by Ryan DeBruyn
It was a straightforward affair, at this point in the battle with their leader mostly disabled. Rocky would feint at one to force it closer to Sela or Azoth who would disable a leg. Then he would come by and finish it off. The Chevy Cheyenne was left until last, and by the time he got to it, it had all four appendages removed.
Rocky felt his blood boiling, and a dark, sardonic smile crossed his face as he finished off the golem with a stab through the core, the head, and a decapitation.
Standing over the headless corpse, he felt a wave of slow rising nausea. A moment later as his last drops of adrenaline left, he felt his recently eaten breakfast rise and forced it down. He consoled his warring body and mind by telling himself;
They weren’t alive. Quit being so weak.
Once he had regained his control, he noticed Sela looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Trying to avoid her scrutiny, he went from corpse to corpse, looting them all and was awarded a golem core for each. However, the Chevy Cheyenne surprised him with a strange bottle.
You have picked up a Bottle of Gaia’s Essence! You now own a Bottle of Gaia’s Essence.
Bottle of Gaia’s Essence
Rare Crafting Component
Stomach still a little upset, Rocky placed everything he had collected in different slots in his knapsack to keep it organized. Looking through the bag, he came across the raw wolf meat in a plastic bag. They had only packed enough for the three of them tonight, which meant they had to begin hunting as early as tomorrow if they wanted to eat.
Rocky pushed down the creeping dread he felt from not knowing where his next meal would come from.
Just because it is an unknown does not mean it will be hard. We just killed thirteen golems with minimal injuries. Coward, you should be looking for a fight, getting stronger, and kicking more keisters.
Rocky was just putting the cores into the main compartment of the backpack when Sela approached with a yellowish gold screen hovering in front of her. When she stopped near him and waited, he went over to read what the box said.
As a Druid class, you have been granted a quest for you and your party.
Quest – Recovering Gaia
Help Gaia recover the excess materials of this world. Kill as many Golems of any type as possible, then crush the Golem Heart and return the Essence and materials to Gaia.
Quest Deadline: Four Days.
Reward:
Etherience – Varying, depends on the number of cores crushed
1 x Crystallized Ether per core broken
A greater, large, medium, moderate, intermediary, or minor perk depending on the number of cores destroyed.
Warning, this quest will be accepted on behalf of the entire party. Etherience and Crystal rewards will be split. All other rewards will be granted to the druid.
Accept quest?
Yes
No
Shrugging, Rocky pointed to yes and began pulling the recently packed cores back out of his bag. Lining the cracked cores along the turned up ground, he allowed Sela the honor of crushing the first batch, mostly to see how it was done. It turned out she just stepped on the glass marbles that were the Golem Hearts, and her paw would glow green before the heart would turn to dust and a blue light would seep into the earth.
Head tilted, Rocky followed suit and was reminded of popping bubble wrap as a child; it was quite enjoyable. The golems corpses immediately began changing as the cores were crushed. They returned to the soil through melting, vaporizing, and even some boiling. Rocky stared at the sights, transfixed.
After each golem sunk into the ground, Rocky breathed out his held breath and suggested Sela return to the Territory since they were so close. She could crush the two hearts left there, then easily catch up to Azoth and his comparatively slow-moving self.
She loped off in the opposite direction as he continued moving forward, checking his notifications.
For killing 12 Golems: Level 8-12: You and your group have been awarded 40,331 Etherience.
Your personal Etherience gain amounts to 13,443 Etherience.
A quick check of his stat sheet showed no change but a few skill increases. One of which was a level in swordsmanship and the other being two additional levels in sneak thanks to Sela’s tutelage.
Maybe she could teach me the sword as well?
Thinking of the skills, Rocky jolted backwards; he actually could feel new knowledge that the increase in the Swordsman skill had given him. While he wasn’t going to be any sort of expert with the blade, he now instinctively knew how to hold his sword. It was only a small thing, but some inner voice seemed to whisper to him, telling him to not strangle the hilt as it would only lock up his wrists.
Why wrist mobility was important in sword fighting, Rocky could only guess at.
The thoughts about the skill increases brought Rocky to contemplate level increases and if there was a way to add an Etherience bar or a notification of how much Etherience he needed until his next level.
He could tell he wasn’t close yet, but he still wanted to know what his progress was for this level. Rocky command thought at his combat notification page and managed to add two things to his interface, which he was pretty proud to have done without Sela.
He managed to acquire health and Ether bars for Azoth and a health bar for Sela which floated in the top left of his vision. The second thing he accomplished was currently a lone notification, since he had already seen the Etherience gained notification that would hopefully accompany it from now on.
10,546 Etherience remaining until level 12.
The notification made his heart flutter and his mind daydream about gaining levels. Doing some quick math made his head fall; it was going to get much more difficult to level as he continued to grow.
