《Voltsmith [LitRPG Apocalypse]》 1: Going Off the Rails My headlamp panned around the guts of an old Ford Explorer. My sore, oil-soaked fingers worked across the half-disassembled transmission---everything else under the hood was pitch black. I¡¯d been working on it for almost ten hours over two days. This was my third time taking it apart. And it just. Wouldn¡¯t. Work. The other bay¡¯s lights were all out, and my boss, Cindy, wouldn¡¯t stop tapping her foot at me, but I had her on ignore. I could only hear the pulsing beat of classic rock on my earbuds and the sound of tools banging on steel. But when she kicked my work boot¡ªlightly, but insistently¡ªI couldn¡¯t keep ignoring her. I slid out from under the Explorer and pulled an earbud out, carefully tucking it into my work jumpsuit¡¯s breast pocket. ¡°Yeah, Cindy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s time to go home, Hal. The job will be here tomorrow,¡± she said, annoyance plain on her wrinkled brow. For a second, I wanted to argue. I was close. Another half-hour, and I¡¯d have the transmission figured out. Something about that Explorer reminded me of my old station wagon. Maybe it was the rust. Or the fraying timing belts. Or the lady who, despite Cindy¡¯s best efforts to tell her that it was a lost cause and needed more work than she could afford, was still hoping she¡¯d be able to nurse it all the way to Wyoming. Thirty more minutes. That¡¯s all it¡¯d take. But the oil, gasoline fumes, and the caffeine headache I¡¯d been fighting for a solid hour were winning. I needed to call it a day. If I hurried, I¡¯d make the next Red Line train back to Andersonville. I¡¯d be able to crash in my attic apartment. Then, I¡¯d beat the unsolvable transmission tomorrow and move on to the next vehicle Cindy threw at me. Then I¡¯d get to do it again. And again. And again. This had been my life for the last three years. Before Cindy¡¯s Automotive¡ªthe best job I¡¯d had since I came to Chicago¡ªit had been small engines. I hadn¡¯t quit that job. I¡¯d quit that boss. And before that, I¡¯d been a dishwasher and a barista. I liked the automotive job, even though I technically wasn¡¯t certified. It scratched an itch the food service gigs hadn¡¯t. But it still didn¡¯t pay enough to move out of Mrs. Faren¡¯s attic, especially since I technically wasn¡¯t certified. Some nights, I wondered if I should have stayed in Cozad, Nebraska. This was starting to be one of them. So, with a ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am,¡± I threw the filthy towel in. Cindy said good night, looking relieved, and locked the garage door behind me as I left. Chicago was a big city, but my station was only a couple blocks away. I started walking. I couldn¡¯t go back to Cozad, though. Mom blamed me for my sister, Beth, disappearing. That wasn¡¯t entirely true, but I couldn¡¯t exactly call her up to ask after she blocked all of our numbers. Going back to the farm wasn¡¯t an option at the time, so I¡¯d stayed in the big city. A clean break looked like the only solution. I even sold the station wagon to pay for the trip, selling off my proof that everything was a puzzle to solve. Everything except Beth, at least. That puzzle¡¯s only solution was to move on. The easiest solution to my biggest problem would have been to walk away and go home, and I could any time. Mom had¡­forgiven¡­me for Beth. Dad would have me elbow-deep in tractor guts or pig shit in a minute, and I could start saving up money instead of living paycheck to paycheck. It¡¯d just be a couple of years. I could try making my own way again later on. The thought was always there, taunting me. But if I went back home to Cozad, something in the back of my mind told me I¡¯d never leave again. And unlike odd jobs in Chicago, I couldn¡¯t walk away from the farm when Dad¡¯s micromanagement got overwhelming. Once Mom got her claws in me, I¡¯d never leave. So, no, I couldn¡¯t go back. A rat scurried down the stairs and across the platform as I hurried to catch the Red Line. I ignored it. Instead, I scanned my L-Card, stepped onto the train, and tried to find a place to stand where my body odor and oil-drenched clothes wouldn¡¯t offend the other riders too much. I¡¯d gotten used to dirty looks and being filthy, but still¡ªI¡¯d been taught to be polite. The digital woman¡¯s voice said, ¡°Red Line, Chicago to Clark,¡± and the train lurched into motion. The closest stop to Andersonville was a decently long ride, so I tried to shut my eyes, doze off, and ignore the familiar-looking high-school girl standing next to me and giving me the look¡ªthe one that screamed I was just labor, a background person, and that I shouldn¡¯t be in her space. Her mom shot her a look of her own, and she rolled her eyes, then shifted to face away from me. No big deal. I smelled like oil and sweat, that was all. Besides, no matter how much she looked like Beth, I had canned soup and a mattress calling my name, and some fifteen-year-old¡¯s wrinkled nose couldn¡¯t take that away from me. It wasn¡¯t much, but hey, Mrs. Faren charged a price that was almost fair. The train¡¯s lights flickered off, flashing even through my eyelids. A short, maybe? But that wouldn¡¯t have shut the train¡¯s engine down, and I couldn¡¯t hear that either. If the Red Line had lost power between Chicago and Clark stations, they¡¯d shut down the whole line, and that canned soup would be a distant dream. A glowing box popped into my vision. System Initialization in Progress¡­ The box hung there even when I opened my eyes. I blinked, trying to make it disappear; it had to be from my headache. Was it going full migraine? Then, the train¡¯s lights flickered again and the brakes slammed on. I lurched forward, narrowly avoiding hip-checking the girl like a pro hockey star. System Initialization Successful. Beginning Terraforming¡­ Generating Dungeon Seeds¡­ The brakes stopped squealing. The train stopped suddenly. I didn¡¯t.
Congratulations! Your planet, [Earth], has been classified as a [Category Six: Death World], and your species, [Homo sapiens], is unfit for immediate Integration into the Universal Order. By failing to meet the Integration requirements and succumbing to its filter event, [Earth] has begun its inevitable descent into chaos. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. But do not despair! The Consortium offers you an opportunity to ensure your species¡¯ survival. Simply survive a short tutorial dungeon, then advance through the remaining phases of our system integration program, and [Homo sapiens] will be uplifted and ready for immediate Integration. I¡¯d hit something. Hard. I could barely read the words hanging in front of me through my watery eyes. And the too-cheerful voice accompanying them wasn¡¯t helping my headache, either¡ªespecially because it sounded like a pre-recorded message with the details filled in later by a second, less happy-sounding voice. I blinked and got my bearings. The earth rumbled around the Red Line train as I pushed myself to my feet. What the hell was happening? Had we hit something? I turned to help the girl--she''d hit the car''s floor almost as hard as me. Her mom was already on it, though. ¡°Alright, Tori, up you go,¡± she said. Once the girl¡ªTori¡ªwas standing shakily, her mom glanced at me. ¡°Thanks for trying to help.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on, Jessica?¡± The girl asked. She was dressed like one of those scene or emo kids, with black hair swooshed over one eye and a fishnet top under her T-shirt, but her scared, wide-eyed look clashed with the black and neon outfit pretty badly. ¡°Train¡¯s stopped,¡± I replied. ¡°Are you seeing all this too?¡± ¡°Yeah, something about the Universal Order, right? But it¡¯s got to be a joke or something, right? Right? That doesn¡¯t even mean anything!¡± the girl blurted. She was working up a full head of steam. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a joke,¡± I replied. A joke didn¡¯t make sense. Maybe a gas leak into the subway line? That¡¯d make people hallucinate, right? But would it make them hallucinate the same things? The whole train car? No, that didn¡¯t make sense at all. ¡°I think we should take it seriously until we know what¡¯s happening. I¡¯m Hal.¡± ¡°Jessica,¡± the older woman said. ¡°Tori¡¯s my daughter.¡± ¡°Step-daughter,¡± Tori said. Jessica winced behind her bent glasses. ¡°Not the time, Tori.¡± The earth stopped rumbling. Terraforming Complete. Populating Dungeons. Beginning Phase Zero: Tutorial Dungeons. It¡¯s decision time: Option One, the Casual Tutorial, will transport you to a basic tutorial dungeon with all the support needed to make it through Phase Zero: Option Two, the Hardcore Tutorial, is more challenging¡ªmuch more challenging¡ªbut the rewards match the increased difficulty: Failure to choose will result in automatic placement into the Hardcore Tutorial. Objective: Choose (30 seconds remaining) Jessica¡¯s face went pale. ¡°We¡¯re really taking this seriously? This is real?¡± she asked, looking at me. She laughed nervously. I had no clue why she thought I had the answers, but I nodded. ¡°Yeah, I think it might be. Go with the Casual Tutorial, okay? Whatever it is, it¡¯ll be easier.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± She turned toward Tori and cleared her throat, putting on her best stern, parental voice. ¡°Tori, pick the first option. Got it? The first one, okay?¡± Tori nodded, wide-eyed, and Jessica relaxed. She dropped to one knee and started looking for something under the train seat. I relaxed, too. Then I saw Tori¡¯s face. She wouldn¡¯t make eye contact with me, and something about her seemed¡­off. I couldn¡¯t tell what¡ªI didn¡¯t know her¡ªbut something was wrong. ¡°What did you do?¡± I asked. She shook her head, looking away toward her mom, but I was completely on edge now. Something was wrong with the kid. And I had a bad feeling what it was. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I picked Hardcore as soon as it popped up,¡± she whispered, keeping her eyes on her mom, who was halfway under a row of seats. ¡°It looked like my kind of game, but no one¡¯s acting like it¡¯s a game.¡± Objective: Choose (5 seconds remaining) ¡°Shit,¡± I said, eyes narrowing. Had Tori really thrown herself into the Hardcore Tutorial? Jessica emerged with a textbook, shoved it into the teen¡¯s hand, and flashed a shaky grin at her. My mind spun. There wasn¡¯t time to warn Jessica. And I couldn¡¯t let Tori go it alone. I¡¯d done that before, with my sister. I couldn¡¯t let that happen again¡ªnot after what that had done to my mom. I picked Hardcore and confirmed it. Choices Confirmed. Initiating Tutorials. Relocating Casual Tutorial Participants to Casual Dungeons. Relocating excess Hardcore Tutorial Participants to starting locations. A second later, Jessica vanished. So did everyone else on the train.
Dungeon Seeds Generated Tutorial Dungeons Activated Welcome to Phase Zero, [Hal Riley]! Team: Hal Riley, Tori Vanderbilt, Calvin Rollins Tutorial Dungeon: Redline Tunnels Objective: Kill the Tunnel Lord (0/1) Objective: Kill the Redline Wyrm (0/1) Objective: Reach the Dungeon Exit (0/1) Objective: Survive (0/1) Completion: 0% Time Limit: 72 Hours The second every other passenger disappeared, I closed my eyes. This couldn¡¯t be happening. But it was. I¡¯d been pretending this was all happening up until now. Now, I knew it was real. That didn¡¯t seem like a big deal for most people, but for me, it was the difference between imagining problems and working toward solutions. Everything was a puzzle to be solved, a machine to be fixed. This Hardcore Tutorial wouldn¡¯t be any different. So, first thing. The earth was rumbling again. So was the whole train. Something was coming. Fast. My eyes snapped open. I had to get off this train. I had to leave. Now. The doors were folded half-open and half-crumpled from the train¡¯s crash. I slammed a shoulder into them. Then again. They gave on the third hit. So did something in my shoulder. I hit the gravel hard, rolling as the rest of the door fell next to me. A white light filled the tunnel behind us, and I ducked through an open maintenance door as the oncoming train bore down on the one I¡¯d been riding home less than two minutes ago. There should have been a crash. My back should have been shredded by broken glass and steel. Instead, the sound of metal tearing and ripping filled the air. I turned to face something that looked like a subway train but wasn¡¯t. The Redline Wyrm: Level Twenty Dungeon Boss Current Difficulty: Impossible It¡¯s a worm! It¡¯s a train! It¡¯s the Redline Wyrm! This massive train terrorizes the tracks, keeping the exit stairs sealed off and gradually expanding its route as it consumes metal, earth, and the flesh of anything unfortunate enough to stand in its way! It wasn¡¯t a worm. And it wasn¡¯t a train, either. It took me a moment to figure out what it was, though. A snake with parts of a half-dozen Red Line trains stuck around its scales. A massive god-damned snake, moving impossibly quickly, with milky-white eyes that reflected light into a single brilliant beam in front of it. The maintenance door sheared off as the Redline Wyrm¡¯s steel-scaled body flashed by, glassy windows illuminating the maintenance tunnel we¡¯d hidden in. The wind and rotten-smelling air blew in my face. After almost a minute, the monstrous train passed, and I peeked back into the subway tunnel as the rumbling slowed. My stomach tied itself in knots as I stepped back onto the gravel. My train back home was gone¡ªnothing but a few scraps of steel and some shattered glass remained. I stared at the Redline Wyrm¡¯s glow as it faded away in front of me, trying not to shake. The twilit train tunnel loomed behind me, the electric lights replaced by a faint glow that barely broke the darkness. No matter how hard I squinted, I couldn¡¯t see more than about a hundred feet. ¡°Alright, Hal. Let¡¯s go find that kid,¡± I muttered. Then, without waiting for the Redline Wyrm to return, I started jogging after its fading lights. 2: Things Are Going Wrong For Me As I looked around, I realized that I wasn¡¯t standing in a subway tunnel. The walls weren¡¯t tile or concrete, for one thing. They looked like they¡¯d been hacked out of the stone around them with a pickaxe¡ªor scraped clean by a giant armored snake. For another, the light was way too uniform, and I couldn¡¯t figure out where it was coming from. After looking for an answer, I decided the light was coming from everywhere and nowhere. That explained my missing shadow, at least. My headache had gotten worse, and I could barely think; even so, I started talking through it all. ¡°Okay. There¡¯s a three-hundred-foot snake in the subway. That¡¯s something out of Men in Black, right? Or was that a worm? But this one¡¯s different. It was using a train as armor. The text said that fighting it¡¯s impossible right now, so let¡¯s not worry about it yet. ¡°One problem at a time.¡± Before I could think about the gigantic dungeon boss, I had to find Tori. She¡¯d been on the train with me, and then, just like everyone else, she was gone. I¡¯d jumped into this Hardcore Tutorial to keep her alive, so until I found her, nothing else mattered. I knew she was here somewhere¡ªher name had appeared on that message. But where to start? I was halfway back to Chicago Station before I realized what I was doing¡ªautopilot. I had to start thinking through this puzzle, or Tori would be in trouble. I breathed deep to steady my mind, slowed down, and started using my brain. The Consortium, or whatever had stuck us in here, wanted us separated. That had to be part of what made this dungeon hardcore. I¡¯d keep moving south, from Chicago to Grand to Lake, until I ran into someone. And then¡­ And then, I¡¯d do whatever it took to figure out how to kill the Redline Wyrm. That had to happen. According to those messages, I had to kill it and the Tunnel Lord¡ªand I was willing to bet that the giant snake guarded the way out. If I wanted to get Tori and me out of here, it had to die. I didn¡¯t see a way to kill it yet, but we had time¡ªalmost three days. I could solve anything in three days. The Red Line usually took almost an hour to get to my stop. Even if the Redline Wyrm was moving twice as fast, I figured it¡¯d take it over twenty minutes or more to get to the end of the line, turn around, and get back here. That¡¯d be enough time to walk to the next station. I put on a little speed, though, just in case. As I hurried down the tunnel, I kept my ears perked for any sign of the Redline Wyrm¡¯s return, but all I could hear was the near-constant sound of wind blowing down the tunnel and right into my face. The lights were out, but I could still see the sparking third rail on the ground below them and the freshly shredded, scraped tunnel walls in the faint, uniform light. Was that part of the dungeon? I almost couldn¡¯t believe this was happening. An hour ago, I¡¯d been fixing the Ford Explorer. Was it still on the jack at Cindy¡¯s Automotive? Did Cindy¡¯s even exist anymore? My heart sank as I thought about it. Terraforming¡ªwhat had the Consortium changed? What hadn¡¯t they changed? I tried to puzzle through that as they walked, and before long, Chicago Station appeared, a bright space in the semi-darkness ahead. The tunnel opened wide up ahead into a cavern a football field¡¯s length and half its width. The rough walls were covered in cave art, but as I stared at it, I realized what I was looking at¡ªterraformed posters and advertisements. Those stalagmites? They were right where the turnstiles had been¡ªturnstileagmites, I thought¡ªand a pair of cave entrances loomed where the bathroom doors had once stood. ¡°This is weird. Really weird,¡± I muttered. I crept forward. It was definitely the Chicago station, exactly the same one I¡¯d just left on the train, but irreversibly changed. And I could smell smoke. Smoke meant something was alive¡ªor that something was on fire. If they were alive and friendly, maybe they¡¯d help me find Tori. If not, I wanted them gone. If it was a fire, I¡¯d deal with that when I saw it. I hadn¡¯t been much of a hunter. Some of the other guys back in Cozad went every fall, but Dad had too much to do on the farm. I knew the basics, though: light on your feet, don¡¯t look right at the target, move slowly and calmly. I ducked through the turnstile stalagmites and saw movement. The movement saw me, too. It wasn¡¯t more than half my height and maybe a third of my two hundred and five pounds. Its body looked like an impossibly thin man¡¯s, but its head looked exactly like the rat I¡¯d seen disappearing into the subway tunnel. It was covered in mangy-looking fur and, other than that, completely naked, and it glared and chittered at me as it pulled a crude, stone-tipped spear back for a thrust. Rat Man: Level Three Monster ¡°What the hell?!¡±
The spear punched into the meaty part of my left forearm, and I yelled in agony and jerked back away from my attacker. My arm felt like it was on fire. I screamed again as the Rat Man readied another thrust. This was a problem. I¡¯d fought a little, of course. Most boys in Cozad had. But I¡¯d never done any boxing or wrestling. Nothing formal. So, as the Rat Man stabbed again, I did the one thing I knew how to do. I grabbed the haft, one hand inside the Rat Man¡¯s claws and one outside them, and pushed. A surge of pain ripped up my arm to my shoulder, and I bit down on my tongue hard enough to taste blood. The rough stone spear-tip scraped against the tunnel wall behind me. Sparks lit up the Rat Man¡¯s face for a second; a sore on its snout oozed pus inches from my face. Its shoulder slammed into my chest, and something crunched in my pocket. My music player! Had this asshole broken my iPod? It was a piece of crap, but I¡¯d had it for fifteen years! I choked down fury as I turned my attention from the spear tip to the Rat Man himself; I needed to stay focused, not lose my shit, but the thought of never hearing Lynyrd Skynyrd or The Rolling Stones again was almost unbearable. I was bigger than the monster. I had to be stronger, too. I¡¯d rarely been the stronger fighter when the other boys stick wrestled, so I¡¯d learned ways to compensate. But right now? Right now, I could overpower my opponent. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I jerked the spear left, then right, forcing the Rat Man off its feet. Then I slammed the spear shaft down as the monster flailed through the air. It hit the ground a second later. A squeal of pain filled the subway cave, but the damn thing clung to the shaft. Then, it bit me right in my left arm. I shoved my arm into the Rat Man¡¯s mouth, pushing it in. I¡¯d used that trick on the farm. Most animals didn¡¯t expect their prey to move further in, and they usually let go. The Rat Man did, and I punched it in the face. A sucker punch like that should have stunned it, but its jaws snapped shut inches from my wrist. I pulled back, dragging the fight back toward the stone benches. I couldn¡¯t keep this up forever, and the monster ripped at the spear with both clawed hands. It put its feet into my chest and pushed. It was all I could do to hang on, and I had to get my hurt left hand on the spear to do even that. I kneed it in the thigh. The damn thing wouldn¡¯t let go, even when its head smacked against the concrete with a wet thud and left a red splatter behind. This thing was tougher than it had any right to be! I couldn¡¯t just overpower it like I¡¯d thought. Strength against strength, we were probably matched. I needed leverage. That was the solution. It was like popping a stuck lug nut for a tire rotation. I slammed the Rat Man into a turnstile stalagmite. Then I twisted my body and pulled my arms in opposite directions. The spear levered around. It scraped the floor, and I threw my weight into the Rat Man. Its claws popped free from the spear. I spun it around and jammed the tip into the monster¡¯s chest. It hissed, a rattling sound filling its throat as pink foam pushed between its teeth. Then it went still. I¡¯d won. My hands wouldn¡¯t stop shaking, and my injuries burned, but something else filled my chest. Pride. I¡¯d solved the problem. I¡¯d won the fight. I tore the sleeve off my work jumpsuit and wrapped it tightly around my bicep, hissing in pain and gritting my teeth as I tied it tight. Then I turned to stare at the fallen Rat Man. It had vanished. Not even its blood remained; my work coveralls looked like I¡¯d just left the shop instead of like I¡¯d been fighting for my life. In the monster¡¯s place was a small glowing orb, yellowish-green in color, that slowly drifted toward me. I tried to stand up and get away from it, but before I could, it touched my chest.
Congratulations! You¡¯ve leveled up by killing your first dungeon monster and unlocked your status menu. Monsters live both inside of dungeons and in [Earth¡¯s] overworld. They exist for one purpose: improving System users like you, [Hal Riley]. As a reward for your victory, you have reached Level One. You have been awarded two Stat Points to spend on the following three stats in whatever way you choose: Body, Awareness, and Mana. Your stat layout and actions during the Hardcore Tutorial will determine your class options for Phase One, so your choices will inform your future! Body: Every point spent on Body improves your physical strength, speed, and toughness by a small amount. Awareness: Awareness improves your perception, intuition, and reflexes by a small amount. Additionally, your self-control will increase slightly. Mana: Mana governs the power behind your magic, including casting spells, learning new ones, and your resistance to magical effects. Choose wisely! Before I could question what the box of text meant by stat points, the text disappeared and replaced itself. This time, it wasn¡¯t a description. If anything, it looked a lot closer to the objective list I¡¯d seen earlier. [Hal Riley] [Class - N/A] [Level - 1] [Stats] ?Body - 7 ?Awareness - 7 ?Mana - 3 Stat Points Available: 2 [Class Skill - N/A] There was a lot to unpack here. According to the System, my strengths were Body and Awareness. That made a lot of sense. My work as a mechanic had been physically demanding, but once Cindy realized I had the best problem-solving mind on her staff, she¡¯d started giving me the problems no one else could figure out. I had a knack for noticing things, too; I¡¯d seen Tori¡¯s panicked expression on the train and figured out what was wrong with her. But I had just fought a Rat Man, and I¡¯d come out of it injured but victorious. A level-three Rat Man, but still¡ªI couldn¡¯t fight like that every time. Maybe if I¡¯d been stronger or tougher, I wouldn¡¯t be hurt right now. But really, the problem was that I¡¯d walked right into an ambush. Had I just not been paying enough attention? Or was it that my Awareness wasn¡¯t high enough to notice the monster and react to it in time? I wasn¡¯t sure. Either way, if I¡¯d had access to some magic¡ªwhich, apparently, this Tutorial did¡ªthe Rat Man probably never would have gotten in range to stab me in the first place. And I had another consideration. If I got too hurt, Tori wouldn¡¯t be able to take care of me even if I did find her. I had to keep myself together, both for myself and for her. That meant I couldn¡¯t risk getting caught out like that. All three had advantages. Body would give me the strength and toughness to survive fights, while Awareness could give me the skill to avoid the ones I couldn¡¯t win. And as for Mana? A few spells could shift whole fights, right? I thought about putting both points in Awareness, then confirmed that was what I wanted. The stat ticked up to nine, and a moment later, a new message popped up, replacing my status menu. To call up your status menu, think ¡®Status¡¯ and confirm. You may do this any time you are out of combat. The earbuds were totally destroyed; they¡¯d shattered, and I could see the wiring inside them. The iPod¡¯s screen was busted, too. Part of me wanted to throw them away; they wouldn¡¯t help me in his new world. Another, angrier part wanted to kill every Rat Man in the dungeon as retribution. In the end, I tucked them back into my pocket, careful not to lose any parts. Maybe someday, I¡¯d be able to fix them. I turned and started walking back toward the station¡¯s platform¡ªas far away from the two bathroom caves as possible. I needed to take a second to think. As I did, I discovered a problem I couldn¡¯t do much about right now. Even if leveling was the way to survive and keep us both safe, my levels were only half of the problem. Hopefully, Tori was powering up, too.
This whole mess reminded Tori of the time she and her friends had gone to Tammy¡¯s place last summer. Her parents hadn¡¯t been home, and all four of them had been curious, so they sat on the couch, turned on some vintage The Used on Tammy¡¯s laptop, and ¡®partied¡¯ for a few hours while Helen¡ªprudish, straight-edged, no-drugs-or-booze-but-I¡¯ll-watch-you-do-them Helen¡ªmade sure everyone stayed safe. They¡¯d only tried that once. So far. This? It felt exactly like that¡ªout of control and impossible to figure out. Everything about it was seriously screwed up. Mom¡ªJessica¡ªwas missing. Everyone was missing¡ªexcept, apparently, that mechanic and some guy named Calvin. She bit back a nasty comment about herself¡ªpicking Hardcore was something she always did in her games, but this wasn¡¯t a game. It couldn¡¯t be a game. This felt way too real, even for her VR set-up. Something was in the station with her. Rat Man: Level Three Monster ¡°What kind of horror game shit is this?¡± she whispered under her breath as the Rat Man sniffed at the air and meandered toward her hiding spot. She¡¯d ducked behind the ticket kiosk, but that wouldn¡¯t work for long as a hiding spot. Especially not if the Rat Man could smell her. She resisted the urge to check her pits. No. She¡¯d be okay. She¡¯d be okay. This was just like avoiding the Clickers in that one game. The sniffing stopped. The Rat Man¡¯s face turned toward her, and she pulled back behind the wall. Too late. This was way, way worse than getting drunk on Tammy¡¯s parents¡¯ fake leather couch. She reached for a length of pipe. It was heavier than the softball bats she¡¯d swung around in middle school¡ªthat was good, right? Heavier was good. Then she took a deep, loud breath, readied the pipe to swing, and pushed herself out of her hiding place. 3: You Gotta Listen to My Words The subway station-turned cave ended in two tunnels where the bathrooms had been, just beyond the turnstileagmites. If I remembered right, there wasn¡¯t much space in the men¡¯s room, so there shouldn¡¯t be much danger in checking it out first. As I got closer to the two cave entrances, I slowed down. The stone floor leading into what had once been the men¡¯s room was worn smooth. That meant traffic¡ªwas it a leftover from when this had been the Chicago station, or was this a sign of Rat Men? I gripped the Rat Man¡¯s spear and crept forward into the cave. It was time to avenge my lost headphones. Something shifted in the semi-dark ahead of me, and I turned the corner as fast as I could, stabbing in front of me just as the Rat Man jumped forward. My spear caught the monster in the stomach while its weapon grazed my side painfully. I pulled it out and readied myself. Something else was moving inside, and the yellow-green orb was floating toward me again. This Rat Man had only been Level Two, so if the progress was anything like I expected, it wouldn¡¯t give me a whole level, but it might get me close. I stepped toward the orb, swinging my spear upward to block a second Rat Man¡¯s strike and thanking God that my Awareness was so high. The second Rat Man¡¯s spear butt caught me in the stomach, driving the air out of my lungs. I blocked one attack, then another, but the Level Three Rat Man had me on my back foot, and I couldn¡¯t get control of the fight. It was all I could do to keep the Rat Man¡¯s spear out of my face, and I took a couple of grazing cuts. I needed to change something. Defense wouldn¡¯t work; neither would weak, probing spear thrusts. But something unexpected might. I caught the monster in the face with the spear butt. The Rat Man staggered, and its leg glowed an orange-ish color for a second. It drew my eye toward it. A moment later, I thrust my spear right into the meat above its leg. The monster snarled, recovering a little, then took a second thrust¡ªto the shoulder this time. It staggered again, squealing, and I took advantage of the moment, stabbing the Rat Man and finishing it off. As the orb floated into my chest, I groaned; my bite wound was starting to hurt, and I needed to find something to patch up my scrapes and bruises¡ªplus something that¡¯d help me take hits. The rest of the men¡¯s restroom looked bare¡ªthere wasn¡¯t much around except for a pile of charcoal from a fire, a few half-burned-out torches, and some rotten-looking scraps of what was either a hamburger or shawarma. My stomach growled. I hadn¡¯t eaten anything in¡­a while. Since lunch¡ªand that¡¯d just been a sandwich. But I wasn¡¯t hungry enough to eat that. I readied my spear and turned to the women¡¯s restroom.
The cave that¡¯d once been the women¡¯s room was empty. No Rat Men, no crazy monsters¡ªI couldn¡¯t see anything except a pile of what looked like leather. Some of it was cut into strips, but four nearly complete hides sat in a messy stack. They weren¡¯t mange-covered, filthy things like the Rat Men¡¯s fur, either. These looked like deerskins that¡¯d been freshly tanned. They were tucked into one of what used to be bathroom stalls near the entrance in a neat, folded stack. That was odd. But then again, this whole thing was odd. I sat on a toilet-sized rock in one of the dozen alcoves lining the cave wall. The station was silent¡ªI couldn¡¯t even hear the wind in the subway tunnel. It would have been easy to forget what was happening around us and focus on the leather¡ªand on what I wanted to make. But I hadn¡¯t forgotten. The cut on my side and the puncture wound in my arm¡ªnot to mention the bite that definitely looked red around the edges¡ªwere constant reminders that I was in serious trouble. I had to do something to even the odds. The pile of hides, my Leatherman multi-tool, and a basic knowledge of how riding chaps and horse saddles worked were my best bet at doing that. The patterns were easy to see; my Awareness made shapes all but pop out of the hides with light blue outlines. I could see every hide''s strengths, weaknesses, and possibilities: shoulder pads, skirts to cover our legs, and even gauntlets. I¡¯d never done much with leather, but I felt like¡­not an expert, but maybe a solid journeyman? If I¡¯d had this kind of Awareness at the auto shop, I could have solved that Explorer and had that woman halfway to Wyoming by now. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I felt a rumbling as I worked, cutting out the patterns for a leather shirt about my size and boring holes in it to stitch it together. It started in my feet, then my rear, and before long, I could hear the Redline Wyrm coming around again. The screeching, crushing sound pressed down on me like a vice, and I couldn¡¯t move until it passed. For the next hour, I cut leather, stitched it together, and added layers. Layers were the key, I decided; anywhere I didn¡¯t want to get stabbed, folding the leather over itself or adding another section could only help distribute impacts and catch spear tips. I¡¯d have killed for some Kevlar chainsaw chaps, but I didn¡¯t have those. For the first time, my mind wandered from trying to find Tori. But it didn¡¯t wander far. Why had I thrown myself into danger like this for a stranger? What was so special about Tori? It took a few minutes to figure out. Jessica reminded me of my mom. That woman was obviously working hard to connect with Tori, just like Mom had with Beth. Her relationship with Tori was probably closer to my sister¡¯s and mom¡¯s than mine. I didn¡¯t blame Tori for not warming up to her. It had to be tough to adapt to a new mom. But at the same time¡­ She was trying. Mom had tried, too. I shook my head, clearing it, and tossed a ruined scrap of leather aside. I needed to focus; leather wasn¡¯t exactly abundant, and even with the patterns jumping out of the hide at me, I couldn¡¯t afford to waste it¡ªor waste time. The train passed by two more times, and each time, I got jumpy and had to talk myself out of panicking. Eventually, though, I finished two suits of armor¡ªone for me, and one for Tori, when I found her. They weren¡¯t pretty. But they¡¯d work. The armor looked nothing like I¡¯d hoped it would. I¡¯d wanted something that looked like movie armor. I¡¯d gotten two tightish, crude suits of leather armor. Both looked like a cross between a Roman legionnaire¡¯s armor and a mountain man¡¯s makeshift warm clothes. It wasn¡¯t what I¡¯d intended, but it would solve the problem. Mine felt a little loose, like it¡¯d buckle with a blow instead of redirecting it or absorbing the force. The stitching wasn¡¯t built for looks. It was built to be easy to fix if I needed to. When I needed to, rather¡ªI¡¯d definitely need some repairs. But it did cover my whole body, from my neck to my knees, in linked leather sections. Tori¡¯s was a little smaller, but I¡¯d helped fix plenty of clothes her size. I couldn¡¯t get Beth out of my head. She was always the family¡¯s troublemaker. Mom said she was a rebel. Dad thought she was a free spirit. I just figured she wanted to get out of work. She¡¯d go missing early in the morning, and I¡¯d have to track her down¡ªonly to find her barefoot out in the cornfields singing with the crows. We¡¯d both be behind on our chores, and Dad didn¡¯t like that much, so I¡¯d end up having to work extra hard to catch us up. Beth and I had fought a couple of years ago, just before she graduated. I didn¡¯t go home to see her commencement. She¡¯d been so pissed about it. I forced my thoughts back to Tori and the armor. Hopefully, she wouldn¡¯t drown in it when she put it on. ¡°This might actually work. If it gives me enough of an edge to get a couple of levels, I can get my Body stat up. Then, it won¡¯t matter if the armor¡¯s bad and falling apart. I¡¯ll find Tori, and then we can ditch it and still be okay. Or maybe we¡¯ll find something else in the tunnels. Something better.¡± The leather was so out of place in the former bathroom that I couldn¡¯t help but think there¡¯d be other discoveries in the Redline Tunnels. Maybe another cave would have better materials, or something left over from when it was a subway station. But before I could explore, I had one more piece of business to cover. I needed a plan. The stats were easy to think about. I needed to invest a couple of points in Mana because the Redline Wyrm¡¯s level¡ªTwenty¡ªmade me think that the Consortium liked fives. I had an idea about how Mana and Awareness worked together, and I wanted to raise my mana to confirm it. If I was right, I wouldn¡¯t need a lot of Mana¡ªjust enough for one or two spells. I hoped it¡¯d be like breaking nuts and bolts to pull an engine, where you could either push hard or use the right tool. After that, I¡¯d split between Body and Awareness until one of them started looking more useful than the other. I could already see things I shouldn¡¯t be able to¡ªit¡¯d only get better from here. I hoped. The other plan was harder to figure out, but eventually, I decided to wait for the Redline Wyrm to come around. It wasn¡¯t moving back and forth¡ªit was on a circuit¡ªso the best way for me to move was clockwise, with it instead of against it. That¡¯d give me the most time to get from station to station. An ex in high school had been into video games¡ªDark Souls and MMOs, mostly. She was serious about World of Warcraft, but mostly for the collectibles. I¡¯d never gotten into the games myself, but sometimes, I¡¯d see if she wanted to go get pizza or a burger, and she¡¯d be too busy grinding for rare mounts or levels or digital pets. I¡¯d never understood that mentality. Grinding wasn¡¯t a puzzle to me. The solution wasn¡¯t ever clever. It was just busy work. But now, I understood. Once I got to the next station, I was going to grind. 4: Inheriting Troubles The next station south was Grand. I rarely went farther south on the Red Line than Chicago Station. There wasn¡¯t much need to since everything I needed was in Andersonville, and my job was a station north of here, but Grand was one of the larger stations, and I figured that if I was going to find something that might help Tori and me, I¡¯d find it either there or at Lake. My money was on Lake, but Grand was on the way, and I needed to get off the rails before the Redline Wyrm returned anyway. As I jogged down the tracks, I hummed some Led Zeppelin riffs. I missed my old MP3 player and broken headphones. The rails themselves were odd. The Redline Wyrm was slowly consuming the entire tunnel, one layer of rock, dirt, and concrete at a time. So why were the rails still there? I couldn¡¯t figure it out, but it felt like an important detail to note. The moment I pulled myself off the tracks and onto the platform, I knew I was right. The wide, curved station was filled with the signs of Rat Men. My plan was pretty simple; I¡¯d find lone monsters, try to pick them off, and thin the pack out until it was manageable. If things got bad, I¡¯d try outrunning them; Lake wasn¡¯t that much farther, and if I could get there, the Redline Wyrm might take care of the monsters for me as they pursued. Or it might take care of me instead. I dumped Tori¡¯s armor on one of the stone benches near the platform. I¡¯d come back for it later, but for now, I needed to be light and fast. Then I crept past the stone benches, keeping my head down. All the signs pointed to a much larger population of Rat Men than the three I¡¯d fought at Chicago Station, and I wasn¡¯t any stronger than I had been. As I rounded the first storefront, something made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I froze, spear tip a few feet from the gaping cave entrance. A second passed. Then another. And then, a Rat Man stepped through the door. Rat Man: Level Three Monster It didn¡¯t even look toward me, and I jammed his spear through the thing¡¯s back. The second I made contact, the monster started screeching in pain. I pulled the spear out, stabbed again, and stepped into the cave. There were four more¡ªall in various states of surprise. The one in the back let loose with a deafening screech. I was too busy charging the closest Rat Man to respond. I hit it before it could reach the spear it had propped against the head-high stone wall that ran the length of the store, driving it to the ground with my good shoulder before bashing it in the head with my spear. Level Up! One to Two. The orb hit me as I spun to fight the next monster, but the Rat Man lunged toward me teeth-first before I could get set. Its jaw clamped around my shoulder; its teeth punched into the leather armor I¡¯d cobbled together. The armor pressed into my older, tender bite wound, and I bit back a scream. But it held. I punched the monster, holding onto the spear with my other hand. Its jaw¡¯s grip loosened, and I kicked the thing away, stabbed it, and picked up the next orb as I pulled up my status menu. Just like I¡¯d planned, I dumped both points into Mana. Three names appeared. The first and third were both a light blue, while the middle was pinkish. Power Surge Inertia Ball Lightning Bolt For a second, I thought about picking Inertia Ball. On the other hand, Lightning Bolt would probably give me a ranged attack¡ªand I was really missing not having one of those. But the real pressure wasn¡¯t to have the best spell but to have one that¡¯d get me out of this. I wished I had more time to think about it¡ªor even to read the spell descriptions¡ªbut as the Tutorial¡¯s info on magic popped up, one of the remaining Rat Men rushed me. I picked Lightning Bolt, hoping it¡¯d be strong. I¡¯d done some electrical work at Cindy¡¯s, and more on my station wagon, so I knew enough about it to not fry myself. Hopefully. I swiped the tutorial message away and held out my hand as the first monster surged into the room. An aura of blue-white energy formed around my fingers. It looked like plenty to take out the Rat Man, but how did I fire it? Could I punch the monster with it? Or did it need to be a ranged attack? Maybe it was as simple as willing it. I made a finger gun, pointed it at the onrushing Rat Man, and fired, feeling ridiculous. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The blast arced in the air, and I shut my eyes against it, but the dozens¡ªhundreds¡ªof forks burned a tree pattern into my eyelids. They seemed to form loops and circuits in the air, but I couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of any of them. Then, suddenly, everything went dark, and I opened them again. The monster froze in place as sparks arced across its charred, mangy fur. It wasn¡¯t dead, though, and I hefted my spear. I channeled the electricity still dancing around my hand toward the spear tip, then thrust into the monster. The Lightning Bolt fired a split second before the crude stone tip punched through the Rat Man¡¯s chest. It screeched. Then it faded away, and its orb floated toward me. I didn¡¯t feel ridiculous about the finger gun anymore. The last Rat Man rushed me, too, but I saw it in the corner of my eye and spun. I blasted it with my magic, and a moment later, it, too, was dead. I backed off and took the last orb. Level Up! Two to Three. ¡°Okay, magic¡¯s pretty cool!¡± I said to myself as I put a point in Body and one in Awareness. The last sparks went out on my hand and spear, and I looked down the row of storefronts. I felt drained all the way through, like my whole body had given its all for those two attacks. ¡°Let¡¯s check these out. Maybe I¡¯ll find something as useful as the leather.¡±
I got to Lake Station just as the earth started rumbling again. The central platform shook as the Redline Wyrm ripped by, shredding concrete and rebar as it passed. I squeezed on the straps of the cheap backpack I¡¯d filled with odds and ends from the stone-shelved convenience store I¡¯d cleared at Grand. When the boss vanished, I headed toward the main station to see what I could fight. Lake was supposed to have stairs. But it didn¡¯t anymore. Where I remembered them being was a massive cave. Its dark maw loomed over the whole station, and I hurried to get off the platform before something inside saw me. As I ducked into one of the smaller storefront caves, a raspy smoker¡¯s voice greeted me. ¡°What the hell you doing here?¡± I froze. A second later, the smell hit me¡ªa stale, boozy stink, but also something underneath that was a lot more pleasant, in a familiar way. My eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness in the store cave, and I saw a pile of rags stand up. A second later, I realized what I was seeing and lowered my spear. The L¡ªthe sometimes-elevated, sometimes underground light rail line in Chicago¡ªhad lots of long-term riders. They¡¯d beg a couple of bucks, get on the train, and ride the lines all day to stay warm, cool, or out of the wind. This guy looked like one I¡¯d seen today, except that he¡¯d camouflaged himself in scraps of clothes so he looked a little like one of the scattered supply piles I¡¯d been finding. The Level One over his head was a dead giveaway, though. He¡¯d killed something, but he didn¡¯t seem to be in a hurry to kill anything else. As my eyes adjusted to the bright torches burning around the cave, other signs of life became more obvious. Open cans of food, a burned-out fire in the corner, and even a pair of rolled-up, tattered sleeping bags¡ªin the old reality, this guy would have been a bum. In the Hardcore Tutorial, he was rich. I stuck out a hand. ¡°Hal Riley,¡± I said in my best Nebraska accent. The Midwest farmer schtick wasn¡¯t my favorite, but it was disarming. Mechanics had a reputation for being swindlers¡ªnot at Cindy¡¯s, but in general¡ªbut no one mistrusted a farmer. Sure enough, the man stepped across the room, carefully not kicking any of his cans over, and offered a hand in return. ¡°Calvin. You¡¯re the other guy on my team, huh?¡± This close, the smell was a lot stronger. I kept my face together, but just barely. One pump, release, nod¡ªa polite, firm shake¡ªthen disengage. I glanced at the food longingly, even the half-eaten, no doubt cold can of baked beans. My stomach rumbled, but I ignored it. I pointed at the cave entrance. ¡°Listen, you know what¡¯s going on, right?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Calvin said. His hand dropped to his waist, and I stiffened up, gripping my spear. He pulled out a lighter. ¡°You¡¯re a little jumpy, huh?¡± I lowered the spear and laughed to try to break the sudden tension. ¡°Sorry, Calvin, I¡¯ve had quite a day.¡± ¡°I bet.¡± He blinked once, lit a cigarette, and popped it into his mouth. ¡°Where you from, Hal?¡± ¡°Cozad. Little town in Nebraska.¡± ¡°And do you know who Tori is?¡± Could I trust this guy? ¡°We¡¯re¡­friends, but we got separated when this all started. Listen, we¡¯re all on the same team, right? You¡¯ve got food. I¡¯ve got stuff. Maybe we can work out a deal.¡± I shrugged off my backpack. Calvin stared for a moment, one eyebrow raised. Then he nodded slowly. ¡°You¡¯re talking my language, Hal. Sit down, pull up a rock, and tell me what the hell you two are doing in the Hardcore Tutorial. I got beans, beans, and¡ªget this¡ªa half-can of green beans. No booze, though, and no silverware except the can opener. The System giveth, and the System taketh away.¡± I ended up trading one of my water bottles from the convenience store I¡¯d fought my way through for some of his food. He handed the two cans of beans¡ªone baked, one green string beans¡ªover. ¡°No fire, so it¡¯s gonna be cold.¡± I didn¡¯t mind. Calvin just laughed. It wasn¡¯t a polite laugh. It was genuine¡ªthe laugh of someone who¡¯d had nothing to lose and now had something to share. ¡°We¡¯re all in the nightmare together, right? Why¡¯re you here, though?¡± ¡°I followed her in,¡± I said honestly. ¡°We were between Chicago and Clark and Division when the train crashed. She picked the wrong tutorial, her mom picked the right one, and I followed her here to make sure she didn¡¯t die. She¡¯s a good kid, but she¡¯s too impulsive and rebellious. You know how that phase is,¡± I finished. Calvin looked over my still-hurt arm. The Body levels had helped with the injuries, but the infection was slower to heal. ¡°And how¡¯s the not dying goin¡¯?¡± ¡°Badly,¡± I said frankly. ¡°But I¡¯ve got some levels now, and that¡¯s helping. The last few fights weren¡¯t too bad. If you¡¯ve got something to deal with infection, I¡¯d trade my whole pack for it.¡± ¡°Got nothing. I¡¯ve only killed one thing,¡± Calvin said. ¡°It was in here¡ªsome kinda slime monster. Maybe from the river, but I dunno. It sucked. I lit it on fire eventually¡ªused the last of my fuel for the stove, but the stuff wouldn¡¯t burn. Nothing bigger than my lighter will. Plenty of food behind it, though, and a level.¡± ¡°What did you put your points in?¡± I asked as I fished out some stringy green beans from the can. I really was hungry¡ªif I was back at Mrs. Faren¡¯s, I¡¯d have had a pack of ramen with eggs or that can of soup, and I¡¯d probably be in bed. ¡°Don¡¯t have to tell you, and I ain¡¯t gonna.¡± Calvin¡¯s face closed up for a moment. ¡°What I am gonna tell you is that there¡¯s something in that cave, and it¡¯s not a slime or a rat¡ªat least, not from what I¡¯m guessing. I¡¯ve seen some of them, but they don¡¯t go too far in. I got as close as I could, but couldn¡¯t see inside past the smoke and fog. I think it¡¯s the first boss.¡± 5: Dropouts Who Make Their Own Rules I wanted to check out the Tunnel Lord¡¯s lair right away, but I¡¯d been pushing all day, and my gear wasn¡¯t ready for it, so I couldn¡¯t exactly commit to a tough fight. Besides, I was Level Three. That was a lot for fighting a Rat Man, but if the Redline Wyrm was Level Twenty, the Tunnel Lord could be almost as powerful. So, once I¡¯d finished shoveling beans into my mouth with my bare hands, I walked out of the storefront and took a long look at the cavern across the tracks. My ten points in Awareness were enough to make out a few figures moving around inside but not enough to tell levels, what kind of monster, or anything else. After a few minutes, Calvin joined me. ¡°You¡¯re really gonna go for it, huh?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to, but I think I have to. The System didn¡¯t say what¡¯d happen when time ran out, but it¡¯s been, what? Four hours? Five?¡± As I asked, the System helpfully provided the remaining time. Time Limit: 66 Hours, Twenty-Two Minutes Longer than I¡¯d thought. ¡°I need to get this boss out of the way. That way, I can keep looking for Tori if I find her on the other side of the tunnels and we have to fight the Wyrm there.¡± Calvin rolled his eyes and reached into his jacket. He pulled out a cigarette and let it hang from his mouth while he flicked his lighter. It lit up anemically. ¡°What you need to do is slow your ass down some. We¡¯ve got three days, and it hasn¡¯t been that long. Come over here.¡± He was right. I was freaking out about nothing. We still had well over two days to get this puzzle solved. But even though I knew that, it still felt like a massive hand pushing down on me. I followed the long-term rider back to the platform. There, in cave art, was a map of the Red Line. ¡°Now, son, I¡¯ve rode this train every Thursday for eight years, and I can tell you right now, it¡¯s never been a loop.¡± As I looked at the map, it confirmed what I¡¯d suspected. Not only was the Red Line a rough circle now, but half of it, according to the map, was under Lake Michigan. ¡°So what are you suggesting?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a fighter. I¡¯m not. Fighting¡¯s a good way to get killed where I live, and I¡¯ve done enough of it for a lifetime. We¡¯re the only people on our team¡ªmaybe the only ones left in this tutorial. That means you¡¯re the boss, as far as I¡¯m concerned.¡± I wanted to argue, to tell him he had to fight, but he already knew that. He¡¯d killed something. He just wasn¡¯t going out of his way to power up. And the look on his wrinkled brown face told me arguing wouldn¡¯t help. I waited for him to go on. ¡°What I¡¯m thinking is, you make a full loop. It¡¯s been a few hours, right? If you clear stations until the timer hits twenty-four hours, I bet you a can of Bush¡¯s Beans you¡¯ll be close to where you started, and two Jolly Green Giants you find your friend. Then, you go after the Tunnel Lord and figure out how to handle the Redline Wyrm. Easy.¡± It sounded easy enough, but I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something would go wrong. After a second, I shook my head. ¡°I want to see the Tunnel Lord first. If I can¡¯t handle it, I¡¯ll try your idea.¡± Calvin didn¡¯t look disappointed. He raised an eyebrow, but nodded and puffed on his cigarette. ¡°Thought you¡¯d say that. How about you do me a favor and clear out the other stores before you try the boss?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t checked the other stores?¡± I asked. I¡¯d assumed the old guy had made sure his corner of the station was safe. If that wasn¡¯t true, I definitely couldn¡¯t sleep things off. ¡°Nah. The first one I checked had everything I needed except the bag,¡± Calvin said, patting the backpack over his shoulder. ¡°You covered that. But if you find anything good, I¡¯ll do some more trading with you. Let¡¯s see that arm.¡± I stared at him. ¡°Ex-combat medic, Vietnam. Got the hat to prove it and everything.¡± He pulled a worn, tattered ball cap with the US Army logo and a division name from his jacket pocket. ¡°Been a long time, but I¡¯ve seen worse, I guarantee it. If not there, then on the streets. Get that armor off, and let¡¯s take a look.¡± On the one hand, I still had no idea if I could trust him. On the other, my arm was getting pretty tender, so after a second more to think about it,, I slowly peeled off my armor and rolled up my sleeve. He whistled. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s infected. Wish I could say I had something for it. Guess I could try cigarette lighter cauterizing, but that¡¯d be real slow¡ªand real painful.¡± ¡°No, I think I¡¯m alright. A few points in Body should take care of it. Did you check the other caves out at all?¡± ¡°Nah. I only checked the one I¡¯m in. Could be more good stuff in the others. Just be ready.¡± ¡°Watch my stuff. I¡¯ll be back soon,¡± I said. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re trusting me with it?¡± Calvin asked, eyes widening under his shaggy hair. Truthfully, I could see why he looked shocked. Most people didn¡¯t trust homeless folks, especially the ones on the trains. But so far, he hadn¡¯t done anything to earn suspicion except hide his stats, and could I blame him for that? No. I didn¡¯t want to share mine either; something about it felt weird. ¡°Why not? We¡¯re on the same team, right?¡± He nodded a few times, looking back at his store cave, then at the next one over. ¡°It¡¯s probably more slimes. Fuel ain¡¯t lighting up, though, except in small, slow burns, so good luck with the fire plan.¡± I groaned, tightened the laces on my armor, and started toward the nearest storefront.
Slime: Level Eight Monster Calvin had warned me about the slime monsters, so I was ready for a level difference, but this one was bigger than I¡¯d expected. The second I stepped into the hardware store¡ªwhich was weird since there hadn¡¯t been one here before¡ªmy spear was set, ready to thrust into the thing, which oozed between two stone shelves loaded with hinges and doorknobs about ten feet away. I took two steps forward and stabbed. I didn¡¯t expect the first attack to be my last. As I pulled the spear back, the dark purple blob in the middle of the aisle slurped the stone tip right off the wood. The shaft I got back looked corroded, bleached, and fragile, and when I swung it like a club, it fell apart mid-arc. So, stabbing it wasn¡¯t the solution. I backpedaled. The ooze didn¡¯t pursue at first. Was it too busy digesting the sharp rock tip? It looked like it; the thing was cracking and crumbling. The store¡¯s cave entrance was right behind me. Lightning covered my fist, and I made a finger gun. A second later, the store lit up through my closed eyelids. The air smelled like baking soda, chlorine, and ozone. I cracked my eyes open just as the slime pulled itself together around the hole my lightning had blown in its side. When it was finished, it looked completely intact, and it slid slowly toward the door, forcing me out onto the subway platform¡ªand away from the room full of tools I might be able to use. I took another shot with my lightning, but it did nothing¡ªjust filled the air with the stink of burnt baking soda. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I tried to bite down a surge of panic as the ooze pulled itself together again and started moving¡ªthis time, toward Calvin¡¯s hide-out! I couldn¡¯t let it get to him, but I also didn¡¯t see a good way to stop it. Maybe something in the store? I didn¡¯t have time for a real search; even with the ooze¡¯s slow speed, it¡¯d be inside in just a few seconds. I had to have something, though. But what? Another whiff of baking soda caught my nose, and I had my answer. I¡¯d never been interested in science fairs as a kid. My interests were less in writing down the results of some experiment and more in tearing apart the remote control car Dad got me for Christmas to see how it worked¡ªthen in putting it back together under his supervision when he found out I¡¯d done it. But every year, our class walked the science fair. And every year, someone built a vinegar and baking soda volcano. If this thing was anything like baking soda, I just needed a strong enough acid to dissolve it. And I did have two batteries I¡¯d looted¡ªnine volts, but they were something. If I could overload them at the right time, surely that¡¯d do it, right? I got ahead of the slime as it slurped toward Calvin¡¯s hide-out, tossed the first battery on the ground, and waited. Just before it reached the battery, I took a deep breath and made another finger gun. This time, I didn¡¯t aim at the slime. Instead, I shot the battery. It overloaded with a tiny pop, shattering upward into the monster. Even from twenty feet away, the effect was shocking. The slime erupted. It had been large before, but it geysered upward in a fountain of foam that hardened mid-air into a tower, then collapsed under its own weight. This splashed out even more foam, which also went solid before it could hit the ground. It shattered like glass, mixing even more until a quarter of the platform was covered in it. The whole place smelled like the chemicals I¡¯d used to clean up the farm¡¯s processing machines as a kid, and the sound was almost deafening. Then, suddenly, it was over. ¡°What the hell?¡± Calvin asked, peering at the pile of slowly vanishing foam outside his cave. I ignored him. I had other things on my mind. Level Up! Three to Five. I had four stat points to spend; the first two went into Awareness, getting it all the way up to twelve. The second two were split between Body and Mana. I felt satisfied with myself for the first time since I¡¯d been forced into this Tutorial. The fight hadn¡¯t been a fight at all; I¡¯d been approaching it the wrong way. It was just another puzzle. If I could make the other fights something similar, I¡¯d be unstoppable. But if I wanted to treat fighting like solving a grumpy engine, I¡¯d need tools. Luckily, I¡¯d just cleared out a hardware store.
I learned a lot from the store. Most of it was disappointing. My first target was the power tool section. I needed something better than a stone spear if I wanted to handle the Tunnel Lord, and sure enough, this place had everything: circular saws, pole saws, and even a few gas-fed Stihl chainsaws. But when I fueled them up and started them, I got nothing. Not even an engine turn-over. Just a couple of clicks as I pulled the cord, then silence. Calvin had said fuel wasn¡¯t burning except for his lighter, but I¡¯d been hoping. Next, I tried the electric tools. Surely, one of those would start. But, once again, I got nothing. It was like every battery had been completely drained in the whole store. The stone shelves and cave art on the walls were evidence that this place had changed during the terraforming part of integration; maybe they¡¯d gotten rid of all the power tools, too. Electronics¡ªwhat little they had¡ªwas no better off. I¡¯d hoped to find something so I could start rewiring my headphones¡ªnot that they¡¯d work without a CD player or a phone, or something to play music on. The damn store didn¡¯t have any other pairs either, or anything I could use to fix my own. My fist tightened as I looked at the empty shelves. Did that mean the Consortium¡ªwhoever they were¡ªhad also gotten rid of guns? That¡¯d be a shame, but it made sense. They wouldn¡¯t want people blasting their way through their tutorials. No chainsaws, no guns, no power for trains or cars¡­the world had changed. For the first time, I thought about the world above us. How had it changed? What would we find if we made it out of here? And who was to blame? The Consortium, whoever they were. But who were they, anyway? And what did they want? Too many questions, not enough working¡ªthat¡¯s what Dad always said. I wouldn¡¯t find the answers to any of those questions in a hardware store. If I couldn¡¯t rely on power tools, I¡¯d have to improvise something. So the first question was what I did have. And what I did have was batteries. Lots and lots of batteries. The plan I came up with was pretty simple. I needed a weapon that could easily take out a Rat Man, that was effective against slimes, and that I could rely on to deal with unknown monsters. The spear wasn¡¯t going to cut it¡ªbut the batteries and my Lightning Bolt gave me a lot of flexibility, and it looked like the Consortium hadn¡¯t removed all the chemical reactions from Earth. Just gasoline being combustible and electricity being storable. I spent the next half-hour stripping the rechargeable batteries out of every tool I could find¡ªand with my Awareness at twelve, that was a lot of tools. When I¡¯d finished, I had a good pile of long rechargeables for Makita power drills, clip-on handle batteries for DeWalts, and heavy-duty electric chainsaw batteries¡ªnot to mention a hundred double-As that I doubted would do what I needed. Then, I spent five minutes gathering up an unholy-looking mix of hex nuts, washers, and finishing nails. The theory was simple. If a 9-volt battery had enough pop to throw acid into the baking soda slime monster, these should be a lot bigger¡ªmaybe big enough to throw metal all over the place. It¡¯d be like a land mine¡ªexcept I¡¯d have to trigger it. It took a good hour to assemble the first bomb. It should have been pretty simple, but I had no idea how much pop a given battery might have, so once I had a single bomb built, I grabbed a shovel and headed down the platform to the next cavern entrance. Sure enough, inside was another slime. This one was a little more pinkish and only Level Five. I got its attention, put the bomb down, and waited while it oozed its way toward me. When it got close enough, I fired a Lightning Bolt at the battery. This time, it wasn¡¯t a pop¡ªit was a bang. The cave filled with foam as the battery acid and slime mixed. But even as I pulled back and started running, the cave wall sparked with shrapnel. Between the foam and the dozens of nails, nuts, and washers, the inside of the store had to be shredded. I wouldn¡¯t find anything intact and useful there¡ªbut I¡¯d confirmed my theory. The slime¡¯s orb wasn¡¯t enough for another level, but I could practically see how close I was. Right now, I had work to do. I stuck my head in Calvin¡¯s lair. ¡°Help me out. I¡¯ve got a way to take down the Tunnel Lord and get to Tori faster all at once.¡±
Tori ran. She¡¯d never ran this hard, not in any of the pacer tests or mile runs in PE. Her foot slipped on the Red Line¡¯s smooth metal rail, and she picked herself up and kept running, even though her knee wouldn¡¯t stop screaming in agony with every step. She couldn¡¯t keep from stumbling, and her muscles ached. But she couldn¡¯t stop, either. The Redline Wyrm was coming. Behind her, Rat Men she¡¯d aggroed screeched and screamed as the rumbling, shrieking subway snake rocketed down the tracks. She put on a burst of speed as the white light filled the tunnel. The station was right. There. She just had to keep going. A few more feet, that was all. Her hands grabbed the half-devoured platform¡¯s edge, and she pulled with everything she had left. It almost wasn¡¯t enough. The Redline Wyrm¡¯s train-car armor bumped the rubber sole of her Doc Martens, and she screamed. It roared past, thundering off into the distance. She stared into the semi-dark tunnel, licking her lips greedily at the half-dozen yellow-green Minecraft experience orbs. Then she shook her head. She was too tired to walk back and pick them up; besides, they¡¯d be there later¡ªafter she full-cleared this station. You can¡¯t keep doing this, Tor. It¡¯s too much. She was right, but it wasn¡¯t like she could stop fighting, either. She picked herself up, groaning, and thought about summoning up an Inertia Ball. Physics had always been her favorite subject, so when she¡¯d put her first stat points into Mana, Inertia Ball had beaten out Fire Blast and Knit Flesh. The first few times she¡¯d cast it had been easy: summon a pink ball of energy, throw it at the Rat Men, profit. Simple and effective. But god damn, was phenomenal cosmic power draining?! She had nothing left in the tank. ¡°Alright, Tor, you¡¯re at¡­where?¡± she whispered to herself. ¡°Last time, it was Jackson¡ªbut that doesn¡¯t make sense. You should be at the elevated stations by now, not more subways!¡± And yet, here it was. A full-on subway station. This was probably Roosevelt or Cermak-Chinatown. But why the fuck was it underground?! Tori shivered. Then she looked down the tunnel. If she started now, she could get to the next station. Maybe it¡¯d be better than this one; something about it gave her the shivers. Then something moved overhead. She broke into a sprint with the last reserves of her energy. She needed somewhere to hide! The women¡¯s bathroom was close; she dashed toward it, ducking as the huge monster flew overhead. Huntsman Bat: Level Seven Monster It hit the ground with a thud, four wings the size of Tori¡¯s arms beating on the smooth stone. She slid to a stop. The women¡¯s room wasn¡¯t an option¡ªbut the men¡¯s was. The door was hard to move, but she got the steel barrier closed just as the Huntsman Bat got airborne again. It thumped into it, and Tori burst into tears. She threw her weight against the door, then slid down it until she sat on the cave floor next to the stone sinks. She was so goddamn tired she barely felt it shake as the monster slammed against it. She stared at the stone urinals, trying¡ªand failing¡ªto hold back tears. I wish Mom was here. 6: Heirs of a Cold War By the time morning came¡ªor what felt like morning based on the fifty-six hours we had left, anyway¡ªI was as ready as I¡¯d ever be. We¡¯d stuffed my backpack full of battery bombs, each wrapped in paper screw bags filled with bits of hardware. I had twenty or thirty of them; we hadn¡¯t bothered counting since half ended up getting ripped apart and rebuilt. Calvin was many things, but precise under pressure wasn¡¯t one of them. Still, I¡¯d had time to build a couple of other weapons¡ªnothing as spectacular as the bombs, but functional, solid weapons I¡¯d be able to get some mileage out of. The sharpened shovel looked like some kind of medieval weapon now, even if the balance wasn¡¯t great. It reminded me of a curved-bladed slicing axe. Calvin had opted for a crowbar. He kept insisting he wasn¡¯t a fighter, but he was part of the team, and he was going to be armed, even if he refused to go monster hunting. I didn¡¯t even poke my head into Calvin¡¯s cave. Instead, I crept forward, eyes on the two Rat Men I could see just inside the Tunnel Lord¡¯s lair. When I felt like I couldn¡¯t get any closer without them spotting me, I broke into a sprint. The sharp shovel blade went up, then down, and the first Rat Man¡ªa Level Two¡ªdied almost instantly. Then I spun and sliced through the second one¡¯s arm. It screamed, but a quick chop cut that off, and a moment later, both of their orbs floated into me. I didn¡¯t bother hoping for a level out of them; the real prize was further in. As I hurried down the tunnel, the darkness pushed around me until I could hardly see a thing. Then, hanging in front of me, I saw a wall of thick gray fog. It looked like something out of one of my ex¡¯s video games, and based on the stat screens and messages I¡¯d seen so far, that didn¡¯t surprise me. She was probably thriving in her Tutorial Dungeon¡ªthis kind of thing was her jam. I¡¯d watched her play enough to know what I had to do, though. I shifted the backpack so it hung off my side, with the opening at chest height for easy bomb-pulling. Then I stepped into the room. Welcome to your first Dungeon Boss Battle! Dungeon Boss Battles are no-retreat, winner-take-all tests of power against an elite monster! Each boss has certain rules that change how the fight works. Here are the rules for this one: Arena Battle - The Barrier seals behind you, making it impossible to leave. Party Exclusive - Only members of the challenger¡¯s party can join the fight. I glanced over my shoulder, and sure enough, the fog wall was gone. In its place hung a massive iron gate with spikes that jammed into the ground. In front of me, the cave spread out in a roughly circular stone-floored arena, with a dozen or so wide lead pipes leading into it from every side. Water dripped from a few pipes, and the normal semidarkness was a touch brighter. Something smelled familiar. I¡¯d smelled it before, but couldn¡¯t place it. It smelled a little like death. My first bomb already sat in my throwing hand, shifting the shovel over to my hurt arm to compensate. Then I braced myself for the boss. What I got instead was Rat Men. Lots and lots of Rat Men. They weren¡¯t high-level¡ªa good mix of Level Ones and Twos. But there were so many of them. Still, the shrapnel bombs had shredded an entire store. One or two of them should turn this crowd into most of a level-up. I tossed the bomb toward them, then finger-guns¡¯d it. It was a Makita rechargeable drill battery, and the pop was a lot louder than the 9-volt battery, but nothing compared to shooting a gun. Still, nuts and screws flew everywhere, and a half-dozen Rat Men hit the ground, already dissolving into nothing. The first orbs hit me a second before the wave of Rat Men did. I managed to get another bomb off, but not to shoot it. Then I was backpedaling and swinging with the shovel-axe. I took a spear thrust to the stomach; it hurt, but not enough to knock me down. Then I whirled. The shovel-axe lashed out, and Rat Men fell back screaming. In the half-second of space I¡¯d bought, I shot the second bomb. It ripped into the Rat Man horde from behind. Level Up! Five to Six. Another spear punched through my armor into my shoulder. It didn¡¯t go far, but I couldn¡¯t keep tanking hits like this. I put both points into Body, and my wounds closed up. The Rat Man horde had thinned a lot. I counted six left where there¡¯d been at least fifteen before. But they¡¯d also figured out the bomb trick¡ªwith so few of them, they could stay spread apart, making my improvised explosives less useful. I grunted; the closed hole in my shoulder wasn¡¯t too painful, but my infection hadn¡¯t quite gone away. Then I hefted the shovel-axe and rushed the first Rat Man. The others piled in as soon as I made contact. Fifteen seconds later, it was all over. I breathed heavily, surrounded by orbs that slowly drifted toward me. I could practically taste the level, and I¡¯d need it; if the slime outside was Level Seven, I¡¯d have my work cut out for me with anything much bigger. I breathed heavily to clear my lungs, fished out another bomb, and readied myself for whatever was next. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. I didn¡¯t have to wait long. The Tunnel Lord: Level Twelve Dungeon Boss Current Difficulty: Extreme Even rats have kings. The Tunnel Lord rules over the Redline Tunnels¡¯ stations with an iron paw¡ªor twelve of them! Fight for your life!
I¡¯d seen Rat Kings before. Only once or twice, but we¡¯d get them on the farm sometimes. If a group of rats got tangled up in each other, say, in the grain silos, and their tails got knotted too much for them to pull free, they¡¯d die like that, all stuck together. The first time, Dad made me shovel it out into the field. The second time, I¡¯d just done it without telling him. They weren¡¯t a big deal, other than how much it had to suck to die like that. This one was made of Rat Men, though. They were bigger than the ones I¡¯d been fighting. And they were alive. Not only that, but they moved as one, they moved impossibly quickly for a half-dozen monsters all stuck together, and they seemed focused on one goal¡ªkilling me. All their eyes snapped toward me as I dropped the bomb. It rolled toward them, and I pulled my finger gun¡¯s metaphorical trigger. The bomb detonated. Shrapnel flew everywhere, and I caught a whiff of acid. But when I looked, only one of the six rats had taken any damage¡ªand it was mostly shrugging it off. The rest of the Tunnel Lord crab-walked toward me, a half-dozen spears ready to stab into me. ¡°Well, shit,¡± I said, reaching for another bomb. I had plenty, so I tossed this one ahead of me and started running. I figured I¡¯d have enough time to get some distance. But no. The crab-walking rat king accelerated, paws pounding the cave floor in unison. I looked over my shoulder; there had to be a gap. There. The one I¡¯d bombed was maybe a half-beat slow. Its spear was a little out of sync, leaving a moment when I could get through if I was fast. I leaped for it. Then everything was a whirlwind of spear-thrusts. I hit the ground hard right next to my bomb. A spear punched into the stone, burying its whole tip. I rolled, grabbing the bomb. Another spear punched through it. Bolts leaked out onto the ground. Then I scrambled clear as the Tunnel Lord turned. It reared up, looming over me, and I threw a Lightning Bolt at the stuck bomb. It detonated in the Rat Man¡¯s face. The spear splintered, and the stone head punched into the cave wall three inches from my eye. For a second, I dared to hope. But the Tunnel Lord hardly seemed to notice that one of its members was bleeding from an arm stump, missing an eye, and sporting a dozen shrapnel wounds. Even that Rat Man was still moving with the group. There had to be a solution, but up-front damage wasn¡¯t it¡ªand I didn¡¯t have time to look for it. The Tunnel Lord was on me again, and this time, it made contact. I screamed as the spear punched through my back and out of my stomach. Even with my Body score over ten now, it felt like fire being slammed through my guts, but without my stat points, it would have killed me. As it was, I saw stars, and my vision went black for a second. Then, the spear ripped out of me, and a second wave of pain rippled across my body. My reflexes took over. I¡¯d been in similar places while stick-wrestling; the next blow would be to the back of my head, and eleven points in Body or not, I wouldn¡¯t survive that. As the blow came in, I rolled, and through the pin-prick I could still see clearly, the Tunnel Lord¡¯s tangled tails hung overhead. The spear thrust missed. It stuck in the cave floor next to me for a moment, and I looked up at the rat king¡¯s tail cluster. It was glowing orange. So were all the rats men¡¯s tails. I¡¯d seen this before, in my ex¡¯s games¡ªa weak point. Awareness had paid off! In the few seconds I had, I grabbed my shovel-axe and sliced into the tail cluster. My stomach screamed from the motion, and I screamed with it. But the axe caught one of the tails, and a second later, the Tunnel Lord¡¯s hovering text changed as the Rat Man separated from the amalgam boss. The Tunnel Lord: Level Ten Dungeon Boss Rat Man Brute: Level Four Monster The Tunnel Lord staggered back, but the brute rushed me. I blocked its blow, swinging my shovel-axe to counter its spear, and chopped a leg hard enough to knock the monster to the ground. Then I slammed my weapon into it over and over. Its screams filled the cave. They cut off after a few seconds and a final, crunching blow¡ªthis one to the thing¡¯s neck. Level Up! Six to Seven. The two points in Body stitched up my stomach wound and finished recovering my shoulder, and I faced the Tunnel Lord. It still looked stunned, but I had no idea how long that would last. It had a weak point now, though. If I could sever the rest of the tails, I¡¯d be dealing with a handful of less powerful enemies. I could handle that. I rushed toward the Tunnel Lord. It recovered in time to whirl and protect itself, but it felt a beat slow. Still, I wasn¡¯t getting under it again¡ªnot without taking another punishing wound, and I wasn¡¯t close enough to a level to use Body points to fix myself again. But another plan came to mind. I shrugged off the backpack¡ªone of the rat king¡¯s spears had all but broken the strap, and it snapped as I pulled it off. Bombs spilled all over the floor. Then I started running. The Tunnel Lord followed me, and I smiled a predatory smile as its first set of paws stepped into the bombs. The Tunnel Lord had taken bomb hits on its front sides. None of them had done anything useful for me, but every rat king had to have a tail tangle, and when I¡¯d cut the one loose, I¡¯d realized that this one¡¯s nerves were all connected. It had only shrugged off the damage to one Rat Man at a time because it represented a tiny fraction of the whole. But if I separated them, I was willing to bet all that damage would add up. I fired a Lightning Bolt at my backpack¡ªand at the dozen bombs still inside of it. The pop ripped into my ears. Nuts, screws, and washers pinged off every surface. I threw myself to the ground but still took a couple of hits from bolts that felt like bullets. But when the dust cleared, and the acid smell faded enough for me to risk looking, the Tunnel Lord was gone. In its place were four greenish-yellow orbs that floated toward me and a single Rat Man with the words Tunnel Lord: Level Two Dungeon Boss over its head. It was down, struggling to push itself to its feet. As I limped closer, I realized why; it was missing one. The shovel-axe came down on the Rat Man¡¯s neck, and a moment later, another set of words popped into my vision. Hardcore Boss Defeated: The Tunnel Lord Level Up! Seven to Ten. Dungeon Delvers who were not in the arena will receive fifty percent of your team¡¯s experience. I breathed a sigh of relief as the fight ended, then turned and started limping back to Calvin. I needed to get to him before he spent his points. But before I could go, the System continued. Congratulations! For defeating your first boss, you have unlocked Magical Items and the Inventory System. 7: Listened to Preachers, Listened to Fools Congratulations! You¡¯ve found a Magical Item. Magical Items are powerful tools that can shift the balance of a fight, pushing you beyond what your level and race should be able to accomplish. From flaming weapons to unbreakable armor, the possibilities are limitless¡ªbut beware. Once you equip a magical item, it cannot be used by another person. Magical Item Slots Available: 3/3 Congratulations! By defeating the tutorial dungeon¡¯s sub-boss, you¡¯ve unlocked your basic interspatial inventory. This inventory can store up to [1.23781 metric tons] of crafting items. Simply think about storing an item to place it in storage, and think about withdrawing it to retrieve it. The magical item sat on the ground, right in the middle of the room. It looked a lot like a glowing pillar of light; this one was a sickly green color not too different from the experience orbs the monsters kept dropping when they died. Since I couldn¡¯t see what it was from here, I reached out and touched it. You received Lock-Grip Gloves (Common) +1 Body The wearer can lock their melee weapons to their hands, preventing disarmament and dropped weapons until unlocked. Equip? Yes/No My first instinct was to equip it. The locked weapon effect felt pretty mediocre, but the stat point in Body¡­that was worth it. I¡¯d really felt my stats in that last fight¡ªespecially when the Tunnel Lord had skewered me like a marshmallow at a cookout and I¡¯d been able to keep fighting. Pre-stats Hal wouldn¡¯t have been able to handle that. Not that it didn¡¯t still hurt. But it wasn¡¯t life-threatening, and it didn¡¯t feel infected. Still, the more I thought about the Lock-Grip Gloves, the more of a plan I made for them. I didn¡¯t want to use any more stat points on Body if I could help it; now that I was tough enough to take hits and keep fighting, I needed more insights into my enemies¡ªand into the tools I was making. I put four of my six points in Awareness. The other two went into Mana. When I opened my stats, they¡¯d changed to the following: [Hal Riley] [Class - N/A] [Level - 10] [Stats] ?Body - 13 ?Awareness - 16 ?Mana - 8 Stat Points Available: 0 Spell: Lightning Bolt [Class Skill - N/A] Items ?Open Slot ?Open Slot ?Open Slot I hadn¡¯t learned a new spell. That was both disappointing and unsurprising since it wasn¡¯t a base-five number. But when I readied my Lightning Bolt, the storm around my hand looked more animated. I grinned; between the weak spot highlight and the increased magic power, things were looking up. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Wherever she was, Tori had just gotten a bunch of stat points, and so had Calvin. I might be able to direct him toward something useful for us all. If he wouldn¡¯t fight, I needed to make sure he¡¯d pick something that could help us out of combat¡ªlike healing magic or a map. I was worried about Tori, but she¡¯d do what she did, and I¡¯d have to deal with it later. If she was still alive. I grabbed the Lock-Grip Gloves and shoved them into my inventory, then turned to leave the cave. The portcullis was gone. So was the fog wall. I didn¡¯t see a single Rat Man waiting in the tunnels leading to the boss arena, either. In fact, I didn¡¯t see much of anything until I left the cave. Calvin was waiting outside. ¡°So, you got it?¡± I nodded. ¡°Did you spend your points?¡± ¡°Yep. Don¡¯t worry about me¡ª I can take care of myself,¡± he said. ¡°Listen, I was hoping¡ª¡° Calvin cut me off. ¡°You were hoping I¡¯d go back to being a medic. That ain¡¯t happening. I¡¯ve had enough of that, magic or not. You ever had someone die in your arms? I have¡ªover and over. It ain¡¯t fun. If you want to avoid that, you¡¯d better get moving.¡± I opened my mouth, ready to argue. But¡­he was right. Instead of fighting, I closed my mouth. ¡°Alright, good kid,¡± Calvin said. ¡°Why don¡¯t we spend one hour getting your gear together? See if there¡¯s anything other than bombs that¡¯s worth taking from that tool shop. They¡¯ll be great until they run out, but you don¡¯t want to be out of ammo in a firefight. You need something reliable.¡± ¡°I should get going,¡± I said, falling back on the farm accent and Midwest politeness again. ¡°Tori¡¯s out there, and I¡¯ve got to find her. ¡°No, you don¡¯t. Not yet. Instead, focus on making sure that when you find your friend, you¡¯re good to go until you¡¯re both safe.¡± Calvin shook his head slowly. ¡°You can¡¯t just be a hero. You¡¯ve got to survive first.¡±
The new Inventory system was going to be a lifesaver¡ªassuming that I could convince Calvin I had everything I needed and get moving before Tori got herself killed. Calvin might not have been military since the ¡®70s, but as it turned out, those instincts didn¡¯t ever go away. ¡°You¡¯ve got plenty of space in your inventory, Hal. Take a second sledgehammer.¡± ¡°Hal, focus. You¡¯re going into unknown, hostile territory, so you¡¯re going to bring 1.2 metric tons of crap you might need.¡± ¡°At least you¡¯re not carrying it all like I had to.¡± Right now, we were working on unwrapping table saw blades; Calvin thought they¡¯d be good weapons, or parts of weapons, or something. In addition to the sledgehammers, I had another sharpened shovel, a couple of wood-splitting axes, and a half-dozen different spears we¡¯d made by lashing an iron spike to a rake handle with wire. They didn¡¯t fly well at all, but they¡¯d let me save my energy for Lightning Bolts when I needed them most. I¡¯d also had an idea, and so an electric brush trimmer sat in my inventory, too, along with a half-dozen knives. Once I found a power source that actually worked, I¡¯d be in business. If I found a power source, that was. I was itching to head for the door and get moving; I only had two days to track down Tori, and right now, I didn¡¯t even know if she was still alive. Every minute might count. ¡°Alright, listen up,¡± Calvin said as I tore the last blade¡¯s packaging open and shoved it into my inventory. He held the filthy Army ballcap in his hands, wringing it like a wet rag. ¡°You¡¯re on a rescue mission. That means you¡¯ve gotta be thorough, but quick. Hit as many stations as you can, as fast as you can, but don¡¯t worry about clearing every single monster. Just figure out if she¡¯s there. If she is, get her. If not, move on.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± I said. ¡°The biggest thing will be finding her without getting hurt yourself. If she¡¯s hurt, that¡¯s not a big deal. If you get hurt, no one¡¯s coming for you. I don¡¯t have the levels, and there¡¯s no one else. So move fast, but be careful, soldier. Check your back, don¡¯t rush into anything, and get your ass back here in one piece.¡± Something about his body language had shifted. He still looked like a long-term rider, but he wasn¡¯t acting like one. ¡°Hal, I¡¯m going to be honest with you. You might not find her. If it gets down to a few hours, you¡¯re gonna have to take a shot at the Redline Wyrm¡ªif you want out of here, that is. I¡¯ll get things organized back here in case you find her. That way, we can put together a battle plan. But getting out of here should be your priority if it comes down to it, not finding your friend.¡± ¡°Thanks, Calvin,¡± I said. I held out a hand, and he grabbed it. One shake, firm squeeze, release¡ªjust like Dad had taught me. ¡°No problem. Now, get going, soldier.¡± I nodded. The Redline Wyrm had just passed, so if I was fast, I could get to Monroe Station before the next cycle. 8: Maybe Its Not Too Late Something about Monroe Station was off. It wasn¡¯t that it was a small station, though it only had one blocked exit, a ticket kiosk, and a pair of restrooms. It reminded me a little of Chicago Station, though that had felt empty even before I¡¯d killed the Rat Men who¡¯d camped there. But Monroe had never been a hub station like the big ones. It was a single-line station with a bus stop but no other trains¡ªa place to board or get off, but not to make a transfer. No, the strange part was that Monroe was empty. It was the first station I¡¯d found without anything. No monsters. No people. Nothing of value to take with me. And because it hadn¡¯t always been. I looked around; a single bloody spear sat near the kiosk. That felt like a sign that I was on the right track. So did the bloody track on the ground¡ªthe bottom of a boot-print. Had Tori been wearing boots? Those were popular with the scene crowd when I was a kid, so maybe. If it wasn¡¯t her, I had no idea who it could be. The blood was concerning, but maybe it was monster blood, not hers. And the abandoned spear gave me hope that she was fighting¡ªand leveling.
Team: Hal Riley, Tori Vanderbilt, Calvin Rollins Tutorial Dungeon: Redline Tunnels Objective: Kill the Tunnel Lord (1/1) Objective: Kill the Redline Wyrm (0/1) Objective: Reach the Dungeon Exit (0/1) Objective: Survive (0/1) Time Limit: 14 Hours, Seven Minutes The weirdest thing about Fullerton wasn¡¯t that it was crawling with oversized bats that were all Levels Six to Eight. It wasn¡¯t even that they¡¯d been so easy to beat. It showed just how much the System¡¯s stat points were helping me¡ªthat and two solid days¡¯ experience at fighting. It was that it, like most of the other stations, was supposed to be above ground. The second weirdest thing was that it connected to Roosevelt, which was also underground¡ªand which also wasn¡¯t supposed to be. Whatever the Consortium had done with their terraforming, it had not only sunk this station completely, but it had also built a copy of some other station to replace it. They¡¯d also cut off about a third of the line on either side when they made their loop and put the whole thing well under Lake Michigan. At some point, I needed to figure out how they¡¯d done that, along with a hundred other questions I already had¡ªand probably a thousand I hadn¡¯t thought of yet. But for now, I just wanted to take a breather and wait for that damn Wyrm. I had almost finished the circuit; I was about to hit Level Fifteen, and only a few stations remained. I¡¯d fought Rat Men, slimes, and tentacle-covered things called Minor Reversed River Elementals. They fought with tentacles covered in acid; I¡¯d had to cut every one of them off the squid-shaped things before they died. Right now, I was breathing hard¡ªI¡¯d been pushing my Body and Mana to the limit. I¡¯d spent two points in Body¡ªboth to fix battle damage against a River Beast that had attacked me at Harrison¡ªand six in Awareness. The last two went to Mana. I was still saving the Lock-Grip Gloves, just in case I needed a Body boost mid-combat. My new spell was running¡ªPower Surge. As I slammed the sledgehammer I¡¯d looted from the hardware store cave into the last bat, the iron head flashed blue-white, and a surge of electricity rushed into the monster. Its experience orb was a bright purple. I stopped near the edge of the platform, which was well over three-quarters gone and being eaten faster with every pass. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. I¡¯d found a couple of magical items. The best piece I had was the Surge Protector. The shoulder pads made me look a lot like one of the Haymakers¡¯ football jocks, but they gave me two Mana and one Body. My other magical item was¡­less immediately useful, at least for fighting. The Imbuing Rod was great for setting up tools, though. It could imbue a single weapon with my Power Surge, and it didn¡¯t have to be my weapon, either. That¡¯s how I was powering the Weed Whacker. My Awareness was through the roof at twenty-two, and I was starting to see things¡ªlike how I could use my lightning magic to power all sorts of stuff. I blinked. The sweat stung my eyes, but I resisted wiping it off; my hands were even filthier, and I had long practice at not wiping my face when I¡¯d been working. Power Surge was the key, it turned out¡ªand the Imbuing Rod. If I cast it into a weapon quickly enough, I could keep the buff up indefinitely, and with some wiring I¡¯d ripped out of a wall, that led to something that felt a little like how electricity used to work. I could probably use it to power one of those electric chainsaws back at the hardware cave, but I hadn¡¯t seen another shop like it since leaving. It had some other drawbacks, too. I could only put Power Surge on one weapon at a time. I¡¯d been keeping it on my sledgehammer when I could, since the bats weren¡¯t a big enough threat for me to pull the Weed Whacker out of my inventory. I¡¯d built a few new weapons in the few minutes of downtime I let myself have¡ªthe battery bombs were all but used up, and I wanted to save the last four for the Wyrm itself. But the one I was most proud of was my Weed Whacker. It had started out as a brush trimmer, but now it only looked vaguely like one. There wasn¡¯t a motor, for one thing, or hand-grips. For another, the safety guard was gone. It was a long pipe with a bit of wire running through it, along with a magnet and a spinning series of what looked like copper hammers for the Imbuing Rod to¡­imbue. Rotationally. On the far side, I¡¯d attached a bunch of knives to the end of the pipe with some ball bearings out of someone¡¯s skateboard. The Imbuing Rod and Power Surge kept it running well enough, and it kicked serious butt, but using it was a trade-off; the spell tired me out faster than Lightning Bolt at the power level I needed to run the Weed Whacker, and the machine wasn¡¯t too well-built. Even so, it was my best weapon¡ªmy ace in the hole, for now. As I waited for the Redline Wyrm to pass by, I worked on it, adjusting the knives¡¯ angle slightly and tightening bolts. I had to be getting close¡ªthere weren¡¯t many more stations to go. She¡¯d either be at North and Clybourn or Clark and Division. Either that, or she¡¯d be in the area I¡¯d already cleared.
North and Clybourn was a bust. Just like Monroe Station, I found some evidence that Tori had been through here. But unlike the bat stations or the ones with slimes, there didn¡¯t seem to be any monsters to fight¡ªjust Rat Man spears. She¡¯d definitely cleared this station out. I was gaining on her, and if she kept ahead of me, she¡¯d run into Calvin. Unlike at Monroe, Tori hadn¡¯t looted everything that¡¯d been nailed down here. The highlight was a convenience store¡ªno food, but duct tape, a bunch of oil, and outside, a full rack of propane tanks. The damn things were still full, and I couldn¡¯t carry them all, even in my inventory; I thought about venting the gas but decided I could do that any time. They were still pressurized, and I couldn¡¯t put gas back into them later. I took what I could. I sat down to wait for the train to pass again¡ªit seemed to be getting faster as it ate more and more of the tunnel walls, but something about that convenience store rubbed me the wrong way. I couldn¡¯t stop fidgeting. After a minute of thinking and thinking and puzzling, I stood back up. ¡°Alright. What¡¯s wrong in there?¡± I couldn¡¯t figure it out. All the shelves were right where they should be. Sure, they were stone, and sure, the ones where food should have been in a convenience store were empty. So were the coolers; there wasn¡¯t a single water bottle here. I headed toward the cash register, stepping over a rubber-bottomed mud rug. No Rat Men hiding back there, either. No, there wasn¡¯t anything off about this. It had just been my imagination. If I was right, though, the train would be here soon, and I¡¯d be able to get to Clark and Division.
