the street shattered like a bomb went off as the man rolled and got away from the stabbing appendage.

    While those two were occupied in the center of town, the first trailing edge of the raiders finally turned to see Cameron and the two women flanking him. They were fully armored and armed with weapons built by Grimvr and Torin. Santi was ready to step in if they hesitated as the first of the dirty raiders charged at Cameron, screaming a wordless warcry.

    The raider was hoisting a heavy sledgehammer over his head, pale face coated in dirt and dried blood as his black eyes were wild with rage and fear. Cam¡¯s golden shield was cast as the raider swung down, interposing itself between Cam¡¯s slightly less dense head and the heavy steel hammer. The steel hammer hit the gold shield with a burst of power and the sound of a crunching glass, but the shield didn¡¯t break.

    The man stared at his weapon stupidly as Cam struck with a single minded purpose, his long hatchet slicing through the man¡¯s stomach with no resistance. Cam shouldered the man off his feet, tossing him like a child as he kept moving forward.

    Bianca slashed as the man passed by her, her blade tearing away flesh and finishing the man before he could even hit the ground. The whole interaction had been done in two seconds, their training paying off. Santi had been pushing them hard, making sure they knew how to fight as a team.

    Then the main part of the fleeing raiders were overrunning them. Cameron held his spot without fear or hesitation, his shield and hatchet moving in tandem. Golden shields appeared in quick succession as attacks slid off of his defensive skills. The raiders were peak Intitaties, their skills and spells not having the oomph needed to break apart the defensive skills that Cameron was activating.

    Bianca and Chloe were doing their parts, their weapons blurs as they chopped and hacked their way through the drifters like they were nothing but driftwood. Neither woman showed any reluctance as they took lives for the first time, killing without hesitation as the weaker fighters couldn¡¯t hope to match them.

    It took only a minute and the first batch of fleeing killers were laying on the ground in broken pieces alongside the road and they were pushing into the actual town. The ice mage was still dueling the monster, bursts of frozen power washing over the ground as the man hadn¡¯t stopped casting. He was throwing around enough power faster enough that Santi could make the guess that he was at least a mid thirties Acolyte.

    ¡°Mage and monster!¡± Santi barked, steering the team toward the main fight. Cam was chugging forward like an indomitable train, angling toward the monster. Santi risked taking his eyes off the fight for a moment to [Identify] both the monster and the man.

    Mutated Mole Crab lvl. 46

    Cursed Ice Mage lvl. 38

    ¡°Careful with the mage, he¡¯s cursed!¡± Santi told the team.

    ¡°Da fuck does that mean?¡± Cam asked without turning.

    ¡°There¡¯s more than one way of evolving. He¡¯s going to be like one of the cursed things we¡¯ve killed.¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit.¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    [Air Manipulation] tugged the mage¡¯s foot to the side as the mole crab stabbed at him again. This time he couldn¡¯t move away fast enough and Santi almost ended the problem then and there. The ice mage made a wall of ice in front of him, water particles condensing into a misty wall before flash freezing. The crystal ice had threads of inky darkness in it, worms of corruption that wriggled inside the ice.

    Ice exploded as the leg smashed it apart, spraying out the corrupted ice like shrapnel. Cameron cast a shield in front of Bianca and lifted his own personal shield up to cover his face as Chloe ducked behind the bigger man¡¯s back. Santi cast [Gust] and sent the ice away from the group.

    A drop of blood splattered the ground as the monster¡¯s leg dripped blood, its tough chitinous shell finally broken. A trickle of darkness swirled around the ice mage, darkening the air around the man as the iron scent of blood consumed the area. The monster froze, leg frozen high in the air as the swirling chaos around the ice mage flowed around it, seeping into the wound.

    The monster stopped, frozen for a long moment,and then it fled, retreating as fast as it had come. The mage turned around to face them, his face haggard as he lifted his hands up to them. Whatever curse he had, it was powerful enough that he had managed to corrupt a higher level monster than him with only one wound. Not something that Santi wanted to have around his people.

    [Gust] picked up the thin mage and threw him like a baseball, flying through the air until he crashed into the building across the street. The wall didn¡¯t break, but the mage did. One of the problems with only putting stat points into one area. Bones were sticking out of the mage¡¯s body while limbs were twisted in the wrong way.

    ¡°Careful, no kill notification,¡± Santi warned as the team slowed down. Black and red energy spread around the downed mage¡¯s body. Bones snapped back into place, limbs twisted and ground as they fitted together properly.

    ¡°Shit, that¡¯s gross. Kill him, skills only!¡± Santi barked his last order and Bianca stepped forward. Of all of the rest of the team she had the closest to a long range attack. A skill she had picked up and been working hard on since Dad¡¯s funeral.

    A simple spark ignited off the tip of her weapon, blue-white and burning with an intensity that Santi could feel from feet away. She flicked her wrist, the macuahuitl snapping like a baton to send the flickering ball of fire away.

    It crossed the distance in a blink of an eye and ignited with a whoosh and burst of intense heat as the body was consumed in a heartbeat. The kill notification dinged a second later.

    Cursed Ice Mage lvl 38

    (Blood Thirst)

    ¡°Don¡¯t get close to any of the others who are marked as cursed. You don¡¯t want an infection like that,¡± Santi warned them.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Tank asked, having not been able to see what was going on.

    ¡°Its another way of evolving. It¡¯s not advised,¡± Grmivr said stone faced. Santi was sure there was a thread of humor in there.

    ¡°Stay focused, there¡¯s still plenty more of the raiders around here. And the monster,¡± Santi chided the team.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Daniel and Hana?¡± Chloe asked, looking around carefully. Bianca hadn¡¯t taken her eyes off the burning wreck she had created.

    ¡°Who knows, they¡¯ll show up soon enough. Shit, behind us!¡± Santi caught sight of a new wave of ragged raiders wielding a motley mix of weapons as they came screaming out of hiding now that the crab had been pushed back.

    Mom spun, shield rising to cover her body as her spear rested right above the edge of the shield. Santi watched as time seemed to slow as she stepped forward and lunged, spear point glinting in the light as it passed in a blur toward the leading attacker.

    The spear spun and turned, broad leaf point parting flesh with ease, shattering bone like dry wood, and ending the raider¡¯s life with ease. Mom twisted and pulled the spear free, using her shield to stop a stray blow while she stepped back to avoid a second attack.

    Tank stepped forward, covering Mom¡¯s blindside as his maul proceeded to obliterate a human into just paste. Torin watched with his hammer, eyes alert and ready to step in if Mom floundered or hesitated.

    She didn¡¯t.

    She attacked with economical precision, no wasted movements as she butchered the enemy Initiates with ease. Their makeshift weapons hardly scratched her shield as with every strike she killed. Tank backed up as the pressure lessened and Chloe and Bianca stepped up to cover her sides while Cameron waited to slide in to replace her as she tired.

    She didn¡¯t use any skills or spells, just her own endurance and strength with plenty of practice. The two girls didn¡¯t simply slaughter the enemy, but rather let Mom get the kills, harvesting potential and experience. Santi watched in awe and horror as his quiet, iron-willed, patient, and kind mother, killed and killed and killed.

    The newest wave broke as fast as it had come, nine bodies laying on the ground felled by Mom¡¯s spear. It was like watching a machine complete a task, a testament to Torin¡¯s training.

    ¡°Mom, you ok?¡± Bianca asked as they stared down at the dead bodies.

    ¡°Yes. Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± Mom asked, her voice soft and clipped as she wiped the bloody spear clean on a dead man¡¯s shirt.

    ¡°No reason,¡± Bianca said, but she stayed close to Mom¡¯s side as everyone milled about in the center of the town, looking for Daniel and the other¡¯s. There was movement here and there, people moving about as they darted around the buildings, more of the weak raiders who hadn¡¯t died yet.

    ¡°There''s got to be a few more of the Acolyte level fighters around here somewhere. Stay on guard, but let¡¯s start moving to try to find Daniel and Hana.¡±

 Ch. 3.5 Infection

    5.

    Fire licked at the homes as Bianca¡¯s cleansing flame grew to slowly encompass the house and then the others around it. Red and blue flames leapt from roof to roof, increasing in size and ferocity as the small pit stop of a town emptied itself out. There were more raiders than Santi would have thought possible. Over a score of them left alive, gathering around two men who were barking orders.

    Black lines ran across their skin like sticky webs of corruption, pulsing with every word and gesture. The men around them listened and obeyed with speed, fear of their commanders greater than their fear of Santi¡¯s team. He would have to see about changing that.

    ¡°We crush them, I want one alive though. Not the cursed bastards, but one of the others.¡±

    ¡°Thought we said no survivors?¡± Cam asked.

    ¡°There won¡¯t be survivors after I¡¯m done talking to him,¡± Santi said. There was a momentary stillness, then everyone seemed to recall the two women on the roadside and all thoughts of mercy fled. The squad formed up into their normal formation and began to march with the cleansing flames behind them.

    Santi watched the raiders with one eye, while with the other he kept a lookout for Daniel and Hana. The two had a bad habit of disappearing and a great habit of showing up unexpectedly. They wouldn¡¯t stay out of this fight for the entire time but would likely hop in when the fight got down to the nitty gritty and the raiders were too busy to pay attention.

    The slapping of their feet on the pavement was loud in his ears, his breaths ragged as he let that wrath that he had been carrying around for months begin to billow inside of himself. Heat suffused his chest as he spun his mana through his body and into the atmosphere, drenching the area around them with his power.

    The trick was something that was easy in theory but tough in practice. It was similar to what Yessenia had done to activate her rituals but scaled up. It would taint the area around him with his power, his flavor of magic. While it wouldn¡¯t stop enemy mana based attacks, it would help diffuse them, make them easier to block or parry and at the same time allow him to cast his own spells with less resistance.

    [Crosscurrent-Orb] spun free of his hand, passed between Chloe and Cameron¡¯s head and crossed the distance between the two groups in a flash. The tightly packed raiders, who were trying to form some type of unarmored shield wall, were thrown apart like matchsticks in a hurricane. The two Acolytes in the center of the formation didn¡¯t budge, both of them weathering the storm with grimaces.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let those fuckers touch you!¡± Santi reminded them as Cameron closed the distance, raising his physical shield while using his skill to block a lobbed pearlescent attack that splashed harmlessly off the golden barrier.

    Cam struck like lightning, moving with the dreadful efficiency that let him move faster than he should. The hatchet sheared apart meat and bone and a limp hand fell to the ground, its former owner screaming in pain as he clutched at the severed stump.

    Bianca and Chloe were cutting and slashing, ripping apart men with no hesitation. The two enemy Acolytes were backing up, fear in their eyes as they began to break away from their dying followers.

    The poor shield wall was destroyed and now the team¡¯s wedge formation was shedding attackers, sending wounded and dying men to land behind the front line trio so that they could be ripped apart with ease by the others. Mom¡¯s spear was moving with brutal power, killing with every blow. Torin and Grimvr were unphased as they butchered while Tank held a faint grimace as he brought his maul down to end suffering.

    Santi let them work, none of them aside from Mom were earning anything of note from this. But not everything was about experience and potential gained. Something had to be done, some monsters had to be killed lest they grow and fester in the wounds of the worlds.

    Santi kept a careful watch on the two cursed Acolytes and the madness in their eyes. The bloodlust was growing until there was another palpable aura around them, a blood red and foul black aura that sank into the few survivors around them. The newly infected smiled, baring their teeth as their necks stretched taunt. They howled a fierce cry that broke over the team as they charged with reckless abandon.

    ¡°Cut them down,¡± Santi yelled, but he could feel the aura of bloodlust infusing him even as he said it. Each of the infected was a carrier, growing the curse as they raced to die on Santi¡¯s team''s weapons. Gore flew in long strings and bone was cleaved and flesh split, but the berserk Initiate class fighters didn¡¯t care.

    They howled and snapped their mouths, trying to bite even as they were trimmed of offensive limbs. Weapons were abandoned as they tried to use their fingers and nails like beasts. For a moment there was a shift in the balance of power as Cameron and the others were stymied, their superior stats not allowing for them to be overwhelmed, but lacking the experience to fight through the madness. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Santi stepped around them.

    The morph blade extended and struck like lightning, taking heads with each flick of his wrist. Bodies fell around him like leaves as Santi charged straight toward the two Acolyte¡¯s and the source of aura that was empowering the weaker fighters. Both men seemed to teeter on losing themselves to the curse¡¯s power, or breaking and running. Fear and death warred in their eyes as the aura around them strengthened to the point of becoming a miasma around them.

    [Gust] staggered them and pushed back against the miasma while the morph blade lengthened to a lance and Santi lunged. The tip of the lance punched through a thigh, breaking bone and emerging out the other side with a wide spray of blood. It was enough to tip the two men over and into madness.

    The impaled man ran up the lance. He drug his wounded thigh further down the lance so he could reach Santi with his own homemade spear. Santi ducked his head and retracted the lance, ripping free of the thigh in a burst of destroyed muscle. Any normal, sane, person would be down for the fight, Acolyte stats or not. The femur was destroyed.

    The man didn¡¯t stop, he stepped on his broken and bleeding leg like it was completely fine as a bloody froth stained his teeth. His spear flashed out again and Santi removed the head of it with a simple block, his own weapon slicing apart the wood as if it was rotten.

    A ball of flame lobbed past his head and struck the second cursed man. He went up like a torch, the flames burning away the miasma that clung to him breaking through the curse¡¯s seeming  granted immunity from pain. His screams filled the air, pain and terror and something darker and more twisted underneath each howl.

    Santi kept his attention on his own foe who had closed to grappling range, ignoring his wounds in his determination to grab Santi. The man didn¡¯t use any skills or spells, just enhanced stats as his clawed hands scratched at Santi¡¯s unarmored biceps. He extended a blade and circled it quickly, removing both of the offending appendages, but not before bloody furrows were staining his shirt.

    Santi finished the Acolyte with a hammer blow to the skull, caving in the man¡¯s head with a finality that no driving bloodlust could cure. He turned back to look at the others and was happy to see they had managed to drag one of the raiders off to the side, pinning him to the ground with a spear through the knee.

    With the two Acolyte¡¯s dead, the fight faded in the survivors as their wounds overrode what little remained of their killing frenzy. They didn¡¯t last long after that as blades fell like rain, cleaning away the filth of the world.

    Santi walked past the dead and looked toward their captives as his heart continued to beat frenziedly in his chest. The morph blade extended into a full sized halberd with a keen headsman edge. An urge to continue on, to finish the miscreant whispered in his mind.

    Infection of Bloodlust

    (Lesser)

    ¡°Shit.¡± Santi retracted his blade and backed up quickly. He couldn¡¯t allow the curse to gain any traction. If he fell into its primal urges it would grow stronger. Curses fed on strong, normally negative, emotions. In a world consumed by the System, bloodlust would be one of the more treacherous curses.

    ¡°Santi, it¡¯s saying your infected?¡± Tank asked, his maul held out to the side.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s weak. Just makes me want to hack away a bit, see some blood flow, you know?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s rhyming, something''s wrong,¡± Bianca said as she stood a few feet away.

    ¡°He¡¯s fine as long as he controls it. If he starts to feed the curse and it grows stronger, then he¡¯ll become a threat to everyone. For now just try to keep him away from the curse¡¯s stressors,¡± Torin supplied helpfully. It was nice to have someone who understood the System around to explain things he couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°So, he shouldn¡¯t be fighting in a monster den or hunting down criminals?¡± Cam asked.

    ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Thorin said. He wasn¡¯t as wary as the others who were looking at him like he was a rabid animal. There was still an edge of wariness though as he kept his weapon close.

    ¡°So, we¡¯ll have to tackle the den without him? That¡¯s not going to be easy,¡± Chloe groused.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. We regroup with the others and leave Santiago here with his Mother and the scouts. I¡¯m strong enough to cover for most of his ability and leadership. We¡¯re a decently rounded team,¡± Torin supplied.

    ¡°Good idea. Torin will take command, heed his orders and trust him. He¡¯s the Hall Master for a reason. We need to break that den before that infected crab thing spreads it to the rest of the den. Don¡¯t need bloodlusted monsters running around,¡± Santi ordered the group. He was mad about losing out on the den and what would the harm be in going on one raid? His willpower was strong enough that he could resist the curse. Falling behind on the leaderboards could affect him negatively in the long run. Maybe he should go.

    That train of thought stopped him in his tracks with his mouth open, ready to countermand the orders he had just given. Curses could be nefarious, wheedling their way into his every intention to lead him toward a solution that it craved.

    ¡°Oh fuck it all, go clear it up and hurry it up. I don¡¯t want to be here all day. Me and Mom will go find our errant spies and see what this one has to say,¡± Santi said, pointing at the quietly crying man.

    ¡°No need to yell, we¡¯re right here. Tank we¡¯re going to need some assistance. All three of them are hurt, nothing severe but we got caught up with one of the smaller bands of the raiders near the edge of town,¡± Hana said, jogging toward them as she dropped her light illusion.

    Her and Daniel really did enjoy sneaking up on people and being dramatic with their entrances. It could be annoying. He should stop them from doing that, tell them they needed to be disciplined, and if they didn¡¯t, well he could always make them.

    ¡°Fuck, this curse is fucky. I don¡¯t think being around the rest of these guys is helping anything. Tank, go and heal them scouts, Hana and Daniel, go find the den and see what¡¯s going on. Reconvene with Torin and go scour the bastard. Bianca, cleanse the area please, it¡¯s giving me good ideas.¡±

 Ch. 3.6 Answers

    6.

    The town burned behind them as Bianca¡¯s cleansing flames consumed it all. Mom had helped drag their prisoner away from the strip of town while Santi patrolled the edges. [Gust] would send the fire screaming back in on itself rather than letting it grow and spread. Delilah and the two other scouts had been treated and sat away from the prisoner, often shouting encouraging words as Santi ran around in circles on his firefighter duty.

    Tank had rejoined the team and the rest of them had set off under Torin¡¯s leadership. Santi knew the older dwarf had the experience and skill to lead them, but he still worried. If that crab had spread the curse in its colony then they could be looking at a tough fight without him.

    As he slowly suffocated the fire, he worked his way back toward where the prisoner was. The great thing about magical flame was how fast it faded away when mana no longer fed it. Normal flame was easy enough to smother with the proper application of [Air Manipulation]. He could have made a killing working in the hills and mountains in the north before the integration.

    ¡°You all done Mr. Firefighter?¡± Delilah drawled as she sat with a bandaged leg out in front of her. A bad gash had cut her down to the bone but a bit of time with Tank had made it a rather simple, but long, cut. The scout was small and compact like a gymnast with a pixie cut of black hair and freckles covering her face from hairline to chin.

    ¡°For now, keep an eye out in case it takes off again. Ignore the screaming.¡± Santi passed by them and he heard some chortling and suppressed giggles as the two other women laughed at Delilah. Santi didn¡¯t think they were laughing about him implying what he was going to do to their prisoner.

    ¡°Mom, he say anything?¡± Santi asked as he walked up to them. The man was still laying on the ground and looking pale from blood loss.

    ¡°Just begging.¡± Mom had a hard look on her face as she stared down in judgment at the raider.

    ¡°Alright. What¡¯s your name?¡± Santi stood a few feet away from the man and kept his voice calm. His instincts were betraying him, telling him to smash the man and listen to the harmony of agony in the summer air.

    ¡°It¡¯s in you. I can see it. Just like it got all of us.¡±

    ¡°The curse? It¡¯s trivial, I¡¯ll ride it out and destroy the cursebearer and I won¡¯t have to worry.¡± The prisoner chuckled, quick and sharp exhalation that expanded into a full blown belly laugh. He leaned back on the ground and just laughed.

    ¡°Tony. My name is Tony,¡± he finally managed to get out.

    ¡°Ok, Tony. We found those girls on the side of the road and what you did to them. You¡¯re not coming out of this. Your only choice is slow or fast, you understand?¡±

    ¡°I deserve it. We all do. It¡­it gets into your dreams. You smell it, the blood, the pain, you start to crave it. You don¡¯t understand what it is and who she is.¡±

    ¡°She?¡±

    ¡°Mercy. She calls herself Mercy.¡±

    ¡°How dramatic. Where is she?¡± Santi had seen his fair share of over pompous people who had found their end eventually.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know. She found us at the border, in the mountains. We were doing ok, but she came from the North with a bunch of people. Fighting and killing anything that walked. Join or die. That was all she offered us. She burnt down our home and forced us to move.¡±

    ¡°How many?¡±

    ¡°Fuck man. Who knows. We¡¯re always gaining people, but we¡¯re also losing people constantly. Its a fucking bloodbath every day. Survival of the fittest. Mercy chooses who she raises up, is given her gift she calls it.¡±

    ¡°An infection?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what the System calls it. It changes them. Those who survive it, they evolve, can start getting levels past twenty-five.¡±

    ¡°How many have received her gift?¡±

    ¡°100 or so. They fight and die all the time too though. You don¡¯t understand, when you¡¯re in that camp, it''s in the air, the ground, and water. You just need to cut and cut and hit and see the blood fall. I¡¯ve seen mothers kill their sons, husbands their wives, brothers murdering the brothers, it''s a nightmare, an unending beautiful nightmare,¡± his face cracked wide in a manic smile as blood dripped out of his nose and eyes.

    ¡°What were her plans?¡±

    ¡°Fight. Kill. Move. That¡¯s all she ever did.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t know where she¡¯s moving too?¡±

    ¡°South and East, toward Nevada.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°Other than that you don¡¯t know her numbers, her intention, or her goals?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Mom. Can you do this? I shouldn¡¯t be doing anything that reeks of bloodshed for now.¡±

    ¡°Move.¡± Mom gently guided him away with a single hand while glaring down at the doomed prisoner. The man¡¯s smile continued on even as the broadhead of the spear passed through his chest.

    ¡°Leave the corpse. When Bianca comes back I¡¯ll have her burn it,¡± Santi said as they moved back towards Delilah and the others.

    ¡°How bad is it? This infection you have now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s marked as lesser, so it shouldn¡¯t be a major concern as long as I don¡¯t feed it.¡±

    ¡°By fighting?¡±

    ¡°By giving into the thrill of the fight.¡±

    ¡°Your father was ok with you having your secrets. You know too much and you don¡¯t act like my little boy who went away just a few months ago. I still see him now and then, and I know my Santiago is still there. When you¡¯re ready, I¡¯m willing to listen,¡± Mom spoke quietly and without looking at him. It was the closest anyone had come to calling him out for a long time without explicitly knowing.

    ¡°If I had secrets, I wouldn¡¯t,¡± the geas tried to slow him down, but he managed to force the words out before it constricted tight around his throat like a garotte.

    ¡°Ok. I love you, regardless.¡±

    ¡°Love you too, Mom.¡± The blood was still dripping off of her spear from the execution blow.

    ¡°What infection?¡± Delilah asked, this time without the sly smile and flirty looks.

    ¡°Curses. When you clear them you have to be careful not to let them spread. It can infect you, bleeding into your personality and behavior. If you continue to let it fester it¡¯ll consume you until you become a curse anchor.¡±

    ¡°And what¡¯s what was in them is now in you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that sentence makes sense. But, yes I¡¯m infected by their bloodlust. I have a much higher willpower than they did. I¡¯ll control myself until we destroy the origin of the curse.¡±

    ¡°Big words,¡± one of the other girls said. Tammy? Denise? Kammie? What the hell was her name?

    ¡°I have my family and friends to keep me in line,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°Someone wants to keep you in line,¡± the third scout said, looking at Delilah with a sly smile. Delilah blushed but didn¡¯t look away from him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think Chloe would approve of that,¡± Mom said with a straight face. All three of the other girls stilled and their smiles grew more wooden. Chloe had a reputation for bloodshed and violence that was becoming a bit worrying.

    ¡°Fuck it, shit or get off the pot,¡± Delilah said with a bit of her old swagger. Santi noticed she wasn¡¯t quite as boisterous as she had been minutes ago.

    ¡°Can you tell me how the new program is working with Daniel?¡± Santi asked, eager to change the subject.

    ¡°Trying to get us to spill on the boss?¡± The third girl asked. She had grown a bit more serious and there was a hesitancy in her words. Could be they had something to hide, or it could be nerves about talking bad about Hana and Daniel.

    ¡°No, I just want to see how everything is developing out here.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s going good. Lots of little monsters that we kill, find survivors and send them towards Homebase. Find possible supplies that haven¡¯t been destroyed and mark them down for Rayleigh. Pretty easy stuff for the most part,¡± Delila said.

    ¡°Anything strange going on? Monsters acting weird or people wandering around being psychos?¡±

    ¡°Like these assholes were? No nothing like that. Got some people who are running around looking for fights. Lots of people not knowing how to get past the level cap too. They always ask when we show up and tell them we have people who are Acolytes.¡±

    ¡°Any of those crazies running around killing monsters seem willing to come and sign up with us?¡±

    ¡°Maybe if someone other than us was asking. You or Cam or even Chloe. Someone stronger than them. They don¡¯t respect us since we¡¯re capped and haven¡¯t gotten beyond the cap.¡±

    ¡°Remind me when we get back, I¡¯ll have Yessenia bump you three to the front of the line for meritorious service to the community.¡±

    ¡°We can wait our turn,¡± the second girl said. She had a bit of a scowl on her face.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done a great service to the community, you deserve the reward.¡±

    ¡°No. We can wait. It won¡¯t look good if only fighters get to go past the cap or skip the line. We don¡¯t need that type of negativity around us,¡± the girl explained.

    ¡°Is it that bad in the main part of the camp?¡± Santi asked, genuinely curious. The last few weeks he had been swamped with fights, training, and organizing the further development of the camp. He hadn¡¯t had time to walk around and listen to the common people.

    ¡°It¡¯s not quite there. But now that the camp¡¯s calm and all the monsters are gone from the region, they¡¯re starting to question why all our resources are going towards the fighters and not towards infrastructure. Only a few crafters or farmers have gotten the levels up and they¡¯re all close to you guys. Or were close with your Dad. People are starting to talk about it and I¡¯d rather we not be part of that conversation,¡± she said.

    ¡°Well, shit. I¡¯ll have to talk to Yessenia when we get back. Maybe a lottery system or something.¡±

    ¡°Or get a second person doing the rituals?¡± Delilah asked. There was a hint of an answer in her question. She had someone in mind and was hoping to see how receptive Santi was to the question before risking her reputation and relationship with him.

    ¡°Do you have someone in mind?¡±

    ¡°A friend. He¡¯s in one of the other scout groups,¡± Delilah said, eyes keen and interested in the conversation. The other two girls looked at her and comprehension bloomed bright across their faces and wild smiles appeared.

    ¡°Keegan?¡± the second girl whispered to Delilah loud enough that even Mom could hear her.

    ¡°Yeah, Keegan. He¡¯s one of the best we have. Can¡¯t sneak around to save his life, but he makes traps and lures and has more monster kills than anyone except Daniel and Hana. He¡¯s also level capped but he has some treasures that should improve his affinity and power it all, he just needs it to get done,¡± Delilah said in a rush.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ask Daniel and Hana about him when they come back. Do you know where he is currently?¡± All of the girls suddenly looked pale and drawn as their faces blanched.

    ¡°The North, he was headed further up the highway towards the mountains.¡±

    ¡°Shit. I think our plans are going to have to change a bit, Mom.¡± Santi looked over to Mom who simply shrugged. She couldn¡¯t care where they went right now, she just wanted to be out and doing something.

    ¡°Alright. When Tank gets back I¡¯ll have him bust out the healing potions and get you all on your feet and then we¡¯re heading to the North.¡±

 Ch. 3.07 New World

    7.

    ¡°To recap, there¡¯s a horde of cursed people who came from over the border, down the mountains and are now spreading like an infection. We have the remnants of the traitors and those who were helping them somewhere to our North East, and you want to go looking for a scout who might be able to get a class similar to Yessenia¡¯s to help alleviate the bottleneck of evolutions,¡± Tank was looking mildly concerned.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And said scout just so happens to be somewhere North of us, where all the enemies are?¡±

    ¡°Pretty inconvenient, but yes. At least Daniel and Hana believe he¡¯s up there. They lost their group of runners so we¡¯ve lost contact with some of the scout teams.¡±

    ¡°You also have a curse of bloodlust. That makes you want to go and kill people, monsters, or anything that looks at you sideways?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s contained. My willpower is my second highest stat. I can keep it under control.¡±

    ¡°So, again, I¡¯m just reiterating what you said. After getting cursed, you decide the next best thing is to run to the North where all your enemies are and there¡¯s definitely going to be a bunch of fighting and killing?¡± Tank pursed his lips and cocked his head as everyone turned to look at Santi.

    ¡°I¡¯m in control. It¡¯s what needs to be done. We drop Torin and Mom off and head up with some of Rayleigh¡¯s heaviest hitters and anyone else we can scrounge up. Grab some of the golems and we crush them all.¡±

    ¡°See, that part is what¡¯s worrying me. The whole smashing and killing all your foes. It reeks of not being in control.¡±

    ¡°I agree with you, but it needs to be done. The longer I have the curse, the worse it will get. We have to destroy the anchor being and isolate the curse. Actually, we need Yessenia to come with us. We¡¯re going to need a powerful ritual to dispel the curse if it¡¯s as strong as I think it is.¡±

    ¡°Yesi isn¡¯t going to come out here with us,¡± Bianca said.

    ¡°She will if she feels safe. We¡¯ll bring her golem with us, and Mom and Torin can stick with her.¡±

    ¡°So, now Mom and Torin are coming?¡±

    ¡°Listen, I¡¯m trying to come up with this on the fly. We have enemies in the North. Two camps of them. Both are growing and both are existential threats to us. They need to be eliminated. Is this true?¡± Santi looked around to the faces all staring at him. Delilah and the other two girls were off to the side as far away from Chloe as they could get without making it too obvious.

    ¡°Yeah, that seems about right. If the information you tortured out of that guy is true,¡± Cam drawled.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t torture him. He spilled without us doing a thing. If anything it was a mercy killing on our part.¡±

    ¡°What we need to do is go home and regroup. Plan out a full sized expedition, have Daniel and Hana¡¯s people move North aggressively and find where the enemy is. We build up a strike force of the best people we can get. Armor them up, train in large scale movement and then we move. Also,we need to get food and supplies for a company of Acolyte fighters, which means more farmers and hunters, and all that other shit, need to be Acolytes.¡± Cam rattled everything off while everyone stared at him slack-jawed. He caught the looks and his cheeks flushed as he looked around.

    ¡°What? I like military history. Amateurs argue tactics, professionals talk logistics. Shit, I think that¡¯s the quote. Regardless, we need arms, armor, food, transportation, and then finally men. Otherwise we¡¯re going to get a day or two from Homebase and run out of food and that¡¯s going to be the end of all of us.¡±

    ¡°The tall one is right. We need to return to the forges and arm ourselves,¡± Torin said. Heads began to nod all around him and Santi could feel impatience surging through him. He wanted to act. To strike. He took calming breaths and focused on isolating that treacherous thought and slowly strangling it.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We retreat back home and get armed. But in the meantime, I¡¯m going with Daniel and Hana and we¡¯re scouting it out. I need to see just how strong this horde is.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t, I need to get all my people ready. We¡¯re scattered to hell and gone doing recon. Need to gather everyone up and plan out a strategy and routes.¡± Daniel was firm, his accent thickening as he spoke. Part of Santi was proud of him for standing up and not backing down and being a leader.

    The rest of him was irritated that he wasn¡¯t going along with his plan. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go. Me and Chloe and Santi. Fighter, mage, scout. We can move fast and quietly and have the firepower to knock anything out that runs into us and the speed to escape if it goes bad,¡± Hana spoke up suddenly.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that. Chloe?¡± Santi spoke quickly as the momentum for his plans swung back in his favor.

    ¡°I¡¯m good with that. I¡¯m just thinking you¡¯re a little too eager to go and potentially be fighting. Shouldn¡¯t you be organizing everything?¡±

    ¡°A good leader knows when to delegate. Cam and Bianca will be organizing the fighters. Torin and Grimvr will gather the arms and armor. Daniel will get our scouts in line and Mom can get Yessenia out of her cave. Tank, I¡¯ll leave logistics with you? Food, medicine, camping gear?¡±

    ¡°I can do that. We all can do that. But, Santi, you should be at home being the leader of this. You are the leader of the community.¡±

    ¡°100% honesty right now. I never wanted to lead the settlement. I took charge because that was the best way to do it. Dad died the next day. The world is changed and we can¡¯t be like old world leaders. Alexander ruled his Empire from the saddle. Caesar became Caesar at the head of his legions. It¡¯s going to be the same for us. Our leaders will be moving, fighting, working hard to get stronger and stronger. We can¡¯t be staying at home filling out paperwork because at the end of the day what happens when a horde of cursed warriors comes knocking?¡± Santi looked around at the group. Months of repressed thoughts finally having an outlet. Most of them knew what he was saying, they might not have internalized it, but they knew.

    ¡°That horde of warriors kills us and takes our shit if we¡¯re not strong enough. And as the leader of this settlement, I can¡¯t just be a figurehead for people to rally behind. I need to be at the forefront. Marisol and Helena and others will be ministers or chancellors or whatever the hell we¡¯ll eventually call them. They¡¯ll be our paperpusher and run the day to day. We will be on the frontlines, fighting and saving people,¡± Santi finished his impromptu speech and looked around at his friends and family.

    ¡°Santi, I don¡¯t know how people will feel about this. If we¡¯re always gone, why would they continue to support us? If we can¡¯t answer to them, be responsible leaders who are there to be held accountable, why would they continue working?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°Simple. The world sucks and the area we are creating is safe. There are laws and order here. There are no monsters prowling their streets and eating them. We will continue to lean towards our democratic heritage, there will be elections inside of the city for, let¡¯s say Mayor, or Sheriff. Local leaders. But at the end of the day, once they start to understand what this new world is. They¡¯ll realize how good they have it. They can be safe and have families and be prosperous.¡±

    ¡°A benevolent dictator?¡± Tank¡¯s voice was filled with scorn.

    ¡°What would you have me do!?¡± Frustration welled through Santi. They didn¡¯t understand. It¡¯d been months since the Initialization and they still didn¡¯t understand!

    ¡°Set up elections and have the person with the most charm and charisma win. Have them capitulate the first time a threat arrives? What happens when a powerful monster comes roaming by and they decide it¡¯s better to sacrifice a few small towns to save the few? When they tell those with the strength not to act because they won¡¯t like the results? What happens if we¡¯re not here and the next strongest person decides they don¡¯t like taking orders?¡±¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, man. I don¡¯t know. This just feels wrong to me.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel right to me either, Tank. Do you think I want to be a dictator? You think I wanna be hated and reviled? They¡¯ll eventually hate me when I ask for more than they¡¯re willing to offer. When the threat is so large and great that I might not be able to stand against it. They¡¯ll remember all those times I told them to do something that was for the good of the settlement and they will spit on me. It¡¯d be easy to let Marisol or Helena or someone else take over and run this place and just be the heavy for them. Until they decide to do something that¡¯s against my conscience. Then what? Do I uphold their word as law even if it''s wrong. Even if I know it will lead to destruction and death?¡± Santi looked around to his core group of followers. Friends and family, forged in blood and tears with bonds that were as thick as oak trees. They needed to understand.

    ¡°We¡¯ve grown up and lived in a time of systems. Government had rules in place, order was followed because that¡¯s what we always had. We can¡¯t comprehend the chaos that is happening now because we¡¯ve never experienced it before. Warlords and petty tyrants happened elsewhere, not here. Well, now it¡¯s here. There is no more systems of governance, the social contract is completely shattered and gone. The ideals we held dear are gone. We can do our best to remain good and just, but this is the end of our civilization. We may survive as a species, but our civilization is gone. The longer we hold on to what was, the longer it¡¯ll be before we can forge something new.¡±

    There was a silence on the hillside they were on as everyone looked at him. There was understanding blooming in some eyes and resentment in others. He couldn¡¯t tell if the resentment was aimed at him or if it was because he¡¯d finally shown them the gravestone of their world.

    ¡°Now. Does anyone have any problems following my lead. Please, speak now and tell me. We can¡¯t have any type of resentment building between us. Aside from Yessenia, everyone I love is here right now. You are the people who will lead us to a new future, the forgemasters who create the next great world and safety for our species. We can not have infighting amongst ourselves. So, please, tell me right now.¡±

    Cam was solid as always, simply nodding. Mom¡¯s face was a blank slate while Torin and Grimvr simply nodded as he spoke of what everyone who survived the Initialization knew. Daniel and Hana were holding each other¡¯s hands but were serene and simply nodded to him when he looked in their direction. Their three scouts had wide eyes as they had been looped into a conversation far above their heads, but when Santi met their eyes they all nodded along.

    Santi met everyone¡¯s eyes until they agreed with him until Tank was the last. Santi hurt because the big man¡¯s acceptance was something that he wanted. The man¡¯s moral compass was absolute and he had never wavered from doing the right thing. If Tank rejected him, Santi didn¡¯t want to think about it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it. I hate it in fact. It goes against everything I believe. That man is equal to each other, that all of us matter. That no one should be above the other simply for being stronger or faster or anything. Everyone is equal.¡± Tank¡¯s face broke as his shoulders slumped.

    ¡°That world is gone though. I¡¯ll follow you Santi.¡±

 Ch. 3.08 Different Conversations

    8.

    They passed by the end of the road and split apart. Santi, Chloe, and Hana broke off from the group and started to head North. The countryside was nothing more than wilted and dead vegetation with little to see besides barren fields. The interstate was nothing but abandoned cars and skeletons. They pushed up further and further away from Homebase and toward where Daniel¡¯s relay team had been wiped out.

    The beatles could have killed them. That was always a concern when working far away from the succor of high ranking fighters. Or it could have been the Apostate covering it up. Santi liked to think it was most likely the Apostate. If it had been the new enemy, they wouldn¡¯t have tried to cover it up with the beatles. There would have been heads on pikes and fires and bloodshed up and down the interstate corridor.

    That didn¡¯t preclude the warlord and her bloodlusted cursed warriors weren¡¯t in the region. They just hadn¡¯t found anything to kill and parade around,yet.

    The first hour was spent in a leisurely jog as they headed closer and closer to the mountains that separated California from Nevada. The towns grew thin and scattered as they kept moving further up. At the second hour mark, Chloe finally broke the silence.

    ¡°Delilah seemed pretty interested in you,¡± her voice was neutral, no hint of her mood as they moved.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Santi was treading dangerous water.

    ¡°She¡¯s pretty.¡±

    ¡°You think so?¡±

    ¡°I do. Don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Was busy being cursed and whatnot. Didn¡¯t really look. You should ask her out if you think she¡¯s pretty,¡± Santi threw it back at her. Chloe looked at him with a shocked face.

    ¡°You¡¯d be ok with me asking someone out?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re your own person.¡±

    ¡°Ok. Then I¡¯ll ask out the person I want to ask out.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s you.¡±

    ¡°Even better,¡± Santi could feel a bit of a smile break on his face.

    ¡°That a yes?¡±

    ¡°Enthusiastic, yes.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s our first date?¡± Chloe asked. They had never broken their stride but Hana had pulled ahead of them to give them a semblance of privacy.

    ¡°You asked me out. It¡¯s on you.¡± Santi was smiling widely now as Chloe was looking at him with a bit of mischief in her eyes. She was enjoying the back and forth.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to think about it then.¡±

    ¡°You ask me out and don¡¯t even know where you want to take me? I don¡¯t think you¡¯re taking this seriously.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m quite serious about this. Not exactly like I can take you out for a Friday night dinner and movie combo.¡±

    ¡°I always thought that was a flawed date. It should be movie and then dinner,¡± Santi said, glad to have something to talk about while they moved.

    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°You have something to talk about during dinner. You can get to know a person by how they think about a movie.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. I took my movies very seriously.¡±

    ¡°I would have never thought you were a movie bro.¡± Chloe looked a mixed of perplexed and disturbed as if she didn¡¯t understand how she could have missed something like that.

    ¡°What about you? What did you like to do before, well, this?¡± Santi didn¡¯t know her well, didn¡¯t know any of them really. For the last months they had been living in a state of constant fighting and killing, living on the edge of survival.

    ¡°I like movies myself. Primarily horror and romcoms.¡±

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s a fun combo.¡±

    ¡°Not going to say anything about it?¡±

    ¡°What would I say about it?¡±

    ¡°That it¡¯s girly or cliched or something like that.¡±

    ¡°I love romcoms. They¡¯re hilarious and easy to watch. Makes me happy watching them.¡±

    ¡°Figured you¡¯d watch some deep, indie movies with hidden depths.¡±

    ¡°Oh,no. I¡¯m an idiot. Can¡¯t figure out the hidden depths of things if they¡¯re staring me right in the eye. I like action movies, comedies, and anything else that¡¯s entertaining.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°If we had any type of electricity I¡¯d have to take you up on watching a romcom.¡±

    ¡°I would have loved to watch romcoms with you,¡± Santi smiled at her and felt for the first time in a long time, light and free. The heavy depths he had been swimming in seemed to, for a few moments at least, have lightened.

    ¡°Hey, I see something coming up? Smoke.¡± Hana spoke up and Santi turned to look toward the horizon. There was a thin tendril of smoke rising and Santi felt the depths pull him back down as his heartfelt smile slid away.

    ¡°Alright. Hana, can you go and take a peak without being seen?¡±

    ¡°I hope so, otherwise I¡¯m in the wrong line of work,¡± Hana said. Her camouflage wrapped around her and she disappeared from sight.

    ¡°Just me or does she seem more communicative without Daniel around?¡± Santi asked Chloe.

    ¡°I think she feels a bit disrespected by that question. You wouldn''t have asked Daniel that would you?¡±

    ¡°Probably not. I¡¯m used to him being a sneaky fuck though. She¡¯s just become a sneaky fuck though. Class wise anyway.¡±

    ¡°Trust her to do her job. Should we stay here, or keep moving up?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s push a bit further up. Stay on the interstate though.¡±

    They moved slowly, giving Hana time to look without encroaching on her. The smoke was miles away, but with their ground eating stride it wouldn¡¯t take long to reach it. The two companions shared a silence, broken at times by discrete looks at each other as the new shared closeness seemed to alleviate a bit of the tension that had been there.

