by Wolfe Locke
“I didn’t have a high enough magic stat to access the mobile ability shop to look for abilities. I was granted the Self-Destruct ability by default, since it’s the only ability that requires 1 magic.” Even as the words flew out of my mouth, I couldn’t help but wince and hate myself just a little bit. The Groogs winced too; I caught the side eyes they gave me. But most of all, the look of disappointment on Griswold’s face was devastating.
“You two Groogs get behind us,” Griswold ordered and I could see his jawline tremble with anger. I knew that look; he was absolutely pissed. “Edgelord and I will respawn, you two won’t. My power is sealed here, so it’s going to be on him. Do you understand what I’m telling you to do?” he asked as he looked directly at me.
I got the message loud and clear, and just in time too as T. Bundy came around the corner. A giant fist punched what I could only guess was an elf LARPer into the wall and started to come our way as Hans went the other, and I guessed Dr. Senpai remained behind. I wasn’t sure what ability the good Dr. had, but considering his kill count matched about how many people had been willing to follow him, I was guessing it related to something shady and underhanded, so maybe he wasn’t a combatant to worry about.
Griswold’s eyes began to glow as he activated them on T. Bundy and began muttering for the rest of us to hear. “Level 19, strength 12, agility 18, magic 15. Has the Gigantify ability, the Consume ability, and the Heart of Darkness ability. Steel fiber under armor courtesy of Crusader Systems, and a hidden giant’s bone gauntlet that he hasn’t equipped.”
“You pick up a lot with those eyes, old timer,” T. Bundy called out as a giant fist shot forward and crashed into the shield the Groogs had up with enough force to crack it.
To say I was surprised was an understatement; I hadn’t known magic shields could spiderweb like that.
“The rest is on you three,” Griswold muttered to us as he got out of the way and erected an emerald shield over himself that hummed with an energy that let all of us know the shield wasn’t coming down. “He’s a prospect just like the lot of you are. I can’t touch him. I’m duty bound to stay out of it.”
Oh, great, I thought as I realized we were basically fucked as T. Bundy smashed into the shield again and the three of us went flying from the force of it. Griswold looked on from behind the safety of his emerald shield. I landed just a few feet away while the two Groogs landed with pretty harsh thuds, followed by a sound like wet sticks snapping, which I’m pretty sure meant they broke some bones.
Chapter 32: In My Time of Dying
A flying hand the size of a car came at me and curled up into a fist with me inside it, and I was dragged basically kicking and screaming over to Redux. “Another prospect?” he asked with a bit of curiosity in his eyes. “Do you even know what the Crusaders do? The responsibility they have?”
I was sure it was a valid question, but with my ribs actively poking into my lungs and with the struggle to breathe, I was more focused on trying to get away than answering the question. “They look cool, right? Do it for the ladies? Something like that?” I responded with the strain in my voice obvious.
Redux shook his head and his grip tightened. I kept hoping the Groogs would come in and save the day or Griswold would step in. “They’re here to save the world. This apocalypse, monsters, magic, mayhem; none of it is some game to be played while we wait for the end of the world, it’s a way to prevent it, and that’s the Crusaders and I’m going to join them.”
“More power to you, buddy,” I croaked out, my vision getting hazy from lack of oxygen as he squeezed tighter. I won’t win the round this way, he’ll kill me soon, but fuck this guy, I’ve only got one option.
“Self-Destruct,” I muttered as hot energy began to literally rip my body apart in what I can only describe as the most painful process of my life. No jokes, no comparisons, just pain as an explosion went out from my body and I was torn asunder in a grisly scene of gore.
Notification: Passive Ability Used - Big Brass Ones.
Details: Big Brass Ones has prevented a targeted ability from killing you. Instead, your health has been reduced to 1 until you’ve reached the recovery threshold.
Ears ringing, I dropped to the ground as the entire world seemed to shift and kept shifting as I lost all sense of balance and place. It was hard to see and my head hurt so bad, but I saw Redux pull away, one formerly giant hand laying severed on the ground next to me as the other covered Redux in a sort of fleshy protective barrier.
“Gods be merciful,” Griswold muttered as he released his emerald shield and ran over to me. “You can stop now, Redux. He’s down. You’re in bad shape, boy. It’s a wonder you’re still alive. I didn’t think that ability of yours would kick in in a situation like this.”
