Life in the North: An Apocalyptic LitRPG

That’s the next thing I notice. Roxley had his guards in his livery to make themselves easy to notice. Policemen normally are noticeable; after all, it helps keep the rabble in line. The Sect members do the same here, mostly by just being different than us humans. It takes only a short while for Ali to point out that not every single alien is a Sect member though. After that and a bit of grumbling, he adjusts the aliens’ descriptions. Now, every Sect member who publicly displays his allegiance—which is likely all of them—is marked above their heads via their Status bars as well. That’s good, because I really don’t want to kill an innocent.

It’s interesting to watch the reactions of the other humans to the other species. Few humans talk to them. Even fewer seem friendly with any of the aliens. Oh, some are worming their way into the Sect’s good graces by toadying up, but whether it’s because they suck at that or are just exaggerating for the aliens, picking out their motives is easy. But for the majority, the silent edge of resentment and anger is there in the sidelong glances and twisted lips when the Sect members aren’t looking.

Not that the Sect members are helping matters. Most act like the small-time bullies they are, giving a shove here, a shakedown there. Lording it over the humans wherever they can.

“They’re making this too damn easy,” I send to Ali, glancing at a pair of beast-like creatures shaking down a scavenger party. It also explains why most of the humans use normal bags rather than their storage. Though I’m curious how the Sect is stopping people from sneaking things in via storage.

“Auditors. They’ve got the ability to look into your storage, with your consent or without if they’ve got enough strength,” Ali says, answering the implied question. “Go right here. There’s a group of Sect members coming down the street who are looking bored. Better to skip around them.”

“Got it,” I say, sighing. I’m not the only one who does that, though most who duck out are ahead of me, I notice. Pissing off the humans they guard is definitely helping me blend in, since no one wants to meet the Sect members if they can help it. “Not many Serfs here.”

“We’re still on the edges. They’ll keep the Serfs close on hand. Don’t want them running away,” Ali says.

I nod, rubbing my chin absently as I assess the areas. Truth be told, so far, the city looks much like the towns I’ve seen. Windows and doors broken, abandoned cars rusting on the streets, occasional monsters popping up then hiding as they sense the Level difference. On occasion, a few utterly insane monsters attack and are put down. More cars of course, a lot more cars on the major roads, abandoned and useless, but I don’t stay on those byways much.

But in time, I spot the differences. The Mana flows in a big city are more concentrated and grow greater as I head deeper into the Lower Mainland. While Coquitlam might be a “Village,” it could easily be considered a Level 10-20 zone, with a few of the wooded parks and neighborhoods jumping up another zone level again. Monsters grow and populate around here, seeming to thrive on the unregulated flow of the city.

The blooming dots of monsters at certain buildings—the hospital, the campus, a weird strip mall—all speak to monster hives that haven’t been dealt with. Maybe even dungeons in the making. And then there are the occasionally destroyed neighborhoods, entire buildings wrecked in what must have been periods of intense fighting.

But no humans—at least none who have made it their goal to live out here. Which is surprising. I expected holdouts, groups settled into defensible regions, creating their own tiny communities. Instead, I see none of that. A few groups here and there stay alone, but no large settlements.

“Is this normal?” I say to Ali.

“Nothing’s normal. But if I were the Sect, I wouldn’t want an independent group all the way out here. Be really easy to put pressure, draw them in where you can keep a better eye on them,” Ali says. “And those who don’t… well, there are monsters out here.”

“Convenient excuse,” I say, grunting. Anger flares for a moment before I push it down. Not the right time. Still, a part of me burns at the thought of people being forced to give up the little stability and protection they’ve built for themselves, all to make the Sect members’ lives easier.

“It’s kind of what you guys did too,” Ali says, sending a chiding thought to me. “How many towns and people did you drag back to Whitehorse or to the next safe zone?”

“I always gave them a choice,” I say, pointing out the major difference.

As much as I wanted to, I never, ever forced my choices on others. Even if it meant their deaths. God knows I wanted to. Especially for those idiot families who decided it was still safer to hang out in the middle of a monster-infested zone than to proceed to a safe zone because humans are evil.

Idiots.

They were so fixed on their beliefs that humanity is evil, that we devolve to our basest instincts the moment the lights go off, they refused to accept the evidence before their eyes. And doomed their children and themselves to struggling and fighting in the wilderness alone. Some days, I wonder if I should have just taken the children.

There’s no good answer here. Pull the kids away and I’d probably have had to kill their parents in front of them. I somehow doubt that would help them become well-adjusted, stable individuals. Even if I didn’t, who would take care of them? Do I drop them off at the nearest town and hope that there’s some kind soul willing to take in a group of traumatized children? It’s one thing for a government that, technically, has a series of methods to take care of such children. It’s another for my team and me to kidnap children because we don’t think their parents are doing a good job.

Yet… I can’t help but think about them sometimes.

“Getting late out here. You might want to get a move on it.” The voice, low and rich, breaks me out of my morose thoughts.

I blink, staring around, and find myself grinding my teeth, hands clenched while standing in the middle of the street. I blink, shaking my head. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve all been there,” the guy says, smiling at me kindly. He’s in his late thirties, a hint of wariness in his eyes as he offers me his hand to shake. Six feet tall, thin, with brown hair, he’s got a guitar slung across his shoulders and a bag by his feet. A quick check shows his Class and Level—a Level 21 Appraiser. “Damian.”

“John,” I say, shaking his hand. I’m glad he doesn’t ask why I was frozen in the middle of the street, but the way he looks at me sympathetically, I can guess what he’s thinking. All of us have our own nightmares.

“That’s Analyn and Jonah.” Damian indicates a short Filipino woman armed with a beam rifle the size of her body and an older, almost grandfatherly, man who seems to be their pack mule, carrying four bags on his shoulders. “You a hunter?”

“How’d you know?” I ask.

“No bags, so you’re not a scavenger,” Damian explains, pointing at my guns. “And those look like they’ve seen some use. Like you.”

“Pretty smart,” I say, smiling at Damian. I don’t move away, since I’m curious to see where he’s going with this.

“Get anything good?” Damian waves down the street, indicating we should continue walking.

I fall into step with him. “A little.” I shrug, thinking of the various random animal bits I’ve picked up from the monsters that have refused to leave me alone. It’s more habit than anything else that has me grabbing the loot, since the amount of Credits I’d get is pitiful. “I was mostly scouting this time.”

“Outside the Mainland? You’re either brave or stupid,” Analyn says then smiles slightly.

“Going alone lets me hide better,” I say, shrugging. “I have a few skills in that area.”

“Ah…” Analyn says, nodding.

“If you made a map, I know a few people who might buy it,” Damian says. “Good information about the land outside is hard to find. Everyone’s focused on the dungeon the Sect made in UBC and the new dungeon formed in SFU.”

“The UBC dungeon must be Town-formed. Expensive, but it’s a great way of focusing the Mana flow in the region. The dungeon northwest of here that they’re talking is natural,” Ali sends to me. “The places around here are all villages, except Vancouver itself, which is a full Town.”

I grunt in acknowledgement of both, letting my eyes roam over the area. We’re making good time, even burdened down with gear. The higher-than-human stats means a normal walking speed is nearly a jog pre-System, without any concern about running out of stamina.

Since Damian seems talkative, I probe him for information, just basic things. He’s more than happy to discuss the Sect, giving me a spotty overview of the city. I do my best to hide my ignorance, asking leading questions while letting Ali fill in the blanks.

As Ali mentioned, the initial period was bloody. Monsters, both mutated and portalled, showed up all over the city. A lot of people died, but things held together surprisingly well after the initial death toll as people learned to run, hide, or fight. Unlike Whitehorse, a number of really high-Level monsters had appeared, including a land drake that had taken the entirety of Stanley Park as its home. Even then, things had settled down, the local army and police managing to deal with the evolving monsters.

Unfortunately, the System—or maybe the Council—decided that wasn’t good enough and portalled in more high-level monsters in a single night. The devastation was amazing. The entire False Creek area, including the brewery and armory, had been destroyed, the Sky Giant finally dying under the continuous assault of hundreds. The land drake actually took out one of the portalled monsters when a multi-headed chimera was forced into the park.

The sacrifice of the fighters didn’t stop thousands from dying that night. That same tragedy repeated over and over again all across the city. Any major staging area had to deal with an attack by a high-level monster. At that point, resistance had been shattered and groups broke up into much smaller sections.

“Suspicious, no?” I send to Ali.

“Would you be interested to know that it isn’t a singular experience? In the same period, there’s constant sudden drops in your population—from such attacks, I assume. I’d need to buy the information to be certain but…”

I keep my face neutral, continuing to listen to Damian, but a part of me growls. There’s a story there, and one I need to dig into at some point.

A week later, the Sect appeared and claimed all the cities of the Lower Mainland. According to Ali, they actually purchased the village keys nearly the same day they were released. Rather than improving the rest of the cities, the Sect focused their attention on Vancouver only, turning it into a Town in four months. Pretty much the entirety of the downtown is their exclusive property—outside of the Downtown Eastside, where some humans gather.

Unlike our smaller towns, quite a few Shops are clustered in the Lower Mainland. Each city has their own, with Vancouver having two—one in the art gallery downtown and another in the middle of Queen Elizabeth Park. Burnaby’s Shop is in the Metrotown which has a significant human presence living in the giant shopping mall and thus outside the Sect’s direct sphere of influence. Unlike the downtown of Vancouver, where most of the Serfs live, the mall in Burnaby is actually owned and run by free humans according to Damian. Well, technically rented mostly, but it’s close enough.

When I hear that news, I change my mind of where I intend to go tonight, deciding against a direct trip to downtown Vancouver. If I’m going to find out what I want, and potentially locate a safe place to rest, the mall seems to be a better choice. As we get closer to Burnaby, I notice more and more humans. Some of them are rather interesting too…

George Pierre (Level 19 Breacher—Sect Member)

HP: 380/380

MP: 170/170

Conditions: None

“Fucking traitors,” Analyn swears under her breath when she spots the group of five Sect members, each of them with a simple grey cloth with the Sect’s symbol on their arms.

My eyes flicker over them while Damian glares at the lady before he glances at me, concern on his face. I flash him a little smile but make sure to swing around the group. That action makes him relax slightly.

“Seems to be more of them,” I say to Damian softly.

“The Sect pays well, gives discounts on goods in the Shop, and if you join them, you’re immune to becoming a Serf,” Damian says, his tone neutral. “After they crushed the resistance, can you blame them?”

“Yes,” Analyn hisses while Jonah nods firmly.

“Dangerous words,” I say, my tone light. I’d love to ask about the resistance, but it seems a bit too obvious to duck into that question right now.

“Eh, everyone’s said it,” Damian says with a careless shrug. “No one likes them, but…”

But it’s a way of surviving, and we all have a certain degree of empathy for each other over things like this. We might not like it or agree, but we can empathize. There’s been so much going on that a period of safety or comfort is attractive. Even if you have to sell out.

Having skirted around the human Sect-members, we head south. Surprisingly, the group follows me to Metrotown. Or perhaps not, considering the views they’ve expressed to me, a nominal stranger. Once we get past the rather foreboding warehouses and industrial complexes—many of which are breeding grounds for groups of monsters—we hit the residential zones. Those, as usual, are depressing lots, which is why we continue south at a jog. Conversations grow sparser and less useful, turning to the usual jokes and ribbing, which I eventually tune out.

Before I know it, we’re down at Kingsway, which runs at a diagonal to most streets with its multi-story retail stores, and only a stone’s throw away from the Metrotown mall itself. Surprisingly, none of the retail stores are owned—most shuttered, others vandalized and looted. I stare at the buildings for a second, shaking my head as happier memories clash with reality before I hurry up to follow the group.

If you’ve been to one shopping mall, you’ve been to them all, it seems. Or maybe if you’ve been to one mid-class, sprawling giant mall, you’ve been to them all. They’re all filled with brand-name shops, each segregated into their own little niches, with bright, artificial lighting and a food court or two with “food” that is, at best, barely edible. In other words, soulless and vapid.

Not much has changed, it seems. With the Shop located in what used to be a giant bookstore, the rest of the mall has been partitioned to make buying and selling goods easier. Rather than ask questions that might expose me for the stranger I am, I follow the group, playing as if I’m happy to continue chatting with them. Occasionally, I pull things from my storage to sell too.

Each portion of the mall seems to be taken over by different groups. We spend most of our time in the scavenger area, where “normal” human goods are bought and sold. While Spells are nice, dishwashing liquid, hair gel, toilet paper, and replacement sets of clothing are all still desirable. Sure, you could scavenge it yourself, but convenience trumps cost for most people. I don’t get a lot of Credits and the group spends some time haggling as prices fluctuate depending on what other groups drag in, but eventually everything is sold.

After that, it’s off to another part of the mall to sell monster parts. Interestingly enough, there are two sections, one for food and one for non-consumables. We hit the non-consumables first, haggling with various merchants who are only willing to buy a portion of what we have. This time around, I take a more active role, as my cover as a hunter means I should have more loot.

“You know, he ripped you off there,” Jonah says, shaking his head. “Five Credits for Creller teeth? You should have gotten at least eight each!”

I shrug, not wishing to comment. Ali looks unhappy as well, floating invisibly next to me, obviously itching to get involved. While it might be a break from my role, I just don’t have the patience to waste time haggling over a few Credits. A single good kill could easily replace all the funds I lose. That’s why I never bothered with it all in Whitehorse, leaving the money matters to Ali.

From glancing around, it’s obvious that many of the individuals buying in this portion of the mall are just middlemen picking up small numbers of lootable components for others. The way the various merchants perk up as the direct buyers wander along is an obvious tell, since direct buyers generally don’t haggle as hard. It also helps that I can see their Classes, which range from the mundane Toolmaker to the specialized Weaponsmith or Alchemist. Some are truly weird, like the Augurer and the Binder.

After I’m done, we make our way to sell the meat, which makes up the majority of what everyone has to sell. While monster components do form when we Loot monster corpses, the vast majority of the time, at the lower Levels, it’s just meat. Unsurprisingly, the food section is made up of the food court and a portion of the shops around it. There’s almost no haggling at the food stalls. Large cardboard signs hung above each stall state both what they’re selling and buying with the respective prices.

“Mrs. Cho’s selling her burgers again!” Damian says excitedly, eyes glowing slightly. “I’ll line up. You guys sell my share.”

“Done!” Analyn answers excitedly, taking his bag while shooting me a look. “You don’t want to miss her burgers.”

“Ummm…” I glance at the long line then finally nod to Damian. “Get me a half dozen then.”

In short order, we’ve sold the last of our gains—or at least, what I’m declaring as my gains—and retreated from the stalls respectfully.

“This place is crowded,” Analyn says, glancing around pointedly. “We’ve got a place in one of the apartment complexes here. Let’s go eat at home.”

The invitation is obvious. So too is the potential trap, but after a moment, I nod. Realistically, even if they triple the number of individuals involved in the trap, there isn’t any concern for me. Between Ali’s ability to sense things and my Level, running away is simple.

Once I agreed, the three of us quickly left the building to head to their apartment complex. I definitely had no intention of visiting the Shop here—for one thing, anything I bought would likely get taxed and the Credits added to the Sect’s coffers. Why the heck would I do that?

The pair of condo buildings is interesting, surrounded by stern steel walls that are obviously not part of the original architectural plans. On top of those, a series of small orbs sit, ready to unleash magical hell. Once inside, the building itself doesn’t seem very different, keeping most of its original design and furnishings, including the cream tile floor.

“Are you guys just renting the place?” I ask.

“No, parceled ownership. We own the apartment but have to pay into the general security fund. Votes on changes to our maintenance fees and major upgrades are all handled via the System, though there are a few administrators,” Jonah answers, obviously enthused by this. “Much better than a damn condo board. Anyone can propose a change with votes monthly. Of course, the administrators can block the proposals, but only three times in a row. Keeps the silly requests from appearing mostly.”

“Ah,” I answer, my curiosity more than assuaged.

However, my non-committal answer does little to slow down Jonah’s enthusiasm, and I get a whole lecture about the way the System works in terms of managing a multi-property location, the various options available, and the pros and cons of it all. I keep a mostly attentive expression to stay polite, but I can’t help but sigh in relief when Damian returns, hands filled with bags of food.

Toward the end of the meal—which, I have to admit, is superb—Damian’s demeanor changes and he looks unexpectedly serious. He puts down his burger, motioning toward Jonah, who pulls out a small device and taps it before nodding to his team lead.

“Where are you from? Really?” Damian asks, his face stern.

I stare at the group and absently note that Analyn’s hand is on her gun, which is pointed in my general direction. Not directly at me yet, but close enough. Jonah’s backed off too, his fingers rolling a small metal disc over his fingers.

“Whitehorse originally,” I answer truthfully. I’m curious to see where this is going. “But more recently, Kamloops.”

“We’ve heard about Kamloops. Even heard that you managed to fight off one of their invasion groups when they came to take it back,” Damian says, shaking his head. “You need to work on your blending in. You’re way too confident and assured of yourself for a local. No one walks like you do out here.”

“Except the delvers,” Analyn points out.

“Oh yeah, but we know who they are,” Damian answers.

“Delvers?”

“Dungeon delvers. The high Level, independent combat Classers. They’re forced to pay a high daily tax rate, so they have to do the Dungeons again and again to keep up,” Damian answers easily. “None of those guys waste time walking. They’re all about the luxury vehicles.”

“Doesn’t sound practical to me,” I say, shaking my head.

“Who’s talking practical? It’s not as if it’s expensive to get them fixed up,” Damian points out and shrugs. “It’s all about indulging in past fantasies. Who doesn’t want to drive a Jaguar?”

“Thanks for the information,” I finally say, considering what Damian said. Since I can’t alter my Status any further, sneaking in might be an even bigger task than I thought.

“Ask them why there are so few high-Level combat Classers that he thinks he’d know them all,” Ali sends urgently.

After a moment, I realize the Spirit’s point and pass the question on.

“Ah… that’s the other thing we need to talk to you about. Are you here to cause trouble for the Sect?” Damian says.

“I asked you first.”

“Are you a child?” Damian mutters, rolling his eyes. When I refuse to answer, Damian sighs. “We lost a lot of people a few months ago when the Sect put down the rebellion. Grabbed everyone involved, after they beat them, and shipped them all off-world.”

“What?” I say, my voice rising as I lean forward. I note Analyn shifting slightly at my sudden movement before she calms down.

“That’s why I’m asking your intentions. We can’t—we won’t—start a new fight with the Sect. We’ve learned our lesson—numbers don’t matter when they’ve got enough Advanced Class people to kick our asses. And every time someone gets close to reaching an Advanced Class, they disappear,” Damian says with a grimace.

“Technically not legal to kidnap people, if that’s what you’re thinking. But laws without people to enforce them are just bits in the electronic stream.”

“I do intend to do something about the Sect,” I say. I’m curious to see what they do. If they intended to sell the information about me, they could have done so already. And if this makes them decide to do it now, well, so be it. I could kill them, but they’ve treated me fairly well so far. “They’ve been attacking Kamloops non-stop for the last few weeks. If we continue to let them do that, they’ll eventually win.”

“What do you intend to do?” Damian asks, his eyes glinting.

I sigh. “Truthfully, I’m not entirely sure. I planned on sneaking in and figuring out what is going on before I acted. It’ll probably end up in blood and tears though. It always does.”

“Did you not hear the part about their Advanced Classers? They’ve got seven of them in this city,” Damian says sternly.

“How do you know that?” I say. Obviously, from the way they’ve been speaking, these guys can’t tell my Level.

“They told us. A friend of mine who’s an Auditor confirmed it. Seven Advanced Classes, six of which are combat Classes with Levels ranging from 14 to 39, and one non-combat Advanced Class Level 38 Administrator,” Damian says. “You can forget about stirring up trouble in Vancouver. The moment you do, they’ll kill you and then make it more difficult for the rest of us.”

“I’m not that easy to kill,” I say, both as a warning to them and a statement of confidence. I get a few eye rolls. They’ve obviously run into overconfident people before. “But thank you for the information.”