    They went for another mile before stopping, the smoke clearly from a large fire with how thick it was. It was a multitude of plumes all intermingling together as they raced upward, forming one giant pillar.

    Santi tried to rack his brain if they¡¯re had been a town or camping ground in that direction but he couldn¡¯t remember. If he was lucky it was the horde of cursed warriors. He could slip in amongst them, kill Mercy, and then be free of the curse in only a few hours. He had a feeling they were catching the tail end of something.

    Hana came back two hours later. She was a bit wan, green around the gills as she walked up to them. Santi waited as she leaned back against the guardrail, hands on her knees as she looked up to them.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing living up there,¡± she reported. Santi started toward the fires. Whatever had spooked Hana was something he needed to see. The last few miles flew by as he hit his full speed, having left the two women at the mile marker as Chloe had passed on seeing what it was that had Hana so shaken.

    He came up to it and was taken aback. It had been a trailer home. Or at least it had started off that way. It had spilled out of its confines, fifth wheels, camping trailers, tents, and any other type of semi-movable housing deployed all around.

    Gas stations and convenience stores were posted around the edge of the community. A few more permanent houses had been placed around with small fences marking out their territory.

    Corpses littered the ground. Partial bodies, broken limbs, blood and gore painting every inch of the ground. The trailers burned, some already smoking ruins while others were still ablaze. The small house was nothing more than a charnel, the picket fence standing unstained in a mimicry of normal life.

    Santi walked the edge of the perimeter of the slaughter. He tried to understand what he was seeing. This had obviously been an encampment of some size and likely some power. They had managed to stay safe against the animals and monsters out here. It hadn¡¯t been enough.

    Santi could see the burnt remnants of where skills and spells had splashed against concrete or a building. The feel of spent mana was in the air, the hints of crazed pain and lust that called to his own curse. Mercy had come and paid a call. The prisoner had said she had done the same thing to his home. Join or die and then burn down the town.

    Santi could see how she would roll through Homebase and its environs. There were a hundred or more Acolyte warriors in the warband, more than enough to slaughter what few fighters of strength Homebase had outside of Santi¡¯s team. He¡¯d have to thin the horde, trimming the fat from them like he had with cyclops rift.

    His heart beat a flutter at that thought. Of the continuous skirmishes, fighting and killing in a contest of a few vs. him. He¡¯d revel in it, his speed and strength greater than theirs, his heart singing as he spilt the blood of his foes like water during the rain.

    Santi stilled and focused on his will. The strength that had let him come back from the original timeline. To see the world whole again even when he knew it was ending. He purged himself of the desire to kill and fight. It took time but as the bloodlust wore off he could feel the effects of the curse more strongly.

    It was an aura that drifted and rose with the smoke, that glittered in the coagulating blood, sitting on the corpses of the dead. No longer lost in its heady aroma, he could feel how it was different. It was no longer suffused but a separate entity that sat ugly and bloated.

    Santi walked away, circling around the town as he searched for tracks. The ground was dry and hard, holding little in the way of footprints. The passage of so many was impossible to miss. He found where they had come from the Northwest and where they had left heading Northeast. Blood drops on the ground showed their path, heading toward the mountains.

    Santi followed for a ways, traveling with ease as he searched for where they could have stopped or if there was any who had been left behind. He needed more accurate answers than what the single prisoner had given him.

    For a mile he went further up, stopping in the shade of a copse of trees. He drank a bit of water, but other than that there was little for him to do. He¡¯d go back and get Hana and Chloe and chase after the group, trailing them as they went further towards the mountain.

    ¡°I see you¡¯ve managed to get yourself cursed,¡± Duncan¡¯s voice rang from his left. Santi whirled, blade extending to slice apart a thick tree. No blood flowed, though the tree slowly toppled over, crashing to the ground with a thunderous boom.

    ¡°While not polite, I do understand. Now that you¡¯re no longer enraged, may I come out? Or are you going to try to kill me?¡± the shadows reverberated and pulsed and even with [Air Current] Santi couldn¡¯t tell where he was. It wasn¡¯t like with Daniel who simply cloaked himself in the shadow. The Apostate was one with the shadows, a much higher affinity than whatever Daniel had.

    ¡°No promises. You did kidnap my sister.¡±

    ¡°You cut off my arm. I think that¡¯s fair enough.¡±

    ¡°And my father?¡±

    ¡°I had no part in that. Abraham committed that crime and he paid for it with his life.¡±

    ¡°Why are you talking to me and not trying to kill me?¡±

    ¡°I can ask you the same. You¡¯re reasonably intelligent and much more powerful than I gave you credit for. You can understand what a curse of this magnitude, spreading in the way it is, can be viewed as a greater threat than our little grudge?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call what we have little,¡± Santi said dryly, still searching for wherever it was that the assassin was hiding.

    ¡°It is compared to what a curse like the one spreading can do. It¡¯ll eat this area dry. Killing and growing like a plague. We need to break it and neither of us have the numbers to do it alone.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d think I could do a decent job of it.¡±

    ¡°This is why I said you were reasonably intelligent.¡±

    ¡°The old enemy of my enemy is my friend gambit. Then we go back to killing each other when Mercy is killed?¡±

    ¡°Is that the leader¡¯s name? Mercy?¡± the shadows chortled, a dry sound of amusement. Santi could picture that laugh in a conference room talking about the sales figures for a quarter. Not the laugh of a man who had tried to sell the world out.

    ¡°I thought it was a bit apt too.¡± Santi allowed a smile to brush past his lips. He was cold inside, ready to move at a moment''s notice.

    ¡°There¡¯s a few killers left. I¡¯ll give them to you in exchange for helping me purge the curse. You¡¯re already planning on doing it, might as well coordinate so it¡¯s done right,¡± Duncan continued after his laughing fit passed.

    ¡°Alright. Come out, I promise not to kill you immediately.¡± The promise of the last of the traitors was too sweet to dismiss out of hand.

 Ch. 3.09 Arrival

    9.

    Santi watched as Duncan materialized ten feet to his side. Not from the pool of shadows at Santi¡¯s feet, but rather a further away, slim sliver of shadow cast by a slight crest of the land. The plain faced man was dressed in a plain black sleeveless workout shirt that hugged his lithe frame. The ugly red wound that Santi had afflicted on him was apparent as Duncan stayed a few feet away from him.

    ¡°This is the worst wound I¡¯ve taken. I fought Champions and they couldn¡¯t do what you did. You should be proud,¡± Duncan¡¯s voice was flat and emotionless, his eyes blank pools.

    ¡°My father taught me to finish my work and do it right. Can¡¯t be proud of a half completed job now, can I?¡± Santi met his gaze and didn¡¯t flinch. He belonged here, standing equal to the former Champion.

    ¡°Big claims. Yet, we are not here to measure our mutual animosity, but rather to forge a brief alliance to deal with a greater threat.¡±

    ¡°The curse.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Did you ever see Toronto?¡±

    ¡°No, never made it there. Why?¡±

    ¡°A curse took root there. Powerful thing, gluttony. Ravenous hunger that consumed everyone it touched. It spread and spread and spread until the entire city was consumed. I wasn¡¯t in charge of the operation to break it, but I was there. Santiago. It was one of the worst things I¡¯ve ever seen in my life. I don¡¯t want to witness something akin to it again.¡± Duncan appeared to be truthful, but the master assassin would have no problems lying to him.

    ¡°Mercy is a bloodthirsty killer, but from what I heard, they are more than happy killing themselves to feed their curses. They could burn themselves out before they become a problem.¡±

    ¡°The chaff will be blown away, it won¡¯t die though. The strong will only grow stronger, spreading their rage and hatred as they do so. They won¡¯t destroy themselves, at least not without erasing large swathes of the region.¡±

    ¡°So, a truce of sorts. I can keep my desire to rip your heart out of your chest for a while longer. Can you keep it professional?¡± Santi asked as he waited, nerves stretched thin for the first hint of betrayal.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been a consummate professional. None of this was ever personal. You are simply in the way of my Lord¡¯s will.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where they¡¯re going?¡±

    ¡°The horde is moving erratically, turning and switching direction on a dime. They¡¯ve backtracked before, swung wide of easy to conquer areas just to hit areas with strong guardians. They don¡¯t discriminate, they attack monsters, animals, or people. Nothing is beyond them.¡±

    ¡°So, no?¡±

    ¡°Currently I don¡¯t. I can keep an eye on them while you rally your people.¡±

    ¡°So you track them, I get my people, we find where they¡¯re at and then destroy them all in one big move?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And the inevitable betrayal and backstabbing?¡±

    ¡°After we¡¯ve destroyed the curse¡¯s anchor.¡±

    ¡°Excellent.¡±

    ¡°I see why Marley loved you.¡± Duncan said it with such sincerity and deadpan tone that Santi didn¡¯t register it at first.

    ¡°Who the fuck is Marley?¡± Santi spat, but his mind was twisting. Her face changing in his mind, growing imperceptibly more full, lips plump, nose shrinking and becoming dainty as a blush and freckles appeared in his mind.

    ¡°Ahhh, I see. Makes sense. The ritual sent our memories back and without her class, oh well. You¡¯ll wake up in a second and won¡¯t remember a thing of this. Poor bastard, putting you out of your misery would be a kindness.¡±

    ¡°Marley and me were good for each other. I couldn¡¯t believe she was alive when I found her,¡± Santi said. Something was off, his sense of time was wrong. He was missing seconds. Twenty-six of them. Since coming back he was never missing time. He knew every moment of the day like he knew his own name. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°Lots of names for that one. She played her parts well. I was honestly surprised when she was able to ascend to become a Champion. Didn¡¯t think she had it in her, but she was a welcome addition to our number.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where she is? I have some questions I would like to hear her answer.¡±

    ¡°Vaguely. She¡¯s like me, lots to do and so little time. She was deployed in the South though. Atlanta birthed so many Champions, couldn¡¯t let it go without a bit of a nudge.¡±

    ¡°Is that your goal? Change the futures of our Champions, pull them to your side before they realize what you are?¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯s to change them so they don¡¯t become what they did. If they join the better, it is only right to bow to the power of our Lord. Yet, as long as they don¡¯t stray, they can continue to grow. Those we didn¡¯t think would change have already been pruned away. You were the last piece of business I had on the West Coast.¡±

    ¡°Glad I could ruin your plans then. So, want to tell me more of what you all are going to do? Monologue to me, your evil plot?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not evil. It¡¯s the same as you¡¯re doing. Grow strong and protect people. It¡¯s easy to hate someone when you don¡¯t know them. You should be more unbiased, it might open your eyes.¡±

    ¡°Please, you can save the propaganda for your recruits. I walked your camps, the detention centers, the rituals, and everything else. I know what you and your people are.¡±

    ¡°Pity. I had hoped to spare Claire some heartache from killing you. I¡¯ll keep tracking the horde and we¡¯ll meet in two days at the little outpost your scouts were killed in.¡±

    ¡°It was you.¡±

    ¡°No. But I watched.¡± Duncan slipped away without a word and part of Santi thought he had made a mistake. He should have struck while the assassin stood there unarmed and unprepared. Ended him before he could have a chance to betray him.

    There were the missing seconds to think about. Duncan had said Marie¡¯s name and the world had fuzzed out again. He had felt it before, he searched and strained for a moment before those gray walls rose up. They were lesser this time and part of Santi screamed as he realized what was happening to him. The walls fuzzed out and grew thin and shapeless, becoming a fog that drowned him.

    Santi blinked looking around the sunny hillside. He had to get back to Chloe and Hana. They had been waiting for a while and he didn¡¯t want the two of them to worry about him. Not after seeing what the horde had done to the trailer park.

    It took only a few minutes to make it back to them now that he was no longer trying to track the passage of the horde. Both women stood around waiting for him, silent and alert as they took cover behind a few abandoned cars.

    ¡°And?¡± Chloe asked as he got down to them. Santi had to hold back a sigh as he began to tell them what had happened. They didn¡¯t know who Duncan really was, but the fact the leader of the group that he had fought had shown himself set them both on alert.

    ¡°He¡¯s a more powerful version of Daniel?¡± Hana asked incredulously.

    ¡°More ruthless and likely a stronger affinity to shadow. I couldn¡¯t sense him this time until he decided to reveal himself. He¡¯s a true threat. Keep a wary eye out for anything that seems suspicious. I don¡¯t trust them, but this cursed group is Wrong. We need the numbers to clear them out.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not disagreeing with you, it¡¯s just. Hard to believe you¡¯d be willing to side with him,¡± Chloe stated her opinion.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it. It¡¯ll be easier to keep track of him when he¡¯s on our side rather than being an unknown running about.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to double-cross him,¡± Chloe said, half-accusation, half-praise.

    ¡°If he doesn¡¯t do it first, you¡¯re damn right I am. The moment the curse holder is dead, Duncan dies.¡±

    ¡°Good. Thought you were getting a bit soft in the head for a moment.¡± Chloe¡¯s smile was kind enough that it removed any sting her words had. Before he could respond the sky rippled silver and a BOOM shook the world. Before the initial shock of the first explosion hit, another rolled over them, then another, blast after blast that shook the ground and rattled their teeth.

    [Air Manipulation] spun up and around him and the women, blocking the rippling sonic booms. Each blast of sound tore at his spells and he was forced to cast over and over again trying to keep himself and the others from being overwhelmed.

    For a few minutes they grabbed and held at each other as the world shook around them. It was as if they were experiencing a powerful earthquake while a squadron of fighter jets soared around them. Then it ended as suddenly as it began.

    Congratulations, you are still alive!

    The Initialization is well under way and many have shown their promise.

    Now, to connect you to the wider world.

    Pillars of Civilization have landed.

    Claim them and grow stronger.

    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Chloe shouted as she clutched at her ears. Hana was on her knees, clutching her head as she worked her jaw up and down to try to have her eardrums pop.

    ¡°Pillars of Civilization apparently.¡± Santi had to keep the excitement out of his voice. The day had been a rollercoaster and now that he was seeing the trails of white vapor rising up not far from him, he was happy to think about what was to come. The mountain of coins he had accumulated

    Access to the markets would alone be worth it. Being the master of a pillar would allow him to know the strongest people in the area. He wouldn¡¯t know their exact location, but the general location of them was more than enough. If he could go and claim one fast enough, he could track both Mercy and Duncan.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I want to see what they are before anyone else.¡± Santi took off, not waiting for either of the women. Both of them followed a second later, their grumbling following behind him.

 Ch. 3.10 Travelling to the Pillar

    10.

    Finding the Pillar wasn¡¯t difficult. The difficulty was in everything else was also trying to find it. Mutated animals, monsters, and humans were all crawling out the woodwork and whatever hidey holes they had sequestered themselves in. Santi was forced to cast spells at a blistering pace.

    Mutated birds were wrenched out of the air and cast to the ground, frail bones shattering. Something big, ugly, and with wings shrieked at them before wheeling away when it watched a flight of birds crash to the ground. The girls were stuck with the things that came bolting out of the countryside and over the interstate they traveled.

    Peak Initiate level goblins, a lost primus, and some lizard monsters that scuttled about in bronze armor. Chloe met them head on without hesitation, her axe a black blur as bodies were dismantled around her. Hana danced in the backlines, disappearing and then reappearing to ram her knife into something¡¯s vitals. She lacked the sheer brutality of Chloe or Santi¡¯s overwhelming power, but she could kill with a practical ruthlessness that was hard to match.

    ¡°Santi! What the fuck are those?¡± Chloe screamed as something trundled out onto the interstate from an abandoned rest station. They were bears. Kinda. Big, hairy, sloped shoulders and triangular heads with beady black eyes. Yellow canines jutted from their jaws as they sniffed with inquisitive, wet, black noses. They rose to their hind legs, towering above all as they looked around with beady eyes.

    It was just the pair were the size of a house.

    Mutated Short-Faced Bear lvl. 52

    Mutated Short-Faced Bear lvl. 54

    ¡°We fighting them?¡± Hana whispered, eyes wide as she took in the North American monstrosities.

    ¡°Fuck yeah.¡± Santi hit a sprint, morph spreading and turning into a long boar spear as he closed in on the two monsters. The lone primus strayed too close, beating its chest and the bear reached out with casual authority and swatted the primus¡¯s head free of its shoulders.

    His heart sang as the lower leveled one fell forward, landing with a crushing boom that shook the earth under Santi¡¯s feet. The ground rippled forth in a wave and Santi leapt with grace, taking flight briefly as he rose up and over the quadruped, sun shining behind him as he began to fall.

    The spear stretched out and the magical blade sheared flesh, fat, muscle and bone, reaching for vital organs as the bear roared in agony.

    It shrugged its great shoulders and Santi was flung like he had been slapped out of the air. The space around the bear simply rejected his presence, slamming him away from the monster.

    Santi spun in mid air, landing light and easy on his feet as he took in the monster and reevaluated it. Not an earth affinity monster then. Something closer to space or mass. Annoying.

    ¡°Careful, don¡¯t get too close. It¡¯s in complete control of its immediate surroundings,¡± Santi called out, warning the two women before they could get too close. The monster was a hard counter to Hana if it could sense her getting close.

    The second monster continued to shuffle away, ignoring its partner as it moved across the interstate and disappeared into the rampant dried brush. Santi watched it carefully with one eye while his other was on the second mountain of fur and fang in front of him.

    The wounded bear was snuffling and licking at its wound, wine red blood staining its pale gray coat. The tongue was dark and purple and much too long.Santi cast [Crosscurrent-Orb] at the beast¡¯s face. The gale force winds ripped at its flesh, flattening its fur and caused its jowls to ripple. It ducked its head and sneezed violently, but otherwise seemed not bothered at all by his most violent attack.

    ¡°Really need a new spell form,¡± Santi murmured as he closed the distance carefully. He prodded at the bear with his morph stretched out to its current fullest extent. The wounds were middling, more irritant than deadly to the bear as it shuffled forward toward him, slowly gathering speed.

    Space shrank as with each slow, lumbering step the bear traveled further than it should.

    ¡°NOW!¡± Santi yelled, hoping that while it controlled space to chase him, it couldn¡¯t stop either of the girls. He jumped at the bear, a manic smile unnoticed on his face, the long spear transforming into a cruel axe as he swiped down to split flesh from bone.

    The bear¡¯s mighty paw rose and glinting black claws hit the axe and the axe blade slid off, redirected in an instant. Santi split the interstate in twain, the axe head burying itself deep as the bear smiled at him from only feet away. A bolt of fear rattled him, shaking the surging adrenaline and desire for bloodshed.

    Santi cast three [Air Shield]s in a row and watched as all three were destroyed with a contemptuous swipe of a paw. It had bought him a moment and that¡¯s all he needed to jerk back and create a bit of space. The bear took a single step and crossed the distance, but spun and growled as Chloe slammed into it, her axe slicing its flank.

    Hana appeared, spells falling away as she rammed home a long dagger into its turned neck, ripping and tearing as she ran away. [Air Shield] slowed the bear¡¯s sudden head turn from killing Hana as she darted away. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    As it turned back and forth to confront the three of them, Santi began to whittle it away. His more rational mind taking control of his bloodlust as they worked with mechanical precision. They had trained for something like this, for hunting more powerful monsters. Without Cameron and his shielding abilities it was up to Santi to play the role of frontliner while Chloe moved to damage while Hana looked for a weakness.

    It wasn¡¯t pretty. A half hundred wounds turned the bear into a tapestry of red, its howls and roars ignored as its more powerful brethren never returned. Santi was panting, gasping and clutching at his willpower as the heady copper scent of blood filled the air. Santi feinted, stabbing at an eye and the bear raised its head, jaw snapping at the spear point. Hana darted in, sliding under and slashing again at where she had already cut it.

    A geyser of red jetted out, blood staining the ground and Hana as she failed to get out of the way fast enough. Santi was forced to cast again to prevent a stomping foot while Chloe hit the beast with a shoulder charge before it could chase Hana. It staggered about, eyes glazed over in fury and blood loss as it failed to make a decision. The decision was taken from it as its tree trunk thick legs buckled and it collapsed to the ground.

    The kill notification was appreciated but Santi was already urging them forward. He left the bear to molder, the weight of a thousands of pounds of meat sitting to rot in the hot sun. If he had a crew with him the harvest would have been plentiful, but he had to keep moving. The closest pillar was going to be a hotbed of activity and he was determined to see it belong to him.

    Neither of the girls said anything to him even if they were coated head to toe in tacky blood. Santi recognized his own state as being slightly cleaner, his weapon allowing him the distance needed to avoid the sprays of blood. Part of him wished he was coated though. That the blood of his defeated floes dripped off of him, a testament to his skills and power.

    ¡°Hana, get up and ahead of us. The Pillar should be close by, it looks like it landed in the middle of that town up ahead,¡± Santi said, nodding at a sun faded green population sign. The smoke of the arrival of the pillar was rising high as a beacon, alerting all to what was coming.

    Hana nodded, face tight with a mix of anger and displeasure, but she did as she was ordered. Her light bending wrapped her up and made her disappear and a moment later Santi felt her leave his sphere of omniscience.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you have that curse under control like you were telling us,¡± Chloe said as they slowed down from their blistering pace into a steadier march. An overpass was coming up which would allow them a decent view of the small town and the two of them walked as they started up it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit more insidious than I thought it was. It got me there for a minute, but I got it back under control,¡± Santi said as they got to the top of the overpass and looked down. It was another one of the small towns that dotted the Sacramento valley, formerly a farming town that had slowly withered as the locals were bought out and driven off.

    A fifty foot tall sliver of silver rose like a pin from the ground, dwarfing everything in height. It was buried through the heart of a brick store and steam and smoke wafted off of it.  All around it battles raged. Humans were the dominant group, in ragged clothes and fighting with a mix of weapons, they killed and died in small clusters. Santi watched as one group turned and fought another, two men dying under a woman¡¯s blister red, skill wreathed fists.

    ¡° Something funky is going on down there. They¡¯re not unified, maybe competing factions?¡± Chloe hypothesized as she watched, slinging her axe over her shoulder. Santi nodded his agreement while he waited for Hana to get back.

    ¡°What¡¯s the plan chief? We go in there, crack some skulls, kill some monsters, and you take the Pillar?¡±

    ¡°That could be what we do. Need to see what Hana has to say. I don¡¯t think cutting a bloody swathe through that melee would be the best for me right now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you think?¡± Chloe smiled as she needled him. She didn¡¯t flinch from the bloodshed, from the hard realities. There was a true core of steel in her that would carry her far if she could stay alive. If Santi didn¡¯t drag her down with his personal dilemmas.

    ¡°I was thinking about first date ideas.¡± Santi raised an eyebrow and turned to her.

    ¡°I think we should go on a picnic,¡± Chloe suggested eagerly.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re just trying to get me to cook for you again,¡± Santi smiled at her as he discerned her intentions.

    ¡°Ughhh, can you blame me? Been eating those nutrition sticks for weeks and finally get one real meal and now we have to go back to the sticks.¡±

    ¡°Better than being hungry.¡±

    ¡°Just because it could be worse, doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not bad.¡±

    ¡°True that. But, yes, I accept your proposal of a picnic.¡±

    ¡°Excellent!¡± Chloe beamed at him with a wide smile and Santi felt himself responding back.

    ¡°You two done?¡± Hana asked as she stood right outside of his sphere.

    ¡°Now you know how all of us feel when you and Daniel do couple stuff in front of us,¡± Santi retorted. Chloe just shrugged, not caring at all.

    ¡°What¡¯s it looking like down there, besides the scrum.¡±

    ¡°Three factions of humans. They each have a small camp off to the side and are busy fighting each other. Playing keep away with your pillar. I don¡¯t know if any of them really want it, none are being aggressive about putting their reserves forward to claim it. Maybe sixty of them all together with another twenty or so in the actual fight. Monsters aren¡¯t organized at all aside from those lizards in armor. Just a few Acolyte monsters, all of them weak.¡±

    ¡°So far.¡±

    ¡°So far,¡± Hana agreed as she sipped on some water.

    ¡°March down there, crack skulls, kill monsters, and take what you want?¡± Chloe asked again.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can avoid cracking skulls. Hana in your quick in and out, did you see any of them that looked like they¡¯d be willing to talk or at least not try to kill us immediately?¡±

    ¡°One of the groups has skulls, human mind you, hanging from chains. All men, no children with them, no women, no younger men either. Second group is a mix of middle aged people and they¡¯re the ones who are playing it the most defensively. They¡¯re also the smallest, but that woman down there with the red fists is with them. The last group is like us, younger and more flexible. They¡¯re mixing it up without a care in the world, but they¡¯re also killing the others whenever someone steps in front of them.¡±

    ¡°A group of killer assholes, careful middle aged fighters with a heavy weight, or a bunch of younger hot heads. Those are my options?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Chloe, I think we¡¯re going to get to crack some skulls.¡±

 Ch. 3.11 Meeting the Neighbors

    11.

    Slipping off of the overpass and into the town was easy enough. Everyone was busy fighting, slashing, stabbing, burning, and killing in an orgy of destruction that called to Santi. He forced his will to crush down the urges, focusing on their objectives as Hana led them to the camp most likely to follow them.

    The cautious middle aged group was deep in the center of the destroyed downtown. They had taken over a cored out building only a few blocks from where the Pillar of Civilization sat. The fighting around the pillar was a mess of a melee, with dozens fighting, ducking in and out of buildings, around burnt out cars, and piled up rubble. None could get to the pillar, dying as all the factions turned on any who closed in on it.

    The woman with the burning fists was duking it out with some low grad Acolyte monster. She was holding her ground, but not being able to overwhelm it as they fought through the ruins of a fast food restaurant. Santi got one last look at her as she hit the heavily armored monster in a burst of power, staggering it but not sending it to the ground.

    ¡°She¡¯s solid. Would be a good addition to Rayleigh¡¯s crew,¡± Santi remarked to Chloe. Chloe just grunted, eyes sweeping all around her as she kept her axe ready to intercede with anything that came at them.

    Hana kept moving at a brisk walk, her own knife clutched and at the ready. She didn¡¯t turn and listen to them, simply pausing at the edge of a building to peak around it. She darted around the corner and Santi followed after as they kept moving toward where the group was located. As Santi turned the corner, a shape leapt free of the second story window, landing between him and Hana. Santi lashed out without hesitation and cut the lizardman in half without pausing.

    He stepped past the dead creature even as its body settled, head swiveling and alert. Hana glanced back, startled by the sudden violence. Santi just pointed towards his own eyes and then up. She nodded slowly and began to check the upper levels of things as she walked.

    They moved slowly, never exceeding a slow walk as they moved around buildings and fights without interfering. Nothing here was strong enough to honestly challenge them, but getting dragged into the quagmire would only slow them down further. It was something that he had to remind himself frequently as he wanted to solve the quagmire mess by simply killing everything in the town. At least, a small part of him did.

    An incessantly annoying growing small part of him. Santi was forced to push it down, the niggling thoughts that wormed its way through his mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s just up ahead. There¡¯s someone on the roof watching,¡± Hana said as she peeked around the corner at where the new group was located. Santi leaned over and saw where she was pointing at.

    A single person sat by the ledge watching the streets and another lounged hidden across the street. Hana had missed the person, Santi only seeing them when he glimpsed them in the reflection of a window.

    He crossed the street after [Identifying] the sentry and realizing she was just a peak Initiate. He gave her a little wave as he walked, even as she bolted upright and promptly disappeared. A hole or quick escape route on the roof that allowed her to quickly get to the others.

    Santi wagged a finger at the second sentinel who was rising up and drawing an arrow back to fire in her bow. She froze, looking surprised as Santi walked straight through the kill zone and into the  building. Chloe and Hana followed behind, both of them looking at who Santi had waved his fingers at.

    ¡°How¡¯d you know they were there?¡± Hana asked.

    ¡°Reflection in the glass over there,¡± Santi tipped his head subtlety towards where the glass was. He didn¡¯t want the archer to see what had given her away. Not till they were officially aligned with him.

    ¡°Smart,¡± Hana whispered. Chloe just shrugged a shoulder as they marched through the broken front wall of the store.

    A pair of burly older men rose up to block their passage, their faces twisted in fear as they used a skill to identify them. Both backed up a few steps and Santi passed by them with just an easy nod.

    The linoleum floors were dirty and scratched, light streaming though behind Santi as he looked at the group of people huddled around the main table. They all looked at the three of them and slowly straightened up. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡± a slightly older man asked. His shoulder length hair was iron gray and fine as silk. He wore a patched flannel shirt with rolled up sleeves exposing corded forearms covered in military tattoos. His dark eyes were unflinching iron pits of determination. Even with Santi¡¯s higher levels and power, he didn¡¯t seem phased.

    Warrior lvl. 25

    To get the class of a warrior right off the bat spoke much of his disposition and skill set. The tattoos, build, and the way he carried himself all but screamed that he was a former active military member. These types of men and women had often managed to have early success, plying their skills to great effect. It was later down the line when things veered away from the team work and early days of the integration that they struggled. The personal growth needed to pass the next level of cap points was something that you could not do without a significant amount of resources. It required a greed that many of them couldn¡¯t or wouldn¡¯t express.

    ¡°My name is Santiago Silva and I have come to claim that Pillar of Civilization.¡±

    ¡°Pleasure¡¯s yours I guess. I¡¯m Frank.¡±

    ¡°Pleasure is mine Frank, I would like to help out with your situation outside but I would like to know what¡¯s actually happening before I start cutting.¡±

    ¡°Town went to shit. Some fucking nutters decided this was the time to start a death cult since nothing matters. Extreme nihilism but they¡¯re incompetent for the most part. The real worry is the kids. They¡¯re drunk on power and don¡¯t want to hear anything about slowing down and taking it slow. Maya got into it with one or two of them and it¡¯s been bad blood since.¡±

    ¡°The kids, can they be reined in or is it to the death?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°We want them back in the fold. They¡¯re good people, but, this power they have. It¡¯s made them hard headed. Constantly going on and on about grinding levels and finding treasures and powers. None of them have managed to get past twenty-five like you though.¡±

    ¡°Something I can help with if you¡¯re willing to sign up with my people.¡±

    ¡°You have people?¡± A woman asked suddenly, fear and hope intermingled in her voice.

    ¡°Yes. We have people. A full on town about fifty miles from here. Got a couple thousand people, farmers, armorers, clean water, the works.¡±

    ¡°Can we go there?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We are working on spreading out a bit, trying to establish smaller villages and towns to reduce the strain on our infrastructure. I just want you to know that before I bring you folks along.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯d have to settle a town. Again?¡± the same woman asked, eyes sinking downwards in defeat.

    ¡°Yes. But you¡¯d have support. I have teams of fighters who roam the area, scouts who hunt monsters, the whole kit and caboodle.¡±

    ¡°And all we need to do for that is help you with claiming the Pillar?¡± Frank cut in.

    ¡°No. You can get all that by just promising to follow our rules. And not getting in my way when I start working on claiming the Pillar.¡±

    ¡°Dillan, go and get your sister and everyone else. Pull back everyone from the pillar,¡± Frank ordered quickly, one of the large men who had confronted them when they walked in turned around and went out the hole.

    ¡°This should take a few minutes. You are sure you don¡¯t need any manpower from us in clearing the area?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Just clear out the people you want to stay alive.¡±

    ¡°Santi, you¡¯re slipping,¡± Chloe leaned in and whispered in his ear urgently. The whispered words were hardly more than the sigh of exhalation but loud enough that they rang through his growing haze of bloodlust.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep the kids alive and relatively unharmed,¡± Santi amended after a second. People relaxed subtly around him. They hadn¡¯t been about to stop him, but they weren¡¯t exactly thrilled with his earlier words.

    ¡°Shit, you¡¯re all kids yourself,¡± the woman from earlier said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us, we can handle ourselves. Just get ready to move once I claim the Pillar.¡±

    The three of them separated from Frank and his people and walked out of the store. The negotiations had been short and sweet just like Santi liked them. It was easy when you came from a position of strength and offered the other party everything they wanted.

    ¡°Santi, are you sure this is how you want to play it? Your curse is affecting you,¡± Chloe leaned, the warmth of her body present against his back.

    ¡°It is. I can¡¯t deny it. We still need that pillar and everyone is in my way to getting it.¡±

    ¡°Let me and Hana deal with it then. We¡¯re strong enough to do it. We can¡¯t be losing you to some type of fucking madness right now.¡±

    ¡°I agree with whatever Chloe is whispering into your ear,¡± Hana said without turning to look at them.

    ¡°Alright, you two go and clear the way then. Give Dillan a minute to get his people out of the way and then you two can get to work. I won¡¯t step in unless you need help.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t,¡± Chloe said without hesitation.

 Ch. 3.12 Delegating

    12.

    He really didn¡¯t need to help them. The  women were like two goddesses of war out on the battlefield, the peak Initiate level monsters and fighters failing to slow them as they massacred their way across the field. Santi watched in rapt appreciation as Chloe split a lizardman in half then spun and bisected a second one, turning the two into four pieces all in one long smooth motion.

    Hana was quieter, she didn¡¯t stand in the center of the field like Chloe did, calling all attention to herself. She wove a trail of death across the battle with barely a ripple of her presence. Santi caught glimpses of her as her cloaking ability fell right as she stabbed. She hadn¡¯t mastered holding the cloak while stabbing, but it was coming along better than it had. Santi thought she might do well with a distance weapon, a shortbow, crossbow, or even a javelin. Something to keep her at range and striking invisibly.

    It had been awhile since he could just sit back and watch others. It was illuminating. Chloe shifted her weight too much when she struck, her center of balance changing in ways that would be easier to counter. Hana had a habit of only striking from the right back side. Never directly behind or to the left, obviously favoring her strong dominant hand.

    Easy things to see with a birds eye view of a larger battlefield, but not quite as easy when one was in the thick of it. He wondered to himself what else he had been missing by being too deep in the middle of things. His musings were cut short by a group of people walking up to him, the fighters pulled back by Frank¡¯s orders.

    The first was the fistfighter, Maya, and then behind her was her brother Dillan. The larger man was a walking mountain of muscle, but he trailed his younger looking sister like a hound dog. Now that he was closer he realized that Maya was probably closer in age to the young folks than she was Frank. Late twenties, maybe pushing thirty.

    Pugilist lvl. 25

    A boxer of some sort, she had the build for it. Long arms, powerful shoulders, a balanced walk with a spring in her step. Her brother was a poor imitation of the restrained violence that Maya projected so casually.

    ¡°You¡¯re not down there helping them? Can¡¯t handle the fight?¡± Maya asked, her voice edged with adrenaline, she was still floating high from her fight and was only now starting to come down. She was looking to push, to start something to keep herself up and going, keeping the engine revved so to speak. Santi took it all in and just leaned back and watched his two friends, or whatever Chloe was now to him, continue to fight for him.

    ¡°Naw, blood makes me squeamish and the girls wanted to blow off some steam. Said I¡¯d stay up here and watch out in case anything jumps them.¡±

    ¡°Smartass then. Makes sense your a mage. Wizard types are always snarky in books.¡±

    ¡°You can read?¡± Santi asked as innocently as he could.

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that question mark next to your class I would box your ears,¡± Maya said with a vicious grin. There was no mistaking the pleasure in her eyes as the two settled down for a verbal spar. Both of them wanted to be out there fighting, but she was outclassed and he couldn¡¯t keep feeding his curse.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t pick on people smaller than you,¡± Santi said as he watched Chloe slice the monster Maya had been dueling in circles. The axewoman took two swipes to kill it, dispatching it as easily as she had the Initiate level monsters.

    ¡°Guess that means you can pick on anyone?¡±

    ¡°Yup, perks of being small. I¡¯m always the underdog,¡± Sants said while he watched as the other fighters marched down to the store that Frank was holed up in. Dillan looked at them and then shrugged before heading down himself.

    ¡°New world. Size don¡¯t mean shit. Look at my brother, looks like a hill that sprouted legs. Can¡¯t fight for a shit though. Not this new way. Just not fast enough on the uptake.¡±

    ¡°Tell him to put points into intelligence and not just strength and durability.¡±

    ¡°You can tell that from just glancing at him?¡±

    ¡°Close enough. I¡¯m observant. Just like you have a bunch of points into dex, perception, and strength. Good blend of striker and speed with the ability to find weaknesses and hit them. Lower end of the mana and willpower range, not a ton of vitality or durability either. Trust yourself to avoid being hit.¡±

    ¡°You are good. Dillan wanted to be the big guy around here. Help people out, keep them safe, so he needed to be big and tough. It worked for a bit, but he got too lopsided and then the level cap.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°We can help with that.¡±

    ¡°You can break us past the cap?¡±

    ¡°With a few ingredients. It¡¯s not always the most pleasant experience, just to warn ya,¡± Santi shuddered as he thought of his own evolutions.

    ¡°We all want it. More and more of those beasts coming over and their levels are getting close to the thirties. Me, Frank, Dillan, and a few others used to be able to work to get them down. Now, we just have to hide.¡±

    ¡°We can work on that. My sister normally does the evolutions, but she¡¯s a bit backlogged. We can always work out something here when I claim the pillar.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so important about it anyway?¡±

    ¡°Why are you asking me, you were the one actually down there fighting for it.¡±

    ¡°That was just to stop the skeleton fucks from having it. The kids hopped in and then all the monsters started coming down. Turned into a right clusterfuck,¡± she emphasized the point by spitting powerfully on the ground.

    ¡°The System sent it. That¡¯s all I need to know,¡± and could say, Santi thought bitterly. While Akthry was helping him, the geas was a damn migraine.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a big one. Your girls can kill it?¡± Maya asked as a new monster announced itself by plowing though a small building, sending materials flying everywhere. Santi took a look at it and fought his instinctive urge to shudder, he didn''t like snakes. It was the way they wiggled about that had always made his skin crawl.

    Serpentine Explorer lvl. 34

    ¡°They should be fine. It¡¯s right in their wheelhouse.¡± Both of the women were higher level than it, but not by much. The flashing fangs dripped poison, the ground smoking whenever a drop landed. Its gleaming skin was emerald with black markings in diamonds running its length. Its copper colored hood flared as it hissed, two weak talon tipped arms stretching out as Chloe threw herself at it.

    Santi watched as she rippled, skin taking on a sheen as the snake spat venom at her. Instead of hitting vulnerable flesh, it splashed harmlessly off of metal, her newest armor skill working well with her affinity. She slashed and her axe split scales, blood rolling out in a wave of steaming crimson as the snake hissed and roared, rising up and wiggling backward.

    Right into Hana. The small assassin appeared next to the coils, blade flashing as she rammed it into the side of its face. She twisted and tore, disappearing as the snake jerked to the side, spitting another well of venom at the where the small woman had been. Santi hoped she¡¯d gotten out of the way in time. He didn¡¯t want to tell Daniel his girlfriend had been killed by an overgrown snake while he sat on his haunches.

    Maybe he should get up. Just in case.

    The thoughts warred in his mind until he got them under control. He loosened his white knuckle grip on his weapon, taking a calming breath as he looked at Maya. She was watching him with an interested look, half torn between excitement and fear.

    ¡°You¡¯re strange. Just now, I could swear I was going to die,¡± she whispered the words but to Santi they were a screaming recrimination.

    ¡°Going through something right now. I¡¯ll get better.¡±

    ¡°Your friends just killed that snake.¡± Maya pointed and Santi looked to see that she was right. The snake had been split down the center while another two deep puncture wounds on its face showed Hana¡¯s work. They had eventually managed to hit something of value and the monster was dead.

    The field of battle had emptied as all the monsters were slain. The girls hadn¡¯t interacted with either group right off the bat, instead focusing their work on the monsters and mutated animals, purging them from the region before they went back to the humans.

    While they did that the surviving humans had shown remarkable critical thinking and had fled as fast as their legs could carry them. Santi would have to go and hunt down the death cult, but he could wait till after the bloodlust was banished. That or after he had gotten Frank¡¯s crew leveled. He had a feeling Maya and Frank wouldn¡¯t mind dealing with them.

    ¡°Wanna see the pillar?¡± Santi asked as he got up. Maya was another of those people. The fire burnt in her brightly. She had the drive and passion to push her boundaries far enough to glimpse true power. Maybe not a Champion, but a Disciple for sure.

    ¡°Damn straight. Spent hours running around fighting for it, want to see what all the fuss was about.¡±

    Santi pushed his way downtown, mindful of keeping Maya close by and not simply sprinting to the pillar. He had never had one before, the power of the pillars kept in the hands of the strongest around. Most Champions had one if not a collection of them.

    ¡°Cleared all your lightwork for you, boss¡± Chloe called out sarcastically, axe slung over her shoulder as she walked over to them. He could feel Hana off to the side, working her way closer but not introducing herself right now. She really had been picking up habits from Daniel.

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll be writing up a good performance review for your next evaluation,¡± Santi smiled at her, letting a peek of his true emotions through. Chloe¡¯s clouded face drained of negativity as she smiled widely back at him.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s gross,¡± Maya remarked snidely as she walked past them to look at the Pillar of Civilization.

    ¡°It is,¡± Hana declared as she materialized next to Maya, blocking her from touching the silvery metal of the pillar.

    ¡°Glass houses, Hana. Glass houses.¡± Chloe shot back, but the look of happiness on her face didn¡¯t diminish one iota.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see what this baby holds for us,¡± Santi said, stepping around Maya as he reached up to connect to the Pillar.

 Ch. 3.13 Diplomacy

    13.

    Santi¡¯s fingers brushed over the warm metal, heat emanating off the surface. A burst of pain and knowledge shot through his mind. A connectedness as his mind expanded, surpassing its limit as knowledge flowed through him like a rushing river.

    Pillar Connected

    Santiago Silva Air Mage lvl. 44

    Confirm Claim?

    With a single thought Santi confirmed his desire to claim the pillar. More power surged through him, an electricity that had his hair rising on his head and arms, taking his breath from him as he struggled to contain it all. He could now appreciate the strain people had talked about when claiming the pillars.

    24 Hour Challenge Period Started

    Survive against all Challengers

    ¡°What?¡± Santi whispered as he stared at the newest block of floating text. He couldn¡¯t remember this in the last timeline. How could he have not known of this, or was it something new?

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Chloe asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s a wait period where people can challenge me.¡±

    ¡°Figures. Nothing is easy.¡± Chloe simply shrugged.