The Redline Wyrm was definitely speeding up. I barely got to Clark and Division Station before the snake¡¯s headlight filled the tunnel behind me, and it sheered off the last of the central platform and started working its way toward the caves nearby as I headed into the caves. At the rate it was growing, it wouldn¡¯t take long for it to eat into the stations. I watched it pass by, breathing hard. The ground rumbled under my feet, and the snake disappeared into the semi-dark tunnel. The Redline Wyrm: Level Twenty Dungeon Boss Current Difficulty: Extreme Extreme. Extreme was better than Impossible. We had a shot at this. I just needed to find Tori. I had one station left to check¡ªplus the ones I¡¯d already cleared out¡ªand just under thirteen and a half hours. We were running out of time. 9: Mentally Numb Tori gasped as she used Shockwave to throw the monster off of her. Her head spun, and her chest and stomach felt like a giant had squeezed her in its fist. She tried to crawl away, but her lungs screamed and burned as air poured into them. Everything had happened so fast. The last station she¡¯d checked¡ªNorth and Clybourn¡ªhad only had a couple of Rat Men that she¡¯d been able to take care of with no trouble before waiting for the subway snake to pass. She¡¯d only had to use a single Inertia Ball on them, and she figured she could clear this one without magic at all. She hadn¡¯t even thought about the shag carpet she was stepping on¡ªor how out of place it was in the subway cave¡ªuntil it was too late. The monster coiled up around her like a flat, square snake made of ratty, filth-covered carpeting. Her arms and legs churned on the floor as she tried to crab-walk away and summon up an Inertia Ball at the same time. Floor Mimic: Level 12 Monster How was it so much stronger than her? She was Level Seven! It wasn¡¯t fair! She rolled, trying to dodge as the Floor Mimic engulfed her again. Then, the squeezing started. This time, it started around her arms; something in her shoulder popped, and she screamed. It tightened around her before she could shut her mouth, forcing all the air out of her lungs. She tried to cast another Shockwave, but the magic wouldn¡¯t come. Every wriggle¡ªevery struggle¡ªjust made the Floor Mimic¡¯s stranglehold tighter. She couldn¡¯t breathe. She couldn¡¯t breathe! Her heart pounded in her ears, and her vision went gray. Everything was so hot. This was it; she¡¯d sob if she had the air for it. She screamed¡ªshe didn¡¯t have any air left, but she screamed anyway. A roar cut through the pulsing in her ears. It sounded like a ceiling fan on steroids, and a burning electric smell forced its way into her nose. Something ripped into her calf, and she tried to scream again. Her lungs burned. The Floor Mimic shrieked. Then it parted, and Tori sucked in a grateful breath and vomited from the pain. She rolled onto her side and looked up. Chunks of carpet rained down around her. The mechanic from the train finished shredding the monster.
The weed whacker hit the ground¡ªhard¡ªas the Floor Mimic¡¯s body disintegrated around Tori. Blood rushed from her leg. I dropped to my knees next to her. The orb hit me a second later, and I leveled up again. Level Up! Fifteen to Sixteen. ¡°Damn it,¡± I said under my breath. That wasn¡¯t supposed to have gone to me. It was supposed to be a catch-up orb for Tori. But¡­¡±Jesus Christ.¡± Tori¡¯s leg looked awful. I grabbed my leatherman, cutting away her shredded pants at the knee. A half-dozen deep, jagged cuts ran up the back of her calf¡ªI hadn¡¯t had time to be precise with the Weed Whacker¡¯s spinning knives. ¡°Deep breaths, Tori. I¡¯ve got you. I¡¯m Hal.¡± She nodded, white-faced and wide-eyed. She was breathing, but they were shallow, pain-filled breaths. I looked at the Lock-Grip Gloves, then pulled some torn cloth strips out of my inventory instead. Calvin had said they¡¯d be useful as bandages. ¡°This is gonna hurt,¡± I said. ¡°I know,¡± she managed to say between gritted teeth. I could see the strain in her neck from how tight she was clenching them. ¡°Scream if you have to.¡± I grabbed the first cloth, bunched it up, and shoved it as far into her wounds as I could. She screamed. I didn¡¯t stop shoving. As my filthy fingers grew wet with her blood, I kept pushing until the flow slowed, then stopped. Even then, I kept the pressure on with one hand. ¡°Alright, Tori, I need you to listen to me and follow my directions. All you have to do is get a bunch of cloth strips ready for me and lift your leg when I tell you to. Can you do that?¡± She nodded again. Over the next minute, I jammed even more cloth up against her sliced leg, then wrapped the cloth strips around it and tied it all in place. Then she handed me the next strip, breathing fast and hard the whole time. It wasn¡¯t pretty. But by the time I was done, I felt pretty sure that I¡¯d gotten Tori¡¯s bleeding under control. I finally looked her in the face. Now that her make-up was worn off and her hair wasn¡¯t so much styled as tangled and matted, Tori didn¡¯t just remind me of Beth; she could almost have been my sister. Her cheeks were a little thinner, and her eyes weren¡¯t the right color, but without all the emo style, I could see exactly why she¡¯d looked familiar. ¡°Hal,¡± she said, still trying to catch her breath and blink away tears. ¡°That¡­that really fucking sucked.¡± I stared at her for a second. This girl was nothing like my sister. Beth was a troublemaker, but she¡¯d never sworn at me. Then, a second later, I burst out laughing. Tori¡¯s eyebrow raised. Then, a shadow of a grin passed over her face. A minute later, she was laughing, too¡ªand wincing as every laugh shook her leg a little.
¡°They¡¯re Floor Mimics,¡± Tori said after I propped her up against the cave wall. ¡°I stepped on it, and it wrapped me up. I didn¡¯t think¡­I didn¡¯t think about why a rug would be in the middle of Clark and Division.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. I held back a shiver; I¡¯d almost stepped on that mud rug one station back. ¡°Did you see any other monsters here?¡± ¡°No. I pulled some Huntsman Bats back at Fullerton and some of the others, and I didn¡¯t even think about clearing the water squid things, but this station seemed empty. I figured that maybe you or Calvin had farmed it already.¡± ¡°Calvin secured one store cave and called it good, and I started at Chicago. Most of the dungeon¡¯s cleared, though. Just have to take out the Redline Wyrm.¡± ¡°I saw.¡± Tori winced and looked at the wall. ¡°Thanks. Those levels gave me a new spell and let me break out of the bathroom at Roosevelt. Any ideas about the last boss?¡± ¡°I¡¯m working on something, but it¡¯s still in the planning stage,¡± I said. It was less a plan than an inkling of one, though¡ªa rough idea that the whole fight had to do with the Wyrm¡¯s speed and how to turn that into an advantage. That was as far as I¡¯d gotten, though. The biggest problem was Tori¡¯s leg. She definitely couldn¡¯t walk on it, and we didn¡¯t have time to wait for it to heal. I had a solution; I¡¯d been ready to use the gloves if I had to, and the extra point in Body would help get her moving. But before I tried that, I had an idea. ¡°I¡¯m going to check out the bathrooms. Watch my back, okay? I¡¯m counting on you.¡± She looked at me, then nodded slowly. Luckily, all I needed her to do was stay awake and yell if something showed up. That was about all I could expect in her current state. The men¡¯s room looked about like I expected it to. Sinks, stalls, urinals. Nothing out of the ordinary. I double-checked the floor, poking it with the Weed Whacker¡¯s blades. Nothing shrieked. Nothing jumped up to attack me. So, the Floor Mimics all looked like rugs or carpets, then. ¡°Tori, do you know why these things aren¡¯t called carpet mimics?¡± ¡°No.¡± When I glanced into the women¡¯s room, I couldn¡¯t help but smile. A pair of Rat Man spears sat near a round rug in the middle of the cave; it had formed around the stalls so closely it looked like it was under them, but I wasn¡¯t fooled¡ªnot even by the lack of level and name over its head. I pulled back and rejoined Tori. ¡°There¡¯s a second Floor Mimic in there. I¡¯m going to kill it. Keep an eye out. Everything else should be safe, but I don¡¯t know for sure, so keep focused.¡± Then I pulled the Weed Whacker and returned to the women¡¯s room. I fed a Power Surge into the Imbuing Rod, then into the Weed Whacker, and the blades started whirring and tearing at the air. I swung it toward the Floor Mimic; the second I made contact, the whole thing pulled back into a bunch far away from me, then coiled like a spring. Floor Mimic: Level Fifteen Monster This one was a lot stronger than the one I¡¯d torn off of Tori; it was almost as strong as me, and I was pretty sure I¡¯d soaked up more than my share of experience from the dungeon. On the other hand, I knew what to expect since Tori had told me all about her fight with it. As it sprang toward me and unfurled, I braced the Weed Whacker against my hip and poured another shot of Power Surge in. The blade whirred. The Floor Mimic wrapped around me and tightened. My shoulders strained as I held the Weed Whacker away from me, and as the pressure built, the blades started breaking off. A knife ricocheted across the bathroom, sparking as it hit one wall. I watched it rebound and stick into the Floor Mimic¡¯s ¡®back.¡¯ Then another blade gave, clattering off into a corner. The air rushed out of my lungs, and the Floor Mimic tightened. As it did, the Weed Whacker found a grip and ripped itself out of my hands. It tore across the Floor Mimic, punching jagged holes across its center. The tightening did the rest; it ripped itself apart like a notebook paper torn from a binder. I barely had the breath to roll away from the experience orb, but I managed to get far enough away. Then, as I recovered, I pushed myself to my feet and left the bathroom. ¡°Tori, I¡¯ve got an orb in there with your name on it, but you have to¡­have to promise me that you¡¯re going to use it how I tell you to. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯ll level you at least once. Put both points into Body.¡± She narrowed her eyes and squared up. I¡¯d seen that before with Beth, but I couldn¡¯t understand why she wanted to fight me on this. Then I got a better look at her. I¡¯d been completely focused on her leg and hadn¡¯t seen the other injuries. ¡°You haven¡¯t put a single point into Body, have you?¡± ¡°No. Mana¡¯s the right choice, obviously. I¡¯ve got incredible powers,¡± she said. ¡°Do you really think that?¡± I asked. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve been putting most of my points into Awareness, but if you put some into Body, it¡¯ll help patch you up after fights. Right now, you need some healing if we¡¯re going to walk back to Lake Station, so put both points in Body.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she said. She went silent. The gears were turning; I could practically see them. Then, it clicked. ¡°It¡¯s a stat synergy game, not an individual stat one. I¡¯ve been playing it like I could stack Mana, ignore everything else, and be a ¡®concentrated power of the sun¡¯ glass cannon, but that¡¯s not how it works. Everything works together, and if I don¡¯t balance things out¡­¡± Tori pushed herself to her feet and half-hopped to me, then threw an arm around my shoulder. She was a lot shorter than me, but it worked well enough. ¡°Two points in Body, then?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
A few minutes later, Tori and I sat on the station¡¯s edge and waited for the Redline Wyrm. The orb had gotten her two levels. She¡¯d put two into Body, one into Awareness, and one into Mana, and her leg had healed up enough to walk on. She¡¯d have scars, but those had been a guarantee the moment my Weed Whacker hit her. I¡¯d shoved what was left of the Weed Whacker into my inventory, but it was pretty much done. I¡¯d need a new weapon, and a design was already pretty much formed in my head. It¡¯d be something stronger, more capable of punching through armor. Something with weight and torque. It was a concept right now, but once we got back to Lake Station and I could start building it, it¡¯d make the Weed Whacker look like a kid¡¯s toy. But first, we had to wait for the Redline Wyrm to come by again. So, instead of moving or grinding, Tori and I were wasting time and twiddling our thumbs. ¡°We could fight it here,¡± Tori said halfheartedly. She was Level Nine or Ten now¡ªstronger, but not strong enough. I shook my head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think we will. Something¡¯s fishy about that train.¡± ¡°You mean snakey?¡± I stared at her for a minute. Over the last three days, she¡¯d lost some of her prickly, emo-girl facade. In a way, it mirrored the fading makeup and the rats-nest that had once been hair carefully combed over one eye. Then, I let myself laugh. ¡°Sure. Something¡¯s snakey about that train. Why isn¡¯t it ripping up the ground, too, for example? I want to get a good look at it, and then I want another shot at the hardware store back at Lake. We need to group up with Calvin anyway. ¡± ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll wait.¡± She seemed relieved, even though she tried to hide it, and I wondered what she¡¯d been through in the last couple of days. Her eyes had lost most of that wide, shell-shocked look. Now, they just looked exhausted. I shrugged. We¡¯d have time to talk about it later. We didn¡¯t have to wait long. As the Redline Wyrm rumbled toward us, filling the tunnel and then some, I held out a hand to keep Tori back. She shot me a look, the kind teenagers always give when they think they¡¯re adults. Beth and I had both shot the same one at Mom and Dad a couple of times¡ªher more than me¡ªso I recognized it for what it was. Then, neither of us could look at anything but the steel-covered snake as it whipped by, shaving off a full foot from the concrete. A brief flash of orange flashed by, mostly covered by the train car armor, as it roared through Clark and Division. An almost feral grin split my face. I knew how to beat it. And between my inventory and the Lake Station shop, we had everything we needed. 10: All Aboard Time Limit: 10 Hours, Forty-Eight Minutes By the time we got back to Lake Station, Tori and I were both exhausted and covered in dust and dried blood. We¡¯d been walking along the tracks for the better part of two hours, and we¡¯d also re-checked Chicago and Grand for rugs. There were a few. Without the Weed Whacker, I couldn¡¯t solo them, but Torrey needed the levels, and we figured out a strategy that used her Shockwave to buy us time while I set them up for self-tearing like the one I¡¯d killed. She was Level Twelve now. I hadn¡¯t asked, but she¡¯d told me anyway. And her Body and Awareness weren¡¯t at her baseline anymore. But she was still a kid, and I didn¡¯t want to include her in the upcoming fight more than I had to. I¡¯d have to, though. She¡¯d learned a new spell, and that spell had immediately become a core part of my plan. I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, but the whole plan¡¯s shape was still in my head, and if I slept on it, I was afraid it¡¯d be gone. Magic was like an engine¡ªsort of. I¡¯d been close to that revelation with the weed whacker, but with my Awareness skyrocketing, I could almost see the circuits in my mind even without thinking about them. The design was simple, really. At least, it was in theory. I grabbed Calvin and Tori, then stepped into the mostly empty hardware store. ¡°We¡¯re going after the Redline Worm in eight hours. It¡¯ll take me three or four to build my weapon for the fight. Calvin, you¡¯re sitting the boss fight out.¡± ¡°Thank god,¡± he said. Then he glanced around the store. ¡°Why am I here, then?¡± ¡°Because I need a third set of hands. I¡¯m going to be holding the whole design together, and Tori¡¯s going to help me manage the magic. You¡¯re going to hang around and grab whatever I decide we need.¡± He nodded. I stuck my unbroken earbud in my ear, and we got to work. The next hour was a blur. Force magic operated completely differently from my lightning, and also differently from the air-shocks and trunk-lifts I was used to at the auto shop. We had something that could almost work after thirty minutes, but against the thing¡¯s armor, it wouldn¡¯t punch hard enough. That was okay, though; that idea had been proof of concept and building an understanding of how my design interacted with Tori¡¯s spells. My second idea was the one I was banking on. The one that had to work. It also used Tori¡¯s force magic. In fact, I didn¡¯t see any way around using it. But this device was a lot simpler. It didn¡¯t need to throw anything hard enough to punch through a train door. All it had to do was lift a ramp a couple of inches and then lower it slowly under a ton¡ªor twenty¡ªof weight. In the end, the thing looked a lot like a skateboard ramp. It was about three feet long and made of solid steel with a gap in the middle. Two of the heaviest bolts Tori could find held it tight to a platform that rested on Lake¡¯s concrete concourse. I¡¯d lashed two landscaping irrigation tubes to the sides and put every joint we could scavenge onto it, forming a maze of connections that branched and connected to a pair of plastic tanks under the ramp. Calvin had spent almost an hour carrying tank after tank of compressed air, propane, and anything else that looked like it was full of something over. The branching tubes led to the tanks; besides the propane, they all had basically no pressure, but that was okay. We didn¡¯t need pressure. We had Tori. The whole thing looked like a real mess, but, in theory, it¡¯d do what it was supposed to. In practice, it¡¯d only work once, and it¡¯d have to work perfectly. We wouldn¡¯t get a test fire, and we definitely wouldn¡¯t get a second shot. I spent the next hour or two working on my own weapon. I had no illusions about whether Lightning Bolt could so much as scrape the Redline Wyrm¡¯s scales, and the Weed Whacker wouldn¡¯t stand up to its armor even if it hadn¡¯t torn itself apart. I¡¯d beaten enough dents out of cars to know how to punch through the train¡¯s body, though. Latent electrical magic flowed up and down wires as I wrapped them around a solid piece of steel pipe I¡¯d lined with electrical tape. They led to a pair of ratchet wheels, one to each side of a table saw¡¯s motor. The blade was useless to me. So was the table. But the motor ran on electricity, and even though the station didn¡¯t have any, I did. The tests had worked; the motor spun the ratchet wheels for about three seconds per Power Surge. I¡¯d bolted a sledgehammer to each ratchet wheel, then used my Lightning Bolt to ¡®weld¡¯ the hammerheads to claws from some nail hammers to their heads. They both hung down on either side of the pipe handle. It looked no better than the weed whacker had, but I felt confident it would do the job. When the thing was done, I poured electricity into it with Power Surge. The second the lightning ripped into the motor, it started whining and revving. A split second later, both ratchet wheels clicked, and the hammers spun one hundred and eighty degrees before jerking to a stop and ripping the whole hammer out of my grip. It clattered on the ground as the hammers kept spinning. I picked it up, looking at Tori. ¡°Let¡¯s see what it can do.¡± She nodded and pointed at the nearest shelf. ¡°Rock¡¯s pretty tough.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Calvin and Tori stepped back as I hefted the thing over my shoulder. It was horribly unbalanced and weighed way more than I¡¯d have been able to swing around a couple of weeks ago. Now, though, the weight was almost nothing. I poured another Power Surge into it, and the hammers spun back down to firing position, jerking my arms again. I went into my inventory and equipped the Lock-Grip Gloves; I needed the extra grip more than the point of emergency Body for healing. Then I swung the hammer. It hit the limestone shelf, shaking it, but not knocking it to pieces. The ratchet let go, and both hammers turned into blurs. The two claws hit the stone like a Mike Tyson punch, and the whole shelf exploded in a cloud of dust, gravel, and force. Tori jumped at the cracking sound. I didn¡¯t. Even with the Lock-Grip Gloves and the extra point in Body, my arms shook and tingled. Without them, the whole hammer would have thrown itself back into my face. It hurt to lose my emergency heal from the point in Body, but it¡¯d been worth it. It did the job I wanted it to do. ¡°Trip-Hammer,¡± I said, holding it up. New Creation: Trip-Hammer, by Hal Riley The Trip-Hammer uses electrical energy and salvaged parts from woodworking and landscaping tools to apply massive force to a small area. First created by Hal Riley of Earth. I blinked the System message away. Was I the first person to think about using lightning magic like this? And if I was, why hadn¡¯t the Weed Whacker gotten a System message? I didn¡¯t have the answers, but I did have a hammer and a boss to fight. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ve got a few hours. Rest up as far from the tracks as you can. I¡¯ll wake you up when it¡¯s time,¡± I said, shouldering the Trip-Hammer again and walking back toward Calvin¡¯s cave. ¡°Amen to the rest,¡± Tori said, yawning.
Despite the mad dash around the whole Red Line circuit and my dead-tired arms and legs, sleep wouldn¡¯t come. I tossed and turned on the cave floor for a couple of hours, then got up quietly. Calvin was a dead-silent sleeper, but Tori snored. I didn¡¯t want to wake either of them, so I crept toward the door and sat down, watching the tracks. The last few battery bombs were still in my inventory; I dumped them on the floor next to the Trip-Hammer and our mess of a wyrm-slaying contraption. A few hours ago, it had seemed like enough. Now, I wasn¡¯t so sure. The whole plan was riding on those tracks, and on the fact that they were still there even though the Redline Wyrm had expanded the tunnels out a dozen feet to either side as it grew. If the tracks were still there, it needed them. And that was our line of attack. But what if I was wrong? What if the ramp didn¡¯t fire correctly? Too many things could go wrong, and with only one shot at this, we were gambling on whether my theory was right. I was right a lot when it came to machines¡ªthat was one of the big reasons Cindy kept me on her staff even though I wasn¡¯t a certified mechanic. But I wasn¡¯t always right. That damn Ford Explorer was probably still up there with its transmission torn apart because I hadn¡¯t been able to figure it out. It had only been a matter of time before I¡¯d solved it, but I¡¯d run out of time. Now, we were running out of time to deal with the Redline Wyrm. ¡°Hal?¡± I glanced at the door. Tori stood there in her beat-up black pants and band shirt. ¡°You couldn¡¯t sleep either, huh?¡± ¡°No.¡± She sat on the wreckage next to me. ¡°I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about Mom. About whether she¡¯s still out there or whether she¡¯s going to pass her Tutorial.¡± Tori hadn¡¯t called her Jessica or step-mom. I raised an eyebrow questioningly. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m talking about Jessica,¡± she said. ¡°This time.¡± ¡°She will. She didn¡¯t pick Hardcore like us. She¡¯s probably already out there, looking for you,¡± I replied. My parents weren¡¯t. They¡¯d be in Nebraska, and I was hundreds of miles away. They were probably trying to hold the farm together¡ªif it still existed. I tried to push them out of my head. I couldn¡¯t get to them right now, and if there was anyone who could survive the end of the world, it was Mom. Dad was tough, but Mom? Surviving with her wouldn¡¯t be fun, but she¡¯d get anyone willing to toe the line through this or die trying. ¡°So¡­¡± Tori trailed off. I recognized that one, too. ¡°Subject change, huh? That was fast.¡± ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re really going to do this, huh?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see what choice we have.¡± She went quiet for a minute, and the Redline Wyrm rumbled past again. I resisted the urge to reach for the Trip-Hammer. Tori fidgeted on her seat until the shaking stopped, then brushed dust off her face. ¡°Are we going to win?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t tell her that we didn¡¯t have a choice, even though that was the truth. We both sat there on the hardware store¡¯s cold stone floor and waited as our timers ticked down until, eventually, she stood up. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to try to sleep again.¡± ¡°Good luck,¡± I said absent-mindedly. The Trip-Hammer looked right, but as I stared at it, places where the mana flowed poorly stood out in a blue-black glow. But she didn¡¯t leave right away. I could feel her standing at the door for almost a minute before she turned around. ¡°Hal, you¡¯re not gonna tell Jessica I stayed up worrying, right?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I already forgot you said anything. Get some rest.¡± I listened to her walk away, and to the tell-tale rumbling getting closer. The answer hit me as one of the Redline Wyrm¡¯s passing collapsed the turnstilagmites. The problem with the Ford Explorer¡¯s transmission wasn¡¯t its transmission at all. It¡¯d been so sooty in there, and I couldn¡¯t figure out why, but I¡¯d be just about willing to bet my job it was a fuel system issue. The inflow probably wasn¡¯t matching the gear¡¯s needs, so it felt like the transmission was messed up. That didn¡¯t help me or the woman who¡¯d been trying to reach Wyoming now, of course, but it did confirm what I already knew. If I had the time to work on a problem, I could solve it. I fished my music player out of my pocket. The screen was shattered. It didn¡¯t turn on, but that wasn¡¯t a surprise. But the buttons clicked right. That was a start. I set it and the headphones out on the concrete and got to work. The problem wasn¡¯t the damage; I couldn¡¯t fix that. The real problem was the lack of power. I pulled the Imbuing Rod out, looked at it, and tried to find a switch or something¡ªanything that might turn it down. If I fried the iPod¡¯s electronics, that¡¯d be the end. I found it eventually and slid it down to the minimum power. Then I put the unbroken earbud in my right ear, plugged it into the bottom of the iPod, and carefully put the smallest Power Surge I could into the rod. The tip of the rod touched the iPod, and for about five seconds, I heard Motley Crue¡¯s ¡®Kickstart My Heart.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t help it¡ªa shit-eating grin plastered itself across my face. I spent the next half-hour pouring every ounce of my energy into the iPod, blasting through a dozen or so songs. Finally, as the last notes of ¡®We Will Rock You¡¯ faded and the next song began, I couldn¡¯t keep it up anymore. I¡¯d been working on the Hardcore Tutorial problem for over two solid days¡ªlonger than I¡¯d worked on a single machine since the station wagon. This was going to work. It had to, because I¡¯d seen the whole dungeon, and with our skill sets, this was the only solution. The next song was ¡®We Are the Champions,¡¯ but that¡¯d have to wait until tomorrow. 11: Crazy Train Time Limit: Two Hours, Seven Minutes I sprinted away from the contraption we¡¯d laid across the gravel and between the wooden ties. The tunnel wall that was once a platform loomed over me¡ªthe Redline Wyrm had been carving it bigger and bigger over the last three days. One garden hose bundle hung over my left shoulder, and one over my right. Tori grabbed them both, and I nodded at her as she started fastening them to the pile of metal and plastic tanks in the pit. We¡¯d added some gas cans¡ªwithout the gas, which at this point was less explosive than water. But they¡¯d all add to the fun. According to our most recent check, the Redline Wyrm would be here in less than five minutes. Calvin and Tori were both plugging hoses into tanks as fast as they could. I pulled the Trip-Hammer out of my inventory, made sure my Lock-Grip Gloves were on, and piled in to help. We finished just in time. The now-familiar rumbling feeling started in my feet, and before I knew it, the cans and tanks were all shaking. ¡°Alright, wait for it,¡± I said, climbing over the jagged concrete edge and hanging my head out into the tunnel. The snake¡¯s headlight flicked as it came around a corner. I pulled back, counting off on my fingers. ¡°Ten seconds.¡± Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. The wyrm¡¯s snout passed over the glorified skateboard ramp harmlessly, two seconds faster than I¡¯d budgeted. If we waited the full ten, we¡¯d lose our chance. ¡°Do it now!¡± I shouted. ¡°Now? It¡¯s too early!¡± Tori yelled back. ¡°Now!¡± Tori nodded and used Crush on the dozens of containers. Joey, the kid one farm over, had a Stomp Rocket toy. It was just a plastic bladder filled with air, a hose, and a plastic rocket that attached to the hose¡¯s end, but when he jumped on it, the damn thing would take off on a one-way trip to the moon, then back to Earth. Or at least a little way there. The fun had lasted until I¡¯d used Dad¡¯s tractor to drop a hay bale onto the air bladder, which sent the rocket onto the barn roof and broke the bladder. Tori¡¯s Pre-Class Ultimate spell, Crush, did the same thing. Every tank, bottle, and can we¡¯d filled imploded instantly, sending a wave of gas down the tubes¡ªway more than they could hold. All that air rushed into the two plastic barrels, which¡ªin theory¡ªwould inflate and throw the Wyrm off its tracks. In practice, the barrels inflated in slow motion, almost like a movie. Then, as they started lifting the steel ramp, the first one blew out with a bang so loud it drowned out the Redline Wyrm¡¯s rumbling. The second one gave out a moment later. For an awful three seconds, I thought we¡¯d failed. The Redline Wyrm rocketed down the track, wobbling a little as it went. Then it hit the far tunnel¡¯s edge, and the whole damn snake came off the rails in a deafening screech. Rails and train-car armor sparked against each other, and I got my first look at the bottom of the damn snake. The crash as it piled up against the wall felt like a massive hand slapping me, but I hardly cared. I¡¯d been right. It was wheels¡ªhundreds of wheels and dozens of weak spots. The Redline Wyrm had been riding the rails¡ªand hiding its fragile belly¡ªthis whole time. That was why the rails never disappeared, no matter how much platform it ate or how big it got. The Redline Wyrm: Level Twenty Dungeon Boss Current Difficulty: Extreme Status: Derailed The boss thrashed back and forth, trying to right itself and get moving again. Tori hurried into position, using her twenty-four points in Mana to keep it pinned down with Inertia Balls. But as she got closer, the snake¡¯s tail lashed out, launching her onto the rails. She hit with a crunch, and I winced; she hadn¡¯t wanted to put points in Body, and the two impacts looked like they¡¯d hurt. I didn¡¯t have time to help her, either. I dashed toward a glowing-orange weak spot near the Wyrm¡¯s middle, where its armor had peeled into jagged-looking strips. The scales were already bleeding there, so I figured that was the best place to start. I swung, firing a Power Surge into the Trip-Hammer as it started its arc. The motor whirred and screamed. Then, an instant before the whole contraption slammed into the Wyrm¡¯s exposed wound, the ratchets released, and the two spiked hammers split the air. They hit home. Last night¡¯s tuning paid off. The wyrm roared, flailing its body wildly across the station as I pulled the Trip-Hammer back and sprinted toward Tori. She was up but wobbly; I shoved her onto what was left of the center platform. ¡°Get to it!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± she said, turning shakily toward the wyrm. The Redline Wyrm: Level Twenty Dungeon Boss Current Difficulty: Extreme Status: Derailed, Sundered It gave up on trying to get back on the rails. Instead, it rushed me, mouth scooping up concrete as it did. Tori fired another Inertia Ball toward it, and I dodged the other way, but it still clipped me. The pain was unbelievable. It was like standing between a sow and her trough. Like taking a horse¡¯s kick to the chest. Like being crushed beneath a half-gutted truck as it came off its lift. And that was just a glancing, thrashing blow; the damn boss had reared up over my head like a tower of train parts and scales. I rolled toward the out of control train-snake and pulled out the Trip-Hammer again. As its weight came down on me, Tori Crushed another part of its armor right over me. I held up the Trip-Hammer. The Redline Wyrm came down on it as I Power Surged electricity into my weapon. The motor revved for a second before sliding inside its body with a squelch and a torrent of dark, oil-slick-colored blood that covered me from head to toe. Then the hammers fired, and the Wyrm screamed. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. One thing did go exactly according to plan; the Lock-Grip Gloves didn¡¯t let go. I wished they had, though. They stayed on the damn Trip-Hammer as the Wyrm reared back suddenly, and I went right with it. It jerked me through the air, back and forth, as I shouted. ¡°Tori, help!¡± ¡°Help how?¡± she screamed back. I looked at her; she was too busy running back and forth on the platform while trying to avoid the Wyrm¡¯s armored coils to help me. I¡¯d gotten into this mess, and the only way out was through it. I fired the Trip-Hammer again and again, arms aching as the shockwaves rippled through me. The Wyrm dragged me across the ground, through the air, and wherever else it wanted me to go. Then, at least, it started slowing down. I fired it one more time, and it stopped for a moment, its maw facing Tori. ¡°Now! Hit it now!¡± She threw a single Inertia Ball at the thing¡¯s head. It hit dead-on, and a second later, the headlight exploded. Then she followed it up with another, final Crush that caught something in the snake¡¯s head. Blood cascaded from its massive mouth, filling the tracks and swelling over the ruined center platform. I pulled the Trip-Hammer out of its side and ran as blood fountained down around us. It took the Wyrm almost a minute longer to die, but eventually, its massive bulk stopped moving. I sucked in a breath, hands on my knees, as the System messages rolled in.
Hardcore Boss Defeated: The Redline Wyrm Level Up! Sixteen to Eighteen. Dungeon Delvers who were not in the arena will receive fifty percent of your team¡¯s experience. Congratulations! For clearing your Tutorial Dungeon, you have unlocked Class Selection. Congratulations! For clearing the Hardcore Tutorial, you have unlocked Rare and Epic Classes. I glanced at Tori; she was getting the same messages I was. She had a smile plastered on her face, and her eyes sparkled. Classes imbue their user with more focused powers, increased statistics, and modifications to their spellcasting. Your class represents a significant increase in your personal power. Classes range from the common Rogue, Fighter, Healer, and Mage classes all the way to epic and even legendary ones. Due to surviving the Hardcore Tutorial, your party has been awarded a number of rare and epic classes to choose from. Your class choices are based on your achievements in the Hardcore Tutorial and your current stat point distribution. Please select one of the following classes: I half-ignored the Fighter, Rogue, Healer, and Mage classes, as well as a handful of non-combat classes that didn¡¯t feel like they¡¯d be useful for anything the Consortium had planned. The rest of the phases of Integration, or whatever they called it, weren¡¯t going to be any easier than this, and I wasn¡¯t Calvin. I wasn¡¯t going to wait around for the fight to come to me. Then, finally, the System got to the choices I¡¯d earned during the Tutorial. Skirmisher (Uncommon) Skirmishers are jack-of-all-trade fighters, combining traits from the Rogue, Fighter, and Mage classes. With great flexibility comes an answer to every problem you¡¯ll face in your quest for integration. Requirements: Kill unique monsters in the Tutorial Dungeon in a fight, by surprise, and with magic. +5 Body +5 Awareness +5 Mana Class Skill: Flexibility - Adopt the basic Class Skill for either the Rogue, Fighter, or Mage. Can switch every five levels. Demolition Man (Rare) When the going gets tough, the tough get explosive. The Demolition Man class is built to bring the pain, with an affinity for explosive solutions to problems. They gain proficiency with improvised explosives and can use their mana to re-arm or repurpose inert explosives. Requirements: Use explosives to kill at least ten Tutorial Dungeon monsters. WARNING: By default, your class-created items will be unidentifiable by others. You may choose to allow others to identify them on an item-by-item basis. +10 Body +5 Awareness +5 Mana Class Skill: Bomb Squad - Tinker with defused explosives to re-arm them or to repurpose their parts Thunder Mage (Epic) You¡¯ve been¡­Thunderstruck! The Thunder Mage trades toughness, speed, and flexibility for massive power in its lightning-charged casts. One of the highest-damage mage classes out there, the Thunder Mage excels at solving a problem before it even knows it¡¯s a problem! Requirements: Use lightning magic to defeat a Tutorial Dungeon boss. WARNING: This class sacrifices your toughness and speed for power. -5 Body +10 Awareness +15 Mana Class Skill: Super Cell - Build spells like a storm, then unleash them in a single burst of lightning. Voltsmith (Epic) Magic is power. But magic can also provide power. The Voltsmith knows this all too well; they use magic to power their creations rather than cast spells. Drain power from magical equipment and mundane power sources. Use this energy to feed your Charge stat, increasing the number of creations you can keep empowered at once. Requirements: Create a unique invention powered by magic and use it against a Tutorial Dungeon boss. WARNING: This class will fundamentally alter your relationship with Mana and spellcasting. WARNING: By default, your class-created items will be unidentifiable by others. You may choose to allow others to identify them on an item-by-item basis. +5 Awareness +15 Maximum Charge Class Skill: Decharge/Recharge - Drain the charge from magic items to power your own creations. Skirmisher didn¡¯t feel any better than the common classes had; I tossed that one in the ¡®Definitely Not¡¯ pile. That left me with three good choices, but before I could choose, something popped behind me. I whirled, ready to fight. Tori glanced at me, then looked down guiltily. ¡°I chose Telekinesist. It sounded badass, was Epic, and it¡¯ll let me do what I¡¯ve been doing, but better.¡± ¡°Did you look at any of the other options?¡± ¡°Not really. I know what I want to do, and Valkyrie sounded dumb.¡± I wanted to say something, but I shrugged it off. What was done was done; I¡¯d try to get Tori to slow down on the next big decision she made, though, for all our sakes. So, Thunder Mage. It could be a powerful combination, depending on what Tori did as a Telekineticist. Grab an enemy, hold them still, and blast them. But the drawbacks were¡­painful. Less Body could be worked around, but the slowed casting to use its power? Did I really want to rely on someone else to protect me? I put Thunder Mage on the ¡®Maybe¡¯ stack and turned toward Demolition Man. Now, that class could be strong! It didn¡¯t have a drawback, either, and as I¡¯d learned from fertilizer left out on the farm, almost anything could be explosive. Plus, bomb-making had been like a puzzle. What could I do with a dozen or more different ingredients? Another pop echoed in the cavern; Calvin had picked his class, too. I sighed. All three classes looked solid, but my mind had been made up the moment I saw Voltsmith. If it worked anything like I thought it would, it¡¯d be the perfect class for me. I¡¯d already built bombs, the weed whacker, the stomp-rocket skateboard ramp, and the Trip-Hammer, and I¡¯d done it without a consistent power source. Sure, Thunder Mage might be able to copy some of that effect, but for flexibility, I couldn¡¯t see a better class in my list. With the right creations, Voltsmith would let me do anything, from up close fighting to ranged damage to scouting. And I¡¯d loved tinkering with stuff ever since those remote control cars. I¡¯d fixed my station wagon and turned it into my pride and joy. And I¡¯d never let a car get the best of me at Cindy¡¯s¡ªnot until the Explorer, at least. Was I ready to throw that away for phenomenal cosmic lightning powers or bombs? No. Besides, that class might let me fix my iPod¡ªreally fix it. I picked Voltsmith. Something popped, and a moment later, the next System message appeared. Choice Confirmed. Congratulations, [Hal Riley], on selecting [Voltsmith] as your class. Now that your party has selected their classes, proceed up the stairs and prepare for Phase One of Integration. A gold-lit iron staircase appeared in the center of the station as Calvin joined us. It circled up in a tight spiral before disappearing into the concrete and steel that hung precariously overhead. I took a deep breath; up there was Chicago¡ªor what was left of it. Then I waved Tori ahead. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s get you to your mom.¡± 12: Everything You Want Phase Zero Complete. Time Until Phase One: One Hour, Fifteen Minutes Please Wait. The staircase led us through what might¡¯ve been a manhole cover once. Now, it lay on its side like an overturned bank vault. As I opened it, I saw the Chicago skyline in the distance, with the gigantic black skyscraper that everyone still called the Sears Tower, even though it hadn¡¯t been called that in a couple of decades, dominating its center. Everything looked transparent blue, and the whole skyline was covered in hundreds of faintly glowing hexagons. So, that was weird. Lake Station should have been under Downtown, just a few blocks south of the Chicago River. Instead, the shimmering water of Lake Michigan greeted us to our right, along with an Igloo cooler and a couple of beach towels on the sand. We were well north of where we should be. When I pointed that out, Calvin nodded matter-of-factly. ¡°Not a surprise. That whole dungeon shouldn¡¯t have been a loop, but it was. Figures this Consortium would have messed with the whole city¡¯s layout to suit their needs. They said something about terraforming, right?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Tori said. She kept looking south, her brow wrinkled. ¡°Hal, if Jessica¡¯s anywhere, she¡¯ll be at the Field Museum.¡± ¡°How do you figure? Wouldn¡¯t she go home?¡± I asked. She shook her head. ¡°No. She¡¯s an assistant curator. The plan was always to get to the museum if there was an emergency. She¡¯ll be there, taking care of that stupid T-Rex or the Native American exhibit or whatever she does.¡± I¡¯d never been to the Field Museum¡ªor the aquarium or planetarium that were also right there, for that matter. I had been to Soldier Field once, though, so I knew roughly where we¡¯d have to go to get there. ¡°Alright. Calvin, you still with us, or do you want to make your own way?¡± The long-term-rider turned Hardcore Tutorial survivor shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll stick with you two for a while, ¡®til you do something I ain¡¯t up for. If we get separated, I might aim for the museum, too. Never been there¡ªmight be worth seeing.¡± When I tried walking toward the skyline, though, I only made it a dozen yards or so¡ªnot even off the sand¡ªbefore hitting that glowing wall of hexagons. ¡°I think we¡¯re going to have to wait a bit, like it said,¡± I muttered. ¡°I guess so,¡± Tori said. She sat down in the sand, facing the waves. I joined her, pulling up my new stats. [Hal Riley] [Class - Voltsmith] [Level - 18] [Stats] ?Body - 16 ?Awareness - 33 ?Charge - 0/25 (0 Used) Stat Points Available: 0 [Class Skill - Decharge/Recharge - Drain the charge from magic items to power your own creations] Items ?Surge Protectors ?Lock-Grip Gloves ?Trip-Hammer (Inoperable, Charge 0/10) I had 25 possible Charge, which I got from draining magical items. According to the stat sheet, I couldn¡¯t use my Trip-Hammer. That made sense; I¡¯d traded my magic away when I picked up the Voltsmith class. But it was my creation, so I should be able to fix that. I just needed ten Charge. The Lock-Grip Gloves felt surprisingly useful, given what the Trip-Hammer did, and I didn¡¯t want to take the Surge Protectors apart quite yet. But I did have the Imbuing Rod¡ªand I couldn¡¯t use it without Power Surge. It¡¯d be the ideal item to experiment on. A message popped up as I stared at the simple metal rod. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Imbuing Rod (Common, Charge 12) User can transfer personal buffing spells placed in this rod to other people¡¯s weapons. I got the option to drain the item but chose not to¡ªat least for now. First, I wanted to know how the Imbuing Rod worked. Getting answers now, while there wasn¡¯t any danger or pressure, might help with problems later, and it wasn¡¯t like I had anything else going on. I set it down in the sand and started taking it apart carefully, letting my Awareness show me where the magic pooled inside of it and how it flowed. It glowed a bright, almost-white blue, just like my old spells, and the smell of hot wires filled my nose, but before long, I had it all figured out. The whole device was really three parts, all held inside the metal case. First, the battery. It wasn¡¯t anything like a lithium-ion battery, or even a Duracell. Conceptually, though, it was one¡ªa bronze sphere at the bottom of the rod, about the size of a lug nut. When I¡¯d poured a Power Surge into it, it filled up and held the magic. Right now, it didn¡¯t have a spell in it, but I could still see that blue-white energy pooling faintly around it. When the Imbuing Rod was used, the spell traveled through a series of mirrors and lenses, which I assumed helped to keep it from dissipating too early. I didn¡¯t bother with any of that; it wasn¡¯t like I wanted to use it. And, finally, at the rod¡¯s top was what looked like a showerhead¡ªan emitter. That was where I¡¯d empowered the sledgehammer and Tori¡¯s knife, and it looked a lot like a projector¡¯s lightbulb and lens. So, the whole thing was just a magical projector, huh? It could be useful, sure, but I needed the Trip-Hammer up and running. With my questions mostly answered, I drained the Imbuing Rod. It didn¡¯t disappear or even fall apart, but it did change. Where it had glowed white-blue, it now seemed flat and dull, like an unpolished hunk of metal. Instead, my palm glowed¡ªan orange glow that traveled toward my chest before settling over my heart. ?Charge - 12/25 (0 Used) ¡°Hey, Tori, you seeing this?¡± I asked. ¡°Seeing what?¡± She turned toward me, glanced at the spent Imbuing Rod for a second, and turned back toward the beach. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s kinda neat how it works.¡± She didn¡¯t look at my chest at all. Interesting. She couldn¡¯t see the glow. It had to be my Awareness. I grabbed the Trip-Hammer and disconnected the bronze battery from the Imbuing Rod. It took a minute or two to figure out how to connect it to an Earth-based electrical circuit, but when it was done, I had a place to put my Charge and a trigger to activate it. I dumped ten Charge into the hammer. ?Charge - 2/15 (10 Used) Trip-Hammer, by Hal Riley (Created Item, Charge 10) The Trip-Hammer uses magical energy and salvaged parts to apply massive force to a small area. First created by Hal Riley of Earth. I went through my inventory mentally, looking for anything else useful to make. It was full of chunks of train that Tori had ripped off the Redline Wyrm, but those weren¡¯t helpful right now. In the end, I had to stop; I didn¡¯t have enough Charge to power anything else, anyway. I pulled the Trip-Hammer and the broken, useless Imbuing Rod into my inventory. Then I joined Tori and Calvin, who were watching the waves come in off Lake Michigan and enjoying the contents of the Igloo cooler.
¡°Where do you live?¡± Tori asked between sips of Sprite. The cooler turned out to be full of soft drinks, pre-made Subway sandwiches, and all sorts of other picnic stuff. I wasn¡¯t sure about taking them¡ªthey might¡¯ve been someone¡¯s¡ªbut when Calvin grabbed an Italian BMT, a timer appeared over it matching the countdown to Phase One, along with the word ¡®Fleeting.¡¯ The System had put it there for us, so there wasn¡¯t any harm in eating it. Probably. ¡°Andersonville. I¡¯ve got an attic studio apartment there above this old lady¡¯s house. I¡¯ve been there for a couple of years,¡± I said. ¡°You?¡± ¡°Rogers Park.¡± This all felt like too much of an interview for me, but we had nothing else to do. ¡°Why¡¯d you pick the Hardcore Tutorial, anyway?¡± She stiffened, screwed the lid back onto her drink¡ªwhich only had ten minutes or so on the timer¡ªand stared off toward Lake Michigan. Then she sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got some time. Why don¡¯t you get started?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She went quiet again. ¡°So, Mom¡ªMom Mom, not Jessica¡ªused to tell these stories when I was a kid. Heroes and villains, swordfights, magic, all that stuff. Then, later, I played a lot of games. A lot of them. Fantasy ones. I grew up with all that crap. You know how it is, right?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Pigs and chores here. Never got into it as much as some of my friends did.¡± I didn¡¯t mention Beth, even though she¡¯d played a few games like that. She hadn¡¯t been into the gaming and fantasy culture¡ªnot like Tori, at least. And I didn¡¯t mention my ex, either. ¡°That sucks,¡± she said. ¡°So, I grew up with it all¡ªit was part of my life. Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, all of that stuff. I even had a sword and fencing lessons. But when Mom and Dad¡­when they didn¡¯t want to be together anymore, all that dried up. Mom got too busy. She couldn¡¯t afford the lessons anymore, and Jessica¡¯s too¡­¡± Tori paused, a cloud passing over her face. ¡°She¡¯s always pushing real history books at me, and she doesn¡¯t think my gaming hobby¡¯s productive or useful or¡­whatever. When the train crashed, I wasn¡¯t thinking about it as a real, serious thing. The messages reminded me of my games, and I saw a chance to be a wizard or something. I grabbed it before Mo¡ªbefore Jessica could talk me out of it.¡± She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, staring out at the slowly setting sun. ¡°Sorry.¡± I didn¡¯t say anything for a long time. The truth was that she was just a kid, and she¡¯d made a dumb, impulsive decision like one. ¡°You remind me of Beth.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°My sister. She would have liked you.¡± It took her a second. Then, she sucked in a breath. ¡°Oh, shit. Sorry.¡± ¡°She always had her head somewhere else instead of in Cozad,¡± I said. I couldn¡¯t look at Tori anymore. ¡°Where does your mom live?¡± ¡°Wisconsin.¡± ¡°Shit,¡± Calvin said. ¡°Yeah. Dad¡¯s in New York on business, and Mom¡¯s in Wisconsin. Jessica¡¯s the closest thing I¡¯ve got to family here.¡± Time Limit: 0:00 Congratulations on surviving Phase Zero: Tutorial Dungeons! Phase One will begin after a few short messages. 13: Weve Got Fun and Games Over [five million] [Homo Sapiens] attempted the Hardcore Tutorial. Of those, [One hundred seventy-three thousand, eight hundred twenty-two] successfully defeated their Dungeon Bosses. The remainder of [Earth¡¯s] surviving population, [4.2 billion], chose the Casual Tutorial. [3.29 billion] of those were successful. The remainder were unable to clear their Tutorials within the allotted time. My stomach rolled, threatening to throw up the baked beans and canned corn we¡¯d eaten last night¡ªand my Italian sandwich. There¡¯d been at least eight billion people on Earth before this¡­whatever it was¡­happened. The System was telling us that half had died during the terraforming¡ªwithout even having a chance to complete the tutorial. And another nine hundred million had died since. My head wouldn¡¯t stop spinning. Even the Casual Tutorial hadn¡¯t been a guaranteed victory like I¡¯d thought¡ªnot if almost a billion people hadn¡¯t made it through. Tori was already on the ground, but she¡¯d started shaking and rocking back and forth, so I sucked in a quick breath before bile could surge up my throat and put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°She¡¯s gonna be okay,¡± I said. ¡°They¡¯re all gonna be okay.¡± The girl wouldn¡¯t look at me, but she stopped rocking quite so much. Now that you know the stakes and your Tutorial has taught you the basics, it¡¯s time to start working toward uplift and integration. There will be no Casual or Hardcore options. Your first objective is to advance and uplift. Similarly to your Tutorial Dungeon experience, [Earth¡¯s] surface is now populated by monsters and World Bosses. These are designed to be challenging to Tutorial Dungeon survivors, with rewards to match. Tier One, Two, and Three Dungeons will also become available over the next [two weeks]. These will offer more significant challenges¡ªas well as greater rewards. The Tier Three Dungeons also bar the path to Phase Two; you must clear all Tier Three Dungeons in your region to advance. The Consortium wishes all remaining [Homo sapiens] luck with Phase One. Okay. Alright. We¡¯d cleared the Hardcore Tutorial. How bad could finding and getting through a Tier Three Dungeon possibly be? I was already building a map of Chicago in my head; which landmarks might be dungeons, and which ones could I realistically get to? Sears Tower¡ªthat¡¯d be one. And probably Lincoln Park Zoo and Union Pier. Those were both on our way to¡­ The Chicago Field Museum. It sat at one edge of a cluster of attractions. The Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, and Soldier Field were all bunched together; they¡¯d all be dungeons for sure. And so would the Field Museum. All four would probably be Tier Two¡ªI didn¡¯t know how I knew that. It just felt right. They¡¯d be a hotspot for anyone who wanted to level up and get stronger. And Tori¡¯s mom was probably heading there, with a Casual Tutorial class¡ªalong with probably a quarter of the city. That wasn¡¯t good. But I couldn¡¯t let Tori know that, either. She needed her stepmom to be there. She needed her to be safe. Dungeon Seeds Germinating Tier One Dungeons Activated Welcome to Phase One, [Hal Riley]! Team: Hal Riley, Tori Vanderbilt, Calvin Rollins Objective: Advance and Uplift Objective: Clear Tier Three Dungeon (1,322 Remaining) Time Limit: Three Weeks Time until Tier Two Dungeons Activate: Forty-Eight Hours Time until Tier Three Dungeons Activate: Two Weeks ¡°You¡¯re sure she¡¯s going to be alright?¡± Tori asked. She was still in the sand, and as I looked her way, she wiped her mouth on her armor¡¯s sleeve. She looked pale, and her wide eyes kept flicking from my face to Calvin¡¯s. I reached out a hand and pulled her to her feet. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯ll be okay. I bet she¡¯s not the only person heading for the museum, though. If we move fast, we might beat her there. It depends on where her Tutorial Dungeon was¡ªand where she came out when she finished.¡± The shimmering hexagonal barrier disappeared. A moment later, the three-week timer started ticking down. ¡°Yeah, I guess. Maybe her spawn point was in a good spot,¡± Tori said. ¡°Right,¡± Calvin said. ¡°The Field Museum sounds like a winning plan, and I haven¡¯t seen a dinosaur in decades¡ªnot since I was a kid.¡± Tori looked at him with narrowed eyes. ¡°Of course, I saw them when they were alive! Been around a while.¡± The girl¡¯s eyes narrowed even more, and for a second, I thought she might freak out at Calvin. Then she snorted, looking away from him¡ªbut I caught the grin before she could turn all the way away. ¡°Come on,¡± she said, obviously trying to be tough, angry, or just plain anything but a scared mid-high school girl. She started walking south. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Calvin shot me a quick glance, and I fell behind to talk with him. ¡°You¡¯re sure her mom¡¯s alive?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not sure about anything, and I¡¯m definitely not sure we should be heading for the museums. But if thinking her stepmom¡¯s there keeps her going for a while, that¡¯ll be enough.¡± ¡°And what if she ain¡¯t?¡± I shrugged. That was a problem that future Hal would have to solve, because I could barely handle everything that had happened to us so far. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll find some other people, and she can go with them. I don¡¯t have a plan yet.¡± He shook his head. ¡°That ain¡¯t gonna work for her. You might want to start thinking about making one, just in case her mom didn¡¯t make it. And you¡¯d better have a plan for if she¡¯s not the only person there. Not everyone¡¯s as friendly as me.¡± Then he kept walking, shuffling along in his ragged clothes and the backpack I¡¯d traded him. After a few seconds, I did, too.
We hadn¡¯t made it across the beach when the first monsters attacked us. They looked like crabs, but in place of claws, two huge knives had been grafted to their front limbs like scissors. As they clacked their claws and scuttled sideways across the sand, the blades swung past each other with a metal-on-metal screech. It wouldn¡¯t have been so bad, except that each crab was the size of a small dog, and there were a ton of them. Knife Crab: Level 14 Monster The first crab rushed me, coming in sideways with knives slicing at about mid-calf height. I pulled the Trip-Hammer out, fired it up, and turned it into fresh, fading, pink-white tempura with a massive thud that sent shockwaves up my infected arm. But before I could recharge for another swing, another crab sliced a blade through my armor. It didn¡¯t bite deep into my leg¡ªthe handmade leather mostly held, and my Body was getting up there¡ªbut it was enough to send me skipping back away from the oncoming Knife Crabs. Another pair of scissors lashed out at my leg. I backpedaled even more, but before I could escape, the crab rocketed backward. It slammed knife-first into another crab, punching through its shell and tumbling both head over way too many heels. I looked over my shoulder; Tori was breathing hard, one hand up in a comic-book pose. I nodded and readied the Trip-Hammer again. ¡°Thanks,¡± ¡°No¡­no problem. That took a lot more energy than it should have, though.¡± I filed that away; we¡¯d need to work on her endurance, but I had an idea of her real issue. ¡°Later. Toss the crabs!¡± She picked up another crab and tossed it like a writhing, bladed bowling ball as I pulverized my second. Then, as I reset the Trip-Hammer, I backpedaled away. They weren¡¯t that fast; honestly, the Rat Men had been harder to deal with, despite the huge level difference. The rest of the fight devolved into the same basic pattern. Toss, Trip-Hammer, retreat, repeat. Sometimes, Tori picked up two or three crabs, but by the end, she was down to one again. It took less than two minutes to reduce the Knife Crabs into so many balls of glowing, green-yellow experience.¡°You want some of these?¡± I asked Calvin as Tori started picking up her experience. ¡°No, I¡¯ve got everything I need,¡± he said. ¡°You two go ahead.¡± As we picked up our orbs, I watched Tori. She was moving slowly, not so much limping as sort of half-stumbling. It felt like she¡¯d spent herself a lot more than she should have in a fight that short, and it wouldn¡¯t be sustainable. When she stopped picking up orbs, I cleared my throat. ¡°So, what happened, Tori?¡± ¡°That¡¯s such a Mom thing to ask,¡± she said, narrowing her eyes slightly. She was right, except that I¡¯d gotten that line from my dad. She couldn¡¯t stand up to the waiting, or to my raised eyebrow, either. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I got a lot of new spells, and I was trying one out. Push and Pull. I guess it uses a lot of energy, though.¡± ¡°You guess?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡± ¡°Have you spent the points you just got?¡± I walked toward the last orb, which zoomed toward my chest. Level Up! Eighteen to Nineteen. ¡°No, but I could have picked up seven or eight of them with the same amount of effort.¡± The girl crossed her arms, staring at the beach that had, just a minute ago, been covered in crab guts. ¡°You don¡¯t have to. Do you know how much magic you use on a given spell?¡± ¡°No. Do you?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°Awareness lets me see how much energy I¡¯m spending on magic. At least, it did before I lost all my Mana for this class. I bet it¡¯ll work for a Telekineticist, though. Put your points in Awareness.¡± She glared at me some more, but she did. ¡°I don¡¯t see it.¡± ¡°You will. Your Awareness is at, what? Seven? Get it to ten.¡± Tori nodded slowly as I put my two points into Awareness. The crabs hadn¡¯t left any loot behind, and there wasn¡¯t much to do, so we stood around awkwardly for a moment before I coughed. My arm was sore under the armor, and firing the Trip-Hammer had been painful. If I wanted to make it through this, we needed to find some medication. Either that or¡­ ¡°Do you think healers are pretty common?¡± I asked Tori and Calvin. ¡°I could use one.¡± ¡°Yeah, that cut looks pretty bad,¡± Tori said, staring at my leg. ¡°Uh, the orbs are out of Minecraft, and I¡¯ve seen a bunch of other gaming stuff, so maybe.¡±
We pushed into Chicago, heading southwest into the grid of old brick buildings south of Andersonville. I couldn¡¯t help but think about Mrs. Faren as we turned and walked away from my old house. Was she okay? Or was she still at home? Had she been put into a Casual Tutorial far away from Andersonville? Everyone on the train had just vanished except for us, but surely it wouldn¡¯t just be Hardcore players in Chicago. The whole world wasn¡¯t a Hardcore Tutorial Dungeon, after all. My stuff was back in Andersonville, too. It¡¯d just be a short detour, but I didn¡¯t have much, and very little of it would be helpful here. My tools were all at Cindy¡¯s Automotive, and other than a few changes of clothes, the attic apartment was pretty much just food, a burner, and my mattress. I decided I was okay with never seeing any of it again. Besides, we had other priorities. We had to hug Lake Michigan, or at least keep it in view. The further away we got from it, the darker the streets got, passing even the semi-dark of the Redline Tunnels. I got a bad feeling in my gut that only worsened as we closed in on Wrigley Field. That had to be one of the Tier Two dungeons. It wouldn¡¯t be open yet, but I didn¡¯t want to be anywhere near it when it finally did. A few Huntsman Bats found us, but we took care of them pretty easily with the Trip-Hammer and Tori¡¯s spells. While the fighting was going, Calvin discovered that most buildings were completely sealed. Not locked, either, but sealed off magically. I tried using the Trip-Hammer to open a door, too, but it didn¡¯t even leave a dent. ¡°This has to be part of the terraforming,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah. No idea why they don¡¯t want us in the buildings, but it looks like not heading for your houses was the right call,¡± Calvin said. I kept moving, with the others following me. As I did, the trees lining the streets between the brownstone buildings and us grew thicker until their canopy blocked out the stars. Then, suddenly, they weren¡¯t just thicker. They were an impenetrable wall of twisted brambles and knotted trunks. We turned left on Fullerton, toward Lincoln Park. 14: Wont Get There for Free A half-hour later, I spotted a glass-and-steel building. Unlike the skyscrapers surrounding Lincoln Park on three sides, this one stood one story tall. Also, unlike them, a gray wall of fog sat between it and the next building. A sign on the far side read ¡®Lincoln Park Zoo: For Wildlife, For All,¡¯ and a massive iron lion sat in front of the fog wall like a sentinel. ¡°Well, what do you think?¡± I asked Calvin. He pointed at the entryway. ¡°That? That¡¯s a trap. The last time you walked through one of those, you got sealed in, right? We walk in there, and we¡¯re not coming out.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± Tori interrupted. ¡°In the early games, the fog walls sometimes separated parts of zones, too. It could be fine.¡± ¡°Are you willing to risk your life for ¡®could be,¡¯ kid?¡± Calvin asked. ¡°Maybe. What if that¡¯s the only way around the forest?¡± I held up a hand, closing my eyes. ¡°Tori¡¯s probably right that we can only get through right there, or through some other dungeon. Calvin¡¯s probably right that it¡¯s a trap. So, I think we check the building, get some sleep, and come at this problem tomorrow morning when we¡¯re fresh. Agreed?¡± Calvin nodded quickly, but Tori stared at me for a second before turning away. ¡°Sure. Whatever.¡±
Last night, when Brian¡¯s party hit the Twilight Menagerie, there were eight of them. They¡¯d been confident in clearing it¡ªthey¡¯d survived the Tutorial, were all in the double digits, and three were over Level Twelve. They¡¯d had a balanced team, including a Healer. The Beast Glastisant hadn¡¯t cared. The Level Twenty-Eight boss had torn through their front-liners, gone straight for their Healer, and ignored everything else. They¡¯d lost three people, including their healer, before they could escape the Beast Glastisant¡¯s fanged maw and hooves. Now, the damned zoo¡¯s regular monsters were picking them off one by one right next to the sealed dungeon entrance. They were down to three¡ªhimself and the twins. Carol had busted her leg in the last fight and couldn¡¯t move anymore, much less fight. Zane was still on his feet, but Brian didn¡¯t think he¡¯d make it much longer. They¡¯d fought off the Tigrilla a half-dozen times, but hadn¡¯t been able to kill the monster. He could see flashes of the nameplate over its head whenever it left the tall grass that had grown all around the Lincoln Park Zoo info kiosk they¡¯d turned into an emergency fortress. Tigrilla: Level Twenty-Two Monster Brian had been middle management for an investment firm until three days ago. He¡¯d taken up leadership when Angie died, and he¡¯d held it together all night, but as dawn broke, he watched Zane try to make Carol comfortable. They were just kids, the twins. They could have been his¡ªif he¡¯d ever stopped working long enough to try having a relationship. ¡°I¡¯ve got to do something,¡± he whispered to himself. ¡°This has to stop.¡± He was almost out of the fort when Zane¡¯s hand landed on his shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What are you doing?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got to try something, Zane. Something¡¯s got to change.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re going to go kill yourself fighting that thing? You don¡¯t have a chance!¡± Zane shouted, the words tumbling out of his mouth. ¡°No. I¡¯m going to set you two up to win,¡± Brian said. ¡°And then what?¡± Carol asked. ¡°How are we supposed to get out of here without you?¡± Brian didn¡¯t have an answer. He chose to ignore the girl and press on. ¡°So, when it comes for me, I¡¯ll use Parry and Riposte to stall, try to get it facing away from you, and let you blast away at it.¡± Zane¡¯s face was almost as white as his sister¡¯s; he couldn¡¯t stop staring at Brian. ¡°Please, no,¡± Carol mumbled from her place on the ground. ¡°No, no, there¡¯s got to be some other option. We¡¯ve got food, we¡¯ve got water. Maybe we can wait it out.¡± ¡°Wait for what?¡± Brian asked. ¡°Listen, Carol, I¡¯m not exactly thrilled about this either, but if we win, this buys you two time to figure something out.¡± ¡°Something like what?¡± Zane asked. ¡°We¡¯ll be just as stuck when the next monster finds us, but we won¡¯t have you.¡± The kid had a point. Brian slumped against the kiosk¡¯s stubby brick wall and tried not to let himself cry. ¡°I don¡¯t have any other ideas. I just know that we can sit here and wait to die, or we can die fighting. If I die fighting, maybe it¡¯ll buy you the time for something to change. I can¡¯t do nothing. You two deserve to survive.¡± The twins looked at one another. Then Carol shook her head. ¡°You¡­you don¡¯t have to do this. We can find some other way.¡± Brian stood up slowly, squaring his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m going. Zane, are you with me, or am I trying this alone?¡± Zane wouldn¡¯t meet his eyes. Neither would Carol. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± He pushed himself up and over the wall, landed softly on his feet, and drew his sword. His heart wouldn¡¯t stop pounding in his ears, and he could hardly breathe through the tightness in his neck. He¡¯d never even thought about being a soldier¡ªhis grandpa had been one back during the Second World War, though, and he¡¯d heard a few stories. This was his Battle of the Bulge. His last stand in the Philippines. The grass rustled, and the Tigrilla scream-roared. Brian drew his saber. It shook in his grip. The Tigrilla erupted from the grass, black fur suddenly visible as it dropped its camouflage. It leaped toward him with its powerful forearms ready to slam down on him. He screamed. Every part of him wanted to run. But he activated his Rogue Class Skill, Parry and Riposte. The two arms slammed into his sword. They stopped in place, and he spun, stabbing into the beast. This was it¡ªhis chance to deal some damage, to get revenge for his fallen teammates. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The point hit and stopped. The cavalry saber bent like a fencing foil. A fireball crashed across the monstrous Tigrilla¡¯s back. It scream-roared again, its fur smoldering and smoking. He slashed three times as it spun toward their improvised fortress. Its eyes locked onto Zane, who was conjuring another ball of fire. ¡°God dammit!¡± Brian lunged, putting all his strength into his thrust and trying to get between the Tigrilla and the twins. Two fists slammed into him, driving him down onto the brick walkway. The monster broke into a sprint. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯ve seen achievements for completion in games before,¡± a girl¡¯s voice said behind him. ¡°I bet you a Minecraft orb that if we full clear this dungeon, we¡¯ll get a bonus re¡ªoh shit!¡± ¡°Tori, Pull it!¡± a man yelled. Brian felt magic swelling behind him. The world flashed pink. A moment later, the Tigrilla stopped like it had hit a brick wall and started getting dragged backward. Someone pushed past Brian, and he slammed right back into the bricks. A huge, bizarre-looking hammer rose into the air, and the Tigrilla turned and roared defiantly. It rushed the guy with the hammer. The weapon whined like a street bike flooring it, and two heads spun. The roar cut off with a wet crack. Brian rolled on the bricks, turning to see his saviors. Tori Vanderbilt: Level Seventeen Class: Telekineticist Calvin Rollins: Level Seven Class: Quartermaster Hal Riley: Level Twenty-One Class: Voltsmith
Tier One Dungeon: The Twilight Menagerie Objective: Kill the Beast Glastisant (0/1) Objective: Kill the Eyes of Perfection (0/1) Objective: Reach the Dungeon Exit (0/1) Objective: Survive (0/1) Completion: 12% Sealed Environment: You cannot leave this dungeon until it is completed It turned out that Tigrillas didn¡¯t like hammers traveling at a couple hundred miles an hour much. I watched Tori consume the experience orb and go cross-eyed like she did when reading her status menus. She was catching up; her spells had locked down the hulking, six-limbed tiger/gorilla hybrid, letting me land a skull-splitting blow that ended the monster before it could even fight back. She wasn¡¯t too tired out, either. ¡°That was a solid three percent,¡± Tori said. ¡°Do you remember what bosses were worth in the Redline Tunnels?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said absently. ¡°Tori, shut up,¡± Calvin said, looking over the half-devoured corpses of Brian¡¯s team. He didn¡¯t sound mean, just firm. ¡°Let¡¯s check in on these guys before we go rushing off, make sure they¡¯re okay and stuff.¡± He held out a hand to help the man with the sword up and started talking with him. I only half-paid attention. My focus was on the bodies. Two corpses lay at the edge of the tall, razor-sharp grass bordering the kiosk and the entry courtyard around it; one was a woman in ramshackle armor whose legs had been pulled off her hips, and the other was a younger man. He didn¡¯t have any obvious injuries from what I could see. I swallowed painfully; these were the first people I¡¯d seen since the subway car¡ªnot counting Calvin and Tori¡ªand they were dead. If we hadn¡¯t entered the dungeon, the other three would¡¯ve been dead, too. Brian Simmons: Level 13 Class: Rogue Zane Parker: Level 10 Class: Mage Carol Parker: Level 11 Class: Skirmisher (Fighter) I stared at their nameplates in disbelief. That monster had been a higher level than me; these people had no business being here. ¡°The whole Tutorial Dungeon was a done deal from the beginning, though. All eight of us started out together, and they let us pick weapons and supplies before dropping us in a safe room. We got through the last boss in the Casual Tutorial pretty easily. It dropped a sword¡ªBloodletting Blade¡ªand we decided I should have it since I can get hits in pretty fast,¡± Brian was saying. He looked out of shape and haggard, and his eyes shifted between resigned and hopeful as they flicked toward me. He was going to have a hell of a bruise later on from where I¡¯d slammed him aside. ¡°It was my idea,¡± Zane interrupted. The skinny black kid stared at me from where he sat next to an almost identical girl. They couldn¡¯t have been more than seventeen, and they were obviously siblings. He had a hollow, thousand-yard-stare expression; her eyes were squeezed shut, and her leg was bent at an impossible angle. ¡°No, trying this dungeon was our idea,¡± Brian said. Calvin held a hand up. ¡°What happened?¡± No one answered him. ¡°Are you going to clear the dungeon?¡± Zane asked. ¡°No,¡± Tori said. ¡°We¡¯re going to full clear it. It¡¯ll be good practice.¡± I winced, then interrupted before she could put her foot in her mouth more. ¡°We¡¯re definitely going to clear it. What about you three? What¡¯s your plan?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t have one,¡± Brian said. He stared off into the dungeon¡ªa single brick path led farther into the woods, its red-brown color fading into the mists just past a sign that read ¡®Beasts.¡¯ On the far side, a second, yellow path led toward ¡®Birds.¡¯ I made a decision. It was a pretty easy one since we had to clear the dungeon anyway, but it still had to be made. They needed our help, but we couldn¡¯t have them walking through the whole dungeon with us¡ªthey were too low-leveled and too hurt. All we¡¯d do if we brought them with us was get them killed. On the other hand, I couldn¡¯t leave them here. Not without some hope of defending themselves. ¡°I think you had the right idea, holing up here. Do any of you know much about construction?¡±
An hour later, Fort Kiosk was finished. At least, it was as finished as we could make it. It still wasn¡¯t an intimidating stronghold¡ªall we¡¯d done was bolt scraps of train car sides to the gaps between the map and informational signs, then braced it all on the inside with tree branches. It looked less like an actual fort and more like something Joey and I had built on his dad¡¯s vacant lot. It only had one obvious entrance, but I¡¯d included an escape hatch on the other side, too. Just in case. As we¡¯d worked, Brian and Zane had told us everything they knew about the ¡®Beast¡¯ path. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was enough to start making plans. That wasn¡¯t the only Tigrilla they¡¯d fought, and they¡¯d seen something moving through the trees, too. When their archer took a shot at it, it turned out to be a lizard the size of a dishwasher with two gigantic curled horns on its head. They didn¡¯t know anything about the ¡®Birds¡¯ path. ¡°Thanks for this,¡± Brian said. He¡¯d recovered a little¡ªenough to help with the construction¡ªbut he didn¡¯t have much experience. Zane was a little more helpful, but not much. Carol¡¯s leg looked too bad to ask her to help at all. In the end, Fort Kiosk was all on Tori and me. I nodded and shook his hand just like Dad had taught me. ¡°No problem. It¡¯s what neighbors do where I¡¯m from.¡± ¡°Kansas?¡± he asked. ¡°I had some clients near Kansas City.¡± ¡°Nebraska.¡± ¡°Close enough. Good luck with the Beast Glastisant,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ll keep this area clear if we can. If we can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Button up in the fort, use the ladder to give Zane a clear line of fire, and use the spears if they try climbing,¡± Calvin said. We¡¯d left the old throwing spears here, along with some of our unnecessary supplies. It wasn¡¯t enough to line the fort with spikes, but Brian could stab through the gaps. ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Keep inside and pick your targets, then take your shots, kid. Your fire magic will make most things think twice about screwing with you guys. Your mission is to stay alive until we get back. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Can do,¡± Zane said. ¡°What about Carol?¡± Brian asked. He pointed to the girl, who couldn¡¯t stop herself from crying, but was biting back whimpers and groans as best she could. She was a tough cookie, but everyone had their limits. We¡¯d tried to make her comfortable, and they had everything they needed to splint her leg. That was all we could do. ¡°If you do kill something here, make her get the orb and put the points in Body. It doesn¡¯t matter how much getting it hurts her; Body points are the best way to fix her up,¡± I said. ¡°Okay,¡± Brian said. He nodded. ¡°You three be careful, alright?¡± We walked under the sign labeled ¡®Beasts.¡¯ Behind us, Fort Kiosk disappeared into the pervasive mist. In front of us, a bellowing roar echoed through the dungeon. 15: Welcome to the Jungle According to the kiosk, we should have been heading toward the North Gate and a loop with African and Arctic animals¡ªpolar bears, penguins, and elephants. But as I led the way into the Twilight Menagerie¡¯s ¡®Beast¡¯ wing, we realized pretty quickly that things were going to be a little different. Or a lot. The sounds of hundreds of different animals echoed off the dungeon¡¯s tall walls and overhanging trees, trapping Tori, Calvin, and me in a hot, humid maze that reeked of animal waste and half-rotten leaves. The place looked like it hadn¡¯t been cleaned in months. The pens didn¡¯t exist, either. Every animal¡¯s ¡®enclosure¡¯ was marked by a thin rope, but they weren¡¯t in pits, there wasn¡¯t a moat around any of them, and the rope had snapped in places where something big had pushed through it, leaving gaps in even that tiny line of defense. Worse, I couldn¡¯t help but feel like there were eyes on me, but I couldn¡¯t see them. While it wasn¡¯t as dark as the Redline Tunnels had felt, it definitely earned the name Twilight Menagerie; between the damp fog and the thick canopy overhead, I couldn¡¯t see more than a few dozen yards ahead of me. Tori and Calvin had it worse¡ªboth followed me closely, and Tori started at every sound. It took me a minute to realize that Calvin was jumping, too. ¡°Dude, do you want to go back to Fort Kiosk?¡± Tori asked. The poor guy; he¡¯d been in Vietnam as a combat medic, and this had to be getting to him. ¡°No,¡± he snapped. He looked over his shoulder toward the entrance. ¡°No, that won¡¯t help. Getting pinned down is worse than walking into an ambush. At least we¡¯ll be mobile. Let¡¯s just clean this place out so we can move on.¡± Tori glanced at him, but I nodded. He was powering through, even though he hated every second of it. ¡°We¡¯ll try to be quick, then.¡± According to the map, the first animals were supposed to be macaques, to our left. There definitely was something there, deep in the forest. Brian¡¯s team hadn¡¯t encountered them, but I had a bad feeling they¡¯d just gotten lucky. The macaques¡ªif that¡¯s what they were¡ªmoved through the treetops, dropping onto the thick, matted leaves and grouping up around the jungle¡¯s edge. I readied the Trip-Hammer, pointing at Tori. ¡°Alright. This is a chance to start getting your energy use under control. Grab one or two at a time, but only with enough energy to grab one or two.¡± ¡°Got it. Downranked spells only,¡± she said. ¡°What?¡± Before she could answer, the monsters charged out of the jungle, screaming and jabbering at the top of their lungs. I¡¯d seen macaques at the zoo in Omaha once or twice. These were not macaques. Macaque Attack Trooper: Level Seventeen Monster For one thing, they were huge¡ªeach was about three feet tall and much bulkier than any macaques I¡¯d ever seen. They were also furless from the waist up, exposing rippling muscles and atrophied breasts. And worse, they each had vicious fangs that had to be the size of my fingers jutting from overgrown, bare-bone jaws. There were also eight of them. They ran right at us, thundering across the brick path and closing the gap in the blink of an eye. I yelled for Tori to pull the leaders. Three monkeys slammed into the ground. Another ran into them, but the rest of the troop climbed the monkey pile and threw themselves at us. I triggered the Trip-Hammer and swung. One monkey went flying back into the woods, head at a terrible-looking angle. The rest closed in. They tore at my armor, trying to open up gaps, and knocked me to my feet. I grabbed one and pulled him off me. As I tossed him, Tori Pulled him away, and he zipped across the waterfall-fed lake to our back, slammed into a cliff, and slid into the water. There was something to what we¡¯d done, but I didn¡¯t have time to think about it. Another macaque¡¯s jaw tightened around my waist, and I shouted out as it pierced my skin. Unable to swing, I fired the hammer. It pulped the macaque¡¯s chest, and I forced myself to my feet. Calvin yelled something from behind me. ¡°Tori, cover him!¡± I shouted. The monster pile-up in front of me was starting to untangle; if those four joined the fight, Tori wouldn¡¯t be able to keep them off Calvin. I charged the macaques before they could get their bearings, ripping the Trip-Hammer through the pile-up. They exploded. Gore splattered down around us as the Trip-Hammer spun, tearing the Macaque Attack Troopers limb from limb. The remaining two were on Calvin, but as I watched, Tori ripped the first one away with a Pull. I swung the hammer again but didn¡¯t pull the trigger, and the table saw engine slammed into the last Macaque Attack Trooper with a wet thud. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Jesus fucking hell,¡± Calvin shouted. His eyes went wide, and two experience orbs hit him. ¡°That was really bad. You can do better.¡± He had the crowbar in his hand, but when I looked at it, the end was clean; he hadn¡¯t swung it. I bit down a retort. Tori looked like she was struggling not to say anything. I interrupted before she could make the wrong choice. ¡°Calvin, you want a fast clear so we can move on. Tori, you want to full clear the dungeon to see what happens. I want to save these guys¡¯ lives. We need to work together to make any of that happen.¡± Something rustled in the jungle just off the path, and I set my feet and shouldered my hammer. ¡°In the meantime, let¡¯s keep at it.¡±
Tori and I spent the next half-hour quietly clearing out more Macaque Attack Trooper troops. That group of eight was the biggest, and by the time we¡¯d cleared out the other four, I¡¯d leveled to Twenty-Two. We¡¯d also gotten a new magic item. You received Macaque Mask of the Fearsome Roar (Common, Charge 15) +1 Mana, +1 Body Wearer can cast the Fear spell for free once every ten minutes. Fear: Causes one monster or [Homo sapiens] of Level Thirty or below to flee in terror for up to fifteen seconds. Enemies below Level Twenty instead become horrified, and are frozen in place and unable to attack. Boss monsters are unaffected. My first thought was to give the mask to Tori. She¡¯d be able to use the Mana, and her Body was too low to take many hits. But she didn¡¯t want it. She already had Push/Pull, Crush, Inertia Ball, and Shockwave, and she was still figuring out the spells her class wanted her to use. ¡°Telekineticist gives me a major buff to damage and durations on its spells, and I want to focus on that,¡± she said. I shoved the Macaque Mask into my pack. Then, a moment later, I pulled it back out. My first thought had been to scrap it for Charge. That plus the Lock-Grip Gloves would give me enough to build another creation¡ªand I had an idea for a gauntlet that could replace the Lock-Grip Gloves with something way better. That was a long-term project, but I could already see the parts in my mind: wired finger joints, more of the round batteries I¡¯d gotten from the Imbuing Rod, and of course, switches across my palm to control Charge flow. It was going to be amazing, and I couldn¡¯t wait to get started. But the effect was better on Calvin than the Charge would be on me. I tossed him the mask. ¡°Use this if you get attacked or Tori needs some breathing room.¡± Tori¡¯s eyes narrowed. Then, a second later, they widened. ¡°Oh! He¡¯s playing support.¡± ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re saying sometimes,¡± Calvin replied. ¡°No, it¡¯s perfect! You could be a CC caster. Instead of not fighting, you could pull your weight in the party, and that¡¯d speed us toward the full-clear. We¡¯re on a timer, so everyone needs to help,¡± Tori said. ¡°It¡¯s like timed runs in WoW; the more everyone understands their role, the faster we can go. Or maybe not quite like that.¡± Calvin put the mask on, rubbing his temples and staring at Tori. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to slow down, kid.¡±
Once Tori had spent fifteen minutes telling us about the League of Legends champions her friend liked to play, crowd control spells, and how to make Calvin Support work with just the one spell, and he¡¯d spent a few minutes explaining how real-life militaries operated and how support there was very, very different, we pushed deeper into the ¡®Beasts¡¯ wing. The fake-rock mountain in the middle of the loop¡ªand the mist pouring off the waterfalls as they cascaded down it¡ªblocked our view of the far side, but as we pushed forward, the weather grew colder. A swarm of otters with razor-sharp, needle-tipped beaks like a fishing bird¡¯s attacked us, but they weren¡¯t any more challenging than the Macaque Attack Troopers. I leveled up again off of them, putting me at Twenty-Three. Still, it wasn¡¯t until the polar bear enclosure¡ªmercifully free of said bears, at least from what I could see¡ªthat I caught a glimpse of the first boss. The Beast Glastisant: Level Twenty-Eight Boss Current Difficulty: Challenging What do you get when you cross a giraffe and a lion with a crocodile and a snake? Usually, nothing! But sometimes¡­just sometimes, you get the Beast Glastisant. Also called the Questing Beast for the hunting pack of dogs its roar sounds like, the Beast Glastisant rules over the Twilight Menagerie with an iron claw, hoof, and paw. Roaming Boss - This boss can appear in other monsters¡¯ lairs, or anywhere throughout the dungeon. It stepped out of the fog, moving slowly; I didn¡¯t think it had seen us yet, so I motioned to Calvin and Tori to get down and stay low. The Beast Glastisant looked less like a giraffe and more like a medieval monk had been given a description of one and a pound of drugs and then been told to go ham on a canvas. Branches creaked and leaves rained down as it walked slowly by. The thing¡¯s neck towered over the canopy, so high up I couldn¡¯t even see it, but judging by the muscular, hoofed back legs and lion¡¯s paws on the front, that had to be the crocodile part. One of its feet hit the bricks only a few inches from Tori¡¯s hand as she crouched low, and I saw her suck in a breath. She didn¡¯t move, though. Another hoof crunched into the bricks, shattering them beneath the massive thing¡¯s weight. I winced. My battery bombs were worthless without a trigger, and I hadn¡¯t had a chance to develop one with Charge yet. That left me with the Trip-Hammer and a few assorted weapons¡ªnone of which were anywhere near as powerful. Tori nodded as I gestured at her, and she started casting Crush. My plan was simple; as soon as she Crushed the leg nearest to her, I¡¯d attack it. We¡¯d try to destabilize the whole boss, bringing it to the ground before it could reach down and attack us, then pummel it while it was down. But before Tori could finish casting Crush, the Beast Glastisant¡¯s leg lifted up. It hit her in the head, knocking her over into the lake. The monster froze. I took one breath. Then another. Nothing happened. Maybe it hadn¡¯t noticed. Tori was a lot smaller than the thing¡¯s leg; it could have decided she was just a rock or something. Tori surfaced. Something sniffed up above, like a big cat hunting for its dinner. I readied the Trip-Hammer as the water rippled behind her. The baying of dozens of dogs filled the air as a massive crocodile head pushed through the trees, the smell of rotten meat rolling from its breath. 16: Bring You To Your Knees The Beast Glastisant¡¯s roar echoed in my ears as I spun in place, head spinning. This close, the sheer volume of it was disorienting. I stumbled toward the behemoth¡¯s leg, revving up the Trip-Hammer, but my swing only caught air. A second later, a hoof punched into the brick near me. Red dust filled the air as it ground the paver into rubble. I looked around as the dozen hounds¡¯ barking stopped, getting my bearings. The lake blocked us from one side, while the dungeon¡¯s towering brick wall loomed over us to the other. We¡¯d be fighting the Beast Glastisant on a narrow walkway no more than a few dozen feet wide and a few hundred feet long. Branches rained down on us as its crocodile head tore through the canopy. Its eyes locked onto Tori, glowing red, and the boss started lumbering toward her. It wasn¡¯t fast¡ªat least not at first, but as the Beast picked up speed, the gap closed far too rapidly. I shouted, trying to get its attention. It ignored me, eyes locked on Tori. I tried to stop it; I was the closest thing the team had to a front-liner, even if I hadn¡¯t been investing my points in Body like a real warrior. She still hadn¡¯t caught up on rebalancing her stats, and none of her items were designed to help her take a hit. It ignored my hammer blow to the rear leg, too. Its stride didn¡¯t even break. Tori tried to run, but a hoof reached out and slammed into her back. Blood flew as she hit the bricks. She screamed, rolling to the side¡ªright into the lake again. Then, suddenly, I had the Beast Glastisant¡¯s undivided attention. Its eyes locked onto me; they weren¡¯t red anymore, but black and lifeless. I shivered as the howling, baying roar echoed again, but readied my Trip-Hammer. Tori dragged herself out of the water, sputtering and coughing. She curled up into a ball, grabbing for her back. I only had eyes for the Beast Glastisant. As the crocodile head lunged toward me, I charged up the Trip-Hammer. Its engine howled, and the ratchet engaged. A split second before the massive jaws could snap shut on me, the two hammers whipped through the air. They hit its lower jaw, and the boss shrieked like a hundred puppies whining. A tooth flew off toward the lake. I watched it flip through the air, spiraling blood behind it. Before it could even hit the water, something erupted from the water next to Tori. She screamed and rolled as a white-furred, clawed seal the size of the Explorer landed next to her. Its flippers ended in bears¡¯ claws, and its eyes had every bit of the mercy and humanity of a polar bear¡¯s, but its tusked mouth jutted out below a small, blubbery trunk. It started dragging itself toward Tori. Bear Lion: Level Twenty-Two Monster I couldn¡¯t get there in time. The Beast Glastisant was on me, hooves and clawed back legs turning the brick path to gravel as I dodged and tried to find an opening. ¡°Calvin, do something!¡± I shouted. ¡°Like what?¡± Calvin yelled back. He¡¯d kept his distance so far, but he¡¯d dashed toward Tori when the Beast kicked her. He was still a few yards away. ¡°CC it!¡± Tori rolled again as the Bear Lion¡¯s claws ripped the brick to pieces. It towered over her, ready to smash down, and I broke into a sprint. ¡°Use the mask!¡± ¡°Feel the weight of your terror,¡± Calvin said. The voice coming from behind the mask didn¡¯t sound like the homeless man I¡¯d befriended at Lake Station, or like the military-esque voice he¡¯d used to talk tactics with us around the fire. This one felt cold and uncaring, and it chilled me to the bone. The Bear Lion spun, its weight crushing a bush as it motored away from Calvin. I swung the hammer toward its back, sinking both spikes into the blubbery thing¡¯s body, but even though it roared in pain, the monster kept fleeing. The Beast Glastisant was catching up behind me, but I didn¡¯t have time to deal with it. We had seconds before the Bear Lion re-joined the fight. No, we had even less than that. The Bear Lion whirled around, and I barely kept a grip on my hammer. It rushed right toward Calvin. Blood trailed from its back, and one of its short back flippers refused to move; I¡¯d done some damage. But it was still a ton and a half of muscle. Before I could get another hit in, the Beast Glastisant was on me. Its hooves punched into me, and I crumpled into the brickwork. I rolled, dodging another set of front hooves. The Bear Lion was only feet from Calvin when its front half crumpled like an empty beer can on Joey¡¯s head senior year. One second, it was looming over him. Then it was on the ground roaring in agony. I stared at it, then at the panting, soaking-wet teenager crouching on the ground. Tori had used Crush. It didn¡¯t finish the Bear Lion off, but the Beast Glastisant¡¯s head whipped down, slamming into me and knocking me across the platform. My Body-enhanced chest took the hit, and nothing broke, but I couldn¡¯t take another blow like that. I shook my head to clear it¡ªI had to pay more attention, or this boss fight would be over. The Beast Glastisant¡¯s eyes went red again, and its gaze locked on Calvin. As it did, I swung my hammer into its back knee. This time, something gave; the boss half-collapsed. More importantly, a dozen glowing orange circles lit up across its body as the thing¡¯s weak points were revealed. It took me a second. Then, out of nowhere, I was reminded of my station wagon. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. When I¡¯d gotten it from the junkyard, a lot of the body had needed work, and I couldn¡¯t do it all myself. Welding had never been a priority on Dad¡¯s farm. I needed help, and I brought in Joey. He¡¯d forgiven me for the stomp rocket incident by then. We spent a few days on the job, welding new pieces into place and reinforcing the frame where it needed it, and one thing Joey had shown me was how to identify bad joints where the weld might give. The Beast Glastisant was full of bad joints, and the welds were very ready to give. Nowhere was that more apparent than the beast¡¯s neck¡ªright where the snake merged with the giraffe. And I knew how to get there. ¡°Tori, you¡¯ll have to Push me!¡± I yelled. Calvin was running for all he was worth, macaque mask useless and crowbar forgotten behind him. He wouldn¡¯t make it to safety, though. I wasn¡¯t sure there was safety. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Use your Push spell and Push me up!¡± She nodded, face both white with pain and tight with determination. ¡°On its back?¡± ¡°Yes! Three! Two! One!¡± I jumped. Tori¡¯s Push hit me like a semi truck. Every ounce of air seemed to leave my lungs as it launched me high into the air, my jump and her Push compounding just like when I¡¯d thrown the macaque. I hit the Beast Glastisant¡¯s thin back, started sliding, and grabbed on with one hand. The other wrapped around the Trip-Hammer, my glove not releasing. The Trip-Hammer spun. The engine whined. Both sledgehammers hit, their teeth biting into the Beast Glastisant¡¯s joint. A massive gash opened, drenching me with blood. I gritted my teeth and swung again, then a third time. The Beast Glastisant roared, then gurgled. Its neck wobbled, then tore off at the joint between snake and giraffe in a shower of gore. The rest of its body collapsed, and I dove away from the hulking, crushing weight. I hit the icy pond, went fully under, and sucked in a watery breath in shock as the System messages rolled in. Boss Defeated: Beast Glastisant Level Up! Twenty-Three to Twenty-Five. Dungeon Delvers who were not in the arena will receive fifty percent of your team¡¯s experience. By the time I surfaced, the fight was over. We¡¯d won. I pulled myself out of the water, shivering and soaked to the bone like Tori¡ªwho laughed at me. I glared back. ¡°You went in twice!¡± ¡°Yeah, but at least I didn¡¯t belly-flop!¡± For a second, Tori sounded like my sister, and I couldn¡¯t help but laugh and wince at the same time. I stared at the last message as Tori used a couple of points in Body to heal her injured back and Calvin limped toward the disappearing Beast Glastisant¡¯s corpse. ¡°Does that mean¡­?¡± ¡°Maybe. We¡¯ll have to go check on Fort Kiosk to know for sure,¡± Calvin said. Tori went cross-eyed. Then she whooped and pumped a fist. ¡°Check out our completion!¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather collect our loot and get back to the entrance. We¡¯ve still got the ¡®Birds¡¯ wing of this place to clear,¡± I said, but I pulled up the completion anyway. Completion: 46% I couldn¡¯t help it; Tori¡¯s excitement was infectious, and a smile crept over my face. Then I looked at the loot pillars where the Beast Glastisant had been a moment before, and the smile only grew.