“You’re not going to change your mind, are you?”

“Not one bit,” I say, smiling slightly. Even if I look relaxed, internally, I tense up as I wait to see what they’re going to do next.

“No new figures around us. If they’ve called for help, it hasn’t arrived yet,” Ali reassures me.

“I assumed that.” Damian exhales, slumping. He rubs his face, fatigue and grief showing on it as he speaks. “They left those of us with lower Levels alone after the revolt. Just left us, even though they must know who we are. There might be hundreds of us, but we’re all in the twenties. That’s how useless we are.

“Anyone with a higher Level, they’re being kept at the Olympic Village at False Creek. Easy enough to control them. And even then, there’s only, like, fifty of them. They keep a couple of the Advanced Class combatants around them all the time, including a Summoner with his demonic dogs and a Warden.”

“Not a lot of you guys left,” I say neutrally.

“Not a lot. After the revolt, that’s when we found out how different things were. The entire downtown is theirs, remade into their world. They’ve got security cameras everywhere, and anyone who wants to go in has to wear a bracelet marking their identity. Their Serfs are all incentivized to tattle on anyone not authorized to enter the downtown, so we couldn’t sneak most of our people in. Even when we did, they’d upgraded the main library to have its own shield to keep the City Core safe.”

I open my mouth then close it, frowning slightly at what Damian says. And how he says it. I tilt my head, looking at Analyn, whose face is blank, and Jonah, whose face holds a trace of anger and resentment.

“For a guy who is complaining a lot, he’s giving me a lot of useful information,” I send to Ali.

“General deniability. If they know who he is, this way, he can still say he’s learned his lesson,” Ali says, looking at Damian and the group with a tinge of respect.

“That sounds tough,” I say, rubbing my chin.

“Har! Tough. Tough were the damn Advanced Classers. They had an invasion team during the revolt, including that Blood Warrior, though he’s out of town right now. His clones really messed with our groups. Then there’s the Psychic. Not much for area effect, but its spells one-shotted everyone it hit. Brain-blasted them till they all fell unconscious,” Jonah snaps, shaking his head.

“At least you didn’t have to fight that Bone Monster. It didn’t matter what we shot it with, we couldn’t punch through its armor. I’d upgraded my Penetrating Strike Skill four times by then and it still didn’t hurt it!” Analyn says, shaking her head. “And that Sect Enforcer was nothing to sneeze at. He switched between his rifles and other Skills easily, filling in the gaps whenever they needed him.”

“If they hadn’t been holding back to keep our people alive, we’d have had a lot more losses,” Damian says quietly, his eyes fixed on me. “You should give up and go back. Don’t bring more trouble for us.”

I sigh and nod, looking at the group for a moment more. “Thank you. For the food. But since we aren’t coming to an agreement on this, I’m going to take my leave.”

“You won’t last a day out there,” Damian says, his tone foreboding. “Just get out of the city.”

Rather than answer Damian, I smile and shake my head, walking out. None of the three move to block me, leaving me with my thoughts.

“Figure they’re going to sell me out?” I ask Ali while waiting for the elevator.

“They’ll probably give you a little head start, but I’m sure they will. You sure you don’t want to head back? We’ve picked up a bunch of information. And out of town, we’ve got a lot more advantages,” Ali says quietly, concern in his voice.

“We’re not done yet. I still want to take a look at the downtown. If they give me even an hour, I can get in.”

“And then what? They said it already—they’ve got surveillance everywhere.”

“Then we dance,” I say with a savage grin.

Chapter 16

No matter what people say, I’m not entirely insane. Foolhardy, short-tempered, and overly confident sometimes, sure. But not entirely insane. I don’t say completely sane, since well, I doubt any of us are entirely sane compared to pre-System standards. Though that does raise the question of if the standard of sanity has changed, with the “norm” shifting as we fight and kill for our survival.

Having been, quite literally, warned to leave, I was of course going to stay. I’d come to Vancouver for a few reasons, and I wasn’t satisfied with getting a partial complete on a couple of them. Firstly, scouting out the city was important. Sure, I could have bought the information, but there’s something to be said about actually seeing the changes. Never mind the fact that to buy the information, I’d have to know what kind of questions to ask and then pay for it. Cheaper and easier to visit and see it with my own eyes. Thus far, I’d only managed to make it to Burnaby which, at best, is a suburb. No, I need to visit Vancouver itself.

Secondly, splitting their forces is important. If they start fearing an attack in Vancouver, it means they’ll have fewer forces to devote to Kamloops. Us staying purely on the defensive would just allow them to concentrate whatever leftover forces they had. While my fight in Merritt had helped reduce and alert them, it wasn’t enough. I needed to make sure they stayed on the defensive.

Right now, I was very much like a chess queen let loose behind the lines. While I wouldn’t say I could knock out any single other piece without fail, given the right conditions, I was definitely a danger. That meant they could either let me roam and knock down their pieces or take active steps to go after me. But that only worked so long as I wasn’t cornered. Which meant I had to be unpredictable—and that meant going right into the lion’s den.

Thirdly, I needed to kill more to get my next Level. While hunting monsters was doable, at the level I was, I needed tens of thousands of experience points to advance. Bullying monsters wasn’t going to get me there any time soon and finding a higher Level zone, while possible, meant that I wasn’t being a threat to the Sect. Whether it was right or not, the Sect members were giant bags of experience and Credits.

Lastly, taking over Vancouver was necessary to ending this. To do that, we needed to understand how tough these guys were going to be and see if we could get some help from the residents. That meant poking at the forces they’d left behind to safeguard the city and opening channels of communication. The Sect might have beaten the initial resistance, but they’d left enough people around that, if they believed we could win, would be of great use to us. No matter what the kids thought, numbers do have an important quality—even if it’s not as much as pre-System.

Of course, talk is cheap. The fact that we’re putting up a fight in Kamloops might be heartening, but it isn’t convincing enough in and of itself to get them to risk their lives or their freedom. And it shouldn’t be. We’ve all struggled so hard to survive, throwing it away at the smallest hope is a bad idea.

Which means I need to prove that we can do more than hurt the Sect. We can beat them. And the best way to do that is to prove it right here, right now. In the middle of their stronghold. Of course, I’m gambling with my life. But as I trot down Kingsway at a speed that a cheetah would find fast, I’m grinning beneath my helmet.

Because this? This is the kind of shit I live for these days.

I hit Broadway in twenty minutes at a pace that is slow only because I had to skim around a couple of Sect groups while traveling down Kingsway. From here, it’d be simple enough to cross over to the downtown from the Cambie St. Bridge or swing around and go through the downtown eastside. Either would get me into downtown Vancouver. Problem is, even if I can’t see the bridge itself from here, I can see the numerous dots clustered in a line at regular intervals on my minimap that indicate people are lining up to get in. Trying to get in might kick things off immediately.

Which is why I move out of the way of the flow of people all around me while I consider my next steps. There’s no way for me to get downtown without making a fuss, which means it’s got to be at the bottom of my list of things to do. From here, it’d be a simple matter to visit the former Olympic Village and check out the buildings and the delvers who live there. Of course, there’s no guarantee anyone’s home and I’m not entirely sure what I’d say to them either. But…

A solid projectile impacts my stomach, bending me slightly. A second later, beams of energy cook my flesh, tearing my clothing into pieces and throwing me through the café windows, its internal walls, and out the other side even as magical arrows chase my body.

“Stupid.” The word reaches me after the attacks fall, the group smart enough to hold back on taunting me until after they struck.

By the time I hit the ground and start rolling, I’ve got my Soul Shield in place to catch the next wave of attacks. All around me, the bleed-off from the attacks flares up, reducing my vision significantly. Which is weird, but probably a purposeful side effect.

“You really dared to come into our city,” the same voice taunts. “When we bought your location from the System, we couldn’t believe you were here.”

I kick backward, hopping out of the immediate attacks, and then again, finally able to see who I’m fighting. For a second. A rolling green cloud covers the area, paint and plastic peeling and melting on contact with the cloud. I see my Soul Shield weakening under the effects of the corrosive poisonous cloud, even as the screams of innocent passersby reach my ears.

“Assholes,” I snarl, borrowing Ali’s eyes as he hovers overhead to Blink Step out of the area of effect.

I appear directly above one of my attackers, allowing me to drop straight down and slice the son of a bitch open, twisting the blade while its inside his body. I’m not even sure who I’m killing, the attack too sudden and unexpected for Ali to populate System information for me.

Kicking off the Sect member’s body, I bounce backward before more shots arrive, and I blink in surprise as the body pulls itself together, what I thought was a soon-to-be corpse healing before my eyes. The pale-skinned creature turns toward me, a mouthful of fangs and too-big eyes facing me as blood flows backward into its body.

“Yuck! Genetrolls. They’re genetically modified creatures who have troll regeneration added to them. They stopped being produced a few hundred years ago after repeated failures. About ninety percent of their test subjects just went insane. The survivors creep around the edges of society,” Ali sends to me, his fingers flying as he populates data all around me.

“Not. Now,” I snap, a fireball flying outward to impact next to the genetroll as Ali speaks, my focus on surviving the next few minutes.

Flames explode, coating the creature, which screams in pain and catches some of his friends in the blast as well. Within seconds, I’m sprinting away, trying to put some distance between my attackers and me. Smoke grenades are pulled and tossed from my inventory as I focus on running and dodging. My Soul Shield falls, another shot ripping it apart, and the laser beam splashes on my skin, burning it away and leaving muscle and tendon exposed. I jerk reflexively, moving away from the path of the beam before I Blink Step away, furious at myself.

I should have known they’d buy my location from the System. Once they realized there was only me out here, the first step would be to figure out where I am. Not track me, just buy my information. Even if it was expensive, they could do it once or twice to narrow down my location, then send their teams at me. The only good thing is they shot their bolt too early. Rather than consolidating their forces and hammering me all at once, they sent their closest groups to attack me.

Ahead of me, blocking my way to the river, is a group of nine Sect members. Half of them are human, the other half aliens. A couple of reptile folk, a wolf-like creature, and a Hakarta open fire the moment they see me. My hands twitch, and I pull the remains of a Level 38 hard-shelled beetle the size of a car from my Altered Space. Holding it in front of me, I let the corpse soak up the damage as Ali darts ahead.

Seconds to cover the ground, to give me the distance I need. I Blink Step again into the sky above the group and release a Blade Strike downward, the wave of blue and red light cutting my attackers below me. I could have added more blades, more Blade Strikes, but I need to conserve my Mana. A part of me regrets the deaths of the humans, wishing they’d stayed away. But we all make choices, and theirs was to attempt to kill me. Idiots weren’t even Level 30.

“Above us!”

The scream cuts off abruptly as I land directly on the gnoll’s body, my knee and shin crushing its collarbone a microsecond after my blade enters its body. I rip sideways, tearing the head off the creature, then dance among my attackers, blood flying. Basic Sect members, all in the mid 20s to low 30s. Nothing exceptional, some having as little as a few hundred health points, none above five hundred. Seconds to cut and injure, to kill. Soulbound, my sword does nearly a hundred points of damage without enhancement and targeting. With their pitiful armor and defenses, my attackers fall all around us, their screams of despair resounding. Experience flows into me as more Sect members die. Each second, I inch toward my next Level.

A giant bone hand swings, catching in my hastily brought up guard. A hand reinforces my blade, the force of the blow sending me skipping through numerous buildings as physics and a Skill knock me away. My arm cracks under the force of the blow, nearly a quarter of my hit points disappearing under that single attack. As I struggle to my feet in the rubble of a building, the Bone Monster is rushing toward me.

I plunge a needle into the exposed flesh of my thigh, the healing potion injected directly into my body. Flesh knits and my arm pops back into place with enough force that I drop my sword. Staring into the glowing freight train of a monster, I grin and Blink Step away.

“Gotcha,” I chortle as I get away from the Advanced Class.

I’m between my initial pursuers now, the group having spread out a bit as their running speeds pull them apart. Next to me is a Mage or support Classer of some form. Truthfully, I don’t have time to tell, only noticing that his health pool is tiny.

I spin, sword recalled into my hand, to lop off his foot above the knee then plunge the blade into his body. As another Sect member raises a gun, I grab the Mage by his face, pulling him in front of the attack to take it before I cast Mana Dart, forming the spell right on my hand. As I shove the Mage at his teammate, I release the spell, the Mana Darts ending the Mage’s life and giving me time to cover the distance to his friend. Something slams into my side, breaking a pair of ribs and dragging out a whimper.

“Mana,” Ali sends to me as I cut apart my latest target, grinning savagely in pain.

More dots, ever more dots converge on us and I take off running again, each step shooting pain through my body. A hand flickers, stabbing a Mana Regeneration potion into my body as I run and form another Soul Shield.

“Hopscotch,” I send to Ali.

Too many Sect members are boiling out of downtown now, some flying across the water, others screaming across the bridge and up Main St. No way for me to cross, and I’ve got less than half of my health points left. Still more than most of the Basic Sect members, but each time I stop to kill, they target me and chip away at my regeneration. And scarily enough, I’ve only seen one of their big guns.

“On it. Stay alive!” Ali sends to me.

I nod, taking a second to duck behind a house that nearly instantly gets obliterated by a pair of spells and what looks like a mortar shell. The explosion kicks wind and debris around me, hammering my Soul Shield as it drains down again.

Twisting in the air, I call forth Sabre and start the transformation process. I haven’t done it before because I didn’t have enough space and cover, the transformation process being the most vulnerable time. Even as I think that, another spell hits me, wind blades combined with a freezing spell cutting into the mecha and my shield.

We land, Sabre already blinking yellow as readouts tell of damaged circuits caught during the change. Immediately, I layer the mecha’s shield on top of the Soul Shield and take off running, picking up speed.

A laser beam fires, this one coming from the Wall Center, and cuts through both shields before losing its effectiveness against Sabre’s armor. A single shot did over a thousand points of damage! At a guess, that’d be the Sect Enforcer in play. I shudder and start dodging, glad that whatever Skill and weapon he’s using, it must take some time to charge.

“Ali…”

“Almost there, boy-o,” Ali sends.

Walls erupt ahead of me. I grin behind my helmet, jumping upward and hitting the jets to get me higher. That’s when tentacles come bursting out of the wall, reaching for my body. Even as one grabs my torso and another my head, I reach through Ali’s senses and trigger Blink Step. Surprisingly, I see my Mana drop even further than normal.

A microsecond to recover my footing, another to grab and smash my fist into the Sect member. This time, it’s a gilled purple creature, its eyes widening comically as my blow catches it. Surprisingly, the Sect member folds over, bones crunching under my attack. I don’t stop, can’t stop, as I spin around it and plunge my sword through its back. A quick twist, a strangled scream, and I’m off. Experience flows again and another notification flickers in the corner of my vision.

“That was too easy!” I send to Ali.

“Non-combatant Sect member,” Ali sends to me as he flies away.

A part of me winces—a small part, since I’m too busy running away. We’re behind the main converging line now, the group turning to follow us. Ahead of us, even more Sect members are hurrying forward. I pick a group to fight, watching my health creep up as my regeneration kicks in and pulls ribs back into place. Just over nine hundred hit points, but only three hundred Mana. This is going well. For getting caught in an ambush.

“Aaaarrrgghhhhhhhhhhh!” Ali’s mental scream catches me by surprise.

I look back and see the Spirit twist in the air, clutching his head. A second later, he disappears in a burst of light, banished. Through our connection, I can feel the burning pain from the psychic attack he was under.

Swearing quietly, I trigger the Temporal Shift module and a Mana potion from within Sabre. It floods my body, giving me a few hundred more Mana to play with. That’s enough of a leeway for me to Blink Step to a nearby power pole. A second to orient myself, then I trigger it again. And then once more, crossing nearly a kilometer and a half in seconds. No time to rest, so I port straight to an abandoned alleyway and transform Sabre so that I can take advantage of the greater speed and mobility the bike provides.

Without Ali, I can’t skip away as far as I want to. Can’t even sneak out, not with everyone looking for me. The only advantage I have is that I’m in Burnaby now, outside of Vancouver itself, which means the main sensors they’ve installed are probably reduced in effectiveness and I broke out of their initial encirclement. Speed is my only advantage right now.

This might have been a bad idea.

Once my breathing calms down, I assess options as I eye my much-reduced minimap. Without Ali’s greater sensing ability, it’s shrunk to only what my Greater Detection Skill can provide. Less detail, lower range. It’s still better than what most others have, I know, many having to rely on technology or enhanced senses. Still, without Ali, I feel half-blind.

A small blinking notification in the corner of my eyes attracts my attention, pulling me from my worries as I gun down side streets. A moment’s thought is all I need, the notification making me grin. Finally!

Level Up!

You have reached Level 40 as an Erethran Honor Guard. Stat Points automatically distributed. You have 9 Free Attributes and 3 Class Skill Points to distribute.

Tier III Class Skills Unlocked

Now we’re talking. I slam the first free Class Skill point into Portal, my long-range teleportation ability. It flashes, the details coming up within seconds. I crouch down further behind my bike, watching attacks splash harmlessly against Sabre’s recovered shield as I zoom past another group of attackers.

Portal (Level 1)

Effect: Creates a 2-meter by 2-meter tall portal that can connect to a previously traveled location by user. May be used by others. Maximum distance range of portals is 100 kilometers.

Cost: 250 Mana + 100 Mana per minute

Damn. I’m slightly disappointed with the range. Nowhere near as far as I wanted it to go. After all, once you’re bending the laws of space and time, why should distance matter? I push the thought aside, knowing that bitching about distance isn’t the point right now. Still, I take a turn down a side street and onto a main thoroughfare, catching the next group of Sect members by surprise.

The sonic pulser gives me enough time to use my blade as an impromptu spear as I lean dangerously away from the bike. I leave my sword speared in the Sect member’s chest where his heart should be. If its physiology is human-like. The fireball I launch afterward finishes the job, a blip in the corner of my eyes telling me I probably got experience for that kill. No time or desire to check it.

I leave the other two points unused for now. While I have plans for them, those plans rely on me surviving the next few hours. Tapping into those points for a sudden power boost might be all that I need to make it out of here.

By reflex, I turn my head, scanning around me. Something high above, a flicker of light, catches my attention. Looking up, I see not one but a half-dozen drones spreading out along my lines of retreat. With a crunch, a flicker, Sabre’s shield goes down again. Something pink and fluttery, meaty and garishly blue flies past me as I turn forward again and pay attention to where I’m going. No experience notification this time, so I probably didn’t kill whoever—whatever—I just ran over with my bike. I mentally shift the power drain by the shield recharger higher, drawing more from the Mana battery and overheating the poor shield.

A bare couple hundred Mana left in my personal pool. Barely enough for a pair of Blink Steps, then I’m in Mana withdrawal and nearly useless. The few Sect members who get close get shot at, more to keep their heads down than in hopes of hurting them. But their attacks hurt, chipping away at Sabre’s shield. After that, its armor and my health. I’m reminded once again that Skills don’t matter if you don’t have the Mana to back them up.

I keep swerving, hoping to give whoever’s out there a harder time of shooting me. Instinct makes me change direction earlier than usual. A second later, the ground where I’d have been evaporates, asphalt gone and the sewer system exposed as the Sect Enforcer fires again. Even the near-miss is enough to melt my nanite armor and scorch my bare flesh, sweat evaporating in an explosion of steam.

Damn it! I can’t risk it any longer. A second later, I trigger another Mana potion, the second one within an hour. My Mana goes up immediately and I open the Portal, driving straight into its sinister void seconds before the potion feedback hits, sending me screaming into darkness.

Chapter 17

“Well, that was stupid,” Ali says, floating beside me in the inky blackness of the lake.

We’re back at the same lake bottom, the location of my Portal, surrounded by fish and the damaged portions of my mecha. Thankfully, the Portal could be set to be one-way, which meant no one had any clue I was at the bottom of a lake. And I know that because if they knew I was here, I’d probably have eaten another laser beam of death. As it stood, after porting in, I’d pretty much fainted from the potion backlash, the lack of Mana, and the damage done to me. I’d barely managed to trigger the mecha’s transformation to encase me in the suit and keep me alive under the water.

