Respawn: Nightmare Mode (Respawn LitRPG series Book 4)

by Arthur Stone

  “What about it?” March asked.

  “We’re next to the border! Remember what it was like on the other side? Atomites, infecteds, bots. And we almost ended up ambushed by a pack of gray hounds. Despite our arsenal of weapons and ammo, we barely made it through. Dying many times along the way. Without Button, we would have had no chance in hell of getting a glimpse of the border even from a distance. But as soon as we arrived here, all of that stopped. There’s no one. Carrion, worms, crows, and a couple of mongrel dogs. I’ve never seen a place so abandoned.”

  “Maybe they call a desert a desert because it’s deserted,” March scoffed.

  “Something’s off, and I’m pretty sure you know what.”

  “How about we head for a lake or a river?” Tat digressed. “March said nine miles. That’s three or four hours, about. My Thirst meter is terrifyingly low right now.”

  “Ah yes. Nine miles. Without a map, how do you know the distance?”

  March shook his head. “I never said it was nine miles to a river or lake. I said that within nine miles around us there was no lake or river. I have no idea how much further.”

  “Can you smell water?” Tat asked. “Is that an ability?”

  March shook his head. “That way—” he pointed over his shoulder—“I can see that for nine miles, there’s no large body of water. And that way—” this time, he pointed to the left—“for at least twelve miles. There is a lake that way—” he moved his arm to the right—“but it might be a salt lake. And ahead of us, ten and a half miles, there is a very shallow lake. Little more than a large puddle. And a little over thirteen miles, there’s a canal. Beyond that, twenty-eight miles out, a whole system of lakes covers the land, connected by rivers. No more desert clusters. Forests, fields—you’ll like it there. I can see everything that way.”

  Cheater shook his head. “So you don’t even need a map. Why can you only see in that direction?”

  “I saw it from the very beginning. Remember how I named the distance to the borders? I was only barely joking. Sure, I can’t get it down to the meter, but that kind of precision is unimportant, anyway. In that direction, I see nearly each and every pebble. So we’re heading that way. That is also how we got across both borders. Life is much more convenient when you can see that road from afar.”

  “Your ability is very strange.”

  “Hah! There are far stranger abilities. You’re too new here to have seen them. By the way, congratulations on your new levels. You should go see a healer as soon as possible so that they can activate your level 30 skill.”

  “Thanks. I’ll go as soon as I reach a stable. No, I said it was strange because you’re like a stationary radar. You can only see in one direction.”

  “With my ability, direction is nothing. Destination is everything. You and I performed that crossing for this reason. Not to cross some border. I can clearly see what lies at our destination, and on the way to it.”

  “What is this destination?”

  “My death,” March said, in an uncharacteristically dark voice, without any mention of beer.

  “Your death? I don’t understand.”

  “Everything will be fine. You will understand in time.”

  Chapter 28

  Life Nine. More Confusion

  Travelers around the Continent had to follow an implied set of rules, of which any violation would lead to a quick death. Whether you were traveling on foot, on bicycle, or by vehicle.

  For three hours now, the group had been violating one of the most critical rules. Do not stay out in the open. Even a few moments spent in a place where you were visible from afar was a great risk. Lesser infecteds had vision that was tuned to instantly notice a moving object from hundreds of yards away. Greater infecteds could see the same from a mile or more. They would instantly detect if the source of the movement had good nutritional value. Or if it was a player.

  Inedible things were ignored, unless, like vehicles, they contained edible things inside.

  Of course, there were many other kinds of opponents besides infecteds. Players could kill you, for any number of reasons. Especially in the area they were moving through.

  Flat, with no buildings, no shrubs, not even any tall grass. They only came across one tree on their voyage, and it was dead and withered. Over the whole course of their trek, a lone marksman could have taken them out anywhere, from hundreds of yards away. And if he had a good weapon, perhaps from a mile away.

  Cheater had heard tell of many excellent snipers. They would pump their Accuracy, acquire rifles with sets of modifications, and take all sorts of measures to improve their likelihood of hitting their targets. A mile and a half was not impossible for such snipers. Perhaps even further. One story told of a sniper that took half an enemy player’s head off from three miles out. It sounded implausible, to be sure, but this was the Continent. Here, such tales often proved true, and modified weapons could produce results beyond their normal capabilities.

  These are the tales Cheater recalled along the way, as he looked around nervously. Death could come from any side, and he wouldn’t even hear the shot. The bullet would reach his temples before the sound did.

  Or an infected bounding among the cacti would notice the three moving targets. And grumble to call all of its relatives to Thanksgiving. The party would shoot at them, of course, but the sounds of gunfire would attract more. Cheater had ten rounds left. Four for his rifle, six for his pistol. March was on his last half-full magazine, he had said, and his backup, the sawn-off shotgun, had been damaged by a bot sniper. He still had ammo for it, but it was as good as a set of paperweights. Tat was out, except for her sword. She knew how to handle it, but there were a number of Continental residents that it would do little to calm down.

  If a battle began, it would not last long. They couldn’t even run with speed, as each of them had suffered several wounds and all were exhausted, dehydrated, and hungry. Low Pleasure meters docked their stats. Their Stamina was close to zero. That meant any increased physical activity would soon cause immobilizing fatigue.

