Life in the North: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 1)

by Tao Wong

  Battery Capacity: 21/21

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

  I had to bug Ali to get an explanation of the recharge rate, which he finally did explain in detail, way too much detail in fact. He even pulled up graphs and charts with maps of both the solar system and galaxy. Truth be told, I tuned out after the first 5 minutes. It all boiled down to this – the Galactic Council had instituted a series of measurements based off the ‘base’ mana available in the ambient surroundings in the capital. This was a single Galactic Mana Unit or GMU. All mana engines were rated based on their ability to absorb and charge a mana battery based off a single GMU. However, in Dungeon worlds and zones with higher levels, the recharge rates would increase as there was just more GMUs. Mana batteries could be recharged directly but it was a specialised skillset since an improperly charged mana battery would explode.

  My close range weapon had resulted in a lively debate. Ali had wanted me to purchase a pistol – that man was a gun nut – while I wanted a sword. He had only relented when I pointed out that I needed a weapon that didn’t run out of charges in the middle of a fight, otherwise I’d be completely hosed. He’s still sulking over losing that argument.

  I’d started with a simple hand-and-a-half for my sword and watched it change the moment I made it my personal weapon. Initially, it had a light pattern where the fuller was on the blade, a green inlay on its hilt and a flared guard. It was simple but pretty for a weapon, but choosing it as my personal weapon stripped it of its ornamentation. Now, the sword was sleeker, all traces of ornamentation gone. The only beauty it had now was in its stark simplicity of purpose – this was a weapon meant to kill and kill well.

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

  Base Damage: 48

  Durability: N/A (Personal Weapon)

  Special Abilities: None

  The sword had grown even sharper and while it could still break, I had only to dismiss it and call it back for it to reappear in its original state.

  Preparations complete, all the basic knowledge absorbed, there was but the skills left to do. I finally step away and nod to the Fox, ready for him to begin. As soon as I nodded, I felt the shift. This was even more marked than the previous purchase of knowledge like the world had stopped and then restarted with a lurch. Windows bloom soon after.

  Unarmed Combat Skill Gained (Level 6)

  Blade Mastery Skill Gained (Level 6)

  PAV Combat Skill Gained (Level 4)

  Energy Rifles Skill Gained (Level 3)

  Meditation Skill Gained (Level 5)

  Mana Manipulation Skill Gained (Level 1)

  Minor Healing Spell Gained

  Even as I finish dismissing the windows, another notice appears.

  The System Quest Update

  The journey to understanding the origins of the System and Mana has many beginnings, but all roads lead to the understanding of Mana. You have taken your first step in understanding the System.

  Requirement: Learn Mana Manipulation

  Reward: 500 XP

  “Huh,” I grin, dismissing the quest update. My business done, my funds drained, I find myself back in the real world.

  The smell of burnt flesh and spilt guts return along with the pain. No longer under the System’s care, all the damage I had received comes back with interest. Knowing it was coming does little to stop me from dropping to my knees in pain, head swimming. It’s only with great focus am I able to cast my Minor Healing Spell, fixing the damage as I recast it again and again. Ali stays silent through this, waiting for me to become mostly functional before he speaks, “Alright, let’s get this show on the road!”

  “No.” I shake my head, shrugging my shoulders as I walk over to my bike. I sit on it, triggering the change in my mind and feeling the armour crawl and attach itself to me.

  “Oooh, we going to farm some carrion?”

  “Not exactly,” I walk towards the town center while looking for potential threats.

  “Stop that! We’re not playing 20 questions here. What the hell are you up to boy-o?” Ali grouses, flying after me.

  “Being human.”

  I shoot the last oversized coyote that crawled out to see if it could get dinner and loot it before turning back to the pyre I had made. I probably should have done something about the other monster corpses, but I didn’t give a damn about them. The citizens of the town though, they deserved something better. Even in power armor, the chopping and hauling had taken me hours especially as I had to stop every once in a while and kill a few wandering monsters.