“Damian didn’t tell me about the laser beam of death,” I grumble to Ali. Sabre’s down to a barebones output of Mana, just the Temporal Shift module, life support, and the nanite factory. By the time I awoke, I’d fully healed and even the Mana headache had mostly subsided.

“He probably didn’t use it,” Ali says. “Remember, they were trying to keep the humans alive. Can’t get good prison labor out of corpses.”

“That reminds me. Necromancy…?” I ask.

“Works. You can get zombies and skeletons and the like, but it’s no more effective than any other summoner. The undead aren’t particularly smart, so an undead workforce isn’t useful outside of the most rudimentary tasks.”

“Good to know.” I sigh, taking the time to allocate the last two Skill points I have. Once I’m done, I pull out my new status, curious to see where I am.

Status Screen

Name

John Lee

Class

Erethran Honor Guard

Race

Human (Male)

Level

40

Titles

Monster’s Bane, Redeemer of the Dead

Health

1850

Stamina

1850

Mana

1400

Mana Regeneration

102 / minute

Attributes

Strength

100

Agility

175

Constitution

185

Perception

61

Intelligence

142

Willpower

142

Charisma

16

Luck

32

Class Skills

Mana Imbue

2

Blade Strike

2

Thousand Steps

1

Altered Space

2

Two are One

1

The Body’s Resolve

3

Greater Detection

1

A Thousand Blades

1

Soul Shield

2

Blink Step

2

Portal

3

Instantaneous Inventory*

1

Cleave*

2

Frenzy*

1

Elemental Strike*

1 (Ice)

Shrunken Footsteps*

1

Tech Link*

2

Combat Spells

Improved Minor Healing (II)

Greater Regeneration

Greater Healing

Mana Drip

Improved Mana Dart (IV)

Enhanced Lightning Strike

Fireball

Polar Zone

Freezing Blade

“You nearly died out there, boy-o,” Ali says softly.

I have to agree with the Spirit. While I had meant to take the risk, and planned for it, I hadn’t expected it to be quite that risky. If it hadn’t been for the Body’s Resolve and my ridiculously high health, along with judicious use of Soul Shield, I would have died quite a few times. Thankfully, I can take a lot of damage, and Blink Step means it’s really hard to pin me down in a fight. Even the Erethran Honor Guard’s resistances help in small doses, mostly from side effects of damage, like fire and cold resistances.

That’s why I had to be the one to do this. Mikito is tough and fast and frankly, fast becoming deadlier than I am in a straight-out fight. Her weapon can dish out more damage than mine, has better reach, and she’s both more skilled and Skilled for straight-on duels. Lana would have died fast because she’s just too squishy, and Ingrid… well, okay, Ingrid probably wouldn’t have been caught even if they knew where she was.

“So how long are we staying here?” Ali asks, waving his hand around the water.

“Not sure. Debating if they’d spend more funds to locate me. If they don’t, this is a great place to hide. If they do, I need to be on the move,” I say, reaching up to rub my chin and finding my helmet in the way. I frown, itching to eat something but not having the option to do so. Well, outside of the damn food paste the nanites can produce. But we don’t consider that food.

“Recommend you portal out of here anyway,” Ali says.

I sigh. This time around, with more points stuck into Portal—all my remaining ones, in fact—my range had significantly increased. Even so, wielding Mana in any form hurts right now. Even summoning Ali had been painful, but I felt safer with his presence.

Still, the damn Spirit has a point. A few minutes later, I’m stretching and savoring the experience of being free of both Sabre and my armor while standing in Kamloops’s City Center. Painful as it might be, a Cleanse spell a second later makes me feel so much better, though I promise myself a hot shower too. But first…

“Guys. I’m back,” I say over the radio, sending a notice to the group.

Lana and Sam answer immediately, and I make promises to see them soon. Food first though, as my stomach’s rumbling again.

“Ingrid’s left a few messages,” Ali says, waving at the city center orb.

I grunt, walk over to place my hand on it, and pull up the messages.

In Seattle safe. City is weird—multiple Shops situated throughout the city with each Shop creating its own “city,” unlike in Whitehorse. The Sect has control of most of the minor towns north of Seattle and about a quarter of the Shops in northern Seattle itself. :( They have lost major ground recently as the humans have been pushing back hard. Will update later when I know more.

I frown, reading the message quickly. Good to know she managed to make it down safely, even if the message itself was weeks old by now.

No messages for me? You suck. :P

Met some friendly—too friendly in some cases—humans. Quite a few groups of survivors down here, each of them competing and centering their bases around the Shops. Some are going all Mad Max while others are trying to be nice. Nicer groups include a bunch of geeks who nearly all Classed as Mages of some sort centered around Microsoft’s headquarters and another group of hipster coffee makers who make the best coffee ever. We got to get some of this going—their coffee tastes like heaven and bumps up Mana regeneration without affecting other potions. I’m writing this right now on it. So good.

You were right. The humans down here are really keeping the Sect on their toes. They’re fighting back and stubborn and the Sect has to keep most of their troops down here. I’ve spotted quite a few scouts watching the Sect. Any time they shift forces one way or the other, someone attacks the weakened group. If they didn’t have so many Advanced Classers, they’d be wiped out already.

There are other groups that Liam—the coffee brewer boss—promises to introduce me to. He’s real nice and says he’s interested but figures everyone is too tightly wound to actually help. Best we can hope for is a bit more of a push. But I’ll see what I can do. Might have to kill a few Sect members to prove things.

PS: Forgot. Almost everyone who leads a group has an Advanced Class, though no one’s above Level 15. Highest is a 13 so far, but I think they’ve been funneling kills to him because everyone else on his group is in the 30s. Mage group is nearly ready to break into their Advanced Class—give them a few months and their elites will be there. They’re scarily good but very cautious.

Interesting. It seems like at least one group has learned how to cheat the System’s experience a bit. Or I might be over-thinking things. There could be a dozen different reasons for why the leader has much higher experience points. Still, something I’d love to look into later…

Still no messages? What, do I smell bad? Making a girl feel a little abandoned here.

Remember how I pointed out I wasn’t real good at this talk nice to people thing and you should send Lana? Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I might have had to kill a few Americans. In my defense, they were racist, sexist, misogynistic, torturing pigs. Also, they were trying to kill some new friends of mine and had good loot. So yeah, keep an eye out for the Sons of Odin when you come down.

I’ll keep talking to people here, but I don’t think we’re going to get that much help. They’re a bit too fractured. If they weren’t, they’d probably have kicked the Sect’s ass by themselves anyway. I’ll keep trying though. It’s been fun.

I rub my face as I read the last message. Just what we needed. Another group of enemies. Then again, considering their name, I could guess the kind of idiots they are anyway. Any group that decides the Vikings are people they want to emulate will never be high on my friend list. Seriously, study some history, people.

I consider what to write before I jot down a quick message thanking Ingrid for her help and letting her know that my part of the plan had some progress. After that, sending out a few more letters, simple messages to old friends, makes sense.

Once that’s done, I do a quick check and wince. Nearly two hundred million to set up an anti-teleport formation. As useful as that might be, I decide against it. Not that I can afford it, but it’s the thought that counts. After all, a long-range teleport Skill that includes more than one individual is pretty rare.

Stepping away from the orb, I assess my surroundings again. Sabre’s lying on the ground, its Mana battery slowly recharging, nanites crawling over the frame to fix gouges and burnt-out components. Traces of dried blood lie all across the exterior and interior, somehow not washed away by the water. I raise my arm, ready to cast Cleanse on it and pause, staring at the trembling digits.

Strange. I stare at my hand, puzzled, unable to grasp what I’m seeing. Then the shakes hit my legs, a wave of weakness taking me to my knees as my breath shortens. I struggle to draw a breath, my chest tight as my hands tremble uncontrollably. The shudders reach my body, my teeth chattering as memories of the battle erupt, taking me back. The laser beam, a sword that cuts through armor, a bone fist. Moments of crisis, of imminent danger. One after the other.

Aftershocks. I know what this is, understand the effects. How could I not? The reliving of memories, the shakes, it’s all natural. Now that I’m safe, my mind is finally releasing the clamps that have kept me from unraveling. It’s good for me even as my mind processes the violent encounters, reorganizes, and resets my nerves and body.

Natural perhaps, but tears drip from my eyes nonetheless. A woman thrown aside by an explosive, brown eyes filled with shock and betrayal. An innocent caught in the midst of my grandstanding. A green-eyed, slit-pupiled alien staring at me from inches away as his life drains. Screams of pain, a still-kicking leg against a grey concrete sidewalk. Memories.

The shudders slowly stop, the memories subsiding as my breathing evens out. I scrub my face, wiping away the tear tracks, and spit to clear the blood from the lip I bit through. Perhaps I could, I should, be able to handle this better with the System’s help. Certainly I don’t fall to pieces like this all the time. Perhaps I could wipe away all of this with an application of will and Skill.

But I’m glad I don’t and can’t. So little of me that I can unilaterally point to as being human is left. So little of the quiet programmer I was pre-System. Better to have a breakdown once in a while, to hate and regret the lives I take and the violence that has happened, than to remove it all. Because if I did, I’m not sure I’d like the person left.

By that point, my stomach’s growling and occasional bars of chocolate eaten while working is no longer sufficient. Thankfully there’s a restaurant—the Loose Goose—nearby, which I visit at Ali’s insistence. Truth be told, I don’t have much energy to gainsay him. I have to admit, I nearly choke when I see the sheer amount of Credits they’re asking for—until I realize they’re offering an all-you-can-eat buffet. Still, I’m amused that they changed the name but not the red-and-steel décor of the previous chain.

Food paired with blessed peace and silence all slowly pull the shards of my calm together. By the time Sam finds me, I’m mostly myself once again, my mental and emotional equilibrium restored. Just another “gift” from the System. Or perhaps too much experience.

“You know, as the titular owner of the city, you shouldn’t be trying to eat your people out of house and home,” Sam says, grabbing a seat next to me.

“Nice to see you too,” I greet the Technomancer, nodding at the silver-haired gentleman.

“You do what you planned to do?” Sam says.

“Pretty much. Attacks still coming?”

Sam nods, his face grim.

On seeing that, I add, “What?”

“We nearly lost Mikito two days ago. The Blood Warrior and his team hit her group while they were hunting in the park. Focused their entire attack on her, and since she refused to run away…” Sam shakes his head.

“How’d she survive?” I say, concern tingeing my voice. Only a little bit, since he said nearly. Anything that doesn’t kill us in this world quite literally makes us stronger.

“Her trainee stuck by her side long enough for the team to get far away enough and sneak back to counter-ambush the group. The team managed to kill a couple of their people and let Mikito injure the Blood Warrior. Her trainee didn’t survive though.”

Shit. I wonder how the Japanese woman is handling that. Losing a trainee, an apprentice can’t be good for her.

“Where is she?” I ask.

“Out.”

Of course she’s out, hunting and dragging the groups around to Level them up. Whether it’s because she’s got an over-developed sense of responsibility or just a need to bury her grief, she’s out with her people.

“Lana says she needs some time,” Sam says softly at seeing the worry on my face.

I nod, accepting his words. Still, I make a note to see if I can have a word with my friend.

“The night attacks?” I ask.

Sam makes a face, telling me all I need to know. Of course, he does explain it anyway, listing all the different ways Mel has tried to catch the group before they run away. Even having the entire town up and watching with groups ranging around at night has done little to stop the annoyances of the midnight attacks.

“We could have used Ali for the night attacks,” Lana says, dropping into a chair next to me as I finish picking my latest plate clean.

Stomach finally satisfied, I push the plates away and stare at my some-time girlfriend. From her unhappy expression, I can tell she’s still not gotten over my abrupt departure.

“Hi, Lana. Ali couldn’t find them the last time. Don’t think he’d be of much help even now,” I say with a shrug. “And I needed him.”

“And how many times did he almost get killed?” Lana asks Ali sweetly, violet eyes glinting with the promise of violence if Ali doesn’t tell the truth.

“Ummm… we talking total or number of battles? Just two major fights. About… a dozen times? Something like that,” Ali says with a shrug. “I kind of lost count.”

“Only a dozen. I take it that happened in Vancouver,” Lana says, still ignoring me.

“Mostly. Running away in Merritt was tougher than we thought—they had a tracker,” Ali says as way of explanation.

“Ah. And of course, buying a Stealth Class Skill would not have helped,” Lana says again, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

I twitch, recalling her asking me to take her Credits to buy myself that Skill and my subsequent refusal. Pride—for using only my own Credits—and idiotic stubbornness stopped me from doing so. Even if she doesn’t say it directly, I can hear the “I told you.”

“Well, a single point probably wouldn’t have helped boy-o against the tracker,” Ali says, coming to my defense.

“Maybe not a lot. But what is it you guys keep saying? That everything’s on a razor edge?” Sam says, getting into the conversation. “Me, I like having lots of Skills. Even if I can’t use all of them very well, having more options seems like a good idea.”

“Yes, but you can also integrate those Skills into your machines,” Ali says pointedly to Sam.

I blink, since I didn’t even realize that that was an option for Sam. Someday, I really need to explore Sam’s full Skill list and what he can actually do. I have a feeling I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

“If we’re done talking about how stupid I was…” I glare at Ali, who opens his mouth to retort, before I continue. “I did Level. How are we doing on the rest of the plan?”

There’re a few quick smiles at that one, but Lana looks around at the obviously unsecured area. I nod to her to go on.

After a moment, she does. “We’re getting there. We’ve managed to double our revenue, so we should be able to pick up some decent upgrades for the city. The hunting groups have picked up a few more Levels as well. However, morale continues to be down and we’ve lost a full group since you’ve been gone.”

“Good,” I say, considering her words. “There’s a lot I need to talk to you all about.”

“Tonight?” Lana asks, glancing out the window to the sky outside.

It’s only a few hours left till dusk —time enough for me to wash and rest and Mikito to get back. Still, I hesitate, judging my mental and emotional balance.

“No. Tomorrow,” I say.

Lana frowns, seeing something in my face because she just nods and kisses me on the cheek. “I’ll see you tonight then.”

I open my mouth then close it, shutting down the automatic rejection. Mentally cursing myself, I keep quiet. Why would I reject her presence tonight?

“At a guess, because you’re stupid and don’t want to look vulnerable to your girl,” Ali says then chuckles softly as I shoot him a startled glance. “Oh please. I’ve lived with you for over a year. Reading you is easy.”

I grunt, watching the redhead walk away before glancing toward Sam and realizing the older man has already left. A moment of scanning shows he’s working his way through the buffet tables with a giant pile of meat. I’m in worse shape than I thought if I missed his movements that easily. On that note, I decide to take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow and all that it will entail will still come.

Chapter 18

Surprisingly, at least to me, the evening with Lana progressed pleasantly. Annoyed or not, the woman seemed to understand that I needed a bit of time to decompress, and so we spent the evening mostly in companionable silence. With a very pleasant massage that did not lead to anything too strenuous afterward. Perhaps it was because of that that I found myself waking up late the next day, alerted by Lana shifting on my arm to stand up.

“Morning, beautiful,” I greet Lana with a smile. Once again, I admire the redhead, her pale skin and lightly freckled body combined with a subtle level of athletic muscles that enhanced her femininity.

“Morning,” Lana says, turning to smile at me as she dresses. “Feeling better?”

“Yes,” I say, tilting my head. “Was it that obvious?”

“To those of us who know you? Definitely,” Lana says.

“You seem better…” I say slowly, cautiously. She does seem less agitated, less angry, than the day before.

“I just needed a night off. Time to understand, to know, that you’re back. Alive.” Lana sits back down next to me, clad only in her shirt, and puts a hand on my arm. “I know you are who you are. I even… well, it’s what attracts me to you. But it’s not easy, knowing you’ll always throw yourself into the fire.”

I blink, stopping to consider her words. After a moment, I squeeze her hand and smile at her wryly. “Sorry. I didn’t really think about it that way.”

“No, of course you didn’t. You idiot,” Lana says affectionately before kissing my forehead. “Now go brush your teeth. The rest are waiting for us.”

I nod, watching as Lana finishes getting dressed before I move, a strange feeling in my stomach. It’s been so many years since I had someone who actually cared about what I did or where I was that it was strange. It was a feeling that I had been missing with Luthien, an aspect of our relationship that I probably should have taken as a sign. Shaking my head, I promise to try to be better.

Pushing aside the remnants of my breakfast, I stare at the group around me. This time, it includes everyone on my team and the erstwhile council, including a very tired-looking Mel. Curiously, no attacks were made last night, though it didn’t stop the Gunslinger from staying up all night.

“Right,” I say, cutting through the conversations. “Let’s begin.”

For the next hour or so, my team and the council gives me a more thorough briefing about the city’s status. It can all be boiled down to not much change but mostly for the better. More Levels, a growing economy, a more settled populace are all the positives. The negatives all concern the Sect and their continued presence.

“Thank you,” I say after everyone finally runs down. “Ingrid’s reported in, as many of you know. We aren’t going to get much help from the US, but it’s unlikely the Sect is willing to risk pulling out more forces to hit us. Not until they can stabilize their situation down south. That means we only need to concern ourselves with the players in BC.

“Vancouver’s doing worse than we hoped for. The Sect’s a lot stronger there than what we’ve seen here.” I quickly fill them in on the revolution, the deportation, and the Advanced Class members I fought. More than a few of my audience suck in a breath or show their uncertainty as I describe the fight. “That’s pretty much where we stand now.”

After I’m done, there’s a bit of conversation, whispered words between the council members and Mel, between Sam and Lana and the others. Mostly, my team holds off on talking to each other, knowing me as well as they do.

After the initial conversation trails off, I break in. “The way I see it, we have the same two choices we started with weeks ago. Hunker down, keep growing our people, and hope we can Level everyone faster than the Sect can shift resources to the planet. All while they have free rein to attack us and whittle our people down. Of course, they’ve got to divert their people to bothering us but…” I shrug, figuring they understand the point. The Sect doesn’t need to Level their attackers, not the way we do.

“Or…?” Torg says.

“Or we take a little risk. It’s why I left.” I pause before committing to telling these guys what I planned. The team knows, of course; it’s why we argued. “We take the fight back to them. Hit Vernon again, then Kelowna in short order. Except instead of just my team, this time we take a large portion of our fighting force and do it properly. At the same time, we attack the group that’s been hounding us at night.”

“We don’t even know where they are!” Mel says bitterly.

“We can buy their location from the Shop,” I say. “It’d be expensive and probably take most of our savings, but we can do it.”

“You’d be leaving the city undefended! It’s only a few hours’ drive from Vancouver. If those Advanced Class members or a few groups come, we’ll lose everything,” Benjamin says, shaking his head. “I can’t agree to a risk like that.”

“And you’re talking about hitting at least two, if not three, groups. We don’t have the people,” Mel adds.

“We’ve still got the Hakarta here. And that’s the other reason I left. You see, I’ve got this Skill now,” I say with a smile.

It doesn’t take long to fill them in on Portal. Mel grasps the advantages first, the others requiring a little more prodding before they understand. I don’t mind. It took me a bit to really grasp what Portal can do. In the end, it comes down to a simple thing—mobility.

“I’ll admit, you’ll be able to reinforce us quickly, especially if we use Skills and technology to keep you informed but…” Ben says, doubt in his tone. “It’s still a risk. The Sect has a lot of Advanced Classers out there.”

“That’s why we asked some friends to visit,” Lana says with a smile. “They can’t leave their homes for long, but for a quick strike, they’d be happy to help.”

“Friends?” Mel says, something glimmering in his eyes as his gaze sweeps over my team. “I take it they’re tough.”

“Some of the toughest we know,” I say, smiling.

“When were you thinking of doing this?” Ben says, worry on his face.

“Well, today,” I say, looking up as Ali signals me that we’ve gotten a reply.

As the council streams out unhappily after being railroaded, I find Lana standing beside me, waiting. It’s only when they’ve left that she speaks.

“Why did you bother?” she says, her tone filled with curiosity.