    ¡°This is an impediment to our plans. I won¡¯t be able to move this until it¡¯s claimed. I need to stay here and hold this until it¡¯s ours.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t forfeit it and get another one later?¡± Hana asked.

    ¡°I mean, I could. But, in the meantime others have this. People who may not be friends. We can¡¯t give up any advantage we can claim.¡±

    ¡°So, what? We just wait here?¡±

    ¡°Me and Chloe wait here. You¡¯re going to run back to Homebase and gather up everyone and send them here,¡± Santi told Hana.

    ¡°And what about Mercy? We¡¯re just going to let her keep running wild?¡± Chloe cut in.

    ¡°No. I have a feeling she¡¯s going to be coming down to us.¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    In response to Chloe¡¯s questions a massive ding took everyone¡¯s attention. The system alert echoed out and every person stopped what they were doing to look at the words.

    Local Challenger to Pillar of Civilization

    Santiago Silva

    24 Hour Window to Contest the Claim is Now Open

    ¡°Oh, shit. You think everyone in the state just saw that?¡±

    ¡°No. It said local. Probably just a couple hundred miles. Mercy saw it for sure.¡±

    A beam of golden light shot free of the pillar, bright even in the sunlight, obvious from miles away no doubt. Every eye turned to look at it.

    ¡°Hana. I¡¯m going to need you to book it. Get there as soon as possible. How fast can you do it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Never really gone all out for a long distance. I¡¯m going to have to cloak myself, there¡¯s things out there strong enough that I can¡¯t fight them. That¡¯ll slow me down. Maybe like an hour and a half, maybe two?¡±

    ¡°Alright get moving, don¡¯t get caught. Bring everyone here, the sooner the better. I have no doubt we¡¯ll be getting some feelers here shortly.¡±

    ¡°You and Chloe can hold the house down here?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me and Chloe. We can last long enough for you to get back.¡±

    ¡°What about us?¡± Maya cut in suddenly, the three friends turning to look at her. She had been standing quietly and observing them.

    ¡°What do you mean? I made a deal with y¡¯all, nothing has changed.¡±

    ¡°They can have whatever deal they want. I want past the cap, I¡¯ll stay here and help you out.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°Deal,¡± Santi stuck his hand out, shaking hers as she accepted extra responsibility.

    ¡°Hana, make sure that Yessenia is coming with you. Carry her if need be. Tell her to bring six standard sets of evolution guides. I¡¯m going to see if anyone else will stay here for the possibility of an evolution.¡±

    ¡°Done. I¡¯m good to go?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, bounce. Maya, this place is going to be a battlefield quite soon. We need to get your non-combatants out of here.¡± Maya nodded in acceptance and quickly jogged back to her people.

    Hana turned and disappeared in a single step, rapidly leaving his sphere without looking back or showing a hint of her form. Santi took one last longing look at the pillar and had to sigh. He had really wanted to access the pillar and its functions. Having to survive twenty-four hours before accessing it was frustrating to say the least.

    ¡°Chloe, we need to establish contact with the kids and finish off those weirdo death cultists. I don¡¯t wanna get backstabbed by them at the last minute when we¡¯re facing bigger problems.¡±

    ¡°Need me to clear out the cultists?¡±

    ¡°If you would be so inclined,¡± Santi offered her a wan smile. He was asking her to go and kill a bunch of people. He wasn¡¯t going to order it so easily.

    ¡°Yeah. Yeah, I¡¯ll take Maya with me. Maybe Frank, really see what they¡¯re made of. You get to be the diplomat, I guess.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t ask this lightly. I want you to know that.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Chloe smiled sadly and two of them started off towards where Frank and the others were. The walk was short and the gathering crowd of people watched him with wary eyes. Maya and Frank had their heads close together, whispering to each other.

    Frank looked up as they approached. His frown was fierce and the furrow between his eyes deep. Santi could read the questions on his face like it was a book. He had deeper concerns than Maya had, his concern for his people rand deep and wide.

    ¡°Maya updated me about what¡¯s going on. I don¡¯t like the idea of splitting up, especially if I leave the stronger fighters here to help you. There is no way the others can make it all the way to your place.¡±

    ¡°Agreed. When my people get here, I¡¯ll peel a squad of people off as a protection detail. It¡¯ll take a few hours for them to arrive, in the meantime I need to know where the kids are located. The fight just ended and they¡¯re hurting right now. If there¡¯s a time to bring them back into the fold, it¡¯s going to be now.¡±

    ¡°I know where they¡¯re staying at. It¡¯s not too far from here. I can take you there.¡±

    ¡°No need for that. I want you to take Maya and go with Chloe. Clear out the death worshippers.¡±

    ¡°Dillan can take you then. They¡¯re not far from here. Dillan! Take Santiago to where Zeke has everyone set up, will ya?¡±

    The big man gave a quick nod and started moving, not giving Santi time to issue last minute instructions. Following Dillan he worked through the town. Most of it was in poor shape, destroyed and decaying with signs of battle everywhere.

    ¡°How long have you been fighting these guys?¡± Santi asked. The big man was fairly quiet, his voice a whisper as he spoke.

    ¡°Took about a week for the first group to lose their shit. Everyone¡¯s going to die, might as well be by our hand. Fucking idiots. It was originally just our two groups, but the younger folk didn¡¯t like how Frank was doing stuff. Too slow, too cautious. They split off and a couple weeks ago one of them mouthed off to Maya. That was that.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s Zeke?¡±

    ¡°Unofficial boss. He¡¯s who everyone looks too. He¡¯s not as strong as Maya or Frank, but he¡¯s curious. Looks for answers everywhere. Doesn¡¯t mind getting his hands dirty either, but they don¡¯t have a heavy like us. It¡¯s why we¡¯re still alive probably.¡±

    ¡°They outnumber you?¡±

    ¡°Close, but they¡¯re certainly more aggressive. Start fights pretty much everytime we meet up with them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a joy.¡± Santi wondered how old they were. Frank had called them kids, and Santi had automatically slotted them into that bracket.

    ¡°Not far from here, just have to turn the corner. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be pleased to see me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯re with me, you¡¯re safe.¡± Santi clapped the big man¡¯s shoulder, startling him into walking around the corner and into the line of sight.

    [Air Shield] stopped some form of magical attack, dissipating it in its chaotic environs with ease. Dillan had only begun to start grasping he was under attack as the energy was dispersed. Not a fighter then, despite his size and levels.

    ¡°Fuck, Dillan! You scared the shit out of me, man. I didn¡¯t mean for that,¡± a younger looking boy said. He couldn¡¯t have been older than fifteen, pimples still angry on his face. His blonde hair was slicked back and his face pale as he looked up to the huge man. Santi didn¡¯t think he had even been noticed behind Dillan¡¯s bulk.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Zeke?¡± Dillan didn¡¯t mention the fact his face had almost been melted off, just moving straight to business. That Santi could admire. Even if the goliath¡¯s reflexes were the same sharpness as a rock¡¯s.

    ¡°Inside. He¡¯s fucking pissed, dude. I wouldn¡¯t go and talk to him right now if I was you.¡±

    ¡°Not me wanting to talk to him. This is Santiago. He¡¯s the one who took over. He wants to talk to Zeke.¡±

    ¡°Oh, fuck. Uhmmm. Yeah.¡± Santi met the kids eyes and saw the mix of fear, anxiety and uncertainty.

    ¡°Just stay here you two,¡± Santi breezed past them, eyes on the building that they kids were holed up in. It had been some type of store before, old brick work was still there, but the everpresent cars had been used to form thick barriers around it, leaving little to the eye. They had no other guard than the stammering teenager and Santi felt his disappointment grow.

    He barged through the door and not a single spell or skill tried to kill him. The arguing voices were louder in here, people fighting for what to do. Nearly thirty teens clustered around a small room, all of them shouting and screaming at each other.

    Santi looked back at the door and wished he had given Chloe this job while he exterminated the skull guys. There was no whisper of the bloodlust in that thought, just an abject hatred of dealing with this age bracket.

    [Air Manipulation] helped him as he shouted, a wordless roar that deafened the room, amplified and spread by the wind he summoned and controlled. Everyone stopped fighting and everyone turned to look at him.

    ¡°Which one of you is Zeke?¡±

 Ch. 3.14 Negotiations

    14.

    ¡°I¡¯m Zeke!¡± A voice boomed out from the crowd of shuffling around bodies and Santi watched as the crowd broke apart to let a slightly older boy walk out. He was younger than Santi¡¯s current body, but it wasn¡¯t by much. Tall and lean, borderline emaciated with sharp cheeks and a long nose. Black dreads fell past his shoulders, gold glittered in both of his ears, diamonds shining in the light.

    He flashed a sparkling smile, his charisma undeniable. Santi stared at him, focusing on the edges of the young man and felt the illusion crack under his scrutiny. Zeke was still there, everything he had observed was the same, but the glamor of it fell away. Some type of leadership class. Frustrating.

    ¡°I¡¯m Santiago Silva. I¡¯m a leader from down the way. It was my friends that cleared out the battlefield earlier.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re with you?¡± Some of the man¡¯s swagger slipped away. Santi could emphasize with that. The two of them had likely left a permanent impression on them. Something like their display earlier today would have left him shocked when he was a young Initiate.

    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re with me. As is Frank and Maya. I want to extend that offer to you too.¡±

    ¡°Maya? Yeah, we don¡¯t fuck with Maya. She fucked up some of our people and we can¡¯t just let that go.¡±

    ¡°Listen. I don¡¯t give a fuck. I¡¯m not saying you have to be friends with her. I can set you up with a small town or area far away from her and Frank and their group. Get you supplies and the knowledge to break through the level cap you¡¯re at. All I ask is to keep the violence relegated to monsters and in self-defense.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d give us all that and just to stay out of the way? Get us out of this shithole and show us how to push past twenty-five?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Pretty simple rules. We work with you if you follow the rules. And the rules are don¡¯t start shit and to contribute to the community. Well, there¡¯s actually more rules but that¡¯s what they boil down to.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the catch? I know there¡¯s a catch.¡± The crowd behind Zeke shifted and looked about, eyes watching Santi warily. There was the teenage distrust there, the hard eyed cynicism, the disbelief and natural arrogance of children becoming adults. It helped that Santi looked close enough to their own age.

    ¡°The catch is I¡¯m in charge. Period. We have rules, we follow the rules, we all benefit. But I¡¯m not putting up with bullshit. You want to dick around?You can find your own way.¡±

    Everyone shifted around, glances  shot at each other as they reacted to that. Most didn¡¯t like it, but they were waiting for Zeke to react. Santi could read the boy¡¯s face like a book, whatever background skill he was using was broken by his higher stats. There was exhaustion etched into the bags beneath his eyes. Anxiety and a grayness, a pallor that refused to leave even with his higher stats. Heavy was the crown indeed.

    ¡°What about the others? Faulkner and his fucking psychos? Are they welcome too?¡±

    ¡°No. They¡¯re not. Chloe, the axe girl, is going to take care of them with Frank and Maya right now.¡±

    ¡°And when you say take care of them?¡±

    ¡°Chloe is killing them.¡± Santi said without hesitation

    ¡°Just like that? No trial or process or anything?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re walking around carrying human skulls and talking about how life is pointless and people should die. They¡¯re killers and we don¡¯t put up with shit like that.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re strong. Is your girl enough?¡±

    ¡°Chloe is more than strong enough to deal with them.¡±

    ¡°We need to talk about this. But, if you can make sure we¡¯re away from Maya and Frank, I don¡¯t see why not.¡±

    ¡°Talk it over. Frank and the others were the ones who pushed me to reach out and be diplomatic, just to let you know. They want to have a relationship with you guys.¡±

    ¡°That can be for the future. Can you give us a few minutes?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Santi walked away, giving them a bit of space but still close enough to hear them talking with his advanced senses.

    Most of the talk was around how they were all exhausted. They were hungry and sleep deprived, the constant fighting had sapped them of their strength of will. They were continuing on with pure grit and stubbornness. They needed this, needed the relief and break from the ongoing initialization. Zeke came back a few moments later and nodded. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°What do we need to do?¡±

    ¡°Just travel to our town. It¡¯s about fifty miles from here. I have some of my people coming. When they get here I¡¯ll split off a squad to escort you and Frank¡¯s non-combatants out of here and to our town. You¡¯ll be processed at the central location, given a spot, food, responsibilities, and the rundown on the rules. When we finish with this Pillar, we¡¯ll work on getting you guys past your caps.¡±

    ¡°We have to travel with Frank and Maya?¡±

    ¡°No. Frank and Maya will be staying here with me. Along with some of their better fighters.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll do the same. Me and a few others will stay and show our worth!¡± Pride suffused his voice. There were some nods around from some of the rougher looking people in the group. The fighters in the group who had more pride than sense.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Gather up your belongings and move toward where Frank and his group is set up. That¡¯s going to be our staging area to move out. My people should be here in a few hours, but we might start getting visitors sooner than that.¡±

    ¡°Visitors?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. You didn¡¯t see the giant golden beam in the sky?¡±

    ¡°Oh, well fuck me. Look at that.¡±

    ¡°Bruh, it¡¯s hella bright? How¡¯d you miss it?¡± Santi asked the leader of the group. The teen simply shrugged.

    ¡°Was a little busy with the whole murder sisters. Weird shit happens around here all the time nowadays if you haven¡¯t noticed.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Anyways, everyone who wants a shot at the pillar will be coming to challenge me. Need to get your people out of here before it gets too busy.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll get moving. Just keep Maya away from us. I¡¯ll keep my people in line.¡±

    ¡°I can do that. See you in a bit.¡± Santi left them, gathering Dillan and moved back towards where Frank had set up his headquarters. They were still gone and Santi was forced to sit around with a bunch of nervous strangers staring at him. It took Chloe twenty minutes to come back.

    The petite woman walked back with blood smeared across her face, partially wiped away but part of it missed. There was a hard look in her eyes, a fragility disguised as iron. Santi rose and went to her even as Frank and Maya walked by, both of them giving her respectable nods while neither of them had the same looks on their faces. Frank was a former soldier so he could understand that, but Maya was a hard woman if she had gone to a killing like what had likely just happened and came back as if nothing had occurred.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Santi said as he got close to her. Chloe looked at him with a vague blank stare for a second before life flared into her eyes. He wanted to reach out to her, touch her bloody hands and the white knuckle grip on the handle of her system generated axe.

    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± Chloe bit each word sharply.

    ¡°Are you ok?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. No injuries. Mission accomplished.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Why don¡¯t we sit down and you can talk to me for a few minutes. We¡¯ve got some time before anything should pop up.¡± Santi guided her to the side of the building. He wove his [Air Current] around them to help prevent eavesdropping.

    ¡°What do you wanna ask?¡± Chloe said as they sat down. Her white knuckle grip hadn¡¯t relented.

    ¡°When me and Cameron were kids we used to play outside all the time. You know, kid stuff, just running around in the backyards with interesting sticks and pretending to be knights or soldiers.¡± Santi let his mind drift to those easy memories. They were distant things, buried under the weight of his life, but they still felt warm when he visited them.

    ¡°I always wanted to be a knight. It¡¯s just a kid thing I think. Saw Aragorn charge the Black Gates, you know. That was so cool.¡±

    ¡°Thought knights were supposed to be tall?¡± Chloe asked quietly, just a hint of warmth in her voice.

    ¡°Oh they are. It¡¯s an unfortunate reality. To be a knight you need to be tall. It¡¯s why I became a mage.¡±

    ¡°You became a mage because you¡¯re short?¡±

    ¡°Close enough.¡± The answer was similar. He had been scared. Scared of fighting close enough to smell sweat and blood and fear. He had wanted the distance that a mage had promised.

    ¡°Cam makes a good knight I think. Big and strong and noble. Even has a shield. Need to get him a horse and sword.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a good knight. I think you would have been a good knight too. Regardless of how vertically challenged you are.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, I appreciate it. But, what I wanted to say was when we were kids it was always the unending hordes. The bad guys, right. Goblins or orcs or whatever. The other thing. It wasn¡¯t people you normally see in the grocery store. Your neighbor. That¡¯s a lot harder to do.¡±

    Chloe went quiet, her small smile leaving her face as her back stiffened. Santi couldn¡¯t tell if she was reacting to the subject or if it was her worrying about how he viewed her.

    ¡°The first time I killed someone I broke down. Cried and threw up. She haunted my dreams for a long time. How still she was, her face slack and pale. It wasn¡¯t like we played about in our backyards in the suburbs. There was no honor or glory or whatever it was that I thought there was in killing someone.¡±

    ¡°They weren¡¯t the first.¡±

    ¡°I know. They won¡¯t be the last either. Might not even be the last today. I just want you to know you¡¯re not alone. With whatever it is you¡¯re feeling, whatever you experienced. You¡¯re not alone.¡± Santi risked reaching out and placing his hand over hers. He could feel the tension in her knuckles, the tendons straining, all the while she didn¡¯t look at him.

    ¡°Thank you. I just need to work through this. It was bad over there. They¡­ they might have been closer to your childhood enemies than whatever humanity they should have had.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s good that they¡¯re gone. I¡¯m sorry it had to be you that experienced that, but I¡¯m glad they¡¯re gone.¡±

    ¡°It had to be done. Santiago, there were things in there that I just haven¡¯t seen others humans do. It was like a monster den.¡±

    Santi let her vent, speaking quietly of what she had seen. There were no tears or frustrations, just a nauseating description of what the death worshippers had been doing in their portion of the town. Santi wasn¡¯t shocked, there were plenty of things he had seen that defied decency or humanity. Whatever Mercy was, she was the herald of worse things to come.

    Monsters and mutated animals were the, in the end, weakest of threats. It was the sapients, the invaders and humans who had done the most damage after the initialization had stabilized.

    Santi wedged himself closer to Chloe, offering her the warmth and solidarity of his shoulder. His hand didn¡¯t waver from her as she spoke. When she finally finished, some of the strain had disappeared from her as she finished

    Santi heard the tromping footsteps of Zeke and his people. He read the strain of the older people as the kids came back home. In a moment he would have to come out of his little cocoon of magic and tackle the responsibilities of leadership. For this moment he could continue being a friend.

 Ch. 315 GOAT Party

    15.

    Two hours of silence. Awkward silence. Tension so thick that Santi could not only cut it, he could proceed to dish it up on a plate after cutting it. Zeke was sitting with a knot of his fighters, all of them working hard on not making eye contact with Maya. Maya was crouched against a wall with a cat that ate the canary grin as she watched them. She was going to be a problem, there was too much instigator in her for being a stable presence in the community.

    She didn¡¯t seem the type to stick around one spot for a long time. There was too much to explore and see. She would go far, gaining levels and power if she could keep herself from getting killed.

    Zeke had the presence to be a good leader. Solid and reliable with plenty of patience. He wasn¡¯t bothered by Maya¡¯s staring or the creeping tension or the thought of a fight coming. He simply stood there like nothing was wrong, quietly talking to his people when needed.

    ¡°How long do you think before Hana gets back?¡± Chloe asked. Santi could tell it was more to break the silence that had been growing than an actual desire to know when Hana would be back.

    ¡°She should be getting back to Homebase soon enough. Couple hours to rally everyone then couple more to get back here. That¡¯s if nothing has gone to shit.¡±

    ¡°Somethings definitely gone to shit. It always does,¡± Chloe remarked dryly.

    ¡°It¡¯s the apocalypse. Something definitely went wrong,¡± Santi said, agreeing with her.

    ¡°Probably tomorrow then. At dawn to make it much more dramatic.¡± Chloe was smiling gently.

    ¡°Of course, right as we¡¯re about to be overrun,¡± Santi played along. Others were turning to look at them with some puzzled looks.

    ¡°Hey! We have movement!¡± a voice cried out, the watcher on the rooftop. Santi perked up, finally having some type of action.

    ¡°Where at?¡± Frank called out, taking control of the environment in an instant. Zeke might have a leadership class, but he didn¡¯t have the older man¡¯s experience. Zeke and his people rose up silently, gathering their weapons. They gripped them with white knuckle ferocity, nervous but determined. Maya simply had a feral smile on her face, vicious and predatory as she cracked her neck.

    ¡°Coming from the overpass. Single person, uhhh, thing?¡±

    ¡°You all stay here. I¡¯ll call you if we need help.¡± Santi waved at the two groups as Chloe followed behind him. The two sets of people looked at him with a mix of surprise and gratitude. Santi wanted to keep them in reserve in case anything happened, but they were likely going to be seriously outclassed.

    Santi walked out of the torn up store and jogged up towards the overpass they had come down hours ago. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest as he worked his way up towards the overpass.

    ¡°Calm down, you¡¯re walking so fast,¡± Chloe complained as she had to do a little hop skip to catch up to him.

    ¡°I¡¯m bored. Want to get this shit kicked off as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°You do, or the curse does?¡±

    ¡°Little of both?¡± Santi shrugged as he started walking up the slope of the overpass.

    ¡°Wonder what it is. Think it¡¯s Mercy and her people?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. Doubt it though. It¡¯s supposed to be a big group, they don¡¯t move as quickly as a small group can. Monsters will be faster. Some individuals or small groups might get here quicker.¡±

    ¡°Like that guy? The shadow assassin?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he was close by too. He could get here quick.¡±

    ¡°Think he¡¯ll honor your temporary truce?¡±

    ¡°Fuck if I know. We stay on guard regardless of what happens, don¡¯t trust him at all no matter what happens.¡±

    ¡°You got it.¡± They crested the top of the overpass and Santi finally got a glimpse of what the watcher had seen. A bloody grin crossed his face, widening out as he stared at the monster who looked back at him with semi-intelligent eyes.

    Satyr Scout lvl. 49

    Bipedal with thick, muscular arms, white fur legs that were capped with goat hooves. A wide wooden club dangled from a four finger hand. Stubby horns poked out from curly white hair and wide dark eyes filled with malice. It grinned, wide teeth stained yellow showing as it started back up the overpass. Every step sent a clop as it moved up the slope of the overpass.

    ¡°Mine,¡± Santi whispered as heat began to suffuse his body. His heartbeat picked up, blood rushing through his veins as he flew toward the monster, morph blade turning into a long sword. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    The satyr moved in a blur of speed, asphalt cracking under its hooves as it exploded forward. Its club whished through the air, aiming for his head as Santi dodged, ducking his head and slashing at waist height.

    The satyr spun gracefully, a few stray hairs coming free of its midriff as the morph blade narrowly missed a disemboweling strike. Santi sucked air through his teeth in annoyance as the fast moving monster dodge back again as Santi threw a flurry of short strikes meant to incapacitate. He targeted the monster''s legs, feinting for the goat man¡¯s throat before twisting trying to cut a knee.

    It leapt back, avoiding the initial slash, but Santi lengthened and thinned the blade, forming an oversized rapier as the slash turned into a lunge. Bone split and blood flowed as the satyr bleated in pain. It never slowed though, a huge overhand blow coming even as its white furred leg buckled.

    Santi twisted and the rough wood grazed his side, tearing at his cheek. He just smiled wider as excitement pulsed through him. A trickle of blood rolled down his scraped cheek, warm and wet as Santi pulled the rapier free and backed up. The satyr tried to follow, but its leg buckled. Panic had started to blossom in its wide dark eyes.

    ¡°SANTI!¡± Chloe yelled, breaking through the red haze that had surrounded him. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. Half a dozen satyrs were racing toward him, all of them bigger and more muscular than the one he was fighting.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Santi spat. [Air Shield] was cast behind the satyr as it tried to retreat. [Air Manipulation] was used to hold the monster''s club down, while [Gust] was cast at the reinforcements running toward them. The gale force winds staggered the racing monsters as loose soil was scoured from the hard packed dirt.

    Chloe¡¯s axe split the air with a scream as Santi held the satyr down. Black steel bit through flesh like butter and the creature¡¯s arm hit the ground. She reversed her momentum and took the satyr through the ribs and worked up, puncturing its heart. Body parts hit the ground loudly as the two of them began to back up.

    Satyr Hunter lvl. 51

    Satyr Hunter lvl. 52

    Satyr Singer lvl. 56

    The three strongest satyrs stayed in the back. The three leading satyrs were all in the upper forties, any one of them a challenge for Chloe likely. These monsters were built on speed and strength, lacking high vitality or durability. The ease in which they had killed the scout was telling, glass cannons instead of endurance fighters.

    That singer could be dangerous, some type of shaman or mage class. Santi hadn¡¯t really seen these types of monsters in his first timeline, but he knew enough of the mythology. If it used magic it would be something nature or music based.

    ¡°Keep the heavies off of me while I kill the singer,¡± Santi barked at Chloe. She simply grunted in acknowledgment, gripping her axe tightly as she squared herself off. Santi let loose more spells, trying to prune away the leading edges of the charge. He needed them to be a bit staggered if they were going to get through it.

    The singer lifted a lute to its full lips and discordant notes came screaming out. Mana tightened around them, thickening the air as Santi could feel the howl of an autumn wind, the decaying of the leaves under heavy rain and mud. The satyrs sped up, Santi¡¯s magic rolling by them like they oil on water.

    ¡°That¡¯s fucking annoying.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Some type of buffing magic, it repels my spells. Going to have to do this the old fashion way.¡±

    ¡°Good to know,¡± Chloe said as the first of the satyrs got within range. Santi didn¡¯t give up on casting. He could overwhelm the singer¡¯s magics with pure brute force, but that would leave him vulnerable as the physical fighters closed the distance. [Air Current] and [Air Manipulation] instead poked and prodded at their defenses, twisting the air around them, trying hard to find a weak point even as he parried a glowing club.

    Whatever power the singer was using was strong, even the morph weapon couldn¡¯t cut through cleanly. Instead it sank deep into the heart of the club and with a savage twist Santi ripped the club free of the satyr¡¯s hands. Santi kicked the goat man¡¯s knee, bone popping under his heel as the monster screamed in pain.

    To his side Chloe was trading blows in a furious exchange.Skills were blurring together as she refused to give ground, trimming the club to kindling as she battered the monster into the cement.

    Santi bit back a curse as a fist came in a wide loop as the satyr refused to die even as its innards fell from its stomach. The wide smile he had cut in the satyr¡¯s stomach had been done when he glanced at Chloe. The satyr had tried to take advantage of the distraction and had paid the price.

    He let the blow land on his shoulder and grimaced instantly at the mistake. His counter strike took the monster¡¯s head, but that fist had hurt. He rolled his shoulder a few times and stepped over the dead body to interdict the second monster before it could reach Chloe. She was winning her fight fairly handedly, but he didn¡¯t trust her to win the two on one.

    The three heavy fighters were in the back, the two hunters standing next to the singer as the singer continued to play its lute. Santi was getting close to working through the defenses, they were more of a blanket cast over the fighters rather than a true shield. Santi bent back at the waist allowing the club to sail by his face as he slashed the scout across the leg.

    Flesh and bone parted as the goatman staggered back. Santi lunged as it backed up, stabbing it through the neck. With a twist he removed the blade and half the beast''s neck. Santi took another look at Chloe and nodded to himself as she stood her ground and had the higher level monster on its last legs.

    ¡°Follow behind!¡± Santi yelled as he rushed forward. Something was telling him it was the wrong move, that with the power the singer was using to protect the others was dangerous to him. He was a mage after all, not being able to cast spells on his enemies was a problem.

    He couldn¡¯t be bothered to care. The hunt was in his mind, his blood humming with endorphins and darker energy. The thrill of the blood in the air had him attacking without hesitation, leaping and twisting like a top as a tendril of the morph blade wrapped itself around him.

    The razor wire was stopped in its track, verdant green energy protecting the hunters hand held scythe. The hunter¡¯s smile blossomed into something feral as its arms blurred. Thicker green energy condensed around it as it attacked with ferocity. Santi met it blow for blow, his own crazed smile matching its smile.

    ¡°Left!¡± Chloe screamed, piercing the haze around him as he changed the morph blade. Clefts appeared in the blade, twisted metal catching the scythe and holding it still as Chloe descended like the grim reaper. Her axe was glowing as it came down like a meteor.

    A second scythe appeared, catching the axe in an explosion of light as Chloe¡¯s skills tested the defenses of the singer''s magic. The magic won. Chloe rebounded backward as the second hunter crowded her. Chloe¡¯s body flashed to metal, but the scythe still peeled a strip of metal free in a shriek. Chloe bit back a scream as she kneed the goat in the stomach, the blow sounding like a hammer hitting flesh.

    Santi finally felt his spell slide by the defense.

 Ch. 3.16 And Plants!

    16.

    [Air Current] was his weakest, but most versatile skill. He finally wormed his way around the hunter¡¯s defenses, finding a pin gap where the thick magic lacked the strength to repel his power. Santi was forced to dodge the curved edge of a scythe as he focused his strength, pouring mana into his skill as he contested the higher ranking singer.

    He won.

    There was a sudden silence as the lute cracked audibly, the power Santi had funneled at the satyr¡¯s magic shattering the focal point of the casting. The singer bleated in surprise and pain, backing up quickly and beginning to hum loudly almost instantly. The magic had unraveled the moment silence had fallen and Santi hadn¡¯t waited a moment to start the end game of the fight.

    [Gust] swept his own opponent back, throwing the heavy satyr off its hooves and toward the singer. The singer¡¯s tune was quickly broken as it leapt over its defender¡¯s body. Santi lunged toward Chloe¡¯s opponent, morph changing into a lance as he stabbed at the goats lower back. The satyr spun with a quickness that shocked him, the scythe knocking aside the lance¡¯s point.

    Chloe¡¯s axe bit into where the shoulder meets the neck in a spray of blood. The satyr screamed in agony as she ripped and tore the wicked axe head out. Santi felt the warm blood spray across his face. He licked at his lips even as he finished the wounded creature, stabbing it through its chest.

    The ding of the kill notification was a distant sound as he spun around to face the second hunter. It had gotten back to its feet in the second or so it had taken for Chloe and Santi to kill its companion. It¡¯s bestial features were controted with rage as the hand held scythe split the air all around him. Each of the blows rang out, his arm growing numb from the heavy blows.

    Chloe came to the side, her axe aimed at a knee. Blood was running from her arm where the other hunter had stripped a piece of flesh free. The satyr spun, targeted leg straight out in a vicious kick that caught her in the stomach. Santi lengthened the blade and slid it along the monster¡¯s forearm, splitting flesh like paper. It screamed and caught its balance, blade arm going limp as Santi snapped his wrist upward. Blood geysered out as the satyr¡¯s head fell free from its body.

    The singer was running, trying to escape with what little time its two protectors had given it. [Air Shield] cut off its retreat while Santi raced toward it. He wasn¡¯t going to let his prey escape, not now while it was on its last legs. The satyr bounced off the shield and spun, a long wooden dagger being produced from somewhere. Santi lifted the morph as it transformed into an executioner''s axe and reared back.

    The singer stabbed itself in the throat. Santi froze, puzzlement and alarm breaking the hold the curse had on him. He watched as the monster''s blood flowed like a river down its throat, matting the beast''s hair as it plummeted toward the earth. Its black eyes met his own for a moment and triumph shone through them even as it slowly fell to the ground.

    ¡°Santi, what the fuck was that?¡± Chloe asked as she jogged over to him, both of them staring down at the dead satyr.

    ¡°No idea, but probably nothing good.¡± Santi cocked his head and then reached down to pry the wooden dagger free of the satyr¡¯s neck. The dark wood was drenched in blood but the moment he pulled it free the blood absorbed into the dagger like it had never been there.

    Sacrificial Dagger

    Used in magical rituals, the dagger can aid in the transition of life to magic

    ¡°Have I ever told you how much I detest these descriptions?¡± Santi asked Chloe.

    ¡°Nope. That description is only kinda useful. I guess it used itself to do some type of magic?¡±

    ¡°Sacrificed itself to do something.¡±

    ¡°But what?¡± Chloe pondered as she looted the two dead hunters. The scythe daggers they had been using were sturdy Acolyte grade weapons and those were rare enough nobody would be leaving them to waste.

    ¡°Nothing good. Satyr¡¯s magic is normally nature based or music magic. Who the fuck knows what¡¯s coming. Let¡¯s get back to the camp and try to get them ready.¡±

    ¡°If this is going to be the threat level for everything coming for us, they won¡¯t be helpful at all.¡±

    ¡°These were just the fastest who weren¡¯t in the immediate vicinity. This could be the peak of them.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Not with our luck. Santi, I don¡¯t think I could have handled one of those hunters by myself. They were too fast and strong. I could take the hits, but I couldn¡¯t land any of my own without your help.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m here then. We keep working together and we¡¯ll be fine. We just have to hold out till the rest of the team gets here and then we¡¯ll be good.¡±

    ¡°It is a good thing you¡¯re here. I still need to get stronger though. I can¡¯t be relying on you to carry me in these sorts of fights.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°More training with Grimvr then. And levels. That¡¯s all we can do. Put in the effort and reap the rewards.¡±

    ¡°Did you just use the word reap because they had scythes?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± Santi smiled at her, breaking the tension as she rolled her eyes. He still saw the tick at the corner of her mouth as she fought back her own smile. They broke away from the still bodies of the dead satyrs and headed up the overpass and back toward the town.

    They got to the top and looked down upon chaos. The hundred, if not thousands, of small trees and plants had come alive. Chlorophyll green spirits slashed and attacked as the survivors tried to hold themselves up. Frank was barking orders as his sword, a strip mall looking katana, wreathed in orange flames cut a bush in half. The spirit surrounding the bush screamed into the air and evaporated leaving only the burning bush behind.

    ¡°That didn¡¯t take long. They look weak though.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re small. Look for anything bigger, mature trees or those tall ass privacy shrubs.¡± Santi was scanning the small downtown region even for any threat as he looked down at the monsters.

    Neophyte Dryad lvl. 17

    (Enraged)

    ¡°Enraged? I haven¡¯t seen that.¡±

    ¡°That singer kinda fucked us over. Look there¡¯s a palm tree,¡± Santi said, nudging Chloe as they watched the long tree walk forward, fronds swaying. The ephemeral shape of the dryad was more formed around it. It had a fully formed body with emerald tresses that swayed in rhythm with the fronds.

    Juvenile Dryad lvl. 43

    (Enraged)

    ¡°You can handle that one yourself?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I can handle it. Why aren¡¯t you interested in it?¡±

    ¡°Look that way,¡± Santi said, pointing out what he¡¯d spied sneaking closer.

    ¡°Shit. Guess they weren¡¯t alone. Can you hold them till I finish the tree off?¡±

    ¡°Got to do it. Finish it quickly and you can come and save me.¡±

    ¡°I get to play the hero? Well can¡¯t let you down then. Get cracking,¡± Chloe shoved him with a shoulder and flashed a smile that had hints of concern in it. She raced down toward the melee, trying to interdict the palm tree dryad before it reached the group of fighters.

    Santi followed after her, peeling off to the side towards the trio of satyrs sneaking their way toward the pillar. They couldn¡¯t take it from him by touching it, they needed to kill him or force him to leave the area around it to claim it for themselves. Once it was confirmed his, then the only way they¡¯d get it was by prying it from his cold dead fingers.

    The three monsters didn¡¯t know that. They were getting close to the pillar using the distraction caused by the original singer''s sacrifice. Santi was racing down toward them without a thought, his blood already humming in anticipation again. The curse was rather insidious, Santi could understand how the others had been lost in the curse.

    Satyr Hunter lvl. 50

    Satyr Hunter lvl. 52

    Satyr Singer lvl. 54

    Weaker than the previous squad of satyrs, but he was alone this time. It would be a challenge, all three of them higher than him, but he had plenty of advantages of his own. He sped up, muscles bunching tight to explode thunderously as he shot towards them. The two hunters looked up in time to meet him, their flashing blades rising up to attempt disemboweling strikes.

    He swept aside both of them like they were nothing before him, his blade smacking both of the daggers to the side as he landed in a crouch right between the satyr hunters. The singer was lifting its lute to its lips, ready to start playing as Santi cast [Crosscurrent-Orb] right at his feet. [Air Shield] and [Air Manipulation] tamed the wind around him as the two hunters were lifted from their hooves and tossed away like leaves. The singer met his gaze with wild, fear filled eyes. Santi struck once, morph blade drinking deeply from the rich blood of the powerful monster.

    Santi watched as the life faded from its wide eyes, letting it slump to the ground as the two hunters began to work their way back to him. Without their protections though, they were vulnerable. [Gust] picked the one on the right up and threw it through the remnants of a wall of a former fast food restaurant. He turned to the left one and stood there, waiting as the satyr charged him.

    It swung horizontally, razor sharp tip aiming for his throat. He stepped back and let the scythe pass him. He stepped back toward the monster in the open space left by the wide attack. A gauntlet formed over his hand and he slammed it into the satyr¡¯s gut. Spikes erupted from the gauntlet and blood coated his arm as Santi kept his eyes locked with the hunters.

    He saw as the rage was replaced with fear. With uncertainty and then acceptance. The satyr headbutted at him, [Air Shield] cast inches from his own face to stop those wicked horns from hitting his vulnerable nose. He jerked his arm upward, spikes tearing flesh away as he ripped and tore.

    He used his free hand to toss the dying satyr to the ground and spun around as he felt as the other hunter entered his range. Santi caught the descending blow and tossed it to the side with a twist of his hips and wrenching his arm. The tip of the scythe dagger cut into the asphalt with ease. Santi stomped down on the fragile ankle joint and felt a jolt of joy when he heard bone break.

    The hunter didn¡¯t make a sound as it tried to headbutt him. Santi grabbed its horns and jerked it toward him, making it walk on the broken ankle. It finally screamed as the leg buckled and it fell to a knee. The horns were rough in his palms as Santi jerked its head viciously to the side. The gratifying crack of bone was highlighted by a ding of a kill notification as he let the limp hunter fall to the ground.

    Bloodlust Upgraded

    Infection of Bloodlust

    (Minor)

    Strength becomes you. Blood fuels you.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± Santi hissed staring at the alert. He looked down at himself and saw himself. From neck to shoes he was coated in satyr blood. Thick and tacky with the heady iron scent surrounding him. Every twitch of his body alerted him to the strength running through his muscles, the heady feeling of power that suffused him.

    ¡°Close to ten percent. Maybe a bit more, maybe twelve,¡± Santi muttered aloud, trying to put a number to the curse''s power increase. It was hefty, that was sure. Strong as the coat he had earned. Enough to let him snap a monster''s neck with ease. He was strong for a mage but he wasn¡¯t that strong. He could have gotten it, but not that easy.

    He looked over to the gurgling hunter still holding on to life. The dryads were still rampaging around him, all avoiding him. Chloe¡¯s axe was flashing, bursts of light as she used skills to prune the tree monster. He looked down at the dying satyr and finished it with a thought.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a long fucking day,¡± Santi said with a sigh.

 Ch. 3.17 Wind Storm

    17.

    ¡°How you doing, Chloe?¡± Santi asked as he jumped back, avoiding a crashing knot of roots and earth. Dirt scattered everywhere as the improvised maul exploded in a spray. Loose shards of razor sharp roots sprayed out in a shrapnel blast that Santi was forced to use [Air Shield] to prevent the attack from shredding him.

    The dryad rustled in annoyance, its canopy shaking and releasing a rain of green walnuts to the ground. The morph blade pruned a thick limb that sent a primary branch to the ground in a loud crash. He was forced to the side, further away from Chloe, as another wild wave of magic sharpened branches sliced apart the space he had just occupied.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Got the perfect weapon for this!¡± Chloe barked, a hint of laughter in her voice. Santi risked a look over toward her and saw her covered in bark, sap, and shredded shrubbery. She had been a force of nature in dealing with the forces of nature.

    ¡°Are the others still alive?¡± Santi asked, his vision blocked by the dryad that had inhabited the walnut tree.

    ¡°Most of them!¡±

    Santi mimicked her weapon, turning his long sword into a wide axe and he stopped dodging and began to attack. The fight with the ent was so long ago that it felt like a different life, but the memories were there. He started near the base and worked his way up. The dryad died with a few swift and powerful blows, the weak Acolyte monster dying with little fanfare.

    ¡°How many of these things are there?¡± Maya panted out in exhaustion. The fist fighter was wreathed in small cuts and abrasions as her skill enforced fists punched apart a medium sized lime tree.

    ¡°How many plants or trees were in the city?¡± Santi retorted.The entire downtown region, which hadn¡¯t been in the best of shape to begin with, was looking rather wretched. The entire area was filled with shredded shrubbery and broken trees.

    ¡°FUCK!¡± Maya snarled as she exerted herself. Power surged around her and her red fists cracked the sapling in half, blowing it apart in a shower of splinters.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s fun and easy so far!¡± Chloe said, stifling laughter as she knocked down another tree. With the satyrs dead, nothing had come that could realistically challenge them. They were simply too strong, fast, and durable for the weak dryads to kill them. The amount of the dryads were concerning though.

    Neither Santi or Chloe were strong and fast enough to protect all of their new citizens. The huddled masses had been hustled into the guts of the partially destroyed store and now all the strongest fighters, barring Maya and Frank, were standing guard.

    ¡°Retreat back to the store!¡± Santi ordered. He slashed apart a rhododendron and moved his head to the side to let rose thorns the size of his fingers fly by him. [Gust] cleared the area around him and the others, giving them a clear path towards the store. Maya and Frank ran without word, both of them tired and bloody, while Chloe took her time, slashing apart anything that got too close to them. There was finally a break in the fighting that allowed him to breathe and think.

    That hunting party of satyrs wouldn¡¯t have been it. There was likely more to them and there should be stronger dryads around the small town. Ancient trees that needed something more powerful for them to awaken. If there were more singers, and they were using the first one¡¯s sacrifice as a distraction, then there were likely more out there working on awakening more powerful nature spirits.

    He needed to go and find them, but he needed to get everyone safe before that and cutting apart every overgrown plant one at a time wasn¡¯t working out. Frank and Maya got past the lines of guards and slumped down right past them while Chloe simply took up her place in the line near the center.

    ¡°Is everyone here?¡± Santi asked Zeke. The boy looked about and shrugged.