In the end, I got two new items, while Tori and Calvin each picked one. Calving grabbed the Pocket Tattoo. It appeared on his neck, right next to his salt-and-pepper beard; it looked less like a pocket and more like a bag of pirate gold. It¡¯d let him store more items in his inventory, which he said was perfect for him. Tori took a necklace that, according to the description, allowed her to delay up to one non-Ultimate spell per day, letting her stack spell effects. It also increased her Mana stat by two. The item description read a lot like the Thunder Mage class had, and I approved of her taking it. Besides, it wasn¡¯t useful for me at all. That left me with two Magic Items. You received Imbuing Rod (Common, Charge 12) User may cast buff spells into this device, then place them into their tools and weapons or those of their allies. You received Fast-Hoof Boots (Common, Charge 10) +1 Awareness, +1 Body Wearer may dash once per fight, moving to a nearby location almost instantly. Requires line of sight and an unobstructed pathway. Both solved problems for me. The Rod was full of parts I could use for new Creations and the Charge to power them, while the Fast-Hoof Boots would let me cover the rest of my party in the event of ambushes. Still, I¡¯d tried to make Tori take them; mages had to need mobility. She¡¯d declined. According to her, I¡¯d earned two pieces of loot. Calvin agreed. ¡°You bailed me out there at the end, Hal. Besides, you need the Rod for your class.¡± It was odd that we¡¯d gotten two of those in two dungeons, but I wasn¡¯t complaining. After a little more convincing, I accepted both of them, unequipped the stat-increasing Surge Protector, and equipped the Fast-Hoof Boots. Then I put a point in Body, two in Charge, and one in Awareness. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go check on Fort Kiosk,¡± I said.
Sure enough, Brian was Level Sixteen when we got back. Zane had hit Fifteen, and so had Carol. She¡¯d dumped most of her points into Body, and had both legs under her. ¡°Thanks,¡± she said, gingerly putting weight on the leg as she stretched out. ¡°No, really, thank you,¡± Brian said. He stepped out of Fort Kiosk¡¯s door, sword in hand, and pointed toward the ¡®Birds¡¯ wing. Then he paused. ¡°Did you see any of our people?¡± I shook my head. ¡°We had our hands full. Uh, sorry.¡± ¡°Can we go look?¡± Brian asked. I thought about it. We¡¯d taken out everything we¡¯d seen in the ¡®Beasts¡¯ wing, but that didn¡¯t mean we¡¯d seen everything. The fog had been everywhere, and we couldn¡¯t guarantee that Zane, Brian, and Carol would be safe. On the other hand, I also couldn¡¯t stop them from going, and if we¡¯d learned one thing, it was that even Calvin¡ªwho refused to fight and kill¡ªcould be the difference between victory and defeat. I glanced at Tori, and she shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s probably some trash pats we missed. If you take it slow and plan your pulls, you should be fine. Do you have CC?¡± ¡°No, but with Carol up again and those boss levels, we should be okay,¡± Zane said. He seemed to speak Tori¡¯s language. He elbowed his sister playfully, and she glared. Now that she was back to normal, his mood had shifted, and he seemed almost too excited to get going. In the end, I couldn¡¯t say no¡ªnot even if Brian¡¯s party had been part of mine. I nodded. ¡°Just be careful. I know you want to find your people, but¡­¡± ¡°What Hal doesn¡¯t feel like he can say is, if you get in trouble, there are no reinforcements. According to the kid, we¡¯re clearing one hundred percent of this dungeon, so if you aren¡¯t sure you can win, retreat to Fort Kiosk and wait,¡± Calvin said. ¡°I don¡¯t need no heroes.¡± Brian nodded. ¡°Understood.¡± We watched them grab their packs and walk under the ¡®Beasts¡¯ sign, disappearing into the fog. Then Tori stared at the mist until I put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°You okay?¡± She jumped a little. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, I¡¯m good!¡± she said, spinning on one foot and starting to march toward the Twilight Menagerie¡¯s second wing. ¡°Let¡¯s finish this place up, yeah?¡± I nodded and fell into place next to her. She looked away, but not before I saw her wipe a tear off her cheek. 17: A Hunger for What You See ¡°Are they gonna be okay?¡± Tori asked, looking over her shoulder for the eighth time. The fog had faded rapidly as we pushed into the ¡®Birds¡¯ wing; I figured the waterfalls were making most of it, and they didn¡¯t have the power to churn up a mist that could cover the whole place. More and more sunbeams broke through the sparse canopy, too, and the path, which had been narrow, widened as it passed dozens of enclosures¡ªall of which had large, conspicuous openings. It seemed the dungeon¡¯s ¡®Birds¡¯ wing would be more open-air. I didn¡¯t have a good answer. ¡°I¡¯m sure they will be. We took out most of the biggest threats, so right now, they¡¯re just helping us with the hundred percent goal." ¡°Right,¡± Tori said. She went cross-eyed, and I pulled up my quest menu, too. Tier One Dungeon: The Twilight Menagerie Objective: Kill the Beast Glatisant (1/1) Objective: Kill the Eyes of Perfection (0/1) Objective: Reach the Dungeon Exit (0/1) Objective: Survive (0/1) Completion: 47% As I watched, the Completion number crept up to 48%. ¡°See, they¡¯re fighting, and they¡¯re winning. Whatever we left them isn¡¯t that much of a problem.¡± ¡°I just¡­¡± ¡°I know,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s okay. Your mom sounds like a smart lady. She wouldn¡¯t go into a dungeon without being ready, and she had a plan she shared with you already, right? She wouldn¡¯t get in over her head like this. Just stick with the plan, think about that full clear, and we¡¯ll be okay. We¡¯re almost halfway there, right?¡± She nodded, but she didn¡¯t say anything right away. She did look over her shoulder again, though. When she refocused, her face looked a lot more determined. ¡°One hundred percent. Should be easy if that¡¯s the strongest monster.¡± Overhead, a thick flock of V-shaped birds rocketed past us, glinting as they weaved in and out of sunbeams. An almost electric scent hung in the air, growing in sharpness until it burned my nose. The birds banked left, then right. They whipped past; I caught a brief view of a nameplate as the flock zoomed by. Sun Eater Swarm: Level Twenty-Five Swarm Swarms possess the following features: immunity to mind-affecting spells, limited immunity to single-target spells, limited immunity to melee attacks, vulnerability to area-of-effect attacks. Well, if that was the case, they¡¯d be easy to deal with¡ªbut not for me. All I had for that was bombs¡ªand I couldn¡¯t activate them. ¡°Tori, they¡¯re all yours,¡± I said. The next time the Sun Eaters zipped by, Tori cast Crush, and the swarm imploded. A few birds on the edges managed to escape, but most of them were pulped into a ball that hit the ground with a smacking sound a moment later. She stared at it, a little horrified. The surviving Sun Eaters looped around, tightening the flock¡¯s formation. They dove for the nearest sunbeam, then looped around in it, their beaks glowing brighter and brighter. The light dimmed around them as they brightened into a swarm of miniature suns. They were draining the light! I charged them, but before I could get there, the surviving birds emitted several rays of energy that ripped across my body like lasers. The burning heat seared my skin like the worst sunburn I¡¯d ever had. Tori also ran toward them, ducking from behind me as I tried to dodge. She used Shockwave. A rippling pulse of force rushed away from her, scattering the last of the swarming birds and knocking me off balance. Instead of several dozen greenish orbs, a single yellow-orange one sat on the ground where the swarm had broken up. Tori looked at me, then at Calvin, who shrugged. Then she absorbed it, frowning. ¡°Those weren¡¯t worth anything!¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Though the ¡®Birds¡¯ wing of the dungeon wasn¡¯t as dark or foggy as the ¡®Beasts¡¯ wing had been, it felt a lot more like a zoo. Log-lined pits and netting cages lined the path everywhere we went; every net had at least half a dozen dead birds stuck in it. The smell wasn¡¯t overwhelming, but it was definitely unpleasant. We fought a few swarms and a three-headed Goosdra that spat burning goo and got Tori to her next level when it died. The percentage we¡¯d cleared was creeping up into the sixties when we reached the end of the path. Ahead of us was the biggest pit cage we¡¯d seen. It loomed almost like a canyon, half-covered by a torn, singed net. The opening led straight down ten feet to a fog-covered barrier, then an unknown distance down from there. Every log had dozens of scorch marks burned onto its smooth surface. I held up a hand. ¡°That¡¯s a boss room. Are we ready?¡± Tori nodded. The first boss had been twenty-five percent, and she¡¯d been eager to get to this one¡ªboth to get the full clear and to make sure Brian¡¯s team was alright. She strode toward the gap, then stopped. ¡°Are you coming?¡± Calvin stared at the fog ceiling. Then he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll camp out right here. When you¡¯re done, come on back.¡± Tori looked like she was about to throw a fit. Then she turned and dropped into the pit. The fog shimmered but stayed in place; I couldn¡¯t see inside of it, even with her inside. Calvin waved me on. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t understand. Get in there. I¡¯ll be fine out here.¡± I hesitated. ¡°I don¡¯t like splitting¡ª¡° ¡°I said go. Whatever¡¯s in there, she won¡¯t beat it by herself, and we¡¯ve killed half this wing already,¡± Calvin said. When I still didn¡¯t move, he waved his hand again. ¡°Get going!¡± This wasn¡¯t a good idea. Splitting up was asking for trouble; Calvin might have risen to Level Seventeen, but he couldn¡¯t solo the swarms. He was right, though. Right now, Tori was in the most danger. I took a deep breath, then stepped off the brick path. The Eyes of Perfection: Level Thirty Dungeon Boss Current Difficulty: Challenging Some birds are stunning. Others are deadly. The Eyes of Perfection is both. Fear its gaze. Worship its beauty. Feed its hunger. Arena Battle - The Barrier seals behind you, making it impossible to leave. I hit the springy, tall grass that filled the arena, rolling and pulling the Trip-Hammer out even as its leaves left tiny cuts on my hands. Tori was already somewhere in here, but I couldn¡¯t see or hear her over the rustling, green-brown grass. Water flowed from somewhere, and the room was shockingly bright¡ªalmost like it was noon, not twilight. I crept forward, looking for the Eyes of Perfection. Something moved in front of me. ¡°Tori,¡± I hissed, ¡°you there?¡± If it was Tori, it didn¡¯t respond. I took a deep breath and plunged through the grass. Tori would have said something, so this had to be¡ª I broke free of the grass. The second I did, I stopped dead. A wall of blue-green eyes sprang up in front of me, towering almost to the net overhead. Behind it, through the gaps in the eyes, lay a pond with a small cascade¡ªnot enough to make fog, but enough to explain the water sound. The eyes, though¡­they were beautiful. The blue pupils stood out in the sea of green as they waved back and forth in front of me¡­back and forth. The long eyelashes seemed to bat at me like my last ex¡¯s eyes did when she¡¯d been in one of her moods. I¡¯d always kinda liked those long eyelashes¡ªand I loved the ones in front of me. They looked brown-orange and were easily six inches long. I didn¡¯t bother to look for Tori anymore. Wherever she was, she¡¯d be fine. Everything would be fine. The world went white. A thousand needles stabbed into me, and I shouted in surprise as much as in pain. Where was Tori? Was she seeing this, too? I had to move, but I couldn¡¯t. I had to protect myself, but the eyes were all-seeing. As quickly as it had started, it stopped. The arena went dark. It was a peacock. Not eyes, but a normal-sized peacock with a giant tail that dragged in the dirt behind it. The thing shimmered in the near-pitch-black, the only source of light. Then, as I watched, it slowly started raising its tail. The room grew brighter; it was the light, I realized. All the eyes were the light. As they opened, they pushed back more and more of the darkness. That was important. I grabbed my hammer and rushed toward the boss before it could finish recharging. Wherever Tori was, hopefully she was doing something useful.
Tori hit the smooth, cold ground hard; it knocked the wind out of her, and she took a second to get her bearings and catch her breath. Wherever she was, it wasn¡¯t an animal pen¡ªshe¡¯d gotten a behind-the-scenes tour of a gorilla pen the zoo was working on in sixth grade, and this reminded her of that. She was in a square room with a door on either side. The walls were featureless, except where a tool hung, or a bag of feed sat against them. The door to her right was barred and locked, while the one to her right was solid steel. ¡°Alright, Tori,¡± she told herself, ¡°you¡¯ve seen fights like this. The Giant from the Mountains, or the Vault Guard. They split the party, and one group has to do¡­something¡­to help fight the boss indirectly. You¡¯re not in the boss arena, so you¡¯re the ¡®do something¡¯ team. It¡¯s time to do something.¡± She opened the door. It led to a narrow steel catwalk high above the fight; the grass-covered room below was so dark that the boss was little more than a blob in the middle of the room. She couldn¡¯t hear anything below her, and wherever Hal was, she doubted he could hear her, either. All around her, up against the pit¡¯s log-covered walls, were mirrors¡ªa dozen or more of them, all on pulleys connected to a twisted, woven knot of ropes just below the now-solid net overhead. Tori had seen this before, in the vampire towers raid. She knew exactly what she had to do. The metal grate clanged under her feet as the boss¡¯s tail grew bigger, and the mirrors around the room shifted slightly¡ªeach lined up with a small cluster of what looked like eyes. Below her, Hal charged the boss as the arena brightened. 18: Taste the Bright Lights My Trip-Hammer howled, wind ripping behind it as it flew toward the Eyes of Perfection¡¯s tiny, bird-brained head. It ricocheted off something inches away, jarring my wrist even through the Lock-Grip Gloves, then triggered, snapping back through the air. ¡°Oh shit!¡± I yelled. I stared at the intact bird; I¡¯d accomplished nothing. That blow should have squashed its head¡ªor at least hurt it. Instead, it strutted away from me, looking over its shoulder¡­smugly? Was this damn bird really being smug about being invincible, or was I just imagining things? Before I could recover, the bird¡¯s tail unfurled completely, and one eye after another started to open. I staggered¡ªmy whole mind focused on those beautiful blue eyes, with the lashes that reminded me so much of my ex¡¯s false ones. I couldn¡¯t tear my gaze away. The hammer lowered in my grip. The eyes started glowing. Then, something squeaked and thumped behind me. Before I could tell myself that the eyes were the most important thing in the universe, I¡¯d turned to look. It was a mirror¡ªthe kind of big, wide mirror with no frame you might find in a hotel bathroom. I saw myself in it, and I had a brief, wild thought; I looked like I was in the best shape of my life. Then the Eyes of Perfection¡¯s glowing tail blotted out everything. I threw myself into the razor-sharp grass, yelling in pain as I landed on the blade-like leaves. The room filled with fire and light as the Eyes of Perfection¡¯s lasers lashed out where I¡¯d just been standing. A dozen beams cut through empty space, hit the mirror, and bounced everywhere. I took another hit or two, but nothing compared to the first volley. The boss¡¯s arena went dark, and the stupid peacock went back to walking around the open space near the waterfall like I wasn¡¯t even here. Its tail was recharging, but I had a moment to think. My sister and I found a red ant hill when we were kids. Normally, Dad filled them with something that stank like gas if they were near the house, and that was that. But Beth had a different idea. She was about seven¡ªold enough to have a science kit from Cozad Elementary¡ªand that kit had a magnifying glass. She wanted to see what the ants looked like up close. It was a bright day. One thing led to another, and Dad had to put the resulting fire out. He¡¯d chewed us a new one. Then, Mom had done it again that evening. But I still remembered watching the sun hit that glass, and the first tendril of smoke work its way out of the horses¡¯ feed. The Eyes of Perfection were the sun. The mirrors had to be the magnifying glass¡­somehow. And they were coming from somewhere. I looked up. Just below the fog wall, a catwalk ran around the wall. It was about halfway up, held in place by ropes and rusty-looking L-braces, and on it stood Tori. She was yanking on a rope in an attempt to lower another mirror¡ªthis one looked more like something my grandparents had in their entryway. I yelled and waved to get her attention, but she acted like she hadn¡¯t heard me. Maybe she couldn¡¯t. Then, she turned. Her eyes went wide, and she pointed and started yelling at me. I couldn¡¯t hear a word she was saying, either. An overwhelming wave of heat rippled behind me, shimmering my vision. I turned, then yelled, ¡°Oh shit!¡± again and started running from the inferno that had whipped up behind me. The stray rays had set the grass ablaze. Smoke billowed into the air, rushing up toward the teenager, but I couldn¡¯t spend the time to worry about her. She was relatively safe, and I had my own problems. It was getting hot in here. I lunged for the water as the Eyes of Perfection unfurled again. This time, I wasn¡¯t looking at it, but I still knew the attack was coming because the room went dazzlingly bright. There weren¡¯t any mirrors by the waterfall, but I didn¡¯t care. It wasn¡¯t hot. The water was ice-cold, just like the pond in the ¡®Beasts¡¯ wing. It was deep, too¡ªshockingly deep, almost like a cliff¡¯s edge instead of a gradual pond. My feet finally hit the bottom after a second of sinking. The arena went dark again a moment later¡ªorange lights flickered across the surface overhead. I pushed off and headed for the surface. Now, everything was on fire, not just the grass. The logs were burning, and the catwalk hung on a few remaining L-braces, but huge chunks of it had collapsed. Where was Tori? As I dragged myself up the steep pond¡¯s edge, I searched the catwalk for her. She had to be alive, right? The lasers hadn¡¯t been able to kill me. They couldn¡¯t kill her, either. My eyes scanned the wreckage. There! I spotted her lowering one last mirror, but with the shape the rest of the catwalk was in, that¡¯d be the end of her help. She started working through the twisted, jagged metal as the room grew lighter. Stolen story; please report. I gritted my teeth and ran toward the freshest mirror¡ªa full-length one from a fancy clothes store. It hung from its smoking ropes, which threatened to burn through at any second. The Eyes of Perfection turned toward me. Its many eyes opened, and I stared them down. They seemed to bat seductively at me, like the eyes of every femme fatale in the noir movies Dad liked to watch. He hadn¡¯t been much for film, but noir crime dramas got him every time. These were every bit as¡ª No. I was better than this. I closed my eyes, shook my head, and threw myself right at the peacock as I activated my Fast-Hoof Boots. A blink later, I stood at point blank¡ªI dropped like a sack of grain. Its laser eyes exploded toward me as I hit the ground. The air over my head flashed white, but this time, the bird¡¯s tail didn¡¯t droop, and the eyes didn¡¯t close. I opened my eyes. The bird¡¯s tail was ablaze. Its eyes blinked rapidly, hundreds of eyes twisting horrifically in the flames. It screeched¡ªthe first sound it had made the whole fight. I grabbed the Trip-Hammer and rushed it. The hammer rose, slammed down, and fired. A few swings that landed with meaty, crunchy thuds later, it was done. The bird¡¯s twisted, burned body sat in the clearing by the pond. Bones stuck through its sapphire-blue feathers, its neck bent at three impossible angles and the tuft on its head was smashed into its ruined skull. It looked nothing like perfection. Not anymore. Boss Defeated: The Eyes of Perfection Level Up! Twenty-Five to Twenty-Seven. Dungeon Delvers who were not in the arena will receive fifty percent of your team¡¯s experience.
As Tori hit the ground next to me, I scooped the three items the Eyes of Perfection had left behind into my inventory and let the tension burn off my shoulders. She raised her eyebrow at me, ready to say something. ¡°Was that blue?¡± she asked. ¡°Blue always means better¡ªit¡¯s video game rules! Green¡¯s common or uncommon, blue¡¯s rare, purple¡¯s epic, and orange is legendary. Show me the loot!¡± I shook my head. ¡°First, we need to get out of here and get back up to Calvin.¡± She pouted for a second. Then she went cross-eyed. ¡°Ninety-three percent. Stragglers, that¡¯s all! I know the way out, but we¡¯ve gotta get up there.¡± She pointed at the top of the catwalk, where an undamaged section matched up with a fake rock halfway up the waterfall. The boulder hung from a pair of hinges. ¡°That¡¯s how you got up there?¡± I asked. I walked toward the waterfall. ¡°No. You¡¯ll see. We climbed the rocks; the handholds seemed almost built for scrambling up. Then, Tori led me through a storage room and out a door that wasn¡¯t locked but looked like it had been. We emerged onto the brick path to see Calvin standing next to two dead wading birds, eyes wide. He panted a little. ¡°Thanks. That level saved my ass.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± There was a time¡ªsoon¡ªto talk to Calvin about splitting the party, but here and now wasn¡¯t that time¡ªor place. I pulled the three items from my inventory. A book appeared, along with a ring that looked like a bird and snake intertwining as it circled around and around. The final item was a peacock-feathered helmet made from a blue stone cut so thin it felt like paper, with a dozen small, eye-like feathers forming half a halo over the top. Tome of Embrace (Common) User learns the spell Embrace, which allows the caster to share damage and healing done to another target. While active, half the damage taken by a target will be redirected to the caster instead. Effect breaks if a life-threatening injury would be suffered. The tome remains intact, but loses its ability to transfer magic after use. Zoologist¡¯s Clutch (Common, Charge 10) +1 Awareness As long as the wearer¡¯s attention remains locked on an animal-based enemy¡¯s corpse, the body will not vanish, allowing the wearer to loot crafting materials. Perfection¡¯s Gaze (Rare, Charge 20) +3 Mana, +1 Body Wearer may designate the target of their gaze. So long as their spells target the target of their gaze, it takes increasing damage for every spell the wearer casts. ¡°I can¡¯t use any of these,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t have traditional spells, and I¡¯ll never have the Mana to cast Embrace. Maybe the Zoologist¡¯s Clutch, but it¡¯d be better with Calvin if he¡¯s building a less combat-focused build, right, Tori?¡± She knelt by the items, reading their descriptions. Then she nodded. ¡°Tome and Clutch to Calvin, Gaze to me. That¡¯s my vote.¡± ¡°Nope.¡± We both stared at Calvin. He didn¡¯t say anything; he just stared at the Tome of Embrace like it was going to bite him or something. He shook his head again; his hands were shaking, too. ¡°Come on, man,¡± Tori said. ¡°We¡¯re trying to build you into a support mage, right? That¡¯s a support mage spell!¡± ¡°Nope. I ain¡¯t doing it,¡± Calvin said. ¡°I¡¯ll take the ring, but that spell¡¯s a trap built just for me. You take it, Tori. Or¡­¡± ¡°Or?¡± I asked. ¡°Or give it to Brian and let him decide what to do with it. His party helped clear this place. They deserve something. It¡¯ll help build some goodwill, and if this Integration thing drags on, goodwill¡¯s gonna be hard to come by. Besides, he¡¯d actually use it. He wants to keep those twins alive.¡± Tori rolled her eyes. I caught it, but I wasn¡¯t sure Calvin did. ¡°Okay. Clutch to Calvin, Gaze to me, and hand the Tome to Brian. That¡¯s fine. It all works out just fine,¡± I said. ¡°As long as you¡¯re okay with it, Hal. You¡¯re not getting anything,¡± Tori said. ¡°Am I supposed to get something every time?¡± ¡°Nah. I bet the game¡¯s throwing loot at us to make sure we all have something. The good stuff will slow down over time. Honestly, the only piece worth fighting over is my helmet,¡± Tori said. She stood, picking up the peacock helm. It appeared on her head, making her look even less like an emo girl than she already did. Now, she looked like someone out of The Great Gatsby¡¯s party scenes. Calvin scooped the ring up and followed her, sliding it onto his finger. Then he followed Tori back toward Fort Kiosk as she yelled and shouted, trying to attract any monsters we hadn¡¯t already found. As I bent down to grab the book, though, something Tori had said kept bouncing around in my head. She¡¯d called it a game. 19: The Price you Pay Congratulations! For completing one hundred percent of a Tier One Dungeon, you have received the following reward: One [Voltsmith¡¯s] Supply Box (Rank One) Completely clearing a dungeon will result in rewards equivalent to the level of dungeon cleared. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Tori half-shouted as she picked herself up from under the dissolving Greatest Blue Heron, which had collapsed on her when it died. She seemed furious. ¡°A couple of half-baked non-combat spells?¡± I opened my own box, which smelled like oil and looked like someone had spent an afternoon throwing orange, red, and yellow paint at a milk crate. It creaked open, and I found a small pile of assorted odds and ends. A spark plug-looking thing, a wirecutter and wire, and a single round battery were the highlights. Assorted Voltsmithing Parts Charge Battery (Small) x1 I grabbed the whole box and shoved it into my inventory. Tori was still losing her mind about the single-use spell tomes she¡¯d gotten; they weren¡¯t what she wanted, apparently. I waved for her to follow, and she used both the tomes, glowing gold for a second. Calvin had already put his box away for now; he fell in next to me, and we worked our way toward Fort Kiosk. Brian¡¯s party emerged from the mist as we got there. He was wearing a cloak that looked like it had once belonged to one of those Italian fencers from my history textbooks, while Carol now wielded a plain straight sword and a round wooden shield made of planks. A rune glowed in the middle of it, burning bright red. Zane looked pretty much the same as he had before, but with a smile across his face. They¡¯d leveled¡ªa lot. Brian had gotten all the way to Eighteen, while the twins were Seventeen now. They weren¡¯t as strong as we¡¯d been when we entered the dungeon, but they were catching up. More importantly, the door was open now¡ªand so was a gate on the other side of the zoo. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here,¡± Brian said. He nodded toward the fresh, southern gate. ¡°We owe you one. We can talk about our debt after we''re out.¡± Before I could stop him, he pushed the gate open and disappeared, with Zane and Carol following. As they walked through the door, I saw a few items in their hands. So did Tori. She started to ask, but Calvin shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ll see. Let them do what they have to.¡± I swallowed and followed Brian out the door.
Brian, Zane, and Carol stopped just outside of the gate, which disappeared as Tori followed Calvin outside. The gray fog wall vanished, letting us see inside. So did the fog. The remnants of Fort Kiosk¡ªwhat I hadn¡¯t taken apart¡ªloomed in the distance, and a timer appeared. The Twilight Menagerie: Cleared Time to Reset: Six Days, Fifty-Nine Minutes, Fifty-Nine Seconds Brian paid no attention; I watched as he waved the message away. Carol and Zane set down a few items: armor, a battle axe, and a wristwatch. The girl fished a gold necklace out of her pants pocket and laid it along the top of the stone retaining wall. When she glanced back at us, her eyes shined with tears. Zane pulled her in for a hug. He was shaking, too. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Angie. I did the best I could,¡± Brian said. ¡°The three of us got out. We¡¯ll do¡­I¡¯ll do my best to make sure you didn¡¯t die in vain. I promise I¡¯ll make sure your kids get somewhere safe and that they survive this mess.¡± Tori glanced at the battle-axe. It glowed green¡ªas did one of the leather breastplates lying on the ground. She looked my way, eyebrow raised. But Calvin shook his head again. ¡°They lost squad mates,¡± he said simply. I stared at the balding, overweight man. Something about him had changed in the hours we¡¯d taken clearing the Twilight Menagerie. He¡¯d gained confidence with every level, and the items he and his team had earned had only helped him. But now, with the pressure finally relieved, it felt like something had broken inside of him. His voice cracked. For a moment, he seemed frozen. Then, he started sobbing as he collapsed against the retaining wall. I wanted to put a hand on his shoulder. He needed someone. But Calvin said, ¡°Let them do it.¡± The twins joined Brian in front of the wall, crying and sobbing. Tori shivered, and I put an arm around her shoulder. She hardly noticed; her attention was locked on the two teenagers. We let them mourn their teammates until, after what felt like no time at all and an eternity at the same time, Brian stood up. ¡°Thanks again, Hal,¡± he said, sticking out a hand. ¡°We¡¯d have been screwed without you.¡± ¡°Uh, no problem,¡± I said. I shook his hand, holding the grip as I pulled the Tome of Embrace out of my inventory. I held it out. ¡°Listen, we got this off from the last boss fight, and it¡¯s not something any of us plan to use for our, uh¡­¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Builds,¡± Tori supplied. ¡°So we thought you might want to take it¡ªor, if not, Carol might. It could help you guys out somehow.¡± Brian stared at Tori for a few seconds. Then, sobbing again, he took the tome from me, used it, and wrapped Tori in a gigantic hug. When he finally disengaged, her eyes were filled with tears, too. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about your team,¡± she said awkwardly. ¡°At least we¡¯re alive.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± I asked. Brian shrugged, looking at the ground. ¡°We don¡¯t have one. I think Carol wants to try to earn a couple more levels in Chicago before we try another dungeon, but Zane¡¯s still pretty beat up about what happened in there. So am I, to be honest. I think it¡¯ll be a while before we try another dungeon like this one, much less something harder.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to the Field Museum,¡± Tori said. ¡°That¡¯s where Jessica is.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Jessica?¡± Zane asked. ¡°My step-mom.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome to travel with us,¡± I said. ¡°We should get there sometime today. It¡¯s not that far, but we¡¯d be safer moving together.¡± The silence grew awkward as Zane, Carol, and Brian looked at each other. Then Brian shook his head. ¡°I think we¡¯ll grow better if we¡¯re separate, and thanks to those boss kills, the three of us can handle ourselves now. We need some time to figure stuff out, too.¡± I¡¯d figured they¡¯d say that, but it still sucked. They were the first people we¡¯d seen outside of the Redline Tunnels, and for such a big city, it felt strange that we¡¯d only seen them. I really didn¡¯t want to abandon them, but at the same time, I couldn¡¯t exactly force them to go with us. ¡°Okay. You three stay safe.¡± ¡°Right back at you,¡± Brian said. Zane cast a spell, and the items they¡¯d left behind in tribute burst into flame.
Once Brian¡¯s team left, I pulled the Surge Protectors out, laid them out along with my new Imbuing Rod, the battery bombs, and the box of Voltsmith¡¯s supplies, and pulled up my stats. [Hal Riley] [Class - Voltsmith] [Level - 27] [Stats] ?Body - 20 ?Awareness - 40 ?Charge - 2/26 (10 Used) Stat Points Available: 0 [Class Skill - Decharge/Recharge - Drain the charge from magic items to power your own creations] Items ?Fast-Hoof Gloves ?Lock-Grip Gloves ?Trip-Hammer (10 Charge) I was exhausted, but I had a lot to get done and not much time to do it. Tori and Calvin were talking near the scorched wall. I didn¡¯t bother listening in. With only two Charge available, I could only power a couple of battery bombs, and when I tried pouring Charge into one, it didn¡¯t do anything. I¡¯d need to supply them with power, but I didn¡¯t want to use a whole battery every time I decided to throw one of the acid-and-shrapnel explosives at something. In a way, this was easier when I¡¯d had electrical spells. The first order of business was consuming the Surge Protectors. I drained them, leaving behind a pair of utterly unmagical shoulder pads made of plastic and foam. The six Charge flowed into my reserves, giving me eight to play with. I followed that up by draining the Lock-Grip Gloves¡ªnot because I needed the Charge, but because the pattern I had in my head would take at least one of my hands, and I couldn¡¯t give the gloves to anyone else now that I¡¯d used them. My Body dropped to sixteen, but my Charge spiked up to twenty-three; the gloves had been worth fifteen. Then it slowly dropped seven points before stabilizing at sixteen¡ªI¡¯d overfilled my Charge, and my skin tingled as it flowed from my body. Then I spread out my battery and started forming a matrix of wires, pieces of metal, and foam padding¡ªwhich I ripped from the Surge Protectors. I attached the leather glove to the matrix and placed the small Charge Battery right below the middle knuckle; I connected it to the wires, then ran more of them across the glove¡¯s palm. I added Charge until the small Charge Battery was completely full. It drained almost everything I had, but the prototype gauntlet¡¯s battery glowed a faint yellow-orange. ?Charge - 1/26 (15 Used) What I wanted was a glove that could apply Charge to explosives as I threw them, but the first prototype was missing something; the battery delivered Charge to my palm, but I couldn¡¯t add it to an object no matter what I tried. Something had to change. As I looked at the blueprint in my mind and compared it to the device on my arm, I saw the problem: I had no way to focus the power. I rummaged through the pile of parts, spreading them across the concrete walkway like Lego bricks on a kid¡¯s floor. There, in the middle, sat the spark plug. It looked a lot like the Imbuing Rod¡¯s emitter, but about the size of a nickel and made of glass with copper wires crisscrossing it. I pulled it, plugged the matrix of wires into it, and test-fired the shoddy-looking gauntlet again. This time, the orange sparks coalesced around my palm, shooting sparks a few inches forward before they faded to nothing. Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp (Created Item, Charge 15, Upgrade Level 0) The Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp is a Charge-assistance device. In its prototype form, it can temporarily transfer Charge to a consumable device or weapon created by the wearer. It can also use five of its Charge to create a powerful burst of electricity in melee range. Expended Charge regenerates over time. I wanted to test out one of the bombs, but there were only a handful left. Instead, I pulled one out and held it in my gauntlet-clad grip. Shrapnel Battery Bomb (Created Consumable, Inoperable) While it wasn¡¯t a test run, the message was good enough for now. I made sure the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp was secured to my forearm with a few straps, added some scrap plates for a little extra protection along my wrist, and pulled the rest of the bombs out of my inventory. A few wires and a touch to the center of the gauntlet later, and the bomb¡¯s Inoperable status faded. I didn¡¯t try activating it. I could only power as many creations as I had maximum Charge for, so I was done for now. That was fine, though, I didn¡¯t have many parts left, and other than my second Imbuing Rod, I had nothing I could strip down. The rest of my scraps went back into my inventory. ¡°Bionic Man, huh?¡± Calvin asked, raising an eyebrow. I ignored him, stretching my wrist out in response. The Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp wasn¡¯t as flexible as the Lock-Grip Gloves had been, and I¡¯d have to be careful with the Trip-Hammer, but I had a decent ranged attack now in the battery bombs, even if I only had a handful. ¡°Calvin, Tori, we¡¯re going to head down Lakeshore Drive. We¡¯ll check on Union Pier and see if it¡¯s available for a dungeon run, then skirt Millenium Park.¡± ¡°And what if that¡¯s a dungeon, too?¡± Calvin asked. I didn¡¯t have an answer. Tori did, though. ¡°Full-clear time?¡± 20: Worse Here Every Day We¡¯d just hit Ohio Beach, and Union Pier¡¯s Ferris Wheel spun slowly overhead, when the crab attacked. This one looked a lot like the Knife Crabs we¡¯d fought on Montrose Beach, but it was a lot bigger, and instead of knives, it had a massive vise on its claw. Crush-tacean: Level 21 Monster I tried not to laugh as the single monster rushed me¡ªit was hopelessly out-leveled. ¡°Let me take care of this,¡± I said. Tori nodded slowly, stepping back to give me some space. The sand crunched below my feet as I set my stance. The Trip-Hammer hung low, its motor sitting on the beach near my feet as I readied the gauntlet around my right hand and wrist. I wanted to test it out; I¡¯d run power through it, but I didn¡¯t want to spend bombs¡ªor Charge¡ªon nothing. The Crush-tacean wasn¡¯t a big threat, but it was big. It¡¯d do for some research. I flexed the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp. It sparked orange, and the crab closed to melee range. Its vise-claw slammed shut with a deafening thud, but I sidestepped. Then I shoved the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp against the crab¡¯s body and pushed Charge through it. Stored Charge 10/15 It wasn¡¯t enough to stun the crab, but it did stagger backward, claws skittering in the sand. I made a note that a single burst from the ¡®taser¡¯ wasn¡¯t enough to stop something that massive. Then, I grabbed a single bomb. I didn¡¯t really want to spend it, but I needed to know how this worked. The bomb glowed orange the second it hit my palm, and a timer appeared. Bomb: Active Timer: Five Seconds The bomb started pulsing with orange Charge, and I lobbed it toward the Crush-tacean. It detonated on impact, flinging nuts and bolts across the beach. Tori yelped behind me, and I took a few hits that my Body tanked. The monster¡¯s shell cracked in a spiderweb pattern out from the explosion¡¯s center. It glowed weak spot orange. I shifted my Trip-Hammer to a two-handed grip, and got to work taking the Crush-tacean apart. It took three swings before the shell cracked, plus one more to finish the monster off. I absorbed its experience orb and looked around for any other monsters. There were none. The Crush-tacean was the only thing on the beach. ¡°Well, that worked reasonably well,¡± I said. Tori shook her head. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you keep testing things? ¡°I could have, but I want to keep some energy in reserve in case we have a bomb fight at Union Pier. Spending everything to learn only works if we can stay safe for a while until it regenerates.¡± I looked at the Ferris Wheel again. ¡°Let¡¯s get moving, alright?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Navy Pier wasn¡¯t exactly my stomping ground. I¡¯d last been here when I¡¯d first gotten to Chicago. I¡¯d ridden the towering Ferris Wheel, bought ice cream, then hung out on the beach nearby. But I¡¯d never been back since. The skyscrapers loomed over Ohio Beach just like they had before, but I was struck by how quickly the windows had grown dirty. They didn¡¯t shimmer in the sun anymore; without constant maintenance, the wind and rain had covered them in a thin but growing layer of dust. ¡°Rituals like that were pretty common in Vietnam,¡± Calvin said. ¡°When we lost people we always had a ceremony with something of theirs.¡± ¡°Did you lose a lot of people?¡± Tori asked quietly. ¡°None of your business,¡± Calvin said. ¡°I lost enough to know what it felt like, and then a few more on top of that.¡± ¡°One time, we had a funeral for a friend who¡¯d played a few games with us. We all spawned into the wilderness, set up torches and fireworks, and talked about him in Discord for a couple of hours. There was a lot of crying.¡± Calvin shook his head. ¡°Hopefully, you won¡¯t have a real friend¡¯s funeral to go to anytime soon, like Zane and Carol just did.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°He was a real friend,¡± she said. Her fists tightened, and Calvin raised his open hands placatingly. ¡°Tori, tell me about your games,¡± I interrupted. ¡°Sure. I played a little World of Warcraft.¡± She took a deep breath, trying to get herself under control. I raised an eyebrow; I knew how WoW players were. ¡°Okay, too much World of Warcraft. That¡¯s what all this feels the most like. But I don¡¯t get how these aliens could have modeled it so perfectly off one of our games.¡± She rattled off a dozen similarities as we crossed the beach. Then, she stopped. ¡°You¡¯re sure this is a Tier One dungeon?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about anything,¡± I said. I stepped onto the pier, where a tall fence stretched across the entrance. The fog gate was there, but it was barred and sealed. When I approached it, a new message appeared. Tier One Dungeon: Jettytown Limited Occupancy: This dungeon can only be attempted by one party at a time. Currently occupied. Please wait for the current party to finish. ¡°We should move on,¡± Calvin said after a moment. I was tempted to agree. Either the team inside would clear the dungeon, in which case there¡¯d be nothing for us, or they wouldn¡¯t. Waiting for them to win or lose could take a long time, and there was the three-week timer to think about. It was down by almost a full day now, and even though three weeks felt like a lot of time, I had a bad feeling about those Tier Three dungeons. We needed to be ready for them when they opened. But before I could say anything, the entrance flashed, and four men stepped out. I was in pretty good shape; digging around in engines and using my arms and legs all day did wonders for that. I didn¡¯t hit the gym, though; I¡¯d never been an iron pumper in high school. Even when I¡¯d worked on the farm, I was farmer strong, not ripped. The first guy put the time in, and it showed. His black beard hung down to his chest, and his arm muscles rippled as he shifted his weight. The others weren¡¯t as big, but they all looked similar: beards, leather jackets and chaps, and a few magic items. Their weapons and armor made them look more like Mongols than bikers. Most of their levels were in the mid-20s and their classes were defaults¡ªrogue, warrior, and mage. The big guy was different. Eddie Petrovich: Level 28 Class: Shield-Bearer I watched, waiting for them to make a move; something about these guys rubbed me the wrong way, but¡­I could just be biased. Every year, we had hundreds of bikers come through town as they rode for Sturgis. Most of them were fine. The town even liked them¡ªmostly. But Dad held a grudge because, one year, they¡¯d set up a camp in the corn field, and we hadn¡¯t figured it out until harvest, when the harvester¡¯s blade hit their fire ring. It had cost us thousands to get it fixed, and we had to harvest by hand or lose the crop. I needed to keep Tori safe until we got to the Field Museum, but that didn¡¯t mean I had to mistrust these guys. I took a deep breath and stuck my armored hand out. ¡°How was the dungeon?¡±
Tori was frustrated; if Hal hadn¡¯t screwed around with his metal glove for so long, they¡¯d have gotten this dungeon instead of these biker dudes. They¡¯d full-cleared the Menagerie, and she''d been looking forward to getting at least one more before they caught up to Jessica. It¡¯d be a lot harder to fight stuff after reuniting with her. ¡°How was the dungeon?¡± Hal asked. He stuck his hand out, and the gigantic biker shook it. ¡°Hell. Absolute fucking hell. We¡¯ve cleared two today, and another one¡¯s on the schedule for tonight. I¡¯m trying to get my boys ready for the Tier Twos. You?¡± Eddie asked. ¡°We¡¯ve cleared out a couple,¡± Hal said. ¡°Lincoln Park¡¯s clear, so don¡¯t go checking there.¡± ¡°Damn. Kev¡¯s team¡¯s heading there.¡± As Hal talked with the big guy, Tori turned to look for Calvin. The guy was nowhere to be found, though; where had he vanished to? She was a little concerned about that, but Eddie waved for his guys to take a seat, and they found spots on the concrete ramp. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve got a few teams running,¡± Eddie was saying. ¡°We¡¯ve got a place near that aquarium. There¡¯s four dungeons right there, all Tier Twos. When they pop, the rest of the gangs are gonna rip through ¡®em. Four teams, four clears, then pool the loot. One guy¡¯s got a whole plan for this shit; we¡¯re building a whole new world order here, and my boys are at the center of it.¡± Tori perked up. ¡°You¡¯ve got a place near the museums?¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s a whole damn village.¡± Tori¡¯s mind went into overdrive. ¡°Which dungeons?¡± she blurted. One of Eddie¡¯s eyebrows raised. Then his eyes narrowed suspiciously for a second before the youngest biker dude shook his head slowly. Eddie nodded, closed his eyes, and breathed out. ¡°Planetarium, aquarium, the Field Museum, and Soldier Field.¡± Hal interrupted, asking question after question. Tori only half-listened. Mom¡ªJessica-Mom, that is¡ªwas definitely in their little village. She wanted to see her. She needed to see her. But at the same time¡­Jessica didn¡¯t want her playing games, and whatever this was, it was a lot like gaming. Would this be too much for her? ¡°Why don¡¯t you two come with us?¡± Eddie asked. ¡°We¡¯re heading for Millenium Park, then we¡¯ll go back to Museumtown.¡± He didn¡¯t know about Calvin. Where had the old homeless guy gone? Tori had no clue, but she couldn¡¯t see him abandoning them; even with the experience he¡¯d gotten for the boss kills, he was hopelessly behind. He needed this village as much as she did. More, even. Hal shook his head, glancing her way and shooting her a look. ¡°We¡¯re thinking about heading west downtown, actually. There¡¯s gotta be another cluster of Tier Ones in there, and we¡¯re doing just fine on our own.¡± Eddie¡¯s eyes narrowed. One of the biker dudes stood up and walked toward the pier¡¯s south railing. He tapped his boot against the railing, staring out across the harbor toward a pair of towering buildings. Tori watched him as he lit a match, used it to get a cigarette burning, and crushed it below his boot. ¡°You¡¯re sure? Listen, man, we¡¯ve got everything people need to survive there. That girl would be a lot safer with us protecting her, and your class sounds like the boss could put you to work. There¡¯d be a spot for you in town.¡± Hal shook his head. Something flashed across the harbor. For a split second, Tori thought it was light off a windshield. Then the man with the cigarette whirled, a crossbow in his hand, and leveled it right at her. He started screaming a second later. 21: You Gonna Die I whirled toward the screaming man as a crossbow bolt passed my head, but he¡¯d already thrown the weapon down and was running back toward the dungeon¡¯s fog gate. The big guy¡ªEddie¡ªslammed his arm into the air in front of him, and a triangle-shaped piece of steel materialized out of nowhere. Tori started casting a spell, and so did one of the other bikers. The third biker went for his axe. Calvin stepped out from where he¡¯d hidden. ¡°Calm your asses down!¡± he snapped, his voice the drill sergeant, not the medic. ¡°Put the weapons away!¡± I spun back toward Eddie as the crossbowman disappeared into the dungeon. They must not have full cleared it because he hit the fog wall and vanished. For a second, I saw red. I was ready to lunge at Eddie and kick the fight off for real¡ªand it was going to be a fight. The only thing that stopped me was Calvin. Tori could handle herself one one-on-one; she¡¯d be able to wrap up the other mage. But I couldn¡¯t handle Eddie and manage the other biker, who¡¯d lifted his axe, ready to charge any second. Calvin was out of juice. I knew it, and so did Tori¡ªbut the bikers didn¡¯t. ¡°Eddie, what the hell?¡± I asked, letting my gauntlet spark. It was at twelve Charge; I¡¯d get two attacks with it. The Trip-Hammer hung in my other hand. ¡°Let¡¯s all slow down and talk about this,¡± Calvin said. Only his eyes betrayed the otherwise calm expression on his face. Eddie laughed. It sounded bitter, resigned, and determined at the same time. ¡°Them¡¯s the rules. We¡¯re supposed to bring back anyone we can and make sure anyone who won¡¯t go isn¡¯t a threat. If you won¡¯t help us, you¡¯re a threat. It¡¯s what we have to do to survive.¡± ¡°You were going to kill us!?¡± Tori screamed. Her voice sounded equal parts fury and fear. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. You don¡¯t see any other way this ends?¡± I asked, readying the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp. ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± He raised an eyebrow appraisingly. ¡°You¡¯re a lot like me. I can see it in your eyes. You push through problems and endure until you win.¡± I had to make my move before the crossbowman got back. We were already at a disadvantage. There had to be something I could do to even things out¡ªor to de-escalate. Calvin opened his mouth, staring at Eddie with narrowed eyes. ¡°Betcha you can¡¯t push through this one.¡± He waved a hand at me. There it was. The only obvious way forward was through, but Calvin had given me another solution. ¡°Think you can handle me?¡± ¡°I can handle anything,¡± he growled. ¡°You two, back off.¡± I hefted the Trip-Hammer over my shoulder, wielding it one-handed for now, and grabbed a battery bomb. It hummed and started glowing orange as I pushed Charge into it. Stored Charge 7/15 Bomb: Active Timer: Five Seconds Eddie stared at me. I stared back. Then, with a flick of my wrist, I sent the bomb toward him like a bullet. He ripped his shield up to cover his face and head. The bomb exploded; shrapnel rained down across the ramp to the pier as Calvin and Tori backpedaled and his friends jammed themselves against the fence. But Eddie was fine. He hadn¡¯t even taken a hit. As I shifted the Trip-Hammer into a two-handed grip, the familiar glow of magic¡ªwhite this time¡ªshimmered over him. I swung, firing the Trip-Hammer. It hit the shield like a mallet hitting a gong. The ringing was almost deafening. My ears both popped from the pressure wave as I tried to bring the hammer back around for another swing. Eddie didn¡¯t give me a chance. He ducked in and punched three times with the razor-sharp end of his shield. Bam, bam, bam. Three light cuts to the arm. I swung again, but he blocked it. The hammer went flying to the right. The gong sound rippled across the pier as he backed up. I caught the backswing and clobbered him across the shoulder with the motor, triggering the twin hammers as I did. But he was fast. He got the shield in between his face and my hammers. Both tips gouged into the metal, and I twisted the hammer, trying to rip the shield from his grip like I had so many sticks back in Cozad. ¡°Look out!¡± Tori yelled. The shield popped free, slicing toward my face as I jerked my whole body back. It missed me by inches; he¡¯d been aiming for the eyes. He backed up, casting a second spell as I sucked in a breath and readied myself. So far, I hadn¡¯t used the gauntlet; it had enough juice for one Charge surge, and I wanted to keep it in reserve if I could. I readied the Trip-Hammer and swung it overhead, like I was trying to split wood. Eddie didn¡¯t bother dodging. The hammer¡¯s impact on the spell was strong enough that I felt it all the way into my shoulders. Muscles tore from the strain, and I clenched my teeth. Only my Body score kept the pain from being overwhelming. But his magical shield held. He punched out again, two more slices to my forearm. One caught the gauntlet¡¯s plating, but the other cut across the back of my hand. I backed off. Attacking wasn¡¯t working¡ªnot right now. ¡°I told you I could weather it, shit-for-brains, but I don¡¯t think you can outlast me.¡± Eddie¡¯s breaths came fast but controlled. He was working hard to maintain his spell, and I didn¡¯t have that problem, but the only real hit I¡¯d gotten was a tap to his shoulder with the engine. He was right. This wasn¡¯t sustainable. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The fourth biker pushed his way through the fog gate. He eyed the spectators, then us. ¡°You stay out of this,¡± Eddie growled. ¡°Get your bow, but don¡¯t do shit. I¡¯m almost done here.¡± My lungs burned as he advanced behind his bladed shield. I couldn¡¯t outlast him. I couldn¡¯t overwhelm him¡ªhis defenses were too solid. He was faster than me, too. But so far, his plan had been pretty consistent. In four days, he probably hadn¡¯t learned too many different techniques. We were all new at this. I could exploit that. I hefted the Trip-Hammer again, crashing it down onto his barrier. He held the shield up, and it bounced off the right side. I was ready for the punching counter, and I backpedaled and spun to the left. He grinned. ¡°You¡¯re slowing down.¡± The fresh cut across my back¡ªright through the armor¡ªwas proof. I nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. I can¡¯t keep going. Call this a draw?¡± ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re not walking away from this. I¡¯ll let your friends decide whether to die or come with us, though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s kind of what I thought.¡± I lifted the Trip-Hammer and fired its hammers as I swung¡ªright into the right side of his shield. But this time, as the hammer crashed down, I pushed the whole weapon forward and let go. Both hammers sliced through the air, hooked onto the shield, and yanked it up into the steel pipe haft. The weapon hit the ground at a terrible angle and crunched. Eddie¡¯s whole body lifted, and I slammed my gauntlet into his chest. Stored Charge 2/15 A full load of Charge ripped into Eddie¡¯s chest. The shock threw him¡ªand my hammer¡ªback. He slammed into the ramp. I grabbed the Trip-Hammer and swung it into his chest. Something crunched. His head bounced, and I heard his jaw clack from the impact. Then he didn¡¯t move. No one did. I stepped over him, picked up my hammer, and pointed it at the three remaining bikers. ¡°We¡¯re done here. Check and see if he¡¯s alive. Come on. We¡¯re leaving.¡± Then I turned and walked away as one of the bikers dropped to his knees next to their fallen leader.
We headed west, just like I¡¯d told Eddie¡¯s group we were planning. Then, as soon as I couldn¡¯t hear them following, we doubled back, heading south instead. Calvin took the lead. ¡°Jesus Christ, that was tense. We¡¯ll get those bandaged up, but keep moving. We need to put a few blocks between us and them, then take a breather.¡± I focused on walking. Part of me said that I didn¡¯t care if Eddie lived or died. But most of me did care. Eddie was a killer. He¡¯d been enjoying the fight. The taunting, the laughing. All of that. He¡¯d sounded like the kind of person who¡¯d fought like that before¡ªmaybe with knives. I shivered; I¡¯d gotten lucky, and I knew it. But if he lived, I¡¯d be okay with that. And if he died, I wouldn¡¯t want to know. A door hung open nearby, leading into the atrium of an art museum in the canyon-like downtown area. Calvin pointed to it, and we ducked inside. The door was¡ªshockingly¡ªopen. By the time my butt hit the bench, Calvin had a few cans of green beans out. ¡°Eat up. We¡¯re stopped for ten minutes, then we¡¯ve got to keep moving.¡± His eyes strayed across my arms, and the half-dozen cuts there. He swallowed. Then he waved Tori over. ¡°I¡¯m gonna teach you how to field-dress a minor wound.¡± And he did. He coached the girl through every step, making her re-do the bandages when they weren¡¯t up to snuff and ignoring my winces and hisses as she cleaned the cuts out over and over. ¡°Who were those guys? Did they really take over the museum?¡± Tori asked. I gritted my teeth as she pulled a bandage tight. ¡°I don¡¯t think he was lying. They¡¯ve got something going on there.¡± ¡°I saw a flash from near the Planetarium just before that guy went for his bow.¡± Tori stopped working until Calvin touched her shoulder and pointed at my own. She nodded and got to work, but kept talking. ¡°I bet they were sending orders to fight us.¡± The last bandage tightened around my shoulder, and I pulled my armor on over it. Calvin handed Tori a bottle of water, and she rinsed her hands, then grabbed a handful of beans. I stared at her; she looked a lot thinner than Beth now after three days in the dungeon, but the resemblance was still there. After a couple of minutes, Calvin waved his hand toward the cans. I handed mine over, and he gestured at the lid. ¡°That too. Hurry up.¡± When I handed him the lid, he ran a finger along the edge, shoved it back onto the can, and repeated the gesture. Then he tossed the whole thing into his backpack. I stared. ¡°Did you¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, survival magic. The apocalypse won¡¯t be all fighting all the time. Humanity will need people like me,¡± Calvin said. He nodded slowly, closing his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since it needed people like me. I watched him for a moment. He seemed almost smug about it, and I hoped he was right¡ªbut I had a bad feeling he wouldn¡¯t be. Then, with sheer force of will, he pulled himself out of his daydream. ¡°What¡¯s the plan? We still aiming for the museum?¡± ¡°Hell yes,¡± Tori hissed. ¡°My step-mom¡¯s still there, and if that guy¡¯s one of the people in charge, I can¡¯t let her stay.¡± I nodded, wincing as one of the bandages caught the edge of a cut. What I really needed was a monster to kill. I had to be close to a level, and a point in Body would be more than enough to fix this. ¡°I¡¯m good with that, but Tori, we¡¯re going to be in danger there. Even if Eddie¡¯s¡­not a threat anymore, his people saw our faces. Our best bet is to get in, find Jessica, and get out. Got it?¡± Calvin shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Hal. You didn¡¯t kill him, and I¡¯ve seen gangers like this before. They¡¯re going to put feelers out as soon as Eddie wakes up and gets back to base. They can¡¯t let people like you go unpunished, but if there¡¯s one thing they won¡¯t expect, it¡¯s you going toward them.¡± ¡°So you think¡­¡± I trailed off. ¡°We get Tori back to her parental unit. Then we dig in somewhere in this Museumtown. You wait for the dungeons to open. And we see what¡¯s really going on.¡±
Consciousness hit Eddie like an eighteen-wheeler. He jerked up, sitting straight up. His chest burned as he moved, and he gasped for breath, trying to remember what had hit him. Right. That guy. The Voltsmith. One of his boys started saying something, but he held up a hand. ¡°I need to think.¡± His head throbbed. It all came back to him as he groaned. The fight. The hammer blows on his shield. His punches and strikes, each leaving a bloody wound on the Voltsmith. He couldn¡¯t remember the man¡¯s name, or those of his companions, but his class was burned into his memory with lightning. In just one second¡ªone slip-up¡ªthe Voltsmith had pulled him off-balance, ducked his shield, and ended the fight. But Eddie had endured. He¡¯d survived. He always survived. ¡°Water. Now.¡± The water bottle slammed into his hand, and he emptied it in a long, endless pull. Then he belched and forced himself to his feet. ¡°What¡¯s the plan, Eddie?¡± Tommy asked. He was the perfect second¡ªalways ready to fight, and more importantly, always ready to listen. When they¡¯d made their push for dominance in Green Bay last year, Tommy had been there with him. He¡¯d put up with a lot of shit, and he was loyal. Eddie coughed. His breath tasted like electricity, smoke, and blood. ¡°We¡¯re going to finish our job, then we¡¯re going back to the captain. I¡¯m telling him we¡¯re hunting this Voltsmith down, and I¡¯m returning the fucking beating¡ªand more.¡± The others looked at him with raised eyebrows, but Tommy walked behind him as he turned toward Downtown Chicago. After a minute, he heard them fall in, too. He could feel the blood on his teeth, could taste the copper. Eddie spat red spit into the street. He had endured this. He¡¯d endured worse. And now that he¡¯d endured the blows, he couldn¡¯t wait to hit back. 22: The Nature of My Game It took us an hour to fight through the streets, killing a few stray monsters and trying to stay away from Eddie¡¯s group. I hit Level 28, while Calvin made it to 10. Tori did not level up¡ªa fact she was downright pissed off about. Both my points went into Charge; I needed a bigger pool to make this class work and a dozen fresh ideas I wanted to try. The whole time we walked, we planned how to sneak into the town. Calvin wouldn¡¯t stop talking, planning, and doing his drill sergeant thing. ¡°It¡¯ll have guards. We¡¯ll want to avoid them.¡± ¡°Do you know any back ways into the museum? Maybe we can sneak through.¡± ¡°What about swimming across the harbor?¡± We had backup plans, contingencies, and emergency options. We were incredibly ready. And in the end, none of it was necessary. We just walked in. No one stopped us. No one cared who we were. The guards¡ªmore bikers around Level 20¡ªtold us to register with a ¡®Charlie¡¯ at the Field Museum steps, but they didn¡¯t walk us over there, and we disappeared into Museumtown.
Museumtown¡­wasn¡¯t a town. It was barely a tent city¡ªalthough a few people were working on skipping the camping phase and moving straight to sheet-metal and plywood shelters. I didn¡¯t know where they¡¯d gotten any of the supplies. For all I knew, they were something the Consortium had left here as loot. The whole mess looked like a cross between a tent city, one of those third-world megacities¡¯ outskirts, and a favela from Rio de Janeiro¡ªall tucked between the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium. The Greek-looking museums and public art installations scattered around what had once been a park clashed with the tents and slum shelters, and I couldn¡¯t quite wrap my head around the contrast. We stood near a fountain covered in tile sea creatures and waves. A bronze man hugging a gigantic fish sat in the middle and, somehow, continued to spew a stream of fresh water. Calvin sat on the fountain¡¯s rim, staring at Tori as she paced back and forth. She¡¯d crossed her arms, and her fingers wouldn¡¯t stop tapping her sides. ¡°How are we supposed to find her in that?¡± she asked, staring at the mess around us. I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but we don¡¯t want to be too obvious. I¡¯ve got a feeling that all the biker dudes are trouble. Let¡¯s keep our heads down.¡± ¡°So, no asking around, then?¡± Calvin asked. I shrugged, and he laughed. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s doable. Tell me about your step-mom.¡± ¡°What about her?¡± ¡°Whatever you want. Everything helps.¡± She stopped pacing, so that was good. Watching her was getting exhausting. Instead, she closed her eyes. ¡°Her name¡¯s Jessica Silvers. She¡¯s a paleo-anthropologist, and she works at the Field Museum, studying ancient cultures and stuff. You know that already, ha. Uh, she¡¯s very interested in education, and she volunteers for, like, every emergency in northeast Illinois and southern Wisconsin. She likes to drag me along when she does.¡± ¡°Seems like a nice lady,¡± I said. She sounded like she¡¯d fit right in back home; we looked out for our neighbors and helped them out when they couldn¡¯t solve their own problems. ¡°She can be, yeah,¡± Tori said. I caught the hint of something there. ¡°She can also be¡­kind of a bitch.¡± Calvin snorted. ¡°No, really. She¡¯s trying to be the ¡®serious¡¯ parent because Dad¡¯s in a pissing match with Mom about being the ¡®cool¡¯ one. I see through them, though. At least Jessica¡¯s being honest about who she¡¯s trying to be. And¡­like, I like her. I just don¡¯t know if I love her. Sometimes, she¡¯s way too up in my business.¡± ¡°Focus, Tori.¡± She was starting to snowball into something that wouldn¡¯t help us, and right now, tracking her down was the most important thing. ¡°Right. What she looks like?¡± I nodded, and she took a deep breath. ¡°Gray-brown hair, five-foot-five or so, forty-five, kinda overweight? If she¡¯s not all armored up, she¡¯ll be in a cardigan and slacks. That¡¯s what she wears to work every day, even if it¡¯s hot out. And knowing her, she¡¯ll be somewhere she can watch the Field Museum. She¡¯ll try to go in as soon as she can, too.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Calvin said. He started walking fast, his backpack bouncing. I looked at Tori, who shrugged and followed as Calvin took off along one of the many concrete paths. He made a beeline for the Field Museum, passing by a dozen people on the way¡ªincluding some who looked like they were even more down on their luck than he¡¯d been. He offered a couple of cans of beans to those folks. It struck me again that before the end of the world and the Tutorials, Calvin had been homeless, the poorest of the poor, and that he now had the kind of wealth people begged for. It also struck me that he hadn¡¯t even thought twice about giving that food away. He¡¯d asked for a trade with me in the Tutorial. When I asked him about it, he nodded seriously. ¡°Yeah, but you had something I needed, and you could take care of yourself. If you¡¯d showed up at Level One with only a single kill, covered in rags, I¡¯d have shared, no questions asked. These people don¡¯t have anything of value anymore, and they don¡¯t know the basics of surviving.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°You think so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why they¡¯re here,¡± Calvin said sadly. ¡°You can see it in their eyes. They¡¯re lost. I¡¯ve seen it a lot in the last twenty years. Usually, someone who¡¯s new to the streets starts out lost. Then they get angry. Then they either accept it, or they go dead-eyed. After that, there¡¯s no coming back.¡± He went quiet, and I didn¡¯t press him.
I¡¯d never been to the Field Museum. Tori had, though¡ªa dozen times. She¡¯d gotten behind-the-scenes tours, free tickets for her and her friends¡ªanything she could possibly want. According to her, Jessica had offered to host a private birthday party for her in the Egyptian wing. She¡¯d wanted Six Flags, but compromised on the aquarium. The crude-looking fortress sitting on the steps reminded me of Fort Kiosk if we¡¯d had concrete, lumber, and sheet metal. I thought it was ugly. Tori scowled at it like it was a personal insult. The stockade around the stairs was a good fifteen feet high. I couldn¡¯t see any guards on it, but they were probably either patrolling the town or clearing nearby dungeons like Eddie¡¯s bikers. The tower loomed over that; it ran up the entire front of the Field Museum, covering the multi-colored banners and Greek-style pillars. The first floor had a concrete first floor¡ªstill wet¡ªbut after that, it was sheathed in sheet metal. Whoever had built it had built it fast. I checked the timers. Time until Tier Two Dungeons Activate: Twenty-Two Hours, Three Minutes Yeah. They¡¯d secured the spot, found the supplies, and built the hideous-looking castle in a day. It might be ugly, but it was impressive. Whoever was running this show had serious organizational skills. I glanced over my shoulder toward the Shedd Aquarium; it didn¡¯t feature a wall or tower¡­yet. Calvin ignored it all. His head was on a swivel as he led us through the tent camp, then toward a row of slightly nicer-looking shacks leaning against the Field Museum¡¯s marble facade. ¡°She¡¯ll be here,¡± he muttered. ¡°How do you know?¡± Tori asked. ¡°Pretty sure she picked Healer. I¡¯ve been watching. Neither of you got healing class choices. Brian¡¯s team had one, but he died. I haven¡¯t seen anyone else with the Healer class yet. That makes her important,¡± Calvin said. ¡°She cares enough about whatever¡¯s inside that museum to wait outside of it, and whoever has the organizational chops to put this together knows how valuable a healer is. I bet he¡¯s one of them video gamers.¡± ¡°Har har,¡± Tori snarked. ¡°DPS is better.¡± ¡°Sure, sure. But your parental person won¡¯t see it that way. She¡¯s a whatever-anthropologist. She knows how to make things work. And you said she was an emergency volunteer. She picked healer, and she¡¯s around here somewhere.¡± We searched every building, all the way along the museum¡¯s side and up to the service entrances. Tori got more and more nervous the further we went from Museumtown¡¯s center, but we didn¡¯t see anyone who matched the description. Then, just before we turned around, a woman screamed. I turned, pulling the Trip-Hammer out of my inventory. The woman screamed again, and this time, I could hear her clearly. ¡°Tori!? Tori, is that really you?¡± Tori spun, slipped on the grass under her feet, and took off running. She slammed into Jessica like a cannonball, knocking the woman back a full two steps. Then they were hugging and crying as Tori said, ¡°I love you, Mom,¡± over and over. I put the Trip-Hammer away and waited for the reunion to end.
Brian watched Zane light the fire with his magic, and they settled down on Millennium Park¡¯s covered amphitheater. He¡¯d picked a spot right on the stage since it felt less exposed. Across the way, The Bean kept moving and grinding at the concrete pad it was supposed to be on. ¡°Of course the Consortium would make that thing a boss,¡± he muttered. Zane nodded. ¡°Absolutely an atrocity. Almost as bad as that thing existing to begin with.¡± None of them had wanted to go toe-to-toe with the Level Thirty-Five Field Boss, but camping near its stomping grounds, while risky, did have one major benefit. There were absolutely no other monsters in Millennium Park. Carol lay on the cement. She was already asleep; most of the fights they¡¯d been in had been on her back, since she was the team¡¯s best front-liner. Brian let her rest and worked on heating the various cans of beans they¡¯d gotten from Calvin. She needed the sleep more than he did. His eyes couldn¡¯t stop drifting westward, though, toward the towering black skyscraper he¡¯d worked in most of his adult life, and toward the huge, seemingly invincible boss. ¡°Brian, what are we doing?¡± Zane asked. ¡°What we have to. Advancing and getting stronger, like that message said. We¡¯re well on our way¡ªand you two will be caught up to me in no time. Maybe even past me.¡± ¡°Because you keep letting us take the experience.¡± Zane closed his eyes and blew air between his lips. Then he stared at the dark sky overhead. ¡°You¡¯ve got to take care of yourself, too.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Brian went quiet. The silence stretched on for a while, and the first can of beans started to smell like sugar and bacon. He pointed to it. ¡°Wake up your sister. You both eat first.¡± ¡°You sure about that?¡± someone said from the dark nearby. The biggest guy Brian had seen since his Tutorial started stepped into the fire ring as Zane hit his sister in the shoulder. She woke up, reaching for her weapon. Three more men, similarly bearded and wearing leather jackets, followed him. Brian held up a hand. He needed the twins calm ¡°Hello there. Where¡¯d you four come from? You need something to eat? We don¡¯t have much, but we can share.¡± He looked at the big man¡¯s nameplate. Eddie Petrovich: Level 28 Class: Shield-Bearer ¡°Looking for a man. He¡¯s about five, ten years older than the boy here,¡± Eddie said. ¡°You tell me where he is, we give you directions to our base. You three could find work there. The Captain would love to have you.¡± Brian handed the can of beans over, and Eddie started eating. The brown sauce dribbled down his beard, but he ignored it. Zane tapped Carol on the shoulder to wake her up. ¡°What¡¯s special about this man?¡± Brian asked. ¡°Ambushed us, knocked me out, and robbed us blind,¡± one of the others said. ¡°Tommy¡¯s got it,¡± Eddie said. ¡°Uses some kind of self-swinging hammer.¡± ¡°Sounds like¡ª¡° Zane started, but Carol hit him in the side. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve got your work cut out for you finding him. Good luck. We don¡¯t know anything about anyone else. You¡¯re the first people we¡¯ve seen.¡± Brian held his breath as Eddie finished eating. ¡°You four moving on tonight?¡± he asked. ¡°Think we¡¯ll stay here. Food¡¯s good. Where¡¯d you come from?¡± ¡°Lincoln Park,¡± Carol said. Eddie went quiet and stared at the girl. ¡°That so? You clear the dungeon?¡± Brian stood, hand on his saber hilt. His eyes narrowed, and he gulped. He couldn¡¯t fight Eddie¡ªnot if he wanted to win¡ªand he definitely couldn¡¯t fight all four of them. But the big biker¡¯s eyes were narrowed. He knew something. Brian could feel the tension mounting. In a second, it¡¯d explode. The big man¡¯s knuckles cracked, and suddenly, a shield appeared on his arm. ¡°Why don¡¯t you three come have a chat with The Captain? Either you come with us willingly, or we¡¯ll force the issue.¡± Behind him, the others unlimbered their weapons. ¡°No,¡± Brian said. He drew his sword. He¡¯d been wrong before. This was his Battle of the Bulge. Eddie roared and charged, shield up, and Brian parried the bladed edge. ¡°Kids, get out of here!¡± Instead, Zane started casting a spell, and the night exploded into flames. Eddie crashed through them and hit Brian like a freight train. 23: Pleased to Meet You After a minute, Tori pulled away, and I got a good look at Jessica. Right away, I could see a glaring problem. Jessica Silvers: Level 8 Class: Healer On some level, I understood why so many people from the Casual Tutorials were underleveled. Other than the guards and a few clusters of people in the Level 17 to 19 range, almost nobody with the common and uncommon classes was over Level 15. Conversely, most of the folks with weird-sounding classes were in the low to mid-20s, and there were a couple over 30 who must¡¯ve been dungeon-clearing since they got out of the tutorials. Jessica¡¯s Level 8 was well below the curve, though. ¡°Ma¡¯am,¡± I said, leaning on the Midwest accent again, ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re okay. We could use your help. Do you have a place nearby where we can talk?¡± Tori¡¯s stepmom took one look at me, and she nodded, face serious. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve got a shack on the other side of the Field Museum. We can go there. Thank you.¡± ¡°Lead the way,¡± Calvin said. Jessica¡¯s place turned out to be a semi-truck trailer that they¡¯d lifted up onto a wooden two-by-four frame. She climbed up the ladder, followed by Tori and me. I motioned for Calvin to follow, but he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll hole up somewhere and keep an eye out. No one gave me a second look before. I¡¯m the perfect lookout.¡± ¡°If you say so,¡± I said. ¡°If there¡¯s any trouble, let me know.¡± ¡°You got it, Hal. Reinforcements are just a few seconds away.¡± I turned and got my first real look at Jessica. Just like Tori had said, she was wearing a red cardigan, though she¡¯d traded the promised slacks for a wool skirt. She also had a single magical item: a ring. Something Calvin said hit me, and I looked at her eyes. They were gray-blue, with huge bags under them, and they darted from Tori to me like a trapped mouse looking at a hawk and a snake. I had no idea why, but she looked incredibly uncomfortable. Lost. The trailer¡¯s interior wasn¡¯t much at all. Someone had installed a crude-looking wooden wall to cut the space in half, and a single sleeping bag sat in the back¡ªwith no pad between it and the steel box. I winced looking at it, then thought about the tents sprawled out below. That¡¯d be more comfortable, but this was definitely the safest structure outside of the fort. Other than that, a small fire burning in the corner was the only sign someone actually lived here. ¡°Thank you,¡± Jessica said again. She fidgeted again. ¡°I thought¡­I mean, I didn¡¯t know, but I thought she was¡­¡± ¡°Dead?¡± Tori asked. Her facade had cracked, and she was falling back on the defiant emo girl routine. ¡°Not quite. Hal saved my ass.¡± Jessica flinched, then stared down her nose at Tori. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, Tori. Mr. Riley, I don¡¯t know why you went after her, but thank you. If there¡¯s anything I can do to help you¡­¡± ¡°How about you give me the lay of the land?¡±
Jessica had a bag of peanuts¡ªthe shelled kind. She passed them around. I took enough to be polite, then passed it to Tori, who piled half the bag in front of her. ¡°Right now, most folks are in the ¡®shock¡¯ part of a disaster,¡± Jessica said. She hadn¡¯t taken a single peanut. ¡°Normally, the Red Cross would have swooped in, thrown up shelters, or taken over Soldier Field to use as a refugee camp, and we¡¯d be through this and on to the clean-up phase. Some people might be starting to rebuild. But there¡¯s no functional government and nowhere to volunteer even if there was one.¡± I nodded. ¡°People are coming together here, though.¡± ¡°Yes, they are,¡± Jessica agreed, ¡°but we¡¯re not looking at a disaster relief effort. This is more akin to what happened to Haiti after that earthquake, or any number of so-called failed states where the government isn¡¯t able to meet people¡¯s basic needs. It¡¯s pretty common, really. Tori, have you kept up with your studying?¡± ¡°Jessica-Mom, I¡¯ve been fighting for my life since we got separated. That textbook¡¯s somewhere in the Redline Tunnels dungeon, and I¡¯m not going back for it,¡± Tori said. She rolled her eyes. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you leveling?¡± ¡°A shame. You could tell us about strongman theory and why it does and doesn¡¯t work.¡± Jessica re-centered on me, piercing me with her gaze. I could see why Tori thought she was intense; even in the apocalypse, she was still on her step-daughter about learning. ¡°You want to know the lay of the land here in¡­Museumtown? Listen carefully. ¡°Most everyone¡¯s confused, cut off from their homes and families, and they don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. There are a few others like you two who think they¡¯re tough, but they¡¯re keeping out of here except to trade and sleep. They¡¯re working through all the nearby dungeons. Then there¡¯s The Captain and his thugs.¡± ¡°Biker gangs?¡± I asked. ¡°We ran into some of them outside of Union Pier.¡± I told her what had happened. ¡°You got lucky,¡± she said, ¡°but you should keep your heads down for a couple of days until that blows over. Yeah, they¡¯re former biker gangs, small-time gangsters, and some others. Right now, they¡¯re keeping to themselves¡ªfor the most part. The Captain¡¯s running the show, though, and he¡¯s got plans.¡± ¡°Do you know what his plans are?¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯ve got a guess. Historically, a strongman comes into power by looking like the best option, consolidating and securing power as people give him more and more, and removing any possible resistance. Right now, Museumtown looks like the best bet for people. While people keep coming here, he¡¯s got most of his people clearing dungeons to get more powerful. Then, when it¡¯s time, he¡¯ll clamp down on anyone he thinks is powerful enough to oppose him.¡± ¡°Is that what the walls around the Field Museum are about?¡± Tori asked. ¡°He¡¯s experience-hogging? What a jackass.¡± ¡°Tori! Yes. Whoever The Captain is, he¡¯s recognized that the¡ª Someone slammed their hand against the bottom of the trailer, and Jessica¡¯s voice cut off. ¡°Silvers, get your ass down here! Another patrol¡¯s in, and they got the shit beat out of them,¡± someone said. Jessica¡¯s face paled. She held up a hand, lowering it and putting a finger to her lips. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in half an hour.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The door creaked, and I heard her climb down the ladder. Then, suddenly, it was quiet. A moment later, Calvin poked his head in. ¡°Sorry. They got between me and the trailer. Figured it¡¯d be better to play it cool than start something.¡± ¡°What the fuck?¡± Tori said. She looked at the door, fists balled. ¡°She just goes whenever they call for her? And they¡¯re not leveling her up in the easy dungeons, either? That¡¯s BS.¡± I nodded as Calvin closed the door. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much we can do right now, though.¡± Calvin looked around and stole a peanut from Tori¡¯s pile. It was about half-gone already. He winked at her. ¡°On short acquaintance, your stepmom sounds like a pretty competent person. She¡¯s playing her cards close to her chest, but she¡¯s also gotten a bad draw, and she knows it. If you want to help her, the best thing to do is play her game for now¡ªat least until you know more.¡± She gave him the look, and he shot it right back. ¡°Or you could go out there, rush off to ¡®save¡¯ her from whatever she¡¯s doing, and find yourself in over your head. That¡¯d be bad for her, for us, and for everyone.¡± ¡°She¡¯s Level 8. That¡¯s so low!¡± ¡°Yep. She¡¯s not a fighter. I¡¯m surprised she got that high, frankly,¡± Calvin said. I stepped in. ¡°Tori, she¡¯s almost certainly with Eddie¡¯s group. If you run out there and try to step in, the whole town will be looking for us. If we keep calm and quiet, we¡¯ll be invisible. Right, Calvin?¡± ¡°Should be. Folks like Eddie never look in their own backyards. I¡¯m more worried about whoever¡¯s running this place, though. It takes brains to get this organized, this quickly. ¡°I¡¯m going to take advantage of the last half-hour where we¡¯re not wanted to go for a walk. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± I stood up and slipped out of the door.
I had a few goals in mind as I worked my way around the Field Museum¡¯s back, where the truck bays were. First, I needed more information. Jessica was focused on people¡ªthat made sense since she was an anthropologist, but people were only half of the machine here. I had the beginnings of a plan, but I needed to know everything I could about the dungeons. Specifically, I wanted to get eyes on either Soldier Field or the Adler Planetarium. Both were ideal for what I was thinking: relatively close to Museumtown, without the same fortification the Field Museum had. But the planetarium was more likely to have what I needed inside. I had a ¡®shopping list¡¯ of magical items, but based on what I¡¯d seen so far, I could only find some of the components in rare equipment. I¡¯d also noticed that the Twilight Menagerie had given a lot of themed items, and a space theme seemed like it¡¯d fit my class better than fish or Egyptians or whatever. Second, I wanted to scout the town¡¯s guards. I¡¯d only actually seen a couple¡ªboth near the front entrance through the crude fence surrounding the tent city. There was no way The Captain had more than a few dozen people, and if he had three or four teams like Eddie¡¯s, that meant a skeleton crew here. I¡¯d need to take advantage of that if I could. Third, I needed time to think and clear my head. Jessica reminded me more and more of my mom. She didn¡¯t understand Tori at all, and without that understanding, they weren¡¯t ever going to settle their differences. But Tori was completely backward about something, too. She didn¡¯t particularly like Jessica, but she did love her. She just couldn¡¯t admit it. I took a deep breath as the image of my sister shouting at Mom and Dad filled my head. It was one of the last times I¡¯d seen her¡ªjust before she¡¯d vanished into thin air. I hadn¡¯t been involved in that one, thank God, but the fight after it was worse, and I¡¯d been part of that. Whether that was how Tori and Jessica ended up or not, it wasn¡¯t my problem. I¡¯d rather it not happen to them, but I had bigger problems. I pushed the thought away. The Adler Planetarium loomed as I crossed the causeway to Northerly Island. It looked nothing like the Greek pillars and white marble facades behind me. Instead, its copper dome shone in the setting sun, and the half-circle of blacked-out windows facing Lake Michigan looked suspiciously solar panel-like. The central building looked like it couldn¡¯t be much bigger than the planetarium itself, while the black windows that angled out from it could maybe hold a semi-circular lobby with exhibits. Based on what I¡¯d seen in the Twilight Menagerie, though, the inside could be wildly different than what I expected. I shivered, thinking about Sue, the complete T-Rex skeleton in the Field Museum¡¯s lobby. I didn¡¯t envy the gangers and The Captain when they tried to clear that dungeon. As I walked up to the front door, a message appeared. Tier Two Dungeon: The Void This Dungeon will unlock in Twenty-One Hours Objective: Locked I nodded and turned around. All I¡¯d wanted to do was confirm it, but now that I knew, I could gather Tori and Calvin, find a nearby Tier One dungeon to push through, and be ready to enter The Void when it opened tomorrow.
I slipped back into Museumtown and pulled myself up the ladder into Jessica¡¯s trailer. She wasn¡¯t around, but Tori was¡ªand she looked pissed. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked. ¡°Jessica¡¯s being¡­Jessica,¡± Tori said. ¡°God dammit!¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t want you getting hurt, so she told you no more fighting, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. She doesn¡¯t get it!¡± I sighed and sat down on a piece of rubble as Tori complained. The damaged Trip-Hammer came out of my inventory, followed by all my remaining parts and the Tuning Rod. Luckily, the Trip-Hammer still had Charge; I¡¯d been worried that it¡¯d lose it all. The handle was a loss, though¡ªI could tell that right away. I didn¡¯t have any pipes like that, either, so simply replacing it wouldn¡¯t be an option. On the other hand, I knew where the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp was heading. I didn¡¯t have the parts for it yet, but soon, I¡¯d be ready to upgrade it. And when I did, I had some ideas. I could start setting up for success, and the Trip-Hammer could be the beginning of that process. I grabbed the bottom of the handle, stripped it of all the wires and parts, and pulled the warm bronze battery orb free. It pulsed orange light as I held it in my gauntlet. The principle was pretty simple; the Trip-Hammer had been useful because of its length and the impact those two motor-powered hammers had. I could still use the hammer, but right now, it was short and the motor was broken. The length issue wasn¡¯t fixable. The motor, though¡­ I¡¯d need to take a look at it and see. So, project number one was the hammer. It¡¯d take a while, and I didn¡¯t know for sure that it¡¯d work. Even if it did, the short hammer wouldn¡¯t pack the same punch as the long one. I set it aside for now Project number two was a ranged weapon. The Voltsmith class had as much flexibility as I could imagine¡ªas long as I had the parts. That was a real limitation, but it wasn¡¯t hopeless. If there was one thing I had a lot of, it was wire. Wire and nuts. And a power source. I pulled the Tuning Rod apart. It didn¡¯t have a battery, but that was okay. I needed the cylinder it came in¡ªalong with the spent Imbuing Rod¡¯s tube. Once I had both, I pulled the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp off and started tinkering, lining up the tubes, cutting them into pieces, and filling in the gaps with rubber-coated wiring. I needed three flexible tubes, one on the back of my middle, pointer, and ring fingers. The idea had been in my head since my fight with Eddie. The Charge burst I¡¯d nailed him with had turned the fight in my favor, but I¡¯d needed to take some serious risks to make it happen. I needed that power, and I needed it on demand. My original concept was to use the taser launcher I was building to disable monsters¡ªor someone like Eddie¡ªfrom far away, then close with the hammer to finish the fight. With the hammer possibly out of commission, I¡¯d need a different closer, but the Taser launchers were still worth building. Once the tubes were built, I jammed them full of stripped copper wires, then built a pair of magical circuits into them. The taser cannons glowed yellow-orange as I fiddled with the triggers, but when I¡¯d finished, I had what I hoped were spring-loaded, Charge-delivering wire launchers, weighted with a half-dozen nuts and washers each. I put the gauntlet on and flexed my hand; the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp was definitely more bulky, and I had no idea the Charge cost of a taser like this; the melee version had cost five, but this was significantly more complicated. I needed to upgrade the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp sooner rather than later. With the taser launchers readied, I turned my attention to the Trip-Hammer¡¯s motor. It was beat up from the fight with Eddie; the ratchet wheels were bent, and the bolts connecting it to the pipe twisted, but as I stripped the aluminum casing off and got a good look inside, the motor itself was fine. I needed to take my time, and it wouldn¡¯t have the same power as before, but with some work, it could still fill the heavy hitter role. Hopefully, it¡¯d take less Charge to run, too. I needed some extra for another idea¡ªif I could get them done in time. 24: A Man of Wealth and Taste It was good to be king. It was also a metric shit-ton of work, more than he¡¯d ever had back at the precinct. On the other hand, he deserved this. In the sixty seconds between the end of the announcement and the tutorial starting, he¡¯d gotten himself, his partner, the leader of the Raging Bulls, and two other cops he trusted to pick Hardcore. Then, he¡¯d abandoned his partner and, with the others, clawed his way through the tutorial in just two days. He¡¯d spent the rest of the time putting the groundwork in place for Museumtown. His new class was perfect for the job, too. People saw only what he wanted them to see. They¡¯d only ever seen what he wanted them to see. It was all about presenting the most appealing vision, following through enough to be trusted, and reaping the rewards¡ªand he was good at reaping the rewards. The Captain: Level Thirty-Seven Class: Administrator He hadn¡¯t always been The Captain¡ªeven if he¡¯d gotten the rank a few years ago, along with the precinct office he¡¯d been striving for his whole career. Before he was The Captain, he¡¯d been Officer West. He¡¯d worked hard, and if nothing had changed, Captain was the farthest he could expect his career to go. But a pile of money had a way of changing one¡¯s priorities. He had a deal worked out with the Raging Bulls, and if the end of the world hadn¡¯t happened, the evidence needed to bring their boss to trial was going to go missing. Instead, they¡¯d been thrown into the Hardcore Tutorial together, and the whole time, Saul had been politicking the other crooked cops and the gangster, trying to broker an alliance and get them to agree to his plan for the future. Now, sitting on his ¡®throne¡¯ at the top of the Field Museum¡¯s steps, Saul relaxed. It was good to be the king, and he deserved this. How could he not? He¡¯d fixed the odds in his favor¡ªjust like he always did. The door at the bottom of the stairs opened, and a single man entered. He cracked his neck, nodding in Saul¡¯s general direction, and climbed the stairs. He looked terrible, even after the town¡¯s only healer patched him up. Saul ignored the injuries for now. ¡°How¡¯d the push north go? Is Millenium Park clear?¡± ¡°Almost. The Bean¡¯s a problem. We¡¯re gonna need a second team to handle that one, but at least it¡¯s another Field Boss, not a dungeon. We managed to get away,¡± the big biker said. He glanced behind the throne to the sealed and barred fog gate. ¡°If we can¡¯t clear The Bean out, I doubt we can handle Sue.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll handle Sue when the time comes,¡± Saul said. ¡°What hit you?¡± ¡°So, it was like this. Me and my boys stepped out of the Union Pier dungeon. We were worn out already, and these guys jumped us. One cold-clocked me with his hammer, then zapped me unconscious before I could recover. The boys ran back into the dungeon, but one of them caught a couple of class names. We¡¯re gonna stop farming and hunt them down.¡± ¡°Who were they, Eddie?¡± Saul¡¯s voice went cold, and his eyes narrowed. ¡°Voltsmith, Quartermaster, and Telekineticist,¡± Eddie rattled off. ¡°Rare-sounding classes. They¡¯re Hardcore survivors,¡± Saul said. He shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re not going to hunt them down.¡± ¡°Like hell I ain¡¯t,¡± Eddie growled. He pulled off his vest, revealing a wicked-looking, tree-shaped burn. ¡°I got business with the Voltsmith.¡± ¡°So do I, Eddie.¡± Saul stood up. One of his squads cleared a dungeon, and his level ticked up. ¡°We¡¯ll both get our chance soon, but for now¡­Stick to the god-damn plan!¡± He screamed the last part, and Eddie recoiled. As the idiot leader of the Raging Bulls fled down the stairs, a crude door screeched open beside Saul, and a man in a tattered cop uniform stepped in. Saul turned to face him. ¡°Take care of this.¡± At the sentence, a burst of magic surged from Saul¡¯s eyes, and for a moment, his nameplate changed. Then the spell landed on his former coworker, shimmering around his fists. Saul looked up at his level and class and sat back down on his throne. Yep, it was good to be king.