“Bother?” I repeat.

“Giving them an option. You knew you were doing this anyway,” Lana says.

“Ah… I was told that as a leader, you should at least try to explain your reasoning to others.”

Lana stares at me, her eyes widening incredulously before she giggles. I frown, a bit annoyed by the giggling. Fine. I’m not exactly used to leading. At least not like this. Hell, even pre-System, I mostly just did my own thing in the jobs I worked.

When the giggling comes to an end, Lana says, “I’m sorry. But next time, maybe you can work on giving people more time to get used to the idea before insisting on your way.”

I consider what I’ve seen of her skillsets then nod. A glance at the time shows I’ve still got a bit of time before I should open the Portal.

“John?” Lana draws my attention back to her. “Why are you still the owner of the town?”

“Hmmm?” I say, tilting my head.

“Why haven’t you just given it back to the townspeople?” Lana says. “Set up some democratic elections or something? Keeping it isn’t really your style.”

“Tired of me giving you all the hard work?” I say, teasing her.

“Actually, yes,” Lana says huffily before she relents slightly. “People do like to know what the hell is happening. You keep things too close to your chest sometimes.”

I pause before nodding. “Sorry. And you’re right. I’ve gotten a little more paranoid since the System. It’s just that since everything said can be purchased…”

“You’re worried someone might learn what you’re doing?” Lana says.

I nod. “It’s stupid really. All-encompassing surveillance might be great in theory, but it doesn’t help if you don’t look. And we’re so insignificant…” We really are, in the greater scheme of things. “But I can’t shake the feeling that I shouldn’t talk about my future plans.”

Lana stays silent while I grapple with the practical and the emotional considerations. At times, I open my mouth then shut it, finally giving in to the practical.

“Do you know much about how the Galactic Council operates?” At her denial, I continue. “Think of it like the UN. Each world gets a representative on the general Galactic Council. Within the Council itself, there’s an inner circle, a smaller group that makes all the decisions, like the UN Security Council. Except these guys actually have a lot of power and get things done. They’re the ones who made Earth a Dungeon World, for example.

“To get a seat on the general council, you’ve got to be in control of your world—or at least the majority of it. Sort of like the way you can get a city, you’ve got to do the same thing with your world. Of course, owning that much of a world can be impossible, so in those cases, you’d have to enact voting of some sort,” I say, looking at Lana to see if she gets it. “It’s worth noting that no Dungeon World has ever had a seat on the Galactic Council. Too many interests fighting for control, so no one gets a seat.”

“And you want to change that,” Lana says quietly, staring at me. I nod slowly, and she grimaces. “That’s ambitious.”

“Just a little. But you’ve seen the Yerick. They lost their world. I don’t want us to be like them. But to get involved in the voting process, to start the ball rolling even, we need—I need—a stake in it.” I wave my hand around us, encompassing the city.

“You don’t ever think small, do you?” Lana says, giving me a hug.

“No. But it’s what we need. As a race,” I say softly.

I won’t let us become like the poor Yerick, just another race forcefully added to the System. Now they don’t even control their own home planet, forced to drift through the Galactic System as adventurers and transients. They do well—for third-class citizens—but it’s not what I want for humanity. Maybe it’s insane to think that I can make a difference, but it’s better than sitting around adding Levels for the hell of it.

“Speaking of the Yerick…” Ali says leadingly, tapping his wrist.

Nodding at the Spirit, I detach myself from Lana. Time to get back to work.

For the first time, I get a chance to marvel at the Portal I can conjure. It’s the third Portal I’ve cast, but it’s the first time I’ve done so when I’m not being shot at or hiding in a lake. Neither of which is particularly conducive to admiring your work. The Portal itself is a gaping hole in space bordered with shimmering golden light. The center is nothing but a stygian blackness, one that neither reflects light nor provides any clue of what lies behind. If I wasn’t the one who had summoned it, I probably would have found it difficult to transit through. Luckily, my friends are more trusting and less paranoid than I am.

The first to exit is a giant Yerick. Just under ten feet tall, the leader of the Yerick in Whitehorse is broad-shouldered, ripped, and bull-headed. Literally. The Yerick are what we knew as minotaurs, creatures of great strength and an infallible sense of direction. Of course, the reality is that they’re just Adventurers who hit dungeons a lot, but that’s Mana Bleed for you. Behind him, a shorter female Minotaur in a simple armored jumpsuit follows, her eyes dancing with amusement as she looks around.

“First Fist. Nelia!” I greet both of my friends/ex-teammates with a smile and a handshake.

Capstan takes my hand with care, not crushing it, as does Nelia.

“It is good to see you, Redeemer. I see you have Leveled again,” Capstan rumbles, his voice low and gravelly.

“And you. Thank you for coming,” I say.

“No thanks needed. Just payment.” Capstan flashes me a smile.

I know he’s mostly joking. Even knowing that he’s a friend, I find the smile intimidating. Leaving Lana to continue greeting the pair, I turn to the next individual to enter. “Mike?”

“No need to sound so surprised.” Mike Gadsby, the Level 8 Regional Guardian, smiles at me. I return his smile, taking in his new Advanced Class and the gunmetal-and-chrome arm. “And yes, I upgraded it.” Mike flexes his left arm, grinning at me, his mustache waggling as he does so.

“Sorry, just surprised. I figured—”

“Jason would come? Not a chance. Rachel isn’t letting him out of her sight, not with her so close to giving birth,” Mike says with a smile. Before I can ask about their health, Mike grows serious. “Anyway, protecting the citizens of Canada is my job. Gave my oath long before the System.”

“We both did,” Amelia, the stocky ex-RCMP officer, says as she exits the Portal. She is once again dressed in her old uniform, this one adjusted slightly to cover her armored jumpsuit. After she clears the entryway, she shudders as she stares at the Portal. “That thing is so creepy.”

“Hmmm?” I’m curious to hear what she has to say. Transportation is instantaneous and doesn’t even feel like anything, at least to me.

“Just the entire teleportation thing. So weird…”

I nod in understanding. Amelia’s not gotten her Advanced Class yet, though she’s only a couple of Levels away. No surprise there. Since Jason has been on guard duty, Mike has been forced to take on more active roles in Carcross, resulting in his Level jumping up. Amelia, on the other hand, has been in town, dealing with the day-to-day policing issues.

I blink as Vir, Amelia’s Truinnar partner, steps out behind her, hands clasped behind his back, wearing his silver-grey uniform. Among other things, Vir is Lord Roxley’s right hand and what I believe to be his spymaster as well as Amelia’s on-off partner while she works the streets of Whitehorse. Of course, considering how high Vir’s Level is, I’m not likely to turn him down. Still, I can’t say I’m happy to see him or what he represents.

The black-skinned, pointy-eared humanoid greets me with a tight-lipped smile. “Mr. Lee.”

“Why are you here?” I frown.

“John…” Lana chides me, walking forward to greet Vir.

“Mr. Lee’s reaction is expected, Ms. Pearson.” Vir kisses Lana’s hand as he bows over it. “He is, as always, predictable. My lord has requested I provide what I am able to in your most recent endeavor.”

“And of course, report what is going on,” I say with a bite.

“Of course,” Vir says, refusing to be ashamed of his secondary goals.

“Well, you’re here.” I close the Portal after I ascertain no one else is coming. “Let’s get started.”

Hours later. First, greeting and introducing everyone, then explaining the roles I had planned for them. Then, there’re all the questions I have to answer about potential problems, all the contingencies I’ve made or all the ones that we need to make.

In the end, the plan boils down to what we’ve discussed already. By shifting a few of my people and the Hakarta platoon in-house, we’ll be able to send my team, the Yukoners, and the hunting groups to hit the other areas. Of course, there was quite a bit of discussion on whether to split or attack sequentially. In the end, the fact that we feel we have enough people to launch simultaneous attacks tipped the balance in that direction.

It’s mid-afternoon by the time we’re done, and between lunch and needing to brief everyone involved, there’s no way to get going until tomorrow. As it stands, the unlucky few who have to stay behind have to familiarize themselves with the city.

“Tomorrow then,” I say, looking around the group.

“Still don’t see why I have to guard the city,” Amelia says grumpily to Mike and Lana.

“Well, Guardian, your Skills fare better on the defense. Buying time is the entire point of those left behind,” Lana explains patiently.

“Mike gets to go!” Amelia protests.

“My Skills let me boost those around me, along with dishing out the pain. You’re geared toward individual fighting and wide-range defense. I’m the better choice for an attack, especially if that Bone Monster or Sect Enforcer is out there,” Mike says patiently.

Amelia makes a face but falls silent.

Capstan finds me at that point, looming over me. “I am uncomfortable with leaving Nelia behind.”

Nelia snorts quietly by his side.

“Sorry. We need a Healer back here to help drag things out. The hunter groups out here are a lot more healing intensive than Whitehorse, so the attacking teams should be fine,” I say.

“Aye. Still, I have a suggestion…” Capstan is cut off by the blaring of alarms and the flashing notification that appears in front of us.

“What…?” I exclaim before staring at the newly populated map.

Red and green dots everywhere. Even as I’m reacting in surprise, another notification shows up, indicating a sudden drain on the settlement’s shield.

DECLARATION OF WAR

AS THE OWNER OF KAMLOOPS, YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT A STATE OF WAR NOW EXISTS BETWEEN THE THIRTEEN MOON SECT AND THE VILLAGE OF KAMLOOPS (OWNER JOHN LEE).

ALL WAR PROVISIONS ARE ENACTED AND WILL BE ENFORCED UNTIL A MUTUAL STATE OF PEACE HAS BEEN ADOPTED, THE DESTRUCTION OF ONE PARTY, OR A PERIOD OF ONE GALACTIC YEAR HAS PASSED.

The System notification window—this time a giant blue screen, all in block letters—appears. I blink, reading through it quickly before dismissing the note.

Ali announces, “We’re under attack.”

Chapter 19

Everyone in the meeting is a veteran. Whether we chose it or not, we understand that speed at certain times is essential. The only order I give is to hold my team back as a reserve, allowing everyone else to rush to the walls where we have been attacked. Even as the Yukoners run, Mel’s barking out orders to slot them into his plans.

“Whoever was hiding the attackers is still masking their Classes and Levels,” Ali sends to everyone via the city’s notification system. It’ll be confusing for those not involved in the defense, but it’s also the fastest way for us to get out essential information.

“Got it,” Mel says, his voice cackling over the radio. “I’m briefing the newcomers on the communication protocols. We’ll be able to talk properly soon. Hold all non-essential communication till then.”

“I’ve started the online process for the sentinels,” Sam says, his eyes half unfocused. “We’ve done a few upgrades to them since you’ve been here last, John. Got my drones in the air too, Give me a couple of minutes and I can feed us more detailed information.”

“Shields are holding, but they won’t hold for more than another two minutes,” Lana says.

Out of nowhere, Roland pops into existence next to me, nearly making me jump. Would have, if Ingrid didn’t do it all the time and made me slightly inured to friendly creatures trying to make me soil my pants.

My mind’s spinning. If they’re taking down the settlement shield this fast, it’s got to be because more than their original attack group is here. In fact, there’s got to be quite a few people. A glance at the icons on the map is enough to tell me that there’s at least one hundred twenty. Probably including a bunch of Advanced Class players. The question, of course, is what they’re doing here.

Actually, that isn’t the question. The question is what I intend to do about it. Without a word, I’m heading for the City Core.

“No point in keeping funds for figuring out where they are,” I mutter as I sprint down the corridor, closely followed by Lana riding her tiger. A part of me is curious if that’s a Skill or a skill.

“Hold your fire till I tell you to. Yes, you too!” Mel’s voice snaps over the radio, ordering the teams that gather.

“And that confirms that Sect Enforcer is here,” Ali says.

I note the drop of nearly a third of our shield’s rating from a single hit, the effects of the Enforcer’s attack.

“Kuso,” Mikito curses.

“Can we locate him?” I snap at Ali. We need him taken down. If we get into a fight and he’s out sniping, it will not go well.

“Nothing,” Ali says, shaking his head. “The System’s giving me nothing on these guys.”

“A pair of my drones got a good look on that shot. I’m trying to triangulate his position now. I’ll send some over in that direction,” Sam says, speaking over the team’s radio channel.

Finally at the orb, I slap my hand on it while calling out, “Recommendations!”

“Three options. Mana field—it’ll increase Mana collection in the surroundings and up Mana regeneration for everyone in town. Get the upgrade and it can exclude the Sect members. It can be tied into an enchantment later that can boost its effectiveness, but I don’t think we can afford that right now. Tier IV Sentinels would be a nice addition. Can’t get many of them, but it’ll give us something that can potentially handle the lower Level Sect members. Last option, upgrade the Shield. Buy us more time,” Lana says, her eyes gleaming.

“I CONCUR WITH MS. PEARSON,” Kim says.

No surprise there, as Lana and Kim have been working together to keep the city secure. On that note…

“Kim, you’ve got control of the beam turrets. Target low-Level Sect members when you can, concentrate fire, and take them out. Switch to air suppression once you need to do so,” I order the AI. It’s only after I’ve done that that I realize I might be contradicting orders from Mel. Ah hell…

“UNDERSTOOD.”

I nod, thinking quickly. The last option is discarded immediately—might have been viable if the Sect Enforcer wasn’t around, but even with an upgraded shield, he’d cut through it eventually. Not worth the cost. I can also guess that’s why we weren’t going for things like artillery and even the beam weaponry—too likely to hit our own people when the fighting really started. That left either the Mana Regeneration module, which could give us a slight edge if things dragged on, or the Sentinels. Unsure, I pull up both stats.

Mana Collection Field

Using a mixture of symbols of enchantment and upgraded nanites, the Mana Collection Field increases total Mana flow within the settlement. Higher-grade fields increase regeneration rates by a higher amount. Note: in non-stable regions, this can lead to an increased spawning rate of monsters.

Effect: 5% Increase in Mana Regeneration Rates

Cost: 2.3 Million Credits

Upgrade: Mana Collection Field may be targeted (+1.5 Million Credits)

Monolam Tier IV Sentinels

A staple of cities throughout the Galaxy, Monolam Sentinels are equipped with sonic, beam, and kinetic weaponry to deal with a wide variety of monster threats.

Cost: 500 Thousand Credits each

When Lana said we couldn’t get many of the Sentinels, she wasn’t kidding. I wince at the cost. And I know, I just know, that if I buy them, they’ll be destroyed within minutes of the fight actually starting. A part of me rails against the waste, refusing to throw hard-earned Credits away so simply. Hoping that cheaping out won’t get anyone killed, I buy the Mana Collection Field.

“MANA COLLECTION FIELD PURCHASED AND INITIATION BEGUN,” Kim flashes a note before me. “MANA REGENERATION RATES WILL INCREASE TO 5% IN INTERVALS AS INTEGRATION PROCESS PROCEEDS.”

I swear softly, realizing that the process won’t be instantaneous and thoroughly regretting my choice. Still, better than nothing.

“Shield is down,” Lana says.

“Now!” Mel’s voice roars at the same time.

The ensuing explosions and wave of Skills briefly overload my display, the dots that indicate the Sect members disappearing for a second. Unfortunately, we’re not the only ones who can plan for an expected attack, and it doesn’t seem like anyone was injured.

A moment later, I watch as our people and the existing Sentinels roll forward to meet the attacking Sect members outside the defunct Shield and the city itself, and the battle truly begins.

Dots. From here, all we can see are dots. I’m dressed now, Sabre’s still-repairing form wrapped around my body. Structural and armor integrity is in the low 30s, significantly worse than what I’d like, but it is what it is. Mikito’s PAV has finally reached her and she’s armed and ready, standing beside me patiently. Sam’s outside, driving ever so slowly in his modified truck to the fight while he commands his drones, providing us a real-time display while he hunts down the Sect Warrior. And around us, all of Lana’s pets crowd the control room. From here, all we see are dots that blip and move, shifting as they engage one another.

Each dot a life. Each point that vanishes is one more death to lay at my feet. I could see the actual images, the actual fight, if I wished. Easy enough to train cameras to watch the blood flow, hear the screams of pain. But I don’t. Callous and cold as I might be, watching their deaths is more than I can do. Because we have to wait. To hold…

“Guardians, pin that Psychic down. We can’t let him hit anyone else. Healers, get that Minotaur up now! We need him back on that Bone Warrior; the elf can’t hold him alone. Sam, can you do anything about the cyborg? Who’s got eyes on that Assassin? Teams two to six, you need to swing around to deal with those Mages. The rest of you, hold that Blood Warrior…” Mel’s voice, snapping orders constantly on the radio, details things for me.

The Hakarta are engaged with the Blood Warrior and his clones, along with the majority of the Sect’s forces, in a wide-ranging skirmish constrained only by the mine fields. In some cases, not even that—I note more than one dot moving quickly across the map to land in the fields. Someone—or someones—out on the field seems to enjoy tossing Sect members around.

In each fight, the Advanced Fighters, or those close to it, are separated by a large area around them, no one willing to get between those titans. Even as they fight, the colors and markings on my map shift as Ali adds information. Soon, each enemy Advanced Fighter gets his own special purplish-red color to mark his position, with me wincing at how many of them there are.

“Looks like they pulled all the Advanced Classes they could get their hands on to hit you guys first,” Ali says as his fingers dance in the air. “Being forced to use Portal to run away probably tipped our hand.”

I can only nod, holding my emotions close and tight. Can’t, won’t, let them out. This is neither the time nor place. Regret worms through my guts anyway, escaped from the tight control I have on everything else. Just once, I’d love for a plan to work out…

“Who’s that… arrgh. We’ve got a damn Assassin out here. We’ve got to find him.” Mel’s voice again, even as a dot flickers and disappears.

No mention of us yet. I’m not sure if that’s confidence that we’ll do the right thing at the right time or he’s forgotten that we’re out here.

Clusters of blue appear around the walls again and on the buildings that lead into the city. I realize after a moment what those dots are—non-combatant reserves coming to pitch in. A flicker as a pair of dots disappears. A simple straight line that we could draw, if we wanted to. A signal.

“I have him.” Sam’s voice is cold.

A new dot nearly a kilometer away. I know that place, know there’s a building there, though I’ve never been to it.

“I can’t drop us off right there,” I say, already reaching out with my Skill. I can only create Portals where I’ve been, or within a few tens of meters of where I’ve been. That location is too far. “Mikito, Lana, hit them from behind. The Sect Enforcer is mine.”

Acknowledgements come even as the Portal opens. The other side of the Portal exits behind the Sect’s lines, between the Sect Enforcer and our attackers. A chance for us to split their forces, make use of our ability to move around the battlefield. Of course, the spell itself drained nearly a quarter of my Mana and I still need to finish this fight.

I don’t look behind me as I run toward the Sect Enforcer’s location, trusting my friends to hit them as hard as they can. I’d considered dropping us off closer to the fight, allowing the girls to hit them faster, but that Sect Enforcer is a greater danger. It’s not even the sudden death that he can drop on others—it’s the fear that he engenders. And it’s no surprise people are afraid. Even with my shields up, I can’t take more than a single shot from him.

A glint, a flash of light as the Enforcer shifts his gun. A moment, and then I’m gone, Blink Stepping to beneath the grey office building he lies on. Too far by just a bit, but the flash of light across my peripheral vision tells me that delaying would have been disastrous. I launch myself through the air at the edge of the building. A moment later, concrete shatters around me as my body hurtles through the flimsy building.

A hand on the building edge, I pull and twist, flipping up even as I ready a Blade Strike. The Enforcer is gone though, having left his sniper rifle alone. I stare down the extra-large, tri-barrelled sniper rifle, my fingers tapping it gently to sweep it into my Altered Space. Too long. I spent too long, and I pay for it. My world becomes fire as the silver-clad, six-limbed creature drops its reflective invisibility cloak and opens fire with a large, shoulder-mounted weapon.

The explosion throws me backward, Sabre’s shield failing first and my Soul Shield nearly half gone. I can do nothing to stop my body from being blasted off the building, the explosion throwing me straight into the air. Still, I trigger the mini-missiles, each tiny warhead roaring through the sky to impact around and on the Enforcer. Even as I fall, the roof collapses, dropping the Enforcer into the building as it crumbles beneath our onslaught.