On one hand, another fight at about the exact same scale as the one with the transformed cars would have him to level twelve, but then it would take four of those fights to level thirteen, eight four fourteen, sixteen for fifteen, and so on. Rocky realized that getting to level fifteen would be pretty quick and painless but after that…
Well, after that it would become much more difficult to level if the Etherience gains stay the same.
Azoth bumped his hand, and Rocky gave him a quick scratch between the ears as they walked. Then Rocky attempted to speak with him, “We need to move east, Azoth, but we need to find as many monsters and golems as we can along our route. Think you can find prey in front of us?”
Azoth nodded his head vigorously before running off in the proper direction.
Man, Sela is really doing a great job with his English lessons!
After a few more moments, Sela easily loped up beside him before slowing down to a speed that matched Rocky’s jog. They nodded at each other in greeting and continued to jog forward only to be surprised by Azoth sprinting back towards them.
Azoth must have found something already. Maybe this leveling won’t be as hard as I thought!
Smiling, Rocky spoke aloud for Sela’s benefit, “Did you find some golems or prey, Azoth? Show us where!” With puppy-like exuberance, he bounded back in the direction he had come from, causing Rocky to sprint to keep up and Sela to resume her casual loping speed again.
Azoth quickly left the two’s view as he entered a clearing about twenty feet ahead of them. Rocky grit his teeth and followed, hoping Azoth hadn’t just charged into battle. When he entered the clearing, he was amused, scared, and chagrined all at once.
Azoth was proudly sitting beside one of the largest piles of feces Rocky had ever seen. Rocky immediately facepalmed, and as he lowered his head into his hand, he caught a glimpse of Sela. Her mouth and eyes were wide open, and she slowly dropped her massive, feline head and began shaking it back and forth.
Chapter Eleven
They didn’t spend any time searching for the source of the feces. Instead, they picked up the pace and continued on. Partly because whatever made it was probably the largest creature in the immediate area and also due to Rocky’s desperate f
eeling that they had to reach Ottawa.
Throughout the remaining daylight hours, Rocky had tried to keep his eyes peeled for more survivors but hadn’t found any. The group had managed to find many monsters and golems, though, which didn’t bode well when paired with the first. None of the wildlife proved to be a real threat, as they were all apprentice classes, level fifteen or below, and usually in isolated groups or alone.
As for the golems, they had run into a few large specimens that were far faster and stronger than the golems Rocky had faced thus far. However, they seemed to be less numerous out in the countryside, and so with ample help from Sela and Azoth, Rocky had been able to pick the barns, tractors, and farmhouses apart.
The netted Etherience had just managed to pull Rocky into level twelve, and the day of hard fighting, running, skinning, butchering, and sneaking had increased many of his acquired skills. Even though he had read them all as they appeared, he clicked the recap button, and his notifications combined to give him a summary of the entire day.
For killing 8 Golems: Level 20-30: You and your group have been awarded 45,211 Etherience.
Your personal Etherience gain amounts to 15,070 Etherience.
For killing 13 Mammalian Creatures: Level 5-9: You and your group have been awarded 14,210 Etherience.
Your personal Etherience gains amount to 4,737 Etherience.
Congratulations! You have reached level 12! You have been awarded 1 stat point and 1 skill point.
41,939 Etherience remaining until level 13.
Congratulations! Your soul blade “Dark Tidings” has consumed enough souls to gain a level!
Enchantment Added
Dark Tidings – Soul Blade
Level 2
100/100 Ether Pool
The strength of Arm I
+2 Strength as long as the Blade has Ether from its pool to draw on. Unlock higher levels of your Soul Blade for more.
Rockland Barkclay Level 12
Health Pool: 140/140
Ether Pool: 150/150
Class: Apprentice-(Azrael) Revenant
Level 1 Leader: Level 1 Strategist
Class Skills: Revenant Blade, Blood Mend
You have 2 stat points and 2 skill points to distribute.
Stamina
14
Strength
*15* (+2 Strength of Arms)
Agility
23
Dexterity
21
Intelligence
15
Wisdom
18
Charisma
20
Luck
7
Weak Skills
Combat Skill (Non-Class)
Swordsmanship 3 (+1)
Common Skills
Endurance 9 (+3)
Sneak 10 (+4)
Analyze 9 (+2)
Profession Skills
Skinning 8 (+3)
Butcher 8 (+3)
Smiling, Rocky realized he was getting more and more used to his interface and flew through the notifications this time. The two stat points would need to be placed soon, and he was leaning towards using them to boost Strength and Intelligence.
A while later, the sun began to descend, and the need to reach Ottawa was trumped by goosebumps as the world darkened around them.
Sleeping in the wide-open field didn’t sit right with Rocky no matter how long the grass had grown. The other option was to backtrack about ten minutes to camp under cover of the trees. The group voted for the trees.
Since they were somewhat covered by the copse of trees they were sleeping in, Rocky found it odd to awake to a blinding light. Even through his eyelids, it blinded him, making the light almost white in its intensity. A debuff floated quickly to the top of his whited-out vision, notifying him of his thirty seconds of blindness.
Well, thank you, captain obvious!