I left alone the next morning, sneaking out of Museumtown and heading northwest into Chicago. It felt strange not to have anyone watching my back, especially when I knew Eddie had survived, but there were some problems that only had one solution. I''d need more levels if I wanted to be ready for the Tier Two dungeons. So would Tori, but she and her step-mom disagreed about whether she should be clearing dungeons¡ªand so far, Jessica was winning that fight. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. She was right. A fifteen-year-old girl shouldn¡¯t be fighting monsters¡ªnot unless she had to. But on the other hand, Tori was already stronger than half of the last Olympics¡¯ weightlifters, and she had magic that was even more powerful. The world had changed, and the solution wasn¡¯t to refuse to change with it. I¡¯d brought that up¡ªmy only contribution to the fight¡ªand Jessica had snapped at me. ¡°Hal, I am very aware that things have changed, but I refuse to send my daughter¡ª¡° ¡°Step-daughter,¡± Tori interrupted again. Jessica didn¡¯t flinch this time. She kept going. ¡°I refuse to send my daughter to her death. I just got her back, and I don¡¯t want to lose her again. Is that so bad?¡± It wasn¡¯t. I hated to admit it, but it wasn¡¯t so bad at all. ¡°You could come with us,¡± Tori said suddenly. ¡°The four of us could thrash through a few Tier One dungeons and get some levels on you and Calvin. That¡¯d help us out when we try a Tier Two.¡± ¡°No.¡± Something flashed across Jessica¡¯s face. ¡°No, I can¡¯t leave. Too many people need me here.¡± ¡°Then let me go!¡± Tori screamed. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Tori. I¡¯ll see about bringing back something useful for you or Calvin. We¡¯ll still be ready. In the meantime, try to talk to your step-mom¡ª¡° ¡°I did that!¡± ¡°¡ªin a calm, reasonable way. If you work on that, I¡¯ll try to figure out a way to convince her, but if she doesn¡¯t want you fighting monsters, I¡¯m not going to argue with her.¡± Finding an uncleared dungeon wouldn¡¯t be too hard. I had a target in mind, though it was a weird one; The Riverwalk. Specifically, the boats by the Riverwalk. I¡¯d had a good talk with Calvin, and based on what we¡¯d seen as dungeons so far, they were going for iconic places. The architectural tour might yield the supplies I needed for my Voltsmithing, and a level or three would go a long way, too. But when I got there, the dungeon was already cleared. Its gate felt like an open mouth, and the boat sat there, bobbing up and down in the Chicago River. I touched the gate, and words appeared. Tour de City: Cleared Time to Reset: Six Days, Fifteen Hours ¡°Well, that sucks.¡± I¡¯d been pretty sure this one wouldn¡¯t be cleared. I had a backup plan, but it wasn¡¯t ideal. It¡¯d leave me exposed, and I couldn¡¯t be the only one thinking about it. I swung the Trip-Hammer over my shoulder and started walking.
The Bean had been busy. I saw the first corpse just inside Millennium Park. It wasn¡¯t Eddie¡¯s¡ªthough I¡¯d been hoping. It was a biker¡¯s, though. The boss sat unmoving on a concrete pad a hundred yards away. This wasn¡¯t a dungeon; that was both a blessing and a curse. If this was too much, I could leave, but at the same time, I was exposed. Anyone could come along¡ªand this close to Museumtown, ¡®anyone¡¯ included a lot of people I didn¡¯t want to run into. I took another look at the boss, taking a deep breath and getting ready. Cloud Sentinel: Level Thirty-Five Field Boss Impervious, all-seeing, and supreme in its domain, the Cloud Sentinel guards its territory tirelessly. The only thing stronger than its appetite is its inertia. Once settled, it can be almost impossible to move. Field Boss - This boss has no dungeon. It stalks part of the overworld instead. All-Inclusive - Attacking this boss will alert anyone nearby That last bit was a problem. So was the bit about being impervious, and the part about its inertia. I started working through a plan. The key would be getting it moving; once the shining silver statue that had once been The Bean got going, I¡¯d try to maneuver it somewhere I could kill it. Perhaps Lake Michigan? Could I drown it? It didn¡¯t look like it had a dedicated territory, but I couldn¡¯t be sure. If it followed video-game rules, Tori could probably tell me, but¡ª The Field Boss [Cloud Sentinel] has been engaged! A chiming sound rippled across Millennium Park. I had just enough Awareness to see something streak across the concrete pad the Cloud Sentinel rested on. A moment later, a dent appeared in the mirror-finish kidney bean. A man stood on the Field Boss¡¯s far side, loosening his shoulders beneath a spotless white suit jacket, and flashed a grin at the boss. He shook out his fist like the impact had stung. His voice sounded like a mix between a sports announcer and a social media star; every word dripped with excitement and self-satisfied bravado. ¡°Bobby Richards, you have done it again!¡± The gigantic kidney bean popped and rang like a bell as he rapped his knuckles on its side, listening intently. I watched, fascinated. He didn¡¯t seem intimidated by the gigantic boss monster¡ªjust mildly annoyed that every tap sounded identical. I took a good look at his class and level. Bobby Richards: Level 30 Class: Resonator He kept tapping as he worked his way toward the Cloud Sentinel¡¯s center. Then he stopped. The dent fixed itself with a loud pop, and the Cloud Sentinel shifted into the air. ¡°Uh, whoops!¡± The boss slammed into the ground. Concrete shattered, flying through the air. Some bounced off my shoulders; luckily, I was far enough away to avoid the biggest parts. Dust filled the air around the Field Boss. Rubble settled around it. Then another dent appeared, marring its chrome surface. Bobby brushed a little concrete dust off his jacket; he was surrounded by rubble, but untouched aside from the dirt. He punched three more times, and a trio of divots appeared with an equal number of metal pings. I¡¯d done dent fixes at Cindy¡¯s, so I knew the sound well. The thing surged toward him. Concrete and rubble flew through the air as the Field Boss turned a circle to face the man with its widest spot. The dents pinged out again, and the Cloud Sentinel slammed down. This time, I actually saw Bobby rocket backward in a blur, then change direction. His movements were faster and more precise than anyone I¡¯d ever seen, but even as he left a pair of new dents along the Field Boss¡¯s surface, I knew it wouldn¡¯t matter. He didn¡¯t have the damage output, and if he couldn¡¯t find the thing¡¯s weaknesses, he wasn¡¯t going to get anywhere. Worse, if his attempt had warned any of Eddie¡¯s folks, I wouldn¡¯t have time for a second try at the boss. I groaned. I could try for a different dungeon, but we only had a couple of hours before the Tier Two dungeons opened. There was really only one option. I pulled the Trip-Hammer from my inventory. 25: Guess My Name As I closed in, The Bean spun toward me, slamming its weight into the concrete. Huge stone missiles rocketed toward me, crashing into the grass beside me. I threw myself out of the way as a head-sized chunk scraped a rut a foot deep into the lawn, hit the sidewalk behind me, and cartwheeled through the air. The Bean crashed down again, and I rolled. This time, concrete peppered my back. It gouged into my battered leather armor and pinged off my gauntlet¡¯s plates. I winced as I rolled halfway around again. The Field Boss loomed overhead, and I grabbed my hammer. The engine whined; if it was going to crush me, I¡¯d hit back. Something hit the boss from the side. A series of metal pings and pops filled the air. I pushed myself to my feet and swung the trip-hammer. It struck home; the twin spikes whirred through the air and left two deep gouges in the boss¡¯s surface. Then more popping sounds filled the air as the dents started fixing themselves. Bobby vanished. One second, he was punching the monstrous metal boss. The next, he reappeared a few dozen feet away. ¡°Hi! You after the boss, too?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I said. I hit the ground again as the Cloud Sentinel rocketed toward me, spraying the remains of its concrete pad out like a combine harvester piling up corn stalks. Bobby disappeared and reappeared right in front of me. His hand stuck out, and I grabbed it, letting him pull me to my feet. It took him way too much effort. ¡°I¡¯ll make you a deal, buddy,¡± he said. ¡°We kill it together, we each take one of its prizes, I get the experience, and you get the rest of what it gives us.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I want the experience. You can have the stuff.¡± ¡°Agreed. I¡¯d shake on it, but¡ª¡° He disappeared again. The Cloud Sentinel hit me, and I hit the ground, rolling. My Trip-Hammer went one way and I went the other. It flipped through the air, landed on the ground, and the pipe snapped in half as the huge Field Boss passed over it. I pushed myself back up, back screaming in pain, and looked at my ruined weapon. The hammers were both intact, and the engine I¡¯d used to power them was fine. But the pipe had literally been flattened, cracked, and crushed. I scooped the pieces into my inventory and pulled the last two battery bombs out¡ªone in each hand. Another round of pops filled the air. Bobby appeared next to the monster, looking out of breath. Four more dents shimmered in the noon sun as he danced and weaved around the Cloud Sentinel. Then, just as the pops started echoing, I saw something¡ªan orangish tint in the center of the dents. The Field Boss whirled and hit the ground. It shook under my feet, and I staggered. The thing froze, half-buried in the dirt and grass. A tree toppled to the ground behind it. I dashed to one side, then reversed as the boss seemed to notice me. Three pings echoed across the park. Stored Charge 10/15 Bomb: Active Timer: Five Seconds ¡°Move!¡± I shouted. The battery bomb arced through the air, orange Charge rippling across it. Bobby vanished again. The first divot popped back into place. A roar filled the air as the bomb detonated¡ªthe roar of an explosion, and the shrieking of metal as the Cloud Sentinel¡¯s side caved in. ¡°Did you get it?¡± Bobby asked, appearing right next to me. His face was flushed, and his blonde hair was wet with sweat, but he was still smiling. I shrugged, pulling an unmodified sledgehammer from my inventory and stowing the last battery bomb. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Do field bosses give warnings when they die?¡± ¡°I have no clue, my man.¡± His hand stuck out again. ¡°Bobby. Bobby Richards.¡± ¡°Hal Riley.¡± I shook it politely. The Cloud Sentinel screamed. Then it cracked, splitting open like an egg. Purplish goop slopped out of it, filling the air with a rotten egg smell. The grass around it shriveled and turned brown, and clouds of yellowish gas filled the air. Cloud Hatchling: Level Thirty-Five Field Boss Status: Sundered, Exposed ¡°I guess that¡¯s a no,¡± Bobby said. I sighed and grabbed the last battery bomb. The thing looked like a slime, and the other ones I¡¯d fought had exploded to a little acid. ¡°Stand back.¡± Stored Charge 5/15 Bomb: Active Timer: Five Seconds I tossed the bomb. It landed inside the goop. Then it detonated. Towers of foam erupted from the boss monster in every direction as nuts and bolts rocketed through it, leaving channels that filled with battery acid. The foam solidified mid-air. It formed a dozen arcing, thin foam bridges across the park. Bobby vanished as one hit the ground he¡¯d been standing on, then collapsed. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Another crashed into me, burning my unprotected arm. I screamed; the burning foam was under my armor. My fingers shook as I tore the leather panels off and used them to scrape the foam away from my red skin. I¡¯d been burned before while working on engines, but this¡­this was different. This wouldn¡¯t stop. I backpedaled as my skin burned and the Cloud Hatchling disintegrated and foam sprayed. It took almost a minute for it to die, but die it did. Field Boss Defeated: The Cloud Sentinel Level Up! Twenty-Eight to Thirty. Area Message: The [Cloud Sentinel] has been defeated. All hail [Bobby Richards] and [Hal Riley]. The [Millennium Park] area of [Chicago] is now a safe zone. Bobby appeared, looking at the loot. ¡°Whoops! Forgot that these things award their experience automatically. My bad. Do you want to renegotiate the prizes?¡± I put a point into Body and three into Charge, the point in Body fixing my scorched, burning skin. Then I looked at the three blue pillars of light below where the boss had just been, and the single green one. ¡°How about you pick first?¡± ¡°Deal!¡±
Bobby, it turned out, took the Smooth-Steel Dagger and the Legumous Pauldron. He wasn¡¯t interested in the item I cared the most about, but he was interested in making sure I wouldn¡¯t be upset with his choices. It took almost ten minutes to decide where the four pieces of gear would end up; he seemed especially guilty about wanting the dagger, given that I¡¯d damaged my main weapon. In the end, though, I only had eyes for one of the four. Tuning Rod (Rare, Consumable: 5/5 Uses) Allows the user to modify magical items¡¯ properties, increasing efficiency and versatility. At first glance, the Tuning Rod looked a lot like the Imbuing Rod; it was a steel tube with a collapsed, telescoping end. The description seemed powerful, but Bobby shrugged it off. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure nothing we get right now¡¯s going to be worth spending charges on. If you want it, go for it.¡± I did want it, and I went for it. The other item was a common¡ªwhat Tori would have called a ¡®trash drop.¡¯ It was another glove. This one only provided stats, much like the Surge Protectors had. I didn¡¯t actually care about the stats, though. What caught my eye was the massive amount of Charge in it. Mirror Gauntlet (Common, Charge 20) +3 Mana, +3 Body I needed that Charge, and I needed it bad. With the Trip-Hammer broken and shattered, I¡¯d need to spend all the remaining time before the Planetarium opened working on a new main weapon¡ªor trying to cut the handle down to size. Once we¡¯d split the treasure, Bobby went for one last handshake. ¡°What are your plans for the safe zone here?¡± I paused, thinking. ¡°I don¡¯t have one. Do you want it?¡± ¡°Nope. The Museumtown people are too close, and I don¡¯t have a group that needs the space.¡± That brought up a good point. I didn¡¯t even know what a safe zone did, much less what to do with one, but I could make some guesses. The thing was, even if my friends weren¡¯t in Museumtown, we didn¡¯t have enough people to compete with the bikers and gangers. Right now, there was an obvious best choice if someone wanted to be safe, and a safe zone with no guards, no walls, and no plan wasn¡¯t it. Bobby was interesting, though. He¡¯d be a valuable ally; if his class created weak spots and he just couldn¡¯t see them, while I could, that could be a potent combination. He could be a great force multiplier, and I was already seeing dozens of ways to use him to solve problems. And he seemed friendly enough. But he didn¡¯t seem interested in solving what was obviously going to be a huge problem: Museumtown, and I wasn¡¯t about to make him buy in on an issue that wasn¡¯t his. I held my tongue. ¡°Well, Hal, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be seeing you around.¡± He pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. Then, before I could say anything, he vanished.
The shortened Trip-Hammer felt wrong in every way, but it was a functional weapon¡ªfor now. With it slung over my shoulder, I felt pretty good about exploring the overgrown remainder of Millennium Park. Vines had overtaken it, and the dozens of cars parked along its edges looked like they¡¯d been sitting there for a decade or more. I walked north from the wreckage of The Bean¡¯s concrete pad, toward the Greek-looking columns overlooking a fountain. Half of me expected another dungeon, but no, there wasn¡¯t anything. Not monsters, signs of people, or anything else. The fountain wasn¡¯t running anymore, either. It had cracked¡ªprobably during the terraforming. I shrugged. I had half a mind to head west, into the city, and visit Cindy¡¯s Automotive. My tools were there, and she had a whole collection of parts in the back. They¡¯d been drawn down over the last few months, but I could probably get the Trip-Hammer upgraded if I¡ª Smoke wafted through the air. As a kid, Dad had always said that if I smelled smoke on the farm and it wasn¡¯t the spring ditch burn, it meant something was wrong, and I had to find him as quick as I could. When I got older, that changed to needing to find the fire and try to put it out if possible. He¡¯d been really clear about it¡ªespecially after the incident with Beth and the magnifying glass. Put. Out. The fire. This didn¡¯t smell like a building burning down. It was more like the ditches. But I still recognized it as a fire almost instantly, and my instincts took over. I had to know where it was¡ªand that people were okay. I ran toward the steel-covered amphitheater. The closer I got, the stronger the smoke smell became. I got the Trip-Hammer ready and jogged past hundreds of rocks that could have once been chairs. The stage wasn¡¯t burning¡ªbut it was smoldering like it had been. Scorch marks covered every surface, and a few round-ish black lumps still smoked near the back of the concert pit. I slowed. Whatever had happened, no one was in danger. As I got closer, the lumps became clearer. They were backpacks¡ªleather and nylon packs that had caught fire and burned. I looked at the campfire in the center. It didn¡¯t look like it had blown into the packs, and even if it had, it wouldn¡¯t have been enough fire to scorch the whole stage and its cover. I swallowed. Something felt wrong here. I closed my eyes and let my Awareness take over. It smelled like smoke and firecrackers¡ªand blood. My eyes sprang open. I walked the length of the stage, then toward the back door. It hung on one hinge; as I stepped over it, the first of the blood trail became clear. It led off about fifteen feet, then pooled. I traced it up a hill behind the stage. And that¡¯s where I found Brian. He was covered in shallow cuts and blood, and he¡¯d been stripped naked. Monsters wouldn¡¯t have done that. They¡¯d have mauled him even worse, and his armor and clothes would still be around. Someone had done this, not something. And if someone had done this, they¡¯d done it to the twins, too. 26: Before They Reach Bombay I looked for them for close to an hour, but even though their trail went due north, I lost them after the third set of explosive scorch marks. That had to be a good sign. They had to have gotten away. The timer was ticking down until the Tier Two dungeons opened, though, and twins or not, Tori and Jessica were expecting me back. It hurt, but I had no choice but to hope Zane and Carol were okay somewhere. By the time I got back to Museumtown and climbed the ladder, I¡¯d just about convinced myself they were. Jessica was out; according to Tori and Calvin, she¡¯d been called away to heal someone again. I sat Tori and Calvin down and told them everything that had happened. By the end of it, she couldn¡¯t stop crying. I put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in as she sobbed. ¡°We¡¯d saved those people, Hal. We¡¯d fucking saved them!¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°They were on the right path to getting stronger, and those kids needed Brian. You¡¯re absolutely sure it was him? Because it might not¡¯ve been him. Or maybe it wasn¡¯t someone. Maybe it was something. A monster.¡± ¡°I know¡ª¡° ¡°What the fuck do we do about it? We¡¯re going to do something about it, right? If you won¡¯t, I will¡ª¡° ¡°Tori, I know!¡± I interrupted. ¡°I know someone killed him, and I know we need to do something about it. What I don¡¯t know is what that even looks like. We should think about leaving.¡± ¡°No, we shouldn¡¯t,¡± Calvin said. ¡°I know what we¡¯re going to do.¡± I looked at him. So did Tori. She reacted almost like she¡¯d forgotten he was sitting in the corner, but she only kept eye contact with him for a second before looking down. I couldn¡¯t meet his gaze, either. He was furious, but his jaw was set under his beard. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a quick look for the twins. Tori, you¡¯re going to keep an eye on your mom¡ª¡° ¡°Step-mom,¡± she said reflexively. ¡°¡ªand Hal, you¡¯re going to get ready. We don¡¯t know who killed him yet, so the best thing you can do is get stronger until we do.¡±
Tier Two Dungeon: The Void (Floor One) Objective: Survive the Void¡¯s Embrace (0/1) Objective: Defeat the Three Bodies Objective: Survive (0/1) Completion: 0% Magical Flux: Spells¡¯ effectiveness will be unpredictable based on location. Guarded Entrance: You cannot leave this dungeon until this floor is completed. Gauntlet: Dungeon monsters respawn quickly. They do not drop experience orbs until the dungeon is cleared. Getting inside The Void turned out to be easy. There weren¡¯t any guards, and the bikers weren¡¯t paying attention. The door just hung open like the place was open for business. Only the gray fog wall hinted that it wasn¡¯t just another day at the Adler Planetarium¡ªat least, from the outside. All I had to do was run up the stairs and through the fog. Easy. Once I got inside, though, that was a different story. The entrance opened to the half-circle lobby, which I¡¯d assumed would be filled with exhibits. Instead, it looked like a twisting, turning maze with walls of nothingness. Colorful orbs hung mid-air, and when I looked up, I couldn¡¯t see a ceiling; there was nothing up there but darkness and stars. The whole place reeked like nothing¡ªit smelled like the complete absence of any scent. I was suddenly very aware that I hadn¡¯t cleaned up in several days. Around the door, a small circle of LED lights half-lit the entrance. I took a step forward across the line. The floor started glowing; it shone brightly, hot pinks and yellows reflected from the illuminated stars overhead. The colors formed a headache-inducing but obvious path forward, and all around, other paths split off into the darkness. The puzzle was clear; there was an obvious way forward, but the dark, narrow paths might hold shortcuts or offer a safe haven from the monsters. If they respawned quickly, those places might be useful. I couldn¡¯t feel any difference in my power level as I walked through the maze. In a way, it was frustrating; I wanted to figure out what the Magical Flux message was all about. Something rushed out of the darkness, slamming down on me as something hummed around it. I swung the Trip-Hammer, which whirred and screeched, and the monster went rocketing back. I caught a glimpse of it as it flew, crunching into the maze¡¯s wall somewhere ahead. Saturnite: Level 32 Monster I hurried into the maze and rushed the yellowish orb as the ring around it broke into pieces. It floated backward. The air filled with crackling dust that sparked and shimmered. It scoured my face like a dust storm, but I closed in, fired the Trip-Hammer again, and cracked the Saturnite down the middle. It stopped moving and vanished, but didn¡¯t leave an experience orb behind. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Another sphere, this one red and with a massive dot on its surface, opened fire with a laser that felt a lot like the one the Eyes of Perfection had used. It sliced into my arm; my skin burned like it had on too many sunny summer days. I ducked around a corner, readying the first finger Taser and taking aim. It didn¡¯t follow me. Instead, the moment I stepped into the next star¡¯s white-blue light, the Jupiter-looking sphere rose back into the air and spun away, orbiting around the first orange supergiant. That was good to know; I¡¯d need to clear this whole place out, but¡ª ¡°You¡¯re sure you saw him go in here, Tommy?¡± a familiar voice said. I froze. My heart dropped; I¡¯d known they were coming in, but I thought I¡¯d have a few more minutes. And I¡¯d hoped they¡¯d think they were alone. I poked my head around the corner and took a quick look, then pulled back. There were four of them. And I recognized them all¡ªEddie¡¯s gang. And just like that, I knew who¡¯d killed Brian. I had no proof, but I knew it all the same. ¡°Yeah, I saw him. He¡¯s poaching from you, boss,¡± the second one¡ªTommy¡ªsaid. ¡°But he can¡¯t get out unless he gets past us. We¡¯ve got him stuck.¡± ¡°Like hell we do,¡± Eddie growled. ¡°You and you, watch the god-damn door. Tommy and me are going hunting. ¡°Got it, Eddie,¡± a third voice said. I didn¡¯t stick around. Instead, I disappeared into the maze. They were hunting me; I¡¯d never been in this situation before, and I didn¡¯t have a straightforward solution to this problem. Eddie clearly held a grudge, and I wouldn¡¯t get him alone again. Even if I did, he¡¯d have learned from our last fight. It¡¯d be harder to crack his shield, and I didn¡¯t have the same tools as before. Was I a killer? I ran past a pair of blue spheres that dropped the temperature around them until I was shivering in my tattered armor. That question needed an answer, because these guys were killers, and I was stuck in here with them. I had an idea. A terrible idea. But if I was right, I could clear out the gangers, beat Eddie, and position myself for the boss fight at the gauntlet¡¯s end. I ducked off the lit portion of the maze and disappeared into the darkness.
Eddie cracked the knuckles on his free hand. Behind him, Tommy¡¯s magic had snared another one of those planet-ass things¡ªhe stood as far from the star overhead as he could to maximize his power. Eddie resummoned his shield and slammed it into the stony yellowish sphere until it cracked and shattered. It exploded. He got the shield up in time to block the worst of it. Tommy hit the ground hard. He rolled, then pushed himself up to his feet. His head swiveled, and he blasted one of the tiniest planets out of the sky. ¡°We should go back and grab Jake and Barrett. This is too much for the two of us.¡± ¡°Hell no. I¡¯m not losing him,¡± Eddie growled. The Voltsmith was in here, and as long as Jake and Barrett sat at the door, it didn¡¯t matter if they cleared. Eddie doubted that the guy could finish the boss of a Tier Two Dungeon solo, and there wasn¡¯t anything else of value here. These damn orbs didn¡¯t even drop experience. The bastard had vanished, but Eddie wasn¡¯t worried. He was pissed. He¡¯d been pissed since the moment that hammer crashed down on him. Then The Captain had told him not to get payback? That¡¯d be fine. Eddie could endure the humiliation. What he couldn¡¯t endure was this bastard poaching his boys¡¯ dungeon. The Captain had assigned this one to his gang. It belonged to him. Him and his boys. And the Voltsmith was stealing from him. ¡°It¡¯s only a matter of time until we find him,¡± Eddie continued. ¡°I¡¯ve got business with him, and he¡¯s not slipping out of my hands again. Keep moving!¡± He charged around the corner. A massive red orb fired at him, but his shield caught the laser and reflected it into the sky. Behind him, Tommy was casting a spell; a pair of smaller planets appeared, tearing themselves apart to throw stones toward him. Eddie roared. He swung his shield and bashed the big one over and over until it disappeared in a cloud of stinking gas. Tommy yelled something. Before Eddie could respond, the two smaller planets crashed into him. He blocked one, but the other hit his leg. It burned, and Eddie saw red. The two planets were already halfway dead. He¡¯d destroy them. His shield snapped toward the first one as it zipped away. He swung toward the second. It exploded. But the remaining one flew high and launched more stones his way. They pinged off his shield, rattling his arm. His second screamed again. He sounded further away. Eddie didn¡¯t care. His entire focus was on the monster in front of him. It drifted a centimeter too close, and he swung. It exploded. The red mist cleared. Eddie was bleeding from a half-dozen cuts, but they weren¡¯t so bad¡ªnot any worse than a skid-out on his bike, and he¡¯d walked away from a dozen of those. ¡°Come on, Tommy,¡± he said, gritting his teeth and moving further into the maze. Tommy didn¡¯t say anything. A chill ran down Eddie¡¯s spine. The temperature felt like it had dropped twenty degrees¡ªlike he¡¯d just ridden into a storm, but without the water. It could be one of those blue planets, but Eddie didn¡¯t think so. He looked around. Tommy was gone. ¡°You there, buddy?¡± Eddie asked. For almost a minute, Eddie stood there in the silence and darkness. One of the small, rocky planets reformed, and he broke it¡ªbut not before it opened a shallow but painful gash on his cheek. He couldn¡¯t hear anything. Then he caught an orange glow around the corner, and a voice echoed through the maze. ¡°Tommy can¡¯t come to the phone right now, Eddie.¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying to scare me.¡± Eddie snorted. He wouldn¡¯t be intimidated by this guy. ¡°No. No, I¡¯m not,¡± the Voltsmith said. Eddie stretched out. His shoulders popped, and he started walking into the maze. ¡°Wrong choice.¡± A wire¡ªblazing orange¡ªzipped out of the darkness. It caught him in the leg. Eddie started laughing¡ªthe impact felt like a foam dart, not a bullet. Then his laugh turned to a cut-off scream as his leg muscles stopped working. Electricity poured into him, and he collapsed. But Eddie endured it. He didn¡¯t lose his head; after all, he¡¯d been through worse. As he hit the ground, the shield slammed into the wire, cutting it. His leg felt like Jell-O. A planet closed in on him¡ªa dark, reddish tone. It closed in, dust trailing in its wake, and he swung at it. He forced himself back to his feet, limping away from the dust-covered orb. Dirt stuck in his throat, and he coughed. Was it cutting his insides? He spat, and the loogie came out brown. Eddie rushed the planet, shield up and mouth closed. When he crashed into it, the whole thing disintegrated. The air filled with dust, and he hurried out of the room. Another wire zipped over his head, hissing and sparking orange. He ducked. The weighted end hit his shield and bounced off. He coughed up more dust, tore his shirt, covered his face with it. Everything hurt, but he¡¯d endured worse. Eddie made up his mind. Tommy was dead; there was no way he¡¯d survived the Voltsmith and the maze alone. If he wanted to avoid joining his friend, he had to leave. He turned around, bellowing for his boys to leave their post. ¡°They¡¯re not around, either,¡± the Voltsmith said. ¡°I took care of them. Eddie, you haven¡¯t trapped me in here.¡± Eddie shivered again. Something glowed orange ahead of him. Planets reformed all around. And the voice continued. ¡°You¡¯re stuck in here with me.¡± 27: The Nature of My Game ¡°You¡¯re stuck in here with me,¡± I said, dragging the second door guard¡¯s unconscious body into the safe spot nearby. I didn¡¯t like playing this role. It didn¡¯t feel natural, and I shivered, but I didn¡¯t have a choice. At least my friends couldn¡¯t hear me, though, and one against four, I¡¯d needed every trick in the book. Eddie¡¯s ¡®charge forward and push through¡¯ strategy had given me the edge I needed. He¡¯d charged straight into the maze, just like I had. But he¡¯d kept pushing and fighting, even though the gauntlet had two easy pass strategies I¡¯d seen. First, as I¡¯d noticed with the Jupiter orb, the planets only seemed to attack their lines of sight. If I could keep moving, they¡¯d lose ¡®interest¡¯ and return to the skies. By moving fast enough, a team or person could get to the far side. It¡¯d be risky, though; if things went wrong, I¡¯d be trapped. Second¡ªand much more interesting¡ªwas the darkness of the void. It was almost completely clear of planets, and there were ways through without fighting too many enemies as the black path wove back and forth across the lit main route. The Voltsmith¡¯s Charge put out just enough orange light that I could find my way through. It was slow, but not any slower than fighting all the planets. And it was low-risk¡ªespecially since I could cross behind Eddie and Tommy before the planets they¡¯d just killed respawned. As Eddie and Tommy pushed into the maze, I waited until they¡¯d gotten far enough ahead, then ambushed Tommy with the Trip-Hammer. He was alive but hurting; I¡¯d bound his hands with wire and left him in a dead-end somewhere in the Void. I¡¯d used my new Creation on the two men guarding the exit. I¡¯d gotten the idea from the Cloud Sentinel¡¯s death, and it worked perfectly. Three balls bounced across the floor, rolling to a stop near their feet. Then they detonated. Instead of nails and bolts, Foam spewed everywhere. The two men screamed until their voices cut off. I waited until the chemical reaction finished, then quickly cut them away from the towering spires of hardening foam. That left Eddie himself. I flexed the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp. Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp (1 Charge) - 1/3 Taser Launchers Loaded It turned out that the melee taser was much more powerful than the launched ones, and even with the launching mechanism, it only cost four Charge. I wouldn¡¯t get another shot for a while, but I wasn¡¯t in a hurry. Eddie couldn¡¯t clear this place on his own, and I could. He couldn¡¯t leave, either, so I didn¡¯t have to block his escape. I had all the time in the world. Now I just had to decide what to do with it.
Eddie hadn¡¯t seen or heard from the Voltsmith in almost thirty minutes, but the man¡¯s words kept bouncing around in his head. ¡°You¡¯re stuck in here with me.¡± He hadn¡¯t even bothered checking the door. The dungeon was a Sealed Environment. There were only three ways he was getting out of here: he could kill the boss, wait for the Voltsmith to do it, or wait until The Captain¡¯s other teams cleared their dungeons and came here. Most of those wouldn¡¯t work for him. The only way forward was through. He had to kill the boss. Then he could kill the Voltsmith, his bum friend, and the girl. It sucked about Tommy, but even though the other man had been a solid second in a fight, he didn¡¯t matter. Only one thing mattered: getting through this. He cast his deflection spell for the dozenth time and charged another planet. This time, right below the blazing sun overhead, it hardly helped. The laser lashed out, bouncing and ricocheting into the darkness along the room¡¯s outer wall. In the flash of red light, Eddie thought he saw a face. He looked closer, but it was gone. The planet popped into the air, spinning and swirling. He gritted his teeth. He was seeing things, and it had cost him a kill. If these damn things dropped experience, he¡¯d be Level Fifty by now. He walked on. The deflection spell was getting harder to cast, taking more effort to maintain¡ªespecially near the stars. He was getting tired. A pinkish planet that looked nothing like what he remembered from middle school descended from the sky, and the maze shifted in front of him as the galaxy overhead spun and twisted. ¡°Fuck.¡± Eddie adjusted, groaning as he went down the newly illuminated pathway. ¡°Yeah, agreed.¡± The Voltsmith¡¯s voice was right next to Eddie, and he jumped, spinning and slashing with the sharp shield. It cut the air. A black hallway loomed next to him; his attacker was hiding and waiting. Eddie stopped. He peered into the Void. Awareness had been Barrett¡¯s thing, not his, but it looked like more than a place to catch a breather. He took a deep breath, feeling blood trickle down his side. The only way forward was through. He stepped into the void.
I didn¡¯t want to kill Eddie. He was doing a good job of that on his own by trying to bull through the maze¡¯s direct path and fighting every enemy in the whole gauntlet. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. More importantly, I wasn¡¯t a killer. There had to be another way to solve this problem. I¡¯d already discarded working with him to kill the dungeon¡¯s boss. He was too likely to turn on me, and too stubborn to agree to it in the first place. Even though Tori and Calvin both knew where I was, they couldn¡¯t come help. Calvin was twenty levels below the monsters, and Jessica would never forgive me if Tori got herself hurt helping me. Besides, I couldn¡¯t talk to them even if I needed their help. He¡¯d killed Brian, though. ¡°Fuck you,¡± Eddie growled. He stalked into the Void, and I hurried down one of the side tunnels. I¡¯d been following him, waiting for the dungeon to take its toll on him so I could take him down. I didn¡¯t know what I¡¯d do with him¡ªor with the other three¡ªbut taking them off the battlefield was the first step in clearing this dungeon. He was too close. I broke into a run, hurtling through the dark. The Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp wasn¡¯t equipped; I needed to stay invisible, and the orange glow of Charge would just give me away. ¡°Fuck you, man, you know that?¡± Eddie repeated. He stopped following me. ¡°When I get out of here, I¡¯m ending you like I should have.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get it, Eddie. You¡¯re not in control here,¡± I hissed into the Void. ¡°I¡¯ve never been in control, but I¡¯ve always survived. I¡¯ll survive this, too, and then I¡¯m coming for your people. You¡¯re last, though. I¡¯ll kill the hobo first, then the girl.¡± My blood ran cold. An image of Beth popped into my head. The last time I¡¯d seen her¡ªthe Christmas before she graduated. We were around the tree¡ªMom, Dad, Beth, Grandpa, and me. Grandpa¡¯s Holiday music record was running through its eighth playthrough, and I¡¯d just opened a gift from her to me. It was a bowl; she¡¯d started taking pottery classes, and it was a wheel-thrown, Terra-cotta bowl, about the right size for cereal or canned soup. She¡¯d decorated the outside in knife-pressed triangles and a glaze over the top half so white it was almost blinding. I couldn¡¯t bring it home, though. There wasn¡¯t space. It stayed in Cozad. Beth was out there somewhere, and I knew that if this guy had threatened her, I¡¯d do whatever it took to make sure he couldn¡¯t ever again. Right now, he wasn¡¯t threatening her, but he¡¯d promised to kill Calvin and Tori. And he¡¯d killed Brian. We¡¯d saved him. And I¡¯d¡­I¡¯d let Eddie go. That was my mistake. I¡¯d killed Brian¡ªsort of. This was my problem to fix. Every problem had a solution, though.
Eddie took a ragged breath and looked over his shoulder. Something had changed. The Voltsmith had gone quiet. But Eddie had been hunted before. He¡¯d run from the cops, taken his bike down alleys and across foot-bridges to shake the pigs. The feeling on the back of his neck right now was the same feeling as then. He was being hunted. Like an animal. And he couldn¡¯t avoid it. Eddie sucked in another breath. His chest bled from a dozen wounds now. The last group of planets had been rough. And the last time he¡¯d seen the Voltsmith, he seemed pretty much unhurt. The only way out was through. Eddie braced himself. He cast his deflection spell on his shield, held it in front of him, and turned around, doubling back toward the Voltsmith.
Eddie lunged out of the darkness on the lit path¡¯s far side. I¡¯d been expecting it for a while, and I was ready. The shortened Trip-Hammer smashed down, bouncing off to the right. He hadn¡¯t changed since our last fight. ¡°Die!¡± he screamed. I rolled with his charge, ducking the shield swing and letting him crash into my shoulder. I spun off to the side and landed in the shadows. Eddie roared, and I readied the Trip-Hammer in my free hand. Then I flexed my hand under the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp and pointed my middle finger at Eddie. Stored Charge: 1/15 0/3 Taser Launchers Loaded The taser sprung from its tube with a puff of Charge, already crackling and sparking. Eddie whirled, and my shot ricocheted off his shield. It hit the ground, sparking. I tried to disengage the line, but Eddie was already running toward me, casting a spell near the starlight¡¯s edge. I triggered the Trip-Hammer. It whined and screamed. Then it slammed into his shield. The metal-on-metal crash echoed through the room. He shoved, and I stepped back. Then I stepped back again as Eddie lashed out with his shield. I was a beat too slow; he opened a cut across my arm, then a second on my shin. I gritted my teeth and swung the Trip-Hammer again. Again, a beat too slow. This time, I got out of the way before he could return the hit. I didn¡¯t have the speed. I hadn¡¯t put on any Body since our last fight. But I did have a surprise for Eddie. I shifted my last foam grenade into my hand and got ready. The taser sparked and hissed as I retreated toward the nearest star. The cable was behind Eddie, but the whole thing was still plugged into my gauntlet. I saw the whole thing happening before I¡¯d even activated the grenade. I turned, took one step to my left, and backed up again. Eddie pressed the attack. He rushed toward me. I narrowed my eyes. My wrist flicked back, and the taser popped up like a lasso at a rodeo. It caught him in the side, and Eddie collapsed, screaming. The tension melted off my shoulders. I held the grenade, but didn¡¯t throw it. Eddie was down. I could finish this right now. I needed to finish this right now. But I waited. Eddie was still dangerous. He still had his shield, and I saw him tense as the power ran out and the taser stopped. I lifted the Trip-Hammer and got ready to take a swing. The hammer went down toward Eddie¡¯s head. His shield rocketed up. They met with a ring, and Eddie powered himself up to his feet. He threw the shield forward, hooked it under the Trip-Hammer¡¯s twin spikes, and pulled before I could react. The broken pipe handle jerked from my hand, and Eddie roared toward me. ¡°Time to die, asshole!¡± He¡¯d turned my trick from last fight back on me. I backpedaled, then threw myself into the darkness again as Eddie rushed me. He scored a cut on my forehead, and I squeezed down on the grenade in my hand. Stored Charge 0/15 Bomb: Active Timer: Five Seconds Five seconds. That was too long; if I dropped the grenade now, he¡¯d push me back before it went off. I held onto it instead. He kept coming; the shield rocketed toward my face. ¡°Use a spell, do something! Make a fight out of this!¡± he screamed in my face. ¡°You got it.¡± I dropped the grenade and threw myself toward my Trip-Hammer as the hall behind me erupted in sticky foam. It started hardening the second it hit the air, and Eddie roared and strained. The shield lashed out at me, but I was already out of its reach. I grabbed the Trip-Hammer and turned around. Eddie was completely trapped. His arm was free, and so was his head; he was hacking away at the foam, and a pile of white junk had already started to form. I stepped closer, and he stopped. ¡°You¡¯re a bastard, Hal, and if I don¡¯t kill you and that bitch, The Captain will.¡± I wasn¡¯t a killer. I¡¯d hurt people before¡ªI¡¯d hurt Eddie before. But up until that moment, I¡¯d been ready to offer him a chance to survive if he¡¯d given up. But Beth popped into my head again, and Brian and before I could stop myself, the Trip-Hammer was revving up as I swung it. I squeezed my eyes shut. It crashed down with a wet squishing sound and a terrible metal-on-metal screech. I didn¡¯t see what it did, but I felt the gore splash across my face. And as Eddie¡¯s body hit the ground, a handful of magic items and a single, blood-red experience orb popped out next to him. I couldn¡¯t help but think a single thought. Problem solved. 28: After All, It Was You and Me The blood-red experience orb hung in the air a few feet away, but I didn¡¯t move to touch it right away. It had been one thing to kill Eddie¡ªhe¡¯d threatened Tori, and I knew he¡¯d follow through on it. That was like threatening my sister. I couldn¡¯t let him leave the dungeon, and I knew I¡¯d solved that problem the only way I could. But taking his experience and gear? The thought made me sick. Everyone would drop experience orbs, and it was only a matter of time before someone else figured that out¡ªsomeone who wouldn¡¯t mind killing. The Consortium wanted us to ¡®advance and uplift,¡¯ and while I didn¡¯t know what uplifting meant, the meaning of ¡®advance¡¯ was pretty clear. Gain levels. Increase your power. Move up. Monsters were one thing, but I knew I couldn¡¯t kill people just to grow stronger. I couldn¡¯t say the same about other people, though. Had the Consortium emptied out the prisons? What about people who¡¯d only been held in check by society¡¯s pressure? And that was without even getting into the men and women who ran the big corporations. Mom and Dad had been resisting being bought out by a corporate farm for years; they¡¯d done everything they legally could to drive my parents off their land. Eddie was right about one thing, though. The Captain wouldn¡¯t be happy, and he wouldn¡¯t be forgiving. He¡¯d come for my friends and me if he found out. When he found out. I couldn¡¯t kill the bikers I¡¯d taken prisoner¡ªnot now that they were helpless. Besides, he¡¯d taken Brian¡¯s experience. I reached out to touch Eddie¡¯s experience orb. I couldn¡¯t make this a habit, but I¡¯d need the levels to solve my next problem, The Three Bodies, and the one after that. Level Up! Thirty to Thirty-Three. Three levels. He¡¯d been worth three levels. I wanted to be sick, but I held it together as I assigned one point to Body to patch up my wounds a little, two to Awareness, and three to Charge. Then I turned my attention to Eddie¡¯s dropped gear, which all filled me with disappointment¡ªeven the blue-glowing rare piece. Belt of the Forest (Common, Charge 10) +3 Body, +1 Awareness You cannot equip this item. Wolverine¡¯s Fury (Common, Charge 20) The wearer of this ring gains temporary Body points as they take damage. You cannot equip this item. Jetty Bumper (Rare, Charge 5) +3 Body The wielder of this thrusting shield may cast Bulwark once every thirty seconds. Bulwark: Deflects the next attack directed toward the shield¡¯s wielder. You cannot equip this item. That Bulwark spell seemed extremely good, and I glared at the blue pillar of light as it faded and the text appeared in front of me. I couldn¡¯t equip any of the loot I¡¯d gotten¡ªthey¡¯d been bound to Eddie. The only good news was that it wouldn¡¯t incentivize people to kill each other like the experience did. No, that wasn¡¯t entirely true. The gear had value to me, but not in its current form. I pulled the Trip-Hammer out of my inventory; acrid smoke poured from the motor, but when I looked at it, the magical circuits were fine. The problem wasn¡¯t the Charge circuiting or the amount of power I¡¯d given it. It was the battered, crushed motor. It had just been through too much. I¡¯d been pushing it this whole dungeon, and after the fight with Eddie, it was clear that the table saw motor was done. Just to be sure, I triggered the Trip-Hammer. It roared and screamed. The ratchet wheels engaged. But the twin sledgehammers stopped halfway around their arc with a jerk that ripped the weapon from my hand and sent it clattering across the darkened floor. That pretty much ended my hopes of repairing the Trip-Hammer. I needed to design something new if I wanted to beat The Three Bodies, whatever that was. The next half-hour was all taking the weapon apart and letting the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp slowly recharge. The sledgehammers were still solid, and so were the ratchet-wheels. I salvaged some of the gears from inside the motor, too, but not enough to rebuild it¡ªnot here, at least. As I worked, I spread the parts along the floor¡ªand I kept an unmodified hammer nearby, just in case one of Eddie¡¯s gangers got loose. I didn¡¯t expect them to make a play, but the insurance felt nice. The moment I disconnected the battery from the Trip-Hammer¡¯s remains, it started spewing Charge into the air in a cloud of lightning and sparks. I watched in horror as the battery drained in just a few seconds. I¡¯d lost fifteen Charge almost instantly¡ªthere hadn¡¯t been a warning about that in the System. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Luckily, I had several pieces of magical gear to decharge. Before I did that, though, I laid out the parts I¡¯d looted so far. The big highlights were the emitter, the refiner, and the mana coil¡ªplus the freshly-drained battery. I needed something punchy like the Trip-Hammer for melee fights, but if I had the parts left when I was done, I also wanted to upgrade the Taser launchers. They were cool, but both unpredictable and a little underpowered compared to what I could make. The Jetty Bumper was the key; I drained it and tore it apart, revealing a second emitter and battery. ?Charge - 7/34 (10 Used) The sharp blade at the end of the shield wasn¡¯t magical, but it was the best weapon I¡¯d found so far, and as I set it aside, the blueprint built itself in faint orange lines overlaid on my vision. The end result was going to be closer to the Weed Whacker than the Trip-Hammer, but different from either¡ªmore like an axe than a trimmer. I drained the ring, too¡ªI¡¯d lose three possible Charge, but I needed a full tank for what I had in mind. ?Charge - 24/34 (10 Used) The remains of the Trip-Hammer¡¯s handle sat just below the blade. I resisted the urge to weld them together, though. Instead, I attached the mana coil to the shield¡¯s blade, slicing the spring in two to support it in two places. Two wires ran along the spring, one going in and one going out in a circuit. I used the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp to weld both batteries together and attached the wires, forming a circuit. Then, I charged the batteries and activated the prototype. ?Charge - 3/34 (28 Used) The blade bounced and skipped across the floor for a few seconds, and I dodged its ricochet. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s punchy!¡± So, the concept was sound. Now, I needed a frame to hold it all together. It took another twenty minutes, and with every second, I worried more and more that the bikers had gotten loose, but eventually, I finished my new main weapon. Charge Blade, by Hal Riley (Created Item, Charge 20) The Charge Blade is an oscillating blade that applies Charge damage as it cuts through lightly armored targets. First created by Hal Riley of Earth. With only four Charge remaining, I couldn¡¯t upgrade the tasers, but I did reload them. I had a plan, but it¡¯d take at least six more Charge and a Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp upgrade, and I wanted to keep spreading my points out a little. The Voltsmith class was pushing me into Charge, and I wasn¡¯t sure I liked that. I¡¯d seen what happened to single-stat glass cannons like Tori if they didn¡¯t diversify, and she was right¡ªit was a stat synergy game. I could cheat a little by building mechanical advantage into my weapons, but my Body points were still doing the heavy lifting. I finished by disassembling the ring. It had no parts, but the metal was Charge-conductive, and if I got a few more, I had some ideas. Then, after I packed everything back into my inventory, I headed toward the center of the starmaze.
The moment I saw the Three Bodies hovering in the middle of the planetarium¡¯s dome, I knew exactly what was happening. A pair of huge stars, one red and one blue, orbited around a tiny black point no bigger than my thumbnail. Jets of gas siphoned off each star and swirled around the pen-point dot, disappearing into it. All around it, pinprick stars covered the planetarium¡¯s ceiling. The Three Bodies was a black hole. The whole galaxy of stars and planets was orbiting it like one of those Sun/Moon/Earth orbiter simulators from middle school. And I had to destroy it. The Three Bodies: Level Forty Dungeon Boss Current Difficulty: Extreme Sometimes, the universe really does orbit around one entity. The Three Bodies sits in the center of the Void, but its welcoming arms don¡¯t offer comfort. It sees all. It destroys all. It consumes all. Accept the embrace of the Void. Invulnerable - This boss has no weak points and cannot be damaged. Insatiable - This boss will feed on any viable energy sources within its range. This was a puzzle, not a fight. I ran through the Insatiable¡ªthat was the key. I just had to figure out how this worked. I stepped into the planetarium, working my way past the curved rows of seats. The moment I felt the black hole¡¯s gravity start pulling on my armor, I stopped. The planetarium¡¯s walls fell away, and the whole galaxy of stars and planets began glowing, lighting up the void in a red, blue, and yellow neon mosaic. The black hole spun. I couldn¡¯t see it move, but the two stars orbiting it rotated, spinning faster and faster until they blurred into a disk around the central point. They shrunk, their light fading as they poured themselves into the Three Bodies. Then they were gone¡ªpale shadows of what they¡¯d been. Energy¡ªpure white energy¡ªstarted to form as the black hole grew slightly. Then it lashed out in two straight lines¡ªone right at me, the other directly behind it. I ran, and it spun around the room, following me. It sliced through the chairs, through the maze¡¯s floor, and through the planets and stars. If it could catch fire, it did; the seats in the domed room all burned as I fled into the maze. And the whole time, the black hole grew. It was the size of a baseball, and both stars had almost completely disappeared, but some of the closer supergiants were feeding the Three Bodies now, and a half-dozen planets stretched and bent as they spun toward it. I couldn¡¯t attack it, and it was growing; was there enough energy in the orbiting stars and planets for it to consume the whole room? What if things reappeared like they had been? I didn¡¯t know. But I did know there were three surviving members of the biker gang, and their lives were on the line, too. Another planet loomed in front of me, drifting toward the center of the room. Its Saturn-like ring came apart, half flying toward me and the other half toward the black hole. In the moment before it spagettified, I saw a yellow-green orb in the planet¡¯s center. That one had died. It wouldn¡¯t be coming back. And black holes faded to nothing when they ran out of fuel to feed on, right? I could only hope, because I didn¡¯t see another way to win this fight. I pulled the Charge Blade out and aimed at the nearest planet¡ªa small, Mars-like one. My Taser launcher fired, and the weighted wire slammed into it; reddish-brown chunks went flying, and I scooped up the experience orb before it could get sucked in. It wasn¡¯t enough to level, but I hadn¡¯t expected it to be. The Three Bodies¡¯s energy beams ripped across the room, and I ran as more and more stars fed into it. Another planet zoomed toward me. I swung the Charge Blade. It hummed and crackled as energy coursed along its vibrating, sawing edge. The blade bit into the planet, cutting deeper and deeper with every moment. The planet split in two, and I ran right into the orb it left behind as it disintegrated. Then another. But the black hole was growing. It was almost half of the planetarium now, and dozens of swirling lines of energy fed it. I could destroy planets all day, and it wouldn¡¯t make a difference¡ªnot when the black hole was feeding on stars. 29: The Gods They Made Tori raged. Quietly. Jessica was working her healing magic down below on some poor bastard who¡¯d had a run-in with a monster and hadn¡¯t leveled¡ªor who just didn¡¯t know about the Body trick. It had interrupted another screaming match, and she was pissed. She¡¯d played enough DPS classes to know how this worked; if you were behind when the raids opened, you didn¡¯t make the team, and if you didn¡¯t make the team, you only got further behind. She hadn¡¯t been on the cut list in four raid tiers, and she wasn¡¯t about to get cut now, but Hal was out there pushing into the next tier of dungeons while Jessica kept her pinned down in here. And worse, he¡¯d agreed with her. ¡°This is bullshit,¡± she muttered for the hundredth time. She had to get out there and kill some monsters. Sitting here wasn¡¯t doing anything for her. Below her, she could hear the usual moaning and groaning as Jessica healed the guy. It was never quiet¡ªhealing hurt almost as bad as getting the injury in the first place. But right now, that was to her advantage. Tori slipped down the ladder and disappeared into Museumtown. If she hurried, she¡¯d get to the Adler Planetarium before Hal finished clearing it. That¡¯d be the best-case scenario¡ªa free-ish carry through a Tier Two Dungeon with a good chunk of boss experience and some gear. She¡¯d catch up¡ªor at least not fall behind. And even better, she could prove that she deserved to be¡ª Tori hit something. Hard. She found herself on the cement, a familiar-looking, wrinkled face staring down at her from behind a salt-and-pepper beard. Calvin¡¯s hand reached down to help her to her feet. Flushing red, Tori took it and let him pull her back up. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t see you. Aren¡¯t you supposed to be looking for the twins?¡± she muttered. ¡°I saw you, though,¡± Calvin replied. He grinned. ¡°Took the hit on purpose. Where you going? No, don¡¯t tell me. I¡¯ll guess. The planetarium, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Calvin shook his head. ¡°This about your mom?¡± ¡°Step-mom,¡± she said reflexively. It sounded dumb even to her, but she couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°And no. It¡¯s about me.¡± ¡°Come have a sit-down. We¡¯ll talk through this.¡± Calvin pointed at a nearby bench. When both he and Tori were sitting, he continued. ¡°She¡¯s trying.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re not happy about it, and you¡¯re acting like a kid.¡± Calvin held up a hand as Tori spluttered. ¡°No shame in that. You are a kid. And she cares about you. That¡¯s why she¡¯s acting the way she is. You¡¯re both acting how I¡¯d expect you to.¡± ¡°So what?¡± Tori crossed her arms and glared back at the trailer in the distance. ¡°She doesn¡¯t get it. Hal does, but he¡¯s bowing to her on this.¡± ¡°What doesn¡¯t she get?¡± ¡°The messages all told her what we had to do,¡± Tori half-shouted. ¡°Advance and uplift. That¡¯s what we have to do, and she won¡¯t let me.¡± Calvin nodded sympathetically, and Tori suddenly felt like she wanted to scream as he kept talking. ¡°She won¡¯t let you advance. She¡¯s spending all her time uplifting, though. Combat isn¡¯t the only route to making it through this.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m not focused on advancing, either. My level doesn¡¯t matter. I ain¡¯t going to fight anyone¡¯s battles anymore. But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m not useful. You could use your powers to uplift, too, instead of advancing,¡± Calvin said. ¡°But that ain¡¯t who you are, is it?¡± She shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s what I figured. Luckily, what Jessica wants and what you want aren¡¯t opposed¡ªnot really.¡± Tori shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t care what she wants as long as I get some dungeons in. I won¡¯t fall behind. I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Calvin said. He sighed and rubbed his temples. ¡°So, here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do¡­¡±
Destroying a few planets¡ªeven the big Saturnites and the Jupiter-looking laser-shooters¡ªwouldn¡¯t matter. If I wanted to survive this, I¡¯d have to aim for the stars. But first, I¡¯d have to get to them. Half of the glowing suns were already being drained by the Three Bodies, their energy siphoning off into the black hole to be fired in two trails of energy that burned everything in their path. With every second, the black hole grew. Two Tasers fired, using every bit of energy that I¡¯d stored up. They hit one of the stars and dumped their Charge into it; it swelled like a water balloon, glowing a bright white as the energy spike burned its energy off. Then it collapsed into a tiny white point like the pinprick stars overhead. The whole section of the maze went dark. I was out of ammo, but at least I¡¯d figured something out. The Three Bodies found me a second later. I dodged the energy beam as it cut across the floor. The other half was burning a squiggly hole in the sky¡ªthe glowing red trail drowned out the pinprick stars, but not the fiery orbs around it. When I moved, it followed me. I kept moving, dragging the beam across the floor and looking up into the sky. Another planet monster zoomed toward me, firing its red laser as it did; I felt it burn, but the Charge Blade ripped through it, and a few swings later, I¡¯d picked up its experience. But the Three Bodies were growing; I could feel its gravity pulling me in. The energy beam ripped across a pair of planets, annihilating them before they could break apart. Their experience orbs vaporized, too. The Three Bodies¡¯ far beam hit the first star. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. It exploded. The star swelled just like the one I¡¯d shocked. Then it rippled out, flames covering the entire half of the room. A few tendrils of energy looped through space; the black hole sucked them in greedily. Everything shook, and my vision went white. I coughed dust out. When I could see again, the maze was gone. Barriers burned, and most of the planets and stars on the far half had vaporized. A few dozen experience orbs hung in the dark void, along with a single white point that pulsed slightly from the edge of the room. I blinked away the aftershocks as the other stars and planets started to slowly shift. The Three Bodies sat in the room¡¯s center; the black hole had eaten the whole auditorium, but its growth had slowed with the supernova. I knew what I had to do. As one of the now-moving stars dipped low in its orbit, I ran toward it. The Charge Blade sliced into it like a glob of butter. The star disintegrated, swirling and whirling around my weapon¡¯s blade. It melted away, and the half-dozen planets that had orbited it zoomed off in different directions like it had never even existed. The Three Bodies¡¯ gravity pulled at me, and I ran for the outside wall. Two more stars started feeding into it, but its energy beams ripped across them as I fled, and after they exploded, the room went dark. Really, truly dark. And in the darkness, someone screamed.
The gangers¡¯ screams echoed through the room as I rushed toward them. Every wall was down, and the dark nook I¡¯d left them in was exposed to the black hole. My feet slipped out from under me, and I scrabbled for purchase on the floor. As I did, one of the gate guards flew by. His scream cut off as he hit the black hole. His body curved impossibly around the glowing white disk. I watched in horror as he came apart¡ªit wasn¡¯t gorey, though. He just¡­stretched like putty. I¡¯d had a toy when I was a kid that you could stretch and pull, and it would snap back into shape when you stopped. This guy wasn¡¯t coming back from this, though. Then he was gone. I grabbed another biker¡¯s wire-bound hands and dragged him away from the swirling, roaring void. Then I threw him. He crashed into the dungeon¡¯s outside wall and went limp¡ªbut he didn¡¯t start drifting back toward the black hole. The Three Bodies¡¯ gravity ripped at me. I put my head down, gritted my teeth, and pulled myself away from it. Eddie¡¯s third teammate disappeared, or at least stopped screaming. It smelled like burning metal and nothing at the same time. I used the Fast-Hoof boots and surged toward the unconscious man. Then, I pressed myself against the dungeon wall and waited for the black hole to starve itself to death. It took almost three minutes. The black hole tore at my tattered armor¡ªit came apart and flew into the Three Bodies. The man at my feet started moving. And then it stopped. The room remained dark except for the dozens of glowing experience orbs from planets that I¡¯d killed with the supernovas, and I held the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp up to cast a faint orange light over the planetarium. Boss Defeated: The Three Bodies Area Message: The Void¡¯s Embrace¡¯s second floor has unlocked. This floor will remain unlocked for twenty-four hours, after which time the first floor will reset.
The Three Bodies had dropped two pieces of equipment. I also received another prize. Congratulations! For completing one hundred percent of a Tier Two Dungeon¡¯s first floor, you have received the following reward: One [Voltsmith¡¯s] Supply Box (Rank One) I pulled everything into my inventory as the room filled with a faint gray light. The surviving gangster hadn¡¯t gotten experience from the fight, and I didn¡¯t feel the need to share the gear with him. I¡¯d check both pieces out later. Right now, my focus was on the gangster himself. A nameplate hovered over his head. Thomas Wright: Level 26 Class: Ice Sculptor I blinked at that. I¡¯d expected something violent-sounding, not artistic and precise. He was definitely one of Eddie¡¯s men, though. The ill-kept beard looked like if one of our neighbors back in Cozad had let himself go for a month or two, and the man¡¯s shredded biking leathers were covered in patches. I recognized the big one on his back. The Raging Bulls had been a problem in Cozad before¡ªusually when heading to Sturgis. Now, they were gone. This ¡®Thomas¡¯ guy was the last one. Right now, he was unconscious. I could easily finish this. It¡¯d be quick; one swing from the Charge Blade, and he¡¯d be done. But no. Eddie had promised to go after people who mattered to me. This guy¡­hadn¡¯t. At the very least, I needed to give him a chance to explain why he¡¯d rolled with Eddie. After that? I hadn¡¯t gotten that far, and I wasn¡¯t sure I wanted to. Thomas was a problem, but killing him wasn¡¯t the right solution. I could see that much. I couldn¡¯t figure out a better one, though. If I let him go, there was a good chance he¡¯d head straight to the guy in charge of Museumtown, and if he did that, my friends and I were screwed. I pushed that problem out of my head and looked around the planetarium. Now that the gray light shone across the half-circle and the dome in the middle, I realized that I hadn¡¯t, in fact, destroyed the Three Bodies. Two brilliant-white stars swung back and forth around the completely collapsed black hole in a mirror of their pattern a few minutes before. I didn¡¯t feel its tug anymore, but the floor below it had completely collapsed. It looked like a stretched cloth with a rock at its center, perfectly curved around the weight. The fog gate barrier that covered the door had vanished. I could leave. Or¡­I could continue into the void by walking along the curved floor. Instead, I walked around the room, picking up experience orbs. The dozens of planets were enough to level me twice, to Thirty-Five. I put all four points into Charge; I needed as much of it as I could if I wanted to build something new. Dark Orrery (Rare, Charge 5) Allows the wielder to cast Gravity Well once per hour. A physics-based class instead learns the Gravity Well spell as long as the Dark Orrery is equipped. Gravity Well: Pulls all enemies in a wide area toward a center point. Voyager¡¯s Lenses (Rare, Charge 20) +3 Mana, +3 Awareness Allows the wearer to identify enemies¡¯ weak points regardless of their Awareness. Only works on monsters below Level Fifty and Tier One bosses. The Orrery consisted of a half-dozen marble-sized orbs that circled around a central piece of round obsidian the size of a pinhead. When I pulled it out of my inventory, it hovered just over my hand; I couldn¡¯t see any mechanical reason for the thing to work, and I couldn¡¯t cast Gravity Well, either. I put it away and examined the Voyager¡¯s Lenses. The stats were interesting, but the power felt both redundant for a high-Awareness build and temporary. I¡¯d out-scale it soon. I couldn¡¯t use Mana, either, and the system didn¡¯t convert Mana on equipment into Charge. In the end, its main advantage was the dozens of obviously magical components inside of it: gears, a capacitor of some type, and what looked like a tiny transmission. If I disassembled it and got lucky with the Voltsmith¡¯s Supply Box, I might have enough to build my gauntlet¡¯s next stage. But now wasn¡¯t the time. Thomas was stirring. And I had questions. So, so many questions.
Tommy blinked in the gray light. The maze looked nothing like it had when the Voltsmith hit him from behind. He wriggled, but he was still bound with electrical wire. ¡°Oh, shit,¡± he muttered. His head wouldn¡¯t stop pounding. It hurt worse than it had ever hurt before¡ªthe throbbing even drowned out the dozens of other aches. He¡¯d been thrown across the room and into a wall, for fuck¡¯s sake. The single hammer blow shouldn¡¯t have wrecked him this bad. ¡°Oh shit is correct,¡± someone said behind him. Tommy¡¯s heart dropped into his stomach; he couldn¡¯t quite place the voice, but it wasn¡¯t Eddie¡¯s, or one of his boys¡¯. In the worst case, it¡¯d be The Captain. If it was, he was fucked. He flailed and struggled, and eventually, rolled over. It wasn¡¯t the Captain. Hal Riley: Level 35 Class: Voltsmith The man crouched next to him. His dark eyes held no warmth. Tommy tried to look away, but an armored hand lunged out and held him in place; he could feel the energy in that grasp. It was the same energy that had knocked Eddie on his ass. Tommy went still, heart hammering. ¡°Very good. Now, you¡¯re going to tell me everything you know,¡± the Voltsmith said. ¡°About what?¡± Tommy couldn¡¯t keep the edge of fear from his voice. The Voltsmith went quiet as if thinking. His grip slacked, and Tommy relaxed as he leaned back on the balls of his feet. Then he spoke again, his voice cold. ¡°Everything.¡± 30: Puzzling You Tommy Wright told me everything. I already knew some of it. I knew that The Captain ran the show, and that he was ridiculously strong. He¡¯d been in the high Thirties before the Tier Two Dungeons even opened, and according to Tommy, he and his team were going to full-clear the Field Museum and then move on to Soldier Field. Some of it, I suspected, but the confirmation made me want to kill him right here. Eddie had definitely killed Brian. Tommy hadn¡¯t seen it happen; he¡¯d been chasing the twins until a fireball knocked him out of the hunt. When he¡¯d returned to Eddie, the fight had already been over, and the big biker was looting the body. I didn¡¯t know why The Captain was skipping the Shedd Aquarium, and neither did Tommy. According to the former Raging Bull, they¡¯d been assigned the Adler Planetarium, and another team had gotten the Shedd. He didn¡¯t know why The Captain wanted the museum and the football stadium. He didn¡¯t know who the Captain was. There was a lot he didn¡¯t know. But what he did know painted enough of a picture for me. Tommy told me about Eddie¡¯s conversation with The Captain, and his reaction. Knowing that the man knew I was around felt¡­strange. I¡¯d never been a spotlight hog. Worse, if he knew I was around, he¡¯d know Tori and Calvin were, too. Did we need to disappear? One thing was clear: I couldn¡¯t out-level The Captain. He¡¯d figured out a way to power-level himself, and he¡¯d outgrow me no matter what I did¡ªat least on the leveling front. If I wanted to fight him, I needed to adjust my tactics. I needed to get stronger¡ªbut not with levels. I needed parts, and I needed tools. Lots of tools. Eventually, I left Tommy behind. I¡¯d cut his legs free¡ªmostly¡ªand I¡¯d warned him not to go straight to The Captain. He would, but that was okay as long as he did something else for me first. I could only hope The Captain didn¡¯t know what to do about me, or that he was too busy in the Field Museum to spend the time hunting me down. The sunset through Chicago¡¯s skyscrapers cast long, toothlike shadows across Lake Shore Drive and Museumtown. I watched the red and orange clouds as I hurried back toward Jessica¡¯s trailer. Something huge flapped through the canyonlike streets and vanished as it turned. A loud screech followed, and I couldn¡¯t help but shiver. Area Message: The Reliquary of Bones¡¯ second floor has unlocked. This floor will remain unlocked for twenty-four hours, after which time the first floor will reset. That had to be the Field Museum. I hurried; the last thing I wanted was to be on the streets when The Captain and his team exited the dungeon, and I had no idea if they¡¯d keep pushing or come out for the night and try again tomorrow. If I was them, I¡¯d keep pushing unless that first boss had been too much, but they might feel confident. After all, they had control, and could move at their own paces. I couldn¡¯t. Tori¡¯s voice echoed out of the trailer, then cut off. She still hadn¡¯t give up on coming with me. I looked up toward the sky, begging anyone who¡¯d listen for help. She really was like Beth. Someone answered my prayer as I went up the ladder. Tori stayed quiet. Calvin didn¡¯t, though. ¡°Ma¡¯am, the world¡¯s changed. Tori¡¯s fifteen, yes, but she¡¯s also a powerful mage. She¡¯s saved my life several times. I ain¡¯t saying she¡¯ll be safe out there, but I am saying she ain¡¯t safe here, either. Out there, she¡¯ll be with Hal. In here, she won¡¯t have anyone to watch her back.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep her safe!¡± Jessica sounded pissed. I opened the door. Everyone¡¯s head jerked toward me, and Tori started casting a spell. ¡°Just me, guys. It¡¯s okay, carry on.¡± ¡°How will you keep her safe?¡± Calvin asked. Jessica stared at him like he¡¯d slapped her. I chose to stay out of it. Whatever Calvin was trying, I didn¡¯t need to be part of it. He kept going. ¡°I know. You¡¯re relying on your skill to be irreplaceable, and right now, that¡¯s true. The guys in charge of this place need you. In fact, I¡¯d bet someone will be by in the next half-hour or so to drag you over to the Field Museum. You¡¯re needed, but that only lasts until you¡¯re not. When that happens, you¡¯re just as powerful as me. And I can¡¯t keep myself safe if those gangsters decide I need to go. ¡°If you let Tori grow, she¡¯ll be able to protect herself. She¡¯ll be able to protect you, too. If you don¡¯t, there ain¡¯t a thing you can do to keep her safe,¡± Calvin finished. Jessica¡¯s face was pale. Tori opened her mouth, but Calvin put a hand on her shoulder, and she went quiet again. The woman was obviously struggling. She sat on the sleeping bag, eyes shifting. Then she looked at Tori and me. ¡°Get out. Go take a walk or something. Give me ten minutes.¡± I didn¡¯t need to be told twice, but I also didn¡¯t want to be out and about in Museumtown, so instead, I climbed the ladder again and stepped into Jessica¡¯s workshop. It stank of blood and sweat; she was obviously not a doctor, and though she¡¯d tried to keep it clean, she didn¡¯t have the cleaning supplied to sterilize it. Even if she had, the wooden table wouldn¡¯t ever be sterile. Jessica didn¡¯t have much in the way of magic items to rely on, either; the space was more the idea of a doctor¡¯s office than a real one. Tori followed me inside, nose wrinkling. ¡°So,¡± she said with some effort, ¡°you cleared the Planetarium¡¯s first floor. Was it hard?¡± ¡°It was a puzzle. I solved it. The guys who went in after me were worse.¡± I spent the next few minutes telling Tori all about what had happened. When I got through the fight where I killed Eddie, she nodded sagely. ¡°PvP. It was always going to have to end like that.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean, there are always players who don¡¯t know when to quit, and they think they¡¯ve got some huge advantage over everyone else. They decide to test themselves, and they¡¯re never as good as they think they are,¡± Tori said. ¡°You did what you had to do, and it sounds like it rewarded you for it. Did you kill the others?¡± ¡°No. Two of them died to the boss, though.¡± I didn¡¯t tell her how they¡¯d died. She didn¡¯t need that image in her head. ¡°The last one¡¯s still alive. Tori, this isn¡¯t a game.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s not, but it¡¯s following so many game rules I can¡¯t help it,¡± she said. I wanted to respond, but before I could, Jessica started came down the ladder. Her nose wrinkled, too, as she joined us in her workshop. ¡°Tori, I¡¯ve decided to let you go with Hal¡ª¡° ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided to let you go with Hal if you follow some rules,¡± Jessica finished. ¡°Awww.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give me that,¡± Jessica said. ¡°I¡¯ll take back my permission in a heartbeat, I swear to God. You¡¯re not allowed to go into dungeons or leave Museumtown by yourself. You have to go with Hal. I¡¯d prefer if Calvin went with you, too, but he¡¯s made it clear he wants to fight even less than I do. Hal has to tell me where you¡¯re going before you leave. And absolutely, positively no Tier Two Dungeons until I know they¡¯re safe.¡± ¡°But Jessica-Mom!¡± Tori whined. I put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Tori, this is the best you¡¯re going to get right now,¡± I said. Truthfully, it wasn¡¯t a long-term solution. My hope was to take care of my parts needs, then swing back for the second floor of the Void¡¯s Embrace. If I was taking Tori along, I¡¯d need to adjust my plan. On the other hand, Tori and I had worked well together so far, and if the ones we¡¯d done so far were any indication, I was pretty strong for Tier One dungeons. She¡¯d be safe with me, and Jessica knew it. Tori knew it, too. She wasn¡¯t happy about it, but after a minute of pouting, she gave Jessica the ¡®okay¡¯ nod. ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll keep safe. But what about the guys running this town?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I said, heading for the exit. ¡°I¡¯ve got a plan. Tori, meet me outside in five. We¡¯re going to search for Tier Ones near Chicago Station. I¡¯m working on some ideas for handling The Captain and his people. Don¡¯t worry, Jessica. Your kid¡¯s safe with me.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t fill me with confidence,¡± Jessica said, but she didn¡¯t object as Tori headed out the door. I looked at Calvin and Jessica the moment Tori was done climbing down. ¡°Okay, here¡¯s what you¡¯re both going to do...¡±
Tori wasn¡¯t exactly a powerhouse anymore. Her Level 24 had been solid when we arrived at Museumtown, but I¡¯d put on a lot of levels, and I was now eleven ahead. She was being obnoxious about it, too. ¡°Where to? Which dungeon¡¯s first? I¡¯ve got a lot of catching up to do, so hopefully, we can get two or three before we have to hole up somewhere for the night. How do you feel about speed-running? How much can we pull at once?¡± I rubbed my temples. ¡°We¡¯re not going to a dungeon.¡± ¡°What? Hal, this is bullshit!¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± I pulled the Orerry from my inventory and handed it to her. ¡°I got this for you. It¡¯s from the Tier Two I cleared the first floor of. Should fit your build pretty well.¡± It was a blatant attempt to distract her, and I knew it. So did Tori. Her eyes narrowed as she took the Orerry. A moment later, the planets all started orbiting her wrist as the black stone appeared on the back of her hand. She lit up, then forced herself to look angry. ¡°Okay, you bought yourself time for an explanation. Start explaining.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not going to a dungeon right away,¡± I said. ¡°The Captain¡ªwhoever he is¡ªcleared the first floor of the Field Museum just after I got the Void¡¯s Embrace¡¯s first boss down. He was a higher level than I am now before the Tier Twos even opened, and he¡¯s definitely even higher now. I can¡¯t compete with him on levels¡ªespecially because he¡¯s got other teams in other dungeons. I need to approach the fight from a different place.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Tori said. ¡°What about me? I need to catch up so I can help you.¡± ¡°Yes, you do. That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to do some dungeons. But before we do that, I need to make a quick stop. It won¡¯t take long¡ªI doubt the place is even open. But if it is, it¡¯ll give me more of an edge than any dungeon could.¡± ¡°Oh? And where¡¯s that?¡± Tori asked. I smiled. ¡°Cindy¡¯s Automotive.¡±
Jessica Silvers had blood on her hands. On her face. In her nostrils. She could taste it on her tongue. Her body wouldn¡¯t stop shaking, and if Tori wasn¡¯t out tonight, she¡¯d have passed out on her workshop floor. Using the sheer volume of magic she had was exhausting under the best of circumstances, and when she was mid-anxiety attack over the girl she wished would call her Mom? She had nothing in the tank. But Alan, the level Sixteen Rogue on her table, was going to live. And right now, that was all that mattered. Not that she was covered in blood and sweat. Not that his screams had probably woken the dead in the little towns across Lake Michigan. He¡¯d live. Someone knocked on the door. ¡°Just a minute.¡± She groaned. Her back ached, but she forced herself to walk to the water basin and slowly wash the blood from her face and hands until she looked almost human. The door knocker rapped again, sounding more insistent. ¡°I said just a minute,¡± she said more sharply than she intended to. ¡°The Captain¡¯s tired of waiting,¡± the voice said. The door opened, and a pair of men in police uniforms entered. They both carried swords; with them were two others: a man who entered looking like a beaten dog, and The Captain himself. She shivered when he saw their nameplates. The Captain: Level Forty-Five Class: Administrator Thomas Wright: Level Twenty-Six Class: Ice Sculptor ¡°Is this one of them?¡± The Captain asked. He gestured at the boy on the bench, then pointed at Thomas. ¡°Well, is he?¡± ¡°No. He¡¯s a nobody¡ªor at least he¡¯s not one of Hal¡¯s people,¡± Thomas said. ¡°Never seen him before in my life.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Jessica asked. ¡°You know the arrangement; you can¡¯t barge in here and expect¡ª¡° The Captain held up a hand to silence her, then waved it at the ceiling. ¡°Go check upstairs. Tell me if anything¡¯s out of the ordinary. No need for forensics¡ªa quick scan will do.¡± ¡°Got it, sir.¡± The two cops disappeared. She could hear them climbing the ladder and stomping around above her. Was anything of Tori¡¯s up there? No, worse¡ªwas anything of Hal¡¯s? ¡°Sir, you agreed I¡¯d have the independence to treat whoever I wanted if I told you which exhibits were on display in the Field Museum. I gave you what you wanted, and I¡¯ve dropped everything to take care of your men whenever they¡¯ve showed up. My daughter showed up a couple of days ago, and now you¡¯re sending thugs to root through her stuff?¡± Jessica took a deep breath. She was working up a head of steam, and if she wasn¡¯t careful, she¡¯d give away more than she wanted. She¡¯d already had to tell him about Tori, and that alone was more than she¡¯d willingly tell him¡ªnot when she knew what his end-game was for Museumtown. Jessica expected him to be furious; he wanted to know everyone in Museumtown, to have them all registered in his records. Class, name, and level. The new identification info that mattered. Instead, he smiled and said nothing. He stood in between her and the door. The boy on the bench breathed shallowly, and she put a finger to his neck. His pulse was weak, but it was there. One of the cops opened the door, and The Captain stepped aside to let him in. ¡°We found evidence of four people, not one.¡± ¡°And not two, either,¡± The Captain said. ¡°Jessica Silvers, you haven¡¯t been holding to your end of our bargain. That¡¯s a shame. I¡¯m shutting down your practice; you¡¯re coming with me.¡± The cop grabbed her arm, and when she tried to wrench herself free, he tightened his grip until she screamed. As he dragged her out the door, The Captain cleared his throat. ¡°The boy might have heard this. Kill him.¡± A heartbeat passed. Then another one. And then Jessica Silvers heard the gunshot, and the boy¡¯s breath turn to a struggling gurgle that faded away to silence. She screamed. 31: Doubt and Pain Tori¡¯s eyes were glued to the Orerry the whole time we walked through the streets of Chicago. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn¡¯t have cared. People used to walk around with their heads in their phones all the time, and nothing too bad happened to them. But these weren¡¯t normal circumstances, and Tori not paying attention was a problem for both of us. The only reason I didn¡¯t say anything was because she did need the time to figure out what she wanted to do with her new spell¡ªthat and I was fairly sure the area was reasonably safe. After all, we were still pretty close to Museumtown, and whoever this Captain was, he¡¯d been sending out patrols to clear dungeons. Chances were good they¡¯d fought and killed the nearby monsters, too. I was more concerned about Cindy¡¯s Automotive. And about Cindy. It was just outside of the biggest skyscrapers, tucked into a nook between two towering buildings, and I had no idea how Cindy had kept it running when the real estate was so valuable and the profit margins so low. She¡¯d kept me running, too. Without that job, I¡¯d have been even more screwed in Chicago than I had been. She¡¯d been a good boss¡ªsmart enough to know where to put her people, and to know that she had to take care of them. But even though I was worried about Cindy, the garage occupied most of my thoughts. Was it a dungeon? No way. It couldn¡¯t be, not if Lincoln Park Zoo was just a Tier One. No one in their right mind would make an auto shop a dungeon. I couldn¡¯t get the thought out of my head. I¡¯d fought that Ford Explorer for days; it¡¯d be funny if I had to kill it now. Not funny. To be defeated by the Explorer, then have it return¡ªthat¡¯d be tragic. But at the end of the day, I needed my tools. The neon sign was dark against the evening sky. It had always been on the edge of death, and sometimes, it read ¡®Dy Autotive¡¯ instead of ¡®Cindy¡¯s Automotive,¡¯ but I couldn¡¯t hold back a shiver. ¡°Hal, are you good?¡± Tori asked. She¡¯d finally peeled herself away from the Dark Orerry, and she put a hand on my arm. When I flinched, she pulled it away. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, I¡¯m good. Just¡­a lot of memories here.¡± I stared at the broken windows. They hadn¡¯t always been shattered; just a few days ago, the door had been unlocked and the Wyoming traveler was forking out the big bucks to get me working on her car. ¡°I used to work here. We¡¯re here to get my tools.¡± Tori nodded. ¡°Want me to go in and find them?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I grabbed the Charge Blade and knocked the rest of the glass out of a window. The inside was a war zone; wheel rims and coins shone faintly in my gauntlet¡¯s orange light. I caught sight of an unmoving figure on the ground. Tori was right behind me, and I closed my fist around the glowing lens in the gauntlet¡¯s center before she could get a good look. ¡°Keep an eye on the street.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be here if you need me,¡± Tori said. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know if any monster over Level 20 shows up.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I climbed through the window and disappeared into the dark auto shop, leaving Tori behind.
Cindy hadn¡¯t been my worst boss. That had gone to the small engine repair guy, who¡¯d ¡®forgotten¡¯ one paycheck too many. Cindy had made sure we got hours and that we got paid. Sometimes, she was a hardass when she didn¡¯t need to be. But she¡¯d ignored my lack of certification and paid me under the table. She¡¯d kept me afloat for the last six months or so, and she¡¯d told me a few times that she was sorry she couldn¡¯t do more for me. She¡¯d had a reason for being here in the middle of Chicago. For hanging on to a piece of oil-stained dirt and a run-down shop that had to be worth a million dollars or more. She¡¯d never told any of the mechanics why, though, and we¡¯d never asked. I regretted that now. I had no idea why she¡¯d come back here. Maybe she hadn¡¯t survived terraforming. Or maybe this was the place in Chicago where she felt the most at home, and she¡¯d chosen to return to something familiar. I didn¡¯t know her story. But the moment I saw her body in the corner, I knew that it was over. Her chest had been ripped open. I could see where whatever monster had killed her had snapped her ribs. Her face was drawn and pale. The last time I¡¯d seen her, she¡¯d been annoyed. Now, she just looked like she¡¯d died in agony. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The monster hadn¡¯t eaten her, either. Her arms and legs were intact, except for one shattered, bent calf. I found the shop keys, unlocked the back, and put them in Cindy¡¯s pocket. Then, I headed into the parts storage for a tarp. When I got back, Tori stood there. She wouldn¡¯t stop staring at the body. ¡°She was your boss, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± My throat had tightened up so much I could barely breathe. I covered Cindy¡¯s body with the tarp. It was the best I could do right now. ¡°She¡¯d been running this place for a decade when I got here. Maybe longer.¡± ¡°Did you know her well?¡± Tori sounded uncertain what to say. I shook my head. ¡°Alright.¡± She went quiet for almost a minute. When she did talk, her voice was soft and quiet. I could almost smell her anxiety, and I could definitely feel it like a weight. It was probably almost as heavy as my own. ¡°You¡¯re still good, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. Yeah, I¡¯m good.¡± I shook myself a little and headed back toward the break room.