Recovering from the fall, I stare at the building, rotating through the various vision options available through my helmet. Strangely enough, I see nothing but the shadows of the collapsing building. Nothing until a gleaming spear flies through the air, forcing me to jerk aside in a hasty dodge.

“The Enforcer’s shielded by his—its? hir’s?—armor. I’ll do my best to boost your Greater Detection abilities to outline hir,” Ali says.

A flicker of surprise and curiosity, but I don’t have time to deal with weird alien gender issues and English language limitations.

My sonic pulser opens up in a wave of sound that sets my teeth on edge and disrupts the Enforcer’s equilibrium. Not much, just a second before hir’s helmet shuts down the majority of the noise, but long enough for Ali to tag hir. After that, I let loose a blast from the Inlin, unloading everything in another round of explosions and kinetic death. A small, portable shield flares to life around the Enforcer, deflecting explosives that shatter even more of the building. It groans as supports buckle, dust kicking up everywhere, obstructing my vision even further.

He’s good. Hir’s good. Very good. Even between the shots, hir’s moving, grenades fired from another weapon exploding around me. The next few moments are a running, jumping, shooting, and dodging series of attacks, each of us trying to land a hit. All the while, I attempt to close on hir and the Enforcer attempts to keep the range and evade.

Now.

At the thought, I Blink Step to where I expect hir to be, spinning to cut with my sword and meeting nothing but air. An explosive roars, hitting not me but the air around me as insta-concrete spreads, covering my shield in goop. I shove against the ground, attempting to break free, but it doesn’t help. The gears in Sabre strain, as do my muscles, all of it futilely.

“Move, boy-o. He’s dropping mines all around you!” Ali snaps.

Crouching as much as I can, I shove with both feet. The insta-concrete holds for a microsecond longer, then shatters. Not a second too soon, as the mines explode, throwing me farther into the air. The remnants of concrete and my shield explode at the same time, destroyed as I spin through the air.

“Son of a bitch,” I snarl even as a laser beam cuts into my body.

I twist in space as the beam tracks my movement, melting armor. A Blade Strike tears apart the smoke and dust, clearing my vision as the attack shatters the remote-controlled laser rifle.

“Behind you!” Ali says, sending me an image of the Sect Member setting up a shot with another single-barreled rifle. My Spirit can see him, and that’s all I need.

I’m a second too late, the shot ripping into my back and through my chest, tearing off a third of my hit points before I Blink Step away. Fingers already leaving the trigger, the Sect Enforcer is rolling and moving aside, but hir’s too late for once. A Thousand Blades Blade Strike sends numerous waves of blue and red force through the area beneath me even as I land. Caught in the projected energy strike, the Enforcer can only block and absorb, pink blood flying from injured limbs.

On the ground, too close for hir to run away, we clash. A pair of short swords are in hir’s top hands, one glowing with a sickly green light, the other shimmering at its edge—a clear indicator of a monofilament weapon. Well, as close to monofilament as you can get. A weird glowing stick and a small oval shield are in hir’s bottom hands.

The Enforcer is good. Fast and smart, discarding weapons that get entangled or damaged, switching to new attacks at the drop of a hat. A taser, a whiplike baton that wraps around my sword, a blade that explodes, all of it comes into play as it uses Instantaneous Inventory as I do my soulblade. Too bad for hir, I cheat too. The Freezing Blade I hit hir with initially slows the Enforcer down a bit, and the other strikes I keep piling up slows hir further. Any time hir tries to take my sword from me, I dismiss it and call it back.

The Enforcer's good, but Mikito and Roxley are better. And I’ve trained with them long enough that my edge in Skill and speed shows up. As Mikito has pointed out, Skills are nice, but skill is just as important. That, and a willingness to die.

A thrust with the monofilament blade targeted at my heart. Hir’s over-extended, expecting me to fall back and away. Instead, I twist just enough to ensure I’m not speared directly by it, but I refuse to miss the chance hir’s given me.

I cut sideways, using the momentum of my dodge to disembowel the Enforcer. First the left hand, tearing apart and shattering the shield and destroying the last of its armored suit. Then my right hand, holding a second blade, follows close enough that there’s nowhere to dodge. After that, I take its top arms and head in short order, pinkish blood flowing down around me.

Cradling my side, I realize that Sabre’s wrecked. I pull it back into my Altered Space, discarding what little protection the mecha can provide for now as I force myself to breathe and inject myself with a healing potion. After that, I layer my Healing spells and turn toward where the main fight is happening. Gods, I hope they’re winning.

A plane lies shattered and smoking to the right of me. Tracking a second airborne attacker, the beam weapons of the city swivel, firing again and again. I wonder how I missed the plane exploding, but dismiss it for the moment as I run toward the fight. Scooting around above are Sam’s drones, each with weapons that he controls to snipe at fighters below. Few people care to attack those drones, most too busy with other, larger problems.

Near the plane, the Bone Warrior swings its fist, only to be met with bone-shaking force by Capstan’s axe. Bone is shattered all across the Warrior’s body, showing the yellow flesh beneath as Capstan pushes his attack. Both fighters began with huge amounts of health and defense, but only Capstan has a dedicated high-Level healer, and the difference is telling.

In the center, where the fighting is fiercest, the Sect’s forces are split between guarding forward and dealing with Lana and Mikito and the pets behind. The puppies lunge and bite, tearing into Sect members as Roland pounces and ends anyone who threaten Lana. Anna’s flames keep control of their side of the battlefield, blinding and injuring waves of reinforcements. Fighting by herself, Mikito weaves between a pair of Blood Warrior clones while dealing damaging blows to both and any Sect member unlucky enough to close in on her. She’s a blurred ghost, moving so fast that none can keep up.

In front of Lana and Mikito lie the bulk of our forces. In Amelia’s case, literally. Over her body, another woman crouches, glowing white light coming from her hands held above the fallen Guardian. A glowing bubble explodes from Mike, shimmering forward for a second before collapsing down a bit and repeating, even as the Regional Guardian beats aside a Sect member with his trusty baton. I can see him struggling forward, attempting to close on the Psychic who just stands there, staring at Mike.

“Psychic attacks aren’t really visible,” Ali says, as if I needed an explanation.

Even as Ali speaks, the Psychic flinches as lights spark on a shield around him. Mel bounces off the shield, still firing at the Psychic as other Sect members target him. Fighters on both sides clash, spells exploding in a riot of colors, smoke, and dust twisting in a cyclone of superheated air above the battlefield. A moving ice elemental smacks around a pair of hunters, half-engulfing them, while a musician strums an electric guitar whose music forms famous figures in front of him, literally assaulting his attackers with the power of song.

On my left, Vir stands over the smoking remnants of a twelve-foot-tall metallic creature that bleeds and smokes. Blood drips down Vir’s hand, miraculously not staining his clothing, as he surveys the surroundings before dashing into the middle of the fight. Among the torn remnants of our sentinels, a giant crocodile-like creature swarms forward to intercept Vir.

All of that and more flashes across my vision as I run, mind weighing and balancing where my help will make the most difference. But whatever I do, the answer seems to be quite clear. We’re winning.

Chapter 20

My sprint allows me, roaring, to slam into a Blood Clone. Closer, I can see the differences, the sheer red visage that looks up at me in surprise before it splatters into a waterfall of blood. Mikito uses the distraction to spear her Clone as well and split it apart.

“Punch through the center,” I snap at Mikito. “I’ll get the Psychic.”

“At last,” a voice comes, reverberating through my mind the same way it feels when I speak with Ali. Except this voice feels like a thousand nails going down a chalkboard.

“Oh shit. Boy-o…”

Ali never completes his sentence. Thankfully, he doesn’t have to. The information pops up above the Psychic’s head as I stare at him.

Patrag Yn Drnak (Master Psychic Level 1)

HP: 570/570

MP: 1483/2120

Conditions: Mana Enhanced, Psychic Storm, Telekinetic Shield

One second we’re winning. The next, a psychic bomb goes off in all our minds. It’s not super-damaging, at least not to me—the Erethran Honor Guard training helps to allay half of the attack. But it’s powerful and distracting enough that all our people are thrown for a loop. And in a battle of life and death, a single second’s distraction is enough.

A missed dodge. A misfired Skill. A moment of distraction, multiplied dozens of times across the battlefield, is enough to turn the tide of battle. Capstan is slammed in the chest, his body flopping through the air as the Bone Warrior rushes Nelia. Vir’s Skill misfires, his attack failing to form, allowing the crocodile creature to rush him. Roland snarls, missing a Sect member that slips past him to stab Lana in the stomach.

“I must thank you for your attack. If you hadn’t taken action, I could never have convinced the Elders to allow me to sacrifice more Serfs,” the Psychic says directly into my mind. His voice is taunting, glee-filled. Seeing I’m still on my feet, he turns to face me directly.

Forward. I rush forward, Soul Shield back in place. The area around him is packed too tight for me to Blink Step over. At least not on the ground. A second to look, then I reach out for my Skill to Step into the sky.

Too late. A spike of psychic force slams into my mind, shocking me still. I can’t move, forced to freeze in place as an Assassin appears at my side to slam a spear of force into my shield.

A moment, then a naginata strikes, tearing into the hamstring of the Assassin. The Sect member falls even as I stagger forward, bulling aside another attacker with my momentum. My Soul Shield has barely a third left. An explosive projectile hits the shield, the explosion spreading around me to collapse another attacker’s shield and giving me a momentary gap to move through. Before I can move though, another psychic spike slams into my brain. This one brings pain rather than paralysis.

“This isn’t something I can help with,” Ali says as I fall to my knees, an outstretched hand all that stops me from falling on my face.

Liquid warmth drips down my nose, the salty taste of iron on my lips. My free hand rises, Lightning Strike on my lips, when another attack erupts. This time, the pain is so bad, it feels as though I’m crying, warm tears running from my eyes as my brain feels as though it’s being pulled apart. The pain is so great, I can’t even scream.

“I’m impressed. You still live. I wonder what kind of resistances you have to survive this long?” the psychic sends, taunting me. “Oh wait, your friends seem to be doing well. One moment…”

Pain again as the psychic bomb goes off. Instead of a spike, it’s a wave that ripples through my mind and jars the cells of my body, making me stagger. While not as powerful as the individual attack, it still hurts.

“That Guardian of yours is very annoying. One moment, I need to kill him.”

“Noooo…” I stagger upward to look around me.

Chaos reigns, our people forced back after their brief resurgence. Amelia is still down, Mel and the healer flanking her prone body. Mike’s bubble is a quarter of the size now, only a small portion of our people covered by it. Those who are protected look steadier, their hit points significantly better. As I step forward, my brain too fried to call forth a Skill, I see the Psychic raising his hand toward Mike.

I can deal with pain. Pain’s a companion, a friend. It’s an artifact of the mind, a brake to stop you from hurting yourself. It’s powerful and strong, but in the end, it’s illusory. Don’t believe me? Then tell me what the hell heartbreak is.

Pain is a mirage, as is anger. A simple thing then. Open up the floodgates and allow that churning sea of rage to push back the pain.

“Ali. FRENZY,” I roar, warning him and my friends.

Then I snap, triggering the Skill. If the Psychic wants to shut down my brain, then I’ll help him. The Psychic’s eyes narrow at my scream. Long hair flows behind him as he flicks his hand, the next Skill effect targeting me instead of Mike.

The psychic spike drills into me, but the pain is secondary. Remote. It means nothing to me, not anymore. Just a number in my display, a little blood on my lips. Swords in hand, I dash forward, cutting and stabbing. A remote part of me note that all my people are pulling back, clearing the way and getting far away from me.

My Soul Shield fails around this time, another blow crushing my outer protection. Not good enough, not by far, as I grab my attacker by the neck. Small neck, smaller torso, a simple squeeze chokes my attacker to death while I acquire a new, fleshy shield.

Another spike of pain, this one carrying a hint of fear. Fear he should, as my eyes glow with undiminished rage as I near the Psychic. Sect members throw themselves at me, trying to slow me down. Some are intercepted by our hunters while the Sect pours on attacks.

I run forward, the Sect member’s body held before me, twitching as each attack pours into his body and tears apart skin and exposes bone. Cruel. Unworthy. I don’t care, not right now. A Lightning Strike forms around my other fist, channeled to the point of my sword. I raise it, releasing the spell to wreak carnage across the muddy, bloody field. Sect members scream as the spell dances, draining my Mana and their lives.

A growing headache as Mana disappears, but it matters not. What matters is that I’m near the Psychic, the long-haired punk scrambling back as he attempts to put some space between us. Too slow, too slow by far. Lightning dances against the edges of his shield, stopped from crossing over even as bolts of elemental fury split away to strike others. His face tightens and the Psychic makes a shoving motion. I skid backward, an invisible force pushing me away.

Twisting at my hips, I throw the smoking corpse at the shield and watch it bounce off, leaving a streak of green blood across the invisible barrier. Three steps carry me closer to strike the shield directly, the glowing arc of my sword crashing against the invisible bubble. The Psychic steps backward, the shield slowly retracting with each blow. A hand comes up, swiping at blood that flows from his nose.

“You Soonak Worm!” he snarls at me, anger lacing his words.

A spike of pain at his words. I don’t care. My focus is on attacking, again and again, smashing my sword into the shield. Occasionally I feel the impact of another attack, another strike that digs into my legs, my chest, my arm. But it’s secondary, utterly secondary to the importance of ending this, of ensuring that the Psychic hurts no one else. My arm feels heavy, the ground slick with muddy blood. Bloody mud?

“Heal him!” Mel on the radio. I wonder which him he is.

“ENACTING PROTOCOL 148.2.8. SECONDARY ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO OWNER. TARGETING ALL ATTACKERS.”

A soothing warmth rushes over me and my body moves a little better. Ali swoops down, brows furrowed for a second, then he shifts, coming into this world fully. A second later, he glows as beams of light stab at my closest attackers.

An explosion tears at me, flesh burning, nerves screaming. I pick up a giant black marble creature that attempts to wrestle me away and toss it at the Psychic’s shield, throwing my sword a moment later to pin the monster to it. A quick step and I plunge a second blade into the body, punching a hole through the shield.

“Control, boy-o. Control! The Skill should leave you a little more control than this,” Ali screams into my mind, concern in his voice.

I don’t have time to deal with his concerns. After all, the Psychic is still alive and retreating. A hop and skip away, just a little more. But that damn Blood Warrior is there now, blocking my way with his pair of clones.

We dance, me ducking and cutting, attacking with each motion. Sacrificing skill and my body for the opportunities they offer me to hurt, to kill him. In the corner of my eyes, I see Mikito caught in her own dance, fighting that Assassin who nearly speared me while Lana and her pets corral the remaining Sect members, containing those trying to come near me. Sam’s drones are floating above, providing a minor distraction as they hammer at the Psychic’s shield while it continually attempts to reform.

“You will fall!”

A psychic bomb, lashing out at everyone, hits us again. People stagger, pain overwhelming their senses as their minds are assaulted once more. I spin away from a cut and watch as the Sect Assassin slams a blade directly into Mikito’s thigh, impaling it entirely. My sword blocks another cut, disappearing from my hand a second later as I convert my momentum into a lunge. The clone gurgles and explodes, its blood stinging like acid as it coats me. Another wave of soothing light washes over me even as I recover my backfoot, catching a cut high before I drive the blade to the ground and open up my attacker’s defense.

I swing, a Blade Strike hissing from my hands to cut the Blood Warrior while his fingers dance. A moment later, the blood that leaks from me floats, connecting to the Blood Warrior before me. It’s not only my blood though, but the blood all around us is attaching itself in floating red tendrils.

“Regeneration Skill. The more blood there is, the more he’ll heal. You can’t let him keep that up too long,” Ali says, no longer glowing but floating beside me, immaterial once more and looking exhausted.

Laughter bubbles up within me. The Blood Warrior’s fingers freeze for a second, the strands of blood freezing with him as he hears me. A brief hesitation before he continues while I wade forward, my blade seeking his life. If he wants to block me, I’ll take his life too. Another psychic spike attacks me even as the last remaining blood clone blocks my way.

A few slashes and a Blade Strike that makes my head pound later, my Mana dips precariously low as my regeneration is nerfed by the Frenzy. But it doesn’t matter, because the clone is dead and I’m pushing through to the Warrior. A flicker of fingers and the blood around him drops as swords appear in his hands.

“You will not survive this. So I vow on the blood and hearts of my friends,” the Warrior says, sliding back and blocking each of my cuts.

I don’t waste my breath, the Warrior but a speedbump to the Psychic. After so many attacks, the Psychic’s Mana must be drained, much like mine. But still, he was dangerous. Smart usage of the psychic bomb had done a ton of damage to our troops.

No more Mana means no more spells. All I have left to rely on is a little bit of technology and the skills drilled into me by Mikito and Roxley. That, and the rage within my chest. A cut aimed to take out my feet. I take it, letting the blade sink into my calf, which gives way. But it means I have a brief opening. I grab the Blood Warrior’s arm and yank him forward onto my weapon. My sword plunges upward, cutting into his body as I wiggle it around, searching for his heart. A moment’s struggle, the blade in my leg jerked out, but strong as he is, I’m stronger. We jerk and twist, repeated spells of healing landing on me and him, but finally, finally he stops.

Then I’m there, the Blood Warrior’s corpse discarded as I barrel into the Telekinetic Shield. It flashes, seeming to compress like a bubble under my assault before snapping back. In that moment, bullets strike the Psychic, piercing the shield and bloodying him as Sam’s drones target the man.

“Probably a Mana-linked Shield. Impossible to break fully until he runs out of Mana,” Ali says, eyeing the shield that continues to flicker.

A wordless snarl is all I have as an answer for Ali as I pull backward and lunge with both hands on the blade now. It pushes against the soap bubble of a shield, bowing it.

No more bravado, no more taunting. All I see in the Psychic’s eyes is fear as he attempts to back away.

“Why won’t you die?” the Psychic screams.

His hands move, pulling out Mana potions, smoke bombs, and grenades, even a pair of drones and a summoned flying sword. None of those matter, not to me. They’re just distractions that burn and shoot and cut my body while I push forward in a frenzy of rage and pain. Occasional washes of blue and white light hit my body, regenerating and fixing the damage, while Sam’s drones attack the summoned items for me.

It doesn’t matter, because in the end, it’s a battle between my health regeneration and stamina against his Mana regeneration. And unlike him, I have help. The shield pops and my sword driven by enhanced attributes plunges forward, spearing the Psychic in the chest. He coughs up blood, eyes wide with disbelief before he slumps over. Damn glass cannons. I extract my sword the hard way, ripping it out of his prone body, before glaring around me.

His death was satisfying, correct even. But I’m not done, not at all. They dared to attack my city, to hurt my friends. If they want to die, I’ll be happy to fulfill their wishes. A savage grin spreads across my face before I dart forward into battle.

Chapter 21

The only thing sadder than a battle won is a battle lost. Staring at the blood-soaked fields, the corpses of allies and enemies all around me, I find those words ringing through my mind, a minor sense of gratitude that we won floating through me. The smell of burnt flesh mixes with the sharp, acrid sting of melted plastic and corroded metal. Low voices—some filled with pain, others with loss—wash over me, accompanied by a low ringing as my abused hearing recovers. Blood drips from my wounds, skin and muscle restitching themselves, and bones shift and grate within my body, finding their true positions.

Control and clarity returned in dribs and drabs as my enemies fell. Standing alone on a hilltop, my body slowly healing, I wonder for a moment if that’s a good thing. Brief, because for all the usefulness of the Frenzy Skill, losing myself to it like I had was frightening.

Except… could you say I had lost myself to the Skill? Would it not be more correct to say that it had made me more myself? Is a person in a rage no less that person? If they are, then is someone in love considered different? Or are we just sliders on a scale, who we are and what we are changing from breath to breath? In the distance, the sun is briefly occluded by a cloud, darkening the scene before me.