  I don’t have words for when I’m done, even though I’ve tried to find the words these past few hours. In the end, all I have is this, “I’m sorry.”

  As I turn away, calling Sabre back to its bike form, I hear from behind me a rough voice.

  God lay dead in heaven;

  Angels sang the hymn of the end;

  Purple winds went moaning,

  Their wings drip-dripping

  With blood

  That fell upon the earth.

  It, groaning thing,

  Turned black and sank.

  Then from the far caverns

  Of dead sins

  Came monsters, livid with desire.

  They fought,

  Wrangled over the world,

  A morsel.

  But of all sadness this was sad —

  A woman’s arms tried to shield

  The head of a sleeping man

  From the jaws of the final beast. ((“God Lay Dead in Heaven,” Stephen Crane))

  I twist around, staring up at Ali who shrugs. “It seemed appropriate”

  Yeah, it did.

  Hidden Quest Completed!

  You have laid to rest the bodies of the fallen and avenged their death against all odds. The System might be callous, but you are not.

  Reward: 5,000 XP, Title Gained: Redeemer of the Dead. Reputation change with certain factions.

  “And fuck you too System,” I whisper and gesture the notification away. It’s time to go home.

  Chapter 6

  “Ali, I’m not wrong, right? You’re bigger?” Gunning the engine, I shoot down the road, weaving around newly created potholes and debris. Looks like monsters don’t have any civic pride, the way they destroy common roadways.

  “More than big enough or so the lady’s say,” Ali smirks.

  “You’re a Spirit. You don’t even have a gender,” I growl back, leaning into the curve as we shoot past a startled Moose. Holy shit, that thing was the size of a bus!

  “Now that’s heteronormative thinking. It’s thinking like that that has kept half of your population down for the entirety of your history,” starts Ali.

  “I hate you,” I grouse, tuning out Ali. I had a serious question about his abilities, but every single time!!!

  I’m purposely tuning him out so when he screams “Down”, it takes me a moment to realise he’s serious and react. It almost costs me my life as I duck down, sending the entire vehicle into a spin. Missing me by inches a dragon pulls up from its dive, screeching its anger as batlike wings and purple scales glisten in the sunlight. I feel the pressure, the aura of fear that surrounds it as closes on me, trying to lock my muscles together and make me prey.

  My resistances kick-in even as I focus on getting control of my bike. Realising it’s a lost cause, I trigger the change, the entire bike coming apart beneath me as I take a death-grip on the handlebars. It’s a good thing that the overalls I’m wearing have light armor plates stitched in or else I’d have some terrible road rash.

  The transformation takes seconds, armor plates sliding to protect my arms and legs, liquid metal filling in gaps at the joints while the bike’s wheels attach to the back with the exhaust, creating a bulky backpack section. My actual hiking backpack and its contents get strewn all over the road during the change. As I slide along the ground, I dig in my bottom foot and come up to a crouched position in a display of agility, c
o-ordination and strength no normal human could ever exhibit.

  When I do manage to slow down and look up, I get a chance to actually see the information Ali has pulled for me.

  Shadow Drake (Level 74)

  HP: 14,780 / 14,780

  Christ on a pogo stick! There’s no way I’m winning this fight. A mental command triggers the QSM and I bolt for it, heading into the surrounding forest to hide.

  Ali comes back to my hiding spot hours later after the sun has finally set and risen again, pointing upwards. “We’re clear. It’s gone.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief, my hands trembling slightly from the accumulated adrenaline finally subsiding. I rest my head on my arms, forcing myself to breathe slower, pushing the fear back down after a moment. That Drake had been tenacious, unwilling to leave even after it lost track of me. If I hadn’t the QSM to lose it initially, I would have been Drake chow. I was lucky, so damn lucky…

  Once I have control of myself again, I take a quick glance at the inbuilt compass in my helmet and I take off towards Whitehorse through the forest, figuring I’ll eventually meet up with the road. Best to give it a few more hours before I risk the road again.