The break room smelled wrong. The reek of oil, sweat, and filth was missing. It reminded me of the Redline Tunnels¡ªartificially natural. Someone had been here. The fridge was completely empty, while a dozen Tupperware and take-out boxes covered the beat-up fake leather couch. The other guys spent their free time here, but I¡¯d usually taken my lunch while staring at my current project. The TV was stone and glass now, but a few magazines lay on the table. I picked one up: Sports Illustrated. They were talking about the beginning of football season. The Bears were supposed to be good this year. My throat grew tight, and I flipped the magazine open. There were other stories. The baseball playoff race was coming to an end, and something about sailing. There¡¯d never be another Bears game. I didn¡¯t even know if the team was still alive. The weight of it hung on me somehow, and all of a sudden, I didn¡¯t want to look at Sports Illustrated anymore. It felt different than looking at Cindy¡¯s body. But at the same time, it felt exactly the same. Something had happened, and the things I¡¯d taken for granted in my life¡ªthe things we¡¯d all taken for granted in our lives¡ªwere gone. I tossed it away. I wasn¡¯t here for magazines anyway. I was here for parts. Cindy¡¯s mostly specialized in domestic cars, but she did a brisk business in motorcycles, too. More importantly, Cindy had always made sure to have the typical parts on hand when she could. We¡¯d been going through a rough patch, and the ¡®warehouse¡¯ part of the place wasn¡¯t overflowing, but I had a few specific goals in mind. I wanted the Trip-Hammer back. No, I wanted the Trip-Hammer, but better. I had a blueprint in mind in my head. It was much more complex than the original design, but this time, I had all the parts in the world to make it happen. The kid-sized dirt bike engine Franco had been working on went into my inventory. So did a dozen gears and flywheels, a quartet of timing belts, and a few other odds and ends. As I pulled each part into my inventory, the blueprint filled itself in. All I was missing was power, and I couldn¡¯t find that here. Part of me wanted to be done. I could have been done. But there was one more thing I wanted to see. I left the empty parts warehouse and pulled open the door to the garage. The Ford Explorer¡¯s guts hung out just like I¡¯d left it. That triggered something, and I closed my eyes. Cindy¡¯s body had been mangled and ruined, but there¡¯d been no blood¡ªnone at all. The parts of her body that weren¡¯t attached were gone. That felt important, but I couldn¡¯t explain why. The SUV wasn¡¯t where I¡¯d left it. It had still been on its lift when I left Cindy¡¯s, and she knew I¡¯d be back for it the next morning. Now, it sat on the ground, its threadbare tires gleaming in the orange light. Its green body was rusted and scratched, but its bones were good. I hadn¡¯t seen a single intact vehicle since leaving the Hardcore Tutorial. Most of them had crashed, caught fire, or been destroyed during terraforming. The ones that weren¡¯t destroyed were overgrown and rusted hulks that looked like they¡¯d been left there for decades instead of days. Other than the transmission, though, the Explorer was perfectly operational. Part of me wanted to check it out and try to figure out why. I ignored that part of me. The rest of me kept staring at the Explorer. I could fix the fuel issue right now. It¡¯d be easy now that I knew what to look for, and I had a whole shop full of parts to make it happen. The SUV was still in pretty good shape; it¡¯d make it to Wyoming for sure. There¡¯d be no point. The gas wouldn¡¯t burn. The engine wouldn¡¯t start. I doubted I could even make it turn over. But that was just another puzzle¡ªmaybe even one more challenging than the transmission had been to begin with. I shook my head. The Explorer would be here when I was ready, but I wasn¡¯t ready yet. The shop was quiet. Too quiet; I¡¯d never heard it so silent, and I wished the radio was blasting oldies again. But it wasn¡¯t. What I needed to do was put Cindy to rest, but that¡¯d mean burning down the building or moving her body, and I couldn¡¯t do either of those things. The last thing we needed was to burn down Chicago. And as for moving her? No. She¡¯d chosen to die here. I locked the Explorer. Even if someone broke in, it wouldn¡¯t start, and it had nothing worth taking in it. But I locked it anyway. Then I walked slowly back to Tori, looked at the dark neon sign one last time, and forced a smile. She returned it, looking unsure. ¡°I found what I was looking for,¡± I said. My shoulders rolled, cracking loudly. ¡°Your mom didn¡¯t give you a curfew, did she?¡± Tori¡¯s eyes narrowed, and I realized my mistake. She didn¡¯t correct me, though. ¡°No.¡± My throat hurt as I forced myself to swallow. ¡°Great. Let¡¯s see how many Tier Ones we can get done tonight. I bet we can get you to the low thirties.¡± 32: Some Restraint I flew through the air as the giant train-car golem slammed its fist down. The track buckled below it; my Charge Blade barely even dented the monstrosity. A second before I hit the rough gravel trainyard, something yanked me in the other direction, and I zipped right back toward the boss. The Track¡¯s Custodian: Level 29 Dungeon Boss Tori let her Pull spell go and dropped a Gravity Well below the golem¡¯s feet. It pulled both it and me down toward the ground, and I swung my blade for all I was worth, aiming for the exposed coupling on its leg. I activated the blade as it hit. Screeching sounds filled the air as metal tore against metal. I¡¯d been working on that joint for a while, but it was still a shock when the limb gave and the boss collapsed. Tori Crushed the golem¡¯s head, and a moment later, the messages rolled in. Boss Defeated: The Track¡¯s Custodian Level Up! 37 to 38 Tori cheered. ¡°Thirty-One! Getting there!¡± ¡°Yes, you are,¡± I agreed. More importantly than the levels, she was starting to master her spells¡ªand not just as an offensive-minded mage. Her telekinetic magic was perfect for supporting my attacks and keeping me out of danger¡ªshe¡¯d wanted to build Calvin as a support, but she¡¯d unwittingly made herself into one instead. Her Push and Pull had been critical for making the Track¡¯s Custodian as easy a fight as it had been. It had almost been too easy, in fact. Tori seemed almost bored. I took one glance at our loot and shrugged it off. Both pieces were bad for us, and I already had plenty of gear to de-Charge. I wanted to make sure she agreed before I took them, though, even if I had other plans for both. Tome of Arsenal (Common) +1 Awareness User learns the spell Arsenal, which allows the caster to apply a variety of useful buffs to both weapons and tools. These buffs last for eight hours, but the caster¡¯s Body is temporarily reduced by two for each buff beyond the first. The tome remains intact, but loses its ability to transfer magic after use. Pulse of the City (Rare, Charge 10) +3 Mana, +3 Awareness The wearer may stabilize an injured person¡¯s condition by maintaining physical contact with either their wrists or neck. This effect breaks if the injured person takes damage. Tori¡¯s mood soured, too. ¡°What a bunch of junk,¡± she said. She turned back toward the train station¡¯s entrance. I scooped both into my inventory; they were bad for us, but the Pulse would be perfect for Jessica, and the Tome of Arsenal was something Calvin might actually use. He didn¡¯t care about his stats; in fact, he hadn¡¯t left Museumtown since the night we¡¯d arrived except to hunt briefly for the twins. I had some idea what he was up to, and it wasn¡¯t dungeon crawling. It had to be close to three in the morning, but Tori wasn¡¯t slowing down. I hurried to keep up with her as she headed for the Boneyard¡¯s entrance. I was feeling it, though. This was my third dungeon of the day, and I¡¯d fought the Cloud Sentinel, too. ¡°Tori, let¡¯s stop and take a breather for a minute,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m almost caught up, though.¡± ¡°Yeah, but we don¡¯t want to have to drag ourselves over the finish line. We¡¯ll call it for the night, then head back to Museumtown tomorrow morning.¡± Tori hesitated at the dungeon¡¯s exit. ¡°And then the Planetarium?¡± I thought about it. The answer was no; I already knew that. But how could I justify it? The first floor and boss hadn¡¯t been any tougher than the single-boss dungeon we¡¯d just cleared; there was no reason Tori and I couldn¡¯t clear the rest of it. Except for Jessica. Jessica was the reason. Tori¡¯s step-mom was right; pushing that hard could be too dangerous¡ªnot because we couldn¡¯t handle the Void¡¯s Embrace, but because we had no idea who else might be inside of it. A team with smarter leadership than Eddie could probably kill us both, and there was no way Tommy hadn¡¯t told his boss about me. He¡¯d have every dungeon entrance in his territory watched. I needed the levels. But I didn¡¯t need to take that kind of risk¡ªand I definitely didn¡¯t need to be risking Tori. ¡°Tell you what, Tori. You let me do some smithing, and we¡¯ll see if we can get you to Thirty-Three or Thirty-Four before we go back. One more Tier One should do it.¡± That was an obvious misdirection, but Tori was as tired as I was, even if she wasn¡¯t showing it. ¡°Deal. But it better be a good one.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Having most of my tools felt like heaven. So did the Charge I¡¯d pulled from shredding a pair of common items I¡¯d looted. Between the two, I¡¯d gone from one point of available Charge to twenty-nine¡ªa massive wealth of power to distribute. I¡¯d also pulled the Charge Blade itself apart; I needed the available power more than I needed it as a weapon. I had a plan for at least twenty of my Charge. First, though, I opened the Voltsmith¡¯s Box from clearing the first floor of the Void¡¯s Embrace. I¡¯d expected to get another pile of assorted non-magical odds and ends, and maybe another manual, but instead, I received a trio of round, bronze batteries and a single emitter much like the one I¡¯d gotten from the first Imbuing Rod. That brought my total number of available batteries to five¡ªincluding the ones in the Charge Blade¡ªand my emitters to two. And that gave me an idea. In addition to the kids¡¯ dirt bike engine, I¡¯d grabbed a full axle from one of the abandoned cars at Cindy¡¯s. It was a lot longer than I needed it to be, and it weighed a lot more than the pipe I¡¯d used for the first Trip-Hammer and the Charge Blade, but it¡¯d work as a handle. It¡¯d also give me more reach, and I had the Body to swing it around. The axle hit the asphalt in the trainyard¡¯s parking lot, followed by the motor. I immediately prised that open, working wires through it and attaching the emitters on either side of the cylinders. If I was right¡ªand I was pretty sure I was right¡ªthe whole thing could run on Charge. It¡¯d take some redesign, but I knew how combustion engines worked, and I could fake the explosion inside the cylinders. That¡¯d provide the power. Once both wire circuits were in place, I installed the emitters inside the engine¡¯s case, right above the cylinders. I could already see how the Charge would flow into the emitter, fire into the cylinder, and be reabsorbed by the wiring on the far side. The force of the Charge¡¯s impact would drive the whole engine. I attached the first battery and worked on the trigger. This one wouldn¡¯t be permanent, and I pushed a single point of Charge into it. The whole circuit lit up faintly in the early morning darkness. I activated the machine. Right away, I saw a problem. Two, actually, but the first one was just a symptom of not using enough power yet. The engine¡¯s top speed was low. Painfully low. It sounded like a chainsaw starting up, not a dirt bike running flat-out. That was fine, though. More concerning was the time it took to reach even that low speed. It took nearly three seconds, not a problem for someone turning a key on a bike, but an eternity in a fight with, say, a thirty-foot-tall golem made of train cars. I set that problem aside for now, though. It was an optimization, and I was still prototyping. ¡°Tori, hold this,¡± I said, pointing to the engine-axle combination. ¡°Don¡¯t let anything move, or I¡¯ll need to start over.¡± As she kept a grip on the device, I worked the wiring down toward the axle¡¯s mid-point, then all the way to the heavy butt. I fired up the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp and started boring a pair of holes in the axle. Once they were about as deep as I could get them without cutting all the way through, I installed two of the charge batteries before covering them with steel scrap. I bolted everything in place with my wrenches, then covered the wiring in electrical tape all the way up and down the weapon. I still hadn¡¯t figured out a way to guarantee I¡¯d be able to rev it up instantly, but I had an idea. I attached the hammers, this time lining them up one hundred eighty degrees opposite each other so one would be right against the handle and the other above it. The old ratchet plates came out of my inventory. Then, I had a decision to make. I could go with the same spikes I¡¯d used before. They absolutely tore through armor, and they were still pretty lethal against everything else. But I wanted to upgrade this thing down the line once I had more emitters. While I pondered that, I decided to test the machine¡¯s acceleration and power with a full twenty Charge. I filled both batteries as full as they¡¯d go and revved it up. A second and a half later, it was howling away. I engaged the ratchet plates, and both hammers snapped halfway around their rotation, then slammed to a stop that jarred my wrists and elbows. Perfect. Almost perfect. The power was right where I wanted it to be; even without the hammer claws, this thing would be devastating. The acceleration wasn¡¯t where it needed to be, though, and I couldn¡¯t add more power to it. The engine had almost shaken itself apart from twenty Charge. Thirty would be too much. Thirty all at once would be too much. The answer had been in my hand the whole time. I shut the engine off, then poured power into it from my gauntlet while starting it. An orange flash nearly blinded me, but the new Trip-Hammer was thundering along at full power in less than a second. I checked my gauntlet¡¯s remaining power, then what I had in my own reserves. Stored Charge 12/15 Charge - 9/44 (35 used) That was acceptable¡ªfor now. I still hadn¡¯t figured out how to make the hammerheads upgradable, but swinging two sledgehammers at these speeds would be enough until I did. I cleaned up my workspace and shoved the Trip-Hammer into my inventory. Heavy Trip-Hammer, by Hal Riley (Created Item, Charge 20) The Trip-Hammer uses magical energy, external power sources, and salvaged parts to apply incredible destructive force to a small area. First created by Hal Riley of Earth. Tori tapped her foot impatiently by the dungeon¡¯s entrance. ¡°You finished yet?¡± ¡°Almost.¡± I pulled up my stat screen to take a look. [Hal Riley] [Class - Voltsmith] [Level - 38] [Stats] ?Body - 22 ?Awareness - 42 ?Charge - 9/44 (35 Used) Stat Points Available: 0 [Class Skill - Decharge/Recharge - Drain the charge from magic items to power your own creations] Items ?Fast-Hoof Boots ?Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp (15 Charge) - 0/3 Taser Launchers Loaded ?Heavy Trip-Hammer (20 Charge) The amount of points I¡¯d put into Charge recently concerned me, but I needed them all to make this work. Synergistic system or not, Voltsmith was starting to seem like a single-stat class. I wasn¡¯t sure I liked that; my Body was starting to get too low for comfort¡ªat least in comparison to my other stats. ¡°I could have partnered up with someone with a normal class, but no, I had to find the one guy who needs to sit around every five minutes to tinker with his gear,¡± Tori complained. I was about to start arguing when a new message came in. Area Message: The Void¡¯s Embrace¡¯s second floor has been cleared. The first Tier Two Dungeon in the [Chicago] area has been fully cleared. 33: All the Sinners, Saints My stomach dropped. I¡¯d been hoping to clear the second floor tomorrow, just before I confronted The Captain. Now, I couldn¡¯t count on that boost. Worse, he¡¯d almost certainly been involved; so far, the Field Museum and The Void were the only two dungeons in Chicago that anyone had pushed to the second floor. He¡¯d taken The Void because he had total control of the Field Museum, and if we didn¡¯t get back to Museumtown and deal with him, he¡¯d finish the second dungeon and gain even more power. Everything was happening faster than I¡¯d planned. ¡°I¡¯ve gotta break my promise, Tori,¡± I said. My Voltsmith¡¯s supplies were already packed up, and I was halfway out the door when she made an indignant sound. I held up my hand. ¡°No, I¡¯m not arguing. I¡¯ve been putting this off, and that¡¯s a mistake. The Captain¡¯s been hiring bad dudes like Eddie to do his dirty work. If he¡¯s willing to work with them, he supports what they do, and I can¡¯t¡­¡± I trailed off ¡°You can¡¯t let what happened to Brian happen to other people?¡± Tori asked. ¡°Yes. I thought maybe I¡¯d dealt with it when I killed Eddie. An eye for an eye. But his friend told me everything he knew, and instead of going straight to the source, I went to Cindy¡¯s.¡± Tori nodded slowly, eyes down and narrowed. She looked both furious and like she was trying to hide it. ¡°Okay. Okay, fine. Break the promise, deal with this guy, and then let¡¯s get back out there.¡± She fell in behind me, and we turned east toward Lake Michigan and Museumtown. The whole time, I was checking my gear. I¡¯d loaded three taser shots into the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp, my armor was¡­serviceable, I supposed, and the new Heavy Trip-Hammer felt right in my grip. It also felt like it¡¯d pull itself free the moment I triggered both hammers at once, but I could avoid that for now by being careful. I also had the Quick-Hoof Boots; nothing had replaced the gap-closer¡¯s utility. In all, I was looking pretty solid. So was Tori; at Level 31, she¡¯d set up her gear to be completely rare equipment, with new spells, buffs to her survivability, and Perfection¡¯s Gaze to drive in more damage the longer an enemy stood against her. She wasn¡¯t just a solid crowd-control mage. Her Telekineticist class could cast a lot of spells quickly, and the Perfection¡¯s Gaze buff started to add up fast. In half an hour, we arrived at the gates of Museumtown and slipped inside. There was no guard; no one was there to stop us. No one was on the streets, either. There¡¯d been a guard the last few times; they wanted us to register with The Captain¡¯s people. And while Museumtown wasn¡¯t a bustling metropolis like downtown Chicago had been, more and more people were finding it every day. I couldn¡¯t hold back a shiver. Then again, it was four in the morning. Tori and I hurried down the dark paths. The fort on the Field Museum¡¯s steps was lit up with torches; we gave it a wide berth and stayed in the shadows; no one saw us, or at least no one shouted or tried to stop us. When we got close to Jessica¡¯s house, Tori stopped me with a hand on my wrist. ¡°She always had candles burning at home, but never, ever when she was asleep. She was worried about starting a fire.¡± She pointed at the light pouring from the door to her clinic. ¡°Think she might be up helping someone?¡± I asked. ¡°Maybe.¡± I pulled the Trip-Hammer out and hoisted it over my shoulder, but didn¡¯t start the engine yet. ¡°Stay back,¡± I said. Then I pulled the door open. A man¡ªno, a teenage boy¡ªlay on the table. He was obviously dead, but the number of wounds with not-so-fresh scabs covering his body told me he¡¯d been attacked by monsters recently¡ªand survived them. The fact that he was here at all meant Jessica had been working on him. The gaping bullet wound in his chest was fresher, though. I touched his face. It was cold. Who still had a working gun? For once, Tori had listened. She didn¡¯t follow me in, and when I shut the door, she was still a few yards back. ¡°Don¡¯t go in there. It¡¯s no one we know, but it¡¯s¡­it¡¯s not good.¡± She paled. ¡°Got it, Hal.¡± I climbed the ladder, expecting the worst. ¡°Jessica, you here?¡± I called into the trailer. When no one responded, I slowly opened the door, feeding power into the Trip-Hammer¡¯s engine. It hummed to life, ready to go. Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp: 12/15 Charge Then I stepped inside. A tornado had hit the next town over when I was fifteen, and Mom, Dad, Beth, and I had piled into Dad¡¯s truck to help with the recovery. We¡¯d worked all day, for three days, before we finally had the roads open and people could get back to their trailers. I spent two days sorting through family pictures, ripped teddy bears, and kids¡¯ clothes after that. When Dad said we were done, I¡¯d never felt more relieved¡ªand I¡¯d feared the day a tornado would rip through Cozad for years after. The destruction in Jessica¡¯s place wasn¡¯t that bad¡ªnot even close¡ªbut someone had been through her stuff, and they hadn¡¯t been worried about putting it back when they were done. I ignored the clothes and shredded sleeping bag. They didn¡¯t matter. What did matter was that Jessica was gone, and I had a pretty good idea of where she¡¯d gone. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. I climbed back down. ¡°She¡¯s not here.¡± Tori only got more pale, but her fist clenched, and the Dark Orrery flew around her hand faster. ¡°What are we going to do about it?¡± ¡°Calvin¡¯s not here, either, or I¡¯d ask him. He¡¯s got the experience,¡± I said. I paused. Breathed in and out a couple of times and forced my grip on the Trip-Hammer to loosen. Continued. ¡°If this isn¡¯t The Captain¡¯s work, I¡¯d be shocked.¡± ¡°For sure,¡± Tori said. ¡°What do we do about it?¡± My mouth tasted like bile. I swallowed it down. Something had to be done. The Captain had the right idea about coming together here, but the way he was going about it was wrong. This wouldn¡¯t fly back home. Back home, we helped people. We didn¡¯t hire thugs to kill them. He was a problem, and I¡¯d already solved Eddie. I could solve him, too. What I didn¡¯t want to do was get Tori involved in it. She was just a kid. But she was also the strongest mage I knew, and one of only a couple people over Level Thirty in Museumtown. I crouched on the grass and motioned for her to join me. When she did, I lowered my voice. ¡°This guy doesn¡¯t deserve to be part of humanity. We¡¯re going to write him out of it.¡± Tori¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a predatory grin filled her face. ¡°Hell yeah.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re going to listen to everything I say while we do it.¡± ¡°Dammit!¡±
The plan was simple. Jessica was in one of two places. Either she was inside the fortress or the Field Museum. Either way, she¡¯d be with The Captain. I had a pretty good guess as to which one. And we¡¯d know in just a minute. Tori and I crept closer to the concrete and sheet metal castle on the Field Museum¡¯s marble steps. Twenty feet away, I signaled for her to stop and pulled up next to her. ¡°Remember, the goal is the dungeon door. The fight itself doesn¡¯t matter, but we don¡¯t want to be followed, either.¡± ¡°Uh-huh. Alright, let¡¯s do this,¡± Tori said. I nodded, and she started casting Crush. I ran straight toward the sheet metal wall, pouring energy into the Trip-Hammer to start its engine. Just before I got there, Tori¡¯s spell cast, and she followed it up with Push. The metal imploded, then flew into the room with a crash; torches and two-by-fours flew everywhere. Someone yelled. I revved the Trip-Hammer and slammed it into the first guard to turn toward me. He raised a spear, tattooed face monstrous in the guttering torchlight. He almost stopped my hammer, but the ratchet wheels caught, the engine screamed, and his spear¡¯s haft shattered. A moment later, so did his shoulder with a crunch I could feel in my hands. His scream drowned out my engine¡¯s. Tori was right behind me. She used Gravity Well and trapped a pair of guards, then Pushed them away as I sprinted for the stairs. I hit a door shoulder-first and crashed right through it, Trip-Hammer already up for the next fight. A gunshot went off. I was so shocked that I almost didn¡¯t feel the impact mid-chest. Almost. Someone had a gun¡ªnot only that, but it was working. I¡¯d thought guns didn¡¯t work anymore. The second shot hit me a few inches from the first. I felt that one. A bone broke in my chest. ¡°Hands up!¡± the man yelled. I caught his class¡ªBeat Patrolman¡ªas I rushed him. He stood at the top of the wide marble stairs, between me and a throne that looked more like a La-Z Boy. Behind that, a wall of gray fog covered the entryway to the museum. The gun went off again, then six more times in rapid succession as I hurried up the stairs. Not one of the ten shots hit me, though; it took me a second to realize why. Tori had dropped a Gravity Well off to the side, and it was pulling the bullets slightly. Not much, but just enough. I bared my teeth in triumph. The Trip-Hammer¡¯s engine screamed. Then, the twin hammers fired, one after the other. They hit the cop with a pair of dull, wet whumps. A second later, his red experience orb appeared, along with two green items and a blue one. I motioned for Tori to grab them as I whirled to fight any guards dumb enough to follow us. Not one of them had, and after a moment, I lowered the Trip-Hammer. The engine chugged to a halt. ¡°No one else?¡± Tori asked. ¡°That was easy.¡± ¡°If it was easy, it¡¯s because they went inside, and they dragged your mom in with them,¡± I said. I waited for the realization to sink in; Jessica in a Tier Two dungeon was the worst-case scenario. Tori paled. Then she grit her teeth. ¡°We¡¯re going in after her, right?¡± ¡°Right,¡± I said, hoping we weren¡¯t already too late.
As The Captain pushed Jessica through the Field Museum, she tried not to glance toward the Native American exhibits. She¡¯d worked far too hard on them to even hint that there might be something of value there¡ªsat down with representatives from dozens of groups to listen to their stories, led the repatriation effort for the hundreds of artifacts the museum had acquired, and then built the new exhibits with only what they¡¯d been given. Those exhibits had been her attempt to document Native cultures, but more importantly, to do it in their ancestors¡¯ own words. It was a passion project that her superiors hadn¡¯t been keen on, but Jessica¡¯s brother-in-law was Chippewa, and she¡¯d forced it through. She¡¯d also forced a Native curator through. He took over the project when it was halfway done, leaving Jessica second in command. Now they¡¯d changed¡ªjust like everything in this dungeon had changed. It wasn¡¯t the Field Museum she knew and loved. But she¡¯d be damned if these bastards looted what was left of her favorite part of it. A backhand across her face stung her, and she started walking again, hurrying to avoid The Captain¡¯s next blow. ¡°Jessie, Jessie, Jessie¡ªI can call you that, right?¡± The man didn¡¯t wait for her to respond. ¡°Jessie, you¡¯re necessary here, and¡­optional. Yeah, optional. You¡¯re optional out there.¡± Jessica couldn¡¯t meet his eyes. Though she didn¡¯t bear a single mark aside from a red cheek, they¡¯d gotten her to talk¡ªand she¡¯d told them what she had to. Tori, Hal, and even the bum, Calvin. Who they were, their classes and levels, what they were planning¡ªeverything they asked for. They hadn¡¯t even had to push hard. Jessica had never been the toughest cookie, and this time, she¡¯d crumbled under the slightest pressure. Or at least that¡¯s what she¡¯d pretended. The Captain¡ªSaul¡ªsaid he¡¯d leave Tori alive. Jessica knew he was lying. She also knew what she had to do to survive¡ªand to give Tori the best chance she could. ¡°You¡¯re going to tell us everything you know about Sue, right?¡± Saul asked. ¡°Sue? Oh shit, Sue¡¯s the boss, isn¡¯t she?¡± Tommy asked. He shivered. ¡°Are we totally fucked?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re not totally fucked. We can leave anytime we want to¡ªthe dungeon¡¯s rules said so. So here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do. You and the bitch are going to post up at the top of the stairs. The three of us are gonna fight that T-Rex. And if we get hurt, we¡¯ll rotate through. She keeps us fighting, we kill Sue, then we kill Hal,¡± Saul said. ¡°If she tries to leave, kill her. If you try to leave, I¡¯ll kill you both.¡± Tommy nodded as Saul and the others headed up to the Reliquary of Bones¡¯ second floor. He pulled a knife, glanced at Jessica, and swallowed. She met his eyes, and he might have nodded just slightly. She wasn¡¯t sure. Jessica caught the tacky, red-brown blood splattered across Tommy. Her patient¡¯s blood. Her stomach churned; She shivered and followed them up, Tommy holding a knife at the ready behind her. A deafening roar filled the dungeon, and she screamed. After sixty-five million years, Sue roamed the Earth again. 34: Some Sympathy and Some Taste Tier Two Dungeon: The Reliquary of Bones (Floor Two) Objective: Defeat the Queen Tyrant Objective: Survive (0/1) Completion: 0% Paid Exit: Dungeon Delvers may leave this dungeon, but only by sacrificing a level. Open Floor: Once triggered, the dungeon¡¯s bosses will roam freely. Activation Code: The dungeon¡¯s boss will only become active once certain conditions are met. The roar that greeted us as we entered the Reliquary of Bones sent chills down my spine and froze me in my footsteps for a moment even after it stopped and its echoes faded. Someone screamed in agony in the distance. We both started sprinting. She pointed left as we ran. ¡°Animal exhibits. Indian stuff¡¯s on the right. That¡¯s where Mom works. Egypt¡¯s downstairs.¡± I noticed that the ¡®step-mom¡¯ was gone, but decided not to comment on it right now. ¡°If this is the first floor, it¡¯s already cleared of everything we care about.¡± I¡¯d only been inside the Field Museum once, and only for an hour, but I remembered a gigantic, brontosaurus-looking skeleton in the main entryway. It wasn¡¯t there anymore, but a winged dinosaur sat perched on the second floor¡¯s railing on the far side of the far-too-expansive main hall. Sky Hunter: Level Forty-Two Monster It watched us for a moment, then flew off toward the ceiling overhead, where it vanished into an arch-covered hallway. As it went, I spotted a single unblocked staircase leading higher. ¡°There! That¡¯s our way up. Let¡¯s go,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t have to tell her twice¡ªthe blood-curdling roar coming from upstairs did that for me. So did the System message that followed. The Queen Tyrant is leaving its lair. All Dungeon Delvers in The Reliquary of Bones, prepare yourselves. Tori looked up, face a combination of sick and determined, and sprinted for the stairs. She was halfway up¡ªand I was a step behind her¡ªwhen she suddenly stopped. I hit her and knocked her onto the steps, but she barely seemed to notice. Her eyes were locked on a man with a knife held to Jessica¡¯s throat. Mine were locked on his nameplate. Thomas Wright: Level Twenty-Six Class: Ice Sculptor I¡¯d let him go. I¡¯d assumed Eddie was the core problem in his team at the time and that Tommy had just gone along with it. I so often wanted to believe that everyone was like our neighbors back in Cozad. I¡¯d wanted to rely on him to do the right thing. Jessica was paying for that mistake now. A bloody gash covered her face, from her nose all the way across to the base of her ear. She shook, her face drawn and eyes wet with tears. Tori shook, too. She was paying for my mistake almost as much as her mom was. She started casting a spell, but the knife pushed into Jessica¡¯s throat. I tightened a hand on Tori¡¯s shoulder, and she stopped, but I could feel the hatred¡ªand fear¡ªin her glare even from behind her. ¡°Fucking hell,¡± Tommy said. He lifted his chin at me. ¡°The Captain took a risk, and it¡¯s not paying off.¡± ¡°You cut my mom, you asshole!¡± Tori ground out between gritted teeth. ¡°I did, didn¡¯t I? Fuck. Sorry, Hal.¡± Tommy went quiet, but the knife didn¡¯t move. The Queen Tyrant roared. It was getting closer. The knife jerked, and a drop of red appeared just below Jessica¡¯s chin. Tommy didn¡¯t notice. Tori did, though, and I started talking before she could do something stupid. ¡°Tommy, put down the knife, and we¡¯ll let you leave.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a moron. The second I put it down, that bitch is going to cast a spell and rip my spine out.¡± Tommy looked at Tori, who glared back. ¡°You get out of the way, let me walk out the portal, and I¡¯ll leave Ms. Silvers just outside.¡± ¡°Fuck yo¡ª¡° Tori started. ¡°Deal,¡± I interrupted before Tori could do something dumb and ruin everything. Tori¡¯s head whipped around and her glare intensified, this time locked onto me. I didn¡¯t care. Right now, the only way out was not through. The only way out was to leave before the Queen Tyrant¡ª The hall behind Tommy exploded. Marble and plaster erupted outward, and a pair of huge bronze statues flew over my head and crashed into the main hall¡¯s floor far below. Two men burst out of the cloud of shattered glass and dust. The first wore the wreckage of a policeman¡¯s uniform, while the other was clad in battle armor and carried a huge sword. His nameplate hung over his head, and I glanced at it for a fraction of a second. The Captain: Level Forty-Three Class: Administrator Level Forty-Three. Holy crap. Then my gaze locked on the massive empty eye socket looming over the man, and the teeth¡ªfar too many, and each the size of a pitchfork tine. The Queen Tyrant¡¯s brown, petrified eye locked on mine. For a few seconds, the Reliquary of Bones was silent¡ªan apocalypse, frozen in time. Another bronze hit the ground below, and something further down the hall crashed. Then the Queen Tyrant roared again, and everything went to hell.
The Queen Tyrant: Level Fifty-Five Elite Dungeon Boss Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Current Difficulty: Impossible The Queen Tyrant remembers ruling with an iron fist¡ªa tiny one, but an iron fist nonetheless. She was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the Cretaceous. Now, she finds herself in a new world, one filled with weak and helpless prey. The Queen Tyrant remembers ruling, and when she¡¯s finished, no one will dispute her right to rule again. Skeletal - This boss takes reduced damage from weapons designed to cut or pierce. Insatiable - This boss will feed on any viable food sources within its range. Dominion Aura - This boss¡¯s lair grants it the Elite status. Elite - This monster moves faster and hits harder than a similarly powerful monster (thirty-four seconds remaining). Everything happened in about three seconds. Tori started casting something. Gravity Well, or maybe Crush. I couldn¡¯t tell, because Jessica¡¯s scream¡ªand the impact of her body slamming into Tori¡ªcut the spell off. They both crashed into me, and we fell down the stairs in a tangle. Tommy started running, taking the stairs three at a time on the way down and casting his own spell. The knife hit the ground behind him, forgotten and bloody. He swore and yelled, looking over his shoulder. The two men at the top of the stairs turned right instead of coming down. They angled away from us and toward the second floor¡¯s other wing. I let them go; The Captain was a problem, but my goal was to get Jessica out. And the Queen Tyrant stepped forward. The balcony cracked and crumbled beneath her weight, and she roared as she fell twenty feet down to the first floor, then punched through it and down into the basement. She sank hip-deep, then stopped. As I pushed Tori and Jessica off me and readied the Trip-Hammer, I knew it wouldn¡¯t be enough¡ªnowhere near enough. The Queen Tyrant was just too strong¡ªtwelve levels and that ¡®Elite¡¯ buff. The Captain had no chance of fighting it, and neither did we. But I didn¡¯t need to fight it. I just needed to get Tori, Jessica, and myself out of the dungeon alive and be ready to fight The Captain when he came out behind us. That refocused the whole conflict on him. The Queen Tyrant was a force of nature, not an enemy. At least not yet. I put the Trip-Hammer away and shouted, ¡°Run!¡± Tori looked at her step-mom, then at Tommy. The man was almost to the exit already. She looked like she was about to cast a spell at him. ¡°No! Just run! We¡¯ll deal with him later!¡± I screamed, right in her face. She flinched, then started running. Something flashed past my head, and something wet splattered across my face. I grabbed Jessica and followed her as the Queen Tyrant erupted from the shattered concrete and tile floor. I lost track of The Captain and the other cop. Tommy had gotten out, probably, and Tori was well ahead, but I didn¡¯t even have the focus to care about her right now. My only thought was keeping in front of the stomping, thudding footfalls and breaking tiles behind me. Jessica kept mumbling something about the Native American wing, but I couldn¡¯t understand her. Her lips barely moved, and every bump and jerk tore at the wound across her face. Her blood-soaked shirt stained my armor all across the front. We were going to make it. The Queen Tyrant wasn¡¯t fast enough¡ªnot when the whole dungeon seemed to be in her way. A few more seconds and her ¡®Elite¡¯ buff would fall off. We were going to¡ª A figure in battle armor hit the floor in front of me. ¡°You have someone who belongs to me,¡± The Captain said. He leveled his sword at Jessica. I stopped. We were thirty feet from the exit¡ªTori had already gone through. At any moment, she¡¯d realize we weren¡¯t right behind her. When she did, she¡¯d come back to help me. The roaring, hunting Tyrannosaurus Rex closed in, but its forward progress had slowed as it pushed through steel beams and concrete basement walls. We had a handful of seconds. Enough time to think of something¡ªbut not much longer than that. I dropped Jessica to her feet and pulled the Trip-Hammer out of my inventory. ¡°Go for the door. Tori¡¯s waiting.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± She wasn¡¯t fully aware. In shock. I¡¯d seen it before, in the shop, when someone got careless and hurt themselves badly enough to need help. ¡°Go!¡± I shouted. She went. The Captain turned as if to grab her, but before he could, I fired off all three tasers, one after another. The first missed, but the second caught him in the arm, and he went down. Bam! A gunshot went off, and I whirled to face the cop firing his handgun my way. The Captain was a problem, but¡ªI brought the Trip-Hammer overhead and smashed it into the shooter¡¯s knee. It buckled, and he screamed. I whirled to finish him off, but before I could, a massive foot slammed down onto him. He didn¡¯t die right away. His scream sounded like he wished he had, but the Queen Tyrant ground him to a pulp below her massive claws, so it didn¡¯t take long. I dashed for the door. The Captain was down; if I could make it out, the Queen Tyrant might finish him off for me. But the boss¡¯s bone tail slammed down between me and the fog gate before I could get through. I swung the Trip-Hammer, activating both heads at the same time. It felt like hitting a tank. Even without her ¡®Elite¡¯ buff, the Queen Tyrant was still too much for me. She bore down on me, what had to be ten tons of bone, rock, and hatred thundering through the floor on her way to me. I hit the floor and activated my Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp. The shock did nothing; the massive leg next to me was as thick as an oak stump and made of stone. And she was thirteen levels higher than me. ¡°The Voltsmith. I¡¯ll remember you,¡± The Captain shouted. I rolled, and my heart dropped. He¡¯d gotten around me¡ªand around the boss, too. ¡°But I¡¯ve worked too hard to let you screw up my plans. I¡¯m going to fix everything!¡± The Queen Tyrant roared. She flailed toward him, tiny arms reaching out with her jaw. He stepped through the fog gate¡ªand into the throne room, where Tori and Jessica were. I needed to get to them, and I was out of time. Completely out of time. As the Queen Tyrant¡¯s head snapped my way and her massive eye socket refocused on me, I sprinted straight at her. She roared again, but I kept running. The Trip-Hammer idled in my hand, but I didn¡¯t bother swinging it. I threw myself forward onto my stomach; the impact drove air from my lungs, but I slid like a baseball player leaping toward home plate. Behind me, the Queen Tyrant¡¯s tail came down. Ahead of me, The Captain waited for me. The only way forward was through him.
Behind me, the Queen Tyrant¡¯s tail came down. Ahead of me, The Captain waited. Alone. Just like we¡¯d planned. I¡¯d started putting the pieces together during my conversation with Tommy in The Void. The biker was a broken man by the time the dungeon¡¯s first floor calmed down; even so, he¡¯d willingly told me everything I needed to know. The biggest thing was that Jessica was the only Healer in Museumtown right now. The second biggest was how The Captain had leveled up so fast. He¡¯d seen it happen. The man¡¯s level had just ticked up, and he had no idea how, but I¡¯d had a guess: the Administrator class. He was siphoning off power from everyone who pledged loyalty to him, gaining levels whenever they did anything. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was clearing dungeons and Field Bosses, or if he got a small percent of their experience for everything. Neither was Tommy. That didn¡¯t matter. What did matter was that he was using people for his goals. And I had people. The Captain¡ªno, the apocalypse¡ªwas a puzzle, and people were the pieces. I¡¯d been hoping to find a few more; after Calvin met with Tommy to get him on board, he was supposed to find Carol and Zane. And the whole time I¡¯d been dungeon-crawling with Tori, I¡¯d been hoping to run into Bobby Richards. But I¡¯d underestimated The Captain¡¯s willingness to pull the trigger when we disrupted his plans. He¡¯d gone after Jessica way faster than I¡¯d expected him to. And that had put Tommy between a rock and a hard place. Jessica, too. It had been worth it, though. In the end, Bobby and the twins hadn¡¯t been necessary. Tommy and Jessica had been in position to whittle away at his base of support slowly, being a touch slow on one heal or helping finish off another injured fighter, and they¡¯d proven me right; his level was dependent on his lackeys. We¡¯d both been relying on people. Now, it was just him and me. 35: Every Cop is a Criminal Your Level has decreased by one. By retreating from the Reliquary of Bones, you have lost one point in Body and Awareness. Saul burst out of the wall of gray fog, feeling like he had whenever the DA had to shut down a case due to ¡®lack of evidence.¡¯ The Voltsmith was inside with the Tyrant Queen; he¡¯d fought with it for almost a half hour before realizing he wasn¡¯t going to win, and Hal Riley wasn¡¯t his equal. He¡¯d done the set-up¡ªbaited him into a trap with Jessica as the bait¡ªand now the jaws were closing on Hal. ¡°Guards! To me!¡± he shouted. He waited a heartbeat. Two. Then he looked around. Trevors was dead. So were the few bikers he¡¯d left behind. He shut his eyes for another heartbeat. Those fuckers. Those dumb motherfuckers. He¡¯d told them to get out of the way if anyone tried to get inside, and they¡¯d fought back anyway. He expected it from the gangsters. Not so much from Trevors. A thought struck him. A horrible thought. He pulled up his stat menu¡ªnot the fake one with the Administrator class, but the Fixer one he¡¯d really gotten. That epic class came with two features. The first hid its name behind a false one. And the second¡­ Saul Williams: Level Forty-One Class: Fixer ¡°God dammit,¡± he said. He¡¯d lost too many lackeys, and the levels they¡¯d granted him when they¡¯d cleared a dungeon were gone. He was only a level higher than the Voltsmith. Saul laughed bitterly as he readied the Sword of Forgotten Pharaohs. He¡¯d been ambitious. Too ambitious; he¡¯d assumed all the Tier Two dungeons were as easy as the Void. It had cost him, and he filed that away. Once he killed Hal Riley, he could set up a new group of lackeys and narcs willing to betray their people for a single level of power. He¡¯d fix the fights he had to, rebuild from the ground up. This was a setback, but Saul had always been ambitious. He just had to win this one fight, in his throne room. Then he¡¯d make Jessica and the girl pay. He lifted his sword over his head, waiting for the Voltsmith to step through the fog gate and into his throne room. One strike, and it¡¯d be over. Then, he could set up the pieces so they fell the way he needed them to. They always did; he was smart enough to see the opportunities and quick enough on his feet to roll with them. Something slid through the Reliquary¡¯s doors and cartwheeled down the stairs. Even Saul¡¯s reflexes were too slow; the Sword of Forgotten Pharaohs caught nothing but marble as he swung it.
Your Level has decreased by one. By retreating from the Reliquary of Bones, you have lost one point in Body and Awareness. I rolled, trying to right myself as The Captain¡¯s sword flashed down toward me. The Trip-Hammer got in the way when I was still on my knees; the blow rang my wrists and elbows from the impact. I hit the stairs and tumbled down them headlong. Tori was gone. So was Jessica. I hit the bottom step and stopped. They¡¯d had the common sense to get out of here and leave The Captain to me. Or leave me to The Captain. Either way was fine. Either way, they were safe. The Captain wasn¡¯t. ¡°Half of humanity¡¯s already dead, and you want to kill the rest? Don¡¯t you realize what you¡¯re doing?¡± I roared. My vision blacked as I pushed myself to my feet and readied the Trip-Hammer. My body ached from my desperate slide and its consequences; I¡¯d have bruises all down my front tomorrow. But right now, I just wanted to break the Captain¡¯s grip on Museumtown and keep my people safe. He was a problem, and every problem had a solution. Eddie had taught me that sometimes, the solution was death. I saw the Captain. His nameplate had changed. Saul Williams: Level Forty-One Class: Fight Fixer I stared. He did know what he was doing. He knew exactly what he was doing. Then I charged up the stairs, Trip-Hammer revving as I poured Charge into its motor. Both hammers lashed out. The first caught the blade, gouging its sharpened blade near Saul¡¯s grip. The second smashed into the marble steps below. Spiderweb cracks rocketed across the step, and my arms shook from the impact¡ªjust like they had when I¡¯d tried to hit the Tyrant Queen. Saul¡¯s sword whipped toward my face. I got the Trip-Hammer¡¯s handle between it and me, but he kept pushing. He wasn¡¯t stronger than me, but when I fired my hammerheads, his head was inches from the ratcheted claws. ¡°You¡¯re in the way. I¡¯m going to fix everything, for everyone,¡± Saul said. ¡°You¡¯re killing people! Good people!¡± I broke free, swung the Trip-Hammer, and fired it again. He blocked, swung his blade, and we traded blows. I checked the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp as Saul swung in. Stored Charge: 3/15 0/3 Taser Launchers Loaded It was ramping up for another shock grip, but it wouldn¡¯t be for a while¡ªand I¡¯d used my Tasers to stop him from killing Jessica. I needed something¡ªan edge. I backed across the landing at the top of the stairs. Saul¡¯s sword sliced in, and I was a beat too slow. The blade caught my chest. It didn¡¯t cut deep, but it stung. I grit my teeth, fired the Trip-Hammer, and swung. He was moving before the engine finished revving, and the ratchets clicked. I caught nothing but air and marble. Then I swung again, as much to buy some space to think as to land a hit. Saul didn¡¯t give me that space. He pressed in with his sword, trying to get inside my reach, but the Trip-Hammer¡¯s arc was wide, and I knocked him aside. I expected him to back off, but he rolled toward me, cutting the air in front of my face before ducking as the Trip-Hammer¡¯s ratchets clicked again. This time, Saul¡¯s throne exploded. It didn¡¯t shatter so much as vaporize as both hammers hit it one after another. Splinters the size of my arm flew everywhere, stuffing exploded across the stairs, and shards of twisted metal sprayed into the fog gate behind it. The fog gate. My eyes widened. I couldn¡¯t fight faster than Saul. He kept reacting to the Trip-Hammer¡¯s activation sound, and he was fast enough to get out of the way every time. I¡¯d only landed a couple of glancing blows, and he¡¯d cut right through my armor. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. But I could force him into a fight he couldn¡¯t win¡ªand a choice he couldn¡¯t get anything out of, no matter what he picked. It¡¯d take some effort. A lot of effort. It¡¯d be worth it, though. I pushed my Body to the limit, revving the Trip-Hammer as I slammed it into the spaces Saul had just been over and over. Saul¡¯s sword flashed out and opened more cuts across my arms and face, but I ignored them. None of them were lethal, and none did much to slow me down. My goal wasn¡¯t to hit the bastard. It was just to push him into the fog gate. He realized what I was doing and launched his own series of attacks, trying to break out of my closing trap. The wounds stacked up, and blood slicked the shattered marble stairs. It dripped down my face from a cut across my scalp. My whole body screamed in pain and impending revolt, but I kept swinging. The Trip-Hammer went up. Saul¡¯s sword flashed down. My leg caught fire. I looked down as I collapsed; his stroke had caught something important. I tried to push myself back to my feet, but my thigh wouldn¡¯t take my weight. So, that wasn¡¯t good. But the blow had cost Saul, too. The Trip-Hammer clattered down the stairs, idling, its heads covered in gore. I could see the shattered wreckage of bone sticking from his right arm, and his side had been ripped open just above his hip. I used the Quick-Hoof Boots and slammed into him, driving my shoulder into his shattered arm. I bounced off and hit the floor. Hard. He screamed and staggered backward into the Reliquary of Bones, but kept a hold on his sword. I¡¯d gotten the second or two I needed, and I breathed once to regroup. He wasn¡¯t dead, and unless the Queen Tyrant killed him, he¡¯d be back. I needed my weapon. I needed¡­I looked at my leg; blood gushed from it like a fountain, and I reached down with one hand to stop the flow. It didn¡¯t help. A second later, Saul stepped back through the dungeon entrance, a furious grin on his face. I tried to drag myself down the stairs toward my weapon, but the movement only opened the wound on my leg more. Instead, I lay still and checked the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp. Stored Charge: 4/15 0/3 Taser Launchers Loaded I grit my teeth as Saul stalked closer to me, talking up a storm. I¡¯d only get one shot at this.
Saul grinned through the pain. The Voltsmith¡¯s hammer clattered to the bottom of the stairs. Hal knelt on the steps, defenseless, the cut on his thigh bleeding gushes of bright red, arterial blood. His own arm was broken, and he shifted the Sword of Forgotten Pharaohs into his left hand. It felt awkward. Saul grinned anyway. ¡°This is how it¡¯s going to be in this world, Hal,¡± he said. ¡°Power belongs to those who can set themselves up with it, and until this is over, that¡¯s people like me. I¡¯m fixing the odds, making deals and bets where I can win them, and I¡¯m going to come out on top. Men like you? You¡¯re stepping stones and relics of a kinder world.¡± He didn¡¯t need grace to finish off a wounded rat, and Hal¡¯s experience would fix Saul¡¯s injuries. He held the sword in the air and cast Dauntless Dominion¡ªthe Sword of Forgotten Pharoahs¡¯s ingrained spell. It glowed white as he poured all his magic into it. Then he brought it down with a crash. The impact jarred his wrist, and his grip slipped. The pure white magic burst out of the sword¡¯s blade, covering everything from the hilt up in a wall of burning energy. Saul closed his eyes against the brightness. He waited for the experience orb to hit him and his arm to start fixing itself. He¡¯d used Dauntless Dominion on every ¡®Elite¡¯ monster in the Reliquary of Bones, and not one of them had stood up to it. Something wrenched the blade from his hand. His heart stopped. He opened his eyes. ¡°Impossible.¡± Crackling orange lightning covered his sword; he¡¯d cut Hal¡¯s hand almost to mid-palm, cleaved it almost in two, right between the middle and ring fingers, but the gauntlet had stopped the blow. Not only that, but the Voltsmith had tightened his grip somehow. Saul stared at the man¡¯s face. It was a mask of pain, anger, and something else. ¡°Sometimes, an engine can¡¯t be fixed. Sometimes, scrapping the car¡¯s the only solution.¡± His stomach dropped, and he looked at the sword. It wasn¡¯t magical anymore. It wasn¡¯t anything but a piece of half-melted metal. Hal threw it down the stairs as Saul lunged for it. Hal screamed as he pushed his body off the stairs, then screamed again as his thumb and first two fingers closed around Saul¡¯s ankle. Saul jerked away, but the man¡¯s grip held tight. Orange lightning poured into his leg. Every nerve in his body was on fire. He couldn¡¯t believe the pain; he collapsed, twitching and jarring his shattered humerus. Flesh tore and burned and convulsed all at once, and his scream echoed Hal¡¯s. Then another wave of electricity surged through him. His heart stopped. ¡°Wait,¡± Saul slurred. He slid down the stairs, still twitching even as his heart beat again, this time faster than it had any right to. His eyes were wide. ¡°Wait, no, let¡¯s talk. Let¡¯s make a deal, I can¡ªfuck!¡± He hit the bottom of the stairs, and the Voltsmith landed on top of him a moment later. His arm snapped again. The hammer. He had to get to the hammer before Hal. But his legs wouldn¡¯t move right, and his arm was busted. He couldn¡¯t even turn his head to look for it. Something shuffled, and the Voltsmith slid off of him. Then an engine revved, a ratchet clicked, and Saul Williams died.
I crawled toward the blood-red experience orb. It was only a few feet away, but it still took all my strength to get there. I¡¯d questioned whether to take Eddie¡¯s, but in this case, it was a matter of life and death¡ªand not just for me. I still didn¡¯t know where Jessica was, and as for Tori? She¡¯d vanished. Hopefully, some gangster hadn¡¯t gotten Jessica. Hopefully, we hadn¡¯t left any behind us. Hopefully¡ªI couldn¡¯t finish the thought. The experience orb hit me like a breath of wind. Level Up! Thirty-Seven to Forty. For defeating a Safe Zone¡¯s leader, you have been granted control over its growth. Congratulations, Mayor Hal Riley. For more information, access the Settlement tab in your stat menu. I didn¡¯t care about the safe zone. I didn¡¯t think about my long-term goals. None of that mattered; every point went into Body, and I felt my leg, hand, and the dozens of cuts I¡¯d taken stitch themselves together in agonizing detail. The flow of blood stopped, and I rolled onto my back, stretching out and staring at the fortress¡¯s ceiling. I breathed. Then, I pushed myself to my feet. This wasn¡¯t over yet. But it was close. I hefted the Trip-Hammer over my shoulder, picked up the three rare blue items Saul had dropped, and started climbing the tower. During the fight, I¡¯d heard something, and if I was right, I knew exactly who it¡¯d be.
Tori had failed. Tommy had gotten away. She hadn¡¯t killed him. But Jessica was safe. Tori pressed her hand against her mom¡¯s face, trying to stop the bleeding. She had no idea why Jessica had run up the stairs, but it had cost Tori the chance to kill Tommy Wright. She didn¡¯t care. What mattered was that her mom was okay. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you healing?¡± Tori asked. ¡°You can heal anyone, so heal yourself.¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t. I used everything I had, Tori.¡± Jessica curled into a ball, her head on her step-daughter¡¯s lap. ¡°And even if I hadn¡¯t, that¡¯s not how my spells work. I can¡¯t target myself¡ªonly other people. Now, help me up and get me back to my house. There¡¯s someone there, and he might still be alive. I¡¯ll try to keep him that way until¡ª¡° ¡°He¡¯s dead, Mom.¡± She didn¡¯t care that Jessica wasn¡¯t her mom¡ªnot in the moment. She probably would tomorrow, but not right now. ¡°We went there first, then came here when¡­¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Jessica went quiet, and if Tori couldn¡¯t see her breathing, she¡¯d have thought she was dead. ¡°Tori, you okay?¡± Tori jerked to her feet and bit back a scream. Hal stood in the doorway. His leather armor had been on its last leg long before tonight, but now it hung from one shoulder. The rest was in tatters, and it was stained blood-red. So was every inch of fabric below his waist on the right side. ¡°What the fuck? Hal, what the fuck happened? You look like shit.¡± She didn¡¯t care that Jessica didn¡¯t want her swearing¡ªright now felt like a swearing moment. He shrugged. ¡°I solved the problem.¡± The Trip-Hammer¡¯s head thudded down on the rough wooden floor, and Hal knelt next to Tori¡¯s mom. He glanced at Tori. She nodded quietly, and he picked the woman up. The Trip-Hammer slid into his inventory. The faint light of dawn peeked over Lake Michigan as Hal carried Jessica out of Saul William¡¯s fortress and toward the elevated trailer she called home. 36: Ive Got the Power Morning came quickly. It didn¡¯t surprise me. The sun had been rising as we pulled Jessica up into her house, and the first people had already started investigating the hole we¡¯d ripped into the Field Museum fortress¡¯s side. It wouldn¡¯t take them long to find the bodies, and I needed to be ready to face them. But I was drop-dead tired, and I¡¯d fallen asleep on the cold metal trailer bed as soon as Jessica was safe in her sleeping bag. I didn¡¯t even bother checking in on Tori. She¡¯d understand; I¡¯d gotten shredded in my fight with Saul Williams. To my surprise, it wasn¡¯t Tori who woke me up. I started, pushing myself halfway up before Jessica¡¯s hand guided my shoulder down. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. Then, her face hardened. ¡°I need to check your wounds. I¡¯m not convinced that Body-based healing is as good as mine long-term, and you¡¯re the first patient I¡¯ve had that didn¡¯t completely heal from Body points.¡± I looked at the wound on my leg. It had bled in the night, but not the gushing fountains it had during my fight. For the first time, it hit me that we¡¯d done it. Dad wouldn¡¯t have put up with Saul Williams and his BS, and Mom definitely wouldn¡¯t have. They¡¯d dealt with a new guy, someone from out of town, who¡¯d tried to use his big-city money to buy the Cozad city council. It had taken them months of hard work on top of running the farm, but they¡¯d driven him out of town and back to his New York investment bank. Saul had been right about one thing. The world was different now. Harsher. And while that was a problem, it was also an opportunity to keep people like him from using their power to hurt other people. It hadn¡¯t taken Tori and me months of hard work to deal with Saul and his lieutenants. We¡¯d done it in one wild, absolutely terrifying night. But what now? Jessica¡¯s eyebrow raised. I recognized that look. ¡°Now you and I head to my clinic, you help me clean it up, and then you hop on the table so I can take a look at that thigh.¡±
Alan¡¯s body was light. Even with my wounds not fully healed, I had no trouble carrying him out of Jessica¡¯s workshop and getting him buried. Jessica and I worked silently, scrubbing dried blood from the table and the rest of the place. The only time she talked was to explain exactly what had happened to Alan¡ªhow he¡¯d dragged himself in from the south, the hour she¡¯d spent putting him back together, and the gunshot that had killed him anyway. At last, Jessica pronounced the room clean and pointed at the table. She¡¯d never gotten fully comfortable with me, but this felt like an olive branch. I took it and hopped up. She pulled my ruined pants away from the wound and frowned. ¡°This isn¡¯t healed. It¡¯s barely scabbed over, and it¡¯s oozing pus.¡± She got to work casting a spell. It activated, and my thigh re-opened, gushing blood for a second before it stitched itself back together. ¡°Ma¡¯am, I don¡¯t need your magic,¡± I tried. Something about this felt uncomfortable¡ªand not just the pain from re-stitching wounds. ¡°Stay there. The spell needs a good five to ten minutes to set in fully. I can rush it, but¡­¡± her hand strayed to the barely-scabbed wound on her face. ¡°I¡¯d rather not.¡± I tried to relax and stared at the ceiling. ¡°While I have you here,¡± Jessica said suddenly, ¡°we need to clear something up. I understand why you dragged Tori into that dungeon last night. If you hadn¡¯t, she¡¯d have gone by herself. So I¡¯m not going to count that against our agreement.¡± ¡°Thank y¡ª¡° ¡°But.¡± She held up a hand. ¡°If you do it again, I¡¯ll¡­¡± She steeled herself, crossing her arms. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to kill you.¡± ¡°What?¡± I tried to sit up. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I understand you can¡¯t control Tori. I can¡¯t, either, and I never could. Roger said she¡¯d be like this. It started well before the divorce, but she¡¯s always been strong-willed and imaginative. But Hal, you need to understand something. She¡¯s family, whether she¡¯s happy about it or not. I don¡¯t need her to call me ¡®Mom¡¯ to know that she needs one, and the one she needs is in Green Bay.¡± Something moved overhead. I looked up, but Jessica kept going as if she hadn¡¯t heard it. Maybe she hadn¡¯t; I didn¡¯t know what her Awareness was, but at Level Eight, it couldn¡¯t be more than mine. ¡°I¡¯m not sure where Roger is, but she needs someone who¡¯s not a mother, too. Someone responsible. An older brother. Someone she can learn self-control from. It can¡¯t be me. Maybe it can be you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, Ma¡¯am.¡± I was full Midwestern farm boy right now, full of respect. Not just because Jessica had my tattered pants in her hand, either. Those hadn¡¯t been doing much good anyway after my fight. But because she was deadly serious about it. ¡°What about her ¡®game¡¯ thing?¡± Her eyes softened a little, and she touched her face again, brushing her slightly gray-blonde hair back over her ear. ¡°She¡¯s been into video games since I met her. That¡¯s probably all it is. That being said, this is a lot like the ones she liked the most. She might be projecting rules that don¡¯t exist here. She should know that this isn¡¯t a game after last night, if she didn¡¯t before, but she might stick with it as a coping mechanism.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°You know something about psychology?¡± I asked. ¡°Not really. I¡¯m a palaeoanthropologist, not a shrink. But I¡¯m also trying to be the best mom I can be.¡± She let that hang, and I didn¡¯t have anything to add. I decided, on balance, that this was a mark for Jessica, not against her. She was trying her best in this new world, just like everyone else. The silence grew longer, and I twiddled my thumbs, waiting for her to say I was all healed. ¡°So.¡± She stretched her fingers in a steeple. ¡°So, I can¡¯t control her, and you can¡¯t either. But you¡¯re not dragging her back into that place without my permission¡ªor any other Tier Twos. Understood?¡± ¡°Got it, Jessica.¡± We both turned. Tori stood in the doorway, her arms crossed and a glare on her face. She stared at the single spurt of blood on the floor. ¡°If you two are done with whatever you¡¯re doing in here, we need to talk about what¡¯s next.¡±
What came next was pants. Specifically, leather ones. They fit¡ªbarely. I didn¡¯t ask where Jessica had gotten them, and she didn¡¯t say. Once I was dressed, we climbed the ladder. Tori sat in the corner, glowering at us¡ªand especially at me. I stared at her. ¡°What¡¯d I do?¡± ¡°You know what you did,¡± Tori shot back. ¡°The loot. Let¡¯s see the loot.¡± I had no idea what I¡¯d done. ¡°Right, the loot.¡± The Captain¡ªor should I say, Saul Williams¡ªhad several pieces of rare equipment. I¡¯d scooped it up, but the time had come to deal with it. The first two, a pair of shoulderpads made from wool with washer-sized discs sown into it and a dagger that looked more like a gigantic nail, weren¡¯t anything special. And worse, they couldn¡¯t be equipped, anyway. They¡¯d already been bonded to, and all the shoulders were good for was scrap and Charge. I had an idea for the dagger, but it depended on how the Voltsmithing session I desperately needed went. If it worked, I¡¯d be able to upgrade the Trip-Hammer pretty substantially. If not¡­no harm done, right? I had a longer-term build in mind, too¡ªplus a vanity project. The third item was Saul¡¯s sword. I didn¡¯t even get a name. It was just scrap¡ªand not even the kind I could build something with. Just shattered, untempered metal and a scorched leather handle. But the fourth one¡­ I pulled the simple brass key from my inventory and set it on the trailer floor. City Key (Rank One of Three) +3 Body, +3 Awareness, +3 Mana This item¡¯s bearer has either founded, been given, or conquered a settlement within a safe zone. The bearer may approve a settlement beacon to communicate with the Consortium. At Rank One, this beacon will allow messages of up to 255 characters once per day. Questions will be answered vaguely or not at all, at the Consortium¡¯s discretion. Additionally, this item allows for settlement defense upgrades. Representatives of your settlement may apply dungeon clears by settlement residents to this item in order to unlock powerful defensive buffs. Lionheart Defense: (Inactive, 15/30 Dungeons Cleared) Applies a large armor and magic resistance buff to defenders inside the keyed settlement (24-hour cooldown) This item can be transferred between bearers, but it will take twenty-four hours to attune itself to a new bearer. The settlement beacon also allows for settlement upgrades. See the Settlement tab in your user interface for more information. ¡°I got this. It¡¯s very different, and I¡¯m not sure what to make of it. I¡¯d assumed that Saul and Eddie were just playing by their own rules, but if he was actually empowered by this thing, it means the Consortium wants us rebuilding from the ruins,¡± I said. ¡°I agree,¡± Jessica said. She reached for the key, then stopped and looked at me. I nodded, and she touched it. She pulled her fingers back like they¡¯d been burned. ¡°It says it¡¯s yours. I can steal it, but that¡¯ll restart the attunement timer. Hal, do you want to be mayor of Museumtown?¡± ¡°What? It¡¯s not an elected position?¡± I waited for her to laugh, but she didn¡¯t. She looked deadly serious. ¡°Honestly, no. Managing a village the way it would need to be managed isn¡¯t my thing. I want to tinker with machines and work on advancing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Tori said. ¡°Queen Tori Vanderbilt, First of Her Name, Empress of the Lake Shore. Has a ring to it, right?¡± ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Jessica said. ¡°You¡¯re way too young to run your own town.¡± ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll make my own. With blackjack, and¡ª¡° ¡°And stop quoting shows from when I was a kid.¡± I held a hand up to quiet them both down. ¡°Actually, my first thought was to give it to Calvin. He¡¯d be good at organizing people, figuring out what they need to survive, and stuff like that. That ex-military mindset could be just what we need. But he¡¯s not here, and it¡¯s going to take a day before we get it running. I don¡¯t think we can afford to wait. Jessica, you¡¯re our best choice.¡± ¡°Because¡­why?¡± Jessica looked confused. Tori just looked pissed off that her plan to become the Monarch of the Magnificent Mile had failed before she¡¯d even gotten it started. ¡°Because your field was people, right? Palaeoanthro-something.¡± ¡°Palaeoanthropology. I studied prehistoric people and how they lived, their societies, and¡­yes, okay, you make a good point. But I¡¯m not exactly strong. Don¡¯t we want someone strong running the settlement?¡± ¡°Did that go well with Saul?¡± I asked. ¡°No.¡± Jessica squirmed. ¡°I¡¯m just not sure if¡ª¡° ¡°I want to be a princess. If you don¡¯t take it, I¡¯ll never be a princess,¡± Tori said. I glanced at her, and she winked. She was playing her step-mom. And Jessica knew it. But that didn¡¯t matter, because while Tori¡¯s pressure wasn¡¯t huge, it was enough. We had her beat. She sighed. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll do it, but under a couple of conditions.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to weasel out of this,¡± Tori said. ¡°I¡¯m not. They¡¯re very easy conditions to meet. First, I hold the key, but Calvin¡¯s involved in all the decision-making if he ever returns. He¡¯s a smart guy, and you¡¯re right. His experience is too valuable to throw away.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t agree for him, ma¡¯am,¡± I said, ¡°but if he¡¯s willing, that¡¯s okay with me. What¡¯s the next one?¡± ¡°You need to clear dungeons. Lots of dungeons. We need to get the City Key powered up,¡± Jessica said. ¡°That was my plan already. You¡¯re going to want some other dungeon-clearers, though. The sooner we get the key¡¯s Lionheart Defense powered up, the sooner Museumtown can protect itself.¡± That was true, but I also wanted the dungeons for my own personal power, and for Tori¡¯s. ¡°Anything else?¡± Jessica nodded, smiling grimly, and I realized that I¡¯d walked into a trap, but there wasn¡¯t any going back on it now. ¡°That you¡¯re the third person on the council.¡± 37: And Ive Got the Will In the end, I agreed. Jessica made some good points about three people providing a better balance than two and how having someone powerful on the council would help prevent people trying to out-muscle her and Calvin. She didn¡¯t want the position any more than I did, but I needed her to take care of Museumtown on a day-to-day basis. I needed to get stronger, and I couldn¡¯t do that if I was constantly dealing with the settlement. Besides, Tori glared daggers at me when I tried to back out. Her dreams of ruling Chicago hinged on me saying yes, and I couldn¡¯t win a war against her. I could mop the floor with her; I had the levels. But if I did, I¡¯d lose Jessica. They had me beat. Once Jessica had my word that I¡¯d play along, she let me go, and I retreated to the tower over the Field Museum¡¯s entrance. It was little more than scrap metal and two-by-fours, but it did two important things for me. It kept me in between any wandering mid-Twenty-something who thought they could handle the Queen Tyrant. I hated that I needed to blockade the dungeon the same way Saul had, but with the boss roaming its halls, it¡¯d be better to let the whole thing reset in a few hours. No one needed to get killed for their own stupidity. More importantly, it gave me somewhere private to set up a workplace. I laid out my tools¡ªmy ratcheting socket set, the wrenches and hammers, and all the screws, bolts, and nuts I could pack. All the auto parts I¡¯d thought might be useful. The scrap metal from the Redline Tunnels, and the Voltsmithing-specific parts I¡¯d looted. Saul had had a crude bed made from two-by-fours and wafer board; the mattress went out the window, but the bedframe itself made a good enough workbench. It took the better part of an hour to get everything set up more or less the way I wanted it. But when it was done, it was¡­not quite home. Nothing would replace Cindy¡¯s Automotive, except maybe Dad¡¯s shed. But it was comfortable, safe, and ready for me to start working on something big. First, though, I had to take a look at my stats, because I had a theory. [Hal Riley] [Class - Voltsmith] [Level - 41] [Stats] ?Body - 27 ?Awareness - 42 ?Charge - 9/44 (35 Used) Stat Points Available: 0 [Class Skill - Decharge/Recharge - Drain the charge from magic items to power your own creations] Items ?Fast-Hoof Boots ?Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp (0 Charge) - 0/3 Taser Launchers Loaded ?Heavy Trip-Hammer (20 Charge) I¡¯d explained to Tori what I knew about stat synergies in the Redline Tunnels, and she¡¯d explained the parallels in video games, but I was pretty sure I was wrong. I didn¡¯t actually need Body. What I needed was enough Charge to replace my Body stat with a creation. Awareness was the same, but a little less; I was sure I could build creations to replace it. I didn¡¯t think this applied to other classes, but the Voltsmith was looking increasingly like an exception to the rule. So, from here on out, I¡¯d only be putting points into Charge unless the alternative was death¡ªor if I realized I was wrong. All-in on Charge, all the way. I wouldn¡¯t tell Tori, though. She¡¯d be pissed if she knew I could cheat the system like that. So, with that resolved, I took a look at the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp. It had saved my life last night, and I needed to rehab it before I got into any more fights. The emitter in the center of my palm was cracked and split from Saul¡¯s sword-blow; I unscrewed it and removed the wires, then realized I didn¡¯t have a replacement. It was leaking Charge as fast as the gauntlet could produce it, though. That wasn¡¯t sustainable; I needed the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp functional. The emitter went onto the workbench. I wasn¡¯t ready to throw it away, but it wasn¡¯t what I needed right now. I grabbed the refiner¡ªa tiny glass lens that had come out of the Tuning Rod I¡¯d torn apart for my Taser launchers. It slotted in nicely, and the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp started holding charge again. I let it fill up, then tried to activate the shock grip. It didn¡¯t fire. I¡¯d expected this; the refiner wasn¡¯t an emitter. I¡¯d need to do something different with the gauntlet¡¯s energy, and I had just the idea. It¡¯d also set the gauntlet up for its first major upgrade. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The tasers would have to go, though. I couldn¡¯t run them and what I had in mind¡ªnot when I needed their tubes. We¡¯d all had that one friend in high school who was obsessed with guns. It started with airsoft and paintball, or hunting deer, but by the time he was a junior¡ªand they were always a guy¡ªthey¡¯d moved up in the world to rail guns. Both the kind they¡¯d used in World War One¡ªon trains¡ªand the experimental-ish magnet guns. Rob had been that friend. I¡¯d learned more than I ever wanted to know about weird firearms. The rail gun phase had felt like the goofiest, least useful thing I could be learning¡ªwhy bother figuring out how to make a magnetized arrow launcher when I could use a bow? Why bother with either of those things when I could be working on the station wagon? But right now, a rail gun was exactly what I needed. It¡¯d give me stopping power¡ªwhich I¡¯d need if I ever wanted to fight the Queen Tyrant¡ªand a ranged weapon with more punch than the Taser launcher. The core element was the mana coil I¡¯d sliced in half for the ill-fated, temporary Charge Blade. I still had them, and it took a good half-hour to forge them back together into a single coil, then mount it on the outside of the Tuning and Imbuing Rods¡¯ tubes. The charge-conducting ring I¡¯d gotten from draining a magic ring a few days ago circled the tube¡¯s front opening, and I attached wires to the backside and to the ring, forming a circuit with the refiner in the gauntlet¡¯s center. ¡°Whatcha making?¡± Tori asked, poking her head into my workshop. I put the rail gun to the side for a moment; I couldn¡¯t test it in here anyway. ¡°An arm cannon,¡± I simplified. She didn¡¯t want to hear about the physics of magnetic acceleration, even if it was Charge-based. ¡°Cool cool. So, I¡¯m Princess Tori now. You can address me as such, or as your highness. Thanks for that.¡± She pushed my tools aside and sat down on the wooden bed frame. ¡°I¡¯m also working on a set of armor,¡± I continued. ¡°Magic armor?¡± ¡°Not exactly. Get off my wrenches and I¡¯ll lay out what I¡¯m thinking.¡±
Right now, the armor design only covered my right shoulder, elbow, and half my chest, but it wasn¡¯t finished. A full set of it was a longer-term project, and one that I¡¯d need a lot more Charge to complete. The current set-up would¡ªI hoped¡ªtake eight or nine Charge to power. I pointed out the framework as I drew it on the workbench in orange energy. ¡°Elbow and shoulder plates, both quarter-inch steel. Same with the chest plate. The straps need to be leather, but reinforced; I got the idea from something Saul was wearing. It was washers sandwiched between two layers of wool cloth.¡± ¡°You¡¯re making a half-plate, half-brigantine? Cool!¡± Tori was much more interested in this than the rail gun. ¡°Sure.¡± I didn¡¯t know the word, but I trusted that Tori did. ¡°Can you make me one?¡± ¡°Maybe. You need some new armor. But yours won¡¯t be powered like mine. I¡¯m not just building a piece of armor here. I also want to hit harder.¡± I didn¡¯t tell her my theory about Charge replacing the other stats for Voltsmith. ¡°You¡¯re looking at making a stat-boosting item?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Her question barrage was getting old, so I pulled some scrap metal out and started hammering and bending it into the shape I¡¯d set up for the shoulder pad. The clanging drowned her out, although she pointed out some ¡®design flaws¡¯ in my work. After a while, she got bored, and I still hadn¡¯t built more than a shoulder pad and wiring harness hanging from it. ¡°What¡¯s the rail gun?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a science fiction weapon, not a fantasy one,¡± I replied, ¡°so you probably don¡¯t see them in the games you enjoy. I got the idea from a high school friend who built one with electromagnets, BBs, and a ruler. The gun itself is finished, but before I bolt it on, I need to test-fire it. Want to watch?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I picked up a pair of plastic safety glasses I¡¯d grabbed from Kenny¡¯s toolbox and passed them her way. She stared at them, and I stared at her. ¡°Put them on.¡± ¡°They¡¯re ridiculous.¡± ¡®They¡¯re also the only way you can be on the firing range.¡± I pulled another pair from my inventory and stuck them on my face. Then, I picked up the rail gun and gauntlet. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shot at the Field Museum¡¯s facade, and we could get some blow-back from the impact. Or the gun could come apart when I charge it up.¡± I didn¡¯t bother waiting for her to put them on. Instead, I headed down to the throne room. She¡¯d either show up or she wouldn¡¯t.
The rail gun whined for almost a full second as the refiner glowed a violent orange so bright it was almost white. I had the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp on, but the wires led to the rail gun, which I¡¯d placed at the bottom of the throne room stairs. We were actually outside the fortress for extra protection. ¡°Firing.¡± I squeezed my fist and touched a finger to the refiner. It popped like a jaw harp with a loud boing. Tori almost laughed. Then she went quiet as something crashed in the throne room. Whatever we¡¯d done, it was bouncing off the sheet metal. I waited, counting down from ten. Then, when it was over, I unplugged the rail gun from the refiner. ¡°Let¡¯s see what we did.¡± What we¡¯d done wasn¡¯t very impressive-looking at first glance. None of the marble chunks the rail gun shot had broken off the stairs was bigger than a fingernail; most of the impacts had been bouncing shrapnel hitting several times, not individual chunks. But the iron bolt I¡¯d attempted to throw was nowhere to be found. It took Tori almost two minutes to find the hole in the stairs. It wasn¡¯t any wider than her thumb, and when she reached down to touch it, it was still hot. She pulled her hand back as I joined her and bent down to stare into the hole. The bolt¡¯s metal hex end was deformed and twisted, maybe a half-inch deep into the hole. I nodded slowly. ¡°We¡¯re going to need to tone its power down. That was a ten-Charge shot. I¡¯ll keep testing it as I work on the armor.¡± Tori sat on the stairs and stared me in the eye. ¡°We need to figure out what we¡¯re doing next. I want to push some more Tier Ones. Jessica¡¯s cool with Tier Twos if I hit Level Fifty, so I¡¯ve got to keep pushing.¡± ¡°What about Calvin and the twins?¡± I asked. We needed to track them down; Calvin could probably take care of himself, and he was invisible when he didn¡¯t want people noticing him, but the twins were just kids. Now that Museumtown was safe, finding them felt like a priority¡ªif Calvin hadn¡¯t already. ¡°I mean, if we find them, great, but the dungeons¡ªhow about them? We could clear three or four a day, really power-level for a while.¡± Tori was right, and we needed the dungeon clears for the City Key, too, but I really didn¡¯t want to abandon the twins. We discussed it for a while and ended up with an agreement: we¡¯d go look for them, and while we did, we¡¯d clear a couple of dungeons. Not the power-leveling pace Tori wanted, though¡ªthree or four a day would take all day. When she finally left, I packed up the rail gun/gauntlet combo. It needed some serious tuning, but until the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp finished recharging to eight Charge so I could re-test it, all I could do was work on the armor¡ªand my plans for the gauntlet¡¯s future forms. Tori would have to wait until tomorrow¡ªand so would Calvin or the twins. Today, I needed to finish these creations and get my Voltsmithing caught up with my level. 38: Keeping My Eye to the Keyhole The Autoplate Pauldron on my shoulder bent with my arm, feeling almost like it wasn¡¯t there¡ªaside from the several pounds of weight that pulled on the straps across my chest. It had taken most of the day to figure out the rail gun attachment¡¯s power level; six ended up being the right amount of Charge to not rip it from its mount with every shot, but I¡¯d bracketed it perfectly by jumping from eight to five, then back to seven. That had given me plenty of time to work on the Pauldron, which was really shoulder, elbow, and upper right torso armor made of train steel, with leather straps reinforced with dozens of filed-down bolts, each of which held overlapping washers in place. The bigger advantage was in the gears at the shoulder. Right now, they were the only ones on the armor, but I had plans for more as I covered more joints. The gears connected to wires, and the wires led to the small, round battery below the pauldron. With it equipped, I¡¯d created a pseudo-spell effect. Autoplate Pauldron, by Hal Riley (Created Item, Charge 8) The Autoplate Pauldron allows the wearer to use the spell-like ability Blitz Strike. First Created by Hal Riley of Earth. Blitz-Strike: Overclocks the user¡¯s weapon and wielding arm, allowing them to deal massive damage on their next attack. It represented a big upgrade compared to the Quick-Hoof Boots, which I stowed away in my inventory for when I¡¯d need them, but it was also incomplete. I was hoping for a full set of Autoplate armor eventually. First, though, I needed more Charge¡ªand to get more Charge, I needed more levels. I¡¯d also spent a good hour exploring what had made those guns work. I knew how to shoot, but I¡¯d been under the impression that firearms wouldn¡¯t work any better than lighting propane or gasoline had. And in the end, I was stuck. They were normal guns in every way, but when I tried to fire them, they just wouldn¡¯t work. They were a mystery, and they weren¡¯t one I¡¯d be solving today. I headed over to Jessica¡¯s place. I¡¯d worked most of yesterday, and the sun was just coming up, but I¡¯d also had a chance for a few hours of sleep. Hopefully, Tori had too, because the two of us had dungeons to clear and people to track down.
Five hours later, Tori sat on a bench in the overgrown, canyonlike expanse of former Downtown Chicago, sucking at a plastic water bottle we¡¯d found in one of the strange coolers that seemed to be scattered around the city. I finished off a subway sandwich and cracked my knuckles. ¡°We should get back to it,¡± I said. ¡°Or¡­¡± Tori said. She sipped from the bottle. ¡°Or we could find a dungeon and work on our levels. Calvin¡¯s not here, and if he is, we¡¯re not going to track the guy down by wandering the streets randomly.¡± She was right. I hated to admit it, but we¡¯d been looking all morning, and I hadn¡¯t found any hint of Calvin, the twins, or even other people. It felt like Downtown Chicago was little more than a monster nest. We¡¯d seen plenty of those¡ªranging from four-legged, two-headed dog-things to a winged monster that had dive-bombed us until Tori got a hold of it with a well-timed Pull. But we hadn¡¯t seen anything over about Level Twenty-Two. She was right. That didn¡¯t mean we couldn¡¯t knock out two birds with one stone, though. ¡°When I was clearing The Void¡ªthe planetarium, I mean¡ªI noticed that none of the gangsters had pushed south of its doors. Is there anything else on Northerly Island?¡± ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s a music venue, an air control tower, and the Twelfth Street Beach.¡± ¡°Great. Let¡¯s get back to Museumtown and check out the island. Bet we¡¯ll find a dungeon or two there.¡± Tori started running ahead, but before she could get too far, leathery wings flapped and a hissing sound cut through the air. I looked up. ¡°All you, Tori.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± I stared the six-foot-wide wings down as they tucked into a V and the featherless flying monster rocketed toward me. Its fanged beak snapped open and closed as it hissed through the sky overhead. Concrete Falcon: Level Twenty-Three Monster Its dive stopped about fifteen feet above me, and its hiss turned to a squawk as Tori¡¯s Pull caught it and yanked it straight down. It hit the ground with a thud. I activated Blitz Strike, charged up the Trip-Hammer, and brought it down on the Concrete Falcon as it struggled to recover. This close, its body wasn¡¯t made of flesh at all; it looked more like a gargoyle from a turn-of-the-century skyscraper¡ªor maybe from the library. The hammer hit it like a train. A crack filled the air, and a moment later, the Concrete Falcon was nothing but rubble and gray cement dust. ¡°Good one, Tori,¡± I said, coughing as the dust vanished all around me and the yellow-green experience orb appeared. ¡°You too,¡± Tori said. She pointed at the orb. ¡°Go ahead and take the Minecraft orb. I just leveled up.¡± ¡°What does that make you, then?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Thirty-Two. I bet I could start soloing Tier Ones now.¡± Tori¡¯s eyes sparkled mischievously. ¡°Or you could let me try a Tier Two¡¯s first floor. I could handle it for sure.¡± ¡°I believe you could,¡± I said. I was already walking down the street, heading east toward Lake Michigan. ¡°But the answer¡¯s always going to be ¡®your stepmom said no.¡¯¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Then why ask? It¡¯s just more work for both of us.¡± ¡°In case you break.¡± The mischievous look hadn¡¯t disappeared. ¡°You never know. It could happen, and if it does, I¡¯ll be ready to take advantage of it. Or, in case you realize that no is not a word to use with princesses!¡± God, Tori reminded me of Beth sometimes. My sister had pulled the same kind of tricks with Mom and Dad. She was an expert at them, all the way from ¡®I¡¯m Just An Innocent Girl¡¯¡ªwhich worked until she was eight¡ªto ¡®If You Want A Puppy, Ask For A Boa Constrictor.¡¯ She¡¯d been a master at ¡®Ask Until The Answer Changes,¡¯ too, but that one only worked with Dad. Mom wasn¡¯t anyone¡¯s fool, and she¡¯d disengage from my sister¡¯s needling and wheedling as soon as she realized what was going on. ¡°It¡¯s not going to happen,¡± I said. ¡°We can get your level up in the Tier Ones, though. Then you can ask Jessica. Maybe things will be different then.¡± ¡°I doubt it,¡± Tori said, pouting. I put her on ignore as we walked back toward Northerly Island.
As it turned out, I was more wrong than right. Saul¡¯s men had cleared most of the island; Meig¡¯s Field¡¯s old control tower stood with its doors open and a five-day timer over it, while the outdoor music pavilion had closer to four and a half. I wasn¡¯t ready to give up, though. And neither was Tori. She started combing the beach, kicking at rocks and looking for any sign that someone might have overlooked a dungeon. It took almost twenty minutes of concentrated searching before we found it. Or, more accurately, I fell into it. The dungeon entrance was a sinkhole in the sand. Tier One Dungeon: The Dozen-Path Descent Objective: Defeat The Cancer (0/1) Objective: Survive (0/1) Completion: 0% Smooth, dark gray stones with lighter spots lined the hole, with the fog gate hanging over them. It felt like they¡¯d been cemented into place by the sand, but also like a poorly timed spell or hammer swing would knock them all free and collapse the tunnel that led into the darkness on us. Everything felt damp, with the¡­unique¡­scent of rotten fish and kelp filling the air. Tori wrinkled her nose as she hit the ground. ¡°Smells worse than the zoo.¡± ¡°You asked for this, remember?¡± I said, picking myself up. Now, let¡¯s find the boss and get this done with.¡± ¡°Hold on,¡± Tori said. She held up a hand and pointed. ¡°Let¡¯s do this right.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll only take right turns, get this whole place cleared out, and work on a one-hundred percent full clear, just like the Menagerie dungeon. It¡¯ll be great for our experience, and you could use some more parts, right?¡± She had me there; I did need more parts. I always needed more parts. ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Tori rushed down the tunnel ahead of me. I let her go; she was right that she could almost certainly solo any given Tier One Dungeon at this point. That raised a question for me, though. How were we supposed to get strong enough to bridge the gap between Tier Ones or the first floor of Tier Twos and their second floors? It felt like we were missing something, but I couldn¡¯t see myself killing the Queen Tyrant anytime soon. Jessica was working on unlocking the key, and when she did, I hoped she¡¯d ask the Consortium a few questions about the leveling process. Whatever we were missing, it felt important¡ªmaybe even crucial. ¡°Uh, Hal?¡± Tori shouted from up ahead. ¡°I found something.¡± I focused up, starting up the Trip-Hammer and loading a cut-down, point-filed bolt into the Rail Gun. Time to be serious. ¡°Is it going to be a problem?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Come here!¡± I followed her down the narrow tunnel; sure enough, her passing had dislodged a few stones from the walls, and their smooth surfaces had left perfect little round molds in the sand. Tori stood at the edge of a wide room; a half-dozen or more paths led into it from every angle, including one that seemed to pierce the space from the top to the bottom. The uppermost vertical hole dripped water in a slow, steady rhythm, but it took a long time for the droplets to reach the bottom of the lowermost tunnel. Every inch of the floor was lined with river stones, each large enough that I could have wrapped my arms around them and just touched my fingers together. The dead fish and kelp smell had only gotten worse, too. ¡°Boss room?¡± Tori asked. ¡°Probably,¡± I said, but something felt off about it. Something felt weird. Tori nodded. ¡°Great. Let¡¯s kill it. Should be worth fifty percent.¡± She stepped into the room, and every rock in the cavern turned in place to stare at her.
Calvin had been in worse places than the Windy City. Wintering in Minneapolis was one. Every day operating out of Da Nang Air Base was another. But living day-to-day on the Chicago light rail had been a close third. Every day was monotony: wake up, beg five bucks off someone, board the train, ride all day, go to sleep. Only the particulars changed. Would he get kicked off or kicked in the ribs? Would he end up with a few extra dollars or be robbed? When the Consortium made their announcement and the Red Line slammed to a stop, Calvin made up his mind. He¡¯d had a¡­he hesitated to say good¡­he¡¯d had seventy years. It was time to call the ballgame. The choice came, and Calvin picked Hardcore. He found a store in the tunnels, fought his last fight against the ooze guarding a treasure trove of food, and settled in. He was done. Calvin knew, deep down, that he¡¯d really been done, too. If Hal had threatened him, gone for a weapon, or anything, he¡¯d have let the man kill him. But instead, Hal had told him about the girl he was looking for and even trusted him with his stuff. Calvin had made a split-second, gut-level decision. Hal was a good man, trying to do good by a stranger. He¡¯d trusted his gut in Vietnam, and it hadn¡¯t let him down. It had kept him going for the forty years after that, too. The decision was easy. Hal needed help, and Calvin could provide it. After that, it had been easy to slip back into the soldier he¡¯d been in the ¡®70s. And from there? ¡°God dammit,¡± Calvin muttered to himself, looking at the overgrown buildings that reminded him too much of the jungles he¡¯d fought and staunched wounds in. Chicago sure had changed. He walked down the street, looking for those goddamn twins, just like he¡¯d told Hal he would when the Nebraskan asked him. Chicago wasn¡¯t as hostile as they had been for the last twenty years¡ªor at least, the hostility passed over his head. He was invisible to the monsters, and even harder for the few gangsters roaming the streets to spot. If he¡¯d had these spells on patrol outside Da Nang, he wouldn¡¯t have had to say goodbye to so many of his boys. That was really why he¡¯d chosen to help Hal in the Redline Tunnels, and that was why he kept helping him now. He reminded Calvin of his lieutenant¡ªyoung, stupid, and too willing to put himself on the line to solve other people¡¯s problems, but a good man. Those twins needed an evac, and Calvin knew the streets better than anyone. He¡¯d find them or die trying¡ªand Calvin wasn¡¯t ready to die. Not anymore. 39: Long Nights It wasn¡¯t a boss. It was crabs. Lots of them. With knives. Knife Crab: Level 14 Monster Individually, not one of them posed a threat. A single rail gun shot could take out two or three, and Tori¡¯s magic would easily handle a half-dozen in a single cast, while her well-placed Gravity Well at the tunnel entrance bought us a few critical moments. The problem was that for every Knife Crab I crushed to death, two more pushed through the fading corpse to take its place. It was like fighting an endless tide of crustaceans. Like death by a thousand cuts. Like the battle on Montrose beach, but times ten. Like Red Lobster¡¯s most recent all-you-can-eat crab promotional disaster on steroids. My hammer crashed down. I hadn¡¯t bothered activating it, and I didn¡¯t need to; the weight of it slammed into a shell, and pink-white muscle erupted from the split, cracked carapace like I¡¯d crushed a tube of toothpaste, not a monster. We retreated backward from the armored onslaught. Tori dropped another spell, a Push that sent the front rank tumbling back toward their comrades in claws, but there had to be a hundred of the monsters¡ªmaybe more. ¡°Knife Crabs!¡± Tori shouted. ¡°This is bullshit; they¡¯re not even a threat!¡± A pair of knives scissored shut around my calf, and I yelled in pain as they left a surface cut on either side of the muscle. ¡°With this many, they are!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all about encounter balance! These are gray mobs. They shouldn¡¯t even be in this dungeon!¡± Another spell rippled out, and nearly a dozen crabs smacked into each other. Their shells exploded with a horrible splorching sound, showering the oncoming wave with gore as Tori¡¯s Crush spell ripped the center out of their formation. After that, things got out of control for a while, and I spent as much time backpedaling from the phalanx of knives as I did swinging my hammer into them. Crab after crab died, their blood soaking the damp, sandy floor. Then, one of my swings went wide. It hit the cobblestone-and-sand cave wall, and dirt rained down on the oncoming crabs. ¡°Back! Go back!¡± I yelled. Then I started running. The sand stopped cascading into the tunnel long before it completely buried it¡ªin fact, the crabs were still able to get through the gap. But only one at a time. After that, it was a matter of maintaining control over the gap and not letting them overwhelm our defense. By the time the last Knife Crab died to Tori¡¯s Pull and my hammer, my arms shook with exhaustion, and the tunnel was as choked with shattered, fading carapaces and twisted, blade-covered limbs as it was with sand. It was also choked with experience orbs. ¡°Yep, gray mobs,¡± Tori complained after we¡¯d dug out the tunnel, pushed through it, and collected the orbs. Neither of us had gotten so much as a single level from all that killing. ¡°I told you.¡± ¡°The boss will be better,¡± I said. ¡°You say that, but you don¡¯t know.¡±
The next hour or two passed quickly. We slaughtered countless tiny Knife Crabs, as well as a pair of gigantic, technicolor shrimp whose fist-shaped claws dented and bent my pauldron. Those were enough to move Tori to Level Thirty-Three and me up to Level Forty-Two. I put both points into Charge, just as planned. It didn¡¯t buy me anything right now, but it¡¯d pay off soon. Tori kept pushing through the tunnels as our completion percentage climbed into the high forties. We were slaughtering this dungeon, and even the Punch Shrimp weren¡¯t more than a speed bump when we found them. It wasn¡¯t anywhere near as big as the Twilight Menagerie, either; it was probably closer to the size of the Void. I couldn¡¯t say that for sure because the twisting, turning passages were impossible to map out. But it definitely wasn¡¯t big. ¡°Okay, can¡¯t be more than a few more monsters between us and the boss,¡± Tori said. She was flushed and breathing hard from our headlong assault through the tunnels, but beaming even though she was covered in sand. One of the Punch Shrimp had collapsed the tunnel network on us. ¡°You ready for this?¡± I asked. ¡°Always,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m up front. You do your thing, open up weak spots, and I¡¯ll take advantage of them.¡± ¡°As usual, right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± I headed down the tunnel, taking point this time. There wasn¡¯t anything behind us; every suspicious rock had been shattered by the Trip-Hammer, and every possible hiding place for a Punch Shrimp collapsed and Pulled until Tori was sure we hadn¡¯t forgotten a single monster. She was determined to full clear this dungeon, and without anyone else to worry about, I was all-in right with her. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. But even though no one else was in here, I couldn¡¯t help but worry about Calvin. He was out there, somewhere, by himself. That was fine for me, and thinking objectively, it¡¯d be fine for Tori if her stepmom said it was. But Calvin¡ªin spite of living on his own and on the streets his whole life¡ªwasn¡¯t ready for what this world had become. He was convinced he could get by without fighting in a world where everything wanted to kill us. He could be dead already. The thought filled my head even though I tried not to let it bother me. The first Knife Crab that saw him would be an even match, and the stuff we¡¯d been fighting in Downtown Chicago was worse. I hoped the old ex-medic was still around, but I couldn¡¯t see any way he¡¯d survive on his own. The twins, though¡­if Eddie¡¯s group hadn¡¯t tracked them down, they were probably fine. Probably. Zane and Carol were tough cookies, and the boost we¡¯d given them in the Twilight Menagerie was pretty significant. If Eddie hadn¡¯t killed Brian, I wouldn¡¯t be worried about them at all. Tori used Crush, and a crab imploded in front of me, liquified white meat oozing out of its shell and vanishing as its experience orb appeared. The completion percentage ticked up to forty-seven percent. I pulled myself back into the present, revving my Trip-Hammer to make sure it was running. The fog gate hung in the air in front of us, impossible to see through. ¡°What are we waiting for?¡± Tori asked. I didn¡¯t have a good answer, so I stepped through the gray wall and into the boss¡¯s room.
