by Tao Wong
“Well I do, and I think we can save most of the people here if we work smart,” I say. “By now, the Manawatara will know you’ve gone rogue, but if we’re lucky, it doesn’t know how or why. You need to knock out as many people as you can and get them on the boats, while killing as many of the creatures as possible. Meanwhile, I’ll try to get past its guards and take out the beast itself.”
Her eyes go wide with the task I’m setting her, but she nods in acceptance. Huh, weird, telling my old PE teacher what to do, but again, that’s our new world… hope I pass this test.
***
Sneaking back toward the lair of the mystical tuatara, I see that a number of its guards have left to deal with the distraction. However, Otiniara, Ellie, and Sam are still there. I can’t see Jase or the other girls from the Coastlands team, and I can only hope they haven’t been killed and aren’t able to take down Mrs. T.
Before launching my plan, I look at the stats of the Manawatara so I know how much damage I have to do.
Manawatara
Level 88
HP: 42,581
Mana: 259,122/ 617,286
Conditions: None
On the one hand, I’m scared shitless. This thing is so much higher in level than me, and it has guards—who, by the way, I don’t want to harm and I don’t want harming me. On the other hand, forty thousand or so hit points is totally within my ability to accomplish, especially with my newly allocated and acquired Skills. I might just be able to pull this off.
Deciding that the element of surprise is my best bet, I load up all my body and weapon buffs, then drink a mana potion, and attack.
First, I cast Meteoric Strike. Before the flaming chunks of rock materialize above us, I’m already drinking another mana potion and focusing on all the people this monster has killed. My rage and determination hit an all-time high, and I cast Shroud of the Fallen as I leap through toward the beast. The glow of the shield encompasses me as I land a critical blow with my poleaxe atop the Manawatara’s head, then the rain of molten fire crashes down upon us.
For a solid minute, all around me is chaos, flames, and earth being blasted apart. I keep my attack going against my target as I deal hundreds, and occasionally thousands, of damage per swing. Shortly after the final blast of the comets fades away, O, Ellie, and Sam are aware enough to know what’s going on, and by then I have the Manawatara’s health below twenty thousand.
Ellie screams with rage and fires arrows at me. Sam downs one of his elixirs and bulks out to be what looks like five times his original size. His clothes are ripped apart and he smashes the ground to create boulders to hurl my way. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Otiniara casting buffs on his party before beginning a chant that generates a crazy-looking ball of black light surrounded by yellow pulses of power.
Shroud of the Fallen Shield Status
HP: 42,354/ 76,503
“You know, I did try to get you on my side,” O says between verses.
Meanwhile, Ellie with her bow and Sam with his boulders rain down long-range attacks as I hack away at the Manawatara. Its writhing body twists and thrashes in pain beneath me. Just a little longer, shield! Please hold out a little longer.
Shroud of the Fallen Shield Status
HP: 37,726/ 76,503
Mid-attack, I reply to O. “That’s.” Swipe. “Not.” Hack. “You.” Thunk. “Talking.” Slice.
The creature’s hit points are dropping, but so is my shield. Along the ridge, I notice more people coming to join the attack. I can only pray that Mrs. T and the people she was taking to the boats are still alive.
Shroud of the Fallen Shield Status
HP: 28,321/ 76,503
“I just wanted to go home!” Ellie and Sam scream in unison, moments before Sam launches himself at me and drops ground-shattering punches against my shield. Each strike results in visible shockwaves that shake the nearby rocks and flora. Once again, in perfect, gut-wrenchingly horrific harmony, they yell, “Leave me alone!” THUD! Ttthhrruummmm. “And die!”
Shroud of the Fallen Shield Status
HP: 16,947/ 76,503
Swiping at Sam with my poleaxe, I yell, “Get off me, ya plodding oaf! Can’t you see you’re about to be killed by O’s attack?”
Ellie’s arrows strike my shield, some bouncing away harmlessly, but Sam is also getting in the way of them, resulting in several protruding from his back and slowing him down a touch.
“I said, fuck off!” With all the strength I can gather, I strike Sam as hard as I can, slicing off an arm and removing a chunk of his left leg as I send him flying into the group of people who had just joined the fray.
Shroud of the Fallen Shield Status
HP: 5,292/ 76,503
“You’re too late!” O says. “This is going to kill you. Even if you deal the final blow, this will still wipe you from existence!” Then he launches his roaring balls of electrified darkness at me.
I yell, “Go to hell, you mind-fucking piece of—”
The Manawatara screams in agony, its health almost completely gone. Just as I’m about to see it hit zero, O’s attack strikes us both.
Otiniara Pio Matetu’s attack Overture to Obliteration deals 5,785 points of damage.
Shroud of the Fallen Shield Status
HP: 0/ 76,503
Fire and hell rain down on us. The Manawatara is cooked to a crisp in less than a heartbeat, and I’m tossed around like a ragdoll in a flaming hurricane. This is the most pain I have ever experienced.
