The System Apocalypse Short Story Anthology Volume 1: A LitRPG post-apocalyptic fantasy and science fiction anthology
Page 32
“This world will need some serious help,” Burns said. As the day began to close, they made it across the bridge, the zone dropping even further in level. They entered the suburbs of Shasta Lake, and several messages bloomed into Burn’s view.
Quest Completed - Get Somewhere Safe!
Quest Completed - Save Your Wife and Son!
Hidden Quest Completed - Save the Residents of Lakehead!
Congratulations! You have gained a level x2 in Phoenix. Stats automatically assigned - you have 2 free points to spend.
Congratulations! You have gained a level x3 in Pyromancer. No attribute points gained for Subclasses.
Burns breathed a sigh of relief. He had made it, his family and even most of Lakehead were safe. For now, anyway.
***
At the bottom of the deepest point of Lake Shasta, several Nagashiu stood around a scrying bowl watching the humans as they entered the town. One of them, a large female with an ornately decorated crest on her head looked to the male, a muscular creature wearing a badge of authority. “My chief,” she said, “why do you let the humans go? They would have provided an enormous sacrifice to Shethlglth. He would have blessed us greatly!” The female did not hide the anger in her voice, a challenge to his authority.
“Silence, witch,” the male said, and backhanded her, slamming her into the wall. With a wave of his hand the scrying pool went blank, and he picked the witch up by her throat. “You would spend all our resources on a single benefit. This is why you will never supplant me; you seek only what aids you now while I think for our future.” He casually tossed her to the ground. “That tribe of humans will bring us sacrifices for months to come. We will raid them and sacrifice them over time, making sure our altar is never empty.”
The witch coughed, blood from her mouth dissipating into the water. “But what about the Phoenix? Your father will not forgive you for allowing it to kill our scouts.”
The male Nagashiu chuckled, an evil grin coming to rest on his toothy face. “I have already taken care of that particular nuisance,” he said.
***
Deep space, the Forbidden Zone. Aboard the starship Forsworn a light flashes, followed by a beep. A stasis tube begins its opening cycle, releasing the occupant within. Before it can process its surroundings, a message appears on the large, main screen of the ship.
Automated message: A Phoenix has been found. Funds have been withdrawn from your account and placed within escrow awaiting verification.
Time since last awakening: 997 years.
###
One Last Conversation
“Seven Advanced Classers we didn’t know of. One crippled Master Classer. And four interesting Basic Classes,” Rob Markey, the elected leader of Earth stared at the summary provided to him. He had no time to read the full details of the reports, not yet. Not until his people had worked up more information of the groups. Among other things – if they were alive or still on Earth.
“That’s about it. Those are the ones we should look out for,” Amelia confirmed.
“I’m glad our tip went to good use,” Rob tapped the data slate. “But, you didn’t need to talk to me for that. My people would have handled it. So, what do you want?”
“A bit blunt, aren’t we?” Amelia said.
“Peter was the diplomat. I was just a politician. And my promotion was a political compromise,” Rob shook his head. “There were. Are, better people for the job.”
“Well, we were lucky you survived anyway,” Amelia said. “Enough about the past. I wanted to know why you’re collecting all these people. Where so many of our people have been going?”
“Going?” Rob said, his face carefully neutral.
“Yes. Going. They’re not on Earth. And, I note, a lot of those who have disappeared are friends of Ingrid’s. So…”
“It’s classified.”
“Even to allies?”
Rob nodded. “Let’s just say that we need them to help an old friend.”
Amelia paused, staring at Rob and then she rolled her eyes as realisation struck her. “Again?”
“Just a continuance.” Ro shook his head. “I’ve said more than I should. And don’t pass this on. Not to your employer.”
“I’m sure he knows already,” Amelia smirked. “They still talk, much to my partner’s chagrin.”
“I bet,” Rob said, chuckling. He sobered up as a light chime notified him of another call. “Anything else?”