“That Skill, you said it doesn’t do that normally?” I send to Ali as I search for something concrete, something real.

“Exactly. Anger yes, but not that much. It’s probably because you didn’t buy it or gain it from a Class but actually earned it yourself,” Ali says, rubbing his chin as he floats cross-legged beside me. “Add on your usual… hmmm… emotional state, and voila.”

“Voila indeed.” I sigh, rubbing my face. At least I had been more in control, more present than the last time I had triggered that state. Back then, I’d basically had a breakdown. Here, I just didn’t give a damn if I was going to die. All that mattered was their death.

“John…?” Lana says, limping toward me. I look over, staring at the torn and bloodied redhead blankly before I smile tiredly. She returns it, her eyes searching my face before relief comes. “Better. Much better.”

“You don’t like crazy, enraged John?” I say, trying for a light tone that I don’t feel.

“I’m not Betty Ross,” Lana says. At my puzzled look, she sighs. “Bruce Banner’s girlfriend. The Hulk?”

“Oh. Right.” I nod firmly. I was a programmer; of course I knew who Bruce Banner was. The question was, why did Lana?

“I like Liv Tyler and Edward Norton,” Lana says as way of explanation.

“How many did we lose?” I say, breaking the strained lightness as my need-to-know pushes its way to the front.

“Too many,” Lana says, giving me a hug. She winces, pushing away as she wrinkles her nose after catching a whiff of me. “Amelia is badly hurt. Vir promises that Roxley can fix her with the Shop, but she’s in a coma right now. We also lost half of the hunters in Kamloops and a quarter of the Hakarta. And Mel.”

I wince slightly, considering her words. “No one else?”

“No,” Lana says softly, shaking her head. “We were lucky. I doubt they expected our reinforcements. If you hadn’t kept the Psychic busy, it would have been a lot worse.”

“I remember Mikito…” I say softly, recalling the stab.

“The Assassin got away,” Lana says softly, shaking her head. “Ran off when they realized things weren’t going their way. Only reason she’s still alive, I think.”

Exhaling in relief, I let my eyes roam the battlefield again. A corner of my mind, the part that pokes and prods at wounds, notes that Lana failed to mention the actual numbers. Or any civilian casualties. Though I’m hoping, considering we kept the fighting to the outskirts, that there are none. A part of me knows that the details of our fight, the long list of losses still waits for me. But for a moment, for this period of time, I can at least revel in the fact that none of my close friends are dead.

Just for a second.

“What’s our move?” Mike asks, stomping up to me. He’s injured, but like most of us, his body is already healing. Between Spells and Skills and the System’s healing, injuries never last long. At least, not the physical ones.

Among the hunters, Mikito moves quietly, casting her Minor Healing spell while helping others up or, in some cases, aiding in the looting of the corpses.

“They must have pulled everyone they could to hit us before we hit them. My Portal Skill must have frightened them,” I say, mind already having traveled down the likely paths of reasoning. It wouldn’t have taken a military genius to realize how we could concentrate our forces and hit them harder with more safety than they could. And so, they hit us first.

“You want to take over their cities,” Lana says softly, worry evident on her face. “I don’t think our people…”

“I’m in,” Mike says, nodding firmly.

“We will accompany you. Our fee was dependent upon the number of cities conquered, after all,” Capstan says as he walks over with Nelia, enhanced hearing obviously useful for more than picking up enemies on the battlefield.

“Our defenses…” Lana objects.

“SHIELD IS AT 38% CHARGE. ALL SENTINELS ARE CURRENTLY DESTROYED. ELEVEN BEAM TURRETS ARE CURRENTLY ACTIVE. PERSONNEL HAVE BEEN DISPATCHED TO BEGIN REPAIRS OF SALVAGEABLE TURRETS,” Kim flashes for us all.

“We won’t bring everyone. Once my Mana is back, just a few of us. We’ll pop in to Merritt, verify it’s clear, then drive to Kelowna. If we’re right, it’s just a bunch of Basic Classes left. If that’s true, we’ll pop open a Portal here and wipe them,” I say.

“A solid plan,” Capstan agrees softly as he unstraps his axe and places it on the ground, head first. Hands on the shaft, he nods at Mike and Nelia.

Pursing her lips, Lana stares at us before speaking. “Fine. But take Roland. He can keep up with your bikes…” At the look on my face, she stops. “What?”

“Sabre doesn’t work,” I say. “She’ll be weeks before she’s useable again. So I was hoping…”

“To use the puppies?” Lana says, her eyes narrowing with disapproval.

“Well…”

“If they don’t come back, you better not either,” Lana says threateningly. Some might consider that an idle threat, but I know it’s not.

“Of course.”

“We would not dream of it. Beast Tamer.”

“I’ll prioritize their healing.”

A short hop later, we found ourselves in Vernon. This time around, it took us only a few minutes to confirm that the city was really abandoned, without a single soul—hidden or not. Once we confirm that there’s no enemy to fight in Vernon, we head to Kelowna. Not before taking the city of course.

Holding Howard’s body as the puppy runs, his movements eating up ground with ease, I have nothing to do but wonder and worry. Rather than Kelowna, we could have gone straight to Vancouver, but a part of me wants to ensure we take care of the much closer location first. Cover our flanks before we take on the real challenge.

Kelowna is, strangely enough, empty of Sect members. Not of humans though, many of whom are standing around discussing matters in extremely puzzled tones. The group scatters slightly as we approach, concern and tension ratcheting up as they spot our disparate, partly alien team. As the crowd pulls back, I find myself staring at an older gentleman who stands his ground confidently.

“Afternoon, son,” the old-timer greets me, grey eyes flicking over me with casual ease as he leans on the cane in his hand. A Cleanse spell and a new set of clothing ensured that most of us look presentable. At least, on casual inspection. I check his Status bar, amused to see he’s a Level 18 Vintner. “Name’s Kyle Reimer.”

“John Lee,” I say, hopping off Howard and strolling over to shake his hand. Kyle returns the handshake before my gaze returns to the cane.

“An old habit. Bad hip before the change,” Kyle says easily. “Mind telling me what your intentions are? Seems like you’ve got a beef with the Sect.”

“War notification that you were invading went off when you crossed the boundary,” Ali sends to me as an explanation.

“The Sect wasn’t particularly pleased with us taking Kamloops. I’m intending to do the same with Kelowna. Where are they?” I say, eyeing the curiously empty minimap in the corner of my eyes. Not that it’s empty empty, just empty of any hostiles.

“Left in a real hurry about an hour ago.” There’s a low drawl to Kyle’s voice, a wheezy sound that older people have, but there’s still a lot of strength left in there. “Other than grabbing a few of their favored Serfs, they didn’t stop for much. Last we saw, they were headed east.”

“Ah…” I run a map of the province through my mind. East really doesn’t bring them to Vancouver, but considering they have shown the ability to use airplanes, it might just be the most convenient location to gather. “Great. Want a job?”

“Pardon?” Kyle says, startled for the first time since we have started talking.

“I’m about to take the city, but we’re going to be moving soon after. Going to need an overseer of sorts. So, interested?” I say with an encouraging smile.

“And what makes you think you can trust me?” Kyle says, his eyes narrowed. I note that he isn’t actually declining the offer.

“A few things. First, you didn’t jump at the job, so you’ve got some brains. Second, you’re willing to talk so you’ve got some b—courage,” I change what I say, feeling somewhat uncomfortable swearing in front of the older man. “And thirdly, if you do screw around, I’ll just come back and kick your ass.” The last sentence is, of course, chosen with purpose.

“You probably could,” Kyle says, but there’s no hint of fear at his words. “And I’ll let you know that I won’t stand for this Serf nonsense. Or any of these new System laws. We’re still in Canada here, and we’ll still follow our principles. Peace. Order. Good government. And if not, you can send me on to meet my Maker.”

I smile slightly at the older man. Got to admire his balls. Then I turn sideways to point at Mike. “That man’s a friend. He’s also an ex-constable. If I was going to do something other than that, he’d be more than willing to put a stop to it.”

“That true, boy?” Kyle calls to Mike, who nods, his face serious. After a moment of consideration, Kyle nods and offers me his hand. “Then you have a deal.”

“Good. Be back in a sec,” I say before turning to get back on Howard to go to the city center. On the way, I can’t help but ask, “Why hasn’t the Sect sold the city and their buildings?”

“No point. When they declared War on you, it limited their options for sale. Stops either side from selling off all their assets if they think they’re about to lose and forcing the other to purchase it from the System. If you were to do that now, the other side would get it for free and all the Credits would be taken directly out,” Ali says.

“Wait. I can’t sell the town now?” I say, frowning.

“Oh, you can, but if the Sect were to take over the place before peace was declared, they’d just get it free,” Ali replies. I open my mouth, about to protest that doesn’t make sense, before I sense a long sigh. “I’m simplifying the legal process for you. Just trust me, it’d make no sense wasting time selling off assets. And no one smart is going to buy it.”

I could dig into this and I probably will, but right now is not the time. Placing my hand on the floating sphere that makes up this city’s core, I flick through the notifications with practiced ease. Yes, I want to take control. Yes, I’ll hold and wait while you inform the Sect that I’m attempting to grab their property. Yes, I’ll be on tenterhooks while awaiting a potential attack. And finally, yes, I’ll assign rights to someone.

After that, porting to just outside of the Lower Mainland is a simple matter. The Sect abandoning Kelowna wasn’t completely unexpected, but I was caught off guard when all the small towns we passed as we journeyed toward Vancouver itself were devoid of the Sect. Even the normal population was mostly hiding, the constant System notifications and the grapevine alerting all but the most desperate to stay off the streets.

“This is concerning,” Capstan says as we leave the New Westminster city center. Only two major centers left before we reach Vancouver itself. For the most part, we’re just moving, intent on finding the Sect first before we stop to deal with the rest of the administration, especially since no one is stopping us.

“Thinking they’re concentrating their forces in Vancouver?” I say softly.

“Yes.” Capstan looks around and sighs. “It is possible that they have, for the moment, decided that their losses have reached significant enough levels that it is no longer viable to hold position in this Dungeon World.”

“You make that sound worse than a straight-out fight,” Mike chimes in. “I know you guys like fighting, but I’m ready for some peace.”

“At what cost?” Capstan asks, shaking his head. “If they wished peace, they would have sent an envoy. Without one, and with the Redeemer confined to this world, it is unlikely that peace will be achieved.”

“What he’s saying, for those who are a little slow”—Ali stares pointedly at me and Mike—“is that they’re pulling back to bring their people to another of their many, many fronts. Once they’ve won there, they’ll come back to finish this. And they won’t take you guys so lightly the next time.”

With that morbid thought, the group travels through the remaining cities. Not once do we see a Sect member, and the only real resistance we find is automated weaponry. Realizing that it’s quite likely we would have to pay for repairs, we do our best to limit the damage we do. We stay on guard, previous traps clear in our mind.

Things only change when we finally make it to downtown Vancouver.

When I arrive at the outside of the stone-and-glass coliseum-inspired building that makes up the public library, I find an interesting crowd of individuals. There are three distinct groups, each forming a wedge of the small pie-shaped cluster, arguing with one another. Even without Ali’s prompting, I can tell they’re mostly made up of combat Classers. Or at least individuals like Damian who have risked their lives regularly. It’s the way their eyes keep moving, the relaxed stances with just a hint of tension, their weight distribution and spacing between them. Small things that add up to a bigger conclusion.

“Evening, folks,” I say with a smile, hopping off Howard.

More than a few tense at the sight of Capstan and the puppies, but no one becomes overtly hostile. Still, there’s definitely an unfriendly vibe to it all. Damian’s eyes are a little wide when he sees me and obviously pieces things together.

“And you are?” The question comes from a tall East Indian lady in a simple cream blouse, blue vest, and jeans combo, obviously the leader of one pie wedge of people. Interestingly enough, the late-thirty-year-old has no visible weapons. Even if she is a Mage—and her Mana pool indicates as much—it’s still strange not to have even a single weapon on hand.

“Evening,” greets an older Caucasian gentleman at the same time. He looks to be in his mid-40s, broad-shouldered, with a rifle and sword at his side and his smile is all kinds of welcoming. Except if you looked into his brown eyes, which are devoid of any real warmth.

Seeing that they spoke to me at the same time, the pair glares at each other.

I’m almost tempted to let them continue, but I decide against it and answer both. “Evening. I’m John Lee, and these are my friends.” I quickly introduce each of those behind me, not forgetting to include the puppies and Roland. Of course, I leave out their Classes and Levels, though I can see more than a few people whispering that information to others.

“What are you doing here?” the East Indian lady snaps at me, hands on her hips.

“I’m going to take control of the city, of course, Anika,” I say with a smile while pointedly using her name. Anika Kapoor, Level 39 Summoner.

“Christian Hecker,” the older man announces softly as I turn to him. Level 38 Infantry Soldier. First one I’ve seen actually. “It seems that you have some knowledge about what is going on. Perhaps you’d care to inform us.”

“Well, I’d be happy to chat. After I’ve removed the Sect’s control,” I say, stepping forward.

The group actually contracts slightly, obviously intent on stopping me. My eyes sweep over the fifty or so combat Classers, none of them above Level 40. These must be the “elites” Damian spoke of. Or at least a portion of them. Interestingly enough, the third part of the wedge, which includes Damian, doesn’t move.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t let you do that just yet,” Christian says, regret tingeing his voice. However, there’s none of it in his body. Politeness for politeness’ sake it seems.

“What makes you think we’re going to let you take our city? If the Sect is gone, we sure ain’t going to just let you take it,” Anika says as she glares at me.

“Well…” I try to figure a diplomatic way of saying this.

“Look, kids, you couldn’t stop my boy-o if you wanted to. Not him alone, and certainly not with his pals,” Ali says as he makes himself visible to everyone. I see more than a few hands and weapons rise up before stopping.

“Just a little confident for a Level 40, aren’t you?” Anika says with a smirk.

“This is going to be a thing, isn’t it?” I say exasperatedly.

The flat looks Anika and Christian provide me are more than answer enough. Beside me, I see Mike moving forward to say something while Capstan and Nelia stand next to the pets, watching the surroundings. While the library square is wide open and clear, there are buildings around us, some of which could easily contain snipers. In fact, they probably do contain snipers.

If Lana was here, perhaps we would have sat down and talked to them. But the lady is back in Kamloops, taking care of our people. And I’ve just finished a very long day, one filled with blood and death. And these people just want to keep arguing, talking about who is the top dog. All these thoughts and the bubbling frustration over the day’s events filter through my mind in seconds. By the time Mike reaches me, I’ve made up my mind.

Blink Step doesn’t require me to be moving to activate; it just requires sight. I’m next to Anika in a second, a foot sweeping out and dropping her, a sword pressed against her neck as I crouch over her. Another hand lights up, Lightning Strike forming in the palm I point toward Christian. I don’t let it loose, since right now, all I’m doing is posturing. Unfortunately, before I can open my mouth to speak, I’m cut off.

“Blink Step. Enhanced Lightning Strike. Mana Imbue and a Soulbound sword.” Damian’s voice carries quietly, his eyes raking over my body. “His Soul Shield will also deflect most attacks. At least, long enough for him to finish this.” I raise an eyebrow at Damian, who shrugs. “What? You want them to fight you?”

“Well, I was hoping to…” I frown as I’m interrupted by a punch to my body. It doesn’t actually penetrate the Soul Shield, but the flaring of the shield and the sense of pressure catch my attention.

Still held down, with a trickle of blood from where she cut herself as she shifted, Anika snarls at me, her hand still glowing. “Get. Off. Me.”

I pause, making sure she knows that I’m doing this on purpose before I slowly stand. As it is, I’m already surrounded by the wedges. “As my friend said, I can take you. All of you.” Okay, that’s probably a bit of an exaggeration, but I’m not going to tell them that. “But the point of this is if you can’t even stop me, what makes you think you can hold up against the Sect? Or anyone else?”

“You would have us give control of our city to you? To rule at your whims?” Christian says, some of the politeness slipping from his tone.

“I’m not very whimsical,” I reply, looking around the group. “But right now, arguing about who’s going to own the city forgets one thing. The Sect still does. So I’m going in and taking it away from them. Then we can talk about what happens afterward.”

“And if we don’t like what you have to say? You going to beat us all up? Might makes right?” Anika says, her voice tinged with contempt.

“Not right perhaps, but certainly effective. Until you can defend the city from me, or anyone else interested in it, you really don’t have the qualifications to argue,” I say, eyes sweeping over the group. “Or have you forgotten what happened the last time you had a little revolution?”

The moment I say that, I realize I might have pushed things too far. The way many bristle, growl, and even hunch down means I’ve hit a sore spot.

Thankfully, Damian breaks the silence and holds up his hands, stepping backward. His movements sparks movement in his group, who backs off too. “We’ll let you take it. For now. But we will have a longer discussion.”

“If you swear to hold a meeting to discuss both the Sect’s actions and yours, I will, reluctantly and temporarily, agree to you taking control of the city,” Christian says. “Understand that we will be watching you.”

“Of course,” I say, though I really just want to say “yeah, yeah, yeah.” But I’m no child, and while I hate playing these political games, it’s better than an all-out fight. Using my Skills was to show my strength. But too much and I’ll push them into a corner and we will end up swinging. And that’s the last thing I want.

Anika growls at me, her eyes moving to my friends and the puppies then me before she touches the already closed wound at her neck. Rather than speaking, she steps back reluctantly, since the other two sides have given way.

With the path clear, I give a command to the rest of my team to keep watch, then I walk onward. I’m not surprised, though somewhat annoyed, that once again, the group in play is mostly combat Classers. Well, outside of the scavenger group of Damian’s, which even then is made up mostly of combat Classers. It’s a pattern we’ve noticed again and again. For all their talk of equality, it’s always the combat Classers who take the lead, swinging around their oversized swords.

Thoughts like that take me to the top floor of the library and the city center orb. Thoughts like that keep me busy until I take over the city, send a note to Lana and co., and another note to Ingrid before replacing the security measures I damaged on my way in. Luckily, repairing things is cheaper than buying them outright. For the most part.

“So, boy-o, they did bring up a good point,” Ali says.

“Hmmm?” I say to the Spirit as I turn around to head downstairs. I glance at the restored metal door, stationary gun turrets, and traps as I walk out. “What point?”

“You really should consider creating your own group. Right now, if you die, everything reverts to the System. Without an organization of sorts, you’re just… well, you.”

“They didn’t…” I sigh, shaking my head. Whatever. Ali can jump to whatever conclusion he wants. He still is right. But for this second, I’d rather not consider it. For all the blood and tears, for all those lost, we’ve managed to succeed. Vancouver is ours. The Sect, as best we can tell, has withdrawn from BC. It might be a short-term ceasefire, a moment’s respite, but it is real. We have won the fight, if not the war.

And for that, I’m grateful. In this blasted world, small moments of peace and gratitude are all we can hope for. So I’ll take it and the Portal back to Kamloops and leave the worries about what to do next for another day.

###

The End of Book 4

John and company will be back in Coast on Fire (Book 5) with more problems!

Author’s Note

Thank you for reading Book 4 and I hope you enjoyed it. This book was a real struggle to write, with some aspects of the System and the larger Galactic System requiring backend fleshing out before I could go ahead. In addition, I struggled a lot with how much to include in the settlement building, between my own desire to explore the concepts involved and John’s reluctance to actually get his hands dirty.

I’d like to reiterate that I am grateful for the support all of you have provided. While I’d still be telling myself John’s story, I certainly wouldn’t be spending time writing it. ☺

If you enjoyed reading the book, please do leave a review and rating!