  Ali seems unusually quiet for a few minutes as I sneak through the forest, just floating beside me and not even humming an annoying tune. “I am bigger. Told you, as you grow stronger, so do I and I’ll eventually be able to manifest a real body.”

  “You said at Level 2 you gained the ability to sense the System monster’s around us. How did the Drake get so damn close?” I gripe at him.

  “Shadow Drake. Stealth abilities affect my ability to sense them through the System since the System dictates the skills themselves,” Ali explains and I make a mental note to start paying more attention myself. It seems like I can’t just rely on him.

  “What’d you get for the other levels?”

  “More access to the system. It’s why the information I’ve been displaying has been getting more and more accurate. I’ve also extended the range of my spot function and I can manifest longer too.” Ali explains, “If you hit level 10 my affinity will be something you can gain, if you spend some time practicing it.”

  I nod, happy. Finally, some real information.

  After a few hours of walking off the road, I get back on it and head in at speed. Most of the rest of the journey to Whitehorse goes by relatively peacefully and fast, the closer I get to the city the lower the level of monsters go. In fact, the latest monster that I deal with is a giant brown bear whose level sits at a measly 35. At Ali’s insistence, I kill it and loot it. Poor thing stood no chance as I just sniped it to death from a distance. I don’t get a level and I feel somewhat bad about leaving the rest of the meat to rot, but I just don’t have the ability to carry the non-System generated body. Something to think about for the future – getting some form of inter-dimensional storage.

  When I get within a kilometer of the Takhini cutoff, a bare 20 minutes away by bike to Whitehorse, Ali starts jabbering. “Pedal to the metal boy-o, unless you want to re-run of the Junction.”

  I snarl, gunning the bike. Sabre roars, the mana battery ticking down as I pull more power than the engine can recharge. Not the time to worry about it. I can’t see the problem till I take the last corner, easing off the throttle enough to let me ascertain the situation.

  Troll (Level 32)

  HP: 1673/1842

  The Troll is the aggressor here, all 13 feet of gangly, warty green skin facing off directly against a diminutive Japanese woman who wields a polearm-like weapon. Even as I pull to a stop behind them, she slips a strike, spins the blade to slice open the Troll’s arm and then reverses the cut immediately to slash open its throat. As she makes the last strike, a white glow seems to envelop the blade itself, making the second cut pass through the Troll’s body much easier. She has the Troll outclassed in sheer speed and skill, but it doesn’t seem to matter as the Troll is already regenerating the damage, old and new wounds closing. Unlike the Troll, the woman isn’t regenerating damage and blood drips from the scalp wound she has already received.

  Mikito Sato (Level 27)

  HP: 282/420

  As interesting as the fight is, the giant Huskies that dart in and out to annoy and distract the Troll are more so. Those creatures are nearly the size of a small pony each, varying in colouring and size by only a small amount. Controlling their actions with barked orders are a pair of redheaded humans, their owners I’d presume.

  Richard Pearson (Level 24)

  HP: 210 / 210

  Lana Pearson (Level 24)

  HP: 230/230

  Further behind are a crowd of non-combatants, children and more. I don’t pay attention to them as I struggle to get the rifle out of its holster. I curse myself for not practising drawing the weapon when I had the time, fumbling the motion and costing precious seconds. Mikito misses a dodge, blood from her wound blinding her for a crucial second and it is all the Troll needs to smash her down. The killing blow is delayed for a precious second at the cost of a Husky’s body, thrown at its raised arm and then my rifle is free.

  I aim high, figuring a missed shot will stay missed that way and pull the trigger. The first shot catches it on the shoulder, burning and then cauterising the flesh as the beam weapon punches a hole through it. The Troll hunches down, making a smaller target as it then sprints towards me on all fours.