In answer, Amelia cancelled the call, her holographic form disappearing, leaving Rob alone in his office. He sighed, looking at the call notification and could not help but wince.
Really, sometimes, he missed John. As brash, unthinking and violent as he was, the Master Classer had a way of managing the Fist that he lacked. They just did not respect a non-Combat Classer in the same way.
Then again, he wouldn’t exactly want to be in John’s place right now. At least he was safe.
###
The End
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Biographies
Craig Hamilton is gainfully employed as a technical sales engineer who dabbles at writing in his free time. Most of his work days are spent translating tech speak and specifications for a non-technical crowd. When not working, Craig appreciates playing tabletop RPGs or board games with friends. When his inner-introvert demands a break from polite company, Craig can be found sprawled on his couch with a good book or playing a video game with spaceships and entirely too many spreadsheets.
Alexis Keene - Hey there! Alexis here, welcome to my author bio! So, a little about me. I live in England (you know, that place where it never stops raining and the inhabitants never stop complaining about the weather) with a dog and far too many books (if such a thing exists).
I could launch into a laundry list of places I’ve been and things I’ve done, but this isn’t a CV, and I doubt you really want to read it all (neither do I, tbh). So, let’s talk about us, have a chat, just you and me. So, about us! We both love video games and hate Season 8 of Game of Thrones (seriously, wtf, bro).
Oh! And reading. That’s okay, I guess. Either way, we’re here for one of two reasons, because we love LitRPG or we’re trying to singlehandedly deforest the Amazon (those trees deserve it). We’ve read (or listened to) everything there is to read and we’re constantly on the lookout for something new and exciting. Because that’s what we’re here for. Having fun; not listening to some bore who doesn’t know when to shut up about themselves. If we wanted to do that, we’d visit LinkedIn, right ?
Anyway, I loved every minute of writing this story, and I hope you’ll have a blast reading it. Or had a blast reading it, I have no idea where this bio is going to be placed… waaaaay up here at the top of the story, or down here at the end. Or somewhere else entirely (I heard R'lyeh is great for author bios this time of year). But I’m waffling on here and all those annoying professional marketers are screaming at me to push my platform… so, uhhh… here, I guess… https://alexiskeane.com/platform … you know… that’s an awful way to make an exit… Thestarwarsprequelsarethegreatestmoviesevermadeandjarjaristhebestcharacter… fight me.
L.A. Batt is a New Zealander who has made a hobby out of backpacking his homelands and beyond in-between bouts of working in hospitality, retail, radio, deep-sea fishing, gaming news and reviews, I.T., and more. Now Luke (that’s what the L stands for) is throwing his wits and wiles into the wonderful world of crafting stories to spellbind fans of fantasy, adventure and science fiction.
RK Billiau is the best selling author in his household. He feels strange writing about himself in third person, so just know that he has a wife, a ridiculous amount of kids, a few pets, is a geeky used-to-be-gamer who now games by living vicariously through reading and writing LitRPG. When he isn't drowning in children, he works for a nonprofit medical outreach bringing free healthcare to people in his local community. Follow
him here:
Rkbilliau.com
Facebook.com/R-K-Billiau-Author-118799139520610/
Ix Phoen writes in order to read the stories they can't find elsewhere. They have a hidden archive of unpublished ideas, books, and more, guarded by fierce monsters including Uncertainty and Perfectionism. "Rebel Within" is the first of Ix's novellas to battle its way to freedom in search of an audience. Now that the Impossible Boss has been defeated, a trilogy is planning to fight for the right to be self published over the coming months. Watch @IxPhoen on Facebook and Instagram for progress updates.
Tao Wong lives in the Yukon, writing away the long winter months. He’s a long-time martial artist, scifi and fantasy reader and lover of food. Tao wrote the System Apocalypse one long winter as he decided to set the end of the world in the cold north. To his surprise, the post-apocalyptic book found a fan base and he’s been writing since.
For more information on the System Apocalypse and his books, visit his website: http://www.mylifemytao.com
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