Blah, blah, blah, blah. He was talking so much. “I can’t feel my legs, Griswold. How bad is it?”
The old man grimaced and looked before responding. “It’s probably for the best that you can’t feel your legs right now. You’re in pretty bad shape.”
I coughed up a little blood and strained to breathe. “Yeah, sorry about that. I thought I’d get him. It was worth a shot.”
“Yes, it was,” agreed Redux as he walked over, his severed hand already bandaged up as he started to apply a magical ointment that would help regrow the severed limb. “That looks like it hurts a lot. I might have been wrong about you after all. Griswold, is he going to make it?”
“No. Well, yes, but not through the tournament,” Griswold admitted gruffly as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a powder that smelled heavily of apple pumpkin spice and spread it out over me.
“That going to heal him?” asked the Groogs as I watched them cautiously approach, looking at Redux suspiciously and to Griswold for answers.
“It won’t,” Griswold answered, as he spread out the emerald shield over the five of us. “It’ll just help with the pain for a while. Listen well, Edgelord Supreme, Dan, you’ve passed the initial screening to be a Crusader. I took your token; you’ll be able to use it when you respawn. I just needed to see how you’d respond to overwhelming odds. Because that’s the fight we’re up against: overwhelming odds. We’ve been fighting against the end of humanity for a long time.”
Redux flexed his arm and a new, noticeably paler hand erupted from his arm. “I’ll see you at the training camp. I’ve got a match to go win and few rival faction recruits to try to eliminate while I’m here.”
Griswold nodded his head. “Be careful of the one called Dr. Senpai; I wasn’t able to get a reading on him with my Eyes of Twilight.”
Redux nodded and exited the shield.
Griswold looked down at me. “You have to understand, we’ve been at war a long time, other worlds, other planes, and it’s finally spread to Earth. So tell me, do you accept? Do you want to continue down this road? Do you want to save the world? Be a hero? Be a Crusader?”
I nodded, thankful the pain had mostly passed. “Yes, I do.”
“Alright then,” Griswold nodded with a sad look in his eyes.
He placed a hand over my head and uttered a single command. “Execute.”
Chapter 33: Goodbye for Now
Notification: You have died. Final placement: 74/100.
Details: Your team has advanced to the individual matches.
Your team has disbanded.
You have been disqualified from the individual matches.
Your respawn location has reverted to its default.
You have reached criterion D and have been given (10) stat points.
You will now respawn in location “My Room.”
I woke up back in my bed, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn’t screaming or angry. Sure, I’d been sent to respawn, but I was happy enough with how things had turned out. The Groogs got to live, and I was sure I’d come across them later. I didn’t exactly know them, but they seemed like decent people. They, like me and Redux, had also been Crusader prospects. Though I did wonder what the
ir specific test was; Griswold seemed to have something in mind for everyone.
It was weird, though. For all of his interference and help, Griswold didn’t seem that happy when I told him I wanted to join. I mean, I didn’t exactly think he was sad about having to send me to respawn, and after all, wasn’t he the recruiter? Shouldn’t he have been happy about, well, you know, having recruits? He had a sadness about him that was hard to gauge. But that was a problem I put out of my mind for another as I rolled out of bed and asked, “Lirai, how did I do?”
Notification: Query - Performance Report - Black Tournament - General.
Details: Overall Performance Score: Underwhelming.
While under the alias of “Edgelord Supreme,” you managed to engage a total of 15 participants. You were only able to kill 3, while sustaining massive injuries that forced the team leader to send you to respawn.
The lack of combat prowess and damaging abilities has hindered your progress and the min-maxing of strength versus all other stats has not been beneficial. Adjust stats accordingly, while improving combat efficacy.
Yeah, I thought it might be something like that. I needed to be able to do more damage. Just being able to store it away for the next attack wasn’t going to cut it. A weight in my pocket reminded me of Griswold’s words and I knew without checking it was probably the platinum token. I almost made the mistake of trying to redeem it before remembering what might have been a veiled bit of advice from Griswold. My magic wasn’t high enough. I needed to raise it and, thankfully, I had the points to fix it.