  They would simply fall down.

  Easy prey for any Continental predator. But for three hours now, no one had responded to them in any way.

  No bullets, no grumbling noises, no other misfortunes. Just walking and more walking, through the monotonous wasteland. Once they crossed a shoddy dirt road and stumbled on a burned-out car with human bones on the seats, and another time they rummaged through the wreckage of an airplane dispersed over an acre of land. No food, no water.

  Just cacti and stones. The peace they experienced for miles never happened on the Continent. It might in a strong stable with a powerful army, but not in an ordinary cluster.

  And certainly not a few miles from the border. Very strange.

  Judging by March’s behavior, he had been counting on this all along. Knowing that it was safe to move along this stretch without fear. He didn’t even suggest they look for a vehicle. Where were they going?

  Only March knew, and he was in no hurry to tell them.

  * * *

  It was an odd town.

  First, it was cut off by cluster boundaries. Only a piece had come to the Continent, and without any suburbs. Cheater had never seen it before, though he had heard. The System’s move had wrecked numerous buildings. Border lines passed right through them, slicing off facades, corners, and porches with a giant razor. Some still remaining standing, communication and power lines and plumbing showing along their severed edges, while others had collapsed in part or in whole.

  The neighboring cluster was also filled with ruins. These were not destroyed from the reboot. Sometimes a reset was accompanied by earthquakes, yes, but that was also not the case here. Seismic phenomena would have affected more than that small cluster alone. When a massive building collapses from an earthquake, turning into a pile of debris, usually the buildings around suffer more than a little broken glass.

  Though not always.

  Some areas were com
pletely unaffected by any disaster. As it a giant wrecking ball had swept through, crushing everything in its path, but leaving no damage to anything off to the side—except for windows broken by the flying debris.

  Cheater could not imagine what sort of weapons might deal such powerful, linear destruction. It looked like no bombing or shelling he had ever seen. Perhaps some massive vehicle that had charged through. Or some group of skilled sappers with targeted explosive devices.

  They continued moving, and he had to resort to examining the city on the go, which was a painful strain on his eyes. March didn’t even stop for a minute, and he pressed on in a straight line, fearing nothing and no one.

  Cities were the most dangerous places on the Continent. Even here, on the border, it was impossible to think of a place that could be more perilous. A sneeze would bring down a crowd of infecteds on you, and not to wish you gesundheit. They should have been tiptoeing and taking care to breath silently.

  But March charged through like a bull, and even tried whistling some stupid melody along the way. He must sense that beer is close.

  It was a fearlessness driven by thirst. Cheater wanted to tie him down, find a few hot irons of the clothing or soldering type, and extract some elucidations from him. Instead, he suppressed his instincts and continue following.

  * * *

  This particular supermarket had not been among the luckier buildings in town. Only half of it remained standing. Many goods had spoiled or been buried. But what survived was enough to feed and water thousands of people.

  The three of them at last had a source of provisions.

  Cheater winced as a gust of wind brought a rotten smell to his nose. The items in the meat and fish departments had been lying out in the warmth far too long. Normally, infecteds would have swept in to clean them up, but that was in a normal city, not this one.

  He finished chewing a piece of cold stew and washed it down with tomato juice straight out of the bottle. Now, his stomach was full, but he still craved something more. Cheese, perhaps? Some canned fish?

  March sipped from a can. “You’ll never pump your Alcoholism by choking down juice right next to the beer section.”

  Cheater didn’t respond. He was tired of the beer jokes, as he imagined everyone else was, too. And too lethargic to open his mouth to speak. His body was putting the new food and water to good use, restoring his strength and zealously patching up the injuries from the day before. That made him feel sleepy, as it should.

  Unlike Cheater, Tat went for some booze. But instead of beer, she found some kind of bottle with a bright crimson label and low alcohol content. She sipped from it. Her eyes made it seem like she wanted to doze off, as well.

  But no—the girl was in the game menu.

  Cheater realized that only when she broke the group’s silence. “Looks like Fatso’s having fun. He’s mowing things down left and right.”

  Cheater’s brain didn’t process that at first. It dawned on him that he had never removed Fatso, Button, or Clown from the party. They had been resurrected now, far from the border, and the chat system no longer worked. But the System made an exception for loot taken from monsters. Those were still communicated. No matter how distant the players were, you could see a list of the spores, peas, and other things earned. That was, in fact, his only informational link to Kitty. Sadly, messages could not be sent this way. Players were unable to repeatedly drop and pick up items to send messages in Morse code, for example. Only what you just personally pulled out of a monster, drew from a secret cache, or picked up on the field of battle was shown. Cheater entered the party menu out of interest to see that Tat had been right.

  Fatso, whose first log entry since death was a half hour ago, had gained 14 spores, 3 peas, and assorted other small things in the time since. Not a mighty prize, but it was nice for someone just starting a new life.

  Before he closed the menu, he sleepily looked over the icons showing his party members’ statuses.

  His drowsiness evaporated. Cheater dropped the unfinished juice to the floor as he leaped to his feet. “They killed Kitty!”