    ¡°I think so? People are missing, but they might be gone. We had to hurry everyone over here when the fucking plants came to life.¡±

    ¡°Good enough. Everyone, stay inside the shelter of the store.¡±

    ¡°Santi, what are you doing?¡± Chloe asked, more curious than concerned. Her forearm had stopped bleeding and for most of the fight she had taken no wounds from the weaker monsters.

    ¡°Being a real mage,¡± Santi said with a flash of a smile. With a quick run and jump he scaled the side of the building, fingers grabbing the cracks in the broken wall with ease to haul himself up.

    Turning slowly he looked down at the world below him. Now that they had retreated the army of plants were marching in step to surround the store. A wall of vegetation that surrounded the entire block, rustling and shaking, branches whipping the air as they closed in on the thin line of defenders. He scanned them quickly while he mentally prepared himself. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Not a single Acolyte level monster in the horde, all of them having been trimmed back by Santi and Chloe. He still remembered the [Night Hag], the circle around her as blows fell like rain until she had fallen to the much weaker crowd. Chloe was laughing and shrugging it off, but there was danger here.

    He reached into himself, drawing on the mana that filled his body and began to draw it forth. Just like manipulating spell forms, supercharging them was something else that could be done with enough time and practice. The spell forms were like a template, you activated if you had the required resources the spell would work. A year or two into the integration people had started to play around with spells and skills by pushing more into them.

    It went beyond strengthening the spell like he did with [Air Manipulation]. Santi took a deep breath as he began to cast. The familiar feel of [Gust] came to mind, the howling gale kept tame only by his iron will as he began to feed it more and more mana. Pressure built in his body, straining him at the seams as he watched below as his allies held the line.

    A few moments melded into minutes. Blood ran from his nose and ears, distant wetness that he could hardly pay attention to as the entirety of his world had shrunk down to the forest that had filled the area in front of the store. [Gust] was there, aching to be released, but it had grown into a tempest, a shape of unimaginable strength, held back only by Sant¡¯s strength.

    He coughed, blood spraying out of his mouth as he finally released the mutated spell. It was like a balloon popping inside of him as he deflated, his knees buckling as he hardly caught himself on the ledge in time to prevent himself from face planting. The air pressure changed as the world warped, winds that drowned out the world as they were summoned.

    The dryads dug their roots into the earth, sliding through the cracks in the concrete and asphalt to anchor themselves. It saved them for a split second as the earth below and in front of Santiago was scoured clean. Chunks of road, sidewalk, buildings, and dryads were all picked up and flung away as if by the hand of god.

    Six seconds the storm lasted, a gale of such ferocity that Santi watched as buildings were shaken and broken apart, thrown away and out of town limits. As it ended, the winds disappeared like they had never been there, nothing remained of the dryads.

    Hundreds of kill notifications began to rattle through Santi¡¯s skull as he chuckled weakly at the destruction wrought before him. His strength was gone, the effects of the curse fleeing as he depleted himself in the attempt at saving themselves from a death of a half million cuts.

    ¡°Santi? You alive up there?¡± Chloe called to him, her voice filled with awe.

    ¡°Barely,¡± Santi managed to croak out.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming up!¡± Chloe followed her words moments later by crawling up the side of the building and landing in a crouch. She raised her eyebrows at him laying there, propped up against the wall.

    ¡°That took a bit out of me.¡± Santi could already feel mana beginning to flow through him again, thin as a mountain stream at the heights of summer. In a few minutes he¡¯d be able to be functional, but it had taken more out of him that he thought it would.

    ¡°So, didn¡¯t know you had that in you,¡± Chloe said as she stood and looked down over the ruins of the town. Santi looked over at the area and had to shrug weakly.

    ¡°Lot of those buildings were already structurally compromised.¡±

    ¡°Ohhh, is that how you¡¯re going to play it? I¡¯m not strong enough to wipe away a third of a town¡¯s downtown region unless it¡¯s already structurally weakened?¡±

    ¡°I mean, it was.¡±

    ¡°Doth protest too much, I believe. This was impressive Santiago. Terrifying, but impressive. I can guess you needed that build up time to get the spell off? You can¡¯t just do it off the cuff?¡±

    ¡°Takes a few minutes for me to get the power behind it. Only became possible the last few levels when my mana stats were high enough to be worth it. Won¡¯t be doing this again for a while, I feel very wrung out.¡±

    ¡°I can see that,¡± Chloe reached into a pocket and pulled out a stained piece of cloth. She bent over and wiped at his face and ears, wiping away the blood with a faint concerned frown on her face.

    ¡°Is that the same piece of scrap fabric you use to clean your axe?¡± Santi asked as she leaned back, shoving the scrap back into her pocket.

    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s the cleanest thing I have right now and you looked like death warmed over. If you¡¯d gone down to them looking like that you would have started a panic. They¡¯re impressed and scared because of what you just did. You come down looking like you were bleeding out of your eyes and they¡¯ll start thinking maybe you aren¡¯t invincible and they don¡¯t have to listen to you.¡±

    ¡°Heavy is the crown,¡± Santi offered her a weak smile and then his hand. She gripped his hand with a hearty smack and heaved, pulling him up so he could stare at the destruction he had wreaked.

    ¡°There might be more of the satyrs around. Trying to awaken the bigger and older vegetation around here. We need to find them. Go and ask Frank if there¡¯s any old growth, parks, anything like that while I catch my breath. If there is, we¡¯ll have to go and see if we can stop them from awakening those dryads.¡±

    ¡°You got it. Will you be strong enough to get into a fight with more of those satyrs?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be as strong as I need to be. Got a couple levels and I¡¯m going to assign those points. Ohh, and an achievement. Maybe I¡¯ll have something nice to add to the collection.¡±

    ¡°The collection that you always leave at home?¡±

    ¡°Mom will bring it up. Didn¡¯t think this trip warranted my full war regalia for a small den.¡±

    ¡°Proper prior planning prevents poor performances.¡±

    ¡°What are you, a motivational poster?¡±

    ¡°Shut the fuck up,¡± Chloe said, throwing her head back and laughing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go ask Frank, you assign your levels. I got some too, we gear up, catch our breaths and then clear this town of the goats before more monsters show up.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think anything will be coming from that direction,¡± Santi said, waving his hand in the direction he had directed his spell. He had thrown enough debris that way with enough force that it would have required strong Acolyte level monsters to survive.

    ¡°Hana better be dragging them back here. That was a little thorny there for a moment,¡± Chloe said. There was a hint of mischief in her eyes as she swung a leg over the ledge.

    ¡°Thorny? That¡¯s what you went with? Poor punning is unacceptable,¡± Santi said, rolling his eyes as he smiled at her. She simply laughed as she jumped down to talk to Frank. Santi stared at the ruin he had wrought and then brought up his stat sheet. The day wasn¡¯t over yet.

 Ch. 3.18 Breather

    18.

    Santiago V. Silva

    Air Mage lvl. 45

    Strength: 37 (72)

    Durability: 40 (75)

    Stamina: 40 (75)

    Dexterity: 37 (72)

    Vitality: 40 (75)

    Perception: 35 (70)

    Intelligence: 105 (140)

    Mana: 140 (175)

    Willpower: 108 (143)

    Potential: 99%

    Santi looked at the big block of text that composed his stats and had to fight back a smile. They were growing at a quick rate, especially his primary stats. He had only leveled twice in the last six weeks and had used the free points on boosting his physical stats. With the newest level he had put the points toward willpower, the curse was getting the best of him and he needed every spare iota of power he could to battle it.

    From a pure stats point he didn¡¯t think there was anyone who could match him. With the extra thirty-five points over the nine attributes he had three hundred and fifteen extra points. His class was strong, but close enough to average that fourteen stat points per level weren¡¯t an outlier. From pure numbers he had an extra twenty-two levels on anyone who faced him.

    Which led him to his biggest problem as he stared at the list of spells in front of him. The majority of his stats were locked into his mental and mana stats. Stats that were directly tied toward his spellcasting. His spells which weren¡¯t currently directly lethal. He could twist them, overcharge them, or use them to help control the battlefield. His most powerful directly combat oriented spell, [Crosscurrent-Orb] wasn¡¯t a heavy hitter though. It was good in crowds of weaker monsters, but anything durable and it was useless.

    He had his future plans, tempting spell forms that he could use to create powerful spells when combined. Right now though, he was squandering a huge amount of his battle potential by waiting. The enemies coming from them were stronger and stronger, the bear they had fought and killed would have been a brutal fight by himself. He needed something that could punch and put what he punched down right then and there.

    So he browsed the list of spells available to him. Even as an [Air Mage] he had access to spells outside of his affinity. The penalty for using them would be a huge mana sink in comparison to his current spell forms. [Fireball] was classic and could be combined with [Gust] to make raging conflagrations. How many [Fireballs] could he cast before he burned through even his own deep mana pools?

    So he kept looking. If he focused only on basic spells he could get three. Or if he really wanted to spend he could get one common spell. Santi had needs though. His speed was good for a mage, but fighting against Duncan had been frustrating as he couldn¡¯t reposition fast enough. If not for his boosted stats Duncan would have ran circles around him and left him a bleeding mess.

    [Wind Step] cured that.

    Wind Step: An explosive burst of air to propel yourself

    It was a good way to counter the quicker moving scouts and assassins that would be coming. He needed firepower now and only had two slots free leaving him fairly limited of choices.

    Wind Blade: A concentrated narrow band of air, it slices like steel

    He¡¯s had something similar though more powerful in the last timeline. [Razor Wind] had cut through monsters and men alike with ease. It¡¯s weaker, younger sibling was going to be his bread and butter for now. The final spell slot he left open, he would soon have the Pillar of Civilization and with that would be the ability to upgrade spells. He would need the open space for when he boosted up one of his base spells.

    Achievement: Spell Manipulator

    Reward: Loot Box (Lesser)

    Achievement: Peacemaker

    Reward: Loot Box (Lesser)

    Achievement: First to Claim

    Reward: Loot Box (Common) This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Spell manipulator was for his work with [Air Current] and now [Gust]. The wooden box was quickly ripped open and the rack of mana potions set off to the side as the box disappeared. Santi kept his eyes locked on the silver box, afraid as if it would disappear. Common grade loot boxes had been good to him and he wanted to see what it was, but the anxiety of waiting as he ripped open the peacemaker box was pleasant.

    Peacemaker was probably for getting the two factions in the town to stop killing each other. In addition to his own work at home, it was just like spell manipulator in that it had been a cumulative reward. The wooden coins he dumped on the ground were nice, especially with the pillar soon to be open for business, but then he was grabbing the heavy silver lid and sliding it free.

    A blood red circlet sat in the silver chest. Thin with a trio of spikes rising up from it, capped in glittering obsidian. Santi reached down with trembling hands as he pulled the circlet free and ran [Identify] on it.

    Circlet of Lords

    (Upgradeable)

    5% Increase to all stats.

    Another upgradeable item. That by itself made it nearly priceless. If it¡¯s base mode as a five percent increase to his stats then he could only imagine what would happen when he managed to upgrade it. How to upgrade it was a good question, but Santi had a suspicion that he had to acquire more Pillars of Civilization and extend his territory.

    Donning it, he felt it stretch out wide as it settled on his head. For a moment there was peace as he turned his head this way and that to feel how the circlet moved. Then it burned and pain wracked through his head, he could feel blood rolling down his skull as he reached to grab and tear the circlet free. Then it was over, fast as it had begun, the thin trickles of blood leaving stains down his cheeks the only sign that violence had occurred.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Santi muttered as he ran his hand over the cool metal that was now welded into his head. He tugged at it and felt skin starting to pull and decided to leave the circlet where it was for now. The silver loot box had disappeared while he had been occupied and now he was standing by himself, and the pile of wooden coins and mana potions, waiting for Chloe to come back.

    Santi grabbed a single mana potion and pulled the stopper out of it. That empty feeling inside of him had slackened somewhat, but he wasn¡¯t there yet. He drank the potion in two quick chugs and started to shiver as the icy potion ran down his throat. The taste of mint exploded on his tongue and he felt the sudden surge of mana racing through his body. He still wasn¡¯t fully recovered, but he was closer to full than he was half full.

    He¡¯d leave the rest of the potions up here for now. He cursed not having a better way of moving the fragile bottles around. Once the pillar was up and he could buy directly from the marketplace, but the cost of the potions had been high in his last life. He didn¡¯t want to be wasting money on having broken bottles in his pockets as he ran around fighting.

    ¡°Hey, you ready?¡± Chloe shouted up at him, not bothering to scale the side of the building. Santi left the pile of money and potions and hopped over the side to land next to her lightly. He kept his newfound spells to himself, he trusted her, but he didn¡¯t know who was around. Duncan had managed to sneak up on him and he didn¡¯t want the sneaky bastard to know he had chosen more spells. The element of surprise was what was going to allow him to kill the Apostate.

    After they dealt with Mercy.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t know you were into headwear. Not exactly your color though.¡± Chloe was looking at the circlet, her eyes a mix of curious and greedy.

    ¡°You take what you can get. Plus side to taking over the pillar, gives me a nice boost. Need the help with this damn curse, it¡¯s more insidious than I had thought.¡±

    ¡°You underestimated something? No, that can¡¯t be right,¡± Chloe said sarcastically.

    ¡°What? I appropriately guess how dangerous things are.¡±

    ¡°No you don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Am I alive?¡±

    ¡°Somehow,¡± Chloe said, her smile was still there as they walked away from Frank, Maya, and Zeke. Santi hoped they wouldn¡¯t revert back to their natural state of murderous rage with each other. He had just earned a nice achievement for keeping them from killing each other.

    ¡°See, if I¡¯m alive and almost everything else is dead, then I¡¯m a good guestimater in danger levels.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a real word.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t flee to technicalities because I¡¯ve disproved your point.¡±

    ¡°You like this, don¡¯t you? The verbal sparring?¡±

    ¡°Normally it¡¯s fun. With this curse, it¡¯s pushing me to all sorts of confrontations. It¡¯s good practice for me to keep it nice and playful with you.¡±

    ¡°So, I¡¯m just practice?¡±

    ¡°I think this is where I wave the white flag.¡± Santi shot her a quick grin as she led them further away from the ravaged downtown and toward the housing areas that Santi had gone through to find Zeke.

    ¡°Where are we going anyway?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Frank said there¡¯s only one park worth noting that has any type of trees. The rest are all small and are full of kid toys, not a lot of vegetation. This park was apparently built around a tree. An old, big ass tree.¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s satyrs still alive and running around, I can bet they¡¯re going there then.¡±

    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t attack us straight up? Or go in with the dryads?¡±

    ¡°If we killed the strongest of them in that first skirmish, no. They¡¯ll try to even the playing field. They¡¯re smarter than the monsters we fought back at home. Likely has to do with them being higher level.¡±

    ¡°Are we going to have to worry about that more often you think? Smarter monsters? Have them planning ambushes and making alliances like the goblins and hags?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Which is why we¡¯re making alliances and training and planning. At the end of the day we are, or will be, stronger than them. As long as we can keep from fighting with each other, then we have a chance of reclaiming our world for ourselves.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine our world anymore. It¡¯s a dream and every day I wake up in this nightmare. But¡­I like parts of it. I¡¯m strong now, stronger than anything I could have dreamed of before. When we¡¯re all together, I like that. The feeling of togetherness, we¡¯ve all been through it and we can just understand each other. Before this, I don¡¯t know, I just felt like I couldn¡¯t connect easily. Now all of us have something in common at least.¡± Chloe fell silent afterward, a tinge of red on her cheeks.

    ¡°Brotherhood. Siblinghood. It¡¯s what you read about from soldiers. The camaraderie. We¡¯re going through the absolute worst thing ever, but we¡¯re all standing together. I would never wish for this to happen again, but we¡¯re all together now and I wouldn¡¯t want that to go away.¡±

    ¡°Shit, we¡¯re right next to the park. We can pick this up when we¡¯re on our date.¡±

    ¡°Little heavy for a first date. Figured I¡¯d ask what your favorite color was or movie.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know my favorite color?¡±

    ¡°Oh hey, look, it¡¯s a giant tree monster.¡±

 Ch. 3.19 Old Growth

    19.

    Mature Dryad lvl. 68

    (Dormant)

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can fight that,¡± Chloe said as she looked up at the giant oak tree. An ephemeral spirit was trying to force its way out of the bark, the limbs shaking violently as the dryad stirred from its sleep.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to agree with you on that. Let¡¯s kill the goats before they wake up the tree.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a weird sentence.¡±

    ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it. Together or split up?¡±

    ¡°Split up. I¡¯ll take the two on the right and you get the three on the left?¡± Chloe suggested.

    The two on the right were both weaker singers, only in the low forties. The three on the right had a level fifty-three hunter standing silently as its two charges, both high forties singers, did their work. Chloe would be able to burn through both of the singers if she could catch them off guard.

    The hunter on the other hand was alert, dark eyes scanning the field around the towering tree, long conical ears twitching back and forth as it kept all its senses alert for anyone. Chloe was good, she had great equipment, but the level disparity was too much. Santi rolled his head, feeling his neck crack as he nodded his assent to the plan.

    The distance between the corner of the block they were on and the middle of the park was two hundred yards or so. There was a slight valley that led to a soccer field that went back up towards the small hill that the giant tree sat on. They¡¯d have to cross the street, down into the valleyl and across the entire soccer field to get to the five satyrs.

    The distance between the two small groups was negligible. Chloe wouldn¡¯t have much room to maneuver in her own fight unless she strayed toward his own battle. Santi wasn¡¯t worried about the two singers she¡¯d be fighting, but he didn¡¯t want to get pincered in the fight. The hunter was too strong for him to focus on all five opponents.

    ¡°On three?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Three!¡± Chloe yelled, bursting from cover in a hard sprint. Her powerful physical stats showed as she was just a dark streak as she headed toward her targets. Santi didn¡¯t let her quick burst of speed take him off guard, he was right on her hip, racing for all he was worth even as the hunter turned to look at them.

    [Gust] smashed the hunter and its two singers, pushing them backward as their hooves tore furrows into the earth as they fought to hold their ground. The hunter¡¯s sickle blade came out from a sash it wore around its waist as it lowered its head, bellowing a screeching warcry as the spell faded and allowed the monster to charge him. The two singers turned back to the tree, their music picking up its pace as they hurried to complete the awakening of the powerful dryad.

    Santi and Chloe flew down the slope of the hill, hitting the soccer field and crossing it in the blink of an eye. The ground was dry and hard packed, giving Santi firm footing as he dug deep, rocketing up the hill in a single bounding step. The crest of the hill came up and he was inundated with an angry goat, its sickle dagger coming down and across to sever his throat.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Santi shouted, the morph blade barely turning the dagger away from him as the heavier monster hit him in the stomach with its shoulder. Physics won out and Santi¡¯s momentum was reversed, him and the hunter falling back down the hill while Chloe headed toward her targets.

    His back hit the earth and he was able to wedge his foot up and into the satyr¡¯s gut, pushing up and shoving the monster backward, toward the street they had come from. The heavy hunter was sent sailing even as Santi continued to roll backward, the explosive kick adding to his backward momentum.

    Santi stabbed the morph blade into the earth and slowed himself as he got his feet back under him and stood upright on the soccer field. The hunter had already regained its feet and was launching itself down toward him with its evil looking scythe flashing in the sunlight. The glint of light twisted and stabbed as the hunter directed the gleam at Santi¡¯s eyes. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Blinking suddenly teary eyes, Santi lashed at knee height with a whip, feeling out where the goat was with his spell forms. The satyr leapt over the tendril whip and landed with ease. Right as [Crosscurrent-Orb] detonated. Earth and dried grass was shredded in a blast of power, the satyr picked and flung to Santi¡¯s right. Dust rolled out as the dry dirt spread out in a haze, Santi racing through it without hesitation as the hunter rolled and came upright.

    Both of their visions obscured, Santi relied on his spells while the satyr used its superior hearing, sensitive ears twitching constantly as it caught every whish of displaced air as Santi wielded the morph blade as a longsword, trying his best to cut down the higher ranked monster quickly. Chloe was by herself against four singers and he couldn¡¯t spend time slowly whittling down his only opponent.

    The scythe¡¯s tip caught the edge of his blade and twisted, forcing him to strike the ground as a furry fist came flying at his face. Santi jerked his head to the side as hard as stone knuckles scraped across his jaw. The morph weapon turned to liquid and freed itself, forming up and over his fist into a thick spiked gauntlet.

    Santi punched the goat in the side, bones crunching as he pulverized the satyr¡¯s rib cage. The monster screamed in pain as Santi twisted his arm, ripping the spikes free in a spurt of warm blood. His free hand reached up and grabbed the goat¡¯s horns, the smooth texture warm under his palm as he brought the taller satyr down to his eye level.

    Pain blossomed through his leg as the satyr slashed him, but he was beyond that at the moment. Adrenaline was coursing through him as he reared back and hit again and again, mulching the satyr¡¯s left side. The monster¡¯s hot breath washed over Santi¡¯s face as it screamed, pain and rage intermingling as it tried to gore him through the eyes with its horns.

    His offhand strained as he kept the powerful monster from killing him while a smile spread across his face. He kept hitting the beast, anything that he could reach while the monster slashed wildly at him, scraping off his metal breastplate in showers of sparks. Twice more the blade found flesh, slicing deep on the outside of his leg.

    ¡°Come on, you have more! Fight me!¡± Santi screamed, his heart was racing as the curse surged through his body. Power was infusing him as he twisted the satyr¡¯s head sideways and forced it to its knees. He rained blows down on it without hesitation, smashing bone and pulping flesh until the ding of the kill notification sunk through his killing haze.

    He let the hunter fall dead as he shot up the hill, the wounds not slowing him as he continued to hunt for more opponents. Santi willed himself to force the red haze in his vision down. Chloe was fighting two singers at the same time, both of them dodging and twisting as she slowly whittled them down. Neither had any physical weapons, relying on their sharp hooves and wicked horns as they tried to avoid Chloe¡¯s deadly black axe.

    The other two were singing and dancing, their music a discordant harmony that raked at his soul. It seemed to be pissing off the dryad too, making it struggle fiercer and fiercer as it struggled to work itself out of the confines of the tree and into the waking world.

    He attacked, morph piercing the closest one¡¯s skull like a balloon. He twisted his wrist and ripped it free of the satyr¡¯s skull as he lept over its falling body to slay the second singer before it could fully comprehend his arrival. The horrible sounds faded, lingering in the air for a few moments even with the death of the singers.

    Santi spun and watched as Chloe finally landed a deadly blow. Eviscerating a singer that was just a bit too slow to back up. She shoulder checked it as it was bowed over and closed in on the final singer who had decided to try to flee. While fleet of hoof, it took a second too long to turn and Chloe¡¯s axe was buried in between its shoulder blades as she rode it to the ground. With another brutal strike she took its head and gave a mercy blow to the first singer she had gutted.

    ¡°You good?¡± Chloe called over, standing over the headless corpse of the satyr. Santi was busy watching the tall oak tree to see if it was going to wake up or not. The thick chlorophyll green spirit had been strengthening in density the entire time they were fighting and now it had stopped, frozen partially freed of the tree.

    ¡°Yeah. Had a moment, but I¡¯m okay now.¡±

    ¡°No homicidal urges?¡±

    ¡°No more than usual.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Chloe chirped and came away from the dead corpse to stand next to him, her shoulders relaxed as she stared up at the entombed dryad.

    ¡°Could we kill it and harvest the experience?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Probably not. The system doesn¡¯t seem to give us freebies so far. Probably wake it up the moment we hit it and it decides to kick our ass.¡±

    ¡°So, we don¡¯t touch it and just leave it sitting here. Like an unexploded bomb?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Let¡¯s get back to the others and get ready for anyone else who decides to come and challenge me for the pillar.¡±

 Stub Announcement

    I am thrilled to announce that I will be stubbing on December 20th thanks to the awesome work of my publishing team Shadow Light Press, who have helped clean up my novel to an amazing degree, made the amazing artwork, and are handling this launch along with so many other small details that I could never imagine. I will have a link soonish and will post that for anyone who wishes to support me by buying the book. I will continue to post on Royal Road and look forward to finishing Santi''s story with all of you. Book 1 is through chapter 59.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

 Ch. 3.20 Apostate 5

    20.

    Naomi blocked the heavy swing of the minotaur¡¯s club, her sword hitting the magically hardened wood with a clear ting, rattling her hands as she pushed back the monster¡¯s attack to the ground. All around her was chaos as her team fought back against the tribe of juvenile minotaurs. Alan stood toe to toe with the only mature minotaur to take the field. The bull headed monster was landing bone shattering blows with every swing, Alan¡¯s body deforming and bursting apart with each strike.

    His body reformed as fast as it was torn apart. For every blow that landed, Alan hit the beast three to four times, his bare knuckles a blur of blood as he punched the monster. Aura was slowly gathering around him, a red-purple ugly bruise of power that was slowly rolling up his body with every strike. His hands and forearms were coated in the aura so thickly that Naomi couldn¡¯t see through it to his hands.

    Naomi was forced back to her fight as the minotaur lowered its head and tried to charge, yellowed horns still covered in sticky red-black gore attempting to skewer her. She struck its head with her circular shield, the sharp edge flaying flesh and cutting to bone as she tossed the seven foot monster to the ground.

    As it flew by her, she slashed with her longsword, hamstringing the monster as it landed on the ground. It mooed in rage as she walked and got atop of it, heavy boots pinning its arm as it tried to rise. She lifted her sword perpendicular to the ground, point down, and severed the spine with a single thrust downward.

    Now free of the annoying monster she looked back to watch as Alan did his gristly work. In the time she had looked away, the aura had crept to his biceps. Each of his blows punches landed with cataclysmic force now, rocking the nine foot tall minotaur backwards with every strike.

    The minotaur was beginning to look panicked as Alan refused to die. Blood burst from its bovine lips as Alan stuck hard, bone breaking in the minotaur¡¯s chest. It staggered, roared in rage, and then brought around its large club in a massive overhand strike. Alan punched up, aura swirling around him so thickly it was like a blanket. The aura condensed around his fist and when it connected there was a burst of power as the club shattered apart like cheap glass.

    The minotaur stood stunned for a second as Alan began to start the process all over again. His first punch was weak, just his regular strength that the minotaur hardly noticed. The  next, only a half second behind it, was slightly stronger. Naomi watched as Alan launched a flurry of jabs, each strike growing his strength as he stole from the minotaur.

    She quickly went to help one of her people, a processor named Aida, who was trying to run away from another juvenile minotaur. She stepped in the charging monster''s path, catching a crushing blow with her shield while she stabbed upward with her longsword. The creature¡¯s rush forced itself onto the sword, sharp steel parting flesh and muscle as she twisted and tore the blade free, ending the minotaur¡¯s life.

    Aida was panting hard, her oversized pack dwarfing the small woman. Her emerald eyes were filled with fear as she looked around her, shrinking into Naomi¡¯s shadow as survivors of the fight started flocking to her.

    ¡°TO ME!¡± Naomi roared, lifting her sword over her head as she tried to rally those of her party still alive. They had set out days ago with nearly forty people, much more than she had been planning on going with. There were simply too many people who had wanted to go and too many objectives to achieve with just a small war-party. Now nearly a third of them were laying on the ground, still forever.

    Her fighters were mostly fine, one or two having fallen in the surprise of the ambush. It was her gatherers and processors who had taken the worst of the losses. They had managed to collect plenty of rare ingredients and build caches on their way here that would be useful later. Now they would have to build cairns for the dead. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    Everyone drifted to her while watching Alan¡¯s duel. It was devolving from a closely contested contest of strength and endurance into just a beating. The minotaur refused to back away, but Alan was overwhelming it with every passing moment. Each blow collected more of that ugly aura around him until, as the minotaur began to sway on its feet, he struck with a single hook and the aura condensed down to explode in a burst of power that disintegrated the minotaur¡¯s head.

    Silence fell over the deserted town center. There was a den around here somewhere, likely with a few more minotaurs lurking around, but for now it was peaceful. Alan stepped away from the dead cow, shaking his hands out as if they were asleep. His gaze was still sharp, lucid, no trace of madness on his face.

    ¡°Alan? You good to hunt?¡± Naomi asked him. They were closing in on his hometown, only a day or two away at their current pace, but he had yet to turn down a chance at hunting down monster dens.

    ¡°Yeah. You coming with?¡±

    ¡°No. I need to stay here and set up camp. Lucas, Gio, Darnell, and Monica, go with Alan and clear the den. Bring back whatever we need here. Aida, I want you to start securing everything from the fallen. Anything that we can use and need or be repaired. We¡¯ll secure a cache here. Josie, you and two others, start grabbing anything burnable and start building pyres.¡±

    Everyone got to work as she took the remaining fighters and spread them out in a loose perimeter. She had sent her top fighters, aside from herself, to go with Alan. Those who remained were fresh Acolytes with little higher end fighting experience. They were rattled, the speed and ferocity of the minotaurs had taken them off guard and they were reacting badly to how quickly they had lost friends.

    She went to each of them, checking on them, touching a shoulder or arm, trying to ground them. She told them they had done well, that they were good warriors. She judged each of them silently, none of them were going to ascend past peak Acolyte. They lacked the strength of will, the iron conviction to keep pushing past all normal boundaries. They would still be valuable. They could contribute and add to the community she was building and thus they were worth the time she invested in them.

    It took over an hour for Alan to come back with all of her fighters still alive. He held a pair of minotaur horns, silver and gleaming with power, one in each hand. The team she had sent with him looked at him with a mix of awe and fear. His clothes were little more than blood soaked rags that hung off of him, offering little shielding from roaming eyes.

    ¡°Alan? Do you want some clothes?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, oh yes, that¡¯d be helpful. Seems it¡¯s a bit drafty.¡± He looked around expectantly, a small smile on his face.

    ¡°That was terrible. Leave the horns with Aida and get some fresh clothes. We¡¯re going to burn the bodies and get a move on.¡±

    ¡°Damn, how many did we lose?¡± Alan asked. He looked at the corpses with a hint of sadness in his gaze. The dead had been gathered and pulled onto hastily built pyres of broken apart wood and soaked in gasoline.

    ¡°Seven dead. Mostly from support staff, but Benny died saving Conrad and Bethany.¡±

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Their conversation was interrupted as the system alert of the pillars flashed before Naomi¡¯s eyes. Columns of fire entered the atmosphere, the sonic booms of the shattering sound barrier a constant crash against their ears as people fell to the ground, covering their ears and yelling as the Pillar of Civilization¡¯s arrival acted as an assault upon the world.

    Naomi stood her ground, weathering out the assault as everyone else collapsed to the ground. She had the highest physical stats of everyone and even this was a war upon her senses that she struggled to withstand. As fast as it came, it ended.

    Echoes of the entrance still rumbled across the world, but the painful attack was over. Naomi scanned the area, looking hard for any sign of a close-by pillar. She had been waiting for this before their expedition had set off, finally giving in to Alan¡¯s requests when they hadn¡¯t arrived soon enough.

    Now they had landed in her lap while she was away from her base of power and lacking the man power needed to hold one. She looked around at the others clustered about, read the looks on their faces as they slowly got to their feet. Alan looked about, a mix of irritation and concern on his face.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to have to get one of those, Alan,¡± Naomi said. She wasn¡¯t going to yield the possibility of gathering the resources of a single pillar if she could avoid it.

    ¡°There¡¯s a plume of smoke coming from the direction of home. Two birds, one stone,¡± Alan offered the suggestion.

    ¡°It will slow us down. Might take us longer to find your son.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s survived this long, he¡¯ll last a few more days. You say we need it, then we need it.¡±

 Ch. 3.21 Besieged

    21.

    The moon¡¯s light gave Santi enough illumination as he pulled the spike free of his leg. Cursing bitterly he looked at the mutated porcupine that he had just put down. Dead mutated animals littered the edge of the city, drawn in by the power of the Pillar of Civilization. No other monsters had arrived yet, but it had still been enough to push him and Chloe to the near breaking point.

    A huge condor lay in broken pieces off to his left, Chloe slumped next to it breathing hard as she clutched at her shredded left arm. Her blood looked black in the dim light and Santi limped over to her, exhausted from the marathon fighting. Even his monstrous mana stores were running low, having burned through another two of the mana potions he had earned.

    Chloe was in even worse shape, often having to back out of fights to recover before she could help him deal with the worst surges. The mutated mammals hadn¡¯t been terrible, but the ants had nearly killed them. Scores of the low level Acolyte ants had nearly overran them, the two of them forced to overexert themselves to push them back.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Santi offered her  a smile as he let his knees fold as he fell next to her. He gently grabbed at her torn up arm, turning it this way and that as he looked at the deep furrows the condor had inflicted on her.

    ¡°How you doing?¡± Chloe asked, exhaustion and pain robbing her voice of any of its normal joviality.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t been consumed by an all consuming bloodlust that makes me a raging monster. Yet.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the yet part.¡±

    ¡°For me, it¡¯s the you bleeding out part. Let¡¯s get you back to the others. Get some bandages on this. The others should be here soon enough.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been saying that for hours.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll eventually be right.¡± Santi grabbed her under her arms and pulled her up, ignoring the grunt of pain as he leveraged her good arm over his shoulder so she could lean on him. She never set down her axe as he led her toward the repurposed store.  Chloe just grunted as they continued over to the store.

    Maya, Frank, and Zeke were standing there, watching them come in with concerned expressions. Or maybe they were looking at shadows, the light was weak enough and without the evolution they¡¯d have a hard time peering through the darkness. With enough stats to their perception they¡¯d probably be able to see the two of them.

    ¡°MEDIC!¡± Santi barked. Movement came behind the three leaders and a pair of people Santi hadn¡¯t talked to yet came running out, scooping Chloe up and leading her off towards the store. She waved at him weakly with her axe still in hand and he leaned up against a wall to talk to the three leaders.

    ¡°That was the last of them. Got a few more hours to go.¡±

    ¡°Wish we could be of help. Everything coming this way is overleveled. Didn¡¯t expect so many Acolyte monsters were around,¡± Maya said. She actually did sound disappointed that she couldn¡¯t fight. Zeke simply shrugged, not sad at all in the fact he wasn¡¯t out there in the fray. Frank was placid, calm in the face of the chaos, alert for any trouble that could come his way.

    ¡°These are just the survivors. I would be willing to bet that outside of the town limits is a bloodbath as all the mutated animals and monsters are fighting to get towards the pillar. When the pillar is finished calling everything towards us there will be some good harvesting to do. Hopefully Hana brings enough people to get it done right. Can¡¯t have all this food going to waste.¡±

    ¡°I miss pizza,¡± Frank said suddenly.

    ¡°I¡¯d murder for a pint of ice cream. Literally murder,¡± Maya threw in her two cents.

    ¡°You¡¯ve murdered for less,¡± Zeke hissed under his breath as he looked off to the side. Everyone ignored him.

    ¡°You¡¯re bleeding.¡±

    ¡°I noticed. It was a porcupine.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they herbivores?¡± Zeke asked, looking back at them from his spot against the wall.

    ¡°Yeah, it didn¡¯t try to eat me. Just stabbed me with its quills. Big ass quills.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s even worse. At least a carnivore is trying to eat you. That porcupine just fucked you up for no reason.¡±

    ¡°It didn¡¯t fuck me up. It just stabbed me a little,¡± Santi defended himself as he lowered himself to the ground.

    ¡°Regardless. I¡¯ll go and see if there¡¯s any bandages around.¡± Zeke fled from the group without hesitation.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think he likes us,¡± Maya said straight-faced.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to agree with that statement. Killing his friends didn¡¯t ingratiate yourself to him.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s probably my bad,¡± Maya said with a shrug.

    ¡°Probably?¡± Frank and Santi asked at the same time.

    ¡°Definitely my bad.¡± They all sank into silence as Santi strained his hearing to hear if anyone or anything else was pushing toward the store. He could hear the breathing of the survivors in the store, but nothing else. Just a warm summer night breeze blowing across the town.

    Zeke came back with a bunch of boiled cloth squares that he handed to Santi. Santi rolled down his pants and wedged the squares on his blood slick thigh. They wouldn¡¯t be of much help, but something was better than nothing.

    ¡°How¡¯s Chloe?¡±

    ¡°Tough as hell. Wasn¡¯t making a sound as they cleaned her up.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Chloe. She¡¯s going to be something special.¡±

    ¡°When are your other friends coming?¡± Zeke asked.

    ¡°Should have been here by now. Any minute.¡±

    ¡°You have a lot of faith in them,¡± Frank commented.

    ¡°I trained them. It¡¯s going to be rough out there. I doubt that they¡¯ll be able to get to us without a hell of a fight.¡±

    ¡°Think there¡¯s really that many monsters and animals out there?¡±

    Santi could feel it. The blood splashed on the thirsty ground. Torn flesh and dying hearts. The curse surged in his veins, pushing, wanting to go out there into the night and revel in the violence of it all.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Santi looked about, feeling a stir in the shadows. Either Duncan or Daniel. Daniel would try to sneak up on him and scare him through. Not alert him of his presence by being clumsy just in range of his spell forms, but not in range of his morph weapon.

    ¡°You all go in the store. There¡¯s someone very dangerous here,¡± Santi told them as he got to his feet.

    ¡°No need for that Santiago. I¡¯m not their enemy.¡± Duncan walked out of the dark like it was a pre-integration summer night and that the town wasn¡¯t surrounded by hordes of fighting and dying monsters.

    ¡°You¡¯re all of humanity''s enemy, traitor.¡±

    ¡°Harsh words from a dictator. My actions aren¡¯t for personal gain, but in service of something more.¡±

    ¡°All of you, get inside of the store. Now, please.¡± Santi felt the others walk back into the guts of the store, Zeke looking interested in staying while Frank just tugged Maya along.

    ¡°I think you have either the greatest eye for talent in the world or the most luck I¡¯ve ever seen. The woman and boy will both be monsters if you can keep them alive and growing.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing here, Duncan? Miss me already?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy killing you when this is over. But, to honor the spirit of our tentative agreement, Mercy¡¯s people are fighting yours a few miles outside of the town.¡±

    ¡°Casualties?¡±

    ¡°Many. Most of them the cursed. You have trained your people decently and the dwarves are a massive boon. Their weapons and armor and golems are decimating their ranks. The problem is several of their strongest have broken free and are racing here.¡±

    ¡°Acolytes?¡±

    ¡°Yes. All of them forties plus. And fueled by a curse. They¡¯re carving their way through the wall of flesh that¡¯s outside of the town. I can¡¯t have you dying yet. Need you alive to help me kill Mercy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re here to help me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a bit slow. Yes. I am here to help you. My people will fall on the horde of the cursed that are occupying your people. I only have a few scouting teams around, but they¡¯re good. It should be enough to clean them out of the area. Once the cursed are killed, they have orders to retreat back to our staging area. You and I will kill the Acolytes on their way here.¡±

    ¡°And you won¡¯t ram a dagger in my back because you need me to help kill the curse holder.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I won¡¯t stab you in the back again because I need you. Once she¡¯s dead and the curse is broken, we can go back to killing each other.¡±

    ¡°How many are coming?¡±

    ¡°Five at minimum. Maybe seven. It¡¯s very chaotic right now. That pillar is like a beacon to anything and everything out there right now. It was a struggle for me to make it into the town. Your little scout tried but was rebuffed. Repeatedly.¡± There was an edge of smugness to his voice.

    ¡°You have a decade of experience on him. Why are you proud of doing what he can¡¯t. It¡¯s like taking candy from a baby.¡±

    ¡°Spoilsport.¡±

    ¡°What direction are they coming from?¡± Duncan simply waved in the same direction that Santi, Hana, and Chloe had come from.

    ¡°I stand in front and draw all the attention and you stab them in the back?¡± Santi asked. It was a simple and easy plan that could work out decently.

    ¡°Works for me. Your girl going to be ok back there? Her arm didn¡¯t look good when you came in.¡±

    ¡°How long have you been watching us?¡± Santi asked, suddenly suspicious of the assassin. How soon was it till the wave of cursed Acolytes got here if Duncan could snoop around and spy for the better part of a quarter hour.

    ¡°Get better at sensing me. Basically had to wave a flag for you to notice me. Nice crown by the way, really helps with the dictator image you have going.¡±

    ¡°How has nobody killed you yet? You¡¯re annoying as fuck.¡±

    ¡°Plenty have tried. Now, are you in condition to do this? You''re looking a little tired.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I can handle my end. They can be here any minute you said. I don¡¯t want this fight happening where there can be collateral damage.¡±

    ¡°After you,¡± Duncan said with a thin smile, waving his one arm into the darkness.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not happening. You can go first and I¡¯ll follow behind.¡±

    ¡°How can I trust you? You¡¯re just as likely to stab me in the back as I am you?

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to stab you in the back to kick your ass.¡±

    Duncan fell silent for a moment and then glanced down at his missing arm. His faint smile faded and an ice cold certainty filled his face.

    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t, did you. I¡¯ll get my pound of flesh for that, don¡¯t think you¡¯ll get away with taking my arm. After.¡±

    ¡°After.¡± Santi agreed.

 Ch. 3.22 Unlikely Alliances

    22.

    Santi followed behind Duncan as the two men left the false safety of the others. Only Chloe would have been of any help and she was laid up with her arm ravaged and her energy exhausted from the fight. Santi quietly pulled another mana potion out of the pockets of his torn up pants and sipped it down slowly. The cool mint taste had become a raging, icy, fire that ravaged his throat.

    It did stir his mana though and he could feel himself regenerating slightly faster than he had been. He was still in rough shape when it came to a pure casting standpoint, but then again, he hadn¡¯t been purely relying on his mage skills since this initialization had started.

    The morph weapon on his wrist was a limp wire that radiated happiness. It had drank deeply tonight, consuming blood and potential in equal measure as they cut their way through the horde of monsters and mutated animals that had fought their way through the slaughter happening on the outskirts. Even as they walked closer to the edge of the ruined downtown, Santi could hear the fighting.

    Animal screams of pain and rage and the thunderous boom of high ranking monsters locking horns with one another. All over the power that Santi was claiming for himself. It was a heady feeling, that they wanted what he had. His chest puffed out and his tired body found a bit of energy to get him to walk with the hint of the old spring in his step.

    Santi couldn¡¯t tell if it was the curse, feeding him a bit of energy as it felt the carnage all around him. Or his own ego, small and battered as it had been, rising to the occasion. Between the slight boost and the mana potion he almost felt human again.