As the spell’s universal orchestra plays, I feel my body being ripped apart at the molecular level. The torture lasts for only a moment, but to me, it’s as if I’ve experienced the annihilation of every star in our universe, had them explode around me, then had the energy from each one crash into my core over and over and over until they’d managed to form new orbs of light and form their own ecosystems once more.
That is to say, to me, the pain felt as though it lasted an eternity.
When the flames subsided and the dust settled, I was still there. My body felt, and probably looked, as though I’d fallen into a volcano. Charred skin fell away to expose boiling blood and roasted bone. One of my eyes had burst, and while my ears were damaged, I could still make out the odd sound through the persistent ringing. I found myself unable to speak as I no longer had a jaw, and only my right arm remained attached. But I was alive. Sure, I only seven hit points left, but I was alive.
Slowly rolling to the side, I faintly heard sobbing, then there was the barest amount of pressure on my chest and head. It seemed most of my nerve endings had been fried. Beyond the subtle crying, I heard a tortured scream—long, deep, and what felt unending. Soon my hearing faded, my sight grew dim, and finally true darkness greeted me like an old friend.
***
I woke up several weeks later. Apparently due to my ocean battle before I arrived at the island, the Vaaharu’s vessels returned to Whakatāne without any encounters. Mrs. Terrell didn’t make it, but her efforts had taken out over half of the more dangerous creatures and she’d gotten several dozen people knocked out and placed on the boats. Other than her and those who were killed before I arrived, we lost around two hundred people to monsters after the effects of the Manawatara wore off. Still, that meant we’d saved over two thousand people.
As for me, the Vaaharu wouldn’t pay up unless I woke up, and in the meantime, due to the upfront payment for gear, they considered me their property. It apparently took quite a bit of negotiating on Ngaire and Ellie’s parts to get my limbs and lost pieces repaired. Even then I wouldn’t wake up, and they simply had to wait me out.
Ngaire and Jase seem to have taken this experience to heart, and they now co-own the Pub. Jase moved in with her the week before I woke up.
Ellie and I… what can I say? I still don’t fully trust her, but she stood by me after the fight and hasn’t touched any substances since O cleansed her. I heard from Ngaire that she even threatened to chop off Sam’s third leg if he came round again, so
yeah, maybe I’ll give her another shot. Toxic as our relationship has been this past year or so, it’s possible we both had a bit of adjusting to do.
Otiniara has yet to recover. He was under the Manawatara’s spell the longest, and didn’t take well to the things it had made him do. Turns out the whole eye twitching thing happened any time the Manawatara used its mind control abilities on people O was looking at. With the number of times I saw it happen while he was talking with me... Geez. Maybe if I’d checked my notifications more I’d have noticed the failures and been able to do something sooner… or we’d all be dead, who knows.
Thinking about the psychological ramifications of all that, plus the fact that when I was finally able to check his stats with Tāne's Sight, it said he had the title Whakaheke Tangata, or Slayer of Men—well, I kind of expect him to be out of the game for a while, and haven’t been pushing him to come out hunting with us. Hopefully all he needs is a little time.
I own a new place now, with multiple rooms, power, hot water, decent walls, and security. Everything I could need—except one thing. Music.
That brings me to today. I’m free and fixed. My medical bills cost over a hundred thousand, but thanks to the help from some of the people I saved, I only had to cover about sixty thousand of it. That means that after the medical fees, buying the house for me and O and maybe eventually Ellie, on top of repairing and restocking my weapons and armor, plus the pay-out from the Vaaharu bounty quest and the massive loot drop from the giant shark and squid fight, not to mention the loot from the Manawatara and its monster friends, I should be able to buy my implant and audio module after I take down one. More. Kiwinuipāhue.
“Nate! Hurry up!” Ellie calls from farther up the track. “Let’s get this done!”
“Don’t rush him. If ya do, we might be out here all day,” Jase screams back in a rush.
Slowing down a bit, I look at my little party and think back on the last few months. I think about where we were and what we’ve done to survive. I realize now that I don’t want to die. I met with the dark and came back from it… and I don’t feel like going back anytime soon.
Today, today will be my first real day of existence in the System. We have everything we need right here. Good friends, good hunting zones, and we’re slowly getting the power we need to bring back our world. Right here, right now, The Land of the Long White Cloud is ours, and no monsters, aliens, or messed-up magic game System will take it from us again.
And I mean, c’mon! It’s not like things could get any worse. Right?
Ah, fuck it all, I’m alive.