  “Who?” Tat asked, confused.

  “How should I know? Her icon is black. Completely black! See for yourself!”

  Tat pulled up the menu again and nodded a few seconds later. “Yes. She’s dead. No need to yell. This is the Continent. The dead come back.”

  Cheater only grew more upset. “No, you don’t understand. She has nearly no lives left. What if that was her last?”

  “You said ‘nearly no lives.’ That sounds like at least one is left. I bet you’ve been watching her icon all day, eh? Well, resurrection can take from between a few hours and a few days. So I doubt there were any other deaths you missed. She’ll come back soon!”

  “I would have forgotten about that woman a long time ago, if I were you,” March added. “I’m tired of explaining how everyone is single here. Everyone. Tat’s right next to you. She’s all you need!”

  But Cheater could not be calmed down. “Idiot! You haven’t even seen her. You don’t know anything!”

  “You’re like a man who swears he’s seen a purple tomato and refuses to taste the red ones until he finds the purple one again. They’re all red, Cheater!”

  “You know, there are purple tomatoes,” Tat interrupted.

  “Come on, I’m telling a story here. Fine. Cucumbers. The point isn’t vegetable colors but principles. Yes, Cheater is the least sane person I think I’ve met. I didn’t even know such people existed. Charging in one direction, towards one aim, like a bulldozer. Ignoring all other women. She is all he cares about. But he is only half of the equation. What about that girl willing to sit still in one spot until he comes back to her? That defies all shreds of sense. Even in our last life, such matters were easily resolved, let alone here on the Continent. People would break up over trifles and never get back together again. That’s fine. Here, no one will cross a border for another person. Maybe some have such thoughts now and then, but only for passing moments. The most obstinate reach the border, die, and then achieve enlightenment. They see that while they were unable to overcome their stupidity, their ‘love’ across the border has already forgotten them, or is at least acting like it. You’re forgotten, Cheater. There are no celibates among us immunes. Our blood flows with more hormones than the veins of a pimply teenager. That’s a nice bonus from the System, you know. So have a seat, and be happy. Kitty is gone. At the very least, that means she’s not busy getting screwed by anyone else. Most likely. Of course, once her icon lights back up, she’ll get back to business again. Screwing.”

  Cheater charged March, slamming his head into the rack of beer. The can he had been sipping flew out of his hand and started glugging its guts onto the floor.

  After a moment of silence, their boss rubbed his bruised cheekbone and then reached for a new drink from the same shelf. “The hell was that for?”

  “I’ve warned you countless times not to talk about her like that.”

  “Look, I was just expressing my opinion, not stating fact. No need to get all worked up about it. We’re humans! We are best served by sharing our opinions among each other.”

  “‘Share’ again and I’ll shoot you. The hell are you doing, anyway? Not long ago you were defending my purpose to the others.”

  March raised and spread his hands, each holding a can. “Fine, fine, let’s make peace. I’ll admit again that Kitty must not be in her right mind—meaning she must be waiting for you. She’s still in the party. She even keeps tossing leadership of the party back over to you. So it sounds crazy, but perhaps it’s true. Still unlikely. Very unlikely. Yet two birds flock together. Well, how about it? Peace? Here, have a beer. You’re supposed to drink to peace.”

  “Thanks. But no. It won’t get past the lump in my throat.”

  “Ah, dissolving a lump in your throat is what it’s best at! Here, try it out and you’ll see how mistaken you are. Relax. Everything will be fine with your girl.”


  “It’s hard to relax when you don’t even know where you’re going next,” Cheater complained.

  “Well, good, because you do know. You’re following me! And along the road, you’ll be busy counting all the bonuses the System has to offer you.”

  “I believe you. But it’s still easier when you know. It lets you prepare, among other things.”

  “Bonuses!” He repeated with dramatic effect. “Wonderful bonuses! Remember what I promised you? Everything I said will come true. A wonderful future, in your grasp. I am the one who must prepare, for I must die.”

  “Die?”

  “Yes, Cheater. Death awaits me. Not final death, of course, but it will still be unpleasant.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You don’t have to, yet. Excess understanding brings excess sadness. Just follow me, and get your loot bag ready to open wide.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I can’t go very far right now,” Tat poked in. “My legs can barely unbend.”

  “Well, we’re not going right now! We’ll spend the night here. It’s a good spot, with plenty of beer.”

  Cheater sat down and picked up a piece of metal which had once served as part of the supermarket floor. He ran a finger along the smooth mirror-like cut that separated two parts of the structure. “Maybe you like it here, but I feel something off about the place. Half of the city is destroyed here. As if it were cut off by a huge laser, or Godzilla himself. Metal, glass, concrete, all severed or smashed. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

  “Don’t worry, Cheater. Everything is just as it should be. We are almost at our destination.”

  Chapter 29

  Life Nine. The Perfect Laxative

  This new cluster resembled the one adjacent to the first border they had crossed. The same rocky desert, rugged rocky ridges, and treacherous collapses in dried-up stream beds. There was no more choking heat, at least, but that was thanks to the weather; the clouds that had covered the sky the day before did so today, as well.