    They made it to the edge of the downtown region, Duncan not saying a word as he began to meld into the shadows off on the side. Santi instantly alerted as the assassin began to do his thing, Santi¡¯s instincts not allowing him to relax as the killer tried to hide.

    ¡°Where you going?¡± Santi spat out as the morph blade became his trusted saber.

    ¡°I¡¯m not exactly a stand in front of someone and punch them in the face type of fighter. I do my best work quietly and unseen. You¡¯ll have to stand there and keep their attention.¡±

    ¡°So I stand here and get punched in the face?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re slow, then yes.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you. Can¡¯t wait.¡± Duncan looked towards Santi and smiled viciously.

    ¡°The minute Mercy is dropped, you and me are going to war again.¡±

    ¡°Promises, promises,¡± Santi taunted back as his heart began to beat harder.

    ¡°They¡¯re coming down the road right now. You hold their attention, I¡¯ll finish them off.¡± With that, Duncan completely disappeared from sight and Santi¡¯s other senses. Santi wanted to bite back a curse as Duncan dipped, but he let the words stream out anyway.

    ¡°Getting sick of dickheads always disappearing like that.¡±  Santi looked toward the edge of the town and waited. Duncan had been right, it didn¡¯t take long before the cursed Acolytes came out of the dark. Six figures, drenched in blood, some limping, walked slowly toward him. Santi stood straight and unafraid as the curse in his body stirred, resonating with the more powerful curses that the Acolytes had.

    ¡°Brother!¡± the lead shouted, his voice a thunderous boom across the night. He swaggered forward, half a stumble as if he was drunk. The pale light of the stars showed him dripping wetly as he lifted a heavy spiked maul to his shoulder. Santi ignored the attempt at fraternity and simply raised his saber to shoulder level, aimed at the cursed Acolyte.

    ¡°So be it, you will not be the first who has met their end at my hand. I will crush you and take the Pillar for myself.¡±

    Cursed Barbarian lvl. 44

    (Blood Thirst)

    ¡°Oh, fuck, he¡¯s kinda high leveled,¡± Santi muttered to himself even as the man lunged into action. His powerful stats allowed him to move in nothing more than a blur, the spiked cudgel hissing through the air as he directed it toward him. Santi swung his saber and met the cudgel in a blast of force. The cudgel didn¡¯t yield, steel scraped on whatever it was the morph blade was, as Santi was forced back.

    A System granted weapon then. High quality, but not a growth weapon like the morph blade. A hazy red aura appeared over the man and his blows picked up speed, Santi struggling to match the man¡¯s physical stats. An aura skill, or an enhancing skill, nothing that he wanted to match in pure physical stats. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Santi jumped backward and allowed the cudgel to sail by him, to crack asphalt into powder in a spray of chunks. He reversed his momentum and lunged upward, knee leading the way as his knee hit the barbarian¡¯s chin. Bone cracked and the barbarian staggered backward while Santi was forced to catch a long spear strike with his saber, turning the broad head away from his ribs as the second of the cursed came at him.

    Cursed Spearmen lvl. 41

    (Blood Thirst)

    ¡°Fuck off, I¡¯m busy!¡± Santi snarled at the spearmen, irritated that his duel had been interrupted. He slashed three times as fast as he could while the barbarian was still reeling from having his jaw broken.

    The spear holder was able to catch each blow, speeding up as his spear tip caught the morph blade and shoved them to the side like nothing. Santi was rapidly reaching the levels where even his titles wouldn¡¯t let him compete directly physically with physical fighters. It was why he had spells.

    [Crosscurrent-Orb] detonated in a massive explosion, tossing the barbarian backward before the barbarian could get close to him again. Santi dropped to a crouch as a skill activated, a cool blue light surrounding the spear as it suddenly triple thrust over his head fast enough that after images were left behind.

    The saber lengthened and cut across the leading quadriceps of the spearman¡¯s leg, parting flesh like paper. The lean spearman smiled and howled in a mix of pain and pleasure, stumbling as his leg collapsed underneath him. Santi leapt backward as two more of the cursed came chasing after him. A burst of fire rolling over him, kept at bay only by his [Air Current], the flames flicking at the edge of his skin.

    ¡°Anytime Duncan,¡± Santi spat, dodging a rock that was hurled at him, air cracking as the golden glowing rock flashed by.

    Four Acolyte warriors were homed in on him, their skills flashing and burning as Santi pushed himself to the fullest of his abilities to simply stay alive. His morph blade was an amorphous blur, changing to meet every attack as Santi ran backwards, circling around to keep the four fighters from overwhelming him.

    Santi nearly missed Duncan entering the fight. The assassin simply stepped into being, his knife tearing apart a throat in silence, skills at play. The furthest cursed warrior, some type of healer, died without making a sound. The others were too lost in their own battle to notice the least of them dying.

    Santi stabbed down and caught the barbarian¡¯s foot, splitting the foot in half as he twisted and ducked to dodge a spear strike. Flame spitted the air around him, burning at the spearman as the fire mage began to act wild. There was chaos in the air, joy in the fight, the thrill of death being only a misstep away. Even as blood began to soak their clothes as Santi cut them, they were growing faster and more wild.

    A laugh started to rattle around in Santi¡¯s chest as he ducked and slashed, severing a few fingers from the barbarians off hand. The bigger man simply roared, never slowing as more and more skills came out to contest Santi.

    Duncan killed the next one, an archer who was dancing around the edges of the fight, not lost to the siren¡¯s call of his curse. A shadow clone emerged from one side, causing the archer to jerk away and fire his bow into the shadow. The shadow fell apart even as the archer¡¯s lunge carried him onto Duncan''s knife. None of Santi¡¯s opponents noticed the second death.

    He pushed off hard, taking a grazing wound along his ribs from the spear user as he crossed the distance toward the rock thrower. The long lanky woman¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as Santi cut apart a wall of flame, emerging from the other side slightly singed. He speared her through the chest, cracking apart ribs like they were dry branches as she died without making a sound.

    He kicked her limp body away, his body straining as he was forced to spin and knock aside the next cudgel blow. The spiked cudgel hit and tore into the ground while the spear user lunged, crossing more ground than possible as he used another skill.

    [Gust] pushed the spear away from him and the spearman flew past in a blur. Santi redoubled his attack on the barbarian, slicing away skin and slivers of cudgel with every blow as the fire mage circled around them, trying to get a clean shot on him. Santi stuck close to the barbarian, using his weapon¡¯s superiority to keep the huge man from overwhelming him.

    He spun the blade around into a shield, swatting the cudgel away, and turning into a knife to slash along the barbarian¡¯s arm. Blood was spilling, filling the air with its iron scent, warm on his skin as he kept cutting and slicing, tearing apart the barbarian as power surged through his body.

    Heat exploded over him, his senses hardly reacting in time as he cast [Air Shield] to stop the fireball from consuming him. The barbarian wasn¡¯t as lucky. His skin blackened and burned away, hair disintegrating even as he screamed, cudgel going from blue-black to red-orange.

    Santi leapt away from the barbarian and toward the maniacally grinning mage. The man was lost in the madness of the fight, fire streaming off his fists in waves as he lifted his hand to punch at Santi. Santi cut the man¡¯s hands off, the morph blade not bothered at all by the fire magic.

    He reversed the strike and relieved the mage of his head. Santi looked back in time to watch Duncan appear to finish off the barbarian with a single strike. The spearman was running back toward him as fast as possible, but Santi had his feet set and his heart was sure. He moved with ease, stepping forward and toward the man as the spear flashed past him. Santi sliced hard, taking the man¡¯s head without hesitation.

    As fast as it had started it was over. He had killed three of them and Duncan had claimed three. The levels were waiting for him, ready to claim his new stat points in a moment.

    ¡°We¡¯re done here. You¡¯re fairly effective. Pity I¡¯m going to have to kill you.¡± Duncan was down the street from him, not willing to be within striking range of Santi. Santi couldn¡¯t blame him.

    ¡°Go now, or we can finish what we started weeks ago. When I¡¯ve gathered my people, then we can discuss finishing Mercy.¡±

    ¡°And how will I know?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be spying on me, like you always do.¡±

    ¡°See ya around then, Santiago. Try not to die till I can kill you.¡±

 Ch. 3.23 The Toll

    23.

    They came two hours after dawn. Cameron led them through the ruins of the city outskirts, his armor dinged and bloody. His shield was a battered wreck that he let hang by his knees as he trudged at the front of the group. The rest came behind him in a ragged line, all of Santi¡¯s friends and family still alive. A heavy weight left his shoulders as he saw them all, Tank, Bianca, Daniel, and Hana. Yessenia was walking in the center, her massive golem drenched in gore, by her side.

    Grimvr and Torin were next, Mom between them looking blankly about her. Behind her trailed twenty or more people, all of them looking worse for the wear. Rayleigh had a group of her own people that clustered around her, seeking her stubborn strength after the tribulation they had just endured.

    Chloe leaned against him, more in exhaustion than in any type of affection. After he had finished off the Acolytes, more and more monsters had come. Chloe had come out of the store, tired but willing. She had killed her fair share before the waves had finally broken, thirty minutes before dawn.

    They had rested, sitting next to each other and waiting to see who would be coming out of the frenzy outside. Santi didn¡¯t know how large of a group had originally come, who had answered his call, but he was staring at a battered and exhausted group. He could only imagine who had been left in muddy ground.

    ¡°Cam! Good to see you. Tank, you have any juice left in the tank? Me and Chloe are torn up,¡± Santi said to them as they walked up to him. His wounds were half healed, coagulated messes that had drenched his clothes and were now tacky and stuck to his skin.

    ¡°Santi. This had better been worth it. There is enough dead left behind us to fill a cemetery,¡± Tank¡¯s voice was dead and flat. Exhaustion shot through his body as he staggered up to them. Santi pulled a mana potion free, his second to last one from the box he had earned, and handed it to the medic.

    Tank didn¡¯t even hesitate as he grabbed the potion and drank it down in a single swig. He went to Chloe first and started to do his work while Santi headed toward Cam and Bianca. The rest of the war party was breaking apart, collapsing into the street or against a wall, spent to their last.

    Bianca leaned against Cam who still stood tall. Mom marched toward them in a clatter of metal, her once pristine armor dented and battered. Torin stayed next to her, his hammer held easily in his hand, still dripping his opponent¡¯s blood. Grimvr stuck with Yessenia as they marched straight into the grocery store without looking at him.

    ¡°Are you guys ok?¡± Santi whispered to his best friend and older sister.

    ¡°Fuck no, Santi. That¡­that was horrible,¡± Bianca whispered towards him, seeming to draw strength from leaning against Cameron.

    ¡°Santi. It was a nightmare. That shit. That shit, man,¡± Cam swayed and Santi reached out to grab him and by proxy his sister. The three formed a tripod for a moment, helping each other stay upright. Cam got his legs back under him and Santi lead them to a partial wall and they all sank down. Mom and Torin followed after, but didn¡¯t crowd them.

    ¡°It was just a wall of flesh and blood and teeth, Santi. There were so many of them, they just kept coming and coming and coming. Then there were the other people. The cursed. They were worse. They laughed and howled when we cut them, they didn¡¯t care no badly how we hurt them. They only stopped when they died,¡± Bianca whispered, curling into Cam.

    ¡°How many were there?¡±

    ¡°Fuck man, who could tell? There were lots of them, dozens, fuck maybe a hundred. Most were weak, sub twenty-five, but there was maybe three or four who were strong as us. Me and Bianca got one of them and Grimvr, Daniel, Hana, and your Mom got another. Torin killed one and Yessesnia¡¯s golem got another,¡± Cam cut in. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°We need an accurate count. That scout we snagged said their camp numbered in the hundreds if not thousands, but they had roughly a hundred Acolytes. Six made it into the town and you got four. That¡¯s ten percent of their Acolytes right there. Then the ones we got on the coast. They¡¯re thinning down.¡±

    ¡°Santi, we lost a lot of good people. We can¡¯t afford another victory like that,¡± Cam interjected.

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Tank said as he came leading Chloe over. Chloe slumped to the ground while Tank leaned over, resting a warm hand on Santi¡¯s shoulder as spells started to work on him.

    ¡°Then we need to be smarter. They outnumber us and can absorb losses we can¡¯t afford. Where¡¯s Daniel?¡± Santi asked, looking around.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go get him,¡± Mom said, breaking off to go find the elusive scout.

    They all settled down to wait as Santi thought feverishly. His mind was in a thick fog, tired and drained of all energy, but he could feel things connecting. Dots connected together as he thought of how to solve his problems.The variables were sliding together, the pillar, the beatles, missing scouts, his sisters class.

    Daniel came up, walking slowly and without hurry as Hana trailed behind him. Mom was nowhere to be seen and Torin frowned when he failed to spot her. He turned and marched off without a word while Daniel sank into a crouch across from him.

    ¡°You called?¡±

    ¡°The scouts you lost to the beatles. Where were they? From here.¡±

    ¡°Little North and East. Maybe thirty miles.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where we¡¯re going then. Let everyone catch their breath, any who are still able to fight will move toward where we lost the scouts. Me, Chloe, and Daniel will go find Keegan. Those who are too hurt to fight will lead the community here back to Homebase. Everyone else will go to where the scout base was wiped out.¡±

    ¡°What are you planning, Santi?¡± Chloe asked sleepily next to him.

    ¡°We have too many enemies and not enough allies. But, Duncan told me he didn¡¯t kill that base and I believe him. Which means there¡¯s a high level bug nest close to that town. We¡¯re going to make a trap and we¡¯re going to endure. Yesi¡¯s going to need a lot of supplies and we have plenty of ingredients sitting right outside the town limits moldering right now.¡±

    ¡°Who the fuck is Duncan?¡± Cam asked. Santi ignored him for the moment as he continued to come up with a plan on the fly.

    ¡°Someone go and grab Yesi. Her grimoire will have the ingredient lists she needs to make something special. I¡¯ll pay anyone who goes out there and works collecting five wooden coins and open up the market to them immediately when I finish claiming the pillar.¡±

    ¡°Are coins really worth that much?¡± someone muttered. They definitely were, but only Santi and the dwarves knew that. The wealth his Mom and Dad had acquired while running their little restaurant was impressive. It¡¯d be more than enough to pay back Torin for his time and work, if he would accept it.

    ¡°How soon till it¡¯s yours?¡± Chloe muttered.

    ¡°Later today. We will have it set up before we move out of here.¡±

    ¡°I need a nap,¡± Chloe declared, closing her eyes and falling asleep nearly instantly.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting off track. So, we¡¯re going to lure everyone up there and somehow lure a bunch of high ranking bugs into the fight and just hope we get out of it ok?¡± Bianca asked.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be more than just hoping it goes ok. We¡¯ll work it out, but Yesi is going to play a big part. We just need to find her the right ingredients and a good power source.¡± Santi¡¯s mind flashed back a particular rift heart that had been stolen from him. One that hadn¡¯t been used for the earlier ritual that Duncan and his faction had planned.

    ¡°There¡¯s plenty of ingredients, but where are we going to get a power source? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any rifts around here for us to take.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re good now, Santi. I don¡¯t have anything left in the tank anyway,¡± Tank said, as he stepped away from Santi. The healing had been more subtle than a healing potion, but it still felt good.

    ¡°Did you just make a pun off of your nickname?¡± Santi said with a chuckle so weak it barely passed his lips.

    ¡°Yes. Laughter is the best medicine. What we need, all of us, is some sleep. We¡¯re all burnt out and at the edge of our abilities. Need to heal up and prep for tonight. Doctor¡¯s orders.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t ignore the doctor. Someone gather up the community members from here and have them do the harvesting. Five awake and on watch, the rest sleeping.¡± Santi¡¯s orders were met with a wave of nods and acceptance as everyone staggered to their feet and headed toward the burnt out store that Frank and Zeke¡¯s factions were set up in.

    Santi had a moment of isolation as everyone left, only Chloe, slumped against the wall next to him snoring softly, his only company. He had a long line of notifications he had to scroll through, but his eyelids were drooping shut and he was struggling to stay awake.

    With a groan of effort he got up, his knees weak and wobbly as he scooped up Chloe. She hardly stirred against him as he started off toward the store. He had a tentative plan, he had the pillar, and he had enemies. His allies were with him, now all he had to do was execute the plan.

 Ch. 3.24 Options

    24.

    Santi stared up at the pillar in the midday light. He watched as the seconds counted down the last few seconds as the pillar unlocked and he could fully utilize it. The stench was truly becoming something else, the hundreds of corpses littering the perimeter of the town had a phenomenal stench that had Santi wrinkling his nose.

    Frank and Zeke¡¯s people were out there in that charnel house, gathering up supplies under Yessenia and Grimvr¡¯s watchful eyes. Santi didn¡¯t know how they had convinced Yessenia to go outside, but someone had done it. Now a pile of grisly remains were being piled up around her, all of which she looked at dispassionately.

    Santi was worried about that blank look in her eyes. The way she seemed to be just walking though the world in a daze. Fear and anxiety were all that broke through that daze and Santi didn¡¯t know how to fix it. That familiar rage at Abraham burned up hot and fast in his gut.

    Mom and Torin were cleaning their armor. The older dwarf showed Mom the proper maintenance needed for her armor and weapons. Mom took to it with the single minded determination that she had been exhibiting since Dad had died.

    Killed. Since Dad had been killed. Santi looked away from them and back towards the pillar as the countdown ended.

    Congratulations, you¡¯re still alive!

    Now the Owner of 1 Pillar of Civilization

    You have 1 Free Move for this Pillar

    There were more of course, walls of text that Santi scrolled through that described the minutiae of what he could do with the pillar. Even with his high intelligence allowing him to process information at superhuman speeds, it took him the better part of a half hour to read it all.

    Everything was there that he expected. The wealth of options a pillar gave its owner was well known, but there were a few caveats he hadn¡¯t known about. He would have to adjust some of his plans, but for now everything could work short term. Santi dismissed the Owner¡¯s Manual and entered into the menu section for the first time.

    Owner¡¯s Menu

    Market Place

    Map

    Survey

    Taxes

    Santi locked his eye on the map tab and clicked it. A topographical map sprung up in his vision, the pillar and everyone else disappearing. The map was topographical, the valleys and hills of craggy Northern California easy to read for a twenty mile circumference. Santi didn¡¯t need to know the lay of the land, for the map didn¡¯t reveal any of the towns or settlements, just the geography of the area.

    And little blips that showed people who had the System. Santi saw the cluster of blips all around him, the scattered line right outside of town of the scavengers. He even saw one or two hiding about inside the town, either survivors from that death cult or people shirking work.

    He saw the watcher who was outside of town. He clicked the blip with his mind and a small screen popped up.

    Scout lvl. 31

    That was the only information the pillar offered him. The scout was either one of Duncan¡¯s or Mercy¡¯s. He needed both of them to know what he was doing, so he left the scout alone for now. Santi wished the pillar allowed him to see names of people, but class and level had to be good enough for now.

    He pulled up the market menu and frowned when he saw so few options. None were of much interest to him currently, most of them having to do with settling a region. Once he had the pillar back at Homebase, then he could fully utilize things like irrigation lines and purifying ponds and enriched topsoil. There were survey probes which cost ten wooden coins each. Most of Santi¡¯s horde was back home, but he had enough to buy three of them. Santi felt the weight of the coins disappear from his pocket as the pillar absorbed them.

    The map dissolved and he was back in front of the pillar as  three circular, purple glass orbs appeared in front of him. He had to reach out and snag them before they hit the ground, the heavy weight of them taking him off guard for a moment. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Oh shit, what¡¯d you buy moneybags?¡± Cam asked him and Bianca came strolling up to him hand in hand. Some of their swagger was back after getting a few hours of sleep and scrubbing the blood off of themselves. Cam¡¯s shield was dented but the scraps of flesh and blood had been washed off and he looked presentable enough. Bianca macuahuitl hung from her hip, clean of any detritus, and she had found spare clothes somewhere and managed to tame her hair.

    ¡°Probes.¡±

    ¡°For a first date?¡±

    ¡°Survey probes for the area, dick,¡± Santi said trying to hide his smile as Bianca shoved Cam with her shoulder, absolutely not moving him at all.

    ¡°What, he¡¯s been weird lately. I just wanted to check,¡± Cam defended himself while Chloe looked at him with an arched eyebrow, not deigning to respond.

    ¡°Yo, DANIEL!¡± Santi hollered, looking around for the sneaky scout.

    Daniel and Hana poked their heads out from around the corner. Santi jerked his head, telling them to get over here. Each of the probes were cool and glassy, but the weight was enough that it was irritating to hold.

    ¡°Toys for us?¡± Daniel asked as they got closer.

    ¡°We all know you heard us talking. Yes, they are for you. You and Hana each get one, take them out through the town. I want to see how accurate they are with recording data. Cam, want to take the third and go the other way?¡±

    ¡°Why me?¡±

    ¡°Because your jokes suck.¡±

    ¡°It was funny.¡±

    Everyone looked at him and silence fell over them all. Cam looked back and forth, a look of betrayal slowly spreading over his face as he realized nobody was coming to back him up. Finally, he turned to look at Bianca who just looked disappointed.

    ¡°Fine. Come on, amor, you can show me the town,¡± Cam said sarcastically as he grabbed one of the probes with his giant hand before walking off with Bianca. Everyone turned to look at Santi, faint smiles on their faces.

    ¡°All of you, off, scatter, begone. I have stats to go through.¡±

    ¡°So, just you and Chloe,¡± Hana began, but Chloe cut her off.

    ¡°Actually, I want to take a stroll myself. Me and Hana, some girl talk. No boys allowed.¡± Chloe grabbed Hana, interlinking their arms and the probe in one smooth motion before leaving Daniel and Santi standing by themselves.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think the two of them together is a great idea. Sneaky and muscles,¡± Daniel said.

    ¡°It¡¯s the apocalypse. We have more pressing concerns than our girlfriends chatting together.¡±

    ¡°Ye of little faith. Give me that probe. I¡¯m leaving before they get back.¡± Daniel snagged the probe and went off in the opposite direction of the girls and Santi finally had a moment to himself as he walked a few steps away from the pillar to go over his gains.

    Santiago Silva

    Air Mage lvl. 49

    Strength: 40 (75)

    Durability: 40 (75)

    Stamina: 40 (75)

    Dexterity: 40 (75)

    Vitality: 40 (75)

    Perception: 35 (70)

    Intelligence: 114 (149)

    Mana: 149 (184)

    Willpower: 120 (155)

    Potential: 99%

    The gains were quick and easy to find, extra stat points allocated to strength and dexterity to make them equal and the final points towards his waning willpower. In the quiet afterglow of a large affixation he could admit to himself that he wasn¡¯t controlling the curse.

    It was insidious. Burrowing itself deep into his psyche, whispering to him to cut and cut and bathe in the blood that was flowing. It spoke to that rage nestled deep in his chest, that hurt and emptiness and pain.

    It told him it could make it all go away.

    If he gave in.

    So he allocated extra willpower points to the stat and felt that the thick wall he had built around those treacherous thoughts grew just a bit stronger. It was unfortunate there were so many cracks in it.

    There were no awards for the butchery he had participated in last night. No alerts of the curse gaining in strength, for which he was grateful. At times last night, when the fighting was the fiercest, when his strength flagged and his mana was running dry, he thought about letting those walls fall and embracing the curse.

    The heavy thump of a golem¡¯s footsteps stirred him from his daze as he watched as Yessenia and her protector came up towards him. Yessi was dressed in an oversized sweater that fell to her knees, the gray garment stained up to her elbows with all sorts of gore. Her golem was spotless, just dull gray metal that didn¡¯t reflect the light as it marched.

    ¡°Santi, I got everything that the book says we need. Except for the power source,¡± Yesi¡¯s voice was whisper quiet as she stood next to him.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to work on that. Is the grimoire unlocking more spells for you to study?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Every time I get to a new level more diagrams open up for me to study.¡±

    ¡°Are you confident in the final spell? It¡¯s a lot more complex than most of them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to need two days at the minimum to set up the final spell. It needs to see both starlight and sunlight, and some of the ingredients I have need to be purified. Which is a skill I just had to buy by the way.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s say three days from today then. We¡¯ll move all up together and I¡¯ll leave you and some guards there to set everything up. I¡¯m going to have to go and kick a hornet¡¯s nest.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a normal day for you. I understand the other spells, but why the exorcism spell?¡±

 Ch. 3.25 The Groundwork

    25.

    So few were left. The majority of the reinforcements Santi had called for had been injured or killed and the majority of the survivors had escorted Frank¡¯s and Zeke¡¯s people back to Homebase. Santi¡¯s team, plus his Mom, Torin, and Yessi and her golems. Rayleigh had four fighters left, all Acolytes in the low thirties. Frank, Maya, and Zeke had all come with them, not having been asked but told. Their own evolutions coming soon enough.

    They had all watched in awe as the Pillar of Civilization had shrunk, falling into itself until it was nothing more than a thick seven foot long staff. Santi had it over his shoulder as he walked, eyes alert as they entered into where Daniel¡¯s scouts had been killed. The heavy staff on Santi¡¯s shoulder was reassuring as they looked around the cluster of buildings that composed the entirety of the town.

    Population 545. There were no apartments, no large homes. Most of the surviving houses were tract homes, easily thrown up and left alone. It was these little settlements, little more than villages, that survived the best. The populations were wiped out in most cases, but the infrastructure didn¡¯t take quite as much of a beating.

    It was a decent place to have a small team of runners. Close to the interstate, could move in any cardinal direction with ease. Slightly out of the way so nobody should have ran over it without searching for it. The carcasses of the dead beetles were still there, massive and hollow, eaten out by other wild monsters or animals.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this cozy,¡± Santi said, leaning toward Cameron. The bigger man just looked around and raised an eyebrow at the deserted town.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to be doing whatever it was Daniel had them doing way the fuck out here.¡±

    ¡°They hung out and played board games or card games most of the time,¡± Hana supplied.

    ¡°Boring.¡±

    ¡°Then they all got killed,¡± Santi reminded Cam.

    ¡°Yeah, there is that part. Bored to death.¡±

    Everyone pulled away from Cam as he stood there, his dark humor not landing. Bianca was shoulder to shoulder with Yessi as the two of them, and Yessi¡¯s golem, marched into where the scout¡¯s building had been.

    ¡°Fuck, everyone¡¯s a critic,¡± Cam grunted as he started to move toward the dead beetles. Chloe went with him, the two of them the physically strongest people in the small group, and they began to haul the corpses out of the way while Santi looked around for a good spot.

    He couldn¡¯t access the pillar while it was in its travel mode and if he wanted this to work he was going to need the map. The three probes had provided a very accurate topographical map and the plan was for Daniel, Hana, and Bianca to move around town and develop a good map of the town and the surrounding region.

    The heavy spells Yessenia would be making over the next few days would require an accurate knowledge base of the terrain. Now that they were progressing past the easy ritual spells, things like altitude and slope of the land could affect the spell. It was rapidly growing beyond Santi¡¯s limited knowledge, but Yessi was sinking into it like a duck to water.

    She had plenty of work to do and the math of building a half dozen spells, most of them overlapping, had been enough to make Santi¡¯s head hurt. Yessi¡¯s skills had been useful, shaving so much time off the effort that Santi had a brief moment of jealousy. He had faith that she could figure out all the spells needed to activate their trap, now it was just up to him to get the power source for the biggest of the spells.

    He¡¯d need to get it from Duncan. He didn¡¯t think the assassin would just hand it over, he¡¯d need to have something in return. Something of equal value to a powerful rift heart. For that he¡¯d need to start searching, these sparse areas likely had a few secrets hidden in them.

    First was to establish a small base here while he went and found the missing scout, Keegan. He¡¯d take Daniel, Hana, Chloe and Tank. The rest of the group would stay here and protect Yessenia and prepare for the siege that was coming. The two dwarves would be massive help here, the experienced builders would have tricks up their sleeves that would help even the field.

    In the center of the small town was a little field, that was more a large yard than anything. It was surrounded by ribbons of concrete, the roads all barely single lane. It was good enough for him. Santi speared the pillar into the earth, the heavy staff spearing into the hard packed dirt with ease. With a thought the pillar began to grow, stretching up higher and higher.

    The menu popped into his mind and he quickly checked the map. There were no other people around and a little bit of tension left Santi¡¯s back after seeing that. The scout had been left behind in their fast paced march to the outpost. Duncan would be around, but Santi needed to see him later, not sooner. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    Santi left the pillar there and went back to the outpost that the runners had been housed in. It was a simple building with just a bit of plywood over the windows and the backdoor barricaded. The girls had pulled out what little was left of the runner¡¯s personal possessions, tossing them on the lawn without a care. The dwarves were looking around, pointing to this and that, their guttural native tongue gruff and grating.

    ¡°Pillar¡¯s set up. Probes are deployed. Should have a decent map of the area in a few hours.¡±

    ¡°Will we be able to access the map while you¡¯re gone?¡± Bianca asked.

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll set you, Cam, and Torin as being able to access it. Won¡¯t be able to do any of the functions I can do, but you¡¯ll be able to use the maps.¡±

    ¡°You trust Torin?¡±

    ¡°Trust him far enough. We have an agreement and he won¡¯t break it.¡±

    ¡°If you say so. Mom likes him. Don¡¯t know if I like who she is right now.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think many of us like who we are right now. Work got to get done. You going to be fine without me?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. Torin is impressive, have no idea how those cyclops captured him.¡±

    ¡°Numbers can still overwhelm people. At least, so far it can.¡± Santi had an image of a Champion, wreathed in lightning, as Disciples and peak Acolytes threw themselves at her. They all burned, turned to ash with a flicker of the fingers. At a certain point one would be strong enough that only their equals could match them.

    ¡°Get your ass in here and help out. I don¡¯t care how big and bad you are, you¡¯re still my little brother and you don¡¯t get to stand around while I clean.¡± Bianca had a fake stern look on her face and Santi felt grateful to her. At times he felt strange. Like he wasn¡¯t who he thought he was. That the person who was accomplishing the things he was accomplishing, the man people looked to for advice and leadership wasn¡¯t him. Just someone walking around with his face and body.

    His family helped ground him. Remind him that he was still Santiago. Which was something he sometimes forgot. He looked at the pool of silver metal wound around his arm, the numbers floating in his eyesight, and he saw the fields of the dead who¡¯d died to his hand and he forgot who he was, lost in who he was becoming.

    The inside of the outpost was mostly already cleaned out. Personal belongings strewn out and any food thrown away to get rid of pests. The food was too weak for them to eat and was already moldering. He saved a few books and  a deck of cards, but otherwise everything was thrown out. Yessenia quickly found a bedroom in the depths of the house and claimed it as her own.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget you need to get those evolutions done!¡± Santi yelled after her. She had been more out and about the last day, but she was just as withdrawn as ever. She only talked to the family, even giving Cam just one word answers.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure it gets done. Those three going to get along or kill each other?¡± Bianca asked of the newest acquisitions to their little band. Santi had to think of it as he drug a couch against the wall and fluffed a few pillows.

    ¡°I think they¡¯ll get along a bit better now that they¡¯re no longer competing for the same resources. Maya needs to be kept away from the rest of the group though. I think she¡¯ll make a good addition to Rayleigh¡¯s teams, or maybe even a heavy hitter like Daniel and Hana. She has the spirit for it, the drive.¡±

    ¡°As long as she keeps that drive and spirit pointed away from us.¡±

    ¡°If she steps out of line and threatens the family, I''ll put her down.¡±

    ¡°Get in line. I won¡¯t let anything hurt us again.¡± Bianca was fierce, her eyes set and hard, a scowl on her face. They both remembered the day Abraham had come and how neither of them had been there. A lesson carved into their souls.

    ¡°I should have ended that before it started. I was weak and we¡¯re all paying for it. I¡¯m sorry Bianca.I brought you into the town I built and told you it was safe. I was wrong.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Abraham¡¯s fault. He was the one who did it. His insecurity and greed is what killed our father.¡±

    ¡°I know that. I understand that. I still blame myself.¡±

    ¡°I love you Santi. Dad loved you and Mom and Yessenia loves you. No one blames you for what Abraham did.¡±

    Santi felt tears pricking at his eyes as he dropped the fluffed pillow to the edge of the gray couch before flopping into it. Bianca sat down next to him and leaned against him, the two siblings staring at the undecorated wall across from them in silence for a few minutes.

    ¡°Remember how he always sang the wrong words to Mom¡¯s music?¡± Bianca asked.

    ¡°She¡¯d get so pissed, but would always laugh in the end.¡±

    ¡°Vicente! That¡¯s not how it goes!¡± Bianca said in a terrible impression of their mother. Both of them laughed and the tears did slide down his face then. It was a good thing though, the old memory bringing the warm comfort of familiarity rather than the sting of loss. They sat there, just talking quietly to each other stories of before, mainly of Dad, but of just before.

    They both pretended to not hear the sobs behind them coming from the hallway where Yessenia sat, not strong enough to sit with them. When Mom came in she took one look and then held up a hand, preventing whoever else was following her to stop. She closed the door and walked past Santi and Bianca and into the hallway. The sobs grew louder, heart wrenching wails as the bottled up emotions Yessenia had been holding for months finally broke free with the gentle reminder of happy times.

 Ch. 3.26 Setting the Stage

    26.

    Santi left the others behind as he started to work his way up and into the dry brush and hills. The prickly plants around tugged at his pants, leaving burrs in the hem and in his socks as he kept moving up. The hill was nude, bare of any vegetation aside from scrub as he kept climbing.

    It had taken three hours before the [Scout] had appeared again. When they had shown up, Santi knew that Duncan wasn¡¯t far behind. He needed to talk to the man to start the next part of his plan. Without a way to contact him directly, he just had to hope that this would work.

    He pulled out his bottle of water and drank it while he sat. He munched on a meal stick and waited. And waited. And waited.

    The sun sank below the horizon, dusk flowing across the land. Santi kept waiting, his senses stretched wide and far. Duncan would be coming soon enough, the twilight of the world his perfect operating time.

    The assassin came right as the entirety of the world teetered on falling into darkness, the bruised horizon hardly emitting light and the stars yet to make their appearance. Materializing unseen and unfelt, the palid faced man walked up to him with little thought of his own safety.

    ¡°We keep meeting like this and your girlfriend might start getting upset,¡± Duncan called, his one remaining hand close to the pommel of his knife.

    ¡°I need that riftcore you stole from me.¡±

    ¡°Sure, let me just hand over a powerful possession to one of my enemies,¡± his tone dripped with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes. The longer he interacted with Santi, the more personable the man got, little slivers of his personality showing.

    ¡°What do you want for it?¡±

    ¡°Your help. Mercy is about four days out. She crossed the mountains into Nevada and is razing what¡¯s left of Reno to the ground. If she backtracks, and she should, after us killing a bunch of her people, it¡¯ll be four days. I found a dungeon but I¡¯m missing a good mage.¡±

    ¡°A dungeon run? You want me to participate in a dungeon run for a riftheart?¡±

    ¡°You participate and don¡¯t claim any of your share. It¡¯s a five man dungeon, you can bring your girlfriend or the healer. I keep all of the dungeon rewards, I pay you with the riftheart.¡±

    ¡°This seems much too good to be true. What¡¯s the catch?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s a level fifty dungeon. None of my people can handle it. Rewards will be juicy since we¡¯ll be the first clear team.¡±

    ¡°Average level in the dungeon is fifty, with the boss monster probably being close to sixty?¡±

    ¡°Probably sixty-five. The dungeon hasn¡¯t been cleared yet afterall.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a big ask. You, me, Tank, and two of your damage fighters?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I got a pair of guys. Bout as good as your girl, but not quite up to standard. No defender class though. Your friend isn¡¯t good enough yet to do it.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t drag them into a level fifty dungeon. Even with the two of us, this is a big ask. What¡¯s the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Labyrinth.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have a pathfinder,¡± Santi protested, even as he started to feel the itch to try it. If there was any dungeon type to attempt with a level discrepancy, it was a labyrinth.

    ¡°Please. I¡¯m a former Champion. I could figure out the way through the labyrinth by myself. Killing everything in it on the other other hand.¡± He shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°This the only way you¡¯ll give me the riftheart?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Fuck. When?¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow at dawn. It¡¯s closer to your home. Four to six hours of hard travel. Your medic should be able to keep up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go let them know. Bring your people here to stage. I have a plan to lure Mercy here. Trap and kill her and her people.¡±

    ¡°Was wondering what you were planning on doing. This is agreeable. Should only take a day or so to get there and back.¡±

    ¡°Meet you in the morning then.¡± Santi stood and left, exposing his back to the assassin. Part of him was waiting for the blade to enter it, but nothing came of it as he walked back to their new camp. He slowed his steps and thought of what was going to happen, rationalizing and plotting his steps out. Every step of the plan was analyzed and attacked in his mind as he searched for hints of the curse¡¯s influence. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Santi needed the riftheart. There were no other power sources that he knew of that he could acquire in the necessary timeframe. Was this plan the only plan that could work? Probably not, but it was the best he had at the moment. It would accomplish multiple goals at the same time and offered the safest path with the least amount of weak points.

    Would Duncan betray him in the dungeon? Doubtful. Not as long as Mercy was alive. What was the dungeon reward and why was he so certain he needed it? The expansion of Earth¡¯s potential had changed the dungeon spawns, none of them having appeared around Homebase. So how did Duncan know what this one had?

    His ruminations were cut short as he entered the little town they were planning their ambush in. Some of Rayleigh¡¯s people were awake and on watch, hiding behind cover on rooftops as they looked about for threats. He waved lazily at one of them and marched into the house that his team and family had occupied.

    Their evolutions had reduced the biological need to sleep, but there was still the psychological need for it. Sometimes the brain just needs to be shut off for a few hours. His Mom was sprawled out in the corner, her arms and armor stacked neatly next to her as she snored softly.

    Daniel and Hana had called the other bedroom and were locked in there. Chloe, Bianca, Cameron, and the dwarves were playing a vigorous game of dominos. Santi watched them play for a moment before deciding all five of them were cheating and not in the same ways.

    Yessi was in her bedroom, locked away from the world for at least a little while. Tank was perched on the too small couch watching the game with a smile on his face. Santi flopped down next to him and pulled his boots off and started picking at the burrs stuck to his clothes.

    ¡°Get done what needed done¡± Tank whispered.

    ¡°Yeah. Going to get the riftheart. Plans changed though.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s kinda the running theme with this group. Plans always change.¡±

    ¡°You know what they say, plans never survive first contact with the enemy.¡±

    ¡°Santi, your plans don¡¯t survive the walk to the enemy.¡±

    ¡°Fuck off,¡± Santi shoulder bumped the bigger man, hardly stirring him.

    ¡°So, what''s the new plan?¡±

    ¡°Dungeon run. You, me, Duncan and two of his guys.¡±

    ¡°Me. Not Chloe? Or Cam?¡±

    ¡°Naw, they¡¯re needed here. When Daniel and Hana disentangle themselves, they¡¯ll have to go and find Keegan. Chloe, Daniel, Hana, they can move fast and bring Keegan back. You guys heard that, right?¡± Santi said, turning to look at the five rowdy dominos players. He got a quick thumbs up or nodded heads as nobody looked up from their hands.

    ¡°Rayleigh and her team will stay here, along with Mom, Torin, Grimvr, Cam, and Bianca. They¡¯ll provide security and help for Yessi. We get this set up right, we can save a lot of lives.¡±

    ¡°This Duncan. He¡¯s going to fuck us over, yes?¡±

    ¡°Undoubtedly. Doubt he¡¯ll do it in the dungeon. He needs me and you are valuable.¡±

    ¡°Told you that the healer is the most important person on the team,¡± Tanks smiled widely.

    ¡°Yes, yes you did. And it¡¯s true, especially now. We¡¯ll split the health potions, give Chloe and them a couple a piece, leave some here, and take the rest.¡±

    ¡°How dangerous is this dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Dangerous enough that Duncan needs me to clear it.¡±

    ¡°And what does he get from it?¡±

    ¡°The rewards from clearing it.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. What is it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°I think that''s what we need to focus on. If he¡¯s willing to take this type of risk, the dungeon, you and me, whatever, then the reward has to be something he thinks will tip the balance.¡±

    ¡°It could be a future thing he has going on? Plans on plans on plans.¡± Santi didn¡¯t think that was likely what was happening, but it could be.

    ¡°He knows you''re going to kill him. He knows you¡¯ve already beaten him once, took off his arm. I will assure you that he believes that what¡¯s in that dungeon will give him the edge in the fight.¡±

    ¡°Tank¡¯s right!¡± Chloe yelled over her shoulder. She shoved a handful of dominos to her right and into Grimvr¡¯s stack. Santi was sure that none of them actually knew what they were doing.

    ¡°Damn straight. So how do we counter this plan he has?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s focused on me. I took his arm, I beat him. He¡¯s not thinking about the rest of us. Let him focus on me, make all his preparations for me.¡±

    ¡°Uhmmm¡­Santi, that¡¯s what we¡¯re trying to avoid?¡± Tank asked, genuinely puzzled.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s how we beat him. He hard counters me. He plans everything out, thinks it through, makes contingency plans, everything about me.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh, then we just stalk up behind him and hit him in the back of the head while he¡¯s not looking?¡± Tank asked, half joking.

    ¡°Close enough. I¡¯m playing this one close to the vest. Not that I don¡¯t trust you guys, it¡¯s just loose lips sink ships.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Have to be careful with sneaky fucks running around.¡± There was a chorus of amens and nodded heads as everyone agreed.

    ¡°Did someone say my name?¡± Daniel asked as he walked out of the backrooms. He sat down between the Santi and Tank.

    ¡°Your counterpart,¡± Tank supplied.

    ¡°Ohh, that asshole. Can¡¯t believe he literally snuck around my city. Didn¡¯t get a single good look at him while it was happening too.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s damn good. So we keep our plans quiet and to ourselves. If anything happens to me, Yessi has what you need.¡±

    ¡°Not a huge fan of this secrecy. But if you think it¡¯ll work, then let''s do it. When do we take off?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°At dawn. We meet Duncan outside of town and we hit the dungeon.¡±

 Ch. 3.27 Truce

    27.