Nathaniel’s Class, Skills, and Spell Information
Kaikiko Toa/ Vengeful Warrior (B)
Class Abilities
Plus 1 per level in Agility, Constitution, and Perception
Plus 2 per level in Strength and Willpower
Plus 1 Attribute per level
Plus 10% Elemental Resistance
Plus 50% Mental Resistance
Gain +25% combat bonuses when using Fighting Staffs, Bladed Fighting Staffs, Poleaxe, Short Spears, Long Spears, Clubs
Skill Tree
Tier 1
Haka/ War Thunder
Haumia's Trap
Tū's Gift
1
1
2
Tier 2
Warriors Rage
Tāne's Sight
Trophy Hunter
5
1
1
Tier 3
Heart of the Warrior
Rehua's Light
Meteoric Strike
Vindictive Fury
1
1
1
Tier 4
Warriors Resolve
Rangatira of the Pā/ King of the Hill
Shroud of the Fallen
1
1
Skill Descriptions
Warriors Rage (Level 5)
Increase Strength by 50% for 5 minutes
Cool down: 10 minutes
Cost: 50 Mana
Heart of the Warrior (Level 1)
Increase Constitution and Agility by 20% for 5 minutes
Cost: 100 Mana
Warriors Resolve (Level 1)
Increase Willpower, Perception, and Luck by 20% for 5 minutes
Cost: 150 Mana
(Base increase of 30% with 5% increase per level)
Te-koha-o-Tū/ Tū's Gift (Level 2)
Increase weapon attacks by 35% for 5 minutes
Cool down: 10 minutes
Cost: 50 Mana
(Base increase of 30% with 5% increase per level)
Rehua's Light (Level 1)
Heal 100 health per casting. User requires contact with target
Cool down: 60 seconds
Cost: 50 Mana
Haumia's Trap (Level 1)
Summon a covered 1.5m diameter and 2m deep hole with 1m long spikes that traps and stuns target for 10 seconds, causing 100 points of physical damage
Cost: 50 Mana
Trophy Hunter (Level 1)
Increased System Inventory by 10x10 slots and allows all quest items to be carried at no storage cost. For each equipped trophy, user gains 5% for every core attribute to the Vengeful Warrior class (Strength and Willpower), and 2% for each secondary attribute (Agility, Constitution, and Perception)
Cost: 5 mana regeneration per minute permanently
Rangatira of the Pā/ King of the Hill (Level 1)
The ground in a 30m radius from the spot you are standing transforms into a 30m tall multi-terraced landmass, with you top and center in a fighting circle with a radius of 5m.
Unusable when flying, floating in the vacuum of space, or floating in liquids. Restricted to outdoor use, or the inside of buildings, vessels, and caverns with ceilings exceeding 35m. Pā/ Hill lasts 30 minutes before reverting to original state
Cool down: 1 hour
Cost: 200 Mana
Haka/ War Thunder (Level 1)
Summons a squad of translucent Māori warriors who dance and chant a thunderous haka. Caster ignores all damage for length of spell-casting time. Instils fear upon enemy targets within a 200m range, stunning the targets for 5 seconds, and lowers their attributes by 20% for 5 minutes
Cost: 100 Mana
Tāne's Sight (Level 1)
Able to see a target’s base information, titles, attributes, conditions, and effects
Cost: 5 Mana per second
Meteoric Strike (Level 1)
Summon and launch a flaming meteor from the void for 400 Physical + 100 Fire Damage, followed up by 6 smaller flaming meteors. On-hit the smaller meteors cause 50 Fire Damage, plus 20 damage/second of Fire Damage for 20 seconds to all enemies within a 5m radius
Cost: 50 Stamina + 200 Mana
Shroud of the Fallen (Level 1)
Caster is covered in a shield, with a strength equivalent to the health of all those he is seeking vengeance for. Shield lasts 30 minutes, or until its strength has been depleted. Limited to those wronged by a target or situation within one week, and fifty kilometers of caster at the time of casting. If not fighting for someone else, then shield equals the caster’s health multiplied by 1.5
Cool down: 24 hours
Cost: 250 Mana
Vindictive Fury (Level 0)
Caster is engulfed in a storm of vindictive fury for 1 minute. They can only target those they are seeking vengeance against. Limited to those wronged by a target or situation within one day, and twenty kilometers from caster at the time of casting. All attacks are increased by 5% strength and speed for each victim the caster is seeking vengeance for. While active, caster ignores 30% of melee damage and 50% of ranged attacks. If not fighting for someone else, then vision is unimpaired, with strength and speed increases equal to the casters strength and agility multiplied by 1.5
Cool down: 12 hours
Cost: 200 Stamina + 100 Mana
Non-Class Skills and Spells
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 inventory. User must be touching item
Cost: 5 Mana per item
Flight (Level 1)
Allows the user to hover and fly. Movement speeds based on agility
Cost: 20 Mana per minute
The Not-Perfect-But-Good-Enough Simplistic English Speaker’s Pronunciation Guide for Various Te Reo Words and Māori Names
Below, you will find a basic guide for how to say the various Te Reo words (the language of the Māori people) and Māori names that are used in the Overture to Obliteration short story.
You may notice that some words have multiple ways of saying them. This would be akin to an English speaker butchering the word Paris by saying Pa-ris, rather than the French way, Pa-ree, with the “R” rolled to make it almost sound as though there’s an “L” hidden in there somehow.
The proper/ formal way will be listed first where applicable. This way is typically used by those who speak fluent Te Reo, those who teach or are actively learning Te Reo, many teachers, those who represent large bodies of people or organizations, and of course the odd person on the street. In terms of the short story, alien races like the Vaaharu would use this form by default, Ngaire would default to this manner, and Otiniara would use them depending on the situation and who he’s talking to.