It was, without a doubt, the biggest natural cave I¡¯d ever been in. Mom and Dad almost took us to Mammoth Cave National Park once, but the pigs had gotten sick. Beth had spent weeks looking up videos of the caves on the family computer whenever Dad wasn¡¯t using it for budgeting, though, so I had a good idea of what it looked like: smooth limestone, pitch black, a faint drip of water. The dripping water was here, but it wasn¡¯t pitch black. Glowing moss and mushrooms lined the roughly circle-shaped cavern, giving it a pale, black-lit look. In either direction, the cavern arced away from where we¡¯d entered, the tunnel disappearing around a massive central pillar of stones the size of the hidden Knife Crabs. For a second, I expected the whole pillar to disintegrate into another massive wave of blade-wielding crabs, but as we moved into position, nothing happened. I glanced left, then right; neither side gave any hint as to what the boss was or what its attacks might look like. The cobbles and sand crunched a little under my feet, the soft sound echoing in the almost silent cave. ¡°Where¡¯s the boss?¡± Tori asked. And just like that, the central pillar shifted. A single eye stalk popped free, eye spinning to stare at her as sand and cobble slid away from the massive crab that slowly pushed its way free of the pillar. The Cancer: Level Twenty-Eight Boss Current Difficulty: Trivial The crab known as The Cancer has slumbered deep within the Dozen-Path Descent¡¯s heart as long as it¡¯s known, only awakening to feast. For the first time, intruders have entered its lair. Its meals are finally coming to it; truly, this is a great day for The Cancer. Before the boss could free its two gigantic, bladed claws, Tori hit it with a Crush. It wasn¡¯t enough to kill it¡ªshe was only a few levels higher than its Twenty-Eight¡ªbut one of its legs shattered, and the others buckled before it shifted its weight. I rolled my eyes. ¡°Hit it again!¡± ¡°You¡¯re sure you don¡¯t want to just pop it?¡± she called back. ¡°Yeah, pretty sure. This one¡¯s all yours.¡± I¡¯d been power-leveling Tori in all our previous Tier One Dungeons. She¡¯d gotten comfortable with me going in for the final blow, and why not? Her spells weren¡¯t geared toward huge amounts of damage, but they could be debilitating or open up gaps in a monster¡¯s defenses for me to exploit. It had made our Tier Ones the other day easy, but it hadn¡¯t set Tori up for success as a soloist. If I wanted her to be clearing Tier Ones and first-floor Tier Twos¡ªif I wanted her in Tier Twos before the Tier Three Dungeons opened¡ªI needed her focusing on damage, not just control and debuffs. The Cancer was the ideal boss for her to figure it out on, too. For starters, it wasn¡¯t fast, and it wasn¡¯t subtle. What it really wanted to do was catch Tori with its gigantic blades and start slicing limbs off, and as Tori backpedaled and I stayed close enough to respond if something went wrong, it did everything in its power to maneuver her around the room and pin her against a wall¡ªor the gigantic pit that had opened in the cave¡¯s center. She didn¡¯t let that happen, though. Every time the monstrous crab¡¯s blades got close to her, she had a spell ready¡ªa Pull or a Gravity Well¡ªto buy herself some space. She was working her Inertia Balls into the fight, too, slowly crumpling The Cancer¡¯s armor. After almost a minute, though, I hadn¡¯t seen a single piece of white crab meat, and Tori hadn¡¯t used Crush again, either. I knew she could use it more frequently than that, and what she was doing was only wearing her down. ¡°Tori, you need to go for the kill!¡± I yelled. ¡°You don¡¯t have the stamina to outlast it!¡± ¡°I know!¡± Tori shouted back. She used another Push and shoved the crab back, then hurried to the other side of the pit. It was pretty much locked onto her and followed her on five skittering legs¡ªthe one that she¡¯d Crushed earlier moved, but it wouldn¡¯t put weight on it. She kept fleeing, though, slowly using Inertia Balls to dent and ding its armor, and as she went, a pattern started to emerge from the chaotic strikes. Tori was focusing her attacks on the front right joint¡ªright where the first blade claw connected to the crab¡¯s carapace. The entire joint glowed orange, a massive, glaring weak point in my Awareness. But she kept holding the Crush I knew had to be coming. The crab kept coming, its claws slicing shut over and over with a horrible snicking sound, but this time, Tori held her ground. As the claws closed again, she threw herself onto the ground, avoiding their razor-sharp edges by only a few inches. She cast another spell¡ªa Push that launched both of The Cancer¡¯s arms straight up. Then she followed it with the Crush I¡¯d been expecting. A snap broke the cavern¡¯s still, quiet air as the Push torqued the arm at the same time the Crush shattered The Cancer¡¯s shell all around it. The blade cartwheeled through the air and sunk into the ground, slicing almost a foot and a half deep before wobbling menacingly. The Cancer didn¡¯t even scream. It clacked its remaining blade claw, seeming to try to reach out with the muscles inside the shattered hole in its armor. That didn¡¯t work. Tori pushed herself to her feet, and this time, every Inertia Ball she threw hit the giant crab¡¯s brand-new weak point, tearing into soft, white flesh and spouting fountains of gore with every impact. It was only a matter of time before Tori wore it down. I thought about finishing it off with the Trip-Hammer, but Tori had earned the kill, so I settled back to watch her finish dismantling the boss. 40: Give Me a Job, Give me Security We exited the dungeon a few items¡ªand another Rank One Voltsmith¡¯s Box¡ªwealthier. Nothing the boss had dropped was particularly interesting, but the Voltsmith¡¯s Box had three unique items in it. Taken together, they had the potential to change how I thought about my class¡ªand about the Autoplate Pauldrons. The first was another Mana Coil. I¡¯d seen these before, and this one didn¡¯t seem to do anything special until the second item came into play. It was called a Converter, and it was little more than a black box with three possible entry points for wires and a single exit point. They weren¡¯t labeled, but they were aligned in such a way that I couldn¡¯t put more than one input wire into it without blocking the other two. I had a feeling about what a Converter did, but I wanted to be sure. The last item was another Tuning Rod. This time, I didn¡¯t take it apart; I wanted it intact for the process of upgrading the Voltsmith¡¯s Charge. ¡°Thanks,¡± Tori said as we stepped back onto the beach through a cave exit that definitely hadn¡¯t been there when we were looking earlier. The sun was working its way down. It had taken us almost two hours to track down the last Knife Crab in the cave and get one hundred percent completion, but Tori had insisted. I was glad she had. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I need you at your best if we¡¯re going to get the Queen Tyrant,¡± I replied. We started walking back toward Museumtown. ¡°It¡¯ll be reset by now,¡± she said. ¡°It only had twenty-four hours, and we wasted all of yesterday on recovery.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t matter. You¡¯re not allowed in Tier Twos anyway, and we couldn¡¯t have gotten ready for a boss like that even if you were.¡± Something moved up ahead, and I held up a hand. ¡°I¡¯ve got something.¡± Tori stopped in her tracks. Then she nodded. ¡°I see it. Want me to hit it with a Pull?¡± ¡°No. I think I know that guy.¡± I held up my Trip-Hammer and waved it as I strode toward the man in the white suit jacket. It was a little dirty, but shockingly clean considering how we¡¯d all been living. ¡°Bobby Richards, that you?¡± ¡°Who else?!¡± the man said, his sports announcer voice carrying over the waves coming in across the beach. He broke into a jog, weaponless and seemingly not a threat at all. Tori stiffened as he did. I didn¡¯t blame her; the man¡¯s brilliant smile and easy-going posture were at odds with his level. Bobby Richards: Level 44 Class: Resonator ¡°Forty-Three?¡± he asked, sticking out a hand. I grabbed it, giving him a hearty shake. I¡¯d hit Forty-Three from The Cancer and put both my points into Charge. Tori had his Thirty-Three and gotten within ten levels. Eventually, Bobby let go. ¡°You¡¯re catching up, Hal Riley. Listen, I was looking for you in Museumtown, but they¡¯re not crazy about me there for some reason. This one lady, Silvers, pointed out here and said you might be on the beach or by the old tower, but only after I proved I wouldn¡¯t be trouble for her or your two.¡± Before I could get a word in, he kept talking. ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Vanderbilt. Bobby. Bobby Richards.¡± Tori¡¯s brow furrowed, and she accepted the handshake with a little hesitancy. She let go as soon as she could. ¡°Where are you from, Mr. Richards?¡± ¡°Bobby. It¡¯s Bobby. Mr. Richards is my grandpa if he¡¯s still around, and Robert¡¯s my dad. I¡¯m from Jersey, near Atlantic City. Not a gambler, though, I swear. I was in town for business.¡± ¡°What kind of business?¡± ¡°Oh, this and that.¡± Bobby pointed at me. ¡°Speaking of business, though, tell me about Museumtown. What are your plans for the settlement? Are you going to expand the safe zone out toward Millennium Park?¡± Tori raised an eyebrow. Bobby¡¯s hands both went up, and he flashed her a grin meant to be disarming. ¡°I¡¯m just making conversation, catching up with my good friend Hal.¡± ¡°Business before pleasure, right, Bobby?¡± I asked, smiling his way. ¡°Why don¡¯t we head back to Museumtown, and I¡¯ll see if we can answer your questions.¡± ¡°We? Interesting. Very interesting,¡± Bobby said. ¡°I accept your offer.¡± Tori looked about ready to kill me, but I gave her the look, and she went quiet. She followed us the whole way back to Museumtown, and as far as I could tell, her eyes didn¡¯t leave the back of Bobby¡¯s head the whole time.
Jessica glared at me furiously as Bobby, Tori, and I walked back into Museumtown. ¡°Hal, I kicked that guy out for a reason!¡± The palaeoanthropologist was surrounded by people¡ªso many people. They¡¯d all fallen silent as we approached, which was probably the only reason she wasn¡¯t cursing me out. Or maybe her stepdaughter¡¯s presence was shielding me from the worst of it. ¡°What did you do, Bobby?¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Bobby shrugged. ¡°I had a business proposition. She didn¡¯t think it was a good deal.¡± ¡°He wanted to turn Museumtown into a military base,¡± Jessica said. ¡°I tried to explain that people never lived like that before recorded history. They had fights, yes, but that¡¯s not how to survive an¡­an¡­¡± ¡°Apocalypse?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes!¡± She turned her glare to Bobby. ¡°Are you trying to convince Hal to become a warlord? Because he¡¯s smarter than that, and he¡¯s definitely not stupid enough to give you fifteen percent of the dungeon gear in exchange for organizing it.¡± Bobby raised his hands placatingly. ¡°Ma¡¯am, I¡¯m sorry. We got off on the wrong foot, and¡ª¡° ¡°Wait a minute.¡± I stepped between them. ¡°What¡¯s this about militarizing Museumtown?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± Bobby smiled winningly. ¡°How would you like to be partners in a new model for dungeon-clearing? You beat The Captain. That makes you in charge of Museumtown, and I¡¯ve been all over the city. There are a few dozen places like your town, but nothing anywhere near as developed. A million people still¡ªmaybe more¡ªbut nothing organized. They¡¯re mostly in camps on the west side. We could run an organized, team-based dungeon-clearing operation from it, get the local Tier Ones under control, and start looking at Tier Twos.¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I knew you weren¡¯t stupid, Hal,¡± Jessica said. Truthfully, I¡¯d already been thinking about something similar. We had a little over a week before the Tier Three dungeon opened up, and we weren¡¯t ready for it. If Jessica, Calvin, and I wanted Museumtown to be able to beat what was coming, we¡¯d need to get some people¡¯s rears in gear, as Mom used to say. The idea of organizing people into teams and sending them to the Tier Ones that we knew would be reopening soon felt solid. But I wanted Calvin running it. He had something Bobby didn¡¯t: military experience. And he had something else. People trusted him¡ªor at least, I did. Bobby was a good guy. But Calvin was better. I looked over the assembled folks, looking for anyone over Level Thirty, but the highest I could see was Level Twenty-Seven. These people were falling behind. Even the ones who were trying weren¡¯t keeping up. ¡°Bobby, I think your idea¡¯s good, but I¡¯ve got someone else who¡¯s going to run it for us. Jessica, I¡¯ve been thinking about something similar¡ªnot full militarization,¡± I said before she could interrupt, ¡°but we do need to do better. We need everyone to do better. Once Calvin gets back from hunting down the twins, I¡¯m going to ask him to head it up.¡± Jessica¡¯s brow furrowed, and she looked like she was about to start yelling again, so I continued. ¡°I know people never lived like this. I¡¯m not asking us to now, but I do know a billion people died at the end of the tutorials because they didn¡¯t finish in time. We can¡¯t let that be us. We can¡¯t fall behind.¡± A billion people. I hadn¡¯t said it out loud before, and now that I had, it felt like bile on my tongue. I needed to spit it out or wash it down, but I couldn¡¯t. The woman¡¯s jaw set. ¡°And where is Calvin? Where are these twins you and Tori keep talking about?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Jessica-Mom,¡± Tori interrupted. ¡°Hal¡¯s right that we can¡¯t fall behind. Me and him are barely ahead of the power curve, and as for everyone else? They don¡¯t have a chance in a Tier Two.¡± Jessica went quiet. I held my breath. Then she sighed. ¡°Hal, we¡¯ll talk about this later. I¡¯ve got a dozen problems popping up, and the dungeons are the smallest one. If you want to help, keep that guy out of my way, and don¡¯t accept any stupid deals.¡± Bobby cleared his throat dramatically. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve got a much less stupid one. How do you feel about Soldier Field?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Tori said before Jessica could even open her mouth. ¡°I¡¯m not allowed in Tier Twos until I¡¯m Level Fifty.¡± Her stepmom nodded, a thin smile breaking through the frustration still on her face. ¡°Tori, I¡¯ve got work for you. It¡¯s not dungeon delving, but it¡¯s important. Can you help me out?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Tori didn¡¯t sound enthusiastic. She joined her stepmom, and the two of them turned back to the crowd of people who¡¯d been talking to Jessica a minute ago. Bobby pointed at the stadium south of Museumtown. ¡°I never got a notification that that place had been cleared¡ªnot even the first floor. How about you and me give it a go together? We¡¯ll split the gear fifty-fifty, and I¡¯ll even let you take first pick this time.¡± I nodded and shook Bobby¡¯s hand. Tori needed the levels, but if I could find something useful for her in there, it¡¯d go a long way toward leveling her up later. Besides, I wanted to see a second-floor boss that wasn¡¯t the Queen Tyrant. They couldn¡¯t all be that bad, right?
Tori had plans. Big ones. She hadn¡¯t forgiven Tommy for cutting her mom¡ªnot even if the bastard had turned out to be on her side, and it had been an accident. As far as she was concerned, he was on the thinnest ice possible, and if he screwed up even once, she¡¯d be there, ready to punish him. Age and size didn¡¯t matter anymore. The strength of your class did¡ªand Tori was strong. She wasn¡¯t even close to competing with Hal, but she was head and shoulders over most people in Museumtown, and well above Tommy¡¯s level. So, keeping an eye on Tommy was one of her goals. He wasn¡¯t anywhere to be found, though. As she helped her step-mom keep track of who needed what in Museumtown, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder where he''d gone. More importantly, she needed to head southeast. Tori didn¡¯t believe for a second that The Captain¡¯s bullshit was done. He might be dead¡ªno, he was definitely dead¡ªbut Eddie hadn¡¯t been the only gang leader under his thumb. It was only a matter of time before someone else showed up to mess with Museumtown, and she¡¯d be ready for whoever it was. She¡¯d have Hal ready for it, too. Besides, something about Bobby bugged the crap out of her. He reminded her of the big bad enemies in her games¡ªthe ones who¡¯d pretend to be a friend to the player, who¡¯d give them advice and weapons, only to betray them at the worst possible time. In short, he reeked of trickery and scams. If there was anywhere in Chicago she¡¯d be able to find records of both the gangs and an obvious scam artist like Bobby Richards, it¡¯d be the police precinct building. She was pretty sure it was a dungeon, but equally sure it wouldn¡¯t be a Tier Two. She could solo it pretty easily. As soon as she was done with crowd control for Jessica, she¡¯d ask if she could go exploring. Then she¡¯d check it out. And if Jessica said no? She¡¯d find another way. There had to be something on Bobby there, and she had to find it. Hal¡¯s life might depend on it someday. 41: Make Me an Offer I Cant Refuse Soldier Field had always been a curiosity. I¡¯d visited it once before, but not for a game¡ªjust to see it. Its glass-and-steel bulk rose from the inside of the old stone brick stadium like a butterfly breaking free of its cocoon, while the fake Greek facade down below helped it blend in with the museum and aquarium to the north. Bobby and I headed for the main doors, where sixty thousand Chicago Bears fans used to flood in every Sunday during football season like they were having a religious experience. Bobby was clearly thinking the same thing, because just before we walked through the fog gate, he rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯d have to have faith to root for Da Bears, because they sure didn¡¯t give much evidence they¡¯d ever be good.¡± Tier Two Dungeon: The Field of Warriors (Floor One) Objective: Defeat The Bear Knights (0/1) Free Exit: Dungeon Delvers may freely leave at any time before the first encounter. Safe Passages: There are no traps or surprises in this dungeon. Blood Sport: The announcers aren¡¯t on your side, but may provide useful hints. Once again, the Consortium¡¯s terraforming had changed the dungeon. The door we¡¯d walked through entered into what should have been a long, wide lobby. Instead, we found ourselves in a dark, damp tunnel made of bricks that matched the facade¡¯s, though these were cracked and flaking, and mold grew in the corners and crevices. Dozens of weapon racks lined the left wall, while benches and what looked suspiciously like ancient lockers sat up against the right. ¡°The Colosseum,¡± Bobby said, ¡°but that was in Oakland or Rome, not here.¡± I poured a little Charge from the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp into my Trip-Hammer, making sure I had enough in the tank for two railgun shots and two bolts ready to go, then revved the engine. It howled in the tunnel, the roar echoing off the walls. As it faded into an idling growl, another roar filled my ears. It sounded like fans in a stadium. ¡°I guess we go that way,¡± I said, gesturing with the hammer. Bobby nodded. ¡°You first. I¡¯ll open up places to attack as I can.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± We headed down the tunnel. According to the system, we were supposed to be safe until we got to wherever we were going, but I didn¡¯t trust it as far as I could throw it¡ªand it was a weightless digital thing in my head. I kept my eyes open as we headed down the tunnel, which slowly turned from classic dungeon stone and mold to refined, futuristic steel and plastic. As we approached the end of the tunnel, it got brighter¡ªthe glaring white lights of a stadium¡ªand a new message popped up. No Free Exit beyond this point. No Safe Passages beyond this point. Blood Sport active beyond this point. I sucked in a breath. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°Ready,¡± Bobby replied. We stepped out of the tunnel and onto the gridiron beyond.
The first thing that hit me was the wall of sound. Some of it came from the stands that surrounded us. They towered impossibly high, and two massive screens showed close-ups of Bobby and me. My open mouth had to be close to three hundred feet wide, and I couldn¡¯t help but stare at the chipped tooth I¡¯d gotten when a socket wrench had slipped off the station wagon¡¯s engine. I¡¯d never gotten it fixed. Most of the sound, though, was in a language that wasn¡¯t English, or Spanish, or anything I¡¯d ever heard, but that I nevertheless understood. Its deep baritone bounced off the towering stadium walls and filled my ears until I thought they¡¯d burst. ¡°Welcome to the Arena! Today¡¯s match is brought to you by The Galactic Consortium and comes to us straight from Earth!¡± The arena floor looked identical to a football field, complete with the lines and hash marks, and even two uprights painted bright yellow. The Bears¡¯ orange C painted in the middle of the turf looked correct¡ªNebraska was in the Bears¡¯ broadcast zone, so I¡¯d watched plenty of games in Soldier Field on TV. But as soon as I looked past the end zones and sidelines, everything was wrong. The logos painted onto the solid steel arena walls didn¡¯t match anything I¡¯d seen before. The twisting, semi-circular symbol was black and orange, with bright blue highlights. It reminded me a little of the Pepsi symbol, but the figure behind it wasn¡¯t human¡ªand neither were the thousands of aliens in the stands. There were so many different kinds: tentacle-covered squid things, oozes that looked a lot like what we¡¯d fought, and hulking green figures with horns that stretched from their heads like rams¡ªand a hundred other types of alien creatures. For a moment, I couldn¡¯t think. This wasn¡¯t a dungeon¡ªor at least, it wasn¡¯t anything like the Redline Tunnels or Twilight Menagerie had been. This was an arena. The Blood Sport affix when we¡¯d entered suddenly made sense. As the announcer thundered on and on about the history of combat sports on Earth, I focused less on what he was saying and more on what he¡¯d said. This dungeon was sponsored. More importantly, the sponsor was the Consortium¡ªthe same group that had brought the end of the world to Earth. I needed to know more. So did Bobby. ¡°We¡¯ve got to get him talking again,¡± he said, flexing his shoulders under his suit. ¡°Agreed. Do you know much about fighting for show?¡± ¡°Nope. I wasn¡¯t a fighter before this, except for some cardio kickboxing. That¡¯s all exercise, no violence.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I think we can keep him talking if we make this a spectacle. That means not fighting for efficiency but for the audience¡¯s enjoyment.¡± I turned my attention to the far end zone as a gap opened in the wall. ¡°And now, sports fans, it¡¯s time to fight! On the north side, Dungeon Delvers Bobby Richards and Hal Riley, some of the highest-leveled humans in the city of Chicago! And on the south, the home team defenders¡­Da Bears!¡± Eleven figures in rounded battle armor sprinted out of the hole in the wall, shouting and brandishing weapons. They formed up on the twenty-yard line, making a formation that looked like a cross between a rugby team getting ready for a scrum and a football line. I revved the Trip-Hammer, and Bobby flexed next to me, his suit moving fluidly with his motion. The stadium burst into a roaring cheer that went quiet but not silent as the Bear Knights charged across the field, their spiked boots throwing turf high into the air behind them. They screamed war cries and readied their weapons, ready for a slaughter.
It was a slaughter. Individually, a single knight wouldn¡¯t have been a threat to Tori, and all together, they weren¡¯t strong enough to seriously challenge either Bobby or me. They were tough enough to take a Trip-Hammer hit and keep coming, and their weapons definitely looked lethal, but even compared to me, they were slow. Bear Knight: Level Thirty-Four Boss (Squad) 1st Down (40 seconds) If I was right, the downs were a counter until a second phase. Either we had to beat them before fourth down¡ªthe last one in football¡ªor we had to survive all four downs before we could go on the offensive. I was hoping for the first, but prepared for the second. Bobby was a blur compared to them. As the first Bear Knight screamed and swung his mace toward my head, Bobby ducked in and punched three times across the monster¡¯s shining breastplate. It dented in just slightly, glowing orange where the fists had hit. I didn¡¯t know how Bobby fought when he was solo¡ªTori would have called him a support¡ªbut in the moment, I didn¡¯t care. The Trip-Hammer howled as it came down, the knight¡¯s plate buckled and cracked under the blow, and the Bear Knight hit the ground. I whirled to face another¡ªthis one with a glowing orange spot right below its armored neck. Its halberd sliced down. I blocked it with the Trip-Hammer¡¯s shaft, grunting from the impact, and unloaded the first rail gun round into its stomach. It doubled over as a three-inch-wide hole appeared in its gut, and the Trip-Hammer came down on its back. The plate cracked. So did bone. Stored Charge 9/15 We were winning. But the announcer wasn¡¯t saying anything useful. His focus was on the fight, and we needed to draw things out. We¡¯d already killed three of the knights; Bobby had punched one into unconsciousness while I was handling my second. If we fought any faster, the voice wouldn¡¯t run out of things to talk about. ¡°Slow it down,¡± I yelled at Bobby. He nodded, sliding in behind me; we fought back to back¡ªhim a whirlwind of fists, me probing and swinging the Trip-Hammer without revving it, waiting as the crowd¡¯s roar dwindled to an ear-splitting roar from the deafening, frenzied scream it had just been. I wasn¡¯t waiting for anything in particular¡ªjust a moment. A beat. For things to feel right. And then, there it was. Two of the Bear Knights swung at me, an axe and spear flying toward my face and stomach. I blocked the spear, letting the axe graze my cheek, and while the two knights were overextended, I revved the Trip-Hammer. It whirled down. Steel and bone shattered. The two knights went down¡ªhard. ¡°And Hal takes out two of Da Bears with one move! A brilliant play! This is why the Consortium invested in Earth so heavily!¡± the announcer shouted. A second voice interrupted. ¡°Right you are! It¡¯s not just the opportunity to sponsor these arena fights; the Consortium also sees a lot of potential in a species that¡¯s not only survived a Category Six Death World, but brought it under their control and thrived on it. They¡¯re absolutely worth saving!¡± I didn¡¯t hear what else the announcers had to say, because three more knights closed in, and Bobby moved from behind me. He had his own knights pressuring him, and now that we were separated, I couldn¡¯t rely on him to watch my back. I revved the Trip-Hammer and lifted it over my head, waiting for the armored figures to make a move. ¡°It¡¯s second down! Da Bears are still in this!¡± the announcer screamed. And the knights we¡¯d already knocked out of the fight stood back up. Their nameplates had changed, and they drew new weapons as they lined up and charged back into the fight. Bear Knight: Level Thirty-Four Boss (Squad) 2nd Down (40 seconds) ¡°Hal, behind you,¡± Bobby said conversationally. The sword sliced into my side before I could whirl. The thin line stung, and I sucked in a breath, but it wasn¡¯t debilitating; I used the Autoplate Pauldrons'' Blitz Strike and crashed the empowered hammer into the monster, blowing its armor apart. This fight was a lot more dangerous than I¡¯d first thought. I was a Nebraska boy, and that meant football. Even though the Haymakers were average at best when I went to school, everyone in my family was a Huskers fan. We¡¯d been kicking butt, but we had a long way to go. Three more downs¡ªcounting this one. Plenty of time for things to go wrong. As we spun and bashed at the Bear Knights and they cut and hacked at us, the announcers kept talking, and I figured out their rhythm. The first one was a play-by-play specialist, while the second focused more on interesting background information. Most of it was about Earth sports, but he was easily distracted¡ªespecially when the first announcer got too excited. I needed another moment¡ªanother for the highlight reel. As the fight went from second to third down, almost every knight had at least one wound. Armor had been torn away, round, orange helmets littered the field, and the grass was stained with blood. The announcer called third down. We stood at the fifty-yard line, right in the center of the gigantic C, and I could see everything from here. There were answers here. Maybe not solutions to the apocalypse, but answers. I just needed¡ª Wham! Something crashed against my skull, ringing my head like a bell. I tried to focus on the fight again as the Bear Knight swung his gigantic club over his armored shoulder, ready to swing again. His breastplate was cracked, and his ribs below were shattered; he could barely breathe. I activated the Trip-Hammer and let the engine do the work; it ripped through what was left of his armor and already shattered ribs, tearing into a lung. He hit the ground, trying and failing to scream in agony. I dropped the Trip-Hammer onto him and revved its engine again, splattering gore across the battlefield. The white hash marks looked pink. ¡°And Da Bears¡¯ offense fails to break through!¡± the play-by-play voice shouted. My ears rang from the volume and the blow I¡¯d just taken. ¡°Hopefully, Homo sapiens puts up a similar fight in a few months. They¡¯re hopelessly behind on their preparations, and Phases Two and Three will stretch them to their limits. In fact, if I had to make an educated guess, I¡¯d say they never got word that any of this was happening. It¡¯s good that the Consortium intervened, or they¡¯d never be ready for the monster surge in Phase Four!¡± ¡°What is a monster surge?¡± Bobby asked. He lowered his head, and a greatsword cut through the air close enough to remove a couple strands of hair. I had no idea. My focus was starting to return, but I was still seeing double from the blow. I almost certainly had a concussion. Whatever a monster surge was, though, it wouldn¡¯t be good. I closed my eyes and imagined a dozen or more Queen Tyrants running roughshod over Mom and Dad¡¯s farm, or the Eyes of Perfection laser-beaming Beth to death. If that was what the Consortium was trying to prepare us for, why wouldn¡¯t they outright tell us? And what had that talk about Integration been for earlier? Was that a reward for surviving the apocalypse and monster break? How did it all fit together? I had parts, but not enough. We kept fighting, Bear Knights kept dropping, and I started to fall into a rhythm. Third down turned to fourth, and the announcers yelled, ¡°Da Bears are going for it on fourth down. This is a risky play under the best of circumstances!¡± And just like that, every Bear Knight¡¯s nameplate changed again. Bear Knight: Level Thirty-Nine Elite Boss (Squad) 4th Down 42: Make Me Respectable, Man The crowd went wild. Bobby started laughing. ¡°This is the most Bears thing ever. Fourth down, at the fifty-yard line, and they go for it? Unbelievable.¡± I readied the Trip-Hammer and tried to clear my head a little more as Da Bears got themselves back into a formation at their forty-five. Now that they were Elite and Level Thirty-Nine, the fight had changed; I didn¡¯t care about extracting little bits of information from the announcers. I just wanted to survive and win. ¡°It¡¯s looking desperate for Da Bears! Can they pull off an upset here, or will the delvers win this contest?¡± the play-by-play announcer shouted. ¡°They¡¯re lining up in a tight formation. Could this be a blitz?¡± Only the announcer¡¯s words saved me. As one, the Bear Knights charged forward; they¡¯d been slow up until this point. Now, with their clocks winding down, they put on huge bursts of extra speed. I barely got the Trip-Hammer up in time to block the first swing, though I fired the hammers and snapped the longsword in half a moment later. Bobby broke ranks with me almost immediately, punching and marking the weak points in half the knights¡¯ armor. I tried to follow up, but the whirlwind of blades, hammers, and shouting cut me off from them. My arms and legs bled from a dozen wounds. I slammed the hammers down on a fallen knight. This time, as gore exploded from the impact wounds, the knight shimmered and faded away, leaving behind one of the orbs Tori thought were from a video game. I grabbed it. It wasn¡¯t enough to level, but I figured Bobby could get his own¡ªand this boss wasn¡¯t behaving like any other boss I¡¯d seen. We needed to handle the experience ourselves, not get it as a reward at the end. Maybe it was because it was a squad? I couldn¡¯t tell. All I could do was keep fighting. Knights fell one after another as the Trip-Hammer blew past glowing orange steel. Bobby punched a knight unconscious, then stomped on its helmet until it died; his suit was stained brown, green, and red from the blood and mud and grass. We¡¯d churned the whole field into a soup by the time the last Bear Knight fell. Boss Defeated: Da Bears Area Message: The Field of Warriors¡¯ second floor has unlocked. This floor will remain unlocked for twenty-four hours, after which time the first floor will reset. Free Exit active. Safe Passage Active. Bobby scooped up the loot¡ªa pair of blue pillars¡ªand headed for center field, where I met him. I raised an eyebrow, and he shook his head. ¡°They¡¯re both alright. I¡¯ll show you after we¡¯re done here,¡± he said. ¡°And there go Da Bears!¡± the play-by-play announcer shouted. ¡°The Consortium has to be happy with this performance. Maybe it¡¯ll keep the other System organizations off their backs for a while.¡± ¡°Oh yes, they¡¯re under some pressure. It¡¯s tough to be the top dog in a project as important to the galaxy as System integration. Everyone¡¯s gunning for you all the time¡ªa feeling I¡¯m sure Bobby Richards and Hal Riley are going to grow all too familiar with soon!¡± the color commentator said. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Bobby asked. I shrugged. We¡¯d learned a lot about the Consortium¡ªthat while this wasn¡¯t their fault, they were profiting from it, and that they were in competition with other organizations doing the same thing with the System across the galaxy. But I didn¡¯t know enough about the situation to make any conclusions yet. Hopefully, when Jessica finished attuning to the key, we could learn more¡ªand fill in some of the gaps in what we already knew. ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on getting through this,¡± I said, pointing to the door we¡¯d come in through. It was open. ¡°Unless you want to leave?¡± ¡°And miss out on the second floor? Bobby Richards ain¡¯t a coward, Hal.¡± I sighed. I could take or leave the next fight; neither of us had leveled, and both Bobby and I had several wounds. None of them were serious individually, but if the second-floor boss was anything like the Queen Tyrant, we¡¯d be in trouble. ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Okay. Hopefully, it¡¯s not as bad as the one we saw in the Field Museum. Big skeletal T-Rex, an absolute monster. I couldn¡¯t even scratch the thing.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stress. It¡¯s probably the Bears mascot or something,¡± Bobby said, smiling widely. His white teeth clashed with the filth covering his suit, and I couldn¡¯t help but shake my head as the door slid shut.
Tier Two Dungeon: The Field of Warriors (Floor Two) Objective: Defeat Ursa Prime (0/1) Neither of us moved from mid-field even as the earth shook and cracked below our feet. As a kid, I¡¯d seen a Batman movie where Bane blew up the football field. It felt a lot like I imagined that would have, but it wasn¡¯t a series of explosions; instead, the whole field around us rippled and shifted, then fell away. Terraforming complete. Free Exit is no longer in effect. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. We stood in the center of the Chicago Bears ¡®C¡¯ as new ground rose up around us; we hadn¡¯t gone up or down to the next floor; it had come to us. This one came with fresh arena walls; where the sidelines and end zones had been, huge plates of steel rose twenty feet into the air before turning to clear, thick plastic. We were trapped in a gigantic dome with no way in or out. "The Consortium rated Earth a Death World for a reason! Today, we¡¯re going to find out just what that reason was¡ªand how Homo Sapiens got as far as they did! Our challengers will face off against the strongest land apex predator on the planet. Will they triumph, or will they fall? Only one way to find out!¡± the color commentator shouted. The crowd absolutely lost their minds, drowning out even the announcer as a crack appeared in the far wall, right where Da Bears had come out. It ran up almost to the clear plastic, a single, perfectly vertical split that grew and grew. I made sure the Trip-Hammer was idling, fired it once to double-check the hammers¡¯ positions, and pulled up the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp¡¯s Charge level. Stored Charge 10/15 One shot. Two if the fight dragged on. It¡¯d have to be enough. A massive white paw shot from the split, shoving it further open; the steel creaked as a second armored paw shoved the other way faster than the motors could keep up. Steel started parting with a horrific shriek, and the only thing louder than that was the announcer. ¡°It¡¯s Ursa Priiiiiiiiime!¡± Ursa Prime was a bear. A white polar bear. I knew polar bears were big¡ªwe didn¡¯t have any bears in Cozad¡ªbut I knew they didn¡¯t get this big. The damn thing was a good fifteen feet long¡ªmaybe closer to eighteen. It dwarfed Bobby. It dwarfed me. It was probably bigger than any of the cars I¡¯d repaired at Cindy¡¯s. And it was covered from claw to snout in thick, silvery steel armor¡ªnot automotive body steel, but the industrial kind. Ursa Prime: Level Forty-Eight Dungeon Boss Current Difficulty: Extreme Ursus americanus. Helarctos malayanus. Ursus maritimus. The hell-world Earth has many apex predators, but the most mighty is Ursa Prime. Armored - This boss takes reduced damage from weapons designed to cut. Insatiable - This boss will feed on any viable food sources within its range. Juggernaut - This boss will continue fighting after receiving lethal damage. I stared down the hulking polar bear. My first thought was that we were screwed; it didn¡¯t need weapons; its whole body was one, and one bad move on our part would mean our deaths. It was probably faster than me, and definitely tougher than Bobby. My second thought was that Ursa Prime was the perfect Tier Two boss to test ourselves on¡ªsimilar to the Queen Tyrant, but more beatable. There wasn¡¯t time for a third. Ursa Prime roared. A shiver rippled down my spine, and I couldn¡¯t move for a moment. The bear closed the gap like lightning, paw swinging out, and I backpedaled as soon as possible. The rail gun fired the thick bolt I¡¯d loaded. It punched into the boss¡¯s head, piercing the steel armor only to bounce away, scraping skin and fur from its skull. The bone held firm. Stored Charge 4/15 I didn¡¯t. As the massive polar bear surged toward me, I ran right at it, then dove to the side. Its left paw passed through the air over my head, and I fired the Trip-Hammer. It caught its front leg. A loud cracking sound echoed off the stands, followed by a roar from the audience. ¡°Hal lands the first blow! But Ursa Prime¡¯s armor took the hit like an absolute champion. And here goes Bobby!¡± the announcer yelled. I rolled as a paw slammed into the ground, tearing foot-deep gashes in the turf. The bear roared and spun. I pushed myself to my feet as a half-dozen orange circles appeared across its heavy flank armor¡ªright where Bobby had unleashed a series of punches. The armor rang like a church bell. He danced away from Ursa Prime¡¯s retaliatory swipe. The bear followed him, roaring and growling. As it went, I saw how the fight would go. Ursa Prime was massive, powerful, fast, and strong. It didn¡¯t have any obvious weaknesses, but I thought I saw one that was a little more hidden. Just to be sure, I swung the Trip-Hammer right at the weakspot-marked armor. If I thought Bobby¡¯s fists had rang it like a bell, this hit was more like Notre Dame¡¯s whole belltower going off at once. The sound drowned out the shouting, screaming fans and the announcer for a second. When it stopped, the arena was perfectly silent. A single crack ran down the length of the bear¡¯s armor¡ªnot big enough to exploit. I winced, but I¡¯d been expecting it. Stored Charge 5/15 I also expected what happened next. The bear whirled, roaring and lashing out with its gigantic, slobber-coated maw. The steel plates covering its mouth opened like a mechanical bear¡¯s as the flesh-and-blood monster inside them chomped down on the Trip-Hammer I held out like a pike against a charging knight. I was right. In fact, I was more than right. I triggered the hammers, and the bear¡¯s jaw seemed to explode in slow motion as the sledges ripped through the space between its mandible and upper teeth. It roared again, this time in pure agony. Its eyes locked on me. It raised itself up on its hind legs, a towering mass of bear and metal. ¡°Bobby, hit it!¡± I yelled. He hit it as the bear¡¯s weight crashed down over me. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact. It never came. Instead, the bear¡¯s paws punched through the ground close enough that a claw ripped through my bicep. It whirled, back paws tossing me aside and opening five new cuts across my side and back, and barreled after Bobby. With a second¡¯s reprieve, I breathed in, held it, and breathed out. Then I pushed myself to my feet, revved the Trip-Hammer, and pushed my aching body into a run as I raced to rejoin the fight.
Calvin wasn¡¯t the only one hunting for Zane and Carol. Tommy still hadn¡¯t gotten over his confrontation with the Voltsmith. The man scared him more than The Captain ever had¡ªand it wasn¡¯t just that he¡¯d killed Eddie. The president¡ªwell, former president¡ªof the Raging Bulls had been outmatched fair and square. It wasn¡¯t the first time Tommy had experienced a violent change in leadership. It was Hal¡¯s eyes. The intensity that melted away into shifting, back-and-forth jerks of the eye as he took in everything Tommy could tell him. And more than that, it was the unthreatening way he¡¯d given instructions after he knew the situation. He knew exactly which levers to pull, which buttons to push, to get The Captain isolated. Like the whole organization the dirty cop had built was just a machine to be manipulated. It scared him. Especially the part where Hal just assumed Tommy would roll with his plan. Because Tommy had, and everything was working out well for him. Now, all he had to do was find two kids in the third biggest city in the United States, convince them to come with him, or bring Hal, Tori, or Calvin to them. How hard could that possibly be? Pretty fucking hard, it turned out. He was closing in on someone, though. A campfire, and two spots in the dust and dirt that had covered Chicago where two people had slept. Two smaller people. They¡¯d picked a tower with a partially collapsed side, giving them access to the third floor up; if he hadn¡¯t seen their footprints in the mud, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten this close. Tommy groaned, turned, and icicled a bat-like monster to death. Then he kept searching until he found where the twins had left their temporary campsite this morning. They were heading for the United Center¡ªhe¡¯d seen the Bulls play there once, and there was no way it wasn¡¯t at least a Tier Two Dungeon. Hal was going to owe him for this shit. 43: Charity Case The Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp ticked back up to six out of fifteen Charge as I slammed the Trip-Hammer into Urse Prime¡¯s back right leg. Steel buckled around the two iron sledges, the glowing orange sections where Bobby¡¯s Resonator powers had marked weak points giving and bone crunching under the blow. The bear roared, whirled on its left leg, and slashed down faster than I could block. The impact ripped me off my feet and launched me into the wall around the arena. ¡°What a hit by Hal, but Ursa Prime¡¯s counterattack picks him up and throws him! This looks dire for the local Delvers!¡± the play-by-play announcer shouted. I picked myself up as Bobby dodged and punched at the bear, opening up a new line of ringing weak points across its chest. One blow caught under the gigantic bear¡¯s chin, right in the thick steel plate hanging from a chain around its neck. Then Bobby turned and ran, weaving and ducking his way toward me. ¡°You got this?¡± he yelled over the cheering, roaring, and speaker-amplified commentary. ¡°Yeah, I got this!¡± I said. The Trip-Hammer fired again, and another slab of armor crumpled. Bobby and I traded the bear¡¯s attention back and forth as the announcers screamed about our strategy. Ursa Prime was faster than Bobby, tougher than me, and hit harder than anything I¡¯d fought before except the Queen Tyrant, but the fact that it always wanted to fight its most recent attacker gave it a glaring weakness¡ªonce we knew about it. The fight was only a matter of attrition, and gradually, blow by blow and weak spot by weak spot, the gigantic polar bear slowed down. Its breath grew ragged, and it started limping on its shattered, smashed legs. I readied the bolt-throwing railgun, but held my fire. I¡¯d only get one shot. ¡°Make it stand up!¡± I yelled. ¡°On it!¡± The bear swiped, and Bobby ducked in after the claws, punching and kicking for all he was worth as he stayed in clawing range. Claw strikes hammered down on him, and he barely avoided being decapitated. Then Ursa Prime roared, a blood-curdling, blood-spewing howl that covered Bobby¡¯s already-filthy suit in red-pink spittle. It reared back, both arms up, ready to slam down. Bobby couldn¡¯t move¡ªthe bear¡¯s roar had stunned him. But as it lifted its arms, the weak steel plate covering its neck and jaw glowed bright orange. I leveled the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp and took my shot. The railgun bolt slammed into the plate¡ªthen through it. Blood erupted from the bear¡¯s mouth as the roar turned to a scream of agony. So did something long and pink. It took me a second to realize it was the boss¡¯s tongue. Ursa Prime hit the ground with both front paws as Bobby rolled away. It seemed to collapse, then started shimmering. I sighed in relief. ¡°Oooh! The Delvers are about to learn what Juggernaut does!¡± the play-by-play announcer shouted. My blood ran cold as the boss¡¯s shimmering body didn¡¯t fade. Instead, it flickered from red to white in a steady but quick beat, like an engine idling. Ursa Prime: Level Fifty-Three Elite Dungeon Boss Current Difficulty: Impossible Juggernauting - This boss has been killed, but is enraged and temporarily indestructible. It will pursue its killer for thirty seconds. Time Remaining: 30 Seconds Elite - This monster moves faster and hits harder than a similarly powerful monster (thirty seconds remaining). I didn¡¯t bother revving the Trip-Hammer. Instead, I threw it down as a weight settled on my shoulders and my soul. Ursa Prime¡¯s eyes glowed red, and it locked its gaze on me. The boss started running. So did I. Bobby tried to get its attention with a series of punches across its side as it bowled past him, but it didn¡¯t even break stride. No weak spots appeared. I ran for the wall. The boss followed me, gaining with every step. Then, when I got close, I kept running and threw myself up toward the narrow seam between the steel and plexiglass. I almost made it. Instead, I started sliding down toward the charging polar bear. As I fell, I thought quickly, looking for a solution. It came in the form of the Autoplate Pauldron. I punched the wall, empowering the blow with my armor¡¯s gears and pulleys. The blow launched me to the side. Not far¡ªthree or four feet¡ªbut far enough. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. The bear hit the wall with a sickening crunch. The solid steel buckled, and the boss¡¯s front side stopped instantly. Its rear didn¡¯t. The process looked like a train wreck, with half of Ursa Prime piling up behind the other half. Steel shrieked. The bear roared. The boss¡¯s timer was at twenty-two seconds. I kept running.
Boss Defeated: Ursa Prime Level Up! Forty-Three to Forty-Six. Dungeon Delvers who were not in the arena will receive fifty percent of your team¡¯s experience. I put one point into Body and five into Charge as the announcers yelled on and on about the end of the fight. To them, it had been the most exciting thing ever¡ªI¡¯d outlasted the elite boss¡¯s rampage but taken enough injuries to make a show of it. As the torn skin and shredded muscle across my back knitted themselves together, I let myself relax. Congratulations! For completing one hundred percent of a Tier Two Dungeon, you have received the following reward: One [Voltsmith¡¯s] Supply Box (Rank Two) Completely clearing a dungeon will result in rewards equivalent to the level of dungeon cleared. And there it was. We¡¯d finished the dungeon. I let Bobby pull me to my feet. He¡¯d already scooped up the boss¡¯s loot, and there wasn¡¯t any reason to stay here. The announcers were completely focused on the fight, and I doubted we¡¯d learn anything new from them. We headed back down the now-open tunnel. As it shifted from steel to stone, Bobby cleared his throat. ¡°Four total items. One common and three rare. I¡¯ve got a guess about which one you¡¯ll pick first.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the exit. We¡¯ll figure it out there. I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about staying in this dungeon,¡± I said. ¡°You got it, Hal.¡± Bobby flashed me a smile, then cast a spell. The filth, dirt, and gore melted off him and his suit, leaving him spotless, hair perfect and cuff links shining. ¡°I¡¯m ready to get out of here, too.¡± I checked his nameplate. Bobby Richards: Level 46 Class: Resonator We were even now. He might have a touch more experience than me, but he and I were, by far, the most powerful survivors I¡¯d seen so far. Saul might¡¯ve been a bit higher at his peak, but he¡¯d fallen as I chipped away at his support base. I felt almost ready to take on the Queen Tyrant. Almost. But first, there was loot to deal with¡ªand after that, I needed to track down Calvin and Tommy. We passed the molding, chipped brick lockers and weapon racks, headed for the dungeon exit, and stepped out into the late Chicago afternoon. Skyscrapers¡¯ shadows loomed over even Soldier Field¡¯s ramparts, but the silence struck me. Lake Michigan¡¯s waves crashed against the shore; I¡¯d never heard them from this close to Lake Shore Drive before. It had always been honking, revving cars. Bobby let me listen for a minute, then started laying down items¡ªthree blue lights and one green. Warrior¡¯s Sheath (Rare) Wearer may equip an additional piece of equipment. This item does not count against the equipment limit. Ursa Claw (Rare, Charge 5) +5 Body This dagger inflicts the Hemorrhage debuff upon enemies it hits, causing their injuries to bleed more and heal at a reduced rate through Body leveling and magical healing. Battle Helm of the Bear Knight (Rare, Charge 20) +3 Body, +3 Awareness For each Battle Helm worn in your party, the wearer gains +2 Body and +2 Awareness. Turfguards (Common, Charge 5) +2 Mana, +1 Body The wearer of these boots may root themselves in place, becoming immovable for up to five seconds on a thirty-minute cooldown. Bobby was right; there was a clear best choice, and since I got to pick first, I pointed at the Warrior¡¯s Sheath. ¡°That one. That one¡¯s mine.¡± I have a dozen ideas for how to use it, ranging from picking up new gear to taking it apart down the road and seeing how it worked. If I could replicate it, my gear would quickly out-scale even my leveling. I just needed enough Charge to keep things running, and that was coming together. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s what I thought. Now, I should be interested in the Ursa Claw,¡± Bobby said. ¡°Bobby Richards ain¡¯t no fool, and that¡¯s the second-best choice. But look, I¡¯ll be honest with you, Hal. I¡¯m tired of going solo all the time, but I need some assurances from you. I need to know that Museumtown¡¯s not going in the wrong direction.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I asked, tensing a little. ¡°I mean that the world has changed. You know it, and so do it. You can protect everyone living there, and that woman can try to keep things together, but at some point, they¡¯re all going to become more trouble than they¡¯re worth.¡± Bobby paused. ¡°You heard the same things I did back there. The Consortium, and this Phase Zero and One stuff? This isn¡¯t the worst of it. They¡¯re prepping us for something, and it¡¯s going to be bad.¡± I watched him, not saying anything. Dad had done that a lot, just waited people out. After a minute, he kept talking. ¡°The Consortium wants us to advance and uplift, right? You and I, we¡¯re on the advance path, and we¡¯re doing well for ourselves. Jessica? She¡¯s on the uplift path. We¡¯ll see if she¡¯s got the right idea there, but I¡¯m not so sure. ¡°Here¡¯s my offer. I¡¯ll hang around Museumtown, help you out with keeping it running smoothly and efficiently, and I won¡¯t try to take over. In return, you and I are clearing Tier Two Dungeons. At least one a day, averaged weekly. I¡¯ll let you pick the first loot¡ªor have that girl, what¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°Tori Vanderbilt,¡± I said, brain spinning. ¡°Yeah. Either you or Tori or whoever you bring in with us can get first pick. I get second. That¡¯s the deal. You bring yourself and anyone you want. I bring me and my business knowledge. We work together to advance, and I help Jessica uplift the ones who aren¡¯t serious about advancement.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why what? Why tie myself to you guys?¡± Bobby asked. I nodded, and he laughed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t lying before. Museumtown is the closest thing to civilization that¡¯s left, and you¡¯re the best partner for dungeons that I¡¯ve found. Everyone wins this way.¡± He was right. Grabbing Bobby Richards for Museumtown would only help people. Jessica might not see it right away¡ªand Tori would throw a fit¡ªbut if Bobby was serious about helping her, she¡¯d come around. ¡°I have to talk it over with Jessica and the other member of our council, but I¡¯m in.¡± I stuck my hand out, and Bobby shook it, smiling wide. ¡°Excellent. Glad to be aboard. I¡¯ll take the Battle Helm of the Bear Knight.¡± 44: If It Takes All That to Be Just What I Am ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Jessica said as Bobby and I walked into her clinic. I¡¯d used the point in Body, but it hadn¡¯t healed everything. Bobby was beat up, too; he hadn¡¯t taken as many hits as me, but when he did get hit, he didn¡¯t have the same level of armor I did¡ªor even as much Body. Tori didn¡¯t look any happier to see Bobby. She shot a glare his way and headed for the door. Bobby held up his hands before she could get by, though. ¡°I¡¯ll wait outside, then?¡± ¡°Yeah, you do that,¡± Tori said. Jessica shot her the same look she¡¯d just given Bobby, then turned toward the man. ¡°You do that.¡± I sat on the table as Jessica started prodding and poking at my wounds. ¡°They look like they¡¯re a few days old, but I can help with them anyway. Why is he back?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s the highest-leveled person I know, and you¡ªwe¡ªneed his firepower. We cleared the Soldier Field dungeon.¡± ¡°God dammit,¡± Tori muttered. Clearly, Jessica¡¯s presence wasn¡¯t stopping her from swearing. I powered on before either of them could sidetrack the conversation. ¡°And we learned a lot about what¡¯s happening. It¡¯s all biased, and we only got snippets, but from what we heard, the Consortium is preparing us for something. Something big. I don¡¯t know if they have control over it, but they know when it¡¯s coming. That¡¯s what this Integration is probably about¡ªgetting us through it alive.¡± Jessica and Tori listened as I explained what the announcers had said. The whole time, the gray-eyed woman worked on my wounds and Tori leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. When I finished, Jessica nodded slowly. ¡°Have you heard from Calvin yet?¡± ¡°No. I was hoping he or Tommy would be back by now,¡± I said. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard from him since¡­¡± Jessica trailed off, touching the still-red wound on her face. I winced; it was going to scar, and she couldn¡¯t heal herself. The silence stretched, and I pulled my shirt back on. ¡°We need Calvin. He¡¯ll be able to get this mess organized,¡± Jessica said after a minute. Tori nodded as her step-mother kept going. ¡°We¡¯ve got food issues. Most of what we¡¯re eating comes from those coolers, but we¡¯re over-using the ones near us. We also need to figure out how to get people to use communal toilets instead of defacating wherever they think is private. I don¡¯t know if Body points help with disease, and I don¡¯t want to find out.¡± ¡°Also, people aren¡¯t listening to Jessica. Like, at all,¡± Tori said. Jessica raised an eyebrow at her, and Tori returned the stare. After a second or two, Jessica deflated. ¡°No, they¡¯re not. They actually listened to Tori more than me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the number over my head,¡± Tori said. ¡°People are starting to figure out that everyone¡¯s got a literal power level, and there¡¯s always going to be someone who only listens to power. Right now, that¡¯s everyone, because everyone¡¯s scared.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go talk to everyone tomorrow. We¡¯ll get things figured out,¡± I said, pushing off the table and standing up. Jessica¡¯s magic really was something¡ªI felt exhausted from dungeon-delving, but my wounds were all fixed up. ¡°You get that Bobby Richards in here, too. I want to have a talk with him,¡± Jessica said. She pointed at me. ¡°And make sure he knows I¡¯m serious. I don¡¯t care about his nameplate or level¡ªhe needs to listen if he¡¯s going to stick around. And¡­¡± she sighed and looked at the floor, ¡°I could use his help.¡±
Tori didn¡¯t stick around for Bobby and Jessica¡¯s conversation. She followed me as I headed for my workshop. ¡°So, what¡¯d you get?¡± It took me a second to realize she meant the new equipment. I pulled the sheath out of my inventory first and handed it to her. ¡°I need this back. Don¡¯t equip it. If I can take it apart and figure out how it works, maybe I can build similar items for other people.¡± ¡°Like tailoring or leatherworking in World of Warcraft,¡± Tori said. She examined it, nodded approvingly, and handed it back. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°A dagger. I¡¯ve got a plan for that one, too. Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s no good for you¡ªnone of the items we got were. I think Bobby had worse luck than I did.¡± We started climbing the tower, Tori obviously annoyed at the mention of Bobby. I ignored that for now. Right now wasn¡¯t the time. Right now, it was time to get to work. ¡°I also got a Rank Two Voltsmith¡¯s Box,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m hoping it lets me get to work on the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp, because it¡¯s upgradeable, and I haven¡¯t figured out how to improve it yet.¡± ¡°The rail gun doesn¡¯t count?¡± ¡°No. The rail gun doesn¡¯t count.¡± I took the glove off and set it on my workbench, then spread out my components. Then, once I had everything the exact way I needed it to be, including a row for my tools, I pulled out the oil-smelling box. Charge Battery (Medium) x1 Assorted Voltsmithing Parts You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Refiner x1 Mana Coil x1 Spellcode Scroll-Reader x1 That last one was interesting; it looked like a series of tiny hammers¡ªa little like what was inside my grandma¡¯s piano¡ªall lined up against several holes, with a tiny treadmill covered in metal clamps that ran over them. I pushed the treadmill along, and as I did, all the hammers fell softly and in unison to plink into some holes in a tube below the treadmill. I¡¯d never seen anything like it before and wished I had an item description, but it was undeniably more advanced than the refiners and emitters I¡¯d been playing with. So was the medium Charge Battery¡ªinstead of the size of a lug nut, this one was about golf ball-sized. The first thing to do was check my stats and top off my Charge. [Hal Riley] [Class - Voltsmith] [Level - 46] [Stats] ?Body - 28 ?Awareness - 42 ?Charge - 1/53 (43 Used) Stat Points Available: 0 [Class Skill - Decharge/Recharge - Drain the charge from magic items to power your own creations] Items ?Autoplate Pauldron (8 Charge) ?Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp (15 Charge) - Rail Gun Module ?Heavy Trip-Hammer (20 Charge) I had ten Charge to go¡ªone of the pieces I¡¯d gotten from beating Saul filled me up without overflowing, and just like that, I was at en out of fifty-three. That gave me a little wiggle room to play with. ¡°I don¡¯t like him,¡± Tori said. ¡°I don¡¯t trust him, and I think you and I should check out the precinct. It¡¯s definitely a dungeon, and it probably has something on a slimy guy like him.¡± ¡°Easy there, Tori,¡± I said. I opened up the gauntlet so I could see the inside. If I wanted to rank it up, it¡¯d definitely need more power¡ªbut more power would overtax the wire-cage I¡¯d built for it. I started sketching out the current system in blue and orange lines of energy, then tweaking it slightly until I had a blueprint I thought could handle two or three times the Charge of the Rank Zero Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp. I couldn¡¯t be sure without testing it, though, and right away, I ran into a problem with that: If I tried to take the glove apart, I¡¯d dump all the Charge in it out into the air, and while I could rebuild it, I couldn¡¯t fill up the next one if it took more than eleven additional Charge. That put the whole plan on hold for now; the wire-cage went on the backburner, and I pulled the dagger I¡¯d gotten from Ursa Prime and the one I¡¯d gotten from the fight with Saul out and laid them on the table. ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± Tori interrupted before I could add the Trip-Hammer to the mix. ¡°I know you are, Tori, but I¡¯ve fought with him a couple of times. He¡¯s had my back, just like you have. I don¡¯t want to mess things up with him¡ªand we do need him. Jessica needs him, too.¡± She didn¡¯t have a response right away, and I got to work on the Trip-Hammer. I¡¯d come to a realization as I used the railgun to throw bolts at lightning speeds: bolts were a solution, not just a weapon. The original Trip-Hammer used sledgehammers. So did the current one. But as great as the sledges were at cracking armor, they weren¡¯t good at killing things. Ursa Prime¡¯s armor had also pushed its limits. I could just weld the blades to my hammers to add some damage, but instead, I grabbed two heavy bolts, six equally heavy nuts, and the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp. Then I got to work. I started by slowly melting the hammers¡¯ heads one at a time with Charge, then carefully working a hole into the molten metal with a bolt and nuts. Once the nuts were good and locked in, I unscrewed the bolt and made sure the hammers were still solid. When I¡¯d finished, I had three nuts locked into each hammer head, all lined up and ready to take a bolt. I checked a few times just to be sure they both fit. They were tight, but I didn¡¯t want the knives coming loose mid-fight. Then I started on the knives. The handles came off first. Then I welded the blades to the bolts, pouring tiny bits of Charge into them until they were done and taking care not to compromise the blades in any way. If I did too much damage, there was a very real chance that neither would keep their powers, and I couldn¡¯t have that. Tori started talking when I was about halfway through. I did my best to ignore her since I had to focus, and after a few minutes, she realized I hadn¡¯t heard a word she said. I could feel her anger almost as hot as the Charge-welded joints I was working on, but if I messed this up, I might wrecked the Trip-Hammer¡¯s structural integrity for nothing. It took a long time to slowly build the two attachments, then another couple of minutes to slot them into the Trip-Hammer¡¯s heads. Once the first one was wrench-tightened into its hole, I held up the weapon and handed Tori the safety glasses. ¡°Test firing in ten seconds. Get those on.¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± Tori said, but she put them on. I fired the Trip-Hammer. It tore through the air, and this time, it left a silvery blur behind. I didn¡¯t dare use it on the building¡ªand it wouldn¡¯t have had a different result than the hammers by themselves¡ªbut after firing it up a half-dozen times, I checked the bolt¡¯s tightness. The blade hadn¡¯t rotated even a degree as far as I could tell. A few minutes later, I had the second blade attached, and the Trip-Hammer was working beautifully. Better than beautifully, in fact: Heavy Trip-Hammer 2.0, by Hal Riley (Created Item, Charge 25) The Trip-Hammer uses magical energy, external power sources, and salvaged parts to apply incredible destructive force to a small area. First created by Hal Riley of Earth. This upgraded version includes two separate hammers, one with the Hemorrhage debuff and the other with increased piercing damage in addition to the Trip-Hammer¡¯s already-potent armor-crushing effect. It took another five of my charge, leaving me with only six and pushing me further from upgrading the Voltsmith¡¯s Charge, but I didn¡¯t care. The increased firepower¡ªnot to mention the flexibility of slicing or stabbing instead of just crushing¡ªmade it more than a fair trade. I stared at the weapon¡¯s new look: mean, aggressive, and a serious upgrade from its first version. Yes, this would do. I slowly put away my mechanic¡¯s tools and Voltsmithing supplies, then turned to Tori before she could explode. ¡°Okay, what were you saying?¡± ¡°Even if you don¡¯t want to check the police station dungeon for anything about Bobby¡ªand I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something there¡ªwe should still get an idea of who The Captain was working with. Eddie¡¯s gang¡¯s not the only one out there,¡± Tori said quickly, like she was worried I was going to put her on ignore again any second. She had a point. Any of those gangs could show up again, and while either Bobby or I was strong enough to handle them, any information we could figure out would only help push the odds more in our favor. ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll check it out tomorrow. Then Bobby and I have a Tier Two to clear.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to hold you to that, Hal,¡± Tori said. She headed for the stairs, yawning, and I looked outside into the late-night darkness. I¡¯d been working for hours, and she¡¯d been trying to get me to listen the whole time. I winced. She was serious, not just messing around. ¡°I promise,¡± I said. But the next morning, I had to break my promises¡ªboth to Tori and to Bobby. 45: Only a Heartbeat Away Jessica woke up early. That in itself wasn¡¯t unusual; if she was anything, it was an early bird. She¡¯d planned on being up by four thirty¡ªor as close as she could get¡ªevery workday, and by five or five-thirty on days she didn¡¯t spend at the Field Museum. But this time was different. This time, her heart wouldn¡¯t stop pounding, both in time with and faster than the pounding at the side of her trailer house. Tori was already up. She¡¯d catapulted herself out of her sleeping bag, already getting ready to cast a spell at the door. Her eyes were wide, but a hint of determination was already washing the fear away. ¡°Hands up, whoever you are!¡± The voice that shouted back sent shivers up Jessica¡¯s neck, and she reached halfway to her face out of instinct¡ªand to the wound that still ached and itched. ¡°Listen, Jessica, I need help. These kids need help. You want to hold a grudge, whatever, I¡¯ll fuck off after this. But Hal¡¯s gonna kill my ass if you don¡¯t help them out.¡± ¡°Kids?¡± Jessica asked. She was still blinking sleep off, still fighting the adrenaline Tommy¡¯s knocking and shouting had dumped into her system. Tori had no such problem. She shoved past her step-mom, jerked the door open, and pushed past Tommy, who backed off a step. ¡°Where are they?¡± she growled at him. ¡°Down below, in the clinic,¡± Tommy said. ¡°Calvin ran into us, said he¡¯d be back soon but not to let him slow us down.¡± Jessica didn¡¯t wait to hear more; she saw the man¡¯s bandaged stump where his hand had been, and the blood leaking through the filthy cloth, and sprang into action.
¡°Wake up, Hal,¡± Beth said. ¡°You¡¯re going to be late for the bus, and Mom¡¯ll be so mad if she has to drive us in again.¡± I didn¡¯t want to wake up, but my sister wouldn¡¯t stop pushing on my shoulder and talking about the math test I had scheduled for this afternoon. But she wouldn¡¯t stop blabbing on and on about Zane and Carol, and some guy named Tommy she seemed to really hate¡ª The second my half-asleep brain processed the names, I was up. Beth half-jumped and half-fell backward as I sat straight on the wooden bed and part-time workbench I¡¯d fallen asleep on the night before. ¡°They¡¯re back?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been trying to tell you,¡± Beth¡ªno, Tori¡ªsaid. ¡°They just got in. Mom¡ªJessica¡ªis checking them over; all three of them have some nasty injuries and Tommy keeps talking about ¡®Dennis Fucking Rodman,¡¯ whoever that is.¡± ¡°And Calvin?¡± She shook her head, face darkening. ¡°Tommy said he was on his way, but he hasn¡¯t shown up yet. I don¡¯t trust him, either. If Calvin doesn¡¯t show up soon¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s fine. Tommy said he was on the way?¡± ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t know much besides that. Jessica told me to wake you up, and she had her ¡®not to be messed with, super-serious¡¯ voice, so I decided to listen just this once.¡± I headed for the door, making sure the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp was on and my Trip-Hammer was at the ready. There was almost no chance that Tori¡¯s suspicions were founded in any sort of reality¡ªTommy had found Zane and Carol, and they were all back, after all¡ªbut the world wasn¡¯t exactly safe, and I just didn¡¯t feel dressed without the gauntlet anymore. It wasn¡¯t a long walk to Jessica¡¯s clinic. Tommy was on the bench, a half-rotten stump where his hand had been. Filth-covered bandages littered the floor as he muttered and whimpered about the United Center and the arena he¡¯d had to fight in. I had questions about what he¡¯d heard in there. But before I could ask, the other two figures needed my attention. Zane Parker: Level 33 Class: Mage Carol Parker: Level 35 Class: Skirmisher (Rogue) Neither of the twins looked good. They were both filthy, and they stank like death and a sewage system had decided to have a baby. Zane¡¯s eyes had a hollow look to them, and the dirt on Carol¡¯s face was tracked with tear lines. They were covered in half-healed injuries, too, and while neither was as hurt as Tommy, they¡¯d both need some time with Jessica. Carol was half on her feet, ready to fight me, before she saw my nameplate. The motion turned into a collapse back into the seat she¡¯d been crying in as her shoulders slumped from what I hoped was relief. Zane stared for a second, then went back to looking at nothing. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Those kids are tough little fuckers,¡± Tommy said. He gritted his teeth as Jessica¡¯s magic cleaned his stump. ¡°They didn¡¯t go for the United Center until I rolled up. Hal, sending me was the stupidest goddamn idea you¡¯ve ever had. They knew who I was.¡± ¡°You were the only one I could spare, besides Calvin,¡± I said. That was only a half-truth; I was hoping Calvin would find them and Tommy would leave and start a new life somewhere else. Anywhere else. The fact that he was back meant¡­ What did it mean? I had no idea. Was it a problem? And if it was, how could I solve it? Or was it an opportunity? ¡°That should take care of things,¡± Jessica said, interrupting my thought. I glanced at Tommy¡¯s stump, which looked like he¡¯d lost the hand months ago. ¡°Tommy, you and Hal get out of here. Zane, right? You can stay if your sister wants you to, but I¡¯ve got to get her out of her armor, and for that, I need privacy. Tori, it¡¯s up to Carol whether you can stay.¡± ¡°Nope, I¡¯m leaving,¡± Tori said. Zane glanced at Carol, who shrugged and climbed onto the table, already unbuckling her armor. That was new¡ªshe¡¯d upgraded a lot since the Twilight Menagerie. I headed for the door, and so did Tori and Tommy.
A half-hour later, the sun was finally starting to come up over Lake Michigan. Tommy didn¡¯t stick around. He disappeared into Museumtown as Tori shot daggers at him¡ªwith her eyes, not her magic, thank god. He¡¯d leveled up a few times, too, but something about Tori made him uncomfortable, and I didn¡¯t mind seeing him go. We sat and watched the sunrise, waiting for Calvin. ¡°Think he actually saw him?¡± Tori asked. ¡°Yes. There¡¯s no reason for him to lie,¡± I said after a minute. ¡°He knows how lucky he is.¡± ¡°With a missing hand in this world?¡± Tori snorted. ¡°Some luck.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious. I had him dead in The Void. Every moment he¡¯s alive is a gift after that, and the fact that we didn¡¯t kick him out and gave him an important job? That buys a lot of goodwill with someone.¡± Tori shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll never forgive him. He cut my¡­he cut Jessica.¡± ¡°He did.¡± I went quiet for a minute. The sun was just cresting the Alder Planetarium, and I wanted to see the bronze dome glint in the first light. We sat that way for a while, watching. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking,¡± Tori said. ¡°Oh no.¡± She slapped my arm, and I was reminded of Beth again. ¡°I¡¯m serious, Hal. The twins are around my level. They need some help if they¡¯re going to catch up to you and Bobby, and I don¡¯t want to run with him. I¡¯m going to talk to Carol and Zane about finding some Tier Ones to farm once they¡¯re ready.¡± That was¡­actually a pretty good idea. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Okay? Just like that?¡± She seemed almost annoyed at how easy it had been. ¡°Yeah. They¡¯re good kids, and you need some friends who aren¡¯t me. Besides, I¡¯ve been thinking, too.¡± I let that hang in the cool morning air. ¡°Oh?¡± Tori asked after a while. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going to run a couple more Tier Twos with Bobby, then talk to Jessica about getting you into one or two. If we¡¯re both there, you should be pretty safe, and it¡¯ll help catch you up, but if you¡¯re running Tier Ones with Carol and Zane, that¡¯ll only be good for you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah. I think you¡¯re close to ready¡ªat least for the first floors. They¡¯re not so bad, really. Just a little tougher than Tier Ones.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Tori pumped a fist in the air. ¡°It¡¯s up to your step-mom, though. If she says no, I still don¡¯t have any power to go against her,¡± I said. ¡°Bullshit. You¡¯re four times her level.¡± ¡°Closer to five times, actually.¡± I stood as the sun¡¯s rays hit us. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. She¡¯s still your parent, and I¡¯m not going to risk what we¡¯re building here to get you a single dungeon. Come on. She¡¯s probably done with the twins, and Calvin might be back, too.¡± I headed back into Museumtown as it slowly woke up to face another day in the apocalypse.
An hour later, Zane and Carol hadn¡¯t been able to provide us anything we didn¡¯t already know. They¡¯d been on the run, hiding out in dungeons and clearing them while they tried to avoid people. Brian¡¯s death at the hands of Eddie had shaken them; neither of them wanted anything to do with most of Museumtown. Jessica, Tori, and I were exceptions. And so was Tommy. He¡¯d been part of Eddie¡¯s group, but as I listened to their explanation of the United Center dungeon, I started to understand. ¡°We knew he was following us,¡± Zane said. His voice was still lifeless, but his face looked less pained than it had the first time I¡¯d seen him. ¡°We were going to head for the United Center and try ambushing him inside. We¡¯d done it before; it¡¯s pretty easy with Carol. But we never got inside.¡± ¡°You never got inside? What stopped you?¡± I asked. Carol answered. ¡°Dungeon break.¡± ¡°A dungeon break? What does that mean?¡± Jessica¡¯s clinic went quiet for a minute while Carol and Zane stared at each other, having a silent conversation I couldn¡¯t follow. It went on and on, until Carol shook her head. ¡°Someone was already inside the United Center. When they failed to clear it, it broke. The monsters inside came out, and we had to run. That¡¯s when Tommy jumped in.¡± ¡°We should have died,¡± Zane said. ¡°We should have,¡± Carol agreed. ¡°He didn¡¯t win. But he slowed it down, and all three of us got away.¡± I waited for more. Neither of them volunteered anything, and Tommy was already gone. He wasn¡¯t a good man. But he was trying. He¡¯d saved their lives, and that was a big change from being Eddie¡¯s right-hand man. But the thought of a dungeon break changed things¡ªand it changed them a lot. As far as I knew, no one had tried to clear the Shedd Aquarium. It felt ominous in a way that neither the Adler Planetarium or Field Museum did; the ocean was scary enough without the system screwing with everything inside of it. But until we investigated it, the Shedd Aquarium was a dagger aimed at Museumtown¡¯s throat. The trouble was that I had no idea what to expect in there. I was a farmboy from Nebraska; I hadn¡¯t even learned to swim until I was in high school. The ocean didn¡¯t call me. There was no mystery I wanted to discover there. I¡¯d need help. Serious help. ¡°Tori, what do you know about underwater dungeons?¡± 46: Im Gonna be a Blue Collar Man When Calvin finally showed up, I couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief. Before Bobby and I could deal with the Shedd Aquarium, I had so much to do, and Calvin was exactly the person I needed to help me do it. The three of us¡ªCalvin, Jessica, and I¡ªsat on the Field Museum¡¯s steps, with the swirling fog gate to the Reliquary of Bones only a few feet away. It wasn¡¯t comfortable, but the only chair in the sloped room had been destroyed by the fight with Saul, and no one would have wanted to sit on a throne anyway. ¡°This is the first meeting of the Museumtown Council,¡± Jessica said. ¡°On the agenda is dealing with human needs in our community, finding an alternative source of food, and¡­dungeons.¡± She said the last part with a certain amount of vitriol. Calvin had managed to level up a few times in the days he¡¯d been gone¡ªto Level Seventeen. He was almost a respectable level¡ªalmost. He snorted. ¡°Food¡¯s easy. Found at least a dozen coolers while I was looking for those kids¡ªuntouched ones. I¡¯ll show some of the folks who don¡¯t want to clear dungeons where they¡¯re at. They can bring the food back here, and we¡¯ll be set. Can¡¯t move the coolers, though. They¡¯re stuck. I tried.¡± Jessica looked at Calvin with a mix of annoyance and relief. ¡°Thank you. Back to our first point, though. Human needs.¡± ¡°Hold up,¡± Calvin said. He looked pretty much the same as he had the day I¡¯d met him, but his gaze was locked on Jessica¡¯s like a falcon on a mouse. She couldn¡¯t look away. ¡°I know what you want from me. It ain¡¯t gonna work the way you think it will.¡± ¡°And what do we want from you?¡± Jessica asked. Calvin smiled. ¡°You want me to drill sergeant this camp into shape. Here¡¯s the thing, though. Not everyone has it. The military drive. I can propose ideas for how the best base commandants did it in the jungle, but I can¡¯t make it happen. Neither can you, huh?¡± ¡°No,¡± Jessica said. ¡°They don¡¯t listen.¡± ¡°You¡¯re missing command structure. Orders have to come from someone who knows what they hell they¡¯re talking about, but they have to come from someone people respect even more. Right now, these damn levels are screwing us both over. We need to either change the numbers or change how people see them.¡± I nodded. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I think you grab the strongest couple of people you can find and tomorrow, you check out that aquarium. I¡¯d say that guy you said you ran with yesterday, and Tori if Ms. Silvers wouldn¡¯t try to kill me for it. If that dungeon breaks, you either lose Museumtown or everyone in it loses their sense of safety. But if you keep them safe and make it obvious you¡¯re doing it, we all get some pull with them.¡± Jessica¡¯s glare could have bored through Calvin. He met her look with a raised eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to sacrifice Tori. I¡¯m just saying she¡¯s got expertise, she¡¯s in the top four or five most powerful in Museumtown, and most importantly, she¡¯ll listen to Hal. He¡¯ll keep her safe. Right, Hal?¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± She hesitated. Then she nodded. Once. ¡°Only if you promise me that unless there¡¯s a possible dungeon-break or you can¡¯t leave, you¡¯ll get her out as soon as you can. That means you either peek in and kick her out as soon as you know it¡¯s safe or you fight as little as you can before you¡¯re allowed to leave.¡± She didn¡¯t have to say that if Tori died, it¡¯d all be on me. I could feel that in every breath and every pass of her narrowed eyes. ¡°What about the United Center break?¡± I asked. ¡°Do we need to deal with it?¡± ¡°Maybe, but right now, our priority has to be keeping Museumtown safe,¡± Calvin said. ¡°Mission creep¡¯s pretty typical¡ªand pretty disastrous. We all know it. Let¡¯s stay focused on our priorities here.¡± ¡°Which, now that we¡¯re committing people to the aquarium, should be making this a functional community,¡± Jessica interrupted. I sighed. This was going to be a long conversation.
The rest of the conversation was about those basic needs; Calvin eventually agreed to play drill sergeant to Jessica¡¯s firm civilian leader. None of us wanted to call it good cop/bad cop after Saul, and when Tori¡ªwho¡¯d just walked in¡ªsuggested it from the corner, we hit her with a combined glare so hard that she said, ¡°Okay, whatever, I¡¯ll go find Zane and Carol. See you later.¡± The key was at 19/30 to charge its defensive ability. If Bobby, Tori, and I could clear the Shedd Aquarium dungeon, it¡¯d hit twenty, but after that, it¡¯d be waiting for dungeons to reset and getting Calvin¡¯s militia of Delvers to clear more. I begged off the rest of the meeting, but before I went, I looked Jessica in the eye. ¡°You¡¯re sure about letting me take Tori?¡± ¡°No, Mister Riley, I¡¯m not.¡± She took a deep breath but didn¡¯t look away. ¡°I¡¯m scared. This integration stuff¡¯s messing with what I know about keeping families and communities together, and I don¡¯t like it at all.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯ll bring her back.¡± It felt like an inadequate thing to say, but it was all I could think of. ¡°You¡¯d better.¡± I headed for the door, leaving Jessica and Calvin to figure out the details of keeping Museumtown running for the next couple of weeks. Truthfully, I¡¯d rather have stayed. I was curious about how they were planning to make this work, because to me, a city or community had always felt like a machine with a lot of parts that were both redundant and impossible to get rid of. The experiment they were about to start felt a lot like trying something new to get a car to start up; there was a checklist, but in the end, it came down to tinkering until something clicked or stood out. The System changed everything about that, though, because everyone knew how powerful everyone else was. Now, if someone wanted to get part of the town working on something, they either needed to be powerful, know someone who was powerful, or try to get people to trust them in spite of their weakness. Power mattered so much more in this world than it had before the tutorials. Or did it? The way power was wielded, and who had it, had definitely changed, and that mattered, but to me, power was the same as it had always been. It was a way to solve a problem quickly and efficiently¡ªboth in terms of tools and in terms of what they did. Right now, I was probably the most powerful person in Museumtown. Bobby could give me a run for my money, but once I filled the Warrior¡¯s Sheath slot with a new piece of equipment, that would change. The place my power would do the most good was in solving problems, just like it always had been¡ªwhether those problems were station wagons, Ford Explorers, or the possibility of a Tier Two Dungeon boss spilling out of the Shedd Aquarium and onto Museumtown¡¯s streets. But before that, I needed more tools in the kit¡ªjust like I¡¯d needed others to deal with Saul.
¡°Hey Tori, how big is the Shedd Aquarium?¡± I asked. She was hanging out with Carol and Zane. Neither looked much better, but even the healing a chance to clean up had done something to pull them out of their fight or flight brains. Still, they looked exhausted and shell-shocked, so it was a surprise when Carol said, ¡°Pretty big. Took us a full day to explore, and we missed some things, but Zane kept going slow and doubling back.¡± ¡°I wanted to see all the eels. Did you know they and sharks both sense other animals in the water through electrical pulse senses?¡± Zane said listlessly. Tori only shrugged. ¡°Carol¡¯s right. If you¡¯re planning on clearing it, you¡¯ll need to be ready for a long haul, especially because there¡¯s absolutely no way it¡¯s not a water dungeon.¡± I waited, an eyebrow raised, until she continued. ¡°Look, every game tries a water dungeon. It¡¯s always flooded, and the gimmick is either draining it, finding a way to breathe underwater, or finding a movement item or power so you can get from air pocket to air pocket before you drown. They¡¯re never fun, but everyone always remembers them. The Legend of Zelda one¡¯s supposed to be the hardest¡ªthe Water Temple. The thing is, there¡¯s always a gimmick in the games.¡± ¡°Think the Consortium put one in the aquarium?¡± I asked. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. ¡°Probably. There¡¯s always a gimmick in these games. Usually figuring out how to breathe. Why? You going to clear it?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I said noncommittally. I had more business to take care of before I told Tori the truth, and it¡¯d be harder to get the twins to take me seriously if she was losing her mind off to the side. ¡°We¡¯ve got to check it, at least, and make sure it¡¯s not the kind of dungeon that breaks.¡± Then I turned to the twins. ¡°Zane, Carol, I¡¯m going to need your help. You don¡¯t have to leave Museumtown to do it, and you won¡¯t have to fight, but you two are the only ones I trust to get it done.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zane asked. ¡°I need you to walk around behind Calvin and Jessica and stand there.¡± No one said anything for a moment. Then Carol snorted. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really. Look, the previous guy who ran this place was high-level. No one questioned him. I¡¯m powerful enough that a lot of people listen to me when they see the forty-six next to my name. But neither of them are interested in leveling. Maybe they¡¯ll find some other way to earn experience. I don¡¯t know. What I do know is that if they have two or three people in the mid-thirties, people will take them more seriously.¡± I hadn¡¯t talked to either Calvin or Jessica about this. Instead, I¡¯d come up with the plan while I looked for Tori. The idea was simple; in this world, power mattered. Jessica and Calvin didn¡¯t have that power¡ªbut they could borrow it. When I was around, I was happy to act as the muscle, but if Tori and Carol were right, we could be in the Shedd Aquarium dungeon for a day or two. Worse, it¡¯d be right when Calvin and Jessica needed me around the most. I also needed to get Zane and Carol engaged and moving. The worst thing for them would be to wallow; they could mourn Brian and the others who¡¯d been in their tutorial, but they needed to feel productive. When Beth had disappeared, I¡¯d moped for a while, and it hadn¡¯t helped. This would be a win/win. They both looked hesitant, and that same unspoken dialogue flew back and forth between them as I waited. ¡°What do we get out of it?¡± Carol asked after a minute. I hadn¡¯t expected that answer. ¡°Honestly? I¡¯m not sure. But you two shouldn¡¯t be leaving the town by yourselves, and you can¡¯t just sit and wait.¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be. Tori¡¯s going to team up with us for dungeons,¡± Carol said. ¡°You didn¡¯t waste any time asking them, did you?¡± I asked Tori, then kept going when she rolled her eyes. ¡°Okay, yeah, Tori and I talked about the three of you clearing Tier Ones, but things have changed. The dungeon break issue is serious.¡± I took a deep breath before continuing. ¡°In fact, it¡¯s serious enough that she¡¯s going with us.¡± Carol started to say something, but before she could, Tori exploded. ¡°I¡¯m what!?¡± She kept going, steamrolling me as I tried to interrupt and get control of the conversation again. ¡°Hold on, let¡¯s see, water dungeon, we usually prep for that with water breathing potions, but that¡¯s not a thing. Do any of you know any water mages? No? How about¡ªBurnham Harbor! One of those ships has to have scuba gear on it. We¡¯ll at least be able to prep for until we find the gimmick.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say it was underwater breathing?¡± Zane asked. ¡°Shhh! Don¡¯t break my concentration!¡± Tori snapped. She kept right on talking, already standing up and heading for the nearby marina to loot boats until she found what she wanted. I shrugged as she disappeared. ¡°So, are you two interested in helping us out?¡± Carol nodded slowly. ¡°With Jessica and Calvin? Sure. But I¡¯m not fighting anyone.¡± I glanced at Zane as he nodded, but his face had changed. It wasn¡¯t blank and empty anymore, and his nod was half-hearted. When I looked more closely, though, the look was gone, leaving me to wonder if I was imagining things. ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot to do before the aquarium,¡± Carol said. ¡°You can count on us, though.¡± 47: Here I Am Tier Two Dungeon: The Watery Grave (Floor One) Objective: Defeat The Blood in the Water (0/1) Objective: Defeat The Howling Moray (0/1) Objective: Survive (0/1) Completion: 13% Fragile Walls: This dungeon is close to breaking. Its inhabitants will be freed if a threshold of Delver deaths inside is reached. Break Counter: 4/5 Sealed Environment: You cannot leave this dungeon until it is completed. Environmental Hazard: This dungeon¡¯s denizens are not its only threat. I spluttered and spat out brackish salt-water as I surfaced inside of a tiny pocket of air lit by glowing coral. The System didn¡¯t need to tell me this dungeon was dangerous; I could tell just by the entrance. We¡¯d stepped through the fog wall at the Shedd Aquarium just a minute ago. From the outside, it didn¡¯t look that much different than the Adler Planetarium¡¯s entrance¡ªdoors made of metal and glass framed by Greek-looking pillars and marble steps. But the moment Tori, Bobby, and I went through, we¡¯d plummeted a good fifty feet and hit the dark water like sacks of bricks. So far, we hadn¡¯t found any serious business monsters, to say nothing of either The Blood in the Water or Howling Moray. Not that there wasn¡¯t plenty to worry about. The first issue was keeping above the surface. In some places so far, it had been possible. In others, like the rough coral cave we were slowly working through, it was a race to move from air pocket to air pocket. My Body points weren¡¯t high enough to swim it all in one go¡ªnone of ours were¡ªso we were forced to play hopscotch, bouncing from one spot to the next. It was exhausting work, and we¡¯d only been going for a few minutes, but this was the only way forward. The bigger issue that kept pressing down on me like a weight was that Break Counter. It implied that someone had attempted to clear the Watery Grave¡ªor that someone still was¡ªbut unlike the Twilight Menagerie, we hadn¡¯t seen any sign of people so far. If there were folks inside, they were almost certainly Saul¡¯s gangsters. And if they were, they were just as much a threat as any of the monsters. We¡¯d also abandoned all of Tori¡¯s attempts to beat the water dungeon gimmick pretty quickly. The scuba gear didn¡¯t work. It was a lot like the fuel tanks and trying to light stoves post-terraforming; there was air in there, and it was compressed, but getting it out just wasn¡¯t happening. Our tanks and masks littered the bottom of the reef near where we¡¯d dropped in. Something tapped my foot twice, then bumped into my other foot. I took a deep breath and dove again, clearing the air pocket for Tori. She waved as she surfaced, and I kept swimming. Honestly, it was gorgeous here. The near-white coral skeleton that formed the caves we were swimming through was almost glowing, and the living corals and kelps clinging to it actually were. They threw the dungeon into a wild kaleidoscope of oranges, purples, blues, and yellows. And even though we¡¯d only encountered a couple of monsters, the same couldn¡¯t be said of fish. There were thousands of kinds. Some of them looked like ones I¡¯d seen in textbooks or movies, but others were completely foreign. They didn¡¯t even look like Earth fish. I kept swimming. The currents were against us, and it was lucky that there were so many air pockets, or we¡¯d be in trouble. As I swam, a shadow passed over me, and I readied the Trip-Hammer. Bar Cutter: Level Thirty-Eight Monster The monster was long, silvery, and about as long as I was tall. It darted toward me, its smooth body cutting through the water, and I revved the Trip-Hammer without even thinking about it. The twin hammers ripped through the water with a loud popping sound that almost blew out my eardrums; the force spun me around in a circle over and over until I managed to slow my rotation. And of course, I missed the Bar Cutter. It sliced across my arm, leaving a thin red line. Blood clouded out from the wound as both the fish and I turned, ready for another charge. My lungs were starting to burn, and the nearest air pocket was still a few dozen feet away. I couldn¡¯t leave the Bar Cutter alive, though¡ªboth because Tori wanted a full-clear since we were stuck here and because it was a threat to her. I set my feet on the coral, feeling it slice into my boots¡¯ soles, and readied the Trip-Hammer again. The fish picked up speed, its sharp beak almost bird-like but glinting like a dagger. It closed the gap. The burning in my lungs started growing overwhelming. I revved and fired the Trip-Hammer, and the two bladed heads spun. The Bar Cutter was chum a second later. Tori swam past, a look of disgust on her face as gore floated around her. She pointed at the air pocket, but didn¡¯t have to tell me twice. I was already moving, and hit it only a second or two after she did. This one was big enough for the three of us to surface at the same time; in fact, not only was it wide and airy, but the coral seemed to form a ledge wide enough for us to get out of the water. ¡°Let¡¯s regroup here for a minute,¡± I said, sucking in air gratefully as my head cleared. My wound stung, and the Bar Cutter¡¯s experience hadn¡¯t been enough for a level. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°This place sucks,¡± Tori said. ¡°Hal, I told you water dungeons sucked. But did you listen? No. No one listens to me.¡± ¡°We listened to you, Tori. It doesn¡¯t matter if this sucks, though. We still have to do it.¡± I shrugged, and water dripped out of my sleeve and down my chest. ¡°Besides, you were excited about a Tier Two Dungeon yesterday.¡± ¡°I regret everything.¡± I laughed as Bobby pulled himself up. ¡°No you don¡¯t. You¡¯ve already leveled a few times, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I only regret almost everything.¡± She wrung salt water out of her hair. As we caught our breath, I looked around, getting my bearings. A narrow passage through the coral led further into the Watery Grave¡ªand more importantly, it was above the surface. The water below also offered another way forward; I¡¯d spotted more air pockets leading deeper into the reef. Neither option sounded good for me. The tight, narrow passage put me at a huge disadvantage with the Trip-Hammer¡¯s bulk, while I¡¯d already proven that underwater fighting was a messy prospect at best. ¡°Bobby, what do you think?¡± ¡°I think we stay above water for now,¡± he said, smiling. ¡°Bobby Richards has had enough of swimming. I did plenty of it in school!¡±
Bobby Richards may have been sick of swimming, but swimming wasn¡¯t sick of us. The tunnel led to a room filled with more of the punching shrimp from the Dozen-Path Descent. Bobby and Tori handled them beautifully, leaving me to guard their backs. It wasn¡¯t ideal; I could do so much more damage than either of them, but I couldn¡¯t get the Trip-Hammer swinging in the caves and crevices we were slowly working our way through. That was fine, though. I didn¡¯t need to be involved in every fight, and every level Tori gained was a little less risk of her dying in here and pushing us over the Break Counter¡ªand worse, forcing Jessica to kill me in my sleep. After the technicolor boxing crabs, we followed the only way forward, squeezing through into a circular cavern in the reef. The familiar, dark water covering most of the floor seemed ominous. It almost felt like a promise that we¡¯d be returning to the depths soon enough. That promise was reinforced by the blank, featureless coral walls. There wasn¡¯t another way through. ¡°Guess we¡¯re going under again?¡± Tori asked. She pulled her hair back and slipped a scrunchie on over the rough ponytail; with her short cut, it looked less like a tail and more like a paintbrush, and it stuck up over her head instead of trailing behind her neck. ¡°I guess so,¡± Bobby said. We went under again. The only good thing about this passage was how wide it was; the moment we descended, there was plenty of room to swing the Trip-Hammer around. But the ocean floor was so far below us that I couldn¡¯t even see the sand, and the nearest air pocket was at least half a football field away. I gritted my teeth and started swimming. Tori did, too. Her breaststroke pushed her ahead of me, slicing through the water almost gracefully. She¡¯d clearly had better lessons in Green Bay and Chicago than I¡¯d had in the middle of nowhere, Nebraska. But neither of us could keep up with Bobby. He¡¯d been a high school state championship-level swimmer, and even competed in college for one year before dropping out to take over his family business. He hadn¡¯t told us what that business was, and I hadn¡¯t asked. Tori had, though. His response, ¡°Oh, this and that,¡± hadn¡¯t exactly reassured Tori. She wouldn¡¯t stop glaring at him when he wasn¡¯t watching¡ªand sometimes when he was. She was stuck with him in here, though, and she knew it. We surfaced in a wide, expansive room with, of all things, a glass-walled walkway around it. The rough concrete felt incredibly out of place compared to the skeletal coral cavern around it; it was also the only indication I¡¯d seen so far that this dungeon had been an aquarium and not a real reef. The glass walls only went up a few feet; we could probably pull ourselves up onto it if we wanted to. Instead, Bobby treaded water, pointing at the dry land. ¡°See that? That¡¯s a trap. That¡¯s one hundred percent a trap.¡± I stared where he pointed; the man¡¯s Awareness was through the roof, and it took me a minute to see what he was talking about. Then I saw it; a campfire. It looked almost fresh, like we could get it going with a little effort. And beyond that, a bright orange branch of coral glowed in imitation of the fire that had once burned there. ¡°Why don¡¯t you two check it out?¡± Bobby asked. ¡°I¡¯ll stick around in here and bail you out if you spring the trap.¡± Tori and I nodded, and I let her stand on my shoulders to boost her out of the water. Then I pulled myself up behind her and set foot on dry land. But before we could even step toward the fire, the cage plummeted down from above.