    Santi and Tank left right before dawn. Heading down and out of the town and toward the edge where Duncan and his two followers were supposed to be waiting. The predawn darkness shielding little from Santi¡¯s advanced stats. Tank was yawning, his pack strapped tight to his back and his maul on his hip.

    They had stayed up late, planning out contingencies and talking their way through what Duncan and the others could do to them in the dungeon. Santi couldn¡¯t tell Tank the details of what a labyrinth dungeon was, but he was able to lead him to conclusions that were close enough to what they needed to know.

    There was something liberating in talking with Duncan. Not having that constricting feeling creep up his throat as he struggled to bring forth his information and memories. Not that talking to Duncan was enjoyable or something that Santi was looking forward to, just that it was liberating to have someone know what he knew.

    ¡°Where are they supposed to meet us?¡± Tank asked as they left the outer edge of the town and started down the country road that connected it to the rest of the world.

    ¡°We¡¯re right here,¡± Duncan said. All three of them materialized. The two brawlers next to him were equipped as close quarters fighters like Bianca and Chloe. Santi added a group cloaking skill to the list of Duncan¡¯s abilities.

    Duncan carried nothing aside from the long knife on his waist. His two followers were different. Both were big and broad men and were heavily laden with gear. Bulging packs and weapons hanging from every available place.

    ¡°Found ¡®em,¡± Tank deadpanned.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get moving. After you,¡± Santi waved to the road ahead of them and Duncan just smiled before turning and beginning to jog. The two men with him were silent guardians, neither of them saying a word as they all set out.

    Time went on as the distance stretched out, the sun rising and creeping higher and higher over the horizon. The day¡¯s heat began to creep over the land and Santi felt a tingle of sweat break out across his forehead. At noon Duncan signaled a stop at a rest stop. He scouted it quickly, sliding through the stop before coming back with the all clear.

    Tank had begun to struggle near the end of the run as they were moving faster than any bicycle could reach. Santi had to think that by the time he reached peak Acolyte his jog would be close to a cruising car speed. Tank sipped from his water bottle as he leaned against the wall of the rest stop, hiding in the scant shade available.

    ¡°How far did you think we traveled?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°About two and a half minute miles. Six hours, but we had to backtrack a few times. Probably eighty-five miles are so,¡± Santi gave it his best estimation.

    ¡°Fucking hell man, that¡¯s insane. Not car speeds insane, but on foot and just jogging?¡±

    ¡°Fairly straight route and nothing has jumped us yet,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°Think we¡¯re going to get jumped?¡± Tank asked. The two bruisers turned to look at him, interest plain on their faces.

    ¡°For sure. There¡¯s plenty of strong monsters around here and none of them would mind eating us for a snack. There¡¯s Mercy¡¯s people roaming the hills and we have gear and levels they¡¯d like. Then there¡¯s the animals out there too. Fought a bear with Chloe and Hana that was strong as hell. It had a partner that was higher level and that one walked away and is out here somewhere.¡±

    ¡°How high of a level was it,¡± one of the bruisers asked.

    ¡°Mid fifties. The one we killed was in the low fifties.¡± Santi glance and [Identified] the man.

    Warrior Adept lvl. 38

    On his way to becoming a [Warrior] or a [Knight] or some other basic martial class. Nothing fancy, but basic soldiers could kill you just as easily as some prodigy. Santi had to remind himself of that sometimes, as his power kept creeping up further and further from everyone else. He wasn¡¯t invincible and it wasn¡¯t just the other regressors that were a threat to him.

    ¡°Dunc could have taken it,¡± one of the men said, his surety in the outcome absolute. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°Duncan could have taken it. With enough time and effort,¡± Duncan said as he came around the corner, sitting close to his men but still having a distance between them.

    ¡°My class and skill set is set up to be a man killer. I eliminate threats soundlessly and disappear without a trace. Standing toe to toe with someone is not only against my nature, but more importantly, against my build,¡± Duncan informed the men while pulling out a small ration packet.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you two are for,¡± Santi said, smiling at them grimly. While strong enough out here, in a level fifty dungeon, they¡¯d be ghastly outleveled.

    ¡°You two know a lot about this shit. How is that?¡± The second of the two bruisers had a quiet voice and his eyes had a sharper intellect than Santi had given them credit for.

    ¡°What are your names?¡± Santi asked, trying to buy time. He didn¡¯t think they really needed the two, in all honesty, Duncan and Santi could probably do the dungeon themselves. Better to be on the safe side and have the extra bags of meat walking around.

    ¡°Trevor,¡± the inquisitive one said, poking himself in the chest with a hairy knuckle.

    ¡°And that¡¯s Bo. My little cousin.¡± His distrustful eyes never left Santi and Duncan. He was a follower, but wasn¡¯t a blindly loyal follower. Tank kept eating quietly, sipping from the water bottle every now and then.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you before Trevor. Most of this knowledge is simple deduction if one applies the right type of logic to it.¡±

    ¡°Video game logic?¡± Trevor spat contemptuously.

    ¡°Or role playing game logic, if one wishes to be pedantic.¡±  Santi let Duncan handle the questions from his subordinate. While Trevor seemed to be distrustful, Bo looked horrified that his older cousin was calling out Duncan. There was a shine of hero worship in his eyes every time he looked at the assassin.

    ¡°If it talks like a duck, walks like a duck, and looks like a duck, it¡¯s probably a duck,¡± Santi threw in.

    ¡°If you are able to accept that our world has now been set up like a video game, or role playing game, then the logic is to build yourself, stats, skill, spells, around a build. You fit into a mold so to speak. I travel a lot, so I picked a class and abilities that make it safe for me to move undetected and to kill quickly. Santiago picked a mage class because he¡¯s a tiny asshole and couldn¡¯t fight hand to hand immediately.¡±

    ¡°Close enough,¡± Santi let Duncan have it. The first time he had chosen mage was so he didn¡¯t have to fight close quarters.

    ¡°Now, on the other hand, you two bruisers are part of a group. A group who have vulnerable people in it. So you are designing your build around being strong and durable. You can take punishment and dish it out in equal measure. Santiago¡¯s friend, Dexter, is a healing mage. He believes he¡¯s best suited for keeping us alive.¡±

    ¡°How the fuck does he know my name¡¯s Dexter?¡± Tank whispered into Santi¡¯s ear. That was an excellent question that Santi didn¡¯t want to think about. Either there was a spy in their camp, a strong possibility, or Duncan¡¯s abilities were far greater than even he had assumed.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who helped us figure out our builds,¡± Trevor murmured, eyes glass with calculations.

    ¡°Correct. The best way you could help me, and by proxy your friends and family, was by building yourselves up like this.¡± Duncan spoke as if manipulating people¡¯s entire future were the most simple of things. Santi knew he could be an asshole, but he had never tried to steer someone¡¯s build and future like this.

    ¡°You¡¯re a peach,¡± Santi said, shooting a dagger smile at Duncan.

    ¡°Santiago, you are standing inside of a glass house. You¡¯re a tyrant disguising himself as a benevolent dictator. You¡¯re even wearing a crown,¡± Duncan waved his only remaining hand at him.

    ¡°True, but I admit it to everyone. They know what they¡¯re signing up for when they join us. I don¡¯t manipulate people into changing their futures without giving them at least the courtesy of telling them why,¡± Santi countered. Even to him it seemed hollow. It was better than what Duncan was doing. Right? The inner thought was like a loose tooth that he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about.

    He had come back on accident, but they had planned on it. They had banked on their methods succeeding and Duncan had said it was to prevent bloodshed. That their goals were similar. He didn¡¯t believe him, but as time wore on and he was the last one left, how much could he trust his memories? Something was wrong, he knew that. Time was missing. And now he had someone who had lived through it all only feet away from him and they were doing the same things. Just in different ways.

    Was it really so different?

    He shrugged the treacherous thoughts off with memories of what the Apostates had done. The friends they had killed, the death they had wrought. They were different. How one accomplished their goals mattered. Even in the midst of the chaos of the apocalypse, what and how they did what they did mattered.

    The meal became remarkably silent and then they were on their feet and moving again. Duncan often took off, scouting the way ahead of them, leading them around strong beasts and monsters. This wasn¡¯t a leveling hunt, but an expedited dungeon run. If they had to run an extra half hour to avoid a fight, they did. There were no backups if one died out here and the dungeon run was the most important thing on Duncan¡¯s mind.

    Santi was still thinking of the war kit he had in his bags. The coat, amulet, and dagger. All three of them made for fighting and surviving against sapients. He didn¡¯t think Duncan would betray him inside of the dungeon or even after they got out. Santi just didn¡¯t trust the man to not go armed with his best weapons. He had already been caught a few times without them and that wasn¡¯t going to happen again.

    It took another six and a half hours to make it to the dungeon and Santi was surprised to find themselves getting close to Chico. They veered East though and went further into the mountains. There along the denuded burned forests was the entrance to the dungeon.

 Ch. 3.28 Into the Dungeon

    28.

    Nestled among the burnt trunks of blackened trees and scarred landscape was a doorway. Santi breathed deeply, appreciating the thick layer of mana, the drifting tides of it as it was pulled in and filled the area. It was like wading through a warm sea, the pressure in the air a pleasing presence.

    The doorway was cut into the side of the hill, a gaping void that was filled with the dazzle of stars. The frame of the large doorway was made of a glowing silver metal that Santi knew was mithril. The swirl of mana was pulled inwards, flowing like a river into the mouth of the dungeon.

    Dungeon of the Burning Hills

    Lvl. 55-65

    ¡°You told me it was a mid fifty dungeon, Duncan.¡± Santi couldn¡¯t keep his eyes off of the levels. The levels were the range of the monster levels in the dungeon. It should have had a much smaller range if Duncan had been telling the truth.

    ¡°It was when I found it a week ago. Only forty-nine to fifty-eight. The mana pull is stronger than I thought it was.¡± The assassin didn¡¯t sound perturbed by the increase in levels. Santi knew Duncan could punch over his level, but how much higher was a good question. Santi still couldn¡¯t [Identify] the killer or see his levels, but Santi assumed he was higher than he was.

    Duncan had spent a time traveling and fighting, killing and leveling constantly while Santi was stuck working on building a community and making sure things like clean drinking water were available for thousands. That crops were planted and evolutions were done safely.

    With all his titles and advantages, Santi was stronger than Duncan had been. But just how much had the shadow scout grown since they had crossed paths? Duncan had effortlessly killed his targets in the fight with Mercy¡¯s Acolytes, and none of them had been weak.

    ¡°Tank, when we go down there, don¡¯t engage any of the monsters. Let me or Duncan deal with it.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re still going down there?¡± Tank asked incredulously.

    ¡°Damn straight. We need the riftheart and this is the only payment he¡¯s accepting. Just play it cool and safe and we should come out of here with some extra levels.¡±

    ¡°Santi. Are you¡­you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. No bloodlust at the moment. We do this carefully and we will be fine. I can hit hard enough and Duncan is a good enough scout. Just don¡¯t fight anything one on one, alright?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the boss.¡±

    ¡°Ain¡¯t that the truth.¡± Santi shook his head, the weight of the crown pushing on his scalp. He forgot it was there most of the time, just resting there without notice. It was weighing on him now as they walked toward that hole in the side of the hill.

    Duncan took the lead, followed by his two goons and then Santi and Tank at the rear. The Apostate went though the portal without hesitation, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Trevor and Bo jumped through after a miniscule hesitation, then Santi was staring at the dungeon entrance. It had been years since he had done this.

    The dungeons were places for people to practice and level. There was no potential to be harvested, but plenty of experience and rewards for clearing them. By the end of the last timeline Santi had exhausted his potential, it drained away faster than he could earn it. He had been near the peak of Disciple and there was little to no reason to enter a dungeon.

    ¡°You good?¡± Tank whispered. Santi just nodded and stepped into the entrance of the dungeon. There was a sinking sensation, as if going down a slide, slick with grease. All light disappeared and Santi sat in the darkness for a moment before he felt solid ground beneath his feet again.

    Torches burned, dim and smoky along rough natural walls of rough hewn stone. The tunnels were narrow and the haze of the smoke tickled the back of Santi¡¯s throat as he walked forward. Trevor and Bo were both standing still, their weapons drawn as they peered down the dim path.

    Trevor pulled out a long handled hatchet in one hand and a thin knife in the other. Bo was armed with a wide metal club that looked like a bat had been squished down to a stub. Both of the bulky men were staring, nervously shifting back and forth as Santi got to them.

    ¡°Duncan?¡±

    ¡°Entered immediately and said he was scouting and to wait.¡± Trevor¡¯s voice didn¡¯t tremble, but the fear was there. Tank sidled up next to Santi, his own club in his hand, and they both looked about. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°This is just¡­kinda boring?¡± Tank said.

    ¡°Ohhhh¡­.Tank, you know better,¡± Santi groaned. Tank¡¯s big head lowered and he shook it in disbelief.

    ¡°I fucking jinxed it.¡±

    ¡°Yup, here something comes now,¡± Santi said, his sharp eyes picking up movement as something broke free of the wall. Santi had a sinking feeling he knew what the mob type was going to be in the dungeon as the monster began to slide toward them.

    Earth Elemental lvl. 55

    [Gust] slowed it down, but the screaming winds did nothing to break its rocky countenance. [Crosscurrent-Orb] had more success, the wild tempest winds finding crevices to rip at and peeling apart some of the stony armor around itself.

    ¡°Blunt weapons, clubs and hammers, or a fucking pick. You¡¯ll shatter that axe hitting stone like that,¡± Santi warned as his spells wore off and the elemental continued to rush at them without slowing.

    ¡°That thing is way to fucking strong. We won¡¯t do shit to it,¡± Bo muttered as he shifted his grip on his club. Santi had to agree with the thumper, there was going to be very little they could do right away.

    ¡°Keep that thing away from Tank.¡± Santi lunged, shoving off hard and sliding between the two frontliners. The morph transformed into a lance, the tip narrow and rapidly broadening as Santi targeted a chip in the monster¡¯s stony exterior.

    Closer now that even the poor lighting couldn¡¯t disguise it, it looked nothing more than a pile of rocks in a vague outline of a human. Its legs melded with the floor, so it didn¡¯t step so much as it was propelled forward.

    Santi¡¯s aim was good, the tip of the lance fitting into the crack in the dark stone and then splintering it apart as he continued to force it deeper. His strength and speed helped, but the monster was a higher level than him. It didn¡¯t die, or even look perturbed that there was now a metal shaft wedged in its core. It just kept moving.

    Santi cursed all durability and strength builds as he was shoved backwards, inches from its grasping, thick fingers. Each time they missed his throat, they clacked off of each other. Santi imagined the lance expanding out like in a line. Rock split with a thunderous crack and the elemental groaned, the sound reminiscent of a landslide.

    Behind the thick plate of its outer layer was shifting mounds of soft, moist earth, glints of metal inside. And a pulsating, brown gem.

    ¡°The gem!¡± Santi yelled as he was forced to disengage, the elemental suddenly lengthening its arm and striking at him with a closed fist. He ducked the fist, but not the sudden spike that erupted through the ground, piercing his calf. He bit back a scream as the first of the blood dropped to the dungeon¡¯s floor.

    Bo lunged, his club a blur, a blue skill aura haze around the man that enhanced his speed. The metal club connected to the pulsating gem and the sound of glass shattering filled the air as the elemental froze.

    ¡°It¡¯s not dead. Dig, dig quick. Rip all of it out.¡± Santi had to grind the words out as he tried to free his leg from the spike in his calf. The soft soil was streaming out in a wave, making a small mountain on the floor at the elemental¡¯s feet. The shard was already piecing itself back together, crystal wiggling through dirt and melding.

    Trevor reached in with a bare hand and grabbed the biggest piece, yanking it free with a sucking sound as the elemental broke apart in a spray of dark soil. The spike in his calf fell away and Tank was grabbing him and running a litany of spells over him that immediately eased the pain in his leg.

    ¡°I see you already found the guardians. That was my fault, I stumbled over a trap on my way down the hall,¡± Duncan said, not sounding sorry at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it. Here, give me a hand up¡­oh I mean give me your only hand up.¡± Santi shot him a vicious smile.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t very good,¡± Tank whispered, looking disappointed at him.

    ¡°I agree with Dexter. You can do better when needling someone Santiago.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t get a kill notification or experience for that? What the hell?¡± Trevor said, being the only adult in the hallway apparently.

    ¡°It¡¯s not dead. As long as the core remains somewhat whole, the elemental lives. It¡¯s just stuck right now with no way to build an avatar.¡± Duncan¡¯s plain voice was a monotone as he reached out to grab the orb. Most of it had already melded itself back together when Trevor had yanked it free, just a corner piece missing.

    ¡°So we get no fucking experience or levels in here?¡± Trevor asked, eyes narrowing.

    ¡°There¡¯ll be plenty of levels. It¡¯s just that elementals don¡¯t die easily. Also, these cores are good for future evolutions. Like your brother¡¯s. He does have an earth affinity, right?¡± Duncan said, looking into Trevor¡¯s eyes without blinking.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Trevor spat out.

    ¡°Good. Wrap this up tight so no part is touching earth and then put it in your bag. The plan will be thus. I will go down and figure out the path forward. Follow my markings. Try not to die and assist Santiago when he requests help. This first level looks to just be a maze. If there are traps, I¡¯ll leave a sign for you.¡± Duncan turned and faded from view as he went back up the tunnel the elemental had come down from.

    ¡°Wow, that guy is just a peach. The subtle threatening is a nice touch,¡± Tank said. Bo shot him an angry look while Trevor just looked angry. Santi could see where Trevor¡¯s rage was coming from, the forced impotence of the situation, the secrets and suspicions coming to the forefront.

    He had a premonition that Trevor wouldn¡¯t be making it out of the dungeon and back to the main group. Not with how Duncan operated.

    ¡°He¡¯s a prick, but he¡¯s right. Wrap it up and keep it from stone or soil. It¡¯ll be a nice piece in an evolution ceremony.¡±

    Trevor didn¡¯t say a word as he pulled out a strip of cloth, it looked like it was a shredded shirt. That there were bundles of the torn up clothing spoke volumes. Duncan had known, or at least had very strong suspicions that the mob down here could be harvested like this.

    Which brought Santi back to his and Tank¡¯s conversation last night. Duncan wanted something out of this dungeon, besides the experience. It likely had something to do with killing Santi, which Santi wasn¡¯t a fan of. He now had his first clue as they stepped over the lump of broken apart stone and went further into the dungeon.

 Ch. 3.29 On the Ledge

    29.

    [Gust] swept the ledge clear in front of them, shadowy forms full of hate and wrath being plucked and thrown into the void below them without a sound. Kill notifications dinged in his head, but Santi was too busy fighting to pay attention to them.

    Things had been going too well, Duncan leading them through the labyrinth dungeon with few problems. More of the earth elementals, all of them high ranking but easy enough to kill. Traps had been found dismantled or yellow spray paint sprayed around activation triggers. Santi had to admit that Duncan was good at this, leading the party deeper into the depths while Santi and the others fought the few enemies.

    Until this damn ledge. Running along the side of a deep canyon that even his enhanced senses couldn¡¯t see down, they had been beset on both sides by these creatures. Formed of magic and with little to no physical bodies, they could only be killed with skills. Skill or spell that Santi had few of that could be used in the tight confines or without giving up the secret of his newly acquired spells.

    Even the innately magical morph blade simply dispersed the [Shadow Reaver] bodies, they reformed minutes later, no harm done. He had started to throw them down the ravine where some of them died, which was somewhat worrying. What was down there that could kill a magical being that didn¡¯t have a physical body? Santi was forced back to the fight as more shapes blurred toward him, dimming the blue light of the flickering torches.

    ¡°Santi, these guys are getting tired. I don¡¯t know how much longer they can hold on!¡± Tank yelled from right behind them. Santi had taken the lead while Bo and Trevor held the rear clear of the reavers that Santi had dispersed. Neither of the men had the pure power to kill the reavers, but they seemed to be weak for a few moments while they regathered from Santi breaking them apart.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Santi spat as he turned the morph blade into a whip and slashed apart the approaching cloud of shadows. Puddles of shadow burst everywhere, landing along the narrow ledge before hurrying to scamper together. [Gust] blew most of them into the ravine as Santi continued to race down the rocky path.

    ¡°Keep ¡®em on their feet, we should be close,¡± Santi said, eyes looking for the markings that Duncan had been leaving for them. The bright yellow spray paint had been a good choice, but he hadn¡¯t seen the marks since they had gotten on the ledge.

    ¡°Think he died?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re not that lucky,¡± Santi said with a dark chuckle.

    ¡°You¡¯d be right.¡± Duncan stepped out of a crease in the rock, his dagger plunging into a reaver and then twisting, shadows slinking up his arm and into the reaver. The creature writhed for a second then grew still and began to fade away as thicker and thicker shadows coated Duncan, feeding back into him.

    ¡°Really? You brought us here to work on your affinity?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s just a bonus. Follow me, this cave opens up to the next passage.¡± Duncan turned and weaseled his way back into the crease and when Santi got closer he saw how the crease in the wall was actually a disguised tunnel. One couldn¡¯t see the entrance without walking past it, the outcropping of rock stopping it from being visible. Someone in a fight and hurrying along might not have even seen the disguised tunnel and continued along the ledge to where another tunnel would be. Likely they would connect eventually, but secret paths always offered better rewards.

    Santi turned and pushed Tank toward the tunnel, the bigger man having to suck in his already flat belly and twist this way and that to get past the chokepoint. Trevor was next, sweat slick across his pale face as he had to take his bag off and shove it in first and then weasel his way through.

    ¡°GO! I¡¯ll hold the way!¡± Santi said. Bo nodded in thanks and began to strip his own heavy pack off, laden as it was with earth elemental hearts, and then began the slow process of worming after his cousin. Santi turned back to the narrow ledge, swarming with undefined blobs of shadow. He glanced back to see that no one could see him and then turned the morph into a staff, slamming it into the ground and shouting at the top of his lungs, words bouncing and echoing in the vast underground cavern.

    ¡°YOU, SHALL NOT PASS!¡± [Gust], reinforced by [Air Manipulation] whisked the path clear in a screaming howl as the reavers were tossed into the darkness. Santi had a stupid grin on his face as he followed after the others, scanning his kill notifications with one eye as he maneuvered the tight passage much more easily than his other party members had.

    The [Shadow Reavers] had all been on the low side of fifty and he only had a few of the kills, but it was enough to boost him another level. He was only one level away from fifty and another spell point. It couldn¡¯t come soon enough, and now with the Pillar in his possession, he could begin to rework his build a bit. If he had enough money.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    He glanced down the tunnel and saw the shapes of the rest of the party, waiting on him and decided he¡¯d put the stat points in now. He needed every advantage he could and the dungeon was a bit more dangerous than what Duncan had originally said it would be, which wasn¡¯t a surprise.

    Santiago V. Silva

    Lvl. 49 Air Mage

    Strength: 40

    Durability: 40 (75)

    Stamina: 40 (75)

    Dexterity: 40 (75)

    Vitality: 40 (75)

    Perception: 35 (70)

    Intelligence: 117 (152)

    Mana: 155 (190)

    Willpower: 125 (160)

    Potential: 99%

    He put the spare points into mana and willpower to give them more aesthetically pleasing numbers and kept moving without slowing down. The increase in his stats were so minimal that he hardly felt them, simply a drop in the bucket as his mana and willpower began to outdistance everything else. Especially with the titles he had earned.

    A killer like Duncan, who was likely higher leveled but lacking the titles, would have a few higher stats than he would. Santi hadn¡¯t quite figured out his rough numbers, but with how fast the man was and how easily he used his magic based skills, he had to be over a hundred points in dexterity and mana. Willpower would be a good tertiary stat for him, seeing as he had managed to escape even after Santi had cut his arm off.

    It was likely that Duncan¡¯s primary stats would be above his own primary stats without the titles. Santi doubted the level gap was enough that he significantly outpaced him in their main stats. With how easy Duncan was ghosting around the dungeon, he was close to the sixties.

    ¡°We heard that,¡± Tank whispered to him, a faint smile on his face as Santi took up his place right behind the cousins.

    ¡°What happens in the dungeon, stays in the dungeon. Ok?¡±

    ¡°You got it, boss,¡± Tank said with a chuckle.

    ¡°Done playing grabass?¡± Duncan asked. There was a bit of strain around his eyes and shadows slunk around his skin like shifting tattoos. Santi didn¡¯t want to imagine what upgrading an affinity at the higher levels was like, but it looked like it was quite unpleasant.

    ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re about to go down to the second level. Which means there¡¯s a mini boss down ahead. Full boss will be at the bottom of the dungeon and if it follows in the theme, it will be at the high end of the dungeon levels. What we¡¯re going to fight soonish, will be mid level, close to sixty. Are you guys ready for that?¡±

    ¡°I got three levels already. Shit¡¯s been ranking me up quick! Hasn¡¯t been this easy since the beginning,¡± Bo said, his voice excited. Most of that was due to Santi cutting away heavy defenses and letting the cousins get the kills.

    Trevor was silent as his eyes glazed over and then he shuddered and gasped as he put points to good use. Trevor shook his limbs and smiled, reveling in his newfound strength.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t gotten shit,¡± Tank muttered. There had been precious little healing required and so far he hadn¡¯t gotten to use his club at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry buddy, your time is coming.¡± Santi couldn¡¯t tell him about the nice boost for clearing a dungeon that would dwarf what few levels they would earn killing the dungeon¡¯s denizens.

    ¡°Do you know what the sub-boss is?¡± Trevor asked. The more suspicious of the pair, if there was any division, he¡¯d be the easier one to work to Santi¡¯s side. The wind mage kept an eye on him.

    ¡°No. We¡¯ve fought earth elementals and shadow creatures. Probably an escalation of those. Now I¡¯ve only gone down this hallway a bit, but I can tell you there¡¯s not much further to go before we get to an atrium with polished stone and a bunch of bright torches with stalactites on the floor.¡±

    ¡°Stalagmites. Stalactites are on the roof,¡± Tank corrected him with casual ease. Santi looked at his big friend and then shrugged, he didn¡¯t know the difference. Duncan looked at the two of them and his brow dipped as a frown crossed his face.

    ¡°Does it fucking matter?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I just wanted to make sure you knew. Proper wordage does matter.¡±

    ¡°Is wordage a word?¡± Santi whispered to him. Tank just shrugged, face blank as Duncan blinked at them a few more times.

    ¡°Forget it. When we enter, we do so as a team. I¡¯ll ghost and flank whatever it is, Bo, Trevor, you two will try to keep its attention. Move it around, keep ahead of its attacks, the usual. Santiago will hit it as hard as he can and keep hitting it until it''s ready. If there¡¯s a way for me to get a good hit on it, I will. Dexter will keep everyone alive for as long as he can. Dump the gear when we enter the circle, you¡¯ll need to be able to move quick.¡± With that, Duncan turned and moved down the circular tunnel, disappearing down its gentle slope.

    ¡°After you,¡± Santi said, waving the two bruisers forward as he and Tank followed behind them. Trevor lagged a few steps behind his cousin and turned to whisper to Santi.

    ¡°You two are weird, but you seem not quite as nutty as Duncan. That man is like a fucking snake, ice-cold. If shit goes pear shaped, and it will, would you be looking for a new recruit?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think your cousin will be quite as willing as you are,¡± Santi hedged. Duncan¡¯s perception stat was likely high and hearing in a tunnel that amplified acoustics would be an easy trick. The possibility of pulling a veteran Acolyte fighter to his cause was too juicy to let go.

    ¡°He¡¯ll do what¡¯s good for him. He likes Duncan, bit of hero worship, but we¡¯re tight. I¡¯m all he has. He¡¯ll come with me.¡± Trevor didn¡¯t look certain about that last part but Santi didn¡¯t bother to challenge it.

    ¡°I won¡¯t put a blade in you if you don¡¯t try to bludgeon me, how bout that?¡±

    ¡°I can work with that. Thank you.¡± Trevor turned back around and caught up to his cousin while Tank and Santi kept walking side by side.

    ¡°Duncan definitely heard that,¡± Tank said.

    Santi just nodded. The betrayal was going to happen, he just didn¡¯t know when. He was starting to think that Trevor and Bo weren¡¯t going to be coming out of this dungeon.

    ¡°Just be quick and light on your feet. Grab me my jacket out of my pack too. It¡¯s time to bring out the heavy weapons.¡±

 Ch. 3.30 Earthshadow

    30.

    Santi took in the smooth polished stone, the mirror finish reflecting the light as they got closer to it. A wide platform in the middle of a land bridge across a chasm, forcing the dungeon goers through it to advance. The fact they had taken a small ledge downward to the path they were now on was a hint that finding the secret tunnel wasn¡¯t necessary. Duncan had helped them by shaving time off of their journey.

    Torches ringed the platform, scores of them fighting off the deep darkness of the cavern and giving everyone a clear view of the runes etched into the stone. Each one was carved and filled with silver, a supernatural light pulsing through them. The entire platform screamed bad vibes, every ounce of his cautious nature saying don¡¯t get on that platform.

    It was the only way deeper into the dungeon though. Duncan was perched on the edge right before the platform, his eyes sweeping about, searching and analyzing. Santi copied him, looking for any hints of what was about to come at them.

    ¡°So, this place is definitely going to suck,¡± Bo said. He shuffled his pack and clenched a club tightly.

    ¡°Oh, fuck yeah. Hundred percent a trap,¡± Tank said. He smiled widely and clapped Santi on the shoulder.

    ¡°You ready to start carrying, bud?¡±

    ¡°Just stay alive.¡± Santi stepped out onto the platform and held his breath. Nothing changed. The torches continued to flicker and aside from their breathing it was silent. Santi worked his way closer to the center, Duncan slinking around the side while Bo and Trevor walked right behind him in a delta, with Tank in between all of them.

    ¡°Where is it?¡± Trevor hissed, tension in his voice as he hunched over, looking around frantically as they reached the center of the platform.

    ¡°Chill, just be ready to¡­¡± Santi was cut off as something came dropping in from above. His spell forms warned him and he had enough time to cast [Gust] behind him, throwing his three allies backward even as he dove forward.

    It landed silently and Santi felt as the air was sliced apart where he had been standing. There was no hiss or whistle of claws sliding through the air, just the eerie silence and the feel of the creature blocking the airflow.

    Santi rolled to his feet and slashed back at it, his morph blade a comically overlong sword. It tore at something, but all sound had ceased. There was nothing in the air but a stillness, even the harsh rasp of his breath smothered by it. Santi looked at the creature and took it in.

    It was a shifting form, mostly humanoid and made from slick stone. Shadows crept and danced around it, blurring the edges of its form as it towered over them. Gemstones glinted where eyes should have been and its four arms swung about in silence, Trevor and Bo racing away while Tank rolled hard toward the edge of the platform.

    Duncan sprinted and disappeared as Santi jabbed at it twice, clipping the edges of the behemoth and sending pieces of stone to fall to the ground. Santi lured it closer to the center of the platform as the behemoth followed him.

    Earthshadow Elemental lvl. 60

    Santi tried to call out, but no sound crossed the platform. Something was off about that, this type of monster shouldn¡¯t have any type of sound magic. Its presence didn¡¯t seem to control anything related to sound either, it was big and strong and the shadows danced all around it, edges forming and slashing at Santi like blades.

    Nothing to do with sound though.

    He looked back at the glowing runes. They were brighter now, nearly luminescent against the stone. He turned and slashed down at a rune, the blade slicing through stone like butter, the rune cracking apart with a thundercrack and a bolt of light. Sounds flitted through immediately for a brief moment, shouts and cries and the rumble of stone on stone. Then the bubble of silence reaffirmed itself and Santi was forced to leap back as a fist hit the ground in front of him.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Trevor struck a leg from the back, his club rebounding off the thick leg like it was made of rubber. Bo hit the opposite leg with the same lack of effect, his mouth twisting in a silent curse. Tank was rotating around, getting further away from the monster, but Santi thought that if the giant monster landed a hit that it would be the end of them.

    While the giant elemental spun on the two bruisers, Santi sped about, slicing at each of the runes. Tank watched what he was doing and started to do the same. Slamming his mace down on the runes and cracking the delicate runes. More and more sound filtered in and Santi yelled at the two men, trying to organize them. Half his words were stolen, not traveling the distance needed.

    Santi stopped attacking the runes and leapt back at the elemental as Trevor was flung backward  from the close impact of a Volkswagen sized fist. Bo stumbled, frozen as the elemental turned to give Bo all its focus. Santi formed the morph weapon into a large hammer, a pick emerging from one side and slammed it into the creature''s knee.

    The strength boost from the jacket and the full increase of the crown showed out and a fist sized piece of rubble went flying as its leg buckled and it fell. Santi was forced backward as the elemental spun, backhanding at him. [Air Shield] popping in a burst of wild winds, sending pebbles and pieces of stray rocks spraying out.

    Santi avoided the actual hand, but the wake of its passage caused him to fall back on his back. The elemental rose up and towered above him, form sheathed in blurring waves of physical shadow. Duncan appeared, blade in hand and he caught Santi¡¯s eyes. There was a moment of hesitation, the space between heartbeats, then Duncan was stabbing.

    Skills appeared, shadow clones and a second dagger appearing out of nowhere, both blade shearing apart stone like it was butter. The creature went rigid and shook, chunks of stone falling free to hit the ground. Santi got back to his feet and sprinted away as Trevor and Bo both stepped up, attacking from either side to alleviate the pressure on their boss.

    Tank broke the last of the silence runes and sound filled the platform again. Trevor used some type of skill that coated his weapon and he broke the elemental¡¯s foot in half, the sound of stone cracking splitting the air.

    ¡°Keep its attention!¡± Santi yelled at the cousin duo as he skidded to a halt. He sprang back toward the elemental, leaping with all his considerable strength up and toward the creature. He rose up and over the top of the monster¡¯s head and began his descent. The hammer whistled through the air and Santi roared a challenge toward the high level monster as he splintered its head.

    Gemstones popped free and landed on the platform with the sound of chimes in the wind. It staggered and stumbled to a knee, before surging upward again even as Santi landed awkwardly.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Santi spat as he leapt forward into a shoulder roll and passed between the elemental¡¯s legs. Trevor and Bo attacked from different angles and Tank jumped forward and struck the same knee where Santi had already hit it. Another chunk of rock came splintering off of it and then Bo hit it a second later in the same spot. The knee cracked and split like rotten timber and the elemental crashed to the ground.

    Santi circled with the others as the rest of the group fell on the elemental like a pack of wolves. Hammers and maces chipped and cracked stone as it flailed about ineffectively. It was a big monster, but it was easy to fight as long as they stayed ahead of its wide swinging hands.

    Until it stopped swinging its hands. It slumped down, slate cracking and splitting to fall like rain. The shadows deepened and strengthened, pouring out of the wide cracks in its body. The entire body crumpled, leaving nothing left but the silhouette of its body.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not great,¡± Santi muttered as he raced to grab Tank, dragging the healer out of the way as the elemental sank into the platform, swinging across the stone like it was water, leaving the encirclement like it was nothing.

    Duncan stuck again. A blur against the polished stone as he intercepted the fleeing elemental, tangling with the creature and the elemental burst free from the stone. It was missing an arm and staggered about wildly, striking out in every direction as Duncan rose out of the stone on the other side of the platform. He was covered in sticky shadow, covering every inch of him as he strained to consume the piece of the elemental he had just truck off of it.

    ¡°That¡¯s fucking creepy,¡± Tank said. Santi could only nod in agreement as he cast [Gust] and watched as the elemental fragmented, ragged chunks of its arm broke off to fly off the platform.

    Its remaining arm became a spear and it struck out, stabbing through Trevor¡¯s gut in a burst of movement. The man screamed in pain and Tank was rushing toward him even as Santi cast another [Gust] shoving it back and away from the wounded frontliner.

    Tank grabbed Trevor and dragged the stunned man away as Santi got close to the wounded elemental. It thrashed about, thinning and growing hazy as extra limbs shot out of its body. Bo hit it from behind with some type of crushing skill that broke another piece of the shadow off.

    Santi stabbed it through the middle of its torso, and twisted the blade. He formed hooks on the blade and ripped the sword free. The creature was dying slowly, breaking apart slowly as Santi continued to cut and rip free pieces of its body. It didn¡¯t die quickly, taking minutes for Bo and Santi to kill it.

    An achievement popped in his feed as Santi slumped down on the platform. He was tired, sweat slicking his shirt as he stared at the stain where the shadow had been.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t too bad,¡± Duncan wheezed, his features still strained. Tank was bent over Trevor, still working to keep the man alive. Santi shook his head, the Apostate¡¯s naked desire for power blatantly apparent to all of them. Even Bo shook his head as they waited for Trevor to get back up.

 Ch. 3.31 Clearing the Air

    31.

    The platform was silent as they slowly regathered their strength. The boss had been tough, but manageable. Trevor and Bo had been somewhat useful, pulling his attention enough for him to regroup. Duncan sitting there slowly digesting the pieces of shadow he had ripped free from the [Earthshadow Elemental]. There was a certain bravado to being able to willingly risk your life by trying to upgrade your affinity in the middle of a fight.

    Santi still wanted to punt him off the platform and into the chasm.

    Tank stood up and let Trevor get to his feet slowly. Tank walked over to Santi while Trevor just stood there for a moment, shaken by what had just happened. Duncan didn¡¯t try to offer him any sort of support, just letting him stand there alone.

    Trevor¡¯s eyes were filled with impotent rage and fear, the last moments of the fight filling his vision as he had been pulled away from death¡¯s doorstep. Then it vanished, flashed away in a puff of self discipline as Trevor mastered himself. Even with his higher stats, Santi had to look for the indications of the man¡¯s rage and hatred, so masterfully hidden.

    Duncan started walking, crossing the scarred platform and further into the dungeon now that Trevor was walking. Santi wanted to wait, let the other man recover, but it wasn¡¯t his rodeo. Both he and Tank were still on their feet and with most of their mana in reserve. Santi wasn¡¯t willing to rock the boat this close to the end.

    ¡°He¡¯s a dick. Even if he hadn¡¯t done all that shit, I still wouldn¡¯t want him around,¡± Tank said. The healer didn¡¯t bother to lower his voice and both of them knew the Apostate could hear him.

    ¡°Well, he¡¯s who we¡¯re stuck with. We clear this, he gets the loot, we get the riftheart.¡±

    Trevor and Bo followed after their boss while Santi and Tank slowly skulked forward. The boss monster was little more than a stain of scattered oily shadows but Santi kept the location in mind. If he had his full team they could farm this area fairly easily, especially after he accessed the markets through the pillar and had them properly equipped.

    Then harvesting monsters like this would become worthwhile. He¡¯d have to keep his eyes open for someone who could be an [Alchemist] or something similar. Proper supplies for harvesting too. The thought of the wealth of gear was intoxicating. The thought of all his liquid wealth disappearing in a few minutes to provide said gear was sobering.

    ¡°What are you sighing about?¡± Tank asked as they started off of the platform.

    ¡°Just how much shit  I need to buy to really get up and running. It¡¯s going to be expensive.¡±

    ¡°I mean, you¡¯re just investing right? In the long run you¡¯ll make your money back and then some.¡±

    ¡°Hey, just let me mope for a minute about all my hard earned money leaving.¡±

    ¡°Ohhh, you¡¯re in one of those moods. Bet if Chloe was here you wouldn¡¯t be all mopey.¡±

    ¡°Wrong. I¡¯d be even more mopey and dramatic,¡± Santi said, smiling brightly at his friend. The two of them chuckled as they left the pale light of the platform and entered the dank tunnel to go further into the dungeon. Bo and Trevor were stopped a few feet in and Ducan¡¯s form was hardly visible in the poor lighting just a few feet further in.

    ¡°Looks like the dungeon changes up from here on out. Labyrinth,¡± Duncan said as they all clustered up. Santi peered past him and whistled softly at the maze they were staring down at.

    There was a small trail, no larger than a footpath, that led down and into a maze carved into the stone. From their vantage they could only see the first few switchbacks and dead ends before the gloom blocked the rest of their view.

    ¡°More traps, probably enemy mobs, and of course the maze itself. Pass me some fresh paint,¡± Duncan said, holding a hand out. Trevor unslung his bag and handed two cans of yellow paint to Duncan before restrapping his bag to his back.

    ¡°I¡¯ll push forward and explore the routes. Santi is on guard duty. Should be similar to what we went through in the caves. Move slowly and carefully. Unless it¡¯s time to move fast,¡± Duncan¡¯s last words were said with a sardonic smile as he started down the trail and into the labyrinth.

    ¡°I want to hit him with my club. Repeatedly,¡± Trevor hissed quietly. The look his cousin shot him told Santi that Trevor hadn''t been quiet enough.

    ¡°I¡¯ll lead, then Tank, then you two. Stick close together. Nobody gets lost today, alright. Stick tight and we will get through this,¡± Santi gave his encouragement and then was moving down the path after giving Duncan a minute or three head start.

    The path led directly into the narrow ravines of the labyrinth''s walls, hardly more than four feet wide and soaring up to touch the roof of the cavern. The slight dip in the floor was hardly noticeable, but they were continuing to move further and further downward with every step. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Higher and higher the walls rose up and over them. Thin strips of lichen glowing blue gave the only light and it was hardly enough to break the grip of darkness. Tank¡¯s labored breaths behind him and the soft chatter of the cousins were the only sounds he heard. Santi strained his eyes, looking for the tell tale sign of Duncan¡¯s paint.

    Thin passageways broke off every ten to fifteen feet, spidering away and twisting in ways so he couldn¡¯t see further in. There was a sense of claustrophobia in the maze, as the dark and tight walls pressed in on him. Santi had to focus on moving straight and not worrying about what may be laying around a corner.

    With the solid rock all around him, his spell forms were nearly useless and he was as blind as he had ever been since the integration had started. Each careful step forward was another bolt of excitement and fear as he waited for something to come lashing out from the darkness towards him.

    ¡°This sucks,¡± Tanks whispered. Santi could have kissed him. The sudden break in tension was enough for him to let out a shaky sigh and laugh silently. He pursed his lips in sudden thought and started expanding his mana, sending it out of him and around the small group.

    He faced immediate resistance.