Make sure to follow John’s continuing quest in Book 5 – Coast on Fire: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GT69BBLhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GT69BBL(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GT69BBL)

In addition, please check out my other series, the Adventures on Brad (a more traditional LitRPG fantasy) and the Hidden Wishes (an urban fantasy GameLit series_. Book one of each series follow:

A Healer’s Gift (Book 1 of the Adventures on Brad)A Healer’s Gift (Book 1 of the Adventures on Brad)(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071KD1X35)

A Gamer’s Wish (Book 1 of the Hidden Wishes series)A Gamer’s Wish (Book 1 of the Hidden Wishes series)(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BV7PY1G)

To support me directly, please go to my Patreon account:

- https://www.patreon.com/taowonghttps://www.patreon.com/taowong(https://www.patreon.com/taowong)

For more great information about LitRPG series, check out the Facebook groups:

- GameLit SocietyGameLit Society(https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/)

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About the Author

Tao Wong is an avid fantasy and sci-fi reader who spends his time working and writing in the North of Canada. He’s spent way too many years doing martial arts of many forms, and having broken himself too often, he now spends his time writing about fantasy worlds.

For updates on the series and my other books (and special one-shot stories), please visit my website: http://www.mylifemytao.comhttp://www.mylifemytao.com(http://www.mylifemytao.com)

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Glossary

Erethran Honor Guard Skill Tree

Mana Imbue

Two are One

Thousand Steps

Blade Strike

The Body’s

Resolve

Greater

Detection

Altered Space

A Thousand

Blades

Shield Transference

Soul Shield

Blink Step

Army of One

Sanctum

Body Swap

Portal

John’s Skills

Mana Imbue (Level 2)

Soulbound weapon now permanently imbued with mana to deal more damage on each hit. +15 Base Damage (Mana). Will ignore armor and resistances. Mana regeneration reduced by 5 Mana per minute permanently.

Blade Strike (Level 2)

By projecting additional mana and stamina into a strike, the Erethran Honor Guard’s Soulbound weapon may project a strike up to 20 feet away.

Cost: 35 Stamina + 35 Mana

Thousand Steps (Level 1)

Movement speed for the Honor Guard and allies are increased by 5% while skill is active. This ability is stackable with other movement-related skills.

Cost: 20 Stamina + 20 Mana per minute

Altered Space (Level 2)

The Honor Guard now has access to an extra-dimensional storage location of 30 cubic feet. Items stored must be touched to be willed in and may not include living creatures or items currently affected by auras that are not the Honor Guard’s. Mana regeneration reduced by 10 Mana per minute permanently.

Two are One (Level 1)

Effect: Transfer 10% of all damage from Target to Self

Cost: 5 Mana per second

The Body’s Resolve (Level 3)

Effect: Increase natural health regeneration by 35%. On-going health status effects reduced by 33%. Honor Guard may now regenerate lost limbs. Mana regeneration reduced by 15 Mana per minute permanently.

Greater Detection (Level 1)

Effect: User may now detect System creatures up to 1 kilometer away. General information about strength level is provided on detection. Stealth skills, Class skills, and ambient mana density will influence the effectiveness of this skill. Mana regeneration reduced by 5 Mana per minute permanently.

A Thousand Blades (Level 1)

Creates two duplicate copies of the user’s designated weapon. Duplicate copies deal base damage of copied items. May be combined with Mana Imbue and Shield Transference. Mana Cost: 3 Mana per second

Soul Shield (Level 2)

Effect: Creates a manipulable shield to cover the caster’s or target’s body. Shield has 1,000 Hit Points.

Cost: 250 Mana

Blink Step (Level 2)

Effect: Instantaneous teleportation via line-of-sight. May include Spirit’s line of sight. Maximum range—500 meters.

Cost: 100 Mana

Frenzy (Level 1)

Effect: When activated, pain is reduced by 80%, damage increased by 30%, stamina regeneration rate increased by 20%. Mana regeneration rate decreased by 10%

Frenzy will not deactivate until all enemies have been slain. User may not retreat while Frenzy is active.

Cleave (Level 2)

Effect: Physical attacks deal 60% more base damage. Effect may be combined with other Class Skills.

Cost: 25 Mana

Elemental Strike (Level 1 - Ice)

Effect: Used to imbue a weapon with freezing damage. Adds +5 Base Damage to attacks and a 10% chance of reducing speed by 5% upon contact. Lasts for 30 seconds.

Cost: 50 Mana

Instantaneous Inventory (Maxed)

Allows user to place or remove any System-recognized item from Inventory if space allows. Includes the automatic arrangement of space in the inventory. User must be touching item.

Cost: 5 Mana per item

Portal (Level 3)

Effect: Creates a 2-meter by 2-meter portal which can connect to a previously traveled location by user. May be used by others. Maximum distance range of portals is 1,000 kilometers.

Cost: 250 Mana + 100 Mana per minute (minimum cost 350 Mana)

Shrunken Footprints (Level 1)

Reduces System presence of user, increasing the chance of the user evading detection of System-assisted sensing Skills and equipment. Also increases cost of information purchased about user. Reduces Mana Regeneration by 5 permanently.

Tech Link (Level 2)

Effect: Tech Link allows user to increase their skill level in using a technological item, increasing input and versatility in usage of said items. Effects vary depending on item. General increase in efficiency of 10%. Mana regeneration rate decreased by 10%

Designated Technological Items: Neural Link, Sabre

Spells

Improved Minor Healing (III)

Effect: Heals 35 Health per casting. Target must be in contact during healing. Cooldown 60 seconds.

Cost: 20 Mana

Improved Mana Dart (IV)

Effect: Creates four darts out of pure Mana, which can be directed to damage a target. Each dart does 15 damage. Cooldown 10 seconds

Cost: 25 Mana

Enhanced Lightning Strike

Effect: Call forth the power of the gods, casting lightning. Lightning strike may affect additional targets depending on proximity, charge and other conductive materials on-hand. Does 100 points of electrical damage.

Lightning Strike may be continuously channeled to increase damage for 10 additional damage per second.

Cost: 75 Mana.

Continuous cast cost: 5 Mana / second

Lightning Strike may be enhanced by using the Elemental Affinity of Electromagnetic Force. Damage increased by20% per level of affinity

Greater Regeneration

Effect: Increases natural health regeneration of target by 5%. Only single use of spell effective on a target at a time.

Duration: 10 minutes

Cost: 100 Mana

Fireball

Effect: Create an exploding sphere of fire. Deals 150 points of fire damage to those caught within. Sphere of fire expands to 3 meters radius (on average). Cooldown 60 seconds.

Cost: 100 Mana

Polar Zone

Effect: Create a thirty meter diameter blizzard that freezes all targets within one. Does 10 points of freezing damage per minute plus reduces affected individuals speed by 5%. Cooldown 60 seconds.

Cost: 200 Mana

Greater Healing

Effect: Heals 75 Health per casting. Target does not require contact during healing. Cooldown 60 seconds per target.

Cost: 50 Mana

Mana Drip

Effect: Increases natural health regeneration of target by 5%. Only single use of spell effective on a target at a time.

Duration: 10 minutes

Cost: 100 Mana

Freezing Blade

Effect: Enchants weapon with a slowing effect. A 5% slowing effect is applied on a successful strike. This effect is cumulative and lasts for 1 minute. Cooldown 3 minutes

Spell Duration: 1 minute.

Cost: 150 Mana

Sabre’s Load-Out

Omnitron III Class II Personal Assault Vehicle (Sabre)

Core: Class II Omnitron Mana Engine

CPU: Class D Xylik Core CPU

Armor Rating: Tier IV (Modified with Adaptive Resistance)

Hard Points: 5 (5 Used)

Soft Points: 3 (2 Used)

Requires: Neural Link for Advanced Configuration

Battery Capacity: 120/120

Attribute Bonuses: +35 Strength, +18 Agility, +10 Perception

Inlin Type II Projectile Rifle

Base Damage: N/A (Dependent Upon Ammunition)

Ammo Capacity: 45/45

Available Ammunition: 250 Standard, 150 Armor Piercing, 200 High Explosive, 25 Luminescent

Ares Type II Shield Generator

Base Shielding: 2,000 HP

Regeneration Rate: 50/second unlinked, 200/second linked

Mkylin Type IV Mini-Missile Launchers

Base Damage: N/A (dependent on missiles purchased)

Battery Capacity: 6/6

Reload rate from internal batteries: 10 seconds

Available Ammunition: 12 Standard, 12 High Explosive, 12 Armor Piercing, 4 Napalm

Monolam Temporal Cloak

This Temporal Cloaks splices the user’s timeline, adjusting their physical, emotional, and psychic presence to randomly associated times. This allows the user to evade notice from most sensors and individuals. The Monolam Temporal Cloak has multiple settings for a variety of situations, varying the type and level of dispersal of the signal.

Requirements: 1 Hardpoint, Tier IV Mana Engine

Duration: Varies depending on cloaking level

Type II Webbing Mini-Missile

Base Damage: N/A

Effect: Disperses insta-webbing upon impact or on activation. Dispersal covers 3 cubic feet.

Cost: 500 Credits

Shinowa Type II Sonic Pulser

Base Damage: 25 per second

Additional Effect: Disrupts auditory sense of balance on opponent during use. Effects have a small chance of continuing after use.

Cost: 25,000 Credits

Other Equipment

Silversmith Mark II Beam Pistol (Upgradeable)

Base Damage: 18

Battery Capacity: 24/24

Recharge Rate: 2 per hour per GMU

Cost: 1,400 Credits

Tier IV Neural Link

Neural link may support up to 5 connections.

Current connections: Omnitron III Class II Personal Assault Vehicle

Software Installed: Rich’lki Firewall Class IV, Omnitron III Class IV Controller

Ferlix Type II Twinned-Beam Rifle (Modified)

Base Damage: 57

Battery Capacity: 17/17

Recharge rate: 1 per hour per GMU (currently 12)

Tier II Sword (Soulbound Personal Weapon of an Erethran Honor Guard)

Base Damage: 98

Durability: N/A (Personal Weapon)

Special Abilities: +10 Mana Damage, Blade Strike

Kryl Ring of Regeneration

Often used as betrothal bands, Kyrl rings are highly sought after and must be ordered months in advance.

Health Regeneration: +30

Stamina Regeneration: +15

Mana Regeneration: +5

Tier III Bracer of Mana Storage

A custom work by an unknown maker, this bracer acts a storage battery for personal Mana. Useful for Mages and other Classes that rely on Mana. Mana storage ratio is 50 to 1.

Mana Capacity: 0/350

Fey-steel Dagger

Fey-steel is not actual steel but an unknown alloy. Normally reserved only for the Sidhe nobility, a small—by Galactic standards—amount of Fey-steel is released for sale each year. Fey-steel takes enchantments extremely well.

Base Damage: 28

Durability: 110/100

Special Abilities: None

Coast on Fire: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 5) Wong, Tao

Coast on Fire

An Apocalyptic LitRPG

Book 5 of the System Apocalypse

by

Tao Wong

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Coast on Fire

Copyright © 2018 Tao Wong. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2018 Sarah Anderson Cover Designer

ISBN: 9781775380931

The End of Book 5 of the System Apocalypse

Author’s Note

About the Author

Glossary

Erethran Honor Guard Skill Tree

John’s Skills

Spells

Sabre’s Load-Out

Other Equipment

What Has Gone Before

Nearly two years have passed since the System came to Earth, bringing with it monsters, aliens and glowing blue boxes of notifications that detailed their lives in this new Galactic System. Humanity was forced to evolve, their lives dictated by statistic screens, Classes and Skills that gave them strength and abilities beyond the norm, providing them a fighting chance to survive. Still, the apocalypse saw the death of nearly 90% of humanity, the malfunctioning of everything electronic and a new, blood-filled existence.

John Lee was camping in the Yukon when the change occurred. Gifted with perks beyond the normal, he journeyed to Whitehorse and aided in the establishment of the city under the rule of the alien Truinnar, Lord Graxan Roxley. With the help of other survivors, the Village of Whitehorse was quickly established to provide a stable environment for growth, battling rampant dungeons, monster hordes and crazed humans in equal measure.

As Whitehorse was now firmly under the control of the Truinnar, John and his teammates left for British Columbia to aid the surviving members of humanity. There, they found a mixed bag of survivors and settlements. Some cities were ravaged, destroyed in infrastructure, population and hope. Others struggled on, under the control of other aliens and human control. Working together, the survivors and John battled the aggressive Thirteen Moon Sect in their attempts to take over British Columbia, eventually winning against the larger, more powerful alien organisation.

Now the owner of numerous settlements in British Columbia including Vancouver, Kamloops and Kelowna, John must deal with the politics of the settlements and continue with his plans of liberating as much of humanity as possible.

Chapter 1

I’ve kited a Salamander over forty Levels above me. Had a Master Level Psychic fry my brain. Hell, I’ve even faced down a Dragon. I’ve faced calamities and crises, fought and bled, nearly died more times than I care to admit. For all that, I’d rather go back to any of those times than stay a single minute longer in this meeting room.

“Electronic voting is a farce! We cannot trust his AI to count the votes!” Christian Hecker, Level 38 Infantry Soldier and ex-CEO of a gold mining corporation, says as he leans forward. The mid-60s, brown-eyed, greying Caucasian gentleman is bereft of his rifle today, though he has his sword slung over his back and a pistol on his hip.

I regard the boomer as he besmirches Kim—my AI’s—honor, wondering what his angle is. As one side of the split Combat Classers, I’ve quickly learned that Christian always has an angle.

“We’re not doing a straight democratic election,” snaps Damian. The Level 22 Appraiser is spinning a pen around his fingers, obviously uneasy in our company. He’s got the lowest Level of everyone here, even if it is rising faster now that the Thirteen Moon Sect isn’t around. Still, as the voice of the scavengers, he has the moral right to be here. One that I’d had to enforce by dismissing an earlier meeting when he had been “unavoidably delayed.” “That’d just let you people load up all the seats with your friends.”

“You people?” Anika arches a graceful, plucked eyebrow. Ms. Kapoor, the Level 39 Summoner, is one of the few non-Caucasians in this room.

“I believe he means the non-Delvers,” I answer Anika, smiling slightly in amusement at Damian’s poor phrasing.

She inclines her head to me, appearing somewhat mollified. Truthfully, I figure getting annoyed over bad phrasing shows how uptight she is, but my role isn’t to judge, just pacify.

“Rationed seats are wrong,” Tsien Wuji says. He’s a Level 39 Engineer specializing in infrastructure construction. He’s also an influential member of the non-Combat Classers, Damien’s counterpart, and the other of the pair of their representatives, the more talkative of the two.

“Allocated,” Leo Brand says with a sigh, covering his face with his hand.

There are a few quick smiles around the room as Leo once again corrects Wuji’s malapropism. Leo’s an ex-ER doctor, now a Doctor who finds most of his life’s work superfluous. After all, with the System, if you’re not dead, you’ll heal. And since he’s a self-professed coward who refuses to enter the city dungeon, he’s been at a bit of a loss as to what to do with himself.

“Will you finally buy a Language upgrade in the Shop? I’ll even pay for it,” Anika says once again with a roll of her eyes.

“No need. Waste money,” Wuji denies her offer once again.

“We cannot continue this farce of a government any longer. My people want results!” Christian says, ignoring the byplay as he pushes ahead with his agenda. “They are sick and tired of being locked out of decisions about their city.”

“Farce?” Ali says, floating visible beside me. The two-foot-tall Sprite chuckles softly, his olive skin beautifully off-set by the dark suit and cream shirt he wears. “Did you call boy-o a farce?”

“Farce?” Wuji whispers to Leo. His friend leans over to explain the word.

“I consider this unelected government, this tyrannical rule of your boy-o a farce,” Christian says.

When we first met, Christian had been the less combative of the pair of combat Classer leaders. The last week of dealing with me has worn away the false warmth he showcased before I rejected his subtle manipulation and, later on, bribes.

“It’s certainly better than what we had with the Thirteen Moons,” Anika says, waving around the noisy conference room. The wave also encompasses my only direct support in the room—Lana, my girlfriend and the more politically inclined part of my team. Though, by common agreement, she stays silent during these meetings, letting me take the brunt of criticism and allowing her to work her charm during the breaks. “We’re at least having a meeting. Even if someone doesn’t listen to us.”

Finally fed up with the various barbs, I speak up. “I’d listen if you people ever came to an agreement.”

“We would, but your irrational requirements are impossible to meet!” Christian snaps.

“Oh? All I’m asking is that you all come to a reasonable agreement on what the government would look like,” I say. “I’m only here today because you promised me that you would have an agreement by today.”

“We promised that we’d have something to discuss with you,” Anika says, eyes dancing with humor. “I’ll admit, we haven’t gotten that far though.”

“Fine. Since I’m here, someone sum up the sticking points.”

Silence takes hold of the conference room at those words. The various “council” members suddenly find anywhere to look but at me. Wuji opens his mouth to speak, but Leo puts his hand on the man’s arm, shaking his head. The older Chinese man subsides, allowing Damian to clear his throat.

“Well, we’re currently facing a problem of deciding both the number of seats on the council and the method of election. The Delvers and ummm… my people, are looking for a guarantee that our voices will be heard. We refuse to continue to risk our lives, bringing in more revenue and goods than the ummm…” Damian stops there.

“You can call them civilians. Or crafters if you want,” Ali offers. “The closest translation to the Galactic term is Artisan. Feel free to use it or not.”

Damian nods in gratitude to Ali before he continues more confidently. “The Artisans want a straight election, but because of the ratio of combat Classers and Artisans—”

“Are you sure you want to base your argument on revenue?” Anika says wryly. “They’ll eventually beat us, you know. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if their generated revenues are already greater than ours if you include the other cities.”

“That’s not the point!” Christian says. “We are just trying to ensure we are not sent into battle and forced to guard people, without a say!”

Damian sighs and looks at me, his gaze serious. “I must admit my people have that concern too. Scavenging is growing more and more difficult with returns growing smaller. Sooner or later, I expect that most of my people will turn into hunters or delvers. And at that point, well…”

“We don’t want the Artisans sending us into dangerous zones just so they can get better crafting material. Or under-paying for those items,” Anika says.

“We not do that. The Shop set ceiling. Floor. Stopping place,” Wuji says. “We pay good price. Get materials from you.”

“A good price because you want the city to subsidize the purchases!” Christian snaps. “Otherwise, there’s no way you’d be able to afford the Galactic price for most of our better material.”

I sigh, listening to the argument devolve. No real surprise here. I’ve had Lana explain this discussion before, since it’s similar to the one we had in Whitehorse. Simply put, low-cost materials almost always receive a better price locally. The cost of transportation often makes it possible for local Artisans to purchase those materials at a similar, if not slightly higher, price than what Galactic buyers would pay. However, and this is a big however, high Level materials aren’t the same. The cost of transportation for high-Level materials is significantly lower as a percentage of price, which means Galactic buyers, who are both more numerous and better funded, can often offer a higher price than locals. Part of the reason is that for Artisans to gain Levels, they need to constantly challenge themselves with better materials. It’s also one of the reasons why the cost of high Level enchantments and equipment climbs steeply.

It doesn’t help that since we’re on a Dungeon World with a consummate increase in Mana flow, we actually have a larger number of spawnings. That means that the volume of low-to-medium quality crafting material is higher, which of course results in greater efficiencies in transportation since Galactic corps can do larger mass teleportations or send bigger transport ships. All in all, it means that our crafters are in a bad competitive situation.

“We must Level!” Wuji insists.

“But taxing our purchases and sales puts our lives at risk,” Anika says softly. “We need that equipment, those Class Skills. You don’t put your lives at risk every time you try to Level.”

“So we’re not as important?” Leo says without heat. “Our lives don’t matter?”

“You’re not risking yours,” Christian snaps.

I groan, watching them start up again. That barely attracts any attention, so I smack my hand on the table, grabbing everyone’s attention. “All right, people. I’ve got another meeting to go to, so you guys keep talking. We’ll talk again in another week.”

“That’s—”

“No, we need to—”

“These delays are unacceptable!” Christian says, standing.

“That’s nice,” I say with a smile to everyone, ignoring the various protests as I open a Portal.

Lana and Roland, her pet tiger, duck into the Portal first. The pitch-black hole in space swallows them without a ripple. Three quick steps, even while the council calls for me to come back, and a closed Portal later, I’m free.

A grin splits my face as I draw a deep breath of the sweet, sweet air of freedom.

“Ack!” I cough, a burning pain in my throat and lungs.