Jessica Silvers was worried. No. Not worried. Jessica Silvers wasn¡¯t worried, because worry implied some sort of control over her problem, and whenever she¡¯d been worried, she¡¯d always figured out what to do about it. Then she wouldn¡¯t be worried anymore. Instead, she¡¯d be driven and motivated. No, this time, Jessica Silvers was anxious. Anxious was a much better word for this feeling. She¡¯d done what she could¡ªand something she thought she couldn¡¯t¡ªand now there wasn¡¯t anything to do but let the whole dungeon break mess go and focus on what Calvin was saying. ¡°I¡¯m going to be honest with you, Jessica. This ain¡¯t gonna work,¡± the old soldier said. He had his Vietnam veteran hat on, and they were both staring at the finest of Museumtown¡¯s volunteers. Other than Zane and Carol, who both stood behind them trying to look intimidating, not one of them was over Level Twenty-Five. Anyone higher had already headed out to find Tier One Dungeons, loot the city, or whatever it was people were up to these days. That left them with¡­not the dregs, exactly. They¡¯d been very clear that no one below Level Twenty was allowed to show up unless they had higher-level people in their party, and Calvin had already rejected a half-dozen people who hadn¡¯t listened. So, not the dregs, but not the quality Calvin and Hal had been hoping for. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± she said halfheartedly. ¡°Just do your thing, and we¡¯ll back you up. Right, kids?¡± Carol nodded. She looked determined, with a scowl on her brow as she squeezed her spear¡¯s haft. Zane didn¡¯t say anything, though. He still looked blank and shell-shocked. Part of Jessica wanted to pull the boy away and sit down with him; she wasn¡¯t a therapist, but in all of Museumtown, she was the closest thing they had, and he trusted her. Why wouldn¡¯t he? She¡¯d healed his wounds, after all. But before she could, Calvin stood up and got to work. ¡°Alright, you lot! You¡¯re here because Museumtown needs you, and you recognize that! We¡¯ve got a job for you, and you¡¯re going to do it!¡± he shouted. He started walking in between the groups, sizing them up. Carol followed, still scowling, and Zane followed her. Tommy followed behind, staring at the ground like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Jessica only spared him a glance before returning her gaze to Zane. Jessica watched him move robotically, and she couldn¡¯t help but shiver. That boy had even less business dungeon delving than Tori did right now, and Jessica was ready to fight the strongest person in town if so much as a hair on her stepdaughter¡¯s head was hurt at the end of this. Her gut said that Zane needed help, but she had no idea what help she could give him. All she could do was keep an eye on the boy and try to intervene before something else went wrong in his life. She hoped it¡¯d be enough. 48: Til Storm Breaks Loose Saltwater erupted in a massive circle, and the glass barrier shattered behind Tori and me as a gigantic steel cage crashed into the pool we¡¯d just climbed from. It pressed down around Bobby, pinning him under the water with only a tiny air pocket at the very top of the dome-shaped bars; he could just get his head out next to the rusted chain connecting it to the ceiling above. My fist tightened on the Trip-Hammer¡¯s grip¡ªnone of us had noticed the cage. In fact, I doubted it had even been there a minute ago. Then I squeezed even harder as a massive, streamlined shape appeared in the water. Its triangle-shaped tail cut through the water, leaving a white wake in the dark liquid before it slid underwater again. Blood in the Water: Level Forty-Two Boss Current Difficulty: Underpowered What you gonna do when there¡¯s blood in the water? This school of fish is relentless once it smells prey, and there¡¯s no escape once the slaughter begins. Insatiable - This boss will feed on any viable food sources within its range. Berserker - This boss will become Elite if certain conditions are met. Myriad - This boss¡¯s Elite state consists of innumerable members of a swarm, and will continue swarming until conditions change. Entrapped - This boss is trapped within its arena, and cannot escape. So are you. Bobby didn¡¯t waste any time; he readied his fists and focused in on the gigantic shark, locking his gaze on it as he sucked in a big breath of air and pushed himself under the suddenly-churning waves. I leaped into action, too. The Trip-Hammer revved as I tried the simplest solution first. I slammed it into the steel cage. The grid buckled in with a horrific, ringing screech. But at the same time, the chain overhead creaked and popped. If I hit it again, it¡¯d plunge into the depths¡ªand drag Bobby with it. ¡°Dammit! That¡¯s not going to work!¡± I shouted over the racket. ¡°Hal, plan?¡± Tori asked. I looked around the room as Bobby punched the shark¡¯s nose like a pro, redirecting the monstrous boss away from him. He pushed himself backward and out of the way with his other hand. His body spun in the water, whipped in a spiral by the shark¡¯s passage. The thing was, I didn¡¯t have a plan, and I really needed one. Every fight had a solution, but I wasn¡¯t sure what this one¡¯s was. I could use my rail gun, but I¡¯d only get two shots, and I wasn¡¯t confident I could actually kill the boss in only two¡ªin fact, the water would likely slow down the shot, making a kill even more unrealistic. At the same time, I couldn¡¯t get to the boss, and I definitely couldn¡¯t break the cage; any further damage would probably crack the chain and send the whole thing to the bottom. Tori and I just didn¡¯t have that many options. The shark looped around for another pass. ¡°Can you keep it off Bobby?¡± I asked, watching it cut through the water, tail thrashing the surface into froth as it closed in. ¡°I¡¯ll try!¡± Tori started casting, and I turned toward the arena. There had to be a solution; the boss¡¯s abilities all implied that the fight was based on conditional changes. If I could figure out what they were, we could control the flow of battle¡ªand probably make the fight a cakewalk. Tori Pushed the boss away from Bobby just before it would have made contact; its fin sliced across his chest, leaving a trail of red instead of a gaping wound where its gnashing teeth had been aimed. Bubbles erupted from the water as he screamed in pain, and he kicked for the air pocket. At the same time, the water turned bright red. It looked less like someone had bled in it and more like ten tons of Kool-Aid mix had been dumped into a blender set to ¡®frappe.¡¯ Blood in the Water: Level Forty-Seven Elite Boss I braced myself as the light overhead grew an even brighter red-orange than the water. The shark didn¡¯t grow any larger, and its turn wasn¡¯t faster than it had been. Bobby sucked in a pair of breaths and slipped below the churning waves, ready to face off against the boss again. But a second shadow slid through the depths, coming closer to the well-dressed man even as he punched the first shark in a series of warbling bell-rings. ¡°Tori, watch Bobby¡¯s back! Keep him safe!¡± I yelled. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as safe!¡± Tori yelled back, but she pivoted, boots crunching on the shattered glass that coated the concrete walkway, and started casting as fast as she could. The spells flew, and the already-choppy water pressed up and down as she Pushed and Pulled the two sharks with everything she had. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Tori Crushed the first shark, and the dozens of weak spots coating its body collapsed into massive puncture wounds that poured even more blood and gore into the churning water. That¡¯s when two more sharks joined the melee, and I tore my gaze away. If I wanted to save Bobby, I needed to work on solving this puzzle, not on wishing I could fight something. The campfire was nearby; I headed toward it and toward the glowing orange coral over it. Maybe the solution had to do with it, but I couldn¡¯t see how. The half-burned, half-waterlogged hunks of wood left black patterns on the concrete as my foot kicked them aside. They didn¡¯t give me a single clue, though. So, the solution didn¡¯t have anything to do with the campfire. Bobby shouted something I couldn¡¯t understand, then pushed himself back down. Now there were five sharks¡ªthe pool was starting to get crowded. This fight was way harder than the other first-floor bosses had been. I felt like a complete waste. Even shooting one of the sharks a couple of times did nothing; yeah, it died, but the gore only attracted more. Bobby¡¯s reflexes and Awareness¡ªnot to mention his experience in the water¡ªwould only get him so far. We needed a solution, and we needed it now. I hefted the Trip-Hammer and swung it into the glowing red-orange coral, which didn¡¯t crack or shatter. In fact, it felt less like hitting rock and more like flesh. I fired it again, this time revving the engine and feeling the click in my wrists as the ratchet-wheels caught and grabbed. The blow gouged two bleeding wounds into the glowing coral, and another nameplate appeared. Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord: Level Fifty Boss Current Difficulty: Extreme A mere appendage of the monstrous boss inhabiting the Watery Grave¡¯s deepest recesses, the Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord controls all. It sees all. It consumes all. ¡°Shit!¡± I swore, staring at the monstrous, multi-armed tentacle that slowly unfurled where the coral had just been. A single eye opened at its tip, and a half-dozen mouths¡ªeach with two smaller tendrils and a dozen suckers around it¡ªburbled and clamped beaked jaws open and shut. ¡°Tori! Help!¡± But even as I said it, I realized the real solution. This wasn¡¯t a straight-up boss fight. ¡°What do you need me to do?!¡± Tori yelled. She cast another Pull, ripping a shark away from Bobby, whose body looked like it was more cuts and bites than not. I told her.
¡°This is the dumbest possible idea,¡± Tori said. ¡°Ready!¡± Bobby shouted from the churning, splashing chaos in the shark tank. They¡¯d stopped fighting him specifically; now, they were just fighting everything. That was part of what made my idea so stupid. ¡°Just do it!¡± I shouted. Then I revved the Trip-Hammer and swung it, not at either of the bosses, but at the cage. It shattered, a wide-open gap big enough for us to swim through¡ªand for sharks to escape out of. I swung again, crushing the side of a shark¡¯s skull as the chain creaked and groaned ominously. I¡¯d gotten lucky¡ªand so had Bobby. Then I nodded. ¡°Pull it!¡± Tori Pulled it, but it wasn¡¯t the cage. It was the Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord. As the Level Fifty Boss zoomed toward her, its body extended, and all its six mouths warbled and screamed. She took one look and threw herself into the cage¡ªand the melee beyond it. I revved the Trip-Hammer again and, as the Stalk shoved past me and into the cage, swung again. The chain snapped. The whole steel structure collapsed into the frothing, blood-red water below, and I dove in after it. My hammer¡¯s weight pulled me down toward Tori and Bobby, and I didn¡¯t fight it. I landed next to the massive tentacle. The cage had ripped it in half, and yellow-orange gore fought a valiant fight against the blood in the water. But even with the huge damage we¡¯d dealt, it wasn¡¯t dead. That was for the best; I didn¡¯t need it dead. I just needed it angry. The railgun bolt to its bloody stump accomplished that, and the cage sank even further into the abyss below. As it did, it dragged Tori and Bobby with it¡ªalong with dozens of sharks and half of the Level Fifty Stalk. There was no space around the edges; it I wanted to get my team out, I¡¯d need to clear the exit¡ªor make a new one. Underwater, and with little to brace on, the Trip-Hammer wouldn¡¯t hit hard enough to wreck steel. But flesh? That it could pulverize. The Trip-Hammer revved again and again until, after what felt like an eternity, the Stalk pulled itself fully inside the cage. Tori dragged herself out a moment later, then Pulled Bobby free; he floated freely, unmoving. I didn¡¯t have time to deal with him, though. I needed air; black spots crept into my vision as I pushed myself through the gore toward the surface. Chunks of Stalk and shark bumped into my face and filled my nostrils as I broke the surface, and my first breath tasted like salt and death. Tori surfaced a second later, then went under before she could gasp for air. A second later, she Crushed the shark that had bitten her leg and kept Pulling Bobby toward the surface. I helped pull Bobby¡¯s body out of the water. He was still alive, but when I pushed on his chest, a comically large amount of pink water erupted from his mouth. Then I collapsed on the side of the shark tank and waited as chunks of sashimi and gigantic, weird octopus floated up through the water. We¡¯d done what we could, and if the boss wasn¡¯t dead, we¡¯d have to find another way. Gradually, the froth died down, and though a few sharks broke the surface, they were badly enough injured that Tori¡¯s Crush or Gravity Well was enough to kill them. It took four more kills before their nameplates changed back to the non-elite version, and another five to end the fight. Boss Defeated: Blood in the Water Level Up! Forty-Six to Forty-Seven. Dungeon Delvers who were not in the arena will receive fifty percent of your team¡¯s experience. ¡°That was worth four!¡± Tori shouted. I ignored her, though. Instead, I put both my points in Charge and watched as Bobby¡¯s wounds slowly healed and he opened his eyes. ¡°Alright, Hal, I know I said one of you two could have first pick, but I think I definitely deserve it for that fight,¡± Bobby said, his trademark grin a little unsteady as he pulled himself together. His suit was shredded, but a few seconds and a spell later, he looked almost as good as new. He stood and cracked his neck. ¡°Also, since I¡¯m fresh and clean while both of you are completely disgusting, you can pick up the loot this time.¡± Tori opened her mouth to protest something Boby had said¡ªor maybe everything¡ªbut I held up a hand. ¡°That¡¯s fair, Bobby. That¡¯s very fair.¡± Then I dove back into the gore-covered pool, looking for the tell-tale blue lights of equipment. 49: So What is Wrong with Another Sin? Rose-Tinted Compass (Common, Charge 20) +4 Awareness This compass points in the general direction of living foes. Sharkskin Diving Suit (Rare, Charge 20) +4 Body, +2 Awareness This armored diving suit provides resistance to the Hemorrhage debuff, as well as increased resistance to piercing and slashing damage. I¡¯d hoped for more. So had Tori, clearly. She could barely contain her annoyance, especially when Bobby took the Diving Suit and put it on right away; it shimmered with thousands of tiny scales under his white sport coat. I couldn¡¯t begrudge him the pick, though. He¡¯d earned it¡ªand then some. ¡°Tori, do you want that?¡± I asked. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I scooped up the compass and tossed it into my Warrior¡¯s Sheath slot, filling out my items. The thing hung from my waist on a rusted chain, thumping against my thigh. It wasn¡¯t going to be a convenient item to use¡ªthe chain was a little too short, and the nearly blood-red face made it hard to read. But it could be powerful, and right now, I needed to know what was going on more than I needed more firepower. I did feel my Awareness grow, though; the +4 wasn¡¯t anything to sneeze at. It didn¡¯t put me in competition with Bobby¡¯s no-doubt ridiculous Awareness score, but it was a nice boost. ¡°I want to know more about the team that went in here before us,¡± Bobby said. ¡°They were prepared enough to get this far, and at least one of them probably survived this fight. That either means there were five or more of them, or whoever lived died later.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± There wasn¡¯t anything more to do here anyway. The Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord¡¯s flesh had disappeared when it died, but we hadn¡¯t gotten loot from it, and the stump had revealed an empty alcove behind it. I was also eager to work my way through the coral maze and find the part of this place that was more aquarium and less underwater. We returned to the narrow ledge and the pool we¡¯d first pulled ourselves out of. Bobby practically cut through the water with his new suit, while I found myself falling behind as we returned to hopscotching across the air pockets. This time, I noticed all the gigantic red-orange corals hanging from the bleached-white structure overhead. Every one of thom could be a Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord. I made sure to swim far away from them, just in case. We hadn¡¯t gone far when the first silvery flash caught my eye. I looked ahead; there had to be dozens of the knife-bladed Bar Cutters, all between Level Thirty-Four and Thirty-Eight. I tried to signal to Tori, but before I could, Bobby barreled right into the school. They exploded in every direction, scattering and revealing a single air pocket¡ªand something floating in it. Something red and white¡ªand shaped like a half-butchered pig. A body. I tried to say something. Bubbles erupted from my mouth, and I clamped my lips shut and focused on catching up to the fight. Bar Cutters zipped back and forth, slicing toward Bobby, who deflected them and followed up with punches to the fishes¡¯ gills and fins. Individually, none of them did much damage, but the silver-blue school soon glowed a familiar orange. Tori was much more effective. Once she got to the air pocket, she was able to start casting her spells, Gravity Well clumping the monstrous fish up before Crush broke bones and shattered their knife-sharp beaks. It wasn¡¯t over by the time I got there, but Bobby and Tori were cleaning up. I wished I¡¯d focused more in swimming class, or that my parents had felt like lessons were important when I was younger. Then I grabbed a hold of the air pocket¡¯s edge and readied the Trip-Hammer. The moment the first Bar Cutter got in range, I swung and fired; the blow was short, and the tip of the bleed dagger barely caught it. It swam away, trailing blood. I swung again, this time pulverizing a fish. By the time I was ready for a third blow, every Bar Cutter was dead. We collected the experience orbs quickly, splitting them roughly evenly. Tori leveled up again, and so, to my surprise, did I. I dumped both points into Charge again and swam to the surface to investigate the body.
She¡¯d been young¡ªprobably around my age, and certainly not as old as Jessica. She floated face-up in the water, and she wore a life jacket-looking thing. That was the only reason I could identify she was a woman at all. Every piece of skin, muscle, and fat below the waterline had been eaten. The parts that the Bar Cutters hadn¡¯t devoured were heavily tattooed, but I didn¡¯t recognize any of them as particularly gangsterish symbols. If anything, she looked more like a punk rocker and less like a criminal. That might¡¯ve been me trying to see something positive in who she¡¯d bee, though, and I couldn¡¯t be sure either way. What I could be sure of was that most of her magical gear was gone. Whether it had been looted or sank to the bottom of the abyss, I couldn¡¯t tell. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. We stood on the edge of the air pocket; it was big enough for the three of us, though there wasn¡¯t anywhere to go. It was a safe-ish place to rest, if we discounted the stench of rot, which we were all trying our best to do. I wanted to know who she¡¯d been. I wanted some sort of confirmation that this woman¡¯s life had mattered to someone, because she¡¯d probably died alone and in agony. But finding a wallet or something similar was likely impossible, and¡ª ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Tori asked. Her face was green, and she¡¯d already vomited in the corner once¡ªwhich hadn¡¯t done anything for the stench in the air pocket. I followed her pointing finger, ignoring the shaking, and saw the leather pouch resting on her waist. It had obviously once been on a belt, but the belt had been chewed through. The one thing I absolutely didn¡¯t want to do was touch her. It had been one thing burying Brian, but this woman¡¯s body was in absolute tatters. Still¡­if there was any hint of who she¡¯d been, something that would let us close out her life, I needed to know. I reached out with the Trip-Hammer, gently hooking the pouch with one of the dagger tips, and pulled it over to me. Satchel of Preserving Mists (Common, Charge 10) +1 Body, +4 Awareness This satchel increases the effectiveness of consumable items stored within it, and prevents them from spoiling due to environmental effects. Effects last for up to one hour after consumables are removed from the satchel, or one hour after the satchel is unequipped. You cannot equip this item. My first instinct was to drain it; depowering it to feed my empty Charge reserves was all the item itself was good for, and it was odd to use something like this when the inventory existed. Unless¡­ ¡°Tori, how does alchemy work in your games?¡± I asked as I fished inside the satchel, pulling out a vial of faintly-pink liquid, then another that was more greenish. ¡°Oh, you think she might¡¯ve been an alchemist?¡± Tori went off on a rant about professions and crafting. It took me a few seconds to realize that most of what she was saying wouldn¡¯t be helpful; her knowledge was spread around at least four different games, and she kept bouncing between them almost like she needed to keep talking out of nerves. I let her rant while I dug through the woman¡¯s purse. The satchel was stuffed with potions, a few bandages that looked like they¡¯d been soaked in something, and a handful of what looked like herbs of some type. But two items stood out. The first were a pair of green, seaweed-colored blobs about the size and shape of a baby carrot. They both stank, and unlike everything else, these two had System text. She must have allowed them to be read before she died. Chthonic Pill (Consumable, Unstable) When consumed, this seaweed mixture allows the imbiber to resist great pressure, granting temporary access to the Watery Grave¡¯s second floor. First created by Leana Collins of Earth. And just like that, I had a name for the woman: Leana Collins. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was a start. I also had confirmation that she¡¯d been some kind of chemist or alchemist, though I still didn¡¯t know if any of the items she¡¯d made were safe to consume. Equally important, I had a hint about where we¡¯d be heading for the Watery Grave¡¯s second floor¡ªand I didn¡¯t like it, especially because we only had two of these Chthonic Pills. We¡¯d need a third if all three of us wanted to face the Floor Two boss, and I couldn¡¯t imagine either Bobby or Tori would want to sit it out. The second item showed up just as I was about to call the Satchel of Preserving Mists empty. My fingers touched the cold metal down at the very bottom, and a few links of the gold chain slipped through my fingers as I gently pulled it free. She¡¯d had a heart-shaped locket; I could actually see where it had rested between her collarbones until recently from the slightly-less-tanned shape on her skin. I flicked it open, and a pair of piercing eyes, so brown they were almost black, stared at me. The man was about the same age Leana had been, Hispanic, and maybe a touch overweight¡ªor maybe just a strong guy. I knew the type well. Not everyone who was strong looked like a bodybuilder. Some were farmer strong. What I didn¡¯t have was a name. In fact, I didn¡¯t even know if this guy was alive. It was possible, probable, even, that he¡¯d entered the dungeon with her and he was already dead. But I couldn¡¯t be sure. I pulled the Chthonic Pills and locket into my inventory. ¡°Unless someone wants to try those potions and see what they do, I think we¡¯ve gotten everything we can from Leana. I¡¯ve got one more thing to do, then we should keep moving.¡± It took me a few minutes to gently pull Leana¡¯s body out of the water and rest it on the air pocket¡¯s shelf, and Bobby had to get back in the water as I set her on the stone. I shut her eyes, put the potions back inside the satchel, and placed it on what was left of her stomach. Leana had already given us tools to help fight the Floor Two boss, and while I couldn¡¯t give her a burial here, I could treat her body with respect. But before we could do that, we had to find the second on Floor One.
Tori hated water dungeons. She hadn¡¯t beaten Ocarina of Time because of the Water Temple, and she refused to even explore the water zones in her MMOs unless the whole guild was there. The only reason she¡¯d been excited about the Watery Grave was that it was her first Tier Two Dungeon, and she¡¯d been seeing it as an opportunity to show Jessica that she was serious business. The one-hundred-percent clear that always happened when she and Hal delved together was nice, too, but it wasn¡¯t a selling point. Proving herself to her step-mom? That would be. The novelty had worn off pretty quickly. Her clothes were soaked, and every step squeezed water out of her Doc Martens¡¯ soles and into her socks. And that woman¡¯s body¡­she still couldn¡¯t get the stench out of her nose. So, yeah, she hated water dungeons. At least they were moving up¡ªand as they climbed, the coral ledges had shifted into stairs. She felt less and less like they were in a water dungeon and more like they¡¯d finally entered the Shedd Aquarium. Her mental map of the place was all sorts of messed up, though. The direction Hal was walking should have been toward the Abbott Oceanarium. Instead, the lights kept getting dimmer, and the walls, while still wide, were closing in. In a way, it reminded her of the¡ª Something flashed out of a crevice high in the rough stone walls, grabbing Hal. As it ripped him off his feet, she caught a glimpse of its stat block. Howling Moray: Level Forty-Two Boss Current Difficulty: Challenging Then it was gone. A dozen different voices screamed as Hal was dragged into the caverns, and Tori couldn¡¯t be sure which were the eel¡¯s, which was Hal''s, and which was hers. 50: The Wolf is Hungry The compass spun wildly in the half-second before a pair of massive jaws clamped down on my arm; the Autoplate Pauldron and Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp took the worst of the crushing bite, and I felt needle-thin teeth shattering and snapping, but though the armor held, a few fangs plunged into my arm like daggers. Howling Moray: Level Forty-Two Boss Current Difficulty: Trivial The Howling Eel hunts the upper reaches of the Watery Grave, keeping even the most powerful of interlopers at bay through its knowledge of the labyrinthine tunnels and its unique amphibious nature. Camouflaged - This boss blends in with its surroundings. Venemous - This boss¡¯s attacks apply the Venom debuff, causing damage over time. Puncturing - This boss¡¯s attacks inflict the Hemorrhage debuff, causing injuries to bleed more and heal at a reduced rate through Body leveling and magical healing. The boss¡¯s scream echoed around the caverns, multiplying and bouncing across each other as it dragged me away from Tori and Bobby. I revved the Trip-Hammer, but the weapon¡¯s torque spun me around almost as much as it did the two spiked hammers. The impact was enough to force the gigantic, yellow-green eel to drop me; I hit the cavern floor with a sickening crunch. Two more skeletal corpses lay next to me, but I didn¡¯t have the time or energy to examine them. The water was only a foot or so deep. I splashed to my feet and raised the hammer. The motor whirred as I took in the half-dozen holes in the ceiling; the lowest was at least ten feet up, and about four feet across. The gigantic eel was gone. A wave of pain washed over me, and I sucked in a breath as I looked at the broken teeth stuck in my bicep. The veins near the puncture wounds were already turning an angry dark red. I reached for the needle-sharp spikes, then stopped. This was a trap, but there wasn¡¯t a correct solution. I could pull the teeth out. If I did that, they¡¯s probably tear on the way out, and I¡¯d start bleeding. The Hemorrhage debuff would kick in, and I didn¡¯t see a way to stop it. Or I could leave the fangs stuck in my arm. It¡¯d stop the bleeding, but they were already pouring poison into my body. It¡¯d kill me just the same as the bleeding did. Either way, I was in trouble. The Howling Moray didn¡¯t even need to fight me; it just needed to leave me here to die. The only way to win was to get out of this cave, but even though the rocks were rough and full of handholds, my arm wouldn¡¯t support my weight, and the ground felt solid. I didn¡¯t have a way out¡ªand without a way out, all I could do was wait. Wait¡­and think. I spread my Voltsmithing supplies on the floor.
¡°If you¡¯re done screaming, Miss Vanderbilt, let¡¯s figure this out,¡± Bobby said. Tori was, in fact, done screaming. She was a Level Forty-Six Dungeon Delver, dammit, not some scared teenager. Or maybe both, but now wasn¡¯t the time to be scared. Now was the time to be decisive. She took a deep breath, then another one, as screams and howls echoed through the labyrinthine tunnels in the stone. Her feet were on concrete, and she had an ally¡ªTori wasn¡¯t going to drop everything to trust Bobby Richards or anything, but for now, they were on the same side. The breathing helped more than she expected. ¡°We need to make a play. Do you have any way to get in there and go after the boss?¡± she asked. ¡°No. Bobby Richards is fast, but climbing? That¡¯s not my thing. I¡¯ve got nothing to get us into those caves,¡± Bobby said. Tori thought for a while. Some of her favorite raid bosses in the MMOs she¡¯d loved were the ones where her class got to do something weird¡ªwhether it was caster-tanking, using movement spells to move a puzzle piece through a death maze, or teleporting the entire raid group out of danger. The screams faded as she stared up at the rock wall, leaving only silence¡ªand the crashing of small waves far below. Hal would have figured this out by now, she thought. Then again, most of her experience was in MMOs, where the real challenge wasn¡¯t the fight. It was getting twenty people to do everything correctly. Hal was good at on-the-fly thinking¡ªlike when he¡¯d told her to throw him onto the Beast Glatisant in the¡ª ¡°I¡¯ve got it!¡± Tori said. ¡°Got what?¡± Bobby asked. She didn¡¯t reply. Instead, she cast Push.
The thing I¡¯d built was¡­messy. That was the most charitable way to describe it, but I didn¡¯t have time for anything cleaner. The veins closest to my wounds were blackening, and the red had crept closer to my fingers; the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp was already harder to flex into a fist. I stared at the compass; it kept spinning between two points. One had to be the Howling Moray, but I couldn¡¯t figure out the second. Neither was moving, though, and that was a concern. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. But it was a concern for another time. I checked the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp¡¯s Charge level. Stored Charge 15/15 At least that was maxed out; that¡¯d buy me something. It might not be much, but it¡¯d be better than nothing. I took a deep breath and revved the Trip-Hammer. The device I¡¯d built activated, the engine revving and howling, and both hammers tried to spin, but couldn¡¯t. Strain built up in the thick steel axle as it pushed against the rock wall, also unable to move. I could almost see it bend¡ªsomething had to give. I stood on the other end of the crude teeter-totter I¡¯d slammed together, hoping it¡¯d be the hammers and not the axle¡ªand that the next thing to give wouldn¡¯t be my skull. The engine screamed. Something clicked. Both hammers finally spun, whipping through the air and thudding into the far end of the improvised lever. The steel bars bent from the impact. Huge slivers of metal tore free from the impact plate. And I catapulted into the air. I almost made it. My stomach landed on the edge, feet hanging precariously over the pit with the skeletons below. I strained and pulled, inching myself up into the tunnel; it took a few seconds of squirming like a worm on a hook before I heaved myself all the way up. The tunnel would be just tall enough for me to walk through if I bent over and kept my head down, but it wouldn¡¯t be big enough for the Trip-Hammer to be of any use. That was fine, though, because the Trip-Hammer was currently idling in the bottom of the Howling Moray¡¯s feeding chamber, ten feet down, and I wasn¡¯t going back for it. I had the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp, two rail gun shots, and a handful of toxic fangs jammed into my arm that were pumping more and more Venom into my body. It was time to go hunting before I ran out of time to hunt.
The Rose-Tinted Compass was a life-saver. Without it, I¡¯d have been lost in the maze¡ªas it was, I doubted I¡¯d be able to find my way back to the feeding cave on a time limit. But I knew exactly where I needed to go, thanks to the needle. It kept me on track: a left here, then two rights, then straight even as the main path whirled in a corkscrew. I was closing in on something. The Venom was closing in on my chest and neck. It felt like a war¡ªlike two armies fighting in my body. One of them was my Body points, rallying to try to keep me alive. The other was the Venom. It was a four-way race between the poison, bleeding, my Body points, and me leveling. And right now, the Venom was winning. Something had to change. The needles had to go¡ªeven if I bled out, if it¡¯d give my Body a chance to beat the Venom, I had to take it. I closed my free hand around the first fang and pulled. Sure enough, it ripped muscle and skin on the way out, and a spurt of blood followed it before trailing off to a trickle. I took a deep breath, gritting my teeth and steeling myself for another round, and yanked out a second, then a third. With every pull, my head grew lighter, and instead of pulling the final two, I left them in place. Any more blood loss would be disastrous, and I needed to ride the line between death by poison and death by bleeding. If I could balance on the knife¡¯s edge, I¡¯d be okay. If. Something screamed in the distance. I checked the compass; the arrow rotated between a point in front of me and one far behind me, but I had no way of knowing which was the Howling Moray and which was¡­whatever else I was tracking. I pushed forward, the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp held in front of me like a cannon ready to fire and my free hand braced against the tunnel¡¯s wall to keep myself steady. My only hope was that the Howling Moray would be up ahead, or that the tunnel I was in would lead me back toward the point behind me. As I closed in, the scream echoed through the cavern a second time. It sounded like Tori¡ªor did it? I couldn¡¯t be sure; then again, I couldn¡¯t be sure it wasn¡¯t her, either. Beth had screamed like that once. She¡¯d been playing near the ditch. Dad had always told us not to play in the ditch. The currents were too strong, and the banks too steep. But Beth? Well, she¡¯d never been the best listener. Even at six, she was already a stubborn girl, and one whose imagination got away from her at the best of times. Her scream was still a shock, and so was the frantic splashing. I ran over. She wasn¡¯t drowning¡ªnot quite¡ªand I figured I could probably stand on the bottom if I had to. I threw myself into the water after her. It was deeper than I¡¯d realized, and the banks were slippery. We got sucked toward a culvert under the farm¡¯s dirt road, hollering and yelling at the top of our lungs. Dad fished us out and handed us over to Mom. That was the only time I could remember her swatting our butts. She¡¯d cried the whole time, and so had we. I tried to clear my head, but shaking it only made me dizzier. The compass¡¯s arrow was fixed on the closer of the two living threats. If Tori was in trouble, I needed to be there, and I needed to be there right now. I staggered down the tunnel, trying not to stumble or fall, but my foot caught a rock, and I overbalanced. My face rocketed toward the blurry ground, and my good hand tried in vain to catch my weight. I splashed into a puddle as the world went black.
Hal had ruined Tommy¡¯s goddamned life. He didn¡¯t want more responsibilities. He didn¡¯t want to act as a security guard and muscle for two weaklings¡ªno matter who they were or how kindly they were treating him now that he¡¯d saved a couple of kids¡¯ lives. And he definitely didn¡¯t want to be on the wrong side of the other gangs who¡¯d worked for The Captain. What he wanted was to get the hell out of Museumtown¡ªand maybe Chicago¡ªbefore the other gangs figured out he¡¯d betrayed the Raging Bulls and The Captain. If he didn¡¯t, it wouldn¡¯t matter how much he insisted that the Bulls were all dead before he cooperated with the Voltsmith, or that his choices were to narc or die. All that would matter was that he¡¯d narced. Oh, sure, Hal was rewarding him just fine for finding those god damned twins. And yeah, that reward came with more responsibility. And Jessica, despite being an icy bitch, had forgiven him for the cut that had only half-healed on her face. It was almost enough to make him cry. But the gangs were definitely going to do something. One of the first rules of the street that Eddie had taught Tommy was that you never took a slight to your rep without fighting back. It was only a matter of time before the clap-back hit, and Tommy didn¡¯t want to be here when it hit. Once again, it¡¯d be different if Hal was around to keep him safe. Instead, he was waltzing through some dumbass dungeon with the other two most powerful Delvers in Museumtown, leaving the whole damn place ripe for whichever gang grew the balls to come back first. No, whether Hal rewarding him with more work was a good or bad thing, Tommy was sure that being here was the wrong call. He just needed to get a plan together to get out of Chicago. And maybe figure out some insurance in case the gangs came calling. He turned. The kid¡ªZane¡ªwas staring at him again, his expression cold and emotionless. He¡¯d been doing that a lot lately. One more reason for him to get the fuck out of here. 51: My Body is Burning Church bells rang in the distance. I¡¯d never been the most into Church. None of us had, really, but Cozad¡¯s bells had rang at noon every day whether we were in town or not, and they were a good indicator that lunchtime was coming up at school. The teachers knew, even if they refused to admit it, that every single kid lost every shred of focus when the bells sounded. We might still have half an hour of class, but work was no longer getting done. Their rhythm formed a pretty melody, unlike these. These ones sounded more like the ringer was pulling the ropes as fast as he could, with no thought for how the final piece would sound. Then, as quickly as they¡¯d started ringing, they stopped, their tones hanging in the air. I opened my eyes to see a fifteen-year-old girl glaring down at me. ¡°You good?¡± Tori asked. My head rolled to the side; the pool I¡¯d landed in was pink, and trails of blood swirled inside it; so did a handful of tiny glass vials, the largest no bigger than a hundred-millimeter flask from chemistry. Surprisingly, I felt great. The fuzziness was completely gone, and even though my arm hurt, one look at the skin under my Autoplate Pauldron was enough to know that the poison had been, if not completely neutralized, at least pushed back. ¡°You stole the potions, didn¡¯t you?¡± I asked. ¡°I mean, yeah. I left the fanny pack, though. You don¡¯t just leave perfectly good loot behind unless you have to,¡± Tori said defensively. ¡°Do you know what you gave me?¡± She shrugged, looking down at the cave floor. ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°What did you give me?¡± I asked, growing a little worried. ¡°Everything.¡± ¡°Everything?¡± That explained why I felt so great. I checked my Status Screen in case there was a hint there. There was. Temporary Buffs ?Quick Healing (15 Seconds) ?Improved Spellcasting (2 Minutes, 5 Seconds) ?Iron Body (1 minute, 55 Seconds) ?Bear¡¯s Might (35 Seconds) ?Water Breathing (15 Minutes, 15 Seconds) I pushed myself to my feet and headed toward the bells-and-screaming sound of Bobby punching the Howling Moray. On the one hand, Tori had saved my life. On the other, she¡¯d definitely stolen from Leana, and she¡¯d also wasted at least two of those potions on me¡ªmaybe three. After a second¡¯s consideration, I decided she¡¯d made the right call and threw myself into the fight against the Floor One Boss.
The Howling Moray was patient. When it had filled itself to bursting on the endless tide of sharks, it had simply stopped fighting them, retreating into its tunnels where they couldn¡¯t follow and waiting until they left. It had no reason to risk injury¡ªnot when there was plenty of other food, and not when it was only a matter of time before other prey arrived in its home. It had been rewarded as the two warm, gillless ones stumbled into its caves. It had attacked the one, dragging it into its lair and filling the air with piteous screams. Not all of them were fake; the tiny creature screamed almost as much as it did. Then, when that one died, it had repeated the trick with the second. The Howling Moray had been pleased. Its new ability to breathe both air and water gave it untold advantages, and it had feasted well on the poison-created slurry left behind. In fact, it was so pleased, so content, that it almost didn¡¯t attack the group of three warm, gillless ones. But in the end, the Howling Moray was not as patient as it was greedy. If it could have, it would have regretted its impatience. Instead, it was furious¡ªand a little cautious. Not afraid. Not that far, not yet. But furious and cautious. Its prey had escaped from its larder, reunited with its school, and somehow stopped both its jagged teeth and the poison within them from killing it. And now a different prey was acting like a predator, attacking into the Howling Moray¡¯s bulk like it could actually hurt it. And worse, it could. The blows barely stung, like swimming through an anemone, but there were so many of them, and they left numb spots across the gigantic eel¡¯s side. It whipped around, howling, and stormed for the injured prey and the smaller one. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. They were both up. A bright light shone in the Howling Moray¡¯s eye. And something hit it square in the face. How? It wasn¡¯t close. None of the gillless prey were close! It sucked in air through its mouth, howling and tasting blood, and turned tail, fleeing through the tunnels. The Howling Moray was patient, and its prey would let down their guard sooner or later.
I was on a timer. Leana¡¯s Quick Healing potion had just expired, but the Iron Body one was keeping me stable. Tori had pulled the final fangs out of my arm, and I didn¡¯t know if I¡¯d start bleeding again when Iron Body¡¯s effect stopped, or if the poison would keep flowing. That meant we had one minute and twenty seconds to track down the Howling Moray, plus however long I had before the Venom and Hemorrhage debuffs killed me. It was bleeding, though. My rail gun shot had punched clean through its nose and deep into the flesh behind, and as we ran after it, the trail of blood kept us on track¡ªeven without the Rose-Tinted Compass. But even without that, I knew exactly where it was going. It would retreat to the only place big enough for it to wait. It was heading for its feeding cave, and if it went there, we¡¯d have to be smart to keep it pinned. ¡°Tori, it¡¯s going to a room with a lot of exits. My hammer¡¯s there. When it gets there, just keep it pinned down,¡± I said. ¡°Push or Pull it away from the tunnels, and keep it on the ground as much as you can.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Tori said. Her low Body points were showing; she was already breathing hard, and we¡¯d only been running for thirty seconds or so. Bobby was well ahead; in spite of his Body being low, too, his Awareness let him push without worrying about tripping and falling. It didn¡¯t help that I wasn¡¯t at one hundred percent, either. But I didn¡¯t need to get into the fight to make a difference¡ªwhich was good. My hammer was in the pit, and there was a real chance it¡¯d need some repairs after my escape. Stored Charge 9/15 I¡¯d get one shot, but by the time I got there, Bobby should have weak spots open all over the boss. I put my head down and kept running, letting Tori pull ahead. By the time we got back to the feeding cave, Bobby was already there, but he hadn¡¯t jumped in yet. The second he saw Tori, he leaped into the pit, landing next to a human ribcage and immediately rushing the Howling Moray. Its long, yellow-green body thrashed, and its jaws snapped shut. A half-dozen new weak spots appeared as bells rang. I tried to line up a shot. Before I could, the Howling Moray lunged for a cave far away from us¡ªonly to be jerked back into the pit with an almost human scream. Tori¡¯s grunt of exertion told me exactly what had happened; she¡¯d Pulled the boss. I relaxed; we had it cornered, and it was only a matter of time. ?Iron Body (21 Seconds) That¡¯d be plenty. I just needed¡­ Bobby¡¯s fist bounced off the Howling Moray¡¯s face, just over its jaw and just below the spot my first rail gun bolt had hit. I took aim. ¡°Tori, Gravity W¡ª¡° I didn¡¯t need to finish. She cast Gravity Well, locking the massive eel to the ground for a crucial couple of seconds. I fired the rail gun. It punched into the boss¡¯s face, disintegrating bone and teeth as it passed through the mouth and out the back of its skull. It screamed, and this time, it sounded nothing like a human cry¡ªbut it was full of agony. It stopped before its head bounced off the stone. Boss Defeated: The Howling Moray Level Up! Forty-Eight to Forty-Nine Dungeon Delvers who were not in the arena will receive fifty percent of your team¡¯s experience. Area Message: The Watery Grave¡¯s second floor has unlocked. This floor will remain unlocked for twenty-four hours, after which time the first floor will reset. I put my points in Body as the Iron Body potion ran out; the healing braced my veins against the Venom, and the puncture wounds stung as they pulled tight. Tori hit the bottom of the cave a moment later, heading for the loot. ¡°I get first dibs!¡± she shouted. I nodded. It was her turn, after all.
Tome of Contingent Cast (Rare) User learns the spell Contingent Cast, which allows the caster to set triggers for other spells to automatically cast. Up to the user¡¯s Mana/20 Contingent Casts can be set, and each lasts for twenty-four hours. Each Contingent Cast requires one minute to set. The tome remains intact, but loses its ability to transfer magic after use. Tome of Iron Body (Uncommon) User learns the spell Iron Body, which slightly increases resistance to blunt and slashing damage, slightly reduces damage from poisons, and allows the target to resist pressure of up to ten atmospheres for three minutes. The tome remains intact, but loses its ability to transfer magic after use. I had my eye on the Tome of Contingent Cast from the moment the System message told me what it was, but really, both of these should have been Tori¡¯s. I had no spellcasting, and Bobby shook his head, looking disappointed in the loot choices. They also weren¡¯t thematic¡ªor at least, were only vaguely thematic¡ªto the dungeon. So, naturally, she took it and learned the spell immediately. She sat down and started weaving her Contingent Casts¡ªshe¡¯d get at least two, and possibly as many as four. I kind of regretted not keeping track of her point use, but I doubted she¡¯d have told me anyway. Either way, I was curious how the spell worked. I hadn¡¯t made a big deal out of it, but I had an idea, and it revolved around the Spellcode Scroll Reader I¡¯d picked up from the Rank Two Voltsmithing box in Soldier Field. I still hadn¡¯t seen a Spellcode Scroll, and I also hadn¡¯t seen anyone who could make one, but if Alchemist was a class, then maybe¡­ ¡°Tori, is there a scroll-making class in any of your games?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh yeah, a lot of games have them, but they¡¯re usually pretty underpowered. I only pick it as a profession on, like, my fourth or fifth alt. Why?¡± Tori was busy, but apparently, not too busy to respond. We were beat to hell after the two boss fights¡ªnot physically, but mentally. I needed to take a breather, and as much as would probably hate the idea, Bobby clearly did, too. ¡°No reason. Why don¡¯t you two see if any of the bodies in here have any identification? We should give them a proper send-off. Then we¡¯ll camp here for a few hours and finish the dungeon in the morning. It should be safe enough.¡± I picked up the Tome of Iron Body and pulled my Voltsmithing equipment out; I didn¡¯t have everything, and I¡¯d rather have been doing this in my workshop, but the inventory was pretty powerful. I set out my tools and got to work. It was time to figure out Spellcodes. 52: On the Hunt Tonight After ten minutes of pondering the tome, I realized something. This wasn¡¯t going to work. Not the way I wanted it to, at least. My initial plan had been to decipher the spell, convert it into the Spellcode I needed for the player-piano-looking Spellcode Scroll-Reader, and simply strap the whole thing to my armor¡ªor jam it into the Warrior¡¯s Sheath. Either way, I¡¯d planned on treating it like a component in a machine. It wasn¡¯t a component, and I could not figure out how to take it apart and put it back together¡ªat least, not without breaking it irreparably. The Tome of Iron Body wasn¡¯t even that complex; Tori was digesting a much more challenging spell in Contingent Cast, and she wasn¡¯t struggling. But with Voltsmith¡¯s drawback, I simply couldn¡¯t understand it. ¡°Tori, take this. Give me your tome when you¡¯re done,¡± I said. I tossed the Iron Body tome toward her, and she nodded. A bead of sweat ran down her face¡ªmaybe she was struggling a little with Contingent Cast. Either way, the look she shot me with the nod told me everything her gritted teeth didn¡¯t. She wanted me to leave her alone and work on my own stuff. I sighed and pulled out the Rose-Tinted Compass. Tori had said something about eels and sharks being able to sense their prey with electricity, and Charge was a lot like electricity. That plus the Compass gave me an idea. ¡°Bobby, was there anything near you worth fighting before I ran into you?¡± ¡°You mean before we found your knocked-out body? No. Just the cave. We were following the screams and howls as best we could,¡± Bobby said. He still looked irritated, but he hadn¡¯t said anything about the Tome of Iron Body¡ªor about me handing it off to Tori and not him. I pulled a ball-peen hammer and got to work, tapping along the edge of the Compass¡¯s case and using a screwdriver to pry the metal back and reveal the guts of the thing. And it had guts; it wasn¡¯t just a piece of iron floating in a sealed chamber. I pulled tiny components out of it as it lost its magic, its Charge already drained to fuel my newest¡ªhopefully¡ªcreation. That gave me fourteen Charge to work with, a few switches, and what could only be described as a steel coffee filter the size of my thumbnail. I grabbed one of my remaining Small Charge Batteries and stocked it up to five Charge, then emptied it into the air. As I did, the filter slowly sucked the Charge toward it, and a glowing orange ball appeared over it, slightly to the side where I¡¯d emptied the battery. That was an egregious waste of power, but it proved the concept. I could use the filter as the core of a¡­radar wasn¡¯t the right word. I didn¡¯t have the right word, but I knew conceptually what I wanted. I pulled a few strands of wire from my inventory and stripped the rubber off of them, leaving me with about three feet of copper. Then I got to work slowly wiring the switches back onto the filter. I attached each switch to an LED light and flipped the whole gizmo to ¡®on.¡¯ Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. Surprisingly, nothing happened even when I wired it into a battery and fed Charge into the system to turn it on. So that was frustrating. I tinkered for a good half hour on the device before Tori cleared her throat. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to be?¡± ¡°Uh, a radar,¡± I said. ¡°Ah.¡± Tori went quiet, then handed me the Tome of Contingent Cast. ¡°Here you go. I¡¯ll get Iron Body to you soon.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I kept working on the radar. It did a great job of sensing Charge, but I couldn¡¯t figure out how to convert that into detecting electrical impulses or magic, and I needed it to do one of the two. I didn¡¯t get Charge from monsters, but they were alive¡ªand if they were alive, they had electrical signatures. I knew that much from the biology class I¡¯d tried not to sleep through in high school. The radar also wasn¡¯t directional¡ªat least not yet. Between those two problems, I¡¯d ripped apart a utility item for nothing. I shoved it aside and went back to trying to decipher the tome, but that wasn¡¯t any better. The whole crafting session felt like a complete waste, and honestly, I didn¡¯t need either of these items. Between Tori learning Iron Body and the two Chthonic Pills we¡¯d picked up off Leana¡¯s body, we had everything we needed to fight the Floor Two Boss. But I wanted something for my effort. ¡°You¡¯re going about it wrong,¡± Tori said. How long had she been looking over my shoulder? I had no idea, but I didn¡¯t have any better ideas. ¡°So show me?¡± I asked. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I can try.¡± Tori sat down and picked up the Tome of Contingent Cast. ¡°Look, its magic is gone. I absorbed it. You¡¯re not going to get a spell effect out of it, even if you could cast it. But what you can do is learn the patterns and try to replicate them. It¡¯s like a minigame world quest or something. You don¡¯t get the full reward, but you get something.¡± ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re saying,¡± I said. She sighed dramatically. ¡°Okay, in my games, there¡¯s quests and busywork grindy quests. Some of them include stupid matching puzzles and stuff. You¡¯re doing a stupid matching puzzle right now, not trying to learn. It¡¯s monkey-see, monkey-do, not rocket science.¡± She looked smug when I looked over my shoulder, but I did my best to ignore the expression on her face and got back to work. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. I¡¯d locked myself off from spellcasting, and I¡¯d never be able to do more than imitate it. Understanding was beyond my class¡¯s skills. That didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t learn to imitate it, though, and the Spellcode Scroll-Reader was absolutely my key to that. I just had to think less hard.
Thinking less hard was difficult. It took almost an hour to clear my mind to the point where I could begin seeing the patterns in the spellscroll. Tori didn¡¯t help; she kept offering pointers or trying to explain what each part of the spell did from a magical perspective, which was frustrating, since she¡¯d just said I needed to imitate, not understand. Eventually, I shooed her away, and she went back to setting her Contingent Casts. Bobby rolled his eyes at her, making sure I could see it. I didn¡¯t bother replying. The Spellcode was still intact, even if there wasn¡¯t any magic left in the Tome of Contingent Cast. I just had to imitate the code. That¡¯s all. I pulled an awl from my inventory, along with a piece of aluminum car body I¡¯d scrapped from Cindy¡¯s Automotive. Then I got to work. The hammer pinged off the top of the awl as I punched a tiny hole through the metal, then another. Then I dropped down a few millimeters and kept tapping, driving row after row of almost-invisible divots and punctures in the aluminum. The sound reminded me a little of Bobby¡¯s bell-ringing punches. I kept going and going, even as Tori fell asleep in the corner. Even Bobby crashed, leaving me alone with the ringing hammer and metal. Spells had their own language, but it wasn¡¯t exactly foreign¡ªat least not mostly. It only had four ¡®letters:¡¯ short, long, blank, and harmonic. But it was ¡®read¡¯ like some strange combination of music and Morse code. I¡¯d never been much for music; Mom had tried to teach me piano, but that was more Beth¡¯s wheelhouse. Morse code, though? Morse code was cool. I could almost understand the pattern, but not quite. And that was okay. I didn¡¯t have to translate it, just transcribe it from the Tome to my piece of aluminum. That piece didn¡¯t work. Neither did the next one. I worked for what must have been hours, piling up scrap and plowing onward, correcting mistakes and making new ones. And eventually, I learned a new skill. Not a spell, but a skill. [Skill: Spellcoding (Rank Zero)] unlocked. Congratulations, [Hal Riley], on learning [Spellcoding]. My shoulders ached, and the spot between my eyes felt like someone had taken the ball-peen hammer to my head, not the metal. My tongue felt like sandpaper. How long had I been working on this? And what could it really do? The second question felt more important than the first. I grabbed the Spellcode Scroll-Reader and delicately worked the¡ªhopefully¡ªContingent Cast code into it. Then I attached another Small Charge Battery to it and started filling it up. It took ten Charge. And when it was done, I only had one use of Contingent Cast, not the three or four Tori had gotten. But it was something. It was a spell. I¡¯d successfully Spellcoded something. [Hal Riley] [Class - Voltsmith] [Level - 49] [Stats] ?Body - 30 ?Awareness - 42 ?Charge - 2/57 (55 Used) Stat Points Available: 0 [Class Skill - Decharge/Recharge - Drain the charge from magic items to power your own creations] [Skill - Spellcoding - Transfer spells from Tomes to Spellscrolls, allowing weaker versions to be cast with Charge instead of Mana] Items ?Autoplate Pauldron (8 Charge) ?Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp (15 Charge) - Rail Gun Module ?Heavy Trip-Hammer 2.0 (25 Charge) ?Warrior¡¯s Sheath (Spellcode Scroll-Reader)
[Skill: Leadership (Rank Zero)] unlocked. Congratulations, [Calvin Rollins], on learning [Leadership]. When Hal had told Calvin his theory about The Captain¡¯s class, he hadn¡¯t believed a word the mechanic had said. A class that gained power from the number of people following you or loyal to you felt¡­weird. Like it wasn¡¯t about the man at all, but about the power he commanded over others. But Hal had been right. And now Calvin was stepping into The Captain¡¯s shoes. He¡¯d only taken command a handful of times before. Once out of Da Nang, when the platoon¡¯s lieutenant took a bullet to the chest and another to the forehead. A couple of times on the streets, getting other veterans to work together long enough to survive a snowstorm or move before the cops cracked down¡ªor to get them into a shelter for a few nights. He¡¯d never asked for power, or rank. And if anyone but Hal had asked him to do it, he¡¯d have turned them down. He¡¯d have turned Ms. Silvers down without a second thought, and she wasn¡¯t bad-looking at all. Had her heart in the right place with Tori and Museumtown, too. But no, he didn¡¯t want power. But he had it¡ªthe System was proof. People were listening to him. Maybe it was the twins and Tommy following him around, or maybe all the guys in shredded business suits and gals in shorts and T-shirts needed someone to tell them what to do, but Calvin was in command. And he hated it. ¡°God dammit,¡± he muttered, rolling over in his sleeping bag. Someone had to keep these civvies in line. Someone had to keep them from getting killed. And right now, that someone was him. Across the room, Tommy slept quietly. Calvin appreciated the silence¡ªlast night, the man had snored like a freight train. 53: Rock You Like a Hurricane Tori woke up eventually, and I managed to get a few hours of sleep before she shook my shoulder. An ominous orange glow filled the Howling Moray¡¯s rock tunnel maze¡ªa glow that hadn¡¯t been there before¡ªand I closed my eyes as the searing light redoubled the headache I¡¯d picked up last night. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked. She only pointed up. Bobby was already gone, and I let Tori throw me through the air with Push. She joined me in the tunnel a moment later, and we hurried back to the air pocket we¡¯d entered the maze through. ¡°We got company. Lots of it,¡± Bobby said. I stared at the orange glow emanating from the water below. In the hours I¡¯d worked and slept, the gray-blue had been completely eclipsed by an almost radioactive, toxic-looking aura. It reminded me of¡ªno, it was exactly like one of the herbicides we kept on hand for the farm, in case a particularly nasty kind of weed got into the corn. ¡°Let me guess. Orange coral?¡± I asked. Bobby nodded. ¡°Got it in one. Nice job. I think they started growing as soon as we killed that boss, but we were in the cave, so we didn¡¯t notice. Since we know they¡¯re part of the Chthonic Abysslord, I¡¯m guessing we¡¯re either about to transition to Floor Two like the Soldier Field dungeon did, or we need to get down there before Floor One gets completely overrun.¡± Tori nodded, glancing at the water before turning to me. ¡°We should go down there, but¡­¡± ¡°But what?¡± ¡°The full clear,¡± she answered. ¡°What if we miss a chance to finish it?¡± I checked the dungeon¡¯s status. Tier Two Dungeon: The Watery Grave (Floor One) Objective: Defeat The Blood in the Water (1/1) Objective: Defeat The Howling Moray (1/1) The Watery Grave (Floor Two) Objective: Defeat The Chthonic Abysslord (0/1) Objective: Survive (0/1) Completion: 62% Fragile Walls: This dungeon is close to breaking. Its inhabitants will be freed if a threshold of Delver deaths inside is reached. Break Counter: 5/5 Time until Dungeon Break: Two Hours, Thirty Minutes Sealed Environment: You cannot leave this dungeon until it is completed. Environmental Hazard: This dungeon¡¯s denizens are not its only threat. I froze when I saw the dungeon break counter, and the new timer. We were close to two-thirds done with the Watery Grave¡¯s completion bonus, but I couldn¡¯t guarantee that the remaining thirty-eight percent would be down below. Worse, we were on a time limit¡ªand not a three-day or two-week one. Someone else had died in here¡ªthere must¡¯ve been a fifth party member on Leana¡¯s team¡ªand now we only have a couple of hours to clear it out. ¡°Tori, what if we don¡¯t worry about the bonus for now, and if we can complete it after the final boss dies, we give it a go?¡± She looked like she was about to cry, or yell, but Bobby cleared his throat. ¡°There¡¯s another option, Miss Vanderbilt. You stay behind and hunt down the half-dozen Level Twenty-Something Crushtaceans we missed, or swim around looking for a couple of Bar Cutters, and Hal and I go deal with the final boss. You¡¯ll get half experience, but we¡¯d all get the full clear for sure that way.¡± The crying look went away, but Tori practically radiated fury. Her eyes narrowed and blazed as she crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°Jessica finally gave me permission to do this, and I¡¯m not missing out on the final boss. I need to prove I can handle it.¡± ¡°I believe you can, Tori, but sometimes, the solution to a problem is to focus on what matters most. This dungeon is going to break. When it does, it¡¯s going to spill out into Museumtown. That¡¯s where your step-mom is, and no one up there can handle a Level Fifty boss. It¡¯s us, right now, or no one,¡± I said. Then I pulled out the Chthonic Pills and handed one to Bobby. ¡°You with us?¡±
In the end, Tori was with us. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The lost rewards weren¡¯t worth the risk to her, and I was grateful for it. The three of us plunged into the blood-orange depths. None of us had to breathe; Tori¡¯s whole body had grown tough, and she¡¯d held her breath for five minutes with no problems before we started descending. As for Bobby and me? Well, Chthonic meant something about the underworld. I looked at Bobby¡¯s half-skeletal form as he swam ahead into the abyss below. He and I were both almost nothing but bone, armor, and magical gear; his perfectly-fitted suit hung loosely from his shoulders and flapped in the currents as we descended. The water should have gotten darker. But the further we plunged, the more tree-like orange corals grew around us. I signaled Tori not to touch any. The last thing we needed was for a Stalk to join whatever boss we were heading toward. My feet hit steel unexpectedly, and I staggered. Tori and Bobby landed near me as I recovered, readying my Trip-Hammer and the railgun. We stood on an eight-sided platform with a raised glass half-sphere in the middle; from the shaking and the pressure, the platform was slowly moving up. There were no rails, no structures on the sides, just a wide, flat platform. And inside the glass orb, a skull turned to stare at us, eyes blazing a red-orange that matched the Charge flowing through my gauntlet¡ªand the water all around us. Chthonic Abysslord: Level Fifty-Three Elite Dungeon Boss Current Difficulty: Challenging No king rules forever, but the Chthonic Abysslord is determined to try. The supreme ruler of the Watery Grave, this monstrosity yearns for more: more food, more power, and more territory. With its dungeon about to break, it sees an opportunity for all three. Invulnerable - This boss has no weak points and cannot be damaged. Myriad - This boss¡¯s Elite state consists of innumerable members of a swarm, and will continue swarming until conditions change. Dominion Aura - This boss¡¯s lair grants it the Elite status. Elite - This monster moves faster and hits harder than a similarly powerful monster. Oppressive - This monster¡¯s lair oppresses intruders, reducing their damage dealt. I ignored the messages and swung the Trip-Hammer into the glass sphere. The impact sent a jolt up my arms into my elbows and shoulders, but the orb remained intact. The Abysslord¡¯s eyes locked on me, and if anything, they only burned more. As I recovered, a screaming, burbling roar filled the water, and the trap sprung.
Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord: Level Fifty Boss Current Difficulty: Extreme A mere appendage of the monstrous boss inhabiting the Watery Grave¡¯s deepest recesses, the Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord controls all. It sees all. It consumes all. One Stalk would have been a fair fight. Two probably would have been doable. Maybe even three. Not eight. From every corner of the octagon, a glowing red-orange tentacle erupted upward. They loomed over us, beaks burbling and feeder tendrils waving. Then they slammed into the platform in a rippling wave of flesh. I threw myself to the side, then rolled to avoid a second Stalk. Tori blasted herself upward with a Push. Bobby simply sidestepped and started punching. And the Stalks¡¯ beaks clacked as their eyes rolled back and forth, searching for prey. Tori was practically flying, using Push to keep herself above the platform and out of reach, but she couldn¡¯t fit more spells into her rotation. ¡°Hal, plan?!¡± she shouted. I didn¡¯t have a plan. No time to think. I ducked again as a tentacle wurbled and swung over my head. ¡°Fight back!¡± I yelled. My words came out in bubbles. ¡°That one first!¡± One tentacle reached for Tori, and it couldn¡¯t react as the Trip-Hammer slammed into its base. Flesh tore, and a fountain of yellow-orange gore erupted into the water through the bleeding gash in its side. It roared and lowered, wobbling as it crashed onto the steel platform¡ªand onto me. I tried to dodge. I didn¡¯t try hard enough. The weight felt like a truck had rolled off its lift. I tried to push back against it, but my skeletal frame wasn¡¯t enough; it pressed me down, crushing me below it as beaks burbled and snapped. I fired the railgun, and it tore a fist-sized hole into the flesh and muscle. Then the weight over me tripled. It tripled again and again until I felt like my bones were about to shatter. The stench was unbearable as the tentacle¡¯s insides were forced out of the wounds I¡¯d ripped into its side. I tried to crawl away, gagging and retching, but the pressure was incredible; it flattened even the Chthonic Pill¡¯s protections. Then it lifted. The tentacle stayed down as I pushed myself to my feet. It looked deflated, though I could barely see the monstrosity through all the chunks of giant octopus in the water. It twitched once, then went still. Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord Defeated: 7/8 Remaining ¡°Left!¡± I tried to say, but I barely had air in my lungs, and my ribs all felt cracked. A part of my brain crazily thought that I should never, ever mess with Tori again. The rest of it tried to push my body through the agony. Tori took a second to figure out the strategy, and I¡¯d already landed a pair of blows that opened wounds, but nothing significant. Meanwhile, Bobby had his hands full with a trio of Stalks, all targeting him, and the platform kept rocking and jerking back and forth as the massive tentacles crashed into it. I waited for Tori to Pull the stalk straight so I could land a decent hit. Instead, it wrapped its tip around her leg and pulled her.
Tori screamed as the Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord¡¯s beak ripped through her Iron Body and into her thigh. The agony was worse than anything she¡¯d ever felt¡ªwith the possible exception of being told Mom and Dad were splitting up. Worse than being jumped by howler monkeys. Worse than the Floor Mimic. Worse than the pacer test in PE. She screamed again. She could feel blood spurting out of her leg, could feel her muscles ripping and parting as the beak chewed through her thigh and gnawed on her femur. It wasn¡¯t just biting her leg; it was teething on it, gnawing at it like a dog on a rawhide bone. She tried to cast Push. It worked. But that only made it worse. The Push shoved her away from the monstrous tentacle, but the beak¡¯s tip tore even more flesh and parted what veins the chomping, gnawing thing hadn¡¯t already ripped. She hung in the water a few feet above the platform, screaming and shaking, hardly able to move. Then a flash of orange light filled the water. She felt so cold all of a sudden as darkness filled her eyes. This sucked, and she missed her mom. 54: Time for the Show The Contingent Cast I¡¯d picked was a messy one. I hadn¡¯t had many choices, after all. Iron Body, another Contingent Cast, and what few spells Bobby had picked up. Worse, he hadn¡¯t been interested in giving them to me. I¡¯d had to trade, and I only had one thing he was interested in. So I wouldn¡¯t be getting any loot from this next fight; he¡¯d get my pick. But in return, I got access to two new Spellcodes¡ªand I¡¯d spent most of the night working one of them into something useful. The spell was called Stasis Trap, and it was basically like the bombs and grenades I¡¯d built early on in the Redline Tunnels, except this one didn¡¯t explode. Instead, it instantly sucked one hundred percent of the energy out of an area, and held it for a few minutes before releasing it again. Bobby never used it because, unlike a good trap, it didn¡¯t stop draining energy. That made it almost worthless for ambushes or getting advantages. Any injury would freeze instantly, and so would any attacker as the energy drained out of them¡ªor their weapon. But for crowd control, it was perfect. I saw it as an option for knocking an enemy that was ambushing me out of the fight. And I also saw it as an option for area denial. I¡¯d set the trigger to fire on a physical action and command word, and as Tori¡¯s leg was ripped to shreds through her leather armor and the orange water turned red with her blood, I pointed the Voltsmith¡¯s Charge toward her and extended my ring finger. ¡°Otter-Pop!¡± I¡¯d always liked those stupid pseudo-popsicles as a kid. The effect was immediate. Tori froze in place¡ªand so did the top of the tentacle attacking her. A timer appeared over her head: Stasis: Two Minutes, Fifty-Eight Seconds I checked the Spellcode Scroll-Reader. Completely out of Charge. That meant we had a little under three minutes to figure out this fight, plus however long it took Tori to bleed out. Judging by her leg, it wouldn¡¯t take long. I rushed the tentacle that was half-in and half-out of the stasis trap and slammed the Trip-Hammer into its base. The hammers¡¯ two spikes punched into it one after another, and I kept them spinning as they ripped the base of the tentacle, shredding skin, muscle, and fat. Gore flooded into the water around me, then drifted down slowly as the platform kept rising. The tentacle tried to thrash free, but its tip was stuck in stasis, and all the thrashing did was tear it wounds wider. I whirled toward the next tentacle as that one tore free and hung in the water, its desperate thrashing and crushing growing weaker. Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord Defeated: 6/8 Remaining I barely noticed the message. We had to kill the rest of the tentacles, and as good as Bobby was at staying alive, his punches just weren¡¯t going to rip the gashes in them that we needed. Stasis: Two Minutes, Thirty-Nine Seconds And we had to go a lot faster. ?¨‹? Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord Defeated: 1/8 Remaining Stasis: Thirteen Seconds One left. Thirteen seconds. If I¡¯d needed to breathe, I¡¯d barely be able to. If I had muscled, they¡¯d be screaming. I¡¯d used my other railgun shot, the electric stun on my gauntlet, and every ounce of power I could pull from the Autoplate Pauldrons in this underwater hell. The water was thick with chunks of tentacle. The platform had slowed to a vertical crawl. Tori was still in stasis overhead, and Bobby and I both rushed the last tentacle. I had no idea why I thought that¡¯d be the end of the fight. For all I knew, this was a messy, multi-phase fight, and Tori would die before the skull did. But I had a feeling. My gut told me we were close. The water rang¡ªand so did my ears¡ªas Bobby threw a line of punches against the thrashing tentacle¡¯s base. I followed up with a ripping blow that tore a gash in the thing, then another. Without Tori to Pull the tentacles, we¡¯d had to actually sever them. I¡¯d have killed to be able to use Saul¡¯s sword for this fight. But we didn¡¯t have anything like that, so we¡¯d made do. It took almost ten seconds. That was the fastest we¡¯d killed a Stalk. Stalk of the Chthonic Abysslord Defeated: 0/8 Remaining I waited. One second. Two. Three. Stasis: Expired Tori started bleeding and trying desperately to escape a tentacle that was no longer there. Her movements only made her leg worse; it took seconds for her to lose consciousness again. I kept waiting, rushing the glass just in case¡ª Immortal Deactivated Myriad Deactivated Elite De¡ª I blinked away the rest of the notifications, revved the Trip-Hammer, and swung. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Glass shattered. It didn¡¯t explode outward like a broken window, but hung in the air like a thousand tiny daggers. The skull¡¯s eyes blazed, and I had just enough time to see the Level Forty-Eight over its head. Then the armor-piercing hammer smashed into it, and its red-orange eyes went dull as the bone cracked and fell apart like a fragile vase. It didn¡¯t die quietly. A wave of force shoved the three of us toward the platform¡¯s edge, and I had to yank Tori¡¯s leg to keep her from drifting out into the abyss. She screamed, jolted back into consciousness, and the burbling sound reminded me of the Stalks. Then I got the message I¡¯d been waiting for. Boss Defeated: The Chthonic Abysslord Level Up! Forty-Eight to Fifty Dungeon Delvers who were not in the arena will receive fifty percent of your team¡¯s experience. Congratulations, [Hal Riley], on reaching Level Fifty. ?¨‹? I didn¡¯t care about the wall of System messages congratulating me for hitting Level Fifty. I didn¡¯t care about the two blue items on the platform, or the bright purple one. And I definitely didn¡¯t care that I¡¯d promised Bobby my share of the loot. All I cared about was Tori¡¯s leg. Blood kept flowing from the wound, but where it had been a fountain that formed a pink-red cloud around her, now it was a stream trailing off into the water just a foot from her. Her muscles and tendons slowly knit themselves together and tied themselves back to her femur, and pale skin seemed to almost zip itself shut over a thin layer of fat. It took almost a minute; I¡¯d never seen a wound that bad. When it finally finished, I breathed a sigh of relief. Jessica wouldn¡¯t kill me today. Hopefully. Her leg still had a nasty scar, and the armor that had covered it was completely destroyed. We wouldn¡¯t be hiding what had happened from her step-mom, that was for sure. But in the end, it didn¡¯t matter. We¡¯d won. The dungeon break was averted; even though the timer was still ticking down, there wasn¡¯t anything left in here that Museumtown couldn¡¯t handle. Besides¡­ I pulled up my System messages. Congratulations, [Hal Riley], on reaching Level Fifty! For reaching Level Fifty, the following rewards have been delivered to your inventory: One [Voltsmith¡¯s] Supply Box (Enhancement, Rank One) One [Voltsmith¡¯s] Supply Box (Rank Two) One [Voltsmith¡¯s] Laboratory] Token (RankOne) One [Spellcoding] Manual (Rank One) The Voltsmithing Rank One Trial will commence once your Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory has been purchased. Once you¡¯ve ascended your class to Rank One, new materials and creations can be used. Experience gain is reduced to zero until the Rank One Trial is completed and your class has ascended. Congratulations! For completing one hundred percent of a Tier Two Dungeon, you have received the following reward: One [Voltsmith¡¯s] Supply Box (Rank Two) Completely clearing a dungeon will result in rewards equivalent to the level of dungeon cleared. My head spun even as Bobby walked up. I glanced at his nameplate. Bobby Richards: Level 49 Class: Resonator He hadn¡¯t seen any of the messages I had. That was a relief; I had a feeling that Bobby was the kind of guy who¡¯d take advantage of having information no one else did, but if I clearly had it first, that¡¯d take some of the wind out of his sails. ¡°So, want to see what we got?¡± Bobby asked. ¡°I¡¯ve got first and third pick, but Miss Vanderbilt can take the seconds.¡± ¡°Yes, I do, and why doesn¡¯t Hal get a pick?¡± Tori said. She winced as her tender leg hit the platform, falling into an awkward cross-legged position. ¡°Because that¡¯s part of the deal,¡± Bobby said. ¡°He got something, and in return, now I get something. That¡¯s business.¡± Abysslord¡¯s Grip (Epic, Charge 5) +8 Body, +2 Awareness, +4 Mana This modular gauntlet allows otherwise-unarmed strikes to deal either piercing, slashing, or bludgeoning damage. The type of damage can be changed when not in combat. Additionally, when used against aquatic enemies, it offers a small chance to dominate the enemy¡¯s mind instead of dealing damage, converting it to an ally for fifteen seconds. Tome of Pressurize (Rare) User learns the spell Pressurize, which increases the pressure inside an enclosed space. The tome remains intact, but loses its ability to transfer magic after use. Battle Helm of the Abysslord (Rare, Charge 20) +3 Body, +3 Mana For each Battle Helm worn in your party, the wearer gains +2 Body and +2 Mana. Bobby didn¡¯t have to do much thinking before he grabbed the Abysslord¡¯s Grip. It was built for him, and the shining purple color made Tori shake with rage and jealousy. ¡°It should have been yours,¡± she whispered under her breath, fists balled until her nails dug into her palms. ¡°No, he earned it,¡± I whispered back. He had. But even so, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little frustrating. I¡¯d traded a chance at some amazing components¡ªand it had been worth it¡ªbut even so, those gauntlets probably had everything I needed to upgrade the¡­ No. It had been worth it. End of discussion. The trade had given me a solution to save Tori¡¯s life, and a person¡¯s life was worth any amount of loot. I couldn¡¯t pretend that a piece of gear¡¯s value was even close to Tori¡¯s. That was a dangerous path to go down. Besides, I had everything I¡ª ¡°I¡¯ll take the Pressurize spell,¡± Tori said, and I winced. I knew exactly why she¡¯d picked that one. If Bobby got it, I¡¯d end up paying for it¡ªand she¡¯d seen my face when I saw it. I wanted that spell. I wanted it bad. I¡¯d long since run out of battery bombs, and expending Charge wasn¡¯t always an option¡ªI was already running four items and the rail gun. But if I could put the Charge into the Pressurize spell, I could do something similar to when we¡¯d lifted the Redline Wyrm. It¡¯d be permanent, though. Pressure-based explosives. The potential was there. But at the same time, the Battle Helm meant more power when we worked with Bobby. It had great stats for Tori, and she could really benefit from it. ¡°Have you been using your Perfection¡¯s Gaze?¡± I asked her, trying to get her to change her mind. ¡°I mean, not in that last fight, but any time we¡¯ve been fighting a single big thing, absolutely. My record is like ten spellcasts on the crab boss. Pressurize is gonna be stronger for me for sure. I could combo it with Crush or something.¡± Okay. She hadn¡¯t just been thinking about why I¡¯d want it. It didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t thinking about that, though. ¡°Is it the best choice for you, though?¡± ¡°That Battle Helm¡¯s a side-grade at best,¡± she replied. ¡°I¡¯ve got my own build going. You just worry about yours.¡± She grabbed the Tome of Pressurize, leaving the Battle Helm for a frustrated-looking Bobby. Before he could say anything, she dropped into a cross-legged position and started learning the spell. As the platform rocketed toward the surface, I stood and watched the orange light fade around us, replaced by a cool blue that gradually warmed to yellow. The dungeon¡¯s entrance closed in, and I finally put my two points into Charge. I had a feeling I was about to need all the Charge I could get my hands on¡ªand then some. ?¨‹? 55: Just Have to Make It We emerged, still soaking wet, from the Watery Grave and into Museumtown. From the Shedd Aquarium¡¯s entrance, everything seemed to be more or less in order. I nodded to the two Level 20-somethings who stood on either side of the dungeon entrance. ¡°Should be clear in there. We got one hundred percent. But there are five bodies.¡± I told them where to find the Delvers I knew about and what kind of condition they were in. ¡°Got it,¡± the Level 24 Rogue said, nodding his head. He hesitated. ¡°Ms. Silvers came by this morning with that girl, Carol. Said if you came out, you needed to come talk to her right away. Said it was an emergency, but not to try going in after you.¡± The Level 22 Mage interrupted. ¡°So, no dungeon break?¡± Tori smiled. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be, but we¡¯ll know in an hour and a half. Might get wet around here, though.¡± The Rogue saluted sloppily. I blinked; that was new. Then I tried returning it. The motion felt unnatural, and I was pretty sure my own salute was, if anything, worse than his. ¡°So, we¡¯re after Jessica?¡± Tori asked. ¡°Yep,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s try to track her down quick.¡± We passed a group of Dungeon Delvers, all in their Twenties, with Calvin standing in the middle of them. Zane stood behind him, arms crossed and staring off into space. I looked at the sky. The sun was still above Lake Michigan; it couldn¡¯t be more than eight or nine in the morning. Calvin waved at me and made a hurry-up motion at the group of ten or twelve. They started to break into smaller groups, and I watched them head for the town¡¯s outskirts before disappearing into Chicago. We ignored him as best we could; he was doing his job, and we¡¯d done ours. That we all any of us could do for now. Instead of going to Jessica¡¯s clinic, I headed for the fortress outside the Field Museum. ¡°Where you going, Hal?¡± Bobby asked. ¡°You get some new stuff when you hit Level Fifty,¡± I said. ¡°Class-specific stuff. I¡¯m trying to figure out what to do with it. Tori, can you find your step-mom and let her know that I¡¯m at the fort? Calvin will probably find me on his own. He¡¯s good for that.¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± Tori said. ¡°Wait, were you going to tell me about that before I asked?¡± Bobby asked, holding a hand up as I started to answer. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I need to find a Tier One to run. Tori, are you interested? You can have the loot.¡± ¡°Nah. You go for it,¡± she said. I saw her eyes narrow just a little, and she looked down at her feet. ¡°I need to find my mom.¡± Then she disappeared. ¡°Oookay, Bobby Richards. You have got to figure out why she doesn¡¯t like you.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Good luck with your Rank One Trial.¡± ¡°Bobby Richards doesn¡¯t need luck. He makes his own.¡± I said my goodbyes and headed up into the tower to get my Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory going.