  Rather than run, I line up a proper shot, this one smashes the left collarbone and keeps going, right through its body to dig into the earth behind it. The Troll crashes to the ground, momentum keeping it rolling to me. When it recovers, it launches itself in a straight lunge which I meet with a boot to its face. Unfortunately, I forgot about that bitch physics which still has some control over our lives.

  Instead of throwing the Troll back, I’m the one who goes flying backwards and into the ground. I take the fall and roll, a part of me marvelling at the fact that I can even do this kind of crazy acrobatics, the other, larger and smarter part snapping another shot off at the Troll.

  This one completely misses, but it does make the Troll pause long enough to let me stand up. Again, I make a mistake, forgetting how long the creature’s arms are and it smashes the rifle aside, nearly taking my head with it except for a quick reflexive jerk backwards. My arms throb, but none of its claws get through the armor. Seeing me disarmed, it launches itself forward with little care.

  Too bad an Erethran Honor Guard (stolen class and all) is never truly unarmed. I pivot and drop, letting instinct guide me as my sword appears in my hands and I let the Troll disembowel itself. I’m already stepping out from its shadow, a downward slice severing tendons in the back of the knee before my hands join together at the hilt for a hard block that disarms the Troll. Literally.

  The Troll’s strike with its remaining arm is dodged and then help arrives, the Huskies bearing down on the wounded creature. I take the time to help lop off its other arm while the Huskies and Mikito keep it busy before I retrieve my rifle to end the fight and start blasting away at it. I grin behind my helmet, watching it fry and die.

  Troll (Level 37) Slain

  +3700 XP

  “Whoa! That was amazing,” Richard walks up and claps me on the shoulder. Danger over, I pull my helmet off and nod back to him, reeling internally at how easy that was. I mean, sure I screwed up a bit, but that thing was significantly stronger than me in terms of Levels. Yet, I have a feeling with just a little more experience I could have kicked its ass all by my lonesome.

  “Richard! Hilda needs some help,” Lana calls out, bent over the injured husky. As I look over, my eyes lock on the buxom redhead whose green blouse is slightly parted, leaning over the dog and my breath catches for a moment. Good lord, she’s gorgeous. Pulling my gaze away, I look at the dog on the ground, spotting its low health . Hmmm…

  “Let me try something…” I walk over, calling forth the memory of the spell that I’ve gained and place hands on the creature, ignoring its labored breathing. I chant Minor Healing
in my mind, my hand glowing from the mana that infuses it before spilling out onto the husky to begin the recovery process. I have to wait for a minute each time before I can recast the spell, but I eventually prop her health above the two-third mark. In between waiting, I loot the Troll gaining some Troll Blood and hide, being the slayer and the only one able to do so. I also check out the non-combatants who number just under 8, a split of 6 adults and 2 kids. With nothing better to do after all that, I review my spell again.

  Minor Healing

  Effect: Heals 20 Health per casting. Target must be in contact during healing. Cooldown 60 seconds.

  Cost: 20 Mana

  "Thank you!" Lana clutches the newly recovered dog, pushing her head into its fur as the dog returns the favor with long licks.

  “How did you learn that? And how come your bike is still working?” Richard is eyeing me with pure lust and jealousy after the first healing. I look back up, noting the family resemblance, the light smile that twists their lips, the striking features that they both have. Richard is pretty damn good looking too, though it’s an ephemeral charisma that draws the eye to him when he speaks. He’s clad in a plaid shirt and jeans with a light summer jacket on his body, a shotgun held casually on his arm.

  “Bought it in the Shop,” I casually mention. Best not to mention Sabres a mecha for now, a working bike these days is wonder enough.

  “The Shop?” Lana butts in while Mikito stays silent, watching over the group. I look over and nod to the other fighter in this group and she just stares at me. Right then, not the friendliest one that one.

  “Place where you can sell the Loot drops. There’s one in Whitehorse,” I pause, then hold up a hand to forestall more questions. “Let’s get moving, we can talk when we’re safe. Then I’ll answer your questions.”