You are Poisoned

-3 HP per second

Duration: (Continuous till you are out of the cloud)

“Where did you bring us?” Lana says, her voice muffled by the helmet she’s put on.

A moment later, my helmet expands from the collar around my neck, covering my face and clearing the air. I’m still poisoned, but it’s no longer dangerous as my System-assisted healing fights the toxin.

“Just outside of Kelowna actually,” I say with a frown, sword in hand as I survey our surroundings. Poison clouds aren’t normal, as far as I know. I have to admit, I’ve only been here thrice since the change.

“Floating Poisonous Cloud. Not sure why, but it seems to be directed by the wind. Kim’s telling me that wisps of this have hit the city, but nothing major. They’re keeping the kids and other vulnerables inside, but prevailing winds will have the cloud gone in an hour,” Ali says as he stares at notifications only he can see.

“Ali says it’s natural. Sort of. Nothing to be concerned about,” I tell Lana. She nods firmly, and we walk toward to the city. After a moment, I realize something. “Where’s Roland?”

“He’s already left.”

“Ah… good.” I nod and keep walking. Ever since she picked up the tiger, he’s become her constant companion, even more than the puppies. “Wanted to ask you something. You’ve been hovering at Level 49 for a while now. Is something going on?”

“Nothing major. I’ve been channeling my experience to Roland to upgrade his Level. You remember, he was a bit on the lower end when we found him.”

“You can do that?”

“It’s a benefit of being a Linked companion for me. Makes it easier to find new companions and upgrade them. It only works until he hits my Level, then we’ll upgrade at the same time.”

“Are you going to continue that till he hits Level 49?” I say, trying to recall Roland’s Level now—32 or something like that?

“Not sure yet,” Lana says.

I nod, and we continue the walk in silence through the invisible cloud of poison, enjoying the beautiful, sunshine-lit valley, verdant plains with the occasional pine trees, and the river beside us, glittering with blue.

“Why did you drop us out so far?”

“Oh… umm…” I stutter. “Well…”

Lana arches an eyebrow at me before the buxom redhead takes my arm and squeezes her bountiful treasures into me. “Were you thinking of taking me for a walk?”

“Well… yeah. It’s beautiful out here. Except for the cloud…” I sigh, shaking my head. “We haven’t… well…” I fall silent, still uncomfortable talking about things like this.

Lana smiles, bonking her helmeted head against mine with a friendly nudge. “You couldn’t have known. It was very sweet, and it is still beautiful.”

I smile at that, relaxing slightly and giving the arm that holds mine a squeeze. For the next while, I can afford to just be a man walking his lady, talking about our days. For a while, I can put aside the niggling questions of what the Sect is doing, if the Duchess intends to expand south, and what, if anything, I’ll do about the Americans.

For a little while.

Kelowna has seen better days. The once-picturesque town beside the river is still beautiful from a distance, but if you get closer, you notice the burnt-out buildings, abandoned vehicles, and occasional brown lawn. There’s a desolate feeling to the city, which is significantly magnified in the abandoned outskirts.

Luckily, it takes us a while to receive the “entering Town” notification. The Sect was kind enough to actually decrease the settlement boundary to just East Kelowna, and even then, only the downtown region near the river and a bit east of that is considered Town. I’m grateful for them spending their funds on that, because otherwise, the settlement itself would still be in the Village stage, unable to reach the minimum land-owned threshold.

I still find it amusing that somehow, the town’s City Center is the Benvoulin Church, rather than a more central location. I’m sure there’s a study with a complex mathematical analysis of why each location is picked, especially for Dungeon Worlds, but that’s a book even I refuse to read. I’m still debating if I should pay to shift the city center orb somewhere safer and more central, but for now, the church works.

As we walk into the historical, picturesque steepled place of worship, we’re greeted by the titular overseer of the city. The older gentleman waves his show cane at me, no longer needing it thanks to the System, and greets me with a smile.

“John!” Kyle says. “Didn’t expect you till later.”

Kyle Reimer (Level 18 Vintner)

HP: 130/130

MP: 240/240

Conditions: None

“Afternoon, Kyle,” I say, smiling. “I cut my other meeting short. They—” I glare at Lana after she elbows me, shooting me a warning glance. After a second, I realize her point and turn back to Kyle. “Well, here I am. Shall we go in?”

Kyle smiles slightly, seeing the interplay and probably reading a lot more into what I didn’t say than he should have had the opportunity to. I’m still not used to this entire “being a leader” thing, but Lana is right. Bitching about one settlement to another is probably not a good idea.

“No need. I understand you upgraded your AI to allow you to upgrade any of your settlements without touching the core?” Kyle says.

“Yup, bits-for-brains is good to go,” Ali says, making himself visible as he floats upside down, watching a System-generated TV screen the right way around. The fact that I can see his screen means Ali’s messing with me. Again.

“Good. Then I’ve got a few things to show you,” Kyle says with a wave.

I nod, glancing at the building and absently offering a nod to the god who’s supposed to be inside. Not that I believe in Him, but my father ground respect into me. And if He is real, well… a little respect won’t hurt.

“To begin, I thought you’d like to see the mall? It’s our main trade hub for now…”

Lana and I nod, and the trio of us take off, walking through the streets to the mall. Kyle prattles on, filling us in on the town and how things have gone. Kelowna was an interesting case in the settlements I own. Due to its number of surrounding vineyards, it had seen a significant immigration of Alchemists, Chemists, Biologists, and other alien Artisans intent on studying the change the System has brought about. And exploiting it of course.

“So everyone is happy about the Sect leaving, including the aliens,” Kyle finishes. “Seems like they were trying to drive away a number of our earliest immigrants. The only big issue we have is that we’re struggling to work out the legal aspects of having so many different alien groups in the city. Our Lawyers and Accountants are struggling to understand the differences in the various corporations and organizations that have purchased land in the city, especially because many of them are claiming specific tax exemptions that we’ve never heard of.”

“Capital L and A? Or just old time professionals?” I say, curious.

“Mostly. A few took up other Classes but have gone back to their original professions, but most of those have dual-Classed,” Kyle explains. “Getting that first Level took a while, but at least they don’t have to discard their combat Classes. Some are just doing the job without the Class.”

I grunt in acknowledgement. I wouldn’t want to discard my combat Class to become a Lawyer either. In this world, being able to kick ass makes a lot of difference. As things settle down, more and more knowledge about the System keeps cropping up. The fact that it’s not only possible but relatively easy to dual-Class is something those in Kelowna learned early on and disseminated to the other settlements. Not that I’m intending to change my Class.

“Did they buy the Skill to divvy up their experience?” Ali asks and, at the puzzled glances all around, rolls his eyes. “There’s a Class Skill called… ummm…”

“PORTION CONTROL.”

“Right, Portion… wait, that’s not what it’s called,” Ali says, glaring at the notification window created by Kim, my AI. Sniggers abound at the Spirit’s grumpy response. “Anyway, it’s a Skill similar to Lana’s, except you can only use it on yourself. You can portion out part or all of your experience to a specific Class rather than having an even split. Makes it possible to Level both, unlike a complete changeover.”

“I still think that keeping your first Class is a much better idea,” Lana says, shaking her head. “Especially if it’s a combat Class. Hard enough Leveling one Class, but having to switchover midway? That’s insane, especially with the increased experience gain requirements.”

“Not everyone wants to be a fighter, my dear,” Kyle says with a smile. “In fact, most of us are happy that things are settling down. It’s why we want your boy to grant the Adventurer’s Guild’s request as soon as possible. Once they’re established, we can seriously work on getting our fields back.”

“And you’re happy with the fact that so many of your fields have been bought by others?” I say with a frown.

“Happy isn’t the right word. Maybe resigned? It’s better than having the land become a spawning ground. And you might have noticed we lost a lot more people than most. Most of the original landowners are either absent or dead, and what we have is a large number of Galactic aliens and temporary workers,” Kyle says with a shrug and a small smile. “The few who are around… well, let’s just say some people have upgraded their places.”

I snort but take his word for it. Not my place to handle the day-to-day operations. It’s why I hired the older gentleman. In fact… “Have you looked at gene editing?”

“Looked at it,” Kyle says evasively.

“Kyle…?”

“Look, young man, when you’ve reached the age I have, well, adding a few extra years isn’t as attractive as you might think. All my friends are dead. Most of my family is too.” At our wince, he adds, “Long before this. My wife succumbed to cancer a few years ago, and we never had kids. My brother died from a stroke a week before the change. This new world, it’s interesting. I want to help, but I’m tired. At a certain point… well, it’d be nice to have a rest.”

I grunt and drop the topic unhappily. Maybe I’ll bug him later, but for now, I leave it. I find it hard to believe that any man who’s managed to survive an entire year plus in this post-System world is the kind to roll over and die because he’s “tired.” Now it’s just a matter of making Kyle see that too.

“Anyway, we were talking about that Adventurer’s Guild. We’ve got four applications, each with their own people in town already…” Kyle says, changing the topic.

I stay silent, listening to Kyle and his opinions. It is, after all, why I came. The Settlement Screen might give me numbers and facts, but the in-person reports give me context.

Exhausted, I collapse onto my couch, grateful that the System continues to keep my Whitehorse residence in good shape. Early summer in Whitehorse means that at eight o’clock at night, the sun is still shining brightly, bringing the bright greens and blues to life. The transition from somewhat setting sun in Kelowna to bright light in Whitehorse had been slightly disorienting the first time I’d done it, but this time around, it seems natural. The only pity is that Lana decided to stay in Kamloops with her pets to spend more time with Mikito. Making multiple jumps to get home is annoying, but it seems to affect others more than me.

Silence. Blessed silence. Which is interrupted by a knocking on my door. I frown, then frown even more when I see who it is on my minimap. Resolutely, I ignore the knocking.

“John, I know you’re in there.” Roxley’s voice is authoritative and commanding. Not because he’s trying to order me around but because that’s just the way he is. Even so, I have to admit that voice does things to me that wouldn’t be polite to mention in company.

Lord Graxan Roxley. Duke of the Yukon. The Duchess of the Pourquoi States’s errand boy on Earth. A tall, dark drink of muscle, nobility, and charisma. Someone I flirted with for a time—before the son of a bitch betrayed me and the city of Whitehorse by joining the Duchess. For all that, I can’t help but be slightly interested in seeing him again…

“I’m coming in. Don’t shoot.”

I growl softly, deciding that I won’t shoot him or even deign to stand. Instead, I put my elbow and arm over my eyes and stay flopped on my couch. It’s only when an uncomfortable amount of time has passed that I move my hand away to see Roxley leaning against the doorjamb, staring at me with a look that dries my throat.

Down, boy. I’ve got a girlfriend.

Even if she’s hinted that she’s not entirely opposed to…

Down, boy.

Down.

I clear my throat and subtly shift my position by sitting up. Damn pretty dark elf. “What are you doing here?”

Roxley smirks before he straightens up, his face falling into a more serious expression. “As Her Grace’s representative on Earth, I am here to greet the Redeemer of the Dead upon his entrance to her city and inquire about his intentions.”

“I’m here to sleep,” I state tersely. “Do you know how hard it is to not be bothered when I’m in my cities? Everyone wants a word with me. All. The. Damn. Time. I’ve got people literally walking into my house, demanding to talk to me about their latest pet project. Droids for recycling plastic, refurbishment of the kids’ playgrounds, a grant for Galactic languages, and on and on.”

“I keep telling boy-o if he shoots the first few, they’ll stop bothering him,” Ali says, waving hi to Roxley.

“Ali. I believe someone is awaiting you…?” Roxley says leadingly, getting a big grin from the Spirit who flickers then disappears. If I’m not wrong, the damn Spirit has gone to visit Roxley’s AI to gossip once more. I’m still a little perturbed by what goes on on the backend between the two, but interrogating Ali has offered little answers.

Damn traitor. Then again, Ali has never seen my problem with Roxley and his actions.

“Ah. And you have no intentions of expanding your territory?” Roxley continues once we’re alone.

“Not up north, no,” I say, eyes narrowing. “And you?”

“The Duchess has stated that she has no intentions of expanding beyond your Watson Lake. Our intentions involve the north and the resource fields and zones therein,” Roxley says, waving. “Our main point of focus is expanding the Towns of Whitehorse, Anchorage, and Fairbanks to Cities, thus increasing their respective zones of control.”

“I see…” My eyes narrow as I try to decide how much I believe him. In the end, I decide to do so, mostly because I understand how much work Roxley has ahead of him. It makes no sense for the Duchess to take control of a bunch of lower Level zones when she hasn’t completely controlled the areas she already “owns.” Higher Level zones provide higher Level goods, which mean more money—never mind the Level-tourism revenue she stands to earn.

“On a personal basis, I am surprised to see you back. Are you not concerned about the Weapon Master?” Roxley says with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s why I sent Ali through first.” I grin then shrug. “I’m done running. I’ve gotten a few Levels since we last danced. And anyway, way I understand it, he’s gone for now. I doubt he’ll be back so soon.”

“Risky.” Roxley sighs, giving up on admonishing me. “And is that all the reason for returning? Nothing personal?” At my flat stare, Roxley sighs again. “Well then, as Her Grace’s representative, I do extend my offer of aid in any matters of administration.”

“Why?”

Pain and regret at my brusque attitude flicker across his face before he resumes a neutral expression. “Your presence south of our holdings is considered a benefit to Her Grace. You are much less likely to be combative than the Sect or any other, hmmm, foreign interests that may appear. As such, the stronger your government, the greater the benefit.”

“Great…” I drawl as I assess the sincerity of his, and her, offer. “And what does this offer amount to? Credits? Technology? Maybe some Skill orbs?”

“None of the above, I fear,” Roxley says. “While we do wish to aid you, the aid must be proportional. Advice, at this time, is the best we can offer.”

“Advice,” I say, sarcasm dripping from my voice. “Right, I’ll make sure to ask for it. Now, I was here to sleep…”

“John…”

But I’ve already slumped back on the couch, arm thrown over my face in a copy of the same pose from before. Except this one radiates anger.

“Ms. Olmstead is doing well with treatment. I expect she will be on her feet within the next few days.”

Sensing that I won’t say anything, Roxley sighs, after which I hear the stomp of his feet leaving the house. I grunt in mild happiness, glad to be left alone and for the news he imparted.

Here to help. Har! Advice my ass.

It’s much later, when I’ve finished stewing, that I manage to actually calm down enough to do what I had Portalled all the way north for. Since I’m currently limited to 1,000 KM per jump, I actually had to cast it thrice—once to Kamloops, then again into the middle of nowhere before arriving. I did kind of feel bad that I didn’t spend more time in Kamloops visiting Lana and Mikito, but needs must come first. At the thought of the little Japanese Samurai, I made myself a promise to visit with her. Losing her apprentice, then Mel, in short order has resulted in Mikito withdrawing once again. While she isn’t suicidal, she has grown quieter and more subdued. It’s why Lana left the puppies behind with her—their furry presence is a good healing aid. Anna, on the other hand, is just getting lazy, preferring to sleep than go gallivanting with us on our errands.

Too many damn things to do and not enough time. I’ve been so busy, I haven’t even dealt with the numerous notifications I received from the knockdown, drag-out fight with the Sect. Including that most important of ones—my Level Up. With a mental command, my Status Screen populates.

Status Screen

Name

John Lee

Class

Erethran Honor Guard

Race

Human (Male)

Level

43

Titles

Monster’s Bane, Redeemer of the Dead, Duelist

Health

1970

Stamina

1970

Mana

1510

Mana Regeneration

111 / minute

Attributes

Strength

106

Agility

187

Constitution

197

Perception

61

Intelligence

151

Willpower

151

Charisma

16

Luck

32

Class Skills

Mana Imbue

2

Blade Strike

2

Thousand Steps

1

Altered Space

2

Two are One

1

The Body’s Resolve

3

Greater Detection

1

A Thousand blades

1

Soul Shield

2

Blink Step

2

Portal

3

Instantaneous Inventory*

1

Cleave*

2

Frenzy*

1

Elemental Strike*

1 (Ice)

Shrunken Footprints*

1

Tech Link*

2

Combat Spells

Improved Minor Healing (II)

Greater Regeneration

Greater Healing

Mana Drip

Improved Mana Dart (IV)

Enhanced Lightning Strike

Fireball

Polar Zone

Freezing Blade

Being part of such an insane battle did wonders for my experience. Killing the Sect Enforcer pretty much by myself pushed me most of the way to the top of Level 40. After that, the numerous small fry and the Blood Warrior I dealt with pushed me two-thirds of the way through Level 41. Ending the Master Level Psychic was enough to push me to Level 42 and netted me my third Title, as well as bonus experience for the kill.

Title Gained

For winning in a battle against a Combat Classer two Class Advancements above yours, you have earned the title Duelist. Others will fear your prowess from now on. Increased reputation in certain circles. +10% chance effect of social Skills in appropriate situations. +5% increase in damage against those with higher Class Advancements

I whistle slightly, noting the Title’s effects. Damn, but that’s nice. Of course, I cheated. For one thing, that Psychic was a Level 1 Master Class. For another thing, he was only one Advancement Level higher than mine, though technically the System still reads me as a Basic Class since I’m still in my first tier. It’s why my Monster’s Bane Title is still so effective. I cheat.

After that, I learned another little secret of being the owner of a Settlement. Any battle conducted during a declared war actually nets the owners of those Settlements a small experience gain for the entire battle. Of course, since it’s based off everyone killed, it was more than sufficient to push me up to Level 43, which is where I’m seated right now. It almost makes up for the fact that I currently have an “On-going War” declaration on the settlements, limiting some of the things I can purchase.

All those sudden experience gains mean that I have nine free attributes and two free Class Skill points. Now that I don’t need Portal as desperately, I actually have a chance to consider what to do with these Class Skill points. Though first, I want to look at what I can do to shore up my attributes.

Charisma continues to be my “dump” stat, as per Jason’s terminology. Though considering how I was—reluctantly—drawn into the world of politics, I might want to up it a little. Not that I have the Skills for it, but… yeah. Then we have my mainstays—my combat stats. I still feel as though my ability to perceive what the hell is going on lags behind what I am doing, especially when I am moving at the maximum speeds that my body can handle. It isn’t a huge difference, but it is there. There is something to be said about putting more points into Perception, especially since Agility and Strength go up by themselves anyway. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that the next few points will alter it in the way I need it to, rather than widening my hearing range or something less useful.

My Constitution is the bedrock of my survival, though more than once, I’ve noticed a distinct lack of Mana during my fights. Even with the ridiculous amount of regeneration I receive, once we start getting involved in these long, drawn-out battles, I realize exactly how hampered I can be by my Mana. It doesn’t help that so many of my Spells were Mana hogs.

I’ll admit, Luck is tempting as well. Even if I’m not adventuring as much, the bonus in loot drops is always nice, though harder to quantify. And having someone, something, with its finger on the scale seems like a nice idea. The gods know that I’ve seen enough of how fate can take a crap on you.

In the end, I discard Luck, Agility, and Strength. I’d increased Agility and Strength the last time around and Luck had a slight bump a few Levels back. With it being so nebulous, I can’t justify using my points on it all the time. Better to go for something more tangible.

While Willpower upped my on-going Mana regeneration, I am leaning toward increasing Intelligence since it gives me a higher starting point. A single point of Intelligence is worth 10 Mana, which doesn’t seem much but is worth 1/10th of a Blink Step, probably one of my most used Skills.

Constitution still continues to be a no-brainer. After all, I am pretty much the “Tank” of the group, which meant I get shot. A lot. On top of that, while I hate to “waste” points on Charisma, it is clear that I am going to be in social situations a lot more often. Still, I refuse to dedicate a full Level’s worth to it, so Perception is getting at least a point. If Jason were here, he’d probably bitch me out about deviating from my build or being a generalist, but thus far, it’s worked.

Having made my decision, I dump three points into Intelligence and Constitution, two into Charisma, and one in Perception, wiping out my free attributes. The next Level, I might put another point into Luck and Perception then rotate over to Charisma if I see some benefit in my interactions with others.