    ¡°There¡¯s some type of spell or magic working in here. It¡¯s probably why we¡¯re all so fucking jumpy rn. I can push it back a bit, but I can¡¯t keep a shield around us and keep moving forward. Let me know when you need a break and we can stop and catch our breath.¡±

    There was a sense of heaviness, oppression, of weight bearing down that emanated from the environment. His own mana, stained by his wind affinity, pushed against it naturally, rebelling and seeking freedom and the ability to move.

    Santi formed a small bubble around their group, but the strain was telling. The dungeon was higher level than him and massive. He was a powerful mage with deep wells of power, but he couldn¡¯t face the entire weight of a dungeon by himself. At least not for long.

    After a few minutes Santi drew his mana back into himself. There was an audible groan from one of the cousins and Santi couldn¡¯t blame him. The dread weight settled back on him, his heartbeat spiking as fear pulsed through him. It was worse than when they had originally stepped into the labyrinth.

    ¡°I have a feeling it¡¯s like going into water. The pressure gets heavier the further in you go,¡± Santi said. They had taken a few minutes to come out of the pressure, but suddenly slamming it back was different  versus acclimating to it as they walked. A much more jarring and disturbing change.

    They continued forward and a few minutes later they found Duncan¡¯s first mark that pulled them off the main trail and into a side passage. The gulley narrowed somehow and Santi had to twist and turn at places, the larger men behind him grunting and groaning as they had to contort themselves.

    A deactivated and dismantled trap was set on top of a rock near eye level, the sharp blades sitting there without any marking. Santi glanced at the alcove they had been pulled from and realized the long scythe blade would have struck his head from torso as he passed by.

    ¡°Careful where you step,¡± Santi whispered behind him and kept pushing.

    More traps showed up, broken down and dismantled. Two more yellow markers, forcing them in more and more narrow passageways to the point even Santi was having a hard time of them.

    ¡°This is fucking ridiculous. We need to get out of here. This isn¡¯t working. Let¡¯s go!¡± Bo was chanting behind Santi as they came up to another marker. This time is seemed to show them the main passageway again, much wider than the cramped confines they had just been in.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a minute here,¡± Santi said and Trevor grabbed his cousin around the shoulder and two of them took their heavy packs off as Santi slowly built a mana bubble around them. It was harder now. The weight of the earth and shadows so heavy that even as he strained against it, pushing more and more mana out of himself, there was hardly a difference.

    It was enough for the others who all groaned in relief, slumping against walls while Santi kept his eyes peeled. Just because there hadn¡¯t been any monsters in the tight confines of the chasm maze, didn¡¯t mean there couldn¡¯t be.

    ¡°Taking a break already?¡± Duncan¡¯s voice came out of the darkness as the average looking man walked into the temporary camp.

    ¡°Needed it,¡± Santi replied. Duncan stopped right outside of the limits of Santi¡¯s bubble, not stepping into it.

    ¡°It¡¯s worse when you take breaks like this. The weight becomes bearable the longer you hold it.¡±

    ¡°Needed to stop or we wouldn¡¯t be combat capable,¡± Trevor said. He was still clutching his cousin''s shoulder, the two men leaning on each other.

    ¡°Combat will be coming soon enough. There¡¯s a widening spot in the ravine not much further from here. Some type of lizard inside of it. I¡¯ll stick with you guys, you¡¯ll trigger the ambush, and I¡¯ll ambush the ambushers.¡±

    ¡°You got it,¡± Santi said, giving him a cheery smile and a thumbs up. Duncan scowled at him.

    ¡°I really dislike you,¡± Duncan said.

    ¡°I know. Your dislike has cost you an arm and I¡¯m sure I can price in a leg in the next few days.¡±

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that cursed horde, I¡¯d have spilled your blood the minute you walked outside of your camp. You wouldn¡¯t have even noticed you were dead before you hit the earth.¡±

    ¡°Possibly. Or I could have kicked your ass again and this time, there wouldn¡¯t have been anyone to save you from me.¡±

    ¡°Hey, knock that shit off. We need to work together for another few days. Then you two can stab each other to your heart¡¯s delight,¡± Tank broke their staring contest with rational thought. Something Santi wasn¡¯t appreciative of.

    ¡°Hey, let me be toxic. I¡¯m enjoying the threats,¡± Santi said with a half smile.

    ¡°The rest of us aren¡¯t. And while you two aren¡¯t threatened by this, for whatever reason, this is dangerous for us. Our lives are in danger and the threat is real to us. We can¡¯t have the two of you stabbing each other while laughing while this shit is going on. Save it for outside of the dungeon.¡±

    Tank was right of course. There had been so few true threats to Santi lately, that he had lapsed a bit. He had forgotten the edge of the knife they all perched on. At the end of the day, he could have always fled. His skills and power made it a near certainty that if he needed to, he could escape if a fight went south. The last time he had truly been pushed beyond his limits, when death was walking beside him, was when he had crossed blades with Duncan.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be the bigger man here. Until we¡¯re done with our business. We¡¯re professionals,¡± Santi said. Duncan sneered, a retort on his lips. Then he let it fade away and nodded in accord.

 Ch. 3.32 Dungeon Canyon

    32.

    ¡°Trevor, trigger the ambush. Santiago will be right behind and will protect you. Bo, you stick tight with Dexter. This is the only passage through this section, but after this I think  we will be clear of this dungeon. Just don¡¯t accidentally stab each other.¡± Duncan looked at each of them until he got an acknowledgement.

    Santi was still irritated after their last verbal sparring and having to follow the Apostate¡¯s orders did little to relieve that irritation. He nodded and let the morph turn into a short sword, the tight confines of the canyon calling for something a bit easier to use. Trevor shrugged off his pack, rolling his shoulders and shaking his arms out. He grabbed his club and slowly inched his way into the canyon.

    Nothing happened.

    He kept moving slowly. Cautious step by cautious step, eyes sweeping about as he moved in a crouch. Santi could see the nervous energy radiating off of him as he walked. Santi followed after, walking more confidently than the other man as he looked from the corner of his eyes at the cracks and crevices that the ambushers would be hiding in.

    The rock face was covered in cracks and gullies, shadowed and hard to see through, but Santi saw the gleam of eyes. Not often or in great numbers, but they were there and it set him on edge. He couldn¡¯t get a close enough look to [Identify] the monsters, but he had to assume they were stronger than the elementals were but weaker than the boss they had fought.

    Bo and Tank followed after, Duncan nowhere to be seen. Santi hated to admit that the Apostate was good enough to move without him sensing him now. Dunan had managed to become a Champion and it showed. Santi had taken him off guard with his spell sense, but he had quickly adapted and was now invisible to him.

    The first of the attacks happened swiftly, an albino lizard scampered out of the crevice and leapt at Trevor. Its six legs pumped the air as it crossed the gap in the flash of leathery skin. Dagger teeth opened and Trevor was spinning with his club coming to intercept the gecko.

    Canyon Gecko lvl. 58

    Trevor was too slow. The level disparity was too much for the man to close the gap. Santi crossed the distance in a heartbeat, shoving off hard and extending his sword and turning it into a lance. The tip of the lance caught the gecko between the second and third pair of legs and pierced through its skin with ease.

    It gave a sharp cry, wide mouth open fully as its scream echoed down the canyon walls. Santi hefted it up high and let it bleed out across the ground as he looked around the canyon walls. Geckos crawled out of the crevices, eyes blinking slowly as they lined the walls.

    ¡°I think we just fucked up,¡± Tank whispered behind him. Santi had to agree with that assessment. They probably should have sneaked through the canyon. Without lifting a dying gecko up and letting it bleed out while its family watched. Santi shrank the lance and flicked the dying gecko towards the wall. It splattered with bone crushing force and fell limp.

    ¡°They¡¯re fast and probably have a good bite strength. Low durability and no types of special attacks. Just crush the fuckers,¡± Santi said. His eyes were stuck on the blood pooled on the rocks. The curse rose like a dark tide inside of him, starved for hours now, and its hunger was painful.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not good,¡± Tank¡¯s whisper was loud enough everyone heard.

    ¡°Run,¡± Santi said, voice strained. Trevor and Bo listened immediately, breaking into sprints and rushing past him. Tank hesitated a moment before he followed after them. Santi followed behind, blade flashing and carving through geckos as they leapt at him.

    The fast bastards scurried and clung to the walls with ease, moving fast enough that it was a challenge for Santi to keep up. The first kill hadn¡¯t been indicative of how hard the animals were to kill. They were fast and changed direction with violence, their six legs finding traction with ease as they scuttled all around him.

    A leg was lost here, a tail there, a foot here. Still he wasn¡¯t able to pin them down and the frustration mingled with the iron scents of blood in the air as Santi panted heavily, his willpower straining to keep the curse under control.

    [Crosscurrent-Orb] blew apart a group of them, sending the geckos scattering across the canyon. Trevor made it to the end of the canyon and ran right outside of it without looking back. Bo was a half second behind him and then Tank. As Santi got to the end of the canyon pain flared through his ankle and he looked down to see one of the squat geckos biting down on his ankle.

    ¡°FUCKER!¡± Santi screamed, pain and rage mingling as he cut the gecko in half. Blood pulsed, pressure building behind his eyes as he warred against the power of the curse. Bo and Tank were only half way through the canyon and Santi whirled about to look down the canyon. The walls were covered with the scurrying geckos and [Gust] howled down the canyon.

    The lizards grabbed to the walls, their sticky feet holding tight as the burst wind swept by. Santi slashed at two of the closes, the morph extending into whip form to slash them apart with a flick of his wrist. They were incredibly squishy, but their speed was impressive. The bite on his ankle was throbbing, blood pooling into his boot as he grunted and limped backward. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    Duncan materialized behind the rows of hunkered down geckos. He massacred the closest lizards, burst damage skills flashing in waves as the lizards died all around him. The man was using Santi as a bait trap, collecting experience to level with ease as the slippery geckos were just beginning to move again after Santi¡¯s spell.

    ¡°Get through the canyon,¡± Santi yelled, slashing another of the geckos and watching as its blood pulsed out of its missing limbs.

    Duncan rolled his eyes, but danced past the scurrying monsters. He was graceful, avoiding attacks by the barest of margins, every slash of his long knife killing another lizard. Santi didn¡¯t want to admit how good the man was, but his skill was showing as his levels had crept up since their encounter.

    Duncan dashed past Santi and Santi reactivated [Gust] to pin down the other lizards before he retreated through the gap of the canyon. The lizards kept scurrying out, dozens of them filling the small canyon like a tsunami but they stopped at the edge of the gulley and ran around hissing and growling before retreating back into the crevices they had been hiding in.

    ¡°That was the most fun I¡¯ve had since coming back,¡± Duncan said. Santi looked around and realized it was just the two of them.

    ¡°And what have you been doing back since we¡¯ve come back?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Dalton Fage, Amanda Johnson, Julia Harden, and Nicholas Spatz.¡±

    ¡°All of them are Champions. Were Champions,¡± Santi said, though he could feel the beginning edges of horror creeping in to chill his blood. Duncan looked at him and smiled grimly.

    ¡°I was an accountant. Didn¡¯t do much in my life before this. Work, home, gym, repeat. Boring life, but it allows you to save money. I can¡¯t tell you how long we planned this out. Figuring out who needs to be where and when. Tracking down and finding out where people were right before the integration. Years of planning and you damn near ruined it all.¡± Duncan looked over his shoulder and down the narrow passage where the others had disappeared down.

    ¡°It¡¯s an intricate plan with redundancy after redundancy. Silas not making the jump hurt. He had a list longer than you are tall to do, we all do. We made contact after the jump, amazing that we could remember our phone numbers after nearly a decade. Changed things about, covered some of Silas¡¯s duties. Some of the secondary objectives had to be dropped.¡±

    ¡°So you just came back in time and talked on the phone?¡± Santi whispered. He couldn¡¯t muster his normal sarcasm. He knew what was coming.

    ¡°For the first day. About six hours of planning had to be done to accommodate your little stunt. Six valuable hours. When I knifed Dalton outside of his house it was strange. Never killed anyone without the System. Was half expecting a notice to still pop up in my feed. Instead he just gurgled at me, so confused and scared. He didn¡¯t look like he did, you know. He was pudgy and had a bad combover. His wife screamed as I stabbed him, over and over. Never felt more alive than I did escaping after that. No skills or spells or overpowered stats. Just my brain and planning.¡±

    Santi remembered Dalton as a serious bald man who looked carved from stone. A titan of muscle and strength that had stood against the tides of cultists, invaders, and monsters without hesitation. He had been one of the most prominent of the Champions who had persecuted the war against the Apostates with a fervor that was impossible to match. He had killed two Apostates in personal combat during the war over the span of three years.

    ¡°Amanda was easy. She was a literal layover stop for me. Left the airport and went to her job. Walked right into the back and got her as her coworkers screamed. I can understand now frontline fighters. The spray of blood and the look of them falling to the ground at my feet. It¡¯s intoxicating. I enjoy killing a person when they don¡¯t know i¡¯m even in the same room as them, but this isn¡¯t a bad way to do it.¡±

    Santi wanted to be sick. Amanda had been a healer. Thousands owed their lives to her. She had stopped plagues with a wave of her hand, swept down onto battlefields and simply stopped death for minutes at a time.

    ¡°I tried for her twice back in the original timeline. Nearly got her the second time, but her protector was too good. They were a good duo. It felt good to see her go down and her wounds to not just seal over. Julia was day two. Broke into her house and used  her service weapon on her. She never even heard me.¡± Duncan paused and looked at Santi and he finally saw the gleam in his normally flat eyes.

    ¡°Nicholas was right as the System activated. I thought I¡¯d get a title for that, but I missed it. Someone must have killed someone in the first moments. Took me five minutes to get to him.¡± Duncan smiled widely.

    ¡°Then there were goals during the opening days. Establishing alcoves of survivors who give tribute to the Patron. Eliminating leadership in groups. Leveling, lots and lots of leveling. Then there was you. You¡¯re just a box for us to tick off. That was a mistake. Should have gotten to you before the System activated. I knew where you were and everything.¡±

    ¡°Daphne,¡± Santi murmured, a picture of the woman¡¯s face flashing through his mind. The picture was blurry, her features twisted and changing until she was literally nothing more than a blur in his mind.

    ¡°Yes. She gave us a whole rundown on you. Only took ten minutes. You didn¡¯t accomplish much and spent so much time just hiding. I really thought you¡¯d be cowering around, maybe a bit stronger or that¡¯d you¡¯d run. We were all wrong about you. And it cost me,¡± Duncan whispered those last words as he stared down at the ground.

    ¡°Fuck you. Fuck you for taking them away. They were heroes. They save lives, and you¡­you,¡± Santi choked on his rage and sorrow. He hadn¡¯t been close to any of them, all four of the Champions so far above him socially that he¡¯d only ever met them a few times.

    But he¡¯d known of them.

    ¡°Tyrants. Murderers. Sociopaths. All four of them. Twisted by the world until there was nothing left inside of them resembling humanity. There were more, so many more names I could have taken. But those were the four worst.¡±

    Santi was trembling in rage. He wanted to kill this vile creature. This shadow assassin with his dead eyes that only showed life when he spoke about his victims.

    ¡°Come on, we have the rest of this dungeon to clear,¡± Duncan said softly, turning and heading toward the others, leaving Santi behind.

 Ch. 3.33 Shadow-Flame Sorcerer

    33.

    ¡°You good man? You look a little, uhmmm¡­well, you look like shit,¡± Tank whispered as they walked behind the others. Duncan had slipped to the front again, but had yet to disappear. Trevor and Bo walked in their own little bubble, set aside from both Tank and Santi, and from their nominal leader, Duncan.

    ¡°Yeah. Just realized something. I¡¯ll tell you about it later,¡± Santi said. He couldn¡¯t get the image of the dead Champions out of his mind. They had been icons to him. Men and women he admired, who had been the benchmarks for competence and skill. They had been the light that humanity had clung to as they weathered the storm of the Integration.

    And now they were gone.

    ¡°You say that a lot. I do expect to get told one of these days,¡± Tank whispered to him.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be one of the first,¡± Santi said as they walked through the narrow tunnels.

    Tank grunted and kept up with Santi, neither of them slowing as they caught up with Bo and Trevor. Santi had a suspicion these two weren¡¯t the best that Duncan had. They had decent levels and their skills weren¡¯t bad, but if this was all he had, Santi didn¡¯t have to wonder what the outcome of a fight between their factions would be.

    No, they were more than likely the B team. The equivalent of Rayleigh and her teams of scavengers. It just added more questions about this whole dungeon run. Obviously Duncan was using it to grow stronger, slowly absorbing shadows from the monster they fought, subjugating them and slowly strengthening his affinity.

    The level difference was enough that it made sense that Duncan would recruit Santi for the run. But why the two cousins? Santi kept an eye on the two of them as they left the convoluted canyon system and came out towards another sub-boss region.

    The canyon mouth had widened out until it was a large cavern, stalactites and stalagmites forming teeth. Bright fireflies floated about the inky darkness, the size of baseballs, each one of the thousands illuminated a few feet around their bodies. In effect it made the cavern gloomy and with plenty of shifting shadows. If the theme of the dungeon stayed the same, they¡¯d be looking at another shadow monster to fight.

    Santi looked at the Apostate who appeared to be nearly gleeful. There was a slight uptick at the corners of his mouth that one might generously call a smile.

    ¡°Want to bet he breaks off again and tries to eat whatever we¡¯re fighting?¡± Tank asked, loudly enough for the two cousins to overhear. Trevor stiffened with anger while Bo looked down toward the ground in apparent embarrassment. The hero worship Bo had towards the Apostate was slowly draining away as Duncan¡¯s greed became more and more apparent.

    ¡°Same plan as last time. Santi stands in the middle and draws aggro, you three distract when needed. I¡¯ll look for a kill shot,¡± Duncan said.

    ¡°Yes, have the mage stand in the middle of the room and get punched. Makes sense to me,¡± Santi muttered under his breath. He let the morph blade pool out of his sleeve and shape into a saber as he walked into the cavern.

    It was noticeably warmer in the cavern to the point he began to sweat under the collar of his jacket. With each step the cavern seemed to heat up, growing with intensity until he was sure he was ready to melt. It wasn¡¯t as bad as the golem rift had been, but there was a level of oppression here that the golem rift couldn¡¯t have matched if it tried.

    The flames of the fireflies grew brighter, but the shadows darkened and twisted. Behind him he could hear the cousins cursing while Tank crept forward as silently as he could. Water hissed, dripping from the stalactites and evaporating as they hit the stalagmites jutting out of the floor.

    ¡°Fuck it¡¯s hot,¡± Trevor cursed as Santi looked for whatever it was that was supposed to be in here.

    A flame flickered above them, a trail of fire as it raced from firefly to firefly. The firefly fell to the ground, squelching as it hit the hard rock floor. The flame stayed in the air though, burning brighter and brighter as a shape began to coalesce.

    Shadow-Flame Sorcerer

    Lvl. 60

    [Gust] swept across the fireflies, pushing them out of the way of the whip of flame. A growl of rage swept out of the back of the cavern as the fire evaporated in the air and a thin figure came stalking forward. It was nothing more than a silhouette with burning pits for eyes and it waved one hand at the deep shadows all around the team. Embers drifted out of the sorcerer¡¯s hand and landed in the deep pools, sitting there floating in mid air as the shadows came to life.

    Shadow-Flame Apparition

    Lvl. 28 The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Kill those apparitions. I¡¯ll lock down the sorcerer,¡± Santi barked as he put on a burst of speed and flew at the sorcerer.

    Dungeons were the most apparent that there was a higher level of intelligence designing things. The monster in them might be a mirror of the outside world, but the way they acted was more game-like. This boss had been using the fireflies to grow in strength, absorbing the literal fire in them to empower itself. If Santi hadn¡¯t stopped the absorption, he had a feeling that these apparitions would have been much more powerful.

    [Gust] staggered the sorcerer, its weak physical stats not withstanding the powerful burst of wind. Santi urged himself on, closing the distance in a blink of pumping legs and then he was leaping at the skeletal silhouette, blade outstretched. The flames burning where its eyes should have been brightened and then a burst of fire leapt from its hands, the outer corona of the blast red, but pitch black shadows formed the core.

    Santi cursed and formed two [Air Shields]. One in front of the flames that burst apart in a second, and the other to the side of his foot. He pushed off, changing his direction, and the beam of fire merely singed him as he landed in a roll. [Crosscurrent-Orb] exploded with a fury that dispersed the flames and threw the sorcerer against a stalagmite.

    Rock exploded into a powder as the sorcerer flailed about, rising to its feet unsteadily. Santi risked a glance at the others and was pleased to see them still holding their ground, fighting with skill and decent teamwork. The two cousins held the attention of several of the mobs, while Tank protected their flanks and continued to help them with what limited healing he had.

    Duncan was again nowhere to be seen.

    Santi looked back at the monster and cursed bitterly. The half second of his attention being elsewhere had been more than enough time. The Shadow-Flame sorcerer had cast its rope of fire again, draining several nearby fireflies of their strength.

    Shadow-Flame Apparitions

    Lvl. 32

    The mobs had strengthened in a heartbeat, the few survivors suddenly pressing hard against the two cousins. They held their own, but were now being pressed much harder than they had been. Santi cast [Gust] again, clearing out the fireflies from around the trail of fire.

    Santi burst into motion again, hating the fact he couldn¡¯t use his new spells in front of Duncan. The man was a nuisance and once he was dead Santi was going to find and open a bottle of champagne. This whole sneaking around thing was beginning to get annoying. He was the one who spied on people after all.

    He dodged around a stalagmite and came face to face with the sorcerer. It lifted a hand and a shield of black flames sprang into being in one hand while in the other a sword that leapt out to nearly skewer Santi. He hurriedly blocked the flame blade, sending it into the stalagmite he had just rounded.

    The rock screamed then erupted in a shower of rocks that pelted his back, but didn¡¯t penetrate the jacket. Santi had the morph blade stretch out into a long rapier as he lunged, the tip of the sword just narrowly being blocked by the top of the shield. The creature was terribly coordinated, flailing away as Santi cornered it with solid, technical footwork and swordplay.

    The creature roared, a shattering sound, and flame leapt from its now formed mouth in a gout that reached the ceiling. It billowed about along the ceiling, fireflies consumed in a burst of flames until the entire ceiling was aflame and crawling down the stalactites.

    ¡°What the fuck!¡± Trevor yelled, as he used a skill to break apart one of the apparitions.

    ¡°Start moving to the end of the cavern. This thing¡¯s nearly done,¡± Santi yelled back. The monster was getting desperate, using powerful attacks that hurt the entire cavern in an attempt to slow him down. This was why mages didn¡¯t fight in close quarters typically, their skils were better suited for long range and powerful AoE attacks.

    Santi stuck close to the sorcerer, attacking in a blitz of lightning fast actions that ringed the creature in. It grew erratic, slashing wildly with its sword as its apparitions tried to peel away from the others and make it towards their duel. Trevor and Bo did their jobs though, keeping the mobs busy even as they retreated.

    Santi ducked under a wild swing and repeated his earlier trick, and this time managed to stab through the silhouette''s thigh. Shadow popped and fire emerged, spraying about in a thin stream like a leaky faucet. It screamed again and lashed about with a wild swing that Santi was forced to block. The power behind the blow was staggering, but his own inflated stats helped him stay on his feet as he grunted and threw the creature back.

    The fires were down the stalactites and now dripping all around them, running like rain to splash about in fiery explosions. [Air Shield] stopped one from landing on his head and he had to cast another to protect the group. The moment of inattention cost him as the sorcerer next slash burned a fiery line down the outside of his right thigh. Santi gritted his teeth and bit out a curse as his own counter-attack cut apart the creature''s hand.

    The sword fell apart as the hand burst apart in a wild spray of its fire-blood as it screeched again. Santi dodged the burst of flame and slashed under its shield and cut a leg free. The sorcerer fell to the ground, the fire from its wounds beginning to dribble free.

    That¡¯s when Duncan appeared. He simply appeared from one moment to the next. Duncan¡¯s one remaining hand speared out, wreathed in shadow and pierced the sorcerer¡¯s skull. The creature stiffened for a moment and then squalled in pain as Duncan dragged a piece of the monster free. The squirming mass was dark at pitch and wiggled like worms. Duncan opened his mouth and shoved the mass in, his face darkening and then he gasped as the knot of wiggling shadow disappeared down his throat. Duncan staggered, knees weak suddenly, and then he went to a knee.

    Santi looked back at the sorcerer, who was looking much worse for the wear. Its body had become a light gray, its inner fire overwhelming its shadow aspect. Santi stabbed it through its head and the monster stiffened and died suddenly. The whole fight had been much easier than the last, much tankier boss.

    Santi looked at the burning inferno around them and then cast an [Air Manipulation] reinforced [Gust] that swept the flames down and created a temporary tunnel for him and Duncan. With great distaste, Santi reached over and grabbed the limp assassin and hauled him to his feet. The man smiled and his teeth were stained black.

    ¡°Worth it,¡± he muttered. Santi rolled his eyes as he dragged him out of the cavern and into the next portion of the dungeon. They had to be getting close to the end.

 Ch. 3.34 Puzzle Wall

    34.

    ¡°Just me or was that easier than it should have been?¡± Trevor asked as they all caught their breath in the passage leading to the next zone. Santi wanted to groan at the man jinxing them but managed to keep his displeasure to himself.

    ¡°This dungeon is much more like a game than the world is. Even with the stat screens. This shit is designed and the bosses are designed too. We must have missed something with the first boss, but this one had a power up mechanic that Santi stopped,¡± Tank explained. Santi looked at the big man and nodded in affirmation.

    ¡°Earth, then fire, what¡¯s next, air or water?¡± Bo said with a chuckle

    ¡°Neither. This next fight should be the last one. We get through this last part of the dungeon, clear the boss, and we¡¯re in the free and clear,¡± Duncan said.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Trevor asked with suspicion.

    ¡°Because if you come up here you can see the exit and the final boss,¡± Duncan said. The entire group moved as one to stand at the edge of the platform, a metal walkway leading down and to a gate. They could see over the gate and there was one more platform waiting for them, and then beyond that was a gate where even from here they could see the portal rippling with sunlight.

    ¡°Want to bet the gate is a puzzle gate?¡± Duncan whispered so softly that the others couldn¡¯t have heard. Santi shook his head imperceptibly. It would have been a bad bet to take. They all moved off the ledge of the platform and down the metal walkway and toward the towering gate.

    It was silver and glowed brightly, blue runes shining brightly enough that it stung Santi¡¯s eyes as they got closer. It was nine feet tall and arched, stretching from edge to edge of the platform they stood on. On either side was just an endless void, dropping away into the center of the world. Something stirred in that darkness, swirling about just outside of the illumination of the gate.

    Going around would be impossible. Santi was sure that the minute someone tried it and veered outside of the protection of the platform and the light of the gate, that they¡¯d meet a grisly fate. Duncan marched right up to the gate and peered his head back trying to take it all in.

    Santi stood next to him and they both just looked at the thing. The mirror finish of the silver gates reflected the lights of the dancing runes, pushing it further out against the encroaching darkness. Both men cocked their heads at the same time and hummed in frustration looking at it.

    Different shapes of runes flowed about, dancing from one end of the polished silver to the next in a dizzying pattern. Santi tried to figure out the pattern, but he had never been good with these types of things.

    ¡°You guys figure it out?¡± Bo asked as he trooped up towards them. The big man looked about and then back at them.

    ¡°No, not quite yet,¡± Santi said as he tried to unfocus his eyes to see the pattern.

    ¡°You should probably hurry it up, the lights getting dimmer,¡± Bo said. Both Santi and Duncan froze and turned back to the man.

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Duncan asked.

    ¡°When we first got here, that rock over there was fully illuminated. Now it¡¯s not,¡± Bo said, pointing toward a rock sitting on the edge of the platform.

    ¡°Timed puzzle, shit,¡± Dunca said, his head snapping back toward the gate.

    ¡°You notice anything else, Bo?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Yeah, the thing is a pattern. Those square ones with the rays coming out of them, well anytime a U hits one, the U changes direction. There¡¯s also three locks in that door. Or at least three zones the U is avoiding.¡±

    Duncan and Santi turned back to the big man. Bo just shrugged his wide shoulders at the looks of amazement they shot him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been good at pattern recognition stuff. Love doing puzzles¡± Trevor snorted behind them as Duncan and Santi shoved Bo toward the door.

    ¡°Alright, you tell me what to move and where to get those U¡¯s where the locks are supposed to be,¡± Duncan said. His one hand went up and the moment it touched one of the runes, the rune flashed gold and froze at his finger. Bo started to quickly bark out orders, his own hands excitedly showing Duncan where to place what rune. When Duncan released the rune they stayed locked in place, sending the entire stream of runes scattering into new patterns.

    The light also started dimming noticeably faster. Santi turned back to the catwalk they had come down and chuckled to himself. Shapes were coming out of the abyss, crawling up the platform and dropping soundlessly to match eyes with him. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Shadow Elemental lvl. 56

    ¡°We¡¯ve got company. Hurry it up with that door,¡± Santi said over his shoulder as he moved in front of Tank and Trevor. The two big men slid behind him, with Tank getting close to Duncan and Trevor with his club in hand.

    ¡°Just give us time, we¡¯ll get it done,¡± Duncan snapped back. The light faded further, until it barely reached the perimeter of the platform. The elementals surged forward and Santi surprised them by lunging out of the protection of the light, morph blade slicing apart the creatures with ease.

    The magic weapon and Santi¡¯s own spells were a horrible matchup for the elementals and they died much easier than they should have. Each strike of the morph blade splintered them into a revealed a core of inky blackness that Santi grabbed with [Air Manipulation]. He threw them backward and toward Tank even as he cut, ducked, sliced, spun, and cast spells in a whirlwind of destruction.

    Pain flared through his leg and it nearly buckled as he was just a half step too slow. Shadow claws parted his pants and boots like they were tissue paper and Santi¡¯s blood splashed across the ground. The curse growled in his chest, eager at the scent of blood.

    Santi jumped backward, into the fading light of the protection of the gateway. Tank was there instantly, hand clamping on Santi¡¯s shoulder. The healing spells washed over him, helping slow the blood loss and speed up his one naturally fast regeneration rate.

    The mass of shadows he had leapt in had thinned a bit, but more and more of the monsters were crawling up the sides. It was good leveling though for him. Santi looked at his kill notifications and grimaced. Not quite to fifty yet.

    The light from the silver gate was fading quickly. Dull golden runes spotted all up and around the gate, replacing the bright blue-white ones. Nearly half the platform was now in darkness and the horde of elementals was getting closer. Santi wished for a fire mage right about now.

    He leapt back into the crowd, using a razor whip to slash apart half a dozen of the shadowy forms. They tried to reform, but Santi was faster, [Air Manipulation] yanking away their cores like they were candy from a baby. He pushed them back with a combination of lighting fast strikes and [Gust] throwing the creatures off the side of the platform. It wouldn¡¯t kill them, but it might buy them a few minutes.

    ¡°How much longer?¡± Santi yelled, forced back as a strike cut him down his already bad leg.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Santi screamed, leaping off his good foot and back to Tank. The healer shoved a healing potion in Santi¡¯s hand and then stepped forward with his club glowing with his only attack spell. The blast of the blow sent the elementals backward for a few moments, but they quickly surged back. It was enough time for the potion to heal most of his lame leg and then Santi was holding the bridge again.

    Shadow Elemental lvl. 59

    ¡°They¡¯re getting stronger! Hurry it up!¡± Santi yelled at the duo as he cut apart a weaker elemental. He was too slow to snag its core and the tattered remnants of the elemental fled, already regrowing its severed limbs. Santi cursed, ducked under another strike and leapt back into the thin layer of light still offering its protection. They were now only a few feet away from the back of Duncan and Bo, the two men working desperately as most of the symbols were now gold.

    A great clunk sounded behind him and Santi looked back to see that one of the divots had a U rune drop inside of it, unlocking it. Only two to go, but it looked like it would be faster with most of the routes already blocked off to herd the proper runes into place.

    The space the light illuminated was now only a few feet wide. A wall of shadows loomed up and over them, Santi couldn¡¯t even see the differences in the elementals as they all formed together. His morph blade was a storm of movement, silver slashes slicing apart the darkness and keeping it at bay.

    Trevor was gripping his weapon and trembling, so terribly outclassed that he wouldn¡¯t last a moment. Then again, Santi wouldn¡¯t last much longer with how many of the elementals were crowded about the platform. Santi spat another curse and then a prayer of thanks as a second clunk happened.

    The light was nothing more than a dim glow, projecting only feet from the gate. Santi¡¯s back pressed against Bo¡¯s back and he cast [Gust] again, pushing the elementals back a few feet. If he had the time, he could overcharge the spell like he had done in the township. It would leave him drained and they were about to leave this platform and enter directly into a fight with whatever was on the other side of the gate. He didn¡¯t have the time anyway.

    The tide of shadows surged back toward them the moment the spell faded, a wall of claws and indistinct shapes. A final clunk happened and the light faded for a moment leaving them in darkness. [Gust] and [Air Shield] were cast back to back and then the gates flared, brighter than before. The elementals dissipated, flowing away like the water receding from the bay, and the platform was bathed in light again.

    Santi exhaled heavily and turned back to look at the gates which had begun to laboriously swing open. Duncan looked back at them and then at the bag that they had collected the elemental cores in. The naked avarice in his eyes gave Santi pause, but then they were all shoving their way through the gate and onto the next platform.

    Santi watched behind them until they were clear of the gates which had already begun to swing back shut. Turning he saw that they were standing on the last platform, the only illumination the gate showing the way outside. A single figure stood between them and the gate.

    Tall and broad with a massive obsidian sword on his shoulder, his pale face was bloodless and his eyes were swirling voids. Dark armor and a flowing cloak of tattered shadows floated on an invisible wind, drifting around him as Duncan slowly started to edge around the corner of the circular platform.

    ¡°I see you, brother. First to claim the key I guard. You are not strong enough,¡± the figure said, voice the sound of velvet decay, its eyes glaring at Duncan. The one armed assassin just smiled politely and pulled his knife out.

    Santi used [Identify] on the creature and wanted to go back through the gate. The dungeon boss was powerful and if what he had just said to be true, then this was some type of challenge dungeon that Duncan had lured him into. It now made a lot more sense why he insisted that all loot go to him.

    Shadow Knight lvl. 65

 Ch. 3.35 Shadow Knight

    <ol start="35">

    <li> </li>

    </ol>

    The knight moved in a burst of speed, heading straight toward Duncan before anyone could speak. The wide sword cut the air with a howl and Santi cast a series of [Air Shields] as fast as he could. Each of the shields burst apart in a tempest of wild winds that scoured the platform of any dust or debris on it. Duncan was moving, his shape blurring around the edges as he tried to fade away.

    The knight¡¯s sword passed by where Duncan¡¯s neck had been, but he was quick, spinning around and using the momentum of the missed blow to aim for the assassin''s waist. Duncan bent in half and the sword cut apart nothing as the assassin disappeared from sight.

    The knight just snorted and then spun on the rest of them, lunging across the platform in an explosive surge of momentum. The huge knight was angling toward Tank, who was looking up with wide eyes, and Santi was forced to cast [Gust]. At Tank.

    The big man was picked up and thrown backward and he avoided the knight¡¯s landing. A ripple rolled out from the monster, shadow undulating like waves, grabbing Bo and Trevor and tossing them toward the edge of the platform. Santi bit out a curse and grabbed them with [Air Manipulation], blowing them toward the ground. Both men bounced hard, but were scrambling to their feet in moments.

    Santi darted toward the knight, [Gust[ hitting the waves of shadow and they blew apart, the force of the blast rattling Santi¡¯s bones. He gritted his teeth and kept moving, blade transforming into a longsword as he stabbed at the knight. The monster was nimble, spinning on a heel and swatting aside Santi¡¯s thrust. Santi recovered, stopping his charge and retracting the blade into a shield to block the knight¡¯s riposte.

    It felt like getting kicked in the chest by an elephant. The air rushed out of his body and his bones creaked dangerously as Santi staggered several steps, the knight not letting him recover. The huge broadsword swinging toward him in an overhead chop as if to cut him in half.

    Santi dodged, leaping to the side and rolling on his shoulder. The broadsword hit the ground in a thunderous explosion, sending shattered pieces of stone flying about as if a bomb had gone off. Santi used an [Air Shield] to stop from being pelted and darted back at the knight. They exchanged three blows in the space of a moment, their blades ringing like bells as Santi was forced to push himself as hard as he could to match the knight¡¯s strength. Even with the coat on to push his strength, it was all he could do to stop from being blown away.

    He disengaged, rolling under a crosscut, and darted a few steps back. The knight looked unbothered, stomping forward as Santi tried to lead the knight close to the center of the platform. Trevor and Bo were going to be useless in the fight, the level disparity too high for them to even begin competing in it. Santi looked at the shadows and started to pray that Duncan would come and land a blow soon.

    The only thing Santi had that could bother the monster was going to be [Wind Blade] and he didn¡¯t want to expose that to Duncan and give the man time to figure out how to counter it before their final duel.

    ¡°Incessant ant. Just die,¡± the knight said. Its voice was flat and tired as it lifted its broadsword up and started toward him. Trevor and Bo decided to be dumb, leaping at the knight and their hammer blows coming in to bounce off of the armor. Santi had to cross the distance in a heartbeat, morph slashing at the knight¡¯s throat, to stop them from dying. Shadow spikes erupted out of the back of the knight¡¯s back, piercing the two men who screamed in agony.

    The knight blocked his blow, the morph sliding across the broadsword, peeling a thin layer of steel off of it. Tank was quick, grabbing the two men and pulling them back as Santi sent two more quick thrusts at the monster¡¯s face. Santi extended the blade at the last moment and skin parted, a thin line of inky black trailed out of the cut on the knight¡¯s cheekbone.

    It froze as if shocked and one gauntleted hand touched the thin line. Its blood didn¡¯t flow so much as slink, thick and gooey like webbing, and the knight looked at its finger with a puzzled look.

    ¡°You managed to cut me. Impressive.¡± It snapped its wrist and the drop of blood was thrown away and toward an empty place on the platform. The blood exploded, expanding in a wave of webbing that forced Duncan to materialize, trapped in the webs as he was closing in on the creature¡¯s blindside. It looked at Duncan and snorted contemptuously.

    ¡°Did you really think you could hide in the shadows from me? I am the shadow,¡± the knight said. Santi cursed and cast [Wind Blade], a crescent of air forming at his hand and then rushing forward. It didn¡¯t howl like his other spells, but screamed. The blade crossed the distance in a heartbeat and the knight moved at full speed for the first time.

    Its sword swept up and intercepted the spell, breaking it in a shriek of dispelled air. The knight¡¯s void-like eyes glittered as it locked onto Santiago with its full attention. It leapt and Santi was immediately forced to use his second hidden spell, [Wind Step] to avoid being split in half. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    The burst of speed sent Santi flying away from the knight and his injured comrades. Duncan was busy hacking away at the webbing while Tank worked tirelessly to try to keep Bo and Trevor alive. Santi was alone with the boss and he had its full attention.

    The knight came rushing towards him and Santi leapt to the side, [Wind Blade] cast and directed towards the knight¡¯s knee. Santi attacked as the knight blocked, [Wind Step] letting him redirect himself up and towards the knight. He slashed at the knight as he flew over the knight¡¯s head, the whip tendril slashed into the creature¡¯s trapezius muscle.

    The knight blocked the [Wind Blade] and cried out in pain as his neck muscle was sliced apart. Santi landed easily, casting [Gust] and reinforcing it with [Air Manipulation], driving the knight further toward the edge of the platform. The knight stabbed its blade into the ground and ground to a halt, feet from the edge.

    It growled, rattling the air as it snarled. Duncan finally finished cutting through the webbing and was moving further along the edge of the platform. Santi was hoping the assassin would hurry up and start helping him.

    The knight pulled its sword free of the platform and started marching forward, the ground shaking under its feet. Blood was running down its neck and under its armor as it marched forward without blinking. Duncan disappeared, fading away from view again. Santi wanted to shake his head in annoyance, the man had been beaten already, but he wasn¡¯t willing to learn new tricks.

    ¡°Fucker is annoying,¡± Santi whispered under his breath. The blood the thing was leaking wasn¡¯t triggering his curse and there were small favors indeed. It was built like a tank, absorbing every thing that Santi could throw at him while having several crowd control abilities. Its movement speed was based off pure stats; there had been no trace of mana when it had blitzed them, just pure strength.

    Santi hit it with two [Gusts], cast back to back and watched as it dug in its heel and refused to budge. But it stopped moving forward for a second. [Wind Blade] flew at the creature, disguised in the howling gale. The knight brought its blade up at the last moment, breaking the spell right before it hit the knight¡¯s neck.

    Santi hadn¡¯t waited for the knight to defend itself, shooting toward it with [Wind Step]. He crossed the distance in a heartbeat, the speed causing his eyes to water. Santi fell to his knees, sliding across the ground, scraping the hell out of his knees as he did so. The knight¡¯s reflexive attack sailed over Santi¡¯s head while Santi¡¯s attack hit the thinly armored knee in a burst of sparks and black blood. The knight roared in agony as its leg buckled and it staggered a step.

    Duncan made his appearance as it staggered around, his knife was wreathed in abilities and skills as he buried it in the creature¡¯s neck. Blood gouted out and the knight swung a thick arm, connecting with Duncan¡¯s ribs. Bones broke like kindling and the assassin was flung away.

    Santi didn¡¯t relent, rising to his feet and stabbing at the creature''s face. The knight¡¯s blade blocked the morph blade and it was strong enough that Santi¡¯s wrist went numb. Santi cast [Crosscurrent-Orb] at point blank range. The blast of wind ripped at the knight¡¯s face, shredding flesh and taking one eye. Santi stabbed at it, blade lengthening and aiming for its neck.

    Then he was flying backward.

    The knight had punched him with its free hand, bone breaking in his chest as he was flung backward like a limp rag. He landed, the sensation distant as he skipped across the stone, rolling twice as he torturously coughed once.

    Time slowed, red hazed his vision and his next breath was full of molten nails that ripped at his lungs. His arm twitched, the morph weapon flinching as steps rattled the platform again.