A moment later, a wave of hot air buffeted him, and a massive boom shook the air. The boom and displaced air seemed to cause Rocky’s whole, bright white world to vibrate.
Inhaling sharply, Rocky called out, “Sela, try to help Azoth. We are under attack!”
Thirty seconds of panicked silence later, his vision began clearing. He saw smoke and steam rising far to the northeast. Trying to understand what his eyes were seeing, Rocky rubbed at them and tilted his head.
Oh shit! That’s Chalk River. Is it the nuclear plant?
He voiced his concern, hoping to alleviate some of the panic he had felt from the rest of the group, but a new feeling of dread began crawling up from his groin. “That is probably a thermal explosion caused by a nuclear meltdown at the plant in Chalk River. I am assuming that the cores weren’t being cooled sufficiently anymore?”
In his estimation, the group was halfway between the Ottawa River and the edge of Algonquin Park, which meant it was most likely the nuclear plant near the city of Deep River. Rocky had been hoping that today they would reach the Ottawa river somewhere near Pembroke, maybe Petawawa. Once they met the Ottawa River, it would guide them into the city.
Once Rocky averted his eyes from the smoke curling into the sky, he could clearly see trees burning far to the northeast. It was a good thing the group hadn’t wandered too far north in their travels yesterday. If that was a thermal explosion caused by a nuclear meltdown, then radiation would be a severe problem in that direction.
One of the histories Rocky had perused of Hiroshima had claimed everything within eight kilometers had experienced a ninety-eight percent fatality rate. They were far removed from that statistical distance, but he did know that great advancements had been made in the nuclear technology department.
His wandering mind and racing heart began to come back under control after Rocky understood that he wasn’t in immediate danger.
That was when the sound of two extremely angry predators pushed their way into Rocky’s awareness. He spun quickly to look over at Sela who was softly growling and had milky white tears flowing down from her eyes. Sela as a druid had an increased connection to the planet itself, and whatever had just happened was causing Gaia severe discomfort and enough confusion for Sela to begin crying in empathy. Azoth was also growling but much louder, seeming to try to intimidate the source of this strange sensory attack.
The shaking of a few trees from behind Rocky made his heart jump back to its frantic pace from a moment ago, and his body spun around quickly, attempting to prepare for an incoming attack.
A second slow-moving wave of superheated air smelling of ozone blew past him and the group, bowing more trees. The wave of air seemed to possess more momentum and substance than the initial displaced wave had.
Rocky was getting ready to order the group to get moving. However, before he opened his mouth, a red screen in front of Sela caught his attention.
Red Quest
As a Druid you and your party are offered a quest.
Contain the Destruction
A location near your Territory has suffered an enormously destructive force which has warped the Ether. The outcome of this tragedy is yet unknown. Gaia wishes for you to examine or contain the potential threat this may pose. Will you accept this quest?
Rewards:
Etherience
Crystallized Ether
Greater Territorial Reward
Yes
No
Later
Looking at the box and then Sela, Rocky pursed his lips and shook his head because they didn’t have time to go in the opposite direction. Sela saw his gesture, and she used a clawed paw to point at the words “Red Quest” on the notification. Her claw then pointed at “Reward” and “Greater”.
Frowning deeply, Rocky pointed towards Ottawa and sternly said, “Sela, we need to go to Ottawa first. Is this quest time sensitive?” He didn’t actually care about the quest at this moment but hoped they could handle it when they returned from rescuing his family. That would maybe assuage Sela a bit as the red nature of this quest seemed to be very important.
P
ulling back her lips to reveal her feline teeth, Sela responded by making a quick line on the ground of which she drew an X at the end. Then her nail returned to the starting point of her original track before she pulled a second X through the soft soil.
Teeth still bared, she looked at Rocky and then circled the second X numerous times, indicating they could go to Ottawa and handle this particular quest after, but it was important to complete.
His sigh of relief turned into a gasp as a massive horn-like bellow sounded. The octaves of the roar sent shivers through his whole body with the memory of what it heralded in a movie he used to love. Hopefully, the roar didn’t mean the return of dinosaurs on earth, however. It was definitely a monstrous creature, and if the film was accurate, it was reptilian. To add more ominous vibes to an already stressful situation, every winged creature in the area took to the skies.
Even Azoth flapped his wings, mimicking the birds. His wings, however, flapped entirely out of sync with each other and looked ridiculous.
Regardless, when all airborne creatures take off, it usually means–
“Run!” Rocky managed to squeak out through his constricting vocal cords. Whatever had made that noise had either startled all the birds into the sky or it could also fly. Not needing much prompting, the entire group took off dashing through the foliage in an attempt to find cover that would sufficiently hide them from a massive predator.
Within moments, Rocky stared in wonder and knew he had made the right decision as land mammals fell in around them. Some of the creatures were Sela’s size, and some were Azoth’s. However, what really sank the affirmation home was the monsters that were easily as big as the Onikuma, Steel, and Skandranon.