It didn¡¯t fit in the tower. System Error: [Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory] requires [Three] slots to install. Available Slots: One Total Slots: One I looked at the wooden bedframe I¡¯d turned into a workbench, then at the tiny room I¡¯d done most of my best Voltsmithing. It wasn¡¯t much, but it had turned into the closest thing I had to the garage. And the System wouldn¡¯t let me use the Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory token to upgrade it. The token sat in my hand. I gave it a good look¡ªit was bronze, with a silver lightning bolt on one side and a pair of crossed hammers on the other, and maybe the size of a quarter. I hadn¡¯t seen change in a long time, but yeah, about the size of a quarter. [Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory] Token (Rank One): This token allows a promising beginner Voltsmith of Rank Zero to construct a basic Voltsmithing Laboratory, opening the door for the Rank One Voltsmithing Trial. Success at the trial will advance the Voltsmith to Rank One, allowing them to craft more elaborate creations. I stared at the System¡¯s description of the token, then at the error message again. I needed this, and there wasn¡¯t a space in Museumtown both big enough and isolated enough to set up my lab. I liked the tower room. It wasn¡¯t just that it controlled the entrance to the Reliquary of Bones, keeping other people from walking into the jaws of the Queen Tyrant. It was that even though I¡¯d only spent a handful of nights here, it was home. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Someone knocked at the doorframe at the bottom of the rickety stairs, and a second later, Calvin¡¯s voice came in. ¡°Hal, you here?¡± ¡°Yep. Just a second.¡± I put the token away and quickly tossed the stuff I¡¯d been moving around into my inventory. No matter what I got rid of, the tower room wasn¡¯t going to magically grow two new ¡®slots.¡¯ I needed somewhere bigger, but first, I needed to hear what Calvin and Jessica had to say. As I stepped down the stairs, Calvin¡¯s salt-and-pepper beard and shockingly piercing eyes greeted me. ¡°You get it taken care of?¡± He asked. ¡°Yep. It was going to break, but we got it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, then,¡± he said. Then his voice dropped as he sat on the museum steps. ¡°Listen, Hal, Jessica¡¯s losing her shit. Tommy disappeared last night. No idea where he went. I tried to tell her it ain¡¯t a big deal, and that he¡¯s a grown-ass man, but she¡¯s convinced he took something we needed.¡± ¡°The City Key?¡± I asked, worried. We needed that¡ªnot least because while we hadn¡¯t gotten any new information, we had confirmed that at the very least, the Consortium thought they were helping us, and that they were, in fact, making a profit from doing it. ¡°Nah, she¡¯s got that around her neck. Far as I can figure, he didn¡¯t steal anything but a couple cans of beans¡ªand I¡¯d¡¯ve given those to him if he¡¯d asked. But she¡¯s losing it. Wanted me to get my delve teams looking for him, breaking up their training, all sorts of stuff.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll try talking her down. Thanks for letting me know.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± Calvin said. He lounged on the stairs like they were the world¡¯s most comfortable armchair. ¡°How was the dungeon?¡± I told him all about it¡ªthe shark room, the final boss, and the level-up to Fifty and the Rank One Trial. He nodded at that part. ¡°I¡¯m willing to bet three cans of the green beans I have something similar coming up.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± I asked. ¡°Got a bunch of skills. Leadership, Survivalism, and Camouflage. Bet if I get enough or get some to Rank One, I get a similar trial. Remember, that message said something about Advancing and Uplifting. Bet Levels are the Advance and Skills are the Uplift.¡± That made sense to me. We talked for a while about Skills, but before we could get into the nitty gritty of my Rank One Trial, Jessica walked through the front door, a sulking Tori in tow. ¡°You got her leg shredded!¡± she shouted. Then her voice dropped. ¡°Thank you, though. For saving her life. But god dammit, Hal, I told you not to get her hurt!¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t get me hur¡ª¡° Tori started to say, but a look from Jessica shut her up, and she stared at the floor instead, glaring daggers into the stairs. I didn¡¯t say anything. She was in one of those moods moms got into, where they were more like an angry black bear whose cubs were in danger than a human being, and pointing out that we¡¯d had no choice and that her telekinesis had saved the entire settlement wouldn¡¯t help. Right now, the best thing to do was let her be angry for a minute. Calvin wasn¡¯t ready to interrupt, either. He just stayed sprawled on the stairs, listening. So instead of arguing, I weathered the storm. Tori¡¯s leg was already healed¡ªboth by Body points and by her worried step-mom. No permanent damage had been done. And after a few minutes, Jessica pulled herself together¡ªor just ran out of steam. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this more later¡ªjust the three of us,¡± she said, nodding at Tori. The girl winced. I nodded along with Jessica. ¡°Sure. That sounds great. I¡¯d love to fill you in on what happened, but you¡¯ve got something else you¡¯re worried about, so I¡¯ll go fast. We beat the dungeon. It was the kind that locked us in, and it was going to break. It¡¯s not anymore¡ªor if it does, it¡¯ll just be a bunch of water. I told the guards to be ready for it.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Jessica said. She took a deep breath, composing herself. ¡°Calvin, did you already tell him?¡± ¡°I did. I also told him that Tommy didn¡¯t take anything as far as we can tell, and that there¡¯s no reason to go after him,¡± Calvin said. ¡°He¡¯s not a threat to us, and he¡¯s a grown-ass adult. If he wants to disappear, let him.¡± ¡°Tommy¡¯s gone?¡± Tori asked, eyes narrowing. ¡°Yes, Tommy¡¯s gone,¡± Jessica said. ¡°I don¡¯t know that I agree with you, Calvin. What if he runs into another gang and they show up to try taking over?¡± ¡°Then we sic Bobby and Hal on ¡®em,¡± Calvin said. ¡°No offense, Hal.¡± I smiled. ¡°None taken. I¡¯m probably one of the strongest people in Chicago right now.¡± ¡°The gangs aren¡¯t a danger as long as we have those two, and Tori¡¯s no slouch either,¡± Calvin said. He looked tired. They¡¯d clearly had this conversation before. I needed to do something about it. ¡°We have, what? A few days? Before the Tier Three dungeon, and one week after that? Let¡¯s focus on that, not on one person who didn¡¯t want to stick around. Calvin, you¡¯re getting the Delvers to work together?¡± ¡°Kinda,¡± he said, shrugging. ¡°It took most of yesterday to build a list of dungeons and when people¡¯d cleared ¡®em, and we still don¡¯t know everything. The Tier Ones Saul¡¯s guys cleared are on an unknown timer. We¡¯re making guesses, but the basic idea is to get Level 15 to 20 folks into Tier Ones with a single high-level Delver to help them through¡ª¡° ¡°Carries. You¡¯re building carry groups,¡± Tori said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen this before. I¡¯ve done this before. I can help you make it more efficient.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be happy if you did, Tori,¡± Calvin said, ¡°assuming your mom¡¯s cool with it. Anyway, we¡¯re also trying to get a list of Tier Two dungeons folks can leave after the first floor. We build that list, we can get people up to Level Forty without putting them up against Floor Two bosses. I¡¯m assuming Level Forties aren¡¯t ready for those.¡± ¡°Not alone,¡± I said. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re asking groups to contribute loot they don¡¯t want to Museumtown in general in exchange for the help in leveling up. They help each other out, it helps everyone out. Today¡¯s Day One of making this happen, so there¡¯ll be speed bumps, but in the long run, it should start going smoothly.¡± As Jessica cleared her throat and started talking about Museumtown¡¯s infrastructure and the pipeline they were cobbling together to bring water into the fish-hugger¡¯s fountain¡ªwhich had stopped spewing water yesterday¡ªI reached into my inventory and grabbed the token, squeezing it in my hand. I¡¯d just gotten the perfect idea for where to use it. 56: Ive Got to Leave I stood in Cindy¡¯s Automotive¡¯s empty garage, admiring everything we¡¯d accomplished. Every car¡ªexcept the forest-green Ford Explorer¡ªhad been Pulled into the street, Crushed, and stacked on top of each other to form a crude wall. The lifts had been lowered manually, with Calvin mashing on the controls while Tori and I slowly grappled them down. And the sound system that had once blasted Led Zeppelin and ACDC was once again working¡ªthis time hooked up to my old MP3 player. Right now, it was playing Journey. I¡¯d rolled my eyes, but Tori insisted. Calvin could barely hold back a smirk as Steve Perry sang about strangers up and down the boulevard. I didn¡¯t care that it had taken two days of hard work to get the place up and running, or that it wasn¡¯t in a safe zone. That was what the walls were for. And I didn¡¯t care that the sound system took Charge to run. I was just happy to have music going again. I pulled the [Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory] Token out of my inventory. [Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory] Token requires [Three] slots to install. Available Slots: Three Total Slots: Four Use [Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory Token? Yes/No I selected ¡®Yes.¡¯ Once used, this item will disappear, and the [Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory (Rank One)] will be installed. Please confirm choice: Yes/No I selected ¡®Yes¡¯ a second time. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the token slowly dissolved much like a monster corpse, turning to ash in my hand before even the ash vanished. The concrete floor didn¡¯t change. Neither did one of the lifts, the Explorer, or the sound system. But plenty else did. ¡°That¡¯s so Steampunk-looking,¡± Tori said. I had no idea what she meant, but the change was almost instantaneous. Where there¡¯d been nothing but empty wall, a rack full of tools stood¡ªhammers, drills, and stuff I¡¯d never seen before. A half-dozen empty hooks hung there with outlines and labels: ¡®Imbuing Rod,¡¯ ¡®Tuning Rod,¡¯ ¡®Stabilization Vice,¡¯ and so on. The rest of the shop felt like a mix between a woodshop and my little corner of Cindy¡¯s Automotive. Steel mesh bins lines one wall¡ªI recognized those from Cindy¡¯s store-room. The place had more storage than my inventory, and way more than the tower room I¡¯d been using as a workshop. The other walls were empty, and I could only assume they¡¯d fill in with more tools and machines as time went on. Either that, or I¡¯d need to build my own. But most importantly was the oiled steel workbench in the center of the garage. It was massive. Gears and pulleys hung above it, and wires ran up its legs. I saw a dozen emitters lining its edges, and for a second, I worried I¡¯d need to power the whole place myself. I inspected it with the System. Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory (Rank One): This laboratory allows the aspiring Voltsmith access to their Rank One Trial, and to Rank One materials. It contains enough Charge to run any additional stations, in addition to maintaining constant power to the workbench. Any attempt to drain Charge from this building will cause the Laboratory to fail. That was, in many ways, a relief. At least I wouldn¡¯t have to power it myself. I was curious about the fourth slot in Cindy¡¯s Garage, but for now, I didn¡¯t have anything to add to it anyway, and as I inspected the workbench more closely, that curiosity vanished. Lit up in golden-orange light, in perfect detail, was the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp.
We¡¯d pushed the other mechanics¡¯ toolboxes out into the lobby, next to a coffee machine that didn¡¯t work and a wall of rims whose chrome was only somewhat dulled by the dust that had settled over them. I led Tori and Calvin out through the main door¡ªthe only one not blocked by wrecked cars¡ªand waved goodbye. ¡°We¡¯ll check in on you every so often,¡± Calvin said. ¡°Maybe don¡¯t sleep out here, though. This ain¡¯t a safe zone.¡± I nodded. ¡°Come get me if anything¡¯s threatening to dungeon break, or if you need me to help solve a problem. You stay safe, Calvin. And as for you, Tori, listen to your mom¡ªstepmom. Go do some Tier Ones with Carol and Zane. But don¡¯t get in over your head. They¡¯re not Bobby and me.¡± She rolled her eyes, but agreed. As the glass door swung shut, I sighed in relief. I hadn¡¯t been lying to Calvin¡ªif he needed me, I¡¯d be there¡ªbut right now, the Rank One Trial was the most pressing thing. I felt pretty good about handling any Tier Two Dungeons, but the Tier Three was another story; I¡¯d need to be able to level past fifty if I wanted a chance at that. That meant buckling down and getting to work¡ªand I had no idea how long I¡¯d be working at this. I also needed Tori to reach Level Fifty and pass her own Trial. Bobby was out finding any dungeon he could to get his last level and start his, but I wasn¡¯t confident the two of us could handle a Level Seventy or higher boss by ourselves. We needed Tori¡ªand the best way for her to catch up was to get out there and do some dungeons. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The Charge-wire model of the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp glowed on the workbench. I ignored it for now. Instead, I put my tools on their hangars and emptied my inventory into the bins scattered through the garage. My MP3 player switched from Journey to The Who as I finished getting organized in my Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory. Then it was time to get to work. The first step was, fortunately, all done in Charge-wire. I stripped the model of the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp down, removing pieces of scrap armor and setting aside both the railgun and the remnants of the three Taser launchers. It took only a few minutes before the model was nothing but wires, a small charge battery, and the refiner I¡¯d ripped out of the Tuning Rod. It still looked like a gauntlet, but if I actually built it and tried to use it, I¡¯d probably shock myself with my own Charge. Still, it was, at its core, the Rank Zero, unupgraded Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp I¡¯d cobbled together after the Twilight Menagerie¡ªjust without any bells and whistles. That was where I hit my first problem. The Rank One Trial¡¯s goal was pretty clear: upgrade the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp to Rank One. What it didn¡¯t explain at all was how, or even what constituted a reasonable upgrade. I stood and pondered the wire frame. This was going to be a lot less like fixing the Ford Explorer or solving problems for Cindy and a lot more like my high school project, the station wagon I¡¯d rebuilt in Dad¡¯s barn. There weren¡¯t clear rules, and the ¡®client¡¯¡ªthe System¡ªwouldn¡¯t say what it wanted. When I¡¯d started the station wagon, Dad had laid down some rules. The first was that the engine had to remain stock. I couldn¡¯t go tracking down a drag racing engine and boosting its power. The second was that the first upgrades I made had to be to the brakes and steering. And the third was that until everything else worked, the stereo stayed unplugged. The second rule made sense, but as I looked at the model of the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp, I knew I¡¯d be breaking the first, and probably the third. The Who transitioned to ACDC. Definitely the third. I opened up the pile of boxes I¡¯d received. From the Rank One Enhancement box, I received the following: Tuning Rod Imbuing Rod Channel-Punch The Tuning and Imbuing Rods were items I¡¯d seen before. I hung them on the tool rack; they¡¯d be useful soon, but before that, I wanted to get a good look at the Channel-Punch. It was simple enough¡ªan oversized hole punch with a pair of insulated grips. I¡¯d used similar to punch through aluminum when rewiring vehicles, but I had a feeling that rewiring Charge would be a little different. I hung it up and turned my attention to the Rank Two supply boxes. Charge Battery (Large) Emitter (2) Refiner (2) Diamond Edge Mana Coil (Medium) Medium Lens Array I¡¯d need the Large Charge Battery right away; I set that on the table. After some hesitation, the Medium Mana Coil joined it. The Emitters and Refiners went into the bins, and so did the Diamond Edge¡ªa razor-sharp slab of what looked like glass about as big as my pinkie finger. The Lens Array was a mystery to me. I¡¯d seen a similar one in the guts of an Imbuing Rod, but I didn¡¯t know what it did, and I was hesitant to test out the Medium array, but I needed to know what they did. Fortunately, I had the small one. I pulled it out of its bin, aiming it toward the blank wall between the two massive garage doors. The only thing over there was the Ford Explorer. It was already out of commission, and if I did something to it, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. Then I poured a single point of Charge into the Small Lens Array. The yellow-orange light started quickly, hitting the first of the dozen tiny lenses and focusing into a beam of slightly darker energy. It bounced between them, the yellow slowly filtering out of it even as it slowed down to a crawl. Two seconds passed. Three. Four. The Charge¡¯s color looked less like the bright orange I was used to and more like the light the Chthonic Abysslord¡¯s Stalks had case down in the depths. For almost a second, the red color hung between two lenses the size of my thumbnail. Then it seemed to bounce back through the same maze of lenses, yellow rushing back into the red as it picked up speed. I still didn¡¯t know exactly what the Lens Arrays did, but I had a feeling. More testing was needed; I grabbed a Small Charge Battery and a Refiner. The battery connected to the ¡®top¡¯ of the Lens Array, and the Refiner to the point where the Charge was at its bloodiest, deepest red¡ªjust before it reversed course. My hope was that it¡¯d result in a more efficient Refining process, and reduce the cost of the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp¡¯s attacks. Right now, they were almost prohibitive. It didn¡¯t work. Something about the Refiner and Lens Array didn¡¯t want to cooperate. But that was okay. I had time, and my gut said I was on the right track. I just needed to keep experimenting, and something would click.
Metallica¡¯s One ended, and something by the Beatles started up. The Beatles gave way to Motley Crue, and Motley Crue to Queen. Queen turned into Dire Straits, and Dire Straits to Fleetwood Mac. And the sun set outside of Cindy¡¯s Garage. The bay¡¯s lights hummed louder than I remembered; it had to be the Voltsmith¡¯s Laboratory¡¯s Charge, rather than the electricity I was used to. I¡¯d been working on the Voltsmith¡¯s Charge all day. This was my fourth¡ªno, fifth¡ªtime resetting the model and stripping it down to its core. And it just. Wouldn¡¯t. Work. I was on the right track. I knew I was. If Cindy had walked into the room and kicked my boot, I¡¯d have argued. Another half-hour, and I¡¯d have the Lens Array figured out. It was something about power input and output, and the speed the Charge moved through the array. I could adjust it by simply flicking the lenses in and out of line. Simple, but when it came to plugging in the Refiner and strapping the whole thing into the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp, almost impossible. I¡¯d have fought Cindy tooth and nail for that half hour, because that was all I needed. But it wasn¡¯t Cindy kicking my boot. It was Calvin. And he wasn¡¯t taking no for an answer. ¡°Your ass needs sleep, Hal. So does your brain. You¡¯re gonna make some piss-stupid mistakes if you keep it up, and you¡¯ll end up breaking something you need.¡± He was right, and I knew it¡ªI knew it even more than I knew that I only needed thirty more minutes. ¡°Gimme five to clean up, then,¡± I said, staring at the old man. He didn¡¯t look any more put-together than the day I met him, but something about him felt more authoritative. More¡­in control. No matter what, he was right. I needed to get back to Museumtown and crash in my room over the Field Museum steps. I¡¯d beat the Lens Array problem tomorrow and move on to the next obstacle the Trial threw at me. Then I¡¯d get to do it again. And again. 57: A Sign on the Wall Tori sat on top of a massive stone statue, legs crossed and hands on her knees. She stared out over Lake Michigan as the sun set behind her. Mom¡ªJessica, but more Mom with every day¡ªdidn¡¯t want her working on her Trial outside the walls of Museumtown. She kept saying things like ¡®when you get sucked into something, you lose track of time¡¯ and ¡®I don¡¯t want you out there if you¡¯re not paying attention¡¯ and even ¡®because I said so.¡¯ Jessica was right, but that wasn¡¯t the point. The point was that Tori had to lose track of time, and she had to pay attention¡ªbut not to what she could see or hear. The breeze blowing through the trees? The brilliant golds and pinks and oranges reflecting off the waves? Even the smell of the latrines that were, unfortunately, a little too close to her? That didn¡¯t matter. What did matter were the rules. There were rules to magic, and as powerful as Crush and Gravity Well were, they were still only scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to spells. Worse, her Trial wasn¡¯t a puzzle like Hal¡¯s. She¡¯d win eventually. She was inevitable. It wasn¡¯t solvable with anything except for grinding. The most boring, repetitive grinding she¡¯d ever done in any game, even the crazy Korean MMOs Tammy had convinced her to try. Those had been worth it for a chance to spend a few hours a day alone with Tammy. The Rank One Trial wasn¡¯t about fighting. It wasn¡¯t about combat at all, not even pressing ¡®1¡¯ until she¡¯d killed a thousand wolves. It was about the rules. About figuring them out. And it was about discipline¡ªthe willpower to force the rules to work for her. She hated it. But even so, she still spent six hours a day cross-legged on top of a concrete replica of a gigantic head. It wasn¡¯t comfortable. Her ass was sore from the hard surface, and her back felt tight. But she¡¯d been making progress. She had three of the rules of telekinesis more or less down. Her gut told her she needed five. Tier Three Dungeons Activated The Seared Wilds Tower has opened. Objective: Advance and Uplift Objective: Clear Tier Three Dungeon (1,322 Remaining) Time Limit: Six Days, Twenty-Three Hours, Fifty-Nine Minutes Tori blinked, letting her eyes uncross and focus. She pushed her hair out of her eyes¡ªnot that it was in the way of the System message¡ªand read it again. Then she settled in to keep working. Everyone had expected it; they¡¯d been pushing for two weeks, and Phase One had a single week left. It was almost time, and she needed to buckle down if she wanted to join Hal in¡ª Time until Dungeon Breaks: Six Days, Twenty-Three Hours, Fifty-Nine Minutes All uncleared Tier Three Dungeons will break at the end of Phase One, along with all uncleared Tier Two and Tier One Dungeons in their area of influence. The weight of it all pressed down on her like a truck. She was up and running before she¡¯d even finished the second line. She had to find Hal, or Calvin. No. There was one person who¡¯d know what to do. She had to find¡ª ¡°Mom! Moooom!¡±
Tier Three Dungeons Activated The Seared Wilds Tower has opened. Objective: Advance and Uplift Objective: Clear Tier Three Dungeon (1,322 Remaining) Time Limit: Six Days, Twenty-Three Hours, Fifty-Nine Minutes As near as Calvin could tell me, there were now five Level Fifties in Museumtown. Bobby had hit it only a few hours after me, and he¡¯d vanished the next day, citing a ¡°need to be alone for my Trial.¡± Given what his class did and how it worked, that didn¡¯t make much sense, but I had no idea what a Trial even looked like, and I wanted to trust him¡ªor at least, I wanted to trust that he¡¯d be back, and he¡¯d have passed his Trial when he returned. Days passed between him leaving and the next Level Fifty. Or, rather, the next three. Tori, Zane, and Carol hit on the same day, within an hour of each other, while re-clearing The Void¡¯s first boss. The dungeon had reset, and they were the highest available team. They¡¯d hit after The Void¡¯s Embrace ¡®died¡¯¡ªthough Zane needed a quick trip through the Dozen-Path Descent to kill enough monsters for his Level Fifty. That had been¡­the day before yesterday? Or maybe just yesterday? Time had started to blur. Every day was the same: wake up, head to Cindy¡¯s, and work until Calvin or Tori stopped me. I could feel the breakthrough. I was so close. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. So close that I almost missed the next announcement. Time until Dungeon Breaks: Six Days, Twenty-Three Hours, Fifty-Nine Minutes All uncleared Tier Three Dungeons will break at the end of Phase One, along with all uncleared Tier Two and Tier One Dungeons in their area of influence. I sighed and put down the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp, setting it perfectly on top of the Charge-wire replica projected on my workbench. It was about half-finished: upgraded battery, refiner and emitter, and multiple purpose-built plug-in locations for add-on tools. And even better, I¡¯d figured out how to use the Small Lens Array; by wrapping it in the Mana Coil and alternating power flow through it, I¡¯d gotten the red, concentrated Charge into a usable state. I wasn¡¯t one hundred percent sure that what I was building was what the Tier One Trial wanted. It was honestly a mess, not a refined piece of Voltsmithing. But when I compared it to the original Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp, it was a massive increase in both power and handling. And it had the start of what the guys always called ¡®sexy lines¡¯ on the cars that came in. Not exactly a luxury sports car, but a far cry from the ¡®90s station wagon the gauntlet had started out as. But the rest of the trial would have to wait at least a few hours. There was no way Calvin and Jessica weren¡¯t panicking about that message. If one Tier Two Dungeon breaking could be a threat to Museumtown, what would every dungeon breaking be like?
Calvin didn¡¯t look panicked. Surprisingly, neither did Jessica. She was definitely a nervous wreck. Her fingers wouldn¡¯t stop tapping the stone steps in front of the Reliquary of Bones¡¯s fog wall except to push her hair away from her face, and she kept looking from Calvin to me as if we had answers. I could feel the stress radiating off her in waves. She looked worried. A little¡ªno, a lot¡ªscared. But not panicked. ¡°Good, you¡¯re here,¡± Calvin said as I sat on the steps in my usual spot. ¡°Don¡¯t have to find a runner to track you down. I assume you got the same message we did, and that you don¡¯t have good news for us about your Trial?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Well, it was worth a shot. You close?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m getting close. I think I¡¯ll be finished today.¡± Calvin stared at me. ¡°I¡¯m serious. I made progress on the Mana Coil/Lens Array last ni¡ª¡° He held up a hand, glancing at Jessica. ¡°I believe you, Hal, but it could still be a couple of days. Things always go wrong in testing and assembly, and you¡¯re one of Museumtown¡¯s best resources¡ªnot to mention our friend. Bobby hasn¡¯t come back, and if your Trial¡¯s any example at all, Tori and the Twins won¡¯t pass theirs for a while.¡± ¡°She shouldn¡¯t be¡ª¡° Jessica started. Calvin interrupted. ¡°Jess, we¡¯ve talked this over. She should be. You don¡¯t have to like it, but the three of ¡®em are working together, and they¡¯ll keep each other safe. Might even speed things along. For all we know, Hal¡¯s Trial¡¯s unusually difficult, or slow, or he¡¯s screwing it up. Tori will be fine. They all will.¡± Jessica didn¡¯t look like she believed him, but the glare she stabbed him with was half-hearted. I stretched, feeling the tightness in my shoulders. Some of it was from working hard for as long as I had been, but not all of it. Some of it was the same stress Jessica wasn¡¯t hiding and Calvin was. ¡°What are we doing about this?¡± I asked. The room went quiet, with Jessica and Calvin sharing a look. Then Jessica took a deep breath and sighed slowly, deflating. ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything except trying to teach the other Healer how to do his job and keeping Museumtown running for as long as I can. I¡¯ve got ideas, but that¡¯s all they are.¡± She seemed to be struggling with something, and I waited. After a few more seconds, she kept going. ¡°This is your show, Hal.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not,¡± Calvin interrupted. ¡°This is our show. Here¡¯s what I propose¡­¡±
Tommy had screwed up. He had screwed up pretty fucking badly. He¡¯d gone south out of Museumtown, expecting to hit I-80 near Joliet. From there, he¡¯d had to decide to go west toward Des Moines, east until it merged with I-90 and into Gary and South Bend, or flip north and head to Milwaukee and Green Bay. His money was on Gary and South Bend. There were some tough motherfuckers in Indiana and up in Michigan, and they¡¯d have all the dungeons cleared. They¡¯d either take him in or they wouldn¡¯t. He hadn¡¯t gotten even a few miles down the interstate before he saw the glow against the clouds, though. Gary was on fire. And that was a surprise, because the gigantic industrial tanks didn¡¯t have any pressure, and as far as he could tell, no one could light them up even if they did. The rules of the world had changed, and no firebug was going to set a city ablaze. Tommy had ignored the shiver that started in his shoulderblades and worked its way down to his tailbone. He had something that¡¯d keep him safe¡ªassuming whoever was in Gary was interested in talking first and shooting after. He¡¯d regretted his choice every day since, but the system message had changed something. His ¡®host¡¯ seemed more interested in talking than he had at any point up till now. The heat from a hundred torches filled the warehouse. Outside, Gary was still burning, but even though he¡¯d been sweating for days, it was nothing compared to the sheer heat boiling off of the man in the black armor¡ªor the two things standing on either side of him. They were impossible. They shouldn¡¯t exist. Flamecaller: Level Forty-Five Elite Monster Summoned Minion of Taven Liu They were each a solid five levels over Tommy¡ªtwo-armed snakes made from equal parts bone, fire, and smoke. Each loomed over the armored figure, snapping their jaws at Tommy and hissing like a pissed off feral cat, but at a snap of the man¡¯s fingers, they quieted and settled. Tommy felt naked and exposed, and not only because of his power level. He¡¯d been stripped of all his magical gear and thrown into a basement closet in the warehouse. If the armored man sicced the monsters on him, he¡¯d be fucked. And not in the good way, as Eddie used to say. ¡°Thomas Wright,¡± the armored man said. His voice was a deep bass, so low it was almost a rumble, and it had absolutely no mercy to it. ¡°I absolve you of your sins. By fire be cleansed, and by smoke reborn.¡± The Flamecaller on the right surged forward and reached a single arm out. Tommy jerked and screamed as the three claws clamped around his head, burning hair and flesh. The pain lasted forever; long after the monster¡¯s grasp loosened, he was still writhing on the warehouse floor. The assembled crowd of men and women¡ªall over Level Thirty¡ªshouted and chanted as he slowly looked up. The armored man loomed over him, and he got a good look at the helmet, and the silver-forged flames that had been forged into the black steel. They were almost mesmerizing. Then the helmet came off, and Tommy saw a face from a horror movie. Not a single scrap of hair remained from neck to scalp. His skin was wrinkled and red, and fresh burns covered the older ones; a pair of eyes so brown they looked black pierced him, and he flinched again when he saw his nameplate overhead. Taven Liu: Level Fifty-Three (Rank One) Class: Fireborn Crusader ¡°Holy shit,¡± Tommy whispered. The man laughed. It wasn¡¯t a friendly one. ¡°Indeed. Holy shit. Now, Tommy, as you know, things have changed. I¡¯m suddenly very interested to hear what you have to say about Chicago, because the time has come for a crusade.¡± 58: All of our Thoughts ¡°That¡­that could work,¡± Jessica said, when Calvin finished talking. I wasn¡¯t so sure. There were a lot of moving parts, and just like in an engine, every part needed oiling, and every part was a point of failure. His plan felt more complex than it needed to be, but as I went through it, there were only a few actual points of failure. The biggest one was on Tori, Bobby, and me. If we couldn¡¯t break through to Rank One, the odds of successfully clearing the Willis Tower were pretty much nonexistent, and we had less than a week to make sure all three of us were through. Otherwise, I¡¯d be clearing with whoever I could find¡ªand that assumed I¡¯d make it by myself. Really, it was less than a week. I didn¡¯t want to spend days inside a Tier Three Dungeon, but it was pretty likely. We¡¯d overnighted in the Watery Grave, and Brian and the twins had spent a night in the Twilight Menagerie. The Willis Tower dungeon would be longer than either of those, and based on the break timer, we wouldn¡¯t be leaving once we went in. So, to play it on the safe side, that assumed about seventy hours until we had to start. Luckily, Calvin knew we were a weak point. He¡¯d planned for it. In fact, looking at the dungeon parties he¡¯d built, it looked like he¡¯d been planning for it for a while. The other Delvers had the system pretty much down by now. There were three types of dungeons on Calvin¡¯s list¡ªwhich he had posted on a bulletin board near the fish-hugger fountain. The first were Tier Ones that had been cleared. The second were Tier Ones that either hadn¡¯t been cleared or that we didn¡¯t have information for. And the third were Tier Twos. Parties signed up for dungeons on the board, and reported back with as much information about them as they could, along with the time they¡¯d cleared it and when it¡¯d reset. Calvin barely had to drill sergeant them anymore, but he planned on getting more groups into the safer Tier Twos as soon as the reset period was shorter than the remaining time on the dungeon break. He¡¯d do the same thing with the Tier Ones, but there were so many, Museumtown¡¯s Delvers would probably miss a couple. That was where the third part of the plan came in. Calvin clearly hoped we¡¯d be successful, but he¡¯d planned for the three of us to fail. That was why, three hours before the break timer expired, he¡¯d pull every Delver back to Museumtown and get ready to defend the settlement from any broken dungeons. He¡¯d have the non-Delvers work on shoring up the defenses so they¡¯d be ready. Jessica would be in charge of all that, of course. Calvin had a feeling that some of the Delvers would hit Level Fifty, and that he¡¯d need to use every trick in the book to keep them from starting their trials until Museumtown was safe. That left her to manage everything else. And that was where I saw the plan falling apart. In the last couple of days, it had become clear that while a few people really respected her, Jessica hadn¡¯t gotten the same level of pull Calvin had. Unlike him, her level seemed to matter. I didn¡¯t have a solution, but I had concerns about whether the town¡¯s defenses would be ready. ¡°I have a thought,¡± I said slowly. They both looked at me. I hadn¡¯t talked much since the meeting got started. ¡°There¡¯s a place we could put a lot of people that¡¯d be pretty safe and very defensible, assuming the Consortium doesn¡¯t change the rules on us. It¡¯s high-risk, depending on what failure looks like, but if it works, it¡¯d be almost perfect.¡± I explained my idea as best I could; Jessica looked mortified, while Calvin was more intrigued than anything. ¡°It¡¯ll take some timing,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re serious about this?¡± Jessica asked. ¡°We¡¯ve put serious time into getting Museumtown running, and now you want to abandon it?¡± I stood up. ¡°Only as a last resort. I¡¯ve got to get back to my Trial. If you see Tori or the twins¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure they¡¯re working hard,¡± Jessica said, ¡°but I won¡¯t push any of them past what they can handle.¡±
The meeting broke up a few minutes later, and Jessica and I tracked down Tori. She was, as usual, perched on her statue, with Zane and Carol sitting nearby. Unlike usual, though, she looked frustrated. Her brow wrinkled and her eyes were squeezed shut. As we approached the gigantic concrete head, she muttered something under her breath. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Jessica cleared her throat. I put a hand on the woman¡¯s shoulder as Tori¡¯s eyes flew open. ¡°Oh, shit,¡± she said. Jessica tensed, but to her credit, didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°How¡¯s your Trial going?¡± I asked. ¡°Bad. It¡¯s about discipline, and I can¡¯t focus right now,¡± Tori said. ¡°Too stressed out.¡± I nodded slowly. ¡°Are Carol and Zane working on their trials, too?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll check.¡± Before I could stop her she started yelling. ¡°Carol, Zane, you two good to talk? I can¡¯t get anything going here.¡± Carol and Zane weren¡¯t as critical for this part of the plan¡ªbut then again, this wasn¡¯t really part of Calvin¡¯s plan at all, and it¡¯d be better for them to do it than me. I was close to finishing my Trial, while they¡¯d only started recently. More importantly, both Jessica and I trusted them to do the job¡ªshe because they¡¯d keep Tori safe and not let her overdo it, and me because they were strong enough to succeed. Once they finished whatever they were pondering, the two twins joined us by the statue. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Carol asked. Zane said nothing; he still looked shell-shocked, and like he¡¯d been crying recently. ¡°We need you three to clear the first floor of the Field Museum,¡± Jessica said. I stepped in. ¡°I¡¯m close to my breakthrough to Rank One, but we need that dungeon cleared as a safe hide-out. I can¡¯t do it, and Bobby¡¯s not around. That leaves either sending in one of Calvin¡¯s teams or giving it to you. It doesn¡¯t need to be done tonight, but our hope is that¡ª Carol interrupted. ¡°You want to see if us losing a level costs us the Rank One Trial, huh?¡± ¡°Honestly, that¡¯s part of it,¡± I admitted. Honesty was the best policy here. ¡°I need to know that, and you¡¯re lower risk than I am.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll check it out,¡± Carol said. ¡°No. I¡¯ll do it,¡± Zane interrupted. ¡°I¡¯ve got to, what, go through and come back out?¡± ¡°Yes, but we don¡¯t know how the dungeon works. I want to send you three in together so you can fight the Floor One boss. If you beat it, it might let you leave for free as long as you don¡¯t¡ª¡° I didn¡¯t get a chance to finish because Zane was already walking. Carol gave me a look that wasn¡¯t quite annoyed but wasn¡¯t understanding, either. She watched him go, holding me back with her gaze, then lowered her voice. ¡°He¡¯s only pushing for me. Otherwise, he¡¯d be done. Be careful.¡± Jessica cleared her throat, and I held a hand up. ¡°Okay, got it. I¡¯ll be as gentle as I can, but we need to know this, and we need the dungeon cleared so we can hide Museumtown¡¯s people in it.¡± ¡°Got it, but I won¡¯t forgive you if he gets himself killed,¡± Carol said. She stared at me as she said it, and I glanced at her nameplate. Right now, she was just as strong as me, and she could probably follow up on her threat. I didn¡¯t want to put her or Zane¡ªor Tori¡ªin the danger we¡¯d be putting them in, but I didn¡¯t have a choice. We had less than a week. By the time we got inside the Field Museum fort, Zane was gone. The seconds ticked by. I twiddled my thumbs, and Tori tapped her fingernails against her leg armor, next to the repaired hole the Chthonic Abysslord had ripped into it. Carol stared at the gray wall, completely unmoving, until after nearly a minute, Zane came out. ¡°Sorry. Got jumped at the entrance. It wasn¡¯t a big deal.¡± I checked his nameplate. Zane Parker: Level 49 Class: Mage He dropped into a sitting position as I opened my mouth to ask. Tori shushed me, and we watched his lips move soundlessly. Then he opened his eyes. ¡°Good news: I haven¡¯t forgotten any of the rules of magic. Bad news: I can¡¯t make the connections I used to be able to. I think you have to be at fifty to progress the Trial, but you don¡¯t lose your progress if you lose a level.¡± ¡°Does that work for you three? I don¡¯t want to put your growth off if we don¡¯t have to,¡± I asked. Tori nodded. ¡°Just set aside the Dozen-Path Descent and another Tier One for us to catch up again after, and we¡¯ll clear it multiple times.¡± ¡°That¡¯s reasonable. When can you have it cleared?¡± Jessica asked. I could tell that just the idea of sending her daughter into a Tier Two without backup was killing her, but she hadn¡¯t pushed back. ¡°Tonight,¡± Zane said. Carol nodded.
Time Limit: Five Days, Nineteen Hours, Forty-Three Minutes Tori was all-in and ready to go. Their party comp was trash by any MMO¡¯s standards. Carol had switched her Skirmisher to Fighter at Level Fifty, so she was their tank. Zane was raw damage. His fire magic could do some serious work if he got the chance, but compared to his sister, he was a wimp. In fact, Carol had pulled Tori aside and pretty much told her that her whole job was to bodyguard Zane¡ªboth because he couldn¡¯t take a hit and because after Brian¡¯s death, he didn¡¯t care much whether he got hurt. Tori didn¡¯t mind. She¡¯d been looking out for the other two in Tier One Dungeons for almost a week. Besides, Carol was cool. Very cool. Carol reminded Tori of Tammy in a lot of the best ways. She looked different, but she cared about her brother a lot, and Tori saw that bond. She wanted that bond. A friend like Tammy. So yeah, she¡¯d gladly hang out with Zane and make sure he stayed safe for Carol. ¡°Boss should be ahead,¡± Carol said. She hefted her spear and readied her shield, pointing down the hieroglyphics-covered hallway. ¡°You¡¯re sure you don¡¯t know anything about it?¡± Tori shook her head. ¡°No. But we¡¯re pretty overleveled for a first floor. Just don¡¯t retreat up if things go wrong, and we should have this. I¡¯ll do call-outs.¡± ¡°Thanks, Tor,¡± Carol said. ¡°Pulling in five.¡± God, it was cool that Carol had picked up tanking so fast. As she headed down the tunnel, Tori fell in place at the back of the formation. Scarabs poured out of holes in the walls, and she cast Gravity Well right next to Zane, making it just strong enough to tug at his pant-legs but not strong enough to topple him. Carol¡¯s brother would be safe with her. She promised. 59: Call the Tune The Trial was overwhelming. With Tori and the twins taking care of the Reliquary of Bones¡¯s first boss, and with Calvin¡¯s promise that he had teams who could handle The Void, The Field of Warriors, and The Watery Grave, I had time to sit down and work. But the puzzle in front of me felt exactly like the woman with the Ford Explorer. That sat against one of the lab¡¯s bare walls, guts still spilled onto the cement floor. I wanted to work on it, but I needed to work on the Trial. The Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp was so complicated, though. And there weren¡¯t any guidelines. So instead of working through the mess of Charge-wires and scribbled notes on my desk, I wiped all of that away and grabbed my remaining emitter and the remains of the Rose-Tinted Compass. I set the Small Charge Battery, the tiny coffee filter, and the lights on the table. I¡¯d been talking to Tori, and she¡¯d told me about the enemy detectors in a lot of video games. There were two types. The first was a minimap with glowing red dots everywhere a possible enemy was. That was way beyond my capabilities¡ªalthough it was something the System felt like it should be able to do. I didn¡¯t have the ability to map the world around me. But the second had potential. Tori had talked about a compass that covered a thin line at the top of the screen. It had similar glowing dots for enemies, but instead of mapping them, it used relative size or brightness to show how far away they were. According to her, she could also put pins in the map to mark important locations. I didn¡¯t care about that. I just cared about making a better Rose-Tinted Compass¡ªone that I wouldn¡¯t have to check like a pocketwatch, and that would alert me to possible threats. I could build armor to help with my Body score, but this was the best way I had of increasing my Awareness. With it, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry as much about being ambushed or walking into a trap. The vision in my head was clear¡ªI just¡­needed some time with it. And more importantly, away from the Trial. One hour. That¡¯s how long I¡¯d give this side project. Then, it¡¯d be time to focus on the Trial again. The emitter had to be the key. I hooked it up to the filter. The second I did, the whole thing went completely haywire. It started sucking Charge from everywhere, and the ball of energy overhead grew out of control until I shut it down. So that wasn¡¯t right. Or was it? I jammed some resistors into the wire, forcing the Charge to slow down. When that didn¡¯t work either, I pulled the Small Lens Array out of the pile I¡¯d built for the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp¡ªI¡¯d want the Medium Array for it, anyway. A bit of playing around with it solved the ¡®too much Charge¡¯ problem, but it also opened a whole new can of worms. I needed the lenses and mirrors in the array to project the Charge into the air near my eyes, and now I didn¡¯t have any more. This device was going to be a problem. I didn¡¯t have time for real problems¡ªI had the Trial to get back to. Where had I seen mirrors in use before? It took a bit, but I got it figured out. The Eyes of Perfection in the Twilight Menagerie had been a puzzle fight with mirrors. I replayed the battle as best I could in my head. The lasers bouncing from one mirror to the next. The reflection not getting any weaker or more powerful, but turning into something I could use against the boss. Double bounces. Maybe I could use the back of a mirror just like the front. Or maybe¡­yeah. I took the whole device apart and started rearranging it again. This time, the filter and emitter were both tucked into the center of a nest of mirrors and lenses. This time, it didn¡¯t pull energy from the surrounding area. But that was okay. It was all part of the plan. I adjusted the Small Lens Array slightly, and a thin stream of Charge flowed into it, solidifying into a ball of glowing orange Charge, but before it could grow too big, the emitter siphoned off it and projected the energy back through the array on a slightly different path. This bounced into the air, and I couldn¡¯t help but grin. I¡¯d look pretty silly with a sun visor, but that was exactly what I needed. A sun visor or a ball cap over my head for the energy to project onto. And as luck would have it, one of the guys always kept one in the shop. From there, it took less than fifteen minutes to lock the tracker into place, wire it into my Autoplate Pauldron, and orient it so it fired from my sternum and hit around my hairline. Bio-Electric Scanner, by Hal Riley (Created Item, Charge 0/10) The Bio-Electric Scanner uses Charge to pick up life signs¡ªas well as other sources of both Charge and electricity¡ªand signal the user their approximate location. The current iteration detects all applicable targets within twenty yards on use, but does not work through significant barriers. First created by Hal Riley of Earth. The only problem was that I couldn¡¯t test it here. The Charge density was too great, and every time I activated it, the glow over my eyes was overwhelming and in every direction. And that I didn¡¯t want to bring it into the dungeon we¡¯d be clearing tomorrow evening. I put it into my inventory¡ªI¡¯d make sure it did its job later¡ªand pulled up my stats. [Hal Riley] [Class - Voltsmith] [Level - 50] [Stats] ?Body - 30 ?Awareness - 42 ?Charge - 4/59 (55 Used) The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Stat Points Available: 0 [Class Skill - Decharge/Recharge - Drain the charge from magic items to power your own creations] [Skill - Spellcoding - Transfer spells from Tomes to Spellscrolls, allowing weaker versions to be cast with Charge instead of Mana] Items ?Autoplate Pauldron (8 Charge) ?Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp (15 Charge) - Rail Gun Module ?Heavy Trip-Hammer 2.0 (25 Charge) ?Warrior¡¯s Sheath (Spellcode Scroll-Reader) (7 Charge) Yeah. This was the loadout I¡¯d be taking to fight the Queen Tyrant tomorrow. If our math was right, we¡¯d have six days before the dungeon reset, so Tori and I would hold off on clearing it until then. That gave me a little time for other projects¡ªor to get back to the Rank One Trial. The Ford Explorer loomed in the corner, its engine ripped apart. I¡¯d been working on it, too, but hadn¡¯t gotten it to so much as turn over yet. It had a long way to go, and right now, I didn¡¯t have the time to make it run. But soon, I would. I needed it; it was the only car I¡¯d found so far that wasn¡¯t changed and wrecked by the Consortium¡¯s terraforming, and eventually, I wanted to get home. Tori would need to get to Green Bay, too. But not yet. Right now, I had a gauntlet to work on. With a shimmer, the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp appeared on the workbench. I stared at the orange outline and got to work. One problem solved meant another to work on, and time was running out before the end of Phase One.
Time Limit: Two Days, Twenty-Two Hours, Thirteen Minutes I¡¯d wanted to delay this. So had Tori. We had a lot of good reasons not to be in the Reliquary of Bones. Neither of us had passed our Trials yet, so the best-case scenario was that we¡¯d end exactly as strong as we¡¯d been when we started. There were other teams that could handle the Queen Tyrant. We needed to be prepping for the Seared Wilds Tower. Tori even tried to play the ¡®you really want me to risk my life in there, Mom?¡¯ card. But in the end, Tori and I were the best candidates to beat the Queen Tyrant safely. More importantly, Jessica and Calvin were both having anxiety attacks about the Reliquary of Bones, and they both wanted it cleared. Tonight. So, instead of working on the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp or whatever Tori was doing, we stepped through the gray fog gate and into the marble-and-tile first floor of the Field Museum. Tier Two Dungeon: The Reliquary of Bones (Floor Two) Objective: Defeat the Queen Tyrant Objective: Survive (0/1) Completion: 0% Paid Exit: Dungeon Delvers may leave this dungeon, but only by sacrificing a level. Open Floor: Once triggered, the dungeon¡¯s bosses will roam freely. Activation Code: The dungeon¡¯s boss will only become active once certain conditions are met. The Queen Tyrant is in its lair. All Dungeon Delvers in The Reliquary of Bones, tread carefully. Tori shrugged. ¡°Yeah, it said that when we beat the mummy. Both times. It¡¯s not a big deal, just don¡¯t go upstairs until we¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°Sure. We ready?¡± I asked. ¡°Yep.¡± In spite of her confidence, Tori glanced at the marble stairs rather than heading for them right away. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she shrugged. ¡°I mean, there¡¯s one small problem, but it¡¯s pretty minimal, really.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I was already halfway up the stairs. ¡°A hidden mechanic. Lots of games have them¡ªmobs that get stronger from unnamed buffs, parts of the arena that change and shift without warning, stuff like that. Hidden phases, sometimes. I think there¡¯s a hidden mechanic to the Queen Tyrant. It¡¯s getting more powerful every time it beats a party, but it¡¯s not showing it.¡± ¡°Then why do you think so?¡± ¡°Look, let¡¯s just go up and check, okay? I want to be sure.¡± The first Sky Hunter hit us a few second later, but the level disparity was almost laughable. The Level Forty-Two monster barely had a chance to attack before Tori ripped it from the air, and I didn¡¯t even bother revving the Trip-Hammer to kill it. A massive brontosaurus turned its skeletal head my way, but I put it on ignore, and after a second, its neck shifted back toward the far balcony¡ªas far away from the Queen Tyrant¡¯s lair as it could get. Our first challenge hit us at the top of the stairs. Bruiser Beast: Level Forty-Seven Monster I hefted the Trip-Hammer and charged as the triceratops/ankylosaurus hybrid spun around, aiming its three horns at me and slamming its tail into the floor hard enough to shake the balcony. All three horns glowed a faint crimson, and as I closed in, they shimmered into a magical barrier. When I revved the Trip-Hammer and slammed the weapon home, it seemed to crack and fracture, but the monster behind it held. Its tail whipped toward me before I could recover. Then it slowed, and the whole dinosaur flew away from me. Not far. But far enough that the tail club smashed the balcony¡¯s railing instead of my ribs. Tori nodded, holding the Gravity Well in place as I recovered. I activated the Autoplate Pauldron. Then I revved the Trip-Hammer and swung. This time, the barrier shattered. So did the bone ridge behind that, and the skull behind that. The whole Bruiser Beast shimmered and faded away a moment after it hit the ground, leaving behind a shining green sphere. I stared at it. ¡°You need that?¡± Tori only shook her head. ¡°We¡¯ve been blowing them off. No point in picking them up. The System doesn¡¯t bank our experience or anything¡ªI tried. Some games work that way, but not whatever this is.¡± We kept moving, killing fossilized monsters and¡ªfor the first time¡ªignoring their experience orbs. The monsters defending the balcony died, and we stepped into the hallway that, according to Tori, led to Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was absolutely filled with dinosaur skeletons, but none of them were alive, and from deep within, a gentle but gigantic breathing sound echoed off the marble walls. I took a step forward. The Queen Tyrant awakens. All Dungeon Delvers in The Reliquary of Bones, use caution. Instead of using caution, I readied the Trip-Hammer and strode through the sterile slaughterhouse, looking for the Queen Tyrant. I didn¡¯t have to look hard.
Bobby Richards had been busy. It had taken him days¡ªdays he didn¡¯t have¡ªto push his Resonator class to Rank One. He¡¯d had a few advantages over the Museumtown people, of course. For one thing, Bobby Richards only had one person to worry about, and that was Bobby Richards. That meant he wasn¡¯t saddled with a settlement that wasn¡¯t going to make it. He could leave the moment the writing was on the wall. And the fire he could see burning on the southern tip of Lake Michigan was very clear writing on the wall. With Hal and Tori fighting for their lives in the Tier Three Dungeon, Museumtown¡¯s days were numbered, and that number was small. There would be other settlements in other safe zones¡ªhell, he¡¯d been playing the odds with all four of the settlements in Chicago, trying to maneuver as many as he could into surviving Phase One. Ideally, they¡¯d survive deeply in his debt. All four were probably screwed, based on what he knew about Gary, Indiana. It was time to relocate, though. Time to wander west¡ªmaybe to Des Moines or Omaha. Maybe farther. There¡¯d be settlements there, and with the smaller populations, they¡¯d need a Level Fifty who¡¯d passed his Rank One Trial. He could do more good¡ªfor himself as much as for those communities¡ªthere. Bobby¡¯s momma had called him many things, but stupid had never been one of them. He was Rank One, and that made him a commodity he could trade on. In Bobby Richards¡¯s line of work, trading on that name was all that mattered. That and the smoke on the horizon. 60: Songbird The Queen Tyrant: Level Fifty-Eight Elite-Plus Dungeon Boss Current Difficulty: Extreme The Queen Tyrant remembers ruling with an iron fist¡ªa tiny one, but an iron fist nonetheless. She was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the Cretaceous. Now, she finds herself in a new world, one filled with weak and helpless prey. The Queen Tyrant remembers ruling, and when she¡¯s finished, no one will dispute her right to rule again. Skeletal - This boss takes reduced damage from weapons designed to cut or pierce. Insatiable - This boss will feed on any viable food sources within its range. Dominion Aura - This boss¡¯s lair grants it the Elite-Plus status. Elite-Plus - This monster moves faster and hits harder than a similarly powerful monster. Broodmother - This boss is nesting, and will not leave its lair unless certain conditions are met. The dinosaur that pushed itself up off the exhibit floor didn¡¯t look any different than the one that had chased us across the floor and out the door the last time I was here, but there were a few key changes. First, the extra levels. I¡¯d expected five for it being Elite, putting it at a sturdy Fifty-Five. Five levels worth of extra power was probably beatable. Eight? Eight was a stretch at best. Second, the Broodmother buff. That was a whole level of challenging, and I wasn¡¯t ready for it. Our whole plan had revolved around getting the Queen Tyrant out of its lair. If it was determined to stay, and it was eight levels higher than us, we were in trouble. And the Queen Tyrant didn¡¯t give us time to adjust our plan. It roared. The scream chilled my spine just like it had the first time I¡¯d entered the Reliquary of Bones, but I gritted my teeth and yelled back. The Trip-Hammer was ready in my hands, and we needed to get into the lair proper if we wanted to win this fight. I charged the Queen Tyrant, and the Queen Tyrant charged me. We hit like a pair of waves¡ªonly one was the ripples in a pond after a kid threw a pebble in, and the other was a tsunami. The force slammed me into the ground, driving air from my lungs. It also saved my life. The Queen Tyrant¡¯s jaws closed on the air inches above my head with a deafening crack. I activated the Autoplate Pauldron and swung the Trip-Hammer. It roared, but the sound was drowned out by the Queen Tyrant. I made contact with its jaw, and the blow snapped its head sideways¡ªbut only a few feet. The bone held, even where I¡¯d driven the armor-cracking spike into it. Tori took advantage and ran. But she didn¡¯t flee. Instead, she ran into the lair. ¡°Hal, this is amazing! There have to be dozens of eggs and stuff. They¡¯re all rock, though!¡± ¡°Tori, it¡¯s a dinosaur museum!¡± I dodged the Queen Tyrant¡¯s foot, rolling to the side as it punched into the tile where my leg had been. A railgun shot punched a tiny hole into the boss¡¯s hip. It roared and thrashed, and I army-crawled away through something¡¯s ribcage. ¡°Help me out!¡± ¡°Alright, alright!¡± Tori cast Crush. I felt the air overhead bow inward and collapse on the Queen Tyrant, but it didn¡¯t do anything. The bones were too strong, and the air between too hollow. ¡°Nothing!¡± We were both wrong, though. It did something. Just not what we wanted it to. The Queen Tyrant turned, its hollow eye sockets locking onto Tori for the first time. It roared and started stomping toward her, and I rushed behind it, trying to get its attention with the Trip-Hammer. And that¡¯s how I¡ªfinally¡ªentered the lair of the Queen Tyrant.
Tori¡¯s description didn¡¯t do them justice. They weren¡¯t just stone eggs. Every one of them was jewel-encrusted, but not every one of them was an egg. Some looked like the footprints of creatures that dwarfed even the boss, and others like massive versions of cow patties and pig droppings. They were the key to victory, but I couldn¡¯t let the Queen Tyrant focus on Tori. I swung the Trip-Hammer again. It slammed into a gigantic egg the size of my torso, shattering it. Tiny¡ªby comparison to the boss, at least¡ªbones poured out, along with a stinking yellow-brown liquid. Princess-In-Waiting: Level Thirty Monster Time Remaining: Twenty-Nine Seconds I squished it under the Trip-Hammer before it could either grow, time out, or attack me. Then I spun as the Queen Tyrant¡¯s tail thrashed out toward me. I had its attention again. ¡°Tori, can you set Contingent Casts? We need to¡ª¡° I hit the floor as the massive head crashed into my armored shoulder, then rolled to avoid a lethal bite. ¡°Break the eggs! But do it all at once!¡± ¡°You think so?¡± Tori yelled back, facing the first egg cluster. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was being sarcastic, and I didn¡¯t much care. All I cared about was keeping the boss distracted and focused on me until she finished whatever she was doing. The plan¡ªas I saw it, was pretty simple. We¡¯d break all the eggs, then finish off the Princesses-In-Waiting before they could do anything using Tori¡¯s area of effect attacks. Then we¡¯d run. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. That had been The Captain¡¯s first mistake. He saw the fight as a siege¡ªhe and his thugs against the Queen Tyrant, with Jessica¡¯s healing as his trump card. That would have worked¡ªbut only if the party attacking the Queen Tyrant was already strong enough to beat her, or at least not get into a bad cycle of injury and healing. Saul himself might¡¯ve been there, but both Tommy and the cop weren¡¯t¡ªand if they¡¯d been strong enough, they wouldn¡¯t have needed Jessica. My whole plan was to take the hits I had to, avoid the ones I could, and move the Queen Tyrant into the main hall. Hopefully, she¡¯d lose the Elite-Plus status and become a whole lot more killable. She had last time, anyway. Tori was casting away, setting up her Contingent Cast Gravity Wells or whatever. I kept dodging, swinging back and knocking fragments of bone out of the Queen Tyrant when I could. Ten seconds passed. Twenty. ¡°Ready!¡± Tori yelled. ¡°Head for the lobby!¡± I shouted. I swung again, crashing the hammer into the boss¡¯s shin. Then I started running, too. The first Gravity Well went off a few seconds later. The stench was unbelievable. In the space of five seconds, the entire exhibit floor filled toe-deep with rotten egg fluid that burned my nostrils. I gagged, but kept running. Behind me, Tori retched. I spared a glance back to see her running, legs pumping and doubled over. And behind her, dozens of the Level Thirty Princesses-In-Waiting filled the hall. ¡°I didn¡¯t see this when Saul fled the fight!¡± I yelled. Tori mumbled something, and the first Crush obliterated a handful of the monsters. The Queen Tyrant¡¯s pursuit destroyed a few more. Then she cleared her throat, spitting something onto the tile floor. ¡°We weren¡¯t exactly looking closely!¡± A new message came in as we cleared the exhibit¡¯s exit and sprinted for the stairs. The Queen Tyrant is leaving its lair. All Dungeon Delvers in The Reliquary of Bones, prepare yourselves. It was bad news. It was horrifying. And it was also the best sign I could have asked for.
Elite-Plus - This monster moves faster and hits harder than a similarly powerful monster (twenty-nine seconds remaining). The seconds ticked down. Tori and I fled, heading for the basement level. According to her, it was the only area in the Reliquary of Bones¡¯s first floor that was definitely clear, and it was where we¡¯d trap and kill the Queen Tyrant. Behind us, the boss roared and screamed, and the few remaining Princesses-In-Waiting died as Tori Pushed, Pulled, and Crushed them. The balcony and floor had already given way; the boss¡¯s legs were churning what looked like a priceless sarcophagus into so much gold and wood rubble as it pushed through the first floor after us. Everything was going according to plan. Sort of. The floor¡¯s support beams and piled up rubble weren¡¯t stopping the Queen Tyrant like I¡¯d hoped, but they were slowing it. The massive jaw snapped shut, severing water pipes and I-beams as it plowed after us, but Tori and I were faster. (eighteen seconds remaining). I swung, crushing a single stone claw under the Trip-Hammer. It was the first blow I¡¯d landed that actually reduced the boss¡¯s ability to kill us¡ªbut even that was almost nothing. Still, almost nothing wasn¡¯t nothing. (twelve seconds remaining). Tori gathered herself and Crushed against the boss¡¯s knee. It didn¡¯t stop the T-Rex, but the Pull that followed tangled it in a support beam for a few seconds. (seven seconds remaining). The Queen Tyrant roared again, anger and rage and something approaching grief echoing through the Reliquary of Bones. I didn¡¯t care. I stopped running; Tori took a few extra steps to slide behind me. And as I readied the Trip-Hammer, the Queen Tyrant¡¯s nameplate changed. The Queen Tyrant: Level Fifty Dungeon Boss I¡¯d been right. But I didn¡¯t have time to celebrate. I revved the Trip-Hammer and fired the engine; it slammed into the monster¡¯s shin a second later, and this time, bone cracked. It didn¡¯t shatter. The dinosaur didn¡¯t fall into the hieroglyph-filled tunnel we stood in, or die instantly. We weren¡¯t that lucky, and the Queen Tyrant was still a Floor Two boss. But it did hurt it. And that was all we needed. Tori cast Gravity Well and locked the behemoth in place. I fired my second railgun bolt, and followed up the tiny impact crater with another Trip-Hammer blow¡ªthis time empowering it with the Autoplate Pauldrons. The shin-bone cracked again¡ªbut lengthwise, and big. The Queen Tyrant roared in pain and tried to turn, its jaws snapping closed near Tori¡¯s face. She didn¡¯t even back up; she just Pushed the T-Rex, and the whole thing fell, crashing through tile and marble to come to rest with its head against a sandstone model of a pyramid. It breathed. Its gigantic eye socket looked at me as I revved the Trip-Hammer and brought it down on the top of its head. The blow drove the skull into the pyramid, fracturing and disintegrating bone as the Queen Tyrant found itself between an unstoppable force and an immovable wedge. Boss Defeated: The Queen Tyrant Dungeon Delvers who were not in the arena will receive fifty percent of your team¡¯s experience. I was battered and bruised, and I would have killed for a single level-up for the Body point. Instead, Tori and I stared at the loot for a long moment. She broke the silence. ¡°I get the Epic!¡±
Time Limit: Two Days, Twenty Hours, Fifty-One Minutes Jessica stared at the assembled Museumtown citizens and the sheet metal and two-by-four fortress in front of the Field Museum. They were a motley-looking crew, and she really didn¡¯t want to let them inside her life¡¯s work. But then again, her life¡¯s work had changed in the last three weeks, hadn¡¯t it? She wasn¡¯t studying anthropology anymore, was she? No, she was practicing it in real-time, and not as a scientist. ¡°Thank you for coming. You¡¯re all a lot like me¡ªnone of you wanted the dungeons and the fighting. But there¡¯s a real chance that it¡¯s coming whether you want it or not, and Museumtown¡¯s just not defensible. Not against what we think could happen. So here¡¯s my plan. ¡°We¡¯re going to tear down the town¡¯s walls. All of them.¡± The murmer of discontent¡ªand more¡ªwas expected. Even so, Jessica couldn¡¯t help but wince. She powered on, though. ¡°When the timer runs out, we¡¯ll either be completely safe or in more danger than we¡¯ve ever been in in our lives¡ªor somewhere in between, if the Dungeon Delvers work quickly. If the Seared Wilds Tower falls, we¡¯ll be okay. Otherwise, we¡¯ll retreat into the Field Museum. It¡¯s safe in there, and a few powerful defenders will be able to hold the entrance. At least, according to Calvin, we¡¯ll be able to.¡± Calvin nodded nearby, but he didn¡¯t bail Jessica out. According to him, this was her part of the operation, and while he¡¯d be here, she needed to take control if she wanted people to treat her like a leader. ¡°So, here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do¡ª¡° She trailed off as Hal and Tori stepped through the fog gate, and a message appeared over it: The Reliquary of Bones: Cleared Time to Reset: Six Days, Twenty-Three Hours, Fifty-Nine Minutes Tori gave her an awkward-looking wave. Hal cleared his throat. ¡°Should be safe in there until the reset. You trying to fortify the whole thing, or just the outside?¡± Jessica couldn¡¯t help but feel relieved as the people she¡¯d been talking to stood up just a little straighter and seemed to listen just a tiny bit harder. It wasn¡¯t just Hal and Tori¡¯s level¡ªthe twins were here, and on paper, they were just as strong as her stepdaughter. It was Hal¡¯s presence. He looked powerful, and he felt powerful. She cleared her throat. ¡°Uh, yes. We¡¯re going to make the fort tougher, and then build barricades blocking the stairs to the second floor on the inside. By the time we¡¯re done, it¡¯ll be the safest place in Chicago.¡± 61: Look to the West Tori absolutely won the boss drops, and I couldn¡¯t help but feel jealous of her luck. She¡¯d claimed the purple-glowing item, and even though I wanted it, I couldn¡¯t help but admit it¡¯d be good for her. The Queen¡¯s Blessing (Epic, Charge 10) +5 Body, +15 Mana This staff allows the wielder to grant the Elite status to a friendly target twice per day. The Elite status grants five temporary levels and suppresses all Tier Zero debuffs on the target for twenty seconds. It was solid. It was more than solid, in fact. I wanted to take it apart and string it into the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp; being able to gain five temporary levels would be ridiculous in a tight fight, and suppressing debuffs? That was massive. It was probably the strongest single item I¡¯d seen¡ªand that included the Abysslord¡¯s Grip. It was interesting that both of these bosses had dropped Epic-rarity gear, though, when the final boss of the Field of Warriors hadn¡¯t. I¡¯d have to ask Bobby about that sometime. Tori also got the Tome of Insatiability. Neither of us wanted it, though, and she was almost certainly going to throw it to the communal loot pile Jessica was building to help defend the Field Museum. Tome of Insatiability (Rare) +4 Body, +2 Awareness User learns the spell Insatiability, which temporarily enrages a target. The tome remains intact, but loses its ability to transfer magic after use. The problem with is was that Enrage wasn¡¯t a buff¡ªit was a debuff. It wouldn¡¯t help me fight, and as far as we could tell, it wouldn¡¯t help Bobby, Carol, or Zane either. Worse, most monsters would treat the suicidal, pain-suppression and the desire to fight until either it or their target died as a buff, not a debuff. It was just too situational for either Tori¡¯s kit or my Spellcoding. That left me with the Battle Helm of the Tyrant. Battle Helm of the Tyrant (Rare, Charge 20) +3 Awareness, +3 Mana For each Battle Helm worn in your party, the wearer gains +2 Awareness and +2 Mana. I was less than thrilled. It didn¡¯t give the stats I needed, and it¡¯d just take up an item slot. But on the other hand, it had potential once I had the Charge to do something with it. Not now, but maybe later. I decided to throw the thing into a bin at my Laboratory and forget about it for a while. A trend was emerging; even the most useful pieces of gear were less useful than tearing them apart and working with their parts¡ªand their Charge. I felt like I was missing something that Tori and Bobby got every time we killed a boss. They got excited about the drops, while I just saw them as the Voltsmithing material they were to me. Tori said most of the Tier One Dungeons and Tier Two Floor Ones were on farm at this point. That groups were flattening them, grabbing the loot, and leaving. According to her, even the people who hadn¡¯t fought a monster since their Tutorial had a good mix of common and rare magical gear, and there were a few people in gear that was almost as good as hers. I had no idea how to compare myself to them in terms of gear, because when I finished a Creation, it didn¡¯t have a rarity. But I¡¯d guess I was a bit behind her, too. I pulled the Battle Helm into my inventory as Tori twirled her staff like a marching band baton. That power really would be useful, but at this point, she¡¯d equipped it. The best I could do was wait until she got something better, then try to understand what it really did. And to do that, I needed to pass my Rank One Trial. ¡°Tori, I¡¯m heading back to Cindy¡¯s. I¡¯ll be there for a while. If anything goes wrong here, come get me or send the twins. Only if it¡¯s really an emergency and you can¡¯t handle it, though.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°You think I¡¯m going to pay any attention to Museumtown?¡± Tori said, snorting dramatically. ¡°Carol¡¯s got a new meditation technique she wants to try. We¡¯re going to try to break through to Rank One first!¡± I nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± Then I turned and walked away. If Tori wanted to make this a race, and if it motivated her to get stronger, then I was okay with playing along. But the real reason to get there wasn¡¯t to win; it was to clear the Seared Wilds Tower. Nothing else mattered right now.
Time Limit: Two Days, Eleven Hours, Two Minutes I didn¡¯t go back to Museumtown. I missed my meeting with Calvin and Jessica. They¡¯d understand. They¡¯d have to. There wasn¡¯t time. Not if the risk was as high as the System¡¯s message said it was¡ªand Jessica had used the key to ask. The answer she got back was cryptic, but it confirmed that Museumtown was in danger. We were all in danger. So I made a choice. Sleep was a luxury, and so was any kind of rest. I¡¯d rest when I hit Rank One. Or when the Willis Tower dungeon was clear. Or when Phase One of Integration was done. Eventually. I¡¯d rest eventually. I tinkered, experimented, and installed component after component into the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp. It felt less like working on my station wagon and more like rebuilding a Maserati from scratch using Ford Pinto parts. I wanted it to do so much. To purr like a cat, to roar like a lion, and to power a dozen different gizmos from Tasers and railguns to Spellcode Scroll-Readers and shields and sensors like the Bio-Electric Scanner I¡¯d been working on. But all I needed it to do was pass the Trial. None of the bells and whistles mattered. I was asking it to do too much; it just needed a few improvements. First, it needed more Charge capacity. Even if I couldn¡¯t max it out, more Charge meant more options. More options meant getting closer to that luxury sports car and further away from something that might blow up in my face. Second, it needed something to do with that Charge. Otherwise¡­bang. It was that simple. This wasn¡¯t a complicated puzzle¡ªI¡¯d just been making it harder than it had to be. Dad¡¯s rules had been correct. Brakes and steering first, then the radio. Focus on the basics of what makes a machine a machine. On its purpose. The dam broke. The river overflowed. I could see everything. Every screw, every washer, every half-filled Charge Battery that needed to be socketed into the design to hold the excess, unconcentrated Charge from the Lens Array. Finishing the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp¡¯s first Upgrade took another hour, but it was all grunt work. The thinking and puzzle solving had been done¡ªor left by the wayside. This version was powerful, focused, and single-minded. All it wanted to do was move Charge through the Emitter/Refiner at its core and push it into either taser blasts or my creations. It didn¡¯t have a radio. It didn¡¯t have AC. No heated seats or self-driving features. All it did was power¡ªa muscle car to its previous station wagon. Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp (Created Item, Charge 15/30, Upgrade Level 1) The Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp is a Charge-assistance device. In its prototype form, it can temporarily transfer Charge to a consumable device created by the wearer. It can also use five Charge to create a powerful burst of electricity in melee range. Expended Charge regenerates over time. The first Upgrade doubles the Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp¡¯s storage and allows up to two consumable devices or weapons to receive Charge. I slipped the gauntlet on and flexed my hand. Congratulations, [Hal Riley], on completing your Voltsmithing Rank One Trial. Your Class has ascended to Rank One. You may select one Class Skill to augment your Voltsmith class. An additional skill may be selected from a new list at Rank Two, and the options available at Rank One may or may not appear on future lists. Choose carefully: Remote Voltsmithing - Use your Voltsmithing to empower Creations even when others are using them¡ªor when no one is. Core of Armor - Focus your Voltsmithing into stronger, more reactive defenses, including shields, barriers, and reinforced armor. Shock Trooper - Use Charge to imbue weapons with powerful electrical attacks.
The burns on Tommy¡¯s head had healed quickly, and as the pain receded, he¡¯d started to see the truth. The Fireborn Crusade wasn¡¯t evil. It wasn¡¯t even something to be scared of. It was a way to survive the apocalypse that had come to Earth, and nothing more. Taven Liu, the Fireborn Crusader himself, wanted nothing more than to unite the Midwest and help as many as possible live and thrive. He¡¯d even helped Tommy get to Level Forty-Four¡ªwhich Hal Riley and the people at Museumtown had never done. The Crusade, though? They knew what value a man like Tommy had. Taven knew what kind of value he had. And that meant a lot to Tommy. That meant loyalty. The walls of flame around Gary, Indiana opened, and Tommy watched as a small part of the Fireborn Crusader¡¯s army left. When it was his turn to follow, he stepped into place, marching with the other mages. He wasn¡¯t along to fight¡ªTaven had told him so. He was only along to try to convince the people inside Museumtown to surrender peacefully and join the Crusade. Tommy hoped they¡¯d take it. Sure, that Zane kid creeped him out, and Tori hated his guts for something that hadn¡¯t been his fault. But they didn¡¯t deserve to die. And Jessica and Hal had been treating him like a human being. The burns on the sides of his head started to heat up again, and Tommy fell back into step. The Crusade was on the way to help save Chicago, and he was proud to be a part of it. 62: When All is One and One is All The first skill, Remote Voltsmithing, looked like a solid option. It¡¯d be especially powerful if I worked with the same people a lot, or if I could give and take Creations from people between fights or dungeons. The problem I saw was that other than Tori, I didn¡¯t team up with the same people all that often, and that a lot of my fighting was solo. The second part was intriguing, though. Could I use Creations as traps? Or could I, with some work, build creations that piloted and activated themselves, like robots? The second, Core of Armor, was straightforward. Get tougher, replace all my Body points¡ªwhich were kind of a waste¡ªwith Charge points, and use those Charge points to get even tougher. Simple, effective, and what Tori had once described as an ¡®engine.¡¯ According to her, an ¡®engine¡¯ in games was two powers that fed into each other and got way stronger than they needed to be. This worked with the Voltsmith class, and with enough time, it¡¯d make me indestructible. Shock Trooper was also straightforward, but unlike the Body-replacing Creations I could imagine making with Core of Armor, this one simply allowed me to make everything a Taser¡ªor maybe stronger. As much as I wanted more punch, it just wasn¡¯t the right choice for me. So, it was really between Core of Armor and Remote Voltsmithing. Core of Armor was the obviously right choice if I was going to keep working with Tori and Bobby, wherever he was. Neither of them was a tank. That¡¯d always be my job as the guy with the hammer, and it¡¯d only help the group out. But something about Remote Voltsmithing appealed to me. There were possibilities there, as I got more and more Charge. Load Tori up with a bunch of railguns set to fire at any enemies she chose and send her into fights? Maybe. Suit Jessica up with a functional set of Autoplate so she could level without being in danger? Why not? Set up Contingent Casts other people could carry around for me? The possibilities were there, and if I was creative enough, they were endless. In the end, I made the correct choice for me instead of the simple one. [Class Skill: Remote Voltsmithing] unlocked. Congratulations, [Hal Riley], on learning [Remote Voltsmithing]. Rank One stat increases unlocked: +5 Body +5 Awareness +10 Charge That was a nice perk. The stats alone put me a good ten effective levels over anyone who hadn¡¯t cleared their Rank One trial, and the extra Class Skill could be overwhelming. I didn¡¯t think anyone in Chicago, with the possible exception of Bobby, could fight me and win at this point. Of course, I didn¡¯t know if anyone was grinding north of Andersonville, or on the South Side, but even so, I felt pretty strong. Pretty ready. I opened my status. [Hal Riley] [Class - Voltsmith] [Level - 50, Rank One] [Stats] ?Body - 35 ?Awareness - 47 ?Charge - 0/69 (59 Used) Stat Points Available: 0 [Class Skill - Decharge/Recharge - Drain the charge from magic items to power your own creations] [Class Skill - Remote Voltsmithing - Use your Voltsmithing to empower Creations even when others are using them¡ªor when no one is. [Skill - Spellcoding - Transfer spells from Tomes to Spellscrolls, allowing weaker versions to be cast with Charge instead of Mana] Items ?Autoplate Pauldron (8 Charge) ?Voltsmith¡¯s Grasp Upgrade One (19/30 Charge) - Rail Gun Module, Taser Launcher ?Heavy Trip-Hammer 2.0 (25 Charge) ?Warrior¡¯s Sheath (Spellcode Scroll-Reader) (7 Charge) It would be enough. It¡¯d have to be.
Time Limit: One Day, Six Hours, Five Minutes ¡°Where the hell is Bobby?¡± Calvin asked. The sheer presence of the Willis Tower was starting to weigh on the whole city. Its two antennae spiked upward into the late morning clouds, and the black steel and mirrored windows reminded Tori, according to her, of Barad-dur or Orthanc or the Dark Tower¡ªa dark fantasy tower looming over the rest of the world. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. It wasn¡¯t a physical presence, either. I could feel it in my mind, had even dreamt about it last night. It needed to be beaten. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said, as Calvin and Jessica stared at the tower. We¡¯d gathered near the Field Museum, since the fortifications were still under construction and the stairs weren¡¯t a viable meeting place. ¡°He was supposed to show up as soon as he finished his Trial, and I can¡¯t imagine him falling behind by more than a day. He¡¯ll be here.¡± ¡°But what if he¡¯s not?¡± Jessica asked. I started to say something, but Calvin cut me off. ¡°If he¡¯s not, we can¡¯t spare the twins. They¡¯re needed here, both to clear the Tier Twos just before the timer runs out and to shore up the line if Hal fails.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but notice he didn¡¯t mention Tori¡¯s name. That was intentional. We¡¯d discussed it beforehand, both together and with her, and the plan was simple. Don¡¯t mention her. At all. Jessica didn¡¯t need to think about her stepdaughter going into the most dangerous dungeon in Chicago. Calvin kept talking. ¡°Hal¡¯s capable, and that Rank One buff¡¯s big. Anyone at that level should be ready for the Tower.¡± Jessica¡¯s lips pursed, almost white from how tightly she pressed them together. I knew why; Tori hadn¡¯t reached Rank One yet, but she claimed to be close, and if she made it, Jessica would have to let her run the Tier Three Dungeon. ¡°Should we¡ª¡° ¡°No, we shouldn¡¯t look for him. It¡¯s a big city, and we don¡¯t know where he went,¡± Calvin said. ¡°I agree,¡± I spoke up. ¡°Besides, if he¡¯s finished with his Rank One Trial, and he hasn¡¯t come back here, there¡¯s only one place he¡¯ll be. He¡¯s trying the tower¡ªand we should be, too.¡± It was true. There was only one reason to wait¡ªand that was for Tori. I wasn¡¯t sure we could clear the tower even if it was the two of us, but I had no doubts that it¡¯d be almost impossible by myself. Even with an inventory full of Charge bombs, spare Creations for different situations, and my second Spellscroll¡ªironically, Gravity Ball, which I¡¯d gotten from the Museumtown community gear stockpile¡ªI couldn¡¯t imagine fighting a boss like the Queen Tyrant, but twenty levels stronger. I needed Tori¡¯s help. We all did. As long as it didn¡¯t get her killed.
Time Limit: One Day, Three Hours, Forty-Four Minutes Tori, Carol, and Zane sat around the gigantic steel statue on the edge of Museumtown. The sign said it was called Habakuk, but Tori didn¡¯t care. What she did care about was that she and the twins had all felt energy converging there¡ªand where there was energy converging, there were rules to learn. They weren¡¯t long enough to form a ring completely around the squashed-looking metal cubes, but they held hands even as they each meditated on their own sets of rules. Right now, Tori¡¯s was about weight and lightness, and how the two were completely opposed but fundamentally the same. Zane¡¯s eyes were blazing orbs of fire, and Tori¡¯s hand dripped with sweat in his light¡¯s grasp. He radiated heat across the grass¡ªit had already dried up all around him. She wished she knew what rule he was trying to figure out. Carol sat as still as the statue. She hadn¡¯t moved in almost an hour. Tori couldn¡¯t even hear her breathing. If it weren¡¯t for the faint pulse in the older girl¡¯s wrist, she¡¯d be worried that Carol had died. Still, this was her idea, and Tori could feel it working. It was definitely working. The energy swirling around the three young Delvers howled and tore at them. Tori hadn¡¯t noticed at first, but as the afternoon turned to evening, the weight and the lightness threatened to crush her and to throw her into the sky at the same time. It felt hot and freezing and solid and gummy and heavy and light as a feather all at once, an overwhelming mixed drink of sensations. A lot like when Tammy had offered her a hit for the first time, but more. But she hadn¡¯t broken through to Rank One yet. None of them had. Tomorrow, Hal was going into the Tower. Maybe even tonight, if the meeting she hadn¡¯t been allowed at went the way Hal thought it would. Tori was determined to go with him¡ªif only to keep Bobby Richards honest. Not that she¡¯d seen him, but he¡¯d be there. But she couldn¡¯t go if she couldn¡¯t break through. It was a lot like the Raid Portals in her games. If she wasn¡¯t strong enough, or attuned enough, it wouldn¡¯t let her in. Except the attunement was ¡®convince your step-mom you¡¯re strong enough.¡¯ Carol and Zane didn¡¯t have that problem. They were strong enough to handle the Watery Grave and the Field of Warriors without help, and that was their job. They were only trying to break through with Tori because she was desperate to make it happen. Desperate to help Hal. He¡¯d need it, just like she¡¯d needed it in the Redline Tunnels, and she wanted to be there for him. So she sat around the Habakuk and held hands with Zane and Carol. Tori wasn¡¯t sure this group meditation stuff was working. So far, all she¡¯d gotten from it was a sticky hand on one side and one locked in an iron vise on the other. She couldn¡¯t leave if she wanted to. She focused in on the weight and the lightness. On moving them¡ªnot on moving an object with her magic. That was easy. She could almost Push and Pull in her sleep. This was different. This was moving concepts with her mind. It was opening boxes and letting what she knew about physics itself run free. It was hard. She¡¯d been at it for hours. For days. And she was out of time. It had to happen now. Even if¡ªeven if the answer didn¡¯t make sense. That was it. It didn¡¯t have to make sense. Suddenly, it clicked. It all made sense. Lightness and weight were the same. Spells and memory were the same. Power and thought. Advancement and uplifting. Fiction and reality. They were all malleable. She was enlightened. With enough effort, she could¡ª The swirling energy peaked into three separate spikes. The inferno roared out in every direction, exploding like a bomb before vanishing, crushed by Tori¡¯s will¡ªand by Zane¡¯s and Carol¡¯s. She collapsed. Her hand slipped from Zane¡¯s overheating grasp and from Carol¡¯s steel grip. As her head bounced off of a thin layer of energy that formed before she could hit the ground, she saw a System message. Congratulations, [Tori Vanderbilt], on completing your Telekineticist Rank One Trial. Your Class has ascended to Rank One. Smiling through the sweat dripping off her, Tori picked Lingering Telekinesis. Allowing her spells to last longer in place would turn her into exactly the crowd-control mage she wanted to be, and make any battlefield she was on her plaything. Then she watched the nameplates over Carol and Zane¡¯s heads slowly change. Zane Parker: Level 50 (Rank One) Class: Mage Carol Parker: Level 50 (Rank One) Class: Skirmisher (Fighter) 63: Our Shadows Taller than Our Souls Time Limit: Eight Hours, Seven Minutes The six of us¡ªthe twins, Jessica, Calvin, Tori, and I¡ªstood on a boat next to the final boss of the Tour de City dungeon¡ªa greenish water elemental that had risen from the Chicago River and promptly exploded under the combined attentions of four Rank One dungeon delvers. The loot wasn¡¯t worth discussing. Calvin had already picked it up for the stockpile growing in the fortress outside the Field Museum, and now the only thing that remained was slipping into the Seared Wilds Tower. It had taken¡­a while¡­to figure out where the entrance was. Longer than I wanted to admit, but looking at the timer shoved the truth in my face. There were six Tier One Dungeons surrounding the tower, and each led inside the Tier Three. We¡¯d gotten lucky that no one had cleared the Tour de City this week. Tori stood stiffly in front of the angriest-looking fog gate we¡¯d seen. Both of us were still Level Fifty and Rank One. So were the Twins; the boss and trash monsters together hadn¡¯t even given us enough for a level. ¡°So, we ready?¡± she asked. ¡°Not yet,¡± Jessica said. Worry had etched itself across her face, and she looked like she was about to make one final attempt at keeping her fifteen-year-old stepdaughter out of the dungeon. Then Tori gave her a hug and whispered something in her ear, and Jessica relaxed. It wasn¡¯t much, just a fraction of an inch in her shoulders, but it was enough to know she was, if not happy about this, at least willing to let it happen. She¡¯d changed a lot since we first found her in Museumtown. ¡°Okay, now we¡¯re ready,¡± Tori said. She gave Zane a handshake, hugged Carol, and waved goodbye to Calvin. ¡°We¡¯ll be back in less than two and a half days, I promise,¡± I said. Then we stepped through the portal and into the Seared Wilds Tower.
Everyone still called it the Sears Tower, even though it hadn¡¯t been owned by Sears in a couple of decades. It was the focal point of the Chicago skyline, its black bulk towering over every other building even though it had been fifty years since its completion. As far as I knew, it was full of airline employees, lawyers, accountants, and the whitest of white-collar jobs. At least, it had been three weeks ago, before the Consortium showed up. I was expecting something corporate. Every other dungeon we¡¯d fought through had been thematic. The Watery Grave was an aquarium¡ªsort of. The Twilight Menagerie was a zoo. Instead, the heat hit Tori and me like a truck. Tier Three Dungeon: The Seared Wilds Tower (Floor One) Objective: Survive the Great Fire (0/1) Completion: 0% Fragile Walls: This dungeon is close to breaking. Its inhabitants will be freed if a threshold of Delver deaths inside is reached. Break Counter: 0/5 Open Floor: Once triggered, the dungeon¡¯s bosses will roam freely. Environmental Hazard: This dungeon¡¯s denizens are not its only threat. Gauntlet: Dungeon monsters respawn quickly. They do not drop experience orbs until the dungeon is cleared The whole floor was a maze, but not like in the Void. This one was cubicles. Hundreds of cubicles. Monsters¡ªflame-imbued farm animals, for some reason¡ªcharged Tori and me through the maze, spreading fire as they went. Tori caught on first. ¡°Gauntlet! Based on the Great Fire! Let¡¯s get moving!¡± She sprinted toward the nearest animal, a chicken the size of a sedan, and cast Crush. The bird exploded before I even got a chance to see its nameplate, but the bull behind it looked like it¡¯d be a lot harder to bring down. Leering Steer: Level Forty-Eight Monster ¡°That¡¯s so dumb!¡± Tori said as I revved the Trip-Hammer. I¡¯d made a few changes to it. Heavy Trip-Hammer 2.0, by Hal Riley (Created Item, Charge 25, Rank One) The Trip-Hammer uses magical energy, external power sources, and salvaged parts to apply incredible destructive force to a small area. First created by Hal Riley of Earth. This upgraded version includes two separate hammers, one with the Hemorrhage debuff and the other with increased piercing damage in addition to the Trip-Hammer¡¯s already-potent armor-crushing effect. Rank One Upgrade: The hammers continue spinning until stopped by the user¡ªor by a target capable of surviving multiple impacts. The Leering Steer and I hit like two tidal waves¡ªon of fire and one of electricity. Then the Trip-Hammer slammed into the monster¡¯s side, again and again. Gore exploded out even as the thing¡¯s horns punched into the Autoplate Pauldron and stopped. Searing pain erupted in my shoulder, but it didn¡¯t stop me from holding the trigger down. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Blazing hot gore covered the nearest cubicle, and a moment later, the Leering Steer shimmered and vanished. There wasn¡¯t an experience orb, and I hadn¡¯t been expecting one. Gauntlets really sucked. Tori was busy exploding the rest of the flock of Flaming-Hot Chickens with a combination of Push and Pull that acted like Crush, but more explosive. I didn¡¯t bother asking her how she¡¯d gotten enough power to sustain two spells that worked oppositionally to each other. Rank One was clearly a big deal. Instead, I fired the first railgun bolt into a charging ram, the second into its twin, and kept pushing forward into the maze.
We¡¯d been fighting for a good hour, and it felt like we¡¯d barely made any progress. Sweat poured down my face, and even though the stairs up were in sight, the maze itself wrapped away from them, looping almost all the way around the building before doubling back. We were in it for the long haul. And we didn¡¯t have long haul time. I¡¯d caught a glimpse of the Floor One ¡®boss¡¯ ten minutes ago, and I didn¡¯t like anything about it. Mrs. O¡¯Lighter: Level One Boss Ephemeral: This boss cannot be harmed or interacted with. That was all her nameplate said, but I had a bad feeling, and that feeling had only gotten worse as the heat in the tower¡¯s first floor redoubled. I looked over my shoulder. Behind us, the maze¡ªwhich had already been on fire in places¡ªhad turned into a wall of flame from floor to ceiling. Through the inferno, Mrs. O¡¯Lighter waved a lantern in her hand, and her transluscent dress and hair burst into flames, wreathing her in flickering oranges, reds, and blues. She only lasted a second before a new System message came in. Mrs. O¡¯Lighter¡¯s mission has been accomplished. Time until First Floor Destruction: Eight Minutes, Fifty-Three Seconds The gauntlet was on a timer now, if it hadn¡¯t been before. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Tori shouted over the roaring blaze. Everything was on fire. The cows were on fire. Mrs. O¡¯Lighter was on fire. The walls, the computers, the floor. Everything. A desktop tower exploded, pouring sparks out like a waterfall. A water cooler melted. Steam hissed into the air as five gallons evaporated almost instantly. I hammered a pair of sheep into nothing and sprinted down the hall. My skin popped and crackled like the store-brand cereal I¡¯d lived on for years. Tori dropped a pair of Gravity Wells behind us; they caught a respawning Leering Steer and three more of the roosters, pinning them in place. The blaze spread. There was nothing to do but keep fighting. And the monsters were getting tougher, too. Leering Steer: Level Fifty-One Monster They still weren¡¯t overwhelmingly strong. But they were definitely getting there. I had serious concerns about the next floor if we didn¡¯t get a level or three out of this one¡ªthis was a definite step up from the Tier Two Dungeons. The cubicles turned right, then right again. It was a straight shot to the end of the maze. The first safe spot I¡¯d seen in the gauntlet was the stairs at its end, but we were almost there. And that¡¯s when the dungeon really poured it on. A trio of the Leering Steers appeared at the base of the stairs. As they charged toward us, building up speed, Tori¡¯s Gravity Wells behind us ended, and the Steer and roosters behind us started charging, too. We were caught in a pincer, and there was only one option. I braced myself, activated the Autoplate Pauldron, and revved the Trip-Hammer. The first Leering Steer was only feet away when, out of nowhere, it catapulted into the air. The one behind us did the same thing, and they both slammed into each other overhead. Sparks rained down over use as Tori canceled the doubled Push spells and switched to a single Gravity Well. ¡°They¡¯re covered! I¡¯ve got the chickens!¡± There wasn¡¯t time to waste. I swung the Trip-Hammer into the third Leering Steer. Its head exploded, showering sizzling brains across the cubicle hallway like confetti. The wall of fire drew closer, but with only one enraged-looking steer in the way, it was only a matter of time. Leering Steer: Level Fifty-Three Monster Juggernaut - This monster will continue fighting after receiving lethal damage. Juggernauting - This monster has been killed, but is enraged and temporarily indestructible. It will pursue its killer for thirty seconds. Well, that was going to be fun. I fired another railgun blast into the thing. Its skull disintegrated, but it kept coming even though one horn had been ripped clean off. Fire poured from its wound, but its remaining eye locked on me, and I felt a crushing presence coming from the monster. Horrified: You cannot move as long as the monster¡¯s eye is upon you. I didn¡¯t feel horrified. It was more like something being forced on me by the System, like a game mechanic happening to my character. That¡¯s how Tori would have described it, I was sure. But no matter whether it was ¡®real¡¯ fear or not, it was a problem, because the Leering Steer kept up its relentless charge toward me. ¡°Tori!¡± I yelled through gritted teeth. She turned, took one look at me, and brandished The Queen¡¯s Blessing. The staff glowed a brilliant yellow-gold, and a moment later, the Horrified debuff fell off. I felt stronger than ever. Elite - This Delver moves faster and hits harder than a similarly powerful Delver (Eighteen Seconds Remaining) And just like that, the fight was over. I didn¡¯t bother revving the Trip-Hammer. I just swung it. It crashed into the Enraged bull, and its entire front side collapsed. The way to the stairs was clear. I grabbed Tori¡¯s arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I yelled, and I dragged her to safety as the wall of fire rounded the corner and started rushing toward us. My feet hit the stairs, and a moment later, System messages poured in. Objective: Survive the Great Fire (1/1) Level Up! Fifty to Fifty-One. Dungeon Delvers who were not in the arena will receive fifty percent of your team¡¯s experience. Area Message: The Seared Wilds Tower¡¯s second floor has unlocked. This floor will remain unlocked for twenty-four hours, after which time the first floor will reset. The stairwell was safe¡ªneither part of Floor One or Floor Two, and I took a deep breath of the crisp, cool, air-conditioned air. Sweat salt stuck to my forehead like I¡¯d been running for hours, and Tori looked exhausted. Even with the level-ups, we needed a break to recover. ¡°Something¡¯s bugging me,¡± Tori panted, lying on the stairs as we watched the first floor burn behind us. I raised an eyebrow, and she continued after sucking in a deep breath. ¡°If someone else was already here, we¡¯d either have seen a death on the Dungeon Break counter or the first floor would already be clear, right?¡± ¡°Right,¡± I answered. ¡°So where¡¯s Bobby Richards, then?¡± I looked up the stairs, then at Tori. She was right; I¡¯d expected him to come here as soon as he finished his Rank One Trial. This was the place for him to be¡ªthe place that¡¯d get him the most power. If he wasn¡¯t here¡­what was he up to? I didn¡¯t know, but I had a bad feeling that it wouldn¡¯t be in our best interests.