    Then the pain was fading. Bone cracked back into place as the comforting taste of a healing potion wreathed his tongue. Tank¡¯s face loomed up and into his field of view, his scowl deep and concerned. Santi coughed again, weakly, as he struggled upwards. His chest wasn¡¯t fully healed and every breath hurt as he rose up.

    The knight was only a few feet away, looming up and over them both. Santi wasn¡¯t going to make it up. Tank looked up and rose, a titan of flesh as his heavy club came up, wreathed in red as his only attack skill came into being.

    ¡°No,¡± Santi tried to say. The words weren¡¯t coming out, panic setting in as his friend stood alone. Not again. Not again.

    Tank stepped forward, placing himself between the knight and his patient.

    The knight came forward, sword rising in the air.

    Tank lifted the club and lunged at the knight.

    So slow.

    Then Tank hit the ground and a burst of red light lit the platform.

    The knight was thrown backward and Santi managed to get fully to his feet. The knight landed and rolled to its feet as the rest of the potion finally finished its work. It was looking ragged, face shredded, blood pulsing out of its neck, down its leg, and now its free arm was jagged and broken.

    Santi lurched toward it as the knight struggled to get up. [Wind Step] sent him across the distance in a second, but he was still too late. Duncan appeared, knife in hand and rammed it into the knight¡¯s neck, twisting and ripping it free. Blood geysered out of the knight as Santi saw his kill being stolen right in front of him.

    The morph lengthened into a lance and punched through the knight¡¯s remaining eye, erupting in a spray of gore. The kill notification dinged through his head and then Santi saw the alert.

    Dungeon Cleared

    Grade: A

    Rewards: Calculating

 Ch. 3.36 Leaving the Dungeon

    36.

    They all stood there in silence, the only light coming from the doorway behind them that showed their way free of the dungeon. Trevor and Bo were looking at Tank with a lot more respect than they had when they had entered the dungeon. Saving someone¡¯s life could do that.

    Duncan¡¯s eyes were unfocused as he stared off into the distance. Going through the status screen and the notifications that were likely popping up. Santi wasn¡¯t touching any of his till they were away from the assassin and into the hills and away from his prying eyes.

    He was sore about losing his secret aces, but the boss monster had been too strong for him to simply try to whittle it down. The creature¡¯s speed, strength, and durability had been impressive. Now they were all waiting as Duncan worked his way through his changes.

    ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate,¡± Duncan said. He looked toward Trevor and Bo, who¡¯s eyes had unfocused themselves as they took their own level ups. They hadn¡¯t been super helpful, but they had done enough against monsters heavily outleveling them that they had earned a few levels themselves.

    ¡°Hmmm?¡± Tank inquired. The large healer was staying alert, not lured off by the promise of prompt screens.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t quite hit my level. I can feel it, just standing on the precipice. So close,¡± his voice trailed off as both Bo and Trevor finished their level ups. Both men were smiling as they looked at each other.

    Duncan reached over and slit Trevor¡¯s throat.

    The room went quiet, shock running across it. Bo¡¯s mouth gaped open, eyes filled with betrayal, pain, and confusion. Duncan stepped to the side, letting the arterial spray fill the space he had just occupied. Before anyone could move, a shadow blade emerged from the ground and rammed itself into Trevor¡¯s chest, killing the man.

    Duncan stabbed Bo, his arm pumping with machine gun speed, killing the second man before he could begin to defend himself. Santi grabbed Tank, throwing the healer behind him as the morph blade spun into a saber and he stepped between Duncan and Tank.

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it. A deal¡¯s a deal.¡± He waved the bloody knife at Santi as he bent down and started to tug the heavy bag Bo had strapped to his back off. He grunted in annoyance and wiped the knife on the back of Bo¡¯s shirt before sheathing it. He looked over and met Santi and Tank¡¯s horrified looks.

    ¡°You thought these two were going to make it out of here alive? How charming,¡± his voice had a cheer to it as if he really did the thought of not murdering comrades was charming. Santi was holding down bile as he stared at the two men.

    They had died so fast. There was nothing he could have done. They weren¡¯t his people, they weren¡¯t his responsibility to protect or lead. But they had been people. Decent enough people who didn¡¯t deserve to be knifed by the man who was supposed to be leading them.

    ¡°Why?¡± Tank asked in little more than a whisper.

    ¡°I needed the levels and they were here. If not here, then I would have taken them out on the way back, after we dropped you off. They had seen a bit too much and were getting too friendly with you. Now, I just tell their friends that you killed them, like you did their other friends, and they¡¯ll hate you more. Keeps the questions down that way,¡± Duncan explained as he rifled through the bag before heading over to Trevor¡¯s corpse and beginning again.

    ¡°You thought I didn¡¯t see you two working on them as we came down here. Trevor wasn¡¯t quite as devoted as Bo, but he was loyal. Until he met you,¡± Duncan jerked his chin toward Santi.

    ¡°Can¡¯t have a split house, Santiago. He goes to the group and tells them all about you and how wonderful you are and how I acted, and next thing I know, they¡¯ll be talking about mending fences. That what happened should be put aside, maybe we shouldn¡¯t kill you. And I can¡¯t have that.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck is wrong with you?¡± Tanks said, his hand straying toward his club.

    ¡°Careful Santiago. You two keep your word, I¡¯ll keep mine. I don¡¯t leave this dungeon, my people not only won¡¯t help you, they¡¯ll make damn sure Mercy¡¯s finishes you off.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°Tank, chill. Just for a minute.¡±

    ¡°Fuck that Santi. He killed them! For no fucking reason, he just murdered them!¡± Tank¡¯s voice was filled with anger and his hand finished wrapping around the hilt of the club.

    ¡°And if we bring the murderer to justice, everyone else dies. We need his numbers to beat back Mercy. We need Duncan too. Aside from me, he¡¯s the most powerful person in the region and Mercy is going to be a nightmare even with Duncan. We can¡¯t square shit up right now,¡± Santi pleaded. His mind was racing.

    If Tank pushed this, Santi would be forced to kill Duncan. He¡¯d split the assassin in half without a moment¡¯s hesitation, without remorse to keep Tank alive. Then they¡¯d have to move, abandon Homebase and everything they were building. Head South towards Mexico, hope to establish themselves there.

    ¡°There has to be a line. There has to be,¡± Tank whispered those last words, so full of sorrow that it broke Santi¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Duncan crossed the line a half dozen times, and we will get square. There will be justice, it just can¡¯t be right now,¡± Santi said. Duncan snorted softly, the exhalation so faint that Santi hardly heard it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here. I can¡¯t stand him.¡± Tank burst into motion, heading toward the gate.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want the riftheart?¡± Duncan said and Santi paused. It was why they had come out here and done all of this afterall.

    ¡°You have it here. Brought it into the dungeon?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Yes. You did your part and have fulfilled the bargain. I¡¯ll have my people ready to join the fray when Mercy comes down on you. You still haven¡¯t told me how you get her to attack you,¡± Duncan said.

    ¡°Just have your people ready and I¡¯ll get Mercy to come to me.¡± Santi reached a hand out and Duncan withdrew the riftheart from the bag. Metal chains with runes carved into them were wrapped around the ball of power, each of the runes glowing dimly in the dark.

    Santi grasped the riftheart through the chains and felt the pulse of power through the chains as it forced his mana down and contained it in his body. With a bit of effort he could push through the binding chains, but the fact that they already had at least one binder powerful enough to make these irons was concerning.

    ¡°Nasty aren¡¯t they? Was planning on using them on you, but our guy just isn¡¯t strong enough to really make it worth the time and effort. You can keep the chains, free of charge,¡± he offered with the hinting mockery of a smile. Tank grabbed Santi¡¯s other arm and the two of them walked out the dungeon and into the sunlight.

    Exiting Dungeon

    Rewards Not Settled

    Once you have left, the rewards can¡¯t be retrieved

    ¡°We need to get moving,¡± Santi said as he shoved the riftheart into Tank¡¯s backpack.  Tank just grunted in affirmation and the two of them set off quickly. Santi led the way as they backtracked, his mind still reeling from what had just happened.

    It wasn¡¯t the Apostate killing his own followers. It was how easily he had done it. Both of them had been decently leveled Acolyte¡¯s with a lean toward the physical side. Yet, Duncan had overpowered both of them so easily it had been almost laughable. His knife was obviously System forged and he had some skill related to killing players, but Santi was forced to re-evaluate where Duncan¡¯s actual levels were. He had to be close to sixty.

    A full ten level disparity between the two was covered by Santi¡¯s titles, but the extra skill slots the man had made it more dangerous. He had managed to avoid showing Santi any skills inside of the dungeon and had managed to get Santi to reveal his. From an information gathering point, the dungeon run had been a total disaster.

    He had the riftheart back though and the number of alerts on his feed was enough to make him a little giddy. He had cleared to level fifty, which opened another slot for him, and then there was the Pillar and the wealth of coins he had that could make up for the slots being used already. There was much to do, but he couldn¡¯t risk doing anything while they were on the road.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe he killed them.¡±

    ¡°He caught me off guard too. If there had been an attack, I was expecting it was going to be at you. Try to remove our most powerful healer and then see what happens from there. I never expected him to kill his own people like that,¡± Santi said. They were moving at a good clip, neither of them caring to see what type of monsters or mutated animals were out and in the woods.

    ¡°They were his people and he just¡­¡± Tank shook his head as he let the thought trail off into the aether.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t understand. The world has gone to shit. Monsters are literally appearing from thin fucking air, people have become consumed by curses, there¡¯s portals to slices of different realities, and he¡¯s killing his own.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s fucked up. He¡¯s a rabid dog that needs to be put down.¡±

    ¡°Is he rabid though? Everything he does seems measured and weighed. Even killing Trevor and Bo, it was done so calculatingly. He¡¯s a fucking psychopath.¡± Tanks shook his head slowly as he finished the thought.

    ¡°Can¡¯t argue there. He¡¯s dangerous though. The moment Mercy goes down and her curse is lifted, we¡¯re taking him, and anyone of his people who fights back, out. He knows we¡¯re going to be coming too and he wanted that reward bad,¡± Santi promised.

    ¡°We have our plans and our counters. We just have to trust in each other to get it done. But first we cleanse the curse,¡± Tanks said. Santi nodded and the two of them continued on in silence.

 Ch. 3.37 Orb of Holding

    37.

    ¡°Damnit!¡± Tank spat as he dodged a wide sweeping blow from the hissing mountain lion. Talons flashed by his face, splitting the air as Santi turned around in surprise, as the mountain lion had arrived soundlessly. Santi dashed in front of them with [Windstep] as his blade lengthened into a spear. Santi stabbed the mountain lion through its chest before it could react. The lion coughed once and went still, legs going limp and collapsing as the two men stood there in silence.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t sense that at all?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°Not at all. Just came out of nowhere,¡± Santi said a little breathlessly. The scent of blood in the air was intoxicating and he pulled his spear free as the two of them looked at each other and laughed anxiously together.

    ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± Santi said, the road signs slowly showing the distance traveled for themselves as they got closer and closer.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired. Let¡¯s get there and get this over with. ¡° Tank rustled his shoulders, settling the pack carefully on his shoulders as they turned and kept going. Santi looked down at the pelt of the cougar, the low level Acolyte animal would have made a solid pelt or leather armor.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Santi. Stop sniffing the air like a weirdo.¡± Santi came back to himself, pulling his eyes off of the dead big cat and then they were traveling again in moments. The heat of the sun was pleasant against their skin, their natural resistances enough that even the California summer was growing to be easily tolerable.

    ¡°What do we tell everyone when we get back?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°We went and did the dungeon. We have the riftheart. That¡¯s all there is to it. Duncan used the dungeon to try to improve his affinity and it probably worked or got close to succeeding. Did you level?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I got a few. You?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I need to figure out my levels and go through these achievements when we sit down.¡±

    ¡°Still trying to be somewhat balanced?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°Not really. We¡¯re passing the point where I can keep up with physical classers even with all my advantages. It¡¯s better for me to start focusing on my weak points and allowing gear and titles for the disadvantage. Time to start leaning into the mage class,¡± Santi said. It had been growing obvious for a while now that he was starting to be surpassed physically.

    Magically there was no one who could rival him, but without combat specific spells he had been forced to augment his combat with magic rather than augment his magic with swordwork.

    ¡°I suggest the same for you. I don¡¯t know the attribute spread for your class, but I¡¯m assuming it''s similar to mine. Leaning into mana stats, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no. I am a [Combat Medic]. I get strength stats right off the bat and a few durability points. The majority go toward spell casting though.¡±

    ¡°When the market is fully functional, or the dwarves get going, we equip you in armor that will protect you and items to improve strength. Lean into the mage portion of the build and just keep the heals flowing. Won¡¯t be as squishy as most healers but you won¡¯t be as powerful as them medically.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to heal a battlefield to perfect health. Just keep you alive until we get back to the real doctors.¡±

    ¡°There is definitely a place for a class and build like that. Splitting the difference between a physical classer and a true healer, you¡¯ll never reach the pinnacle of strength like that though. You can¡¯t completely split yourself, eventually you have to pick a direction,¡± Santi warned.

    They turned to the final stretch of road that led to their new camp. Santi was pleased to see a barricade had begun to be built. It wasn¡¯t the poorly done ones they had done either against the cyclops, as the effect of skills were evident. Cars had been melted into one another, melding together to form a mass that blocked off the road except for a single choke point.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you been splitting your attention?¡± Tank asked.

    ¡°Yes and no. My class dumps almost all my points into mana based abilities and then I use my few spare points to bolster weak zones. I have my titles and gear now that help me cover the distance between me and a physical classer. By the time someone like Cameron or Bianca or Chloe reaches my level though, they¡¯ll have a base strength that is equal or surpasses mine, even with all my advantages.¡±

    ¡°But your magic abilities will far outclass theirs?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, I¡¯ll run circles around them magically. Biggest issue right now is most of my spells are more utility than combat. I can shape and change them to be combat focused, but at the end of the day they aren¡¯t as impactful as say something like [Firebolt].¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    ¡°Your sister doesn¡¯t use her affinity that much, just the one skill.¡±

    ¡°She has shit mana. She can¡¯t use her abilities as frequently as I can or even you and Cameron. Cameron is nicely balanced, but so many of his abilities use mana to create shields, he needs to be.¡±

    ¡°Really is like a game. What a fucking world,¡± Tank whispered the last part as they got closer to the barricade. Santi felt the hairs on his neck rise up as he stared at the barricade. It was eight feet tall but there was an ominous dread emanating from it as he stared. Either a skill or a spell that Yessi had laid down upon it.

    ¡°Come on in,¡± Maya yelled, her head peeking over the top and waving them in. Santi hadn¡¯t felt her on the other side of the barrier, in fact he couldn¡¯t sense anything beyond the barricade. Another layer of obfuscation that they had laid down.

    A small passage was created in the middle of the barricade, hardly large enough for Santi to pass through easily, Tank was forced to turn sideways and take his pack off to get through.

    ¡°Your dwarf friends are quite industrious. Going to have a wall up and around the whole damn town before the day¡¯s over,¡± Maya said as she sat back down on a ledge. Her head was completely hidden from the outside world, keeping the appearance of an abandoned wall.

    ¡°Good. Where is everyone?¡± Santi asked.

    ¡°Everyone is working around town. The others haven¡¯t made it back yet. I got stuck up here on watch duty,¡± she yawned as she spoke, boredom and not exhaustion easily seen on her face.

    ¡°How did the evolution go?¡± Santi asked as Tank shrugged his pack back on.

    ¡°Hurt like a bitch. Gains were nice though. Ready to test them out for sure. The others said they¡¯d take me out for a hunt and level party later as we try to find those bugs,¡± Maya said.

    ¡°Alright. Keep an eye out and I¡¯ll talk to you later,¡± Santi waved a hand at the woman and then he and Tank set off. Santi was heading straight for the Pillar of Civilization which rose up in the middle of the town. He had a level worth of stat points to distribute and the awards to go through, then the kit change up.

    ¡°Take the gear back to the house, give Yessi the riftheart when you see her. I¡¯m going to get through all the changes and then start baiting the trap,¡± Santi explained to Tank. The other man grunted and peeled away as Santi reached the Pillar.

    Santiago V. Silva

    Level 50. Air Mage

    Strength: 40 (75)

    Durability: 40 (75)

    Stamina: 40 (75)

    Dexterity: 40 (75)

    Vitality: 40 (75)

    Perception: 36 (71)

    Intelligence: 120 (155)

    Mana: 160 (195)

    Willpower:130 (165)

    Most of his spare points had been added to willpower, desperately trying to hold the curse at bay. Santi now fully understood how others had fallen to its insidious whispers that constantly attacked at his restraint and tolerance. The desire to simply solve every problem with bloodletting was monstrous and lurked in the background of every decision he had made for the last few days.

    Achievement: Clear a Dungeon

    Reward: Minor Loot Box

    Achievement: Kill a Monster 10 levels above you

    Reward: Minor Loot Box

    X3

    Achievement: Survive a Monster 10 levels above you

    Reward: Title Cockroach Accumulation 10%

    X3

    Thirty percent into title accumulation was nice. Fighting and killing the bosses in the dungeon had rewarded him handsomely, but the five percent extra gain he had had as an Initiate was missing. It also marked the halfway point of climbing through the Acolyte tier and another spell slot he could work with. He wasn¡¯t looking forward to the next step in his plan.

    He opened all four loot boxes and the only thing he got was another mound of coins that piled up into a neat pile at his feet. Thirty coins from each of the boxes. Santi actually counted them this time and frowned, he could have sworn there had been more last time.

    He touched the pillar and connected with it and quickly sorted through the menus. A quick scan of the map showed a nice layered topographical map that stretched out for miles. There were a few [Scouts] or their equivalent outside of the town, but nothing he had to worry about.

    He brought up the merchant windows and began to search. There were two merchant windows, one from the System directly that offered all sorts of low end supplies at high prices and then the on world merchant site which was for trade amongst the populace. Currently the inter world trade window was empty, but in a few days or weeks it would swell with new users and the market would be flooded with low quality goods.

    Santi focused on scrolling down the list of the offerings from the System until he found what he wanted. He wanted to wince at the price, but a hundred tokens wasn¡¯t the end of the world. With a thought the majority of the pile of coins at his feet disappeared and with a pop a small cardboard box appeared at Santi¡¯s feet.

    He pulled it free and looked at the small orb that had just absorbed so much of his earnings. It was a clear globe and when Santi grabbed it, it felt like the most flimsy piece of glass in the world, ready to shatter under his fingers with just the wrong move.

    Orb of Holding (Basic)

    Pull a skill or spell from your body and place it in the Orb.

    Santi had never used one of these before, but he knew people who had. It was an expensive and painful way of fixing a mistake. Santi was looking at his [Crosscurrent-Orb] and getting ready.  [Gust] was too useful currently, but the orb attack was weak and could be replicated by other abilities. Freeing up the third slot so he could take a common level skill was too tempting.

    He activated the orb and selected [Crosscurrent-Orb]. For a moment, nothing happened as he stood there holding the orb. Pain exploded in a white sheet that drove him to his knees as his very body trembled and shook violently. It was like hooks he hadn¡¯t known existed were being yanked free of his body.

    Santi blacked out and fell on the dry grass in front of the pillar.

 Ch. 3.38

    38.

    ¡°You alive?¡± Cameron asked, leaning over Santi and blocking out his view of the warm sun above. Santi grunted as he squinted at his overly large friend and the large shadow he cast. Cameron was nothing more than a silhouette against the sun and even then, Santi could see the mocking smile he was wearing.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Santi choked out, struggling to sit up. He felt as if he had been rolled through a press, drained of all energy and left to die as he coughed once as he looked around himself. An hour and twelve minutes had passed since he had lost consciousness and it didn¡¯t look like anyone had come and pulled him away from the pillar.

    ¡°Tank said you were alive after we found you sleeping. I waited around for you to come to, just to make sure though. Cause, I¡¯m your best friend,¡± Cam said, a bit too innocently.

    ¡°Did you draw something on my face?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Cameron said unconvincingly.

    ¡°Is it genitalia?¡±

    ¡°Would you be mad if I said yes?¡± Cam asked, the hidden glee in his voice not quite so hidden. Santi wiped at his face and then rubbed his eyes as he staggered upright. His legs were wobbly and he was having a hard time seeing, his vision blurry and strained.

    ¡°So, what were you doing that made you pass out?¡± Cam asked as he leaned against the pillar and looked at Santi expectantly. Santi looked down to see the orb sitting there in the grass. He picked it up and held it up to Cameron who peered at with a scrunched up look on his face.

    ¡°It¡¯s a snow globe?¡±

    ¡°Skill orb. It pulled out one of the spells I didn¡¯t use and stored it in here,¡± Santi explained. He was ready to look at his new spell he could take now that he had three open slots, but the drain on his body made him nervous to take a new one. The ripping at the soul was dangerous and the last thing he wanted was to somehow fail when acquiring a new spell.

    ¡°You can do that?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. It costs a good chunk of money and it''s incredibly painful, but you can take a skill or spell out of your slot and hold it in one of these.¡±

    ¡°And you can put it back in whenever?¡±

    ¡°Probably want to wait a little bit after taking it out, and the orb will shatter when the spell or skill comes out, but yeah.¡±

    ¡°Could I take that skill?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Santi waited as the implications sunk through Cam¡¯s head.

    ¡°So, if I found the right person, I could start taking skill and spells outside of my class selection?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. They won¡¯t suit you and might be a struggle to use, but you can. For the most part we get offered skills or spells that fit our class or affinity. For me it''s wind spells and some basic others like [Identify]. You have tanking skill and earth based spells, etc. etc,¡± Santi emphasized the point by rolling his hand to show it going on and on.

    ¡°Got any water?¡± Santi said, mouth feeling dry.

    ¡°Naw, but there¡¯s some at the house. Let¡¯s get a few other people gathered up and hear this. I think this could be big,¡± Cam said, his hand slipping under Santi¡¯s arm and helping steady him as they walked back to their temporary home.

    ¡°It could, if you had the money, the right set of class types and spell types, and of course, access to a Pillar. Then you could have all sorts of hidden talents ready to go,¡± Santi said.

    "Just hold it in for everyone else. We were taking a break for lunch and that¡¯s why I was over there,¡± Cam said quickly.

    ¡°So I don¡¯t have a penis drawn on my face?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t say that,¡± Cam said, a smile perking the edge of his mouth. Santi rolled his eyes and they continued in toward the house. He looked around as he walked there, his legs slowly growing firm beneath him as he recovered from the trauma of having a spell ripped out of his soul.

    ¡°It¡¯s looking nice out here. Or at least better than it did,¡± Santi said. Cam grunted, but there was a hint of pride in that grunt.

    ¡°Torin and Grimvr are machines and all of us being Acolytes has really sped it up. Can do the work of four or five men with ease. And that¡¯s just with stats, not including spells or skills.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    The streets had been cleared of debris and paint had been laid down carefully. Santi knew how the design worked, he had helped make it after all, but seeing pieces of it was interesting. He knew Mercy and her band of cursed would have no idea what this was, but Duncan might. A Champion accumulated enough knowledge that it was unwise to assume they were ignorant about anything, even if it was outside of the realm of expertise.

    It wasn¡¯t like the spell form would be dangerous to Duncan after all. Santi doubted the man would worry much about it.

    They walked into the house and Cam let Santi go then proceeded to flop on the couch, a piece of wood cracking as he landed with all his weight on the cheap furniture. He sighed once and then looked up at Santi.

    ¡°Hey, might want to try to scrub your face before everyone else gets here. Looks super unprofessional,¡± Cam said. Santi flipped him off and went to the restroom and saw that Cameron had indeed drawn a comically large penis across his cheek.

    It took a minute to scrub off and while he was at it he gave himself a bird bath in the sink, scrubbing off the remnants of the dungeon into the dirty porcelain before retreating back into the living room. Over the next five minutes the majority of the inner core group showed up, only the trio out looking for Keegan still missing.

    Rayleigh came too, but left her few people standing guard with the newcomers. She sat down next to Yessenia and the two whispered to each other as the rest of the family and friends showed up.

    ¡°Alright, so what happened?¡± Bianca said the moment everyone had settled down.

    ¡°Why were you out cold in the middle of the lawn?¡±

    Santi explained everything to them about the skill orb holder and how they could replace their skills or spells. And the cost to do so.

    ¡°So, you could give me your wind spells?¡± Bianca asked.

    ¡°Yeah. They wouldn¡¯t suit you at all, but you could take this one and absorb it if you have the space to slot in a basic level spell.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s to stop people from mixing and matching to their hearts content then? What¡¯s the point of having a class?¡±

    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be efficient. Like you would be able to maybe cast this spell two or three times before your mana starts getting drained. I can spam it as much as I want. My affinity and class are better suited for it. Same with any of yours or Chloe¡¯s endurance skills that enhance your physical stats. I could do it once or twice, but the boost just isn¡¯t worth it,¡± Santi explained.

    ¡°What about spells or skills that work in concert but are out of your class?¡± Mom asked, she was leaning over and very intent.

    ¡°Cost is quite prohibitive. Then the pain of having it ripped out and you''re no longer able to access that spell again. If I give [Crosscurrent-Orb] to one of you, it''s no longer available in my spell inventory to choose again. This isn¡¯t a way for you to spam instant skills for other people, but a drastic way to make a bit of coin or retool your build.¡±

    ¡°Make coin?¡± Cam perked up at that.

    ¡°The market option on the pillar. You will be able to sell goods across to other pillar owners for money. The System will take a bit of the money and the owner of both pillars will take a piece, but you¡¯ll be able to trade goods. Like these spell orbs,¡± Santi said, hoisting said orb up for everyone to see.

    ¡°So you owning that pillar means you get continuous money by people buying and selling goods?¡± Mom asked.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m the government basically.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± She nodded her head and sat back.

    ¡°For our group and close friends, I can keep the tax low while others are charged higher. It¡¯s another way to incentivize cooperation. The more of these pillars I control, the more nodes we have to trade. After this is over, we¡¯ll be working on acquiring more pillars and establishing small trading outposts around the area, all tied to our central pillar. But, that¡¯s for the future.¡±

    ¡°So if we fuck up or find a skill or spell that someone else has that we like, we could have them trade us?¡± Bianca asked.

    ¡°Yeah, but again. It¡¯s expensive and painful as fuck. I don¡¯t recommend it.¡±

    Yessenia was looking at him with a frown and Santi had a sudden idea that she had seen a ritual in her spell book that he had hoped wouldn¡¯t be there. After that, the group broke up and ate lunches of ration bars and just chatted with each other. It was good to see Yessenia in the group setting and not hiding off to the side or retreating to her room.

    As the group broke up and everyone went back to their respective jobs, Yessenia remained behind. She waited till the door closed and then pulled out a thin piece of chalk from one of the myriad of pockets she had on her cargo pants. She went over and made a quick Silence  rune on the door and imbued it with a brush of mana. Santi felt his eyebrows raising at the quick and efficient use of the rune.

    It was a relatively quick and fast method of ritual magic and quite weak by itself. The rune would keep all sound from escaping the house for a few minutes or until someone with the right knowledge broke it.

    ¡°There¡¯s a spell in the book called Skill Extraction. Could it be used on someone unwillingly to take their spells or skills and store them in one of those containers?¡± She was looking at him with an iron gaze that Santi both admired and was a little scared of.

    ¡°Yes. It can strip someone unwilling of their skill or spell. It can¡¯t be targeted though, so it just rips them out one at a time.¡± It had been a way of punishing transgressions for some of the more authoritarian groups. Or a way of blackmarket peddlers to sell in demand skills and spells.

    ¡°The ingredients are easy and it doesn¡¯t take much to power it.¡± The question was left unsaid.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want us to be those types of people. The pain of what I just did was excruciating and it was on my own free will. It¡¯ll likely take me the rest of the day to feel better and be ready to take on a new spell. We won¡¯t force anyone to do that.¡±

    ¡°Even people like Duncan?¡±

    ¡°Especially people like Duncan. He¡¯s ruthless and dangerous and it doesn¡¯t matter what wealth we can obtain from him. It''s morally wrong and it''s how people like him became people like him. He wasn¡¯t born evil, he just kept making these types of choices over and over again. We end the threat, quickly, cleanly, and permanently. I don¡¯t want to hear about these spell holders popping up on the market place, ok?¡±

    ¡°As long as we¡¯re on the same page.¡± Yessenia turned and left, wiping away the chalk rune on the door before walking out and into the street to continue her preparations. Santi sank into the couch and looked at where his little sister had just left and thought of her words.

    She had been more than willing to do it. There had been hints of eagerness there.

 3.39 Chloes Return

    39.

    Santi stared down at the lines that everyone had worked so hard to build over the last day. Chalk outline with an adhesive laid down that held salt in place, all of in combining to form one of the largest groundwork spells he had ever witnessed.

    The complexity of the regression spell had admittedly been far more superior, but the sheer size of this one dwarfed what the Apostates had managed to accomplish. It spread across an entire town, from the newly erected barricades all the way to the pillar standing tall in the middle of it.

    Power buzzed faintly, just at the edge of his ability to sense. Ambient mana was flowing at all times and the array was slowly pulling it into itself. With enough time the array could theoretically collect enough mana to power itself. If nothing broke the array lines and interrupted its growth.

    He could always buy an array from the pillar that could draw more ambient mana towards it, but he didn¡¯t want to waste the money. At least, not when he had a riftcore that could do the same thing.

    ¡°Incoming!¡± one of Rayleigh¡¯s people yelled from a rooftop a couple houses over. Santi perked up, hoping that it was Chloe and the scout duo. He leapt, grabbing the eaves of the closest house, and then bounded to the top of the roof. He was barely tall enough to see over the top of the barricade and across the dried scrub.

    Chloe was walking in the front, her axe seated on a broad belt he hadn¡¯t seen before. Daniel and Hana were in the rear, their focus fixed on the path they had taken rather than where they were going.

    In the center of the group were three people that Santi had a vague recollection of seeing about. A tall, skinny woman with blonde hair in the middle of the group was wearing tan camo army fatigues with a crossbow on a slung over one shoulder with a green visor that covered her eyes.

    The man on the right was older with a gray and black beard and a shaved head and a pierced eyebrow that glinted from the sun. He was short and broad with an old army jacket and a knife in his belt.

    The man on the left was younger with short curly black hair and similar camo as his two compatriots. He had a pair of binoculars that hung off his neck and had a pack slung over one shoulder that looked half empty. All three of them looked tired and dusty, the hard travel having worn them down.

    Santi gave a quick wave toward them and was rewarded by Chloe waving back at him, a smile spreading across her face. He waited patiently for them, the urge to head towards them strong, but he was trying to keep some decorum. The group slipped past the barricade and into the small town. Daniel and Hana split off immediately leading their three people away towards the house.

    Chloe bounded straight up the side of the house and smashed into Santi before he could react. Her grip was strong enough that his bones creaked as she hugged him and he grunted as the air was forced out of his lungs.

    ¡°Good to see you too,¡± he managed to whisper with the last of his breath. Chloe released him and threw back her head to laugh loudly. Closer to her, Santi could see the strain building up on her. The deep bags under her eyes, the matted tangle of her hair from dirt and dried blood. Her small smile was tired and her laugh forced.

    ¡°I¡¯m used to you being the strongest person I know. It feels weird that I¡¯m stronger than you now,¡± Chloe said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about all that,¡± Santi said laughing even as he left his hands on her biceps. Her warmth radiated through her thin shirtsleeves and Santi felt the edge of tension he¡¯d been carrying since they left for the dungeon slowly dissipate.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be that much stronger than me then,¡±Chloe corrected herself.

    ¡°You¡¯ll pass me up soon enough, don¡¯t worry ¡®bout that. How was the trip?¡± Santi asked, already knowing from the state of her dishevelment. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    ¡°Fucking nightmare. Wildlife everywhere, a few monsters running about, then finding them was hard enough. Getting back was even worse. Most things we could sneak around or outrun getting there, but with them it became just a long running fight. Got two more levels doing it though. So there¡¯s some good that came out of it,¡± Chloe said. She slowly lowered herself and swung her legs off the gutter, looking around at the drawn on lines everywhere.

    ¡°Are you sure this is going to work?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Nope. I mean, it should. None of the spells we are doing are that advanced, they¡¯re just big. And a few of them. The hard part is going to be timing, which will be relying on you for,¡± Santi said as he sat next to her.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Got to get everything here at the same time. Daniel finds us that beetle nest and you¡¯re going to be our lure,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°Since when?¡±

    ¡°Since you just gained two levels and are our physically strongest person here. I can¡¯t go do it, I¡¯m the bait for Mercy.¡±

    ¡°Thought you said she was going to be coming no matter what?¡±

    ¡°I was lying. Got a resonance spell here near the middle of the town that will amplify the curses call. That is what¡¯s going to drag Mercy to us.¡±

    ¡°Resonance spell?¡±

    ¡°Giant amplifier that will resonate with the curse, amplifying it and projecting it outward. It¡¯ll be like throwing up a big-ass flare for her to see. And a challenge of sorts. She won¡¯t be able to turn it down.¡±

    ¡°Ok. Then when she gets here we use the defenses and spell forms to slowly grind them down?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Close enough. Grind them down and have Duncan¡¯s people hit them from the rear. Catch them in a pincer and fall back deeper into the city and closer to the pillar before we trigger our final trap.¡±

    ¡°The beetles?¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯m leaving it as a surprise. Just between me and Yessenia. You¡¯ll see it when it activates though,¡± Santi promised.

    ¡°Can¡¯t trust me?¡±

    ¡°I trust you. I just can¡¯t trust that Duncan is spying on us. I can¡¯t sense him,¡± Santi admitted. He had thought he had been reaching the levels of skill that the Apostates had when it came to spell manipulation. Duncan had proved him wrong repeatedly with his ability to come and go at will.

    ¡°I¡¯ll breathe easier when he¡¯s dead, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    ¡°We all will.¡±

    ¡°You get a better feel for him on the dungeon run? Maybe discern what he¡¯s actually about?¡±

    ¡°Self-centered, megalomaniac, asshole. He¡¯s skilled though. Very, very, skilled.¡± It hurt that Santi couldn¡¯t tell her exactly what was going on. After his time with Duncan and both of them knowing what they were about and what had happened, the sudden inability to talk about his past was glaring and painful.

    ¡°Sounds like a real piece of work,¡± Chloe said, her eyes locked on her swinging boots.

    ¡°He killed his two guys to finish his leveling off.¡± The words sprung out as Santi began to talk. The words were no more than a stream of consciousness as he described what had happened in the dungeon, the three boss monsters they had killed, and culminating in the death of Trevor and Bo.

    ¡°What a fucking psycho.¡± Chloe turned and spat in distaste.

    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t know what I was expecting when we went down there, but it wasn¡¯t that. I think he¡¯s higher level than me, might be sixty already,¡± Santi said.

    ¡°How? You are constantly fighting and killing things,¡± Chloe said, eyebrows raised in surprise.

    ¡°No. I spend time doing paperwork. Arguing with people about how they need to be a [Farmer] and not a [Warrior]. It just takes more and more of my time the more people we bring in, the more we build out and grow. All he does is kill and hunt. I¡¯ve cleared plenty of monster nests. I think I''m close to the top on some of the leaderboards, but there are people who are only hunting. I have to split my attention. Which means I¡¯ll start lagging further and further behind on pure levels.¡±

    ¡°But, you  have other advantages?¡±

    ¡°I have a strong community. Plenty of strong fighters and I have some of my own aces. The titles and equipment have been a huge boon for me. In the future we will have more gear than others, better support, food, and everything else. And it¡¯s not like I¡¯m lagging behind either. I¡¯m still the top one percent on the planet, just not point one percent.¡±

    ¡°Am I a one percenter?¡± Chloe asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re not far off. Get you a title or some better gear, boost your affinity a bit more, and yeah. You¡¯ll be sitting at the top with me.¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen. We kill Mercy. We kill Duncan. We kill every monster or mutated animal in the region. We build ourselves up. Then we take over the world,¡± Chloe laughed as she said that last part, the final bits of stress fading away as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

    Santi laughed with her and just enjoyed the feeling of not being alone.

 Ch. 3.40 Acolyte 6

    40.

    Naomi looked around the wreckage of the small town and whistled. Whatever had hit this place had hit it hard. There was almost nothing left standing in some neighborhoods, everything torn apart to the foundation. Some buildings had lasted here or there, solitary homes that had missed the razing.

    Alan didn¡¯t even look at them as he walked down a street of crushed cars, broken homes, and skeletons. His eyes were fixed on the cluster of houses that were looking rundown, but not broken apart like everything else. Naomi kept tight to the man. If he fell apart due to finding his son dead, she would give him a clean death. She couldn¡¯t risk him becoming insane again like he had in the last timeline.

    Her team had fanned out through the town, looking for anything of use that could have been passed over. Their packs were growing so large that Naomi was certain they¡¯d have to find a cache soon to store everything. Once she had the pillar back home and started establishing a network this wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡°Right here,¡± Alan said, pointing toward a house with a broken down front door. The large bay windows were shattered wrecks and there was black ichor staining the wood of the windowsill.

    Alan walked in like it was any other day, a jaunt to his step as he swept into his old house. He passed by the overturned furniture, the gashes in the wall, and the broken pictures.

    ¡°Cameron! You here?¡± Alan shouted. The house was silent in return. Alan shrugged and went up and into a room. Naomi followed slowly and carefully, a hand on the hilt of her sword. The man was sitting on the edge of a bed, pulling free dresser drawers and taking the clothes out of them.

    ¡°Alan? I thought we came to look for your son? Not clothes,¡± Naomi said.

    ¡°The chances of him being here was slim. I do need clothes though. I have a habit of tearing mine up,¡± he smiled apologetically at her as he grabbed a rucksack from the closet and started to neatly put everything in it. Alan filled up two thirds of the rucksack and then went through another door in the bedroom, the master bath.

    He came out with a few bars of soap which he threw into the bag and a package of toothpaste and toothbrushes, all of it loaded up without hesitation. Naomi wanted to sigh. They had all of these items already, but there was a comfort of having your own things.

    ¡°I was hoping he¡¯d leave a not or something, but no dice. Let me check next door, Cam¡¯s best friend lived there.¡± Alan slung the rucksack on his back and left the master bedroom without a single look back. Naomi couldn¡¯t tell if the man was insane or just that confident in his son.

    She followed after and entered a house that had just as much damage as Alan¡¯s. If not more so. The kitchen had turned into a warzone with different splashes of blood overlaying one another on the walls. The knives in the kitchen butcher block were missing and the glass oven was broken open with shards of black glass laying on the white tile.

    Alan went up a set of stairs, hollering as he did so, while Naomi stayed downstairs. She walked through the ruins of a life and took in all the pictures of what looked like a happy family. Mom, Dad, two daughters, and one son. They were always smiling in every picture.

    She stopped and looked at the boy again. His features were similar to something. She struggled to recall where she had seen the boy before. A blooming horror washed through her as her instincts screamed at her. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Alan!?¡± She yelled up the stairs. The tread of footsteps rattled down the house as Alan came hurrying down.

    ¡°Did you find something?¡±

    ¡°No. But who¡¯s house is this?¡±

    ¡°The Silvas, Vicente and Gabriella¡¯s. They moved in a little before my wife passed away. They were good people, helped me through losing her. Their son Santiago is Cameron¡¯s best friend. Think Cameron had a crush on their older daughter, he¡¯d always get flustered and tongue tied around her.¡± Alan laughed as he pointed at a picture she hadn¡¯t seen yet.

    It was off Alan and, presumably, his son Cameron with the entirety of the Silva family. They were all wearing ugly Christmas sweaters while smiling like loons. Naomi felt like a lead weight had been dropped into her stomach.

    What could the odds have been?

    ¡°Santiago Silva? Goes by Santi?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. You know him or something?¡±

    ¡°A friend did. That¡¯s actually where we¡¯re going to next. His college.¡±

    ¡°Well, if Cam stuck with the Silva¡¯s and they didn¡¯t stay here, then Santi¡¯s college makes sense I guess.¡± Alan shrugged his shoulders and spun on a heel and walked right back out the door.

    She had the urge to kill him. To strike his head from his shoulders before he knew what was happening. She could already see the disaster that was coming. How would Alan stay with her when his son was with Santiago? She should eliminate the threat before it became a threat. It was one of the reasons they had come here after all, that they had flung themselves through time to try to change everything.

    To make it better.

    That last thought was the only thing that stayed her hand. She hadn''t come back to be a cold blooded killer. She wanted a world where her girls could grow up safe, where they could have a future. Where they could look up and admire her, follow her example.

    She relaxed and walked out of the house and followed behind Alan as he looked around the old neighborhood for the last time. There was a silent tear trailing down his face as he took it all in.

    ¡°I knew he wouldn¡¯t be here. But I hoped. I hoped I¡¯d see my boy again,¡± Alan whispered. Suddenly the nonchalant attitude and the carefree display made sense. He was masking himself, hiding how much he was hurting and he had done a damn fine job of it.

    ¡°He should be up and at the college then. It should only take us another day, two at most to reach it,¡± Naomi said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have to return that Pillar back home?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll get back home when it gets back home. Who knows, might even find another one or two of them out here while we¡¯re at it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I need to know. I need to know,¡± Alan whispered again, his eyes losing their bright sheen as despair clouded his visage.

    ¡°Hey, we can do this. Another day or two, that¡¯s all you need to hold on for,¡± Naomi said. She nudged him with her shoulder and Alan nodded back.

    Naomi just hoped that Santiago was already dead and that Duncan had been surgical rather than just slaughtering them all. She didn¡¯t want to lose Alan, not after all the time and effort that had went into keeping the man sane.

    ¡°Boss, just about done. This place was picked clean, nothing to find at all,¡± one of her people said. She had thought as much, but it was always better to check than to not check.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s get a move on. New destination!¡± Naomi bellowed and a wave of affirmatives came from her small group. They had lost people, they had traveled up half the state, earned levels and collected enough rare materials it was a minor miracle. They had one more stop to do then she could head home to Marcus and the girls. As long as Alan didn¡¯t go insane. As long as Santiago was dead. As long as her plans could continue moving forward.