I rolled out of bed and found Napoleon had reverted to its box form in my absence. The monster was happy to see me too, and had grown slightly bigger. I found out through a series of notifications that as a tamed monster, the mimic would continue to grow to match my own level of advancement, and had been sent to respawn once while I was gone. Hence why it had reverted to its box form. “Well, thanks for keeping the place safe,” I told the monster as I sat down at my desk. For its troubles, I raided my desk for the respawned chocolate and let it eat almost the whole bag. I kept a handful for me and shoved them in my mouth as I turned my attention to the terminal. I’d had a rough go of things too.
Crusader Systems - Terminal - Upgrades - Quests - Etc.
Username dkg1986 Password trustno1
-Forgot Password?- ( )
Crusader Systems - Upgrade Terminal
Account Login Confirmed
Welcome, Dan Hanson.
You currently have (18) unused upgrade points, and (10) unused stat points.
You have new options waiting for you:
[Settlement] [Item Synthesis]
Now populating Status Sheet.
I already knew what I wanted to do; what I needed to do. I had ten points to use to upgrade my stats; I needed to raise my magic up to 8 to avoid the shop penalty if I tried to redeem the token, and then put the rest into agility. I was getting fairly tired of losing out on opportunities from having put all my points into strength like an idiot.
Crusader Systems - Mobile Upgrade Terminal - Status Sheet
Name
Dan Hanson
Special Ability
Bound Spawn Point
Upon death, those who have a bound spawn point will find themselves revived in their personal safe zone in the accommodations closest to the location of their last death. This is an instanced location that supersedes the host location.
Emblems Earned
No Such Thing as a Stupid Question
For being one of the first humans to request a change of function to the query system, you have gained a personalized Lirai.
Big Brass Ones
Awarded for opting into Mature Mode. This Emblem prevents certain death from single-target spells. If an attack would kill the possessor, their health is instead set to 1. This ability resets when the user’s health rises above the 80% threshold.
Man Killer
Awarded for killing another sentient. The possessor of this Emblem will be viewed with derision by most people who do not yet possess the Emblem. No bonuses are awarded for this Emblem.
Weapon Specialization - Blunt
Mastery Level - Limp Wrist
Upgraded Items - Steel Core Bat
Steel Core Bat has become bound to the user and been granted an upgrade, gaining the passive on-hit effect of Frost. The Steel Core Bat and its user are immune to the effects of this passive ability.
Blackened Katana
The Blackened Katana has an edge that will cut almost anything. As the user moves, it draws in energy, releasing upon impact the stored kinetic energy in a shockwave.
Staggering Blow 1/10 - For each point invested into Staggering Blow, you have a 2.5% chance of stunning an enemy with every hit. This bonus is doubled while unarmed.
Accumulate 3/10 - You may store power during battle to add up to 10% extra force per point invested on (X) amount of attacks, where (X) equals the number of points invested into Accumulate.
Black Tournament - Alias - Edgelord Supreme - Top Rank - 74
?????????????????????????????????????
Level 12 > 12 - Current experience: 75/100.
Strength - 13 > 13
Agility - 4 > 7
Magic - 1 > 8
Crusader Systems - Upgrade Terminal - Upgrade Selection
Unused Points (18)
To purchase an upgrade simply click the name of the upgrade once for each investment. For additional details on abilities, please consult the Crusaders manual at the enclave headquarters.
Available Upgrades
Price
Investment
Iron Skin
2
2/5
Staggering Blow
1
1/10
Quick Step
3
0/3
Blighted Touch
5
0/2
Accumulate
1
3/10
Fire Resistance
2
0/5
Ice Resistance
2
0/5
Lightning Resistance
2
0/5
Dodge
3
0/3
**Further Upgrades**
10
0/10
I put my hands together, looking at the screen deep in thought as I tried to figure out how to use my points. I’m not the smartest guy in the world by any means. Let me put this one on Lirai instead.
“Lirai, what is the best use of my points, knowing my shortcomings and abilities?” It was a frustrated ask; I’d gotten this far by the skin of my teeth and things were only going to get harder from here. I couldn’t count on just barely making it, or being able to pull a plan out of a hat. I wasn’t one of those kinds of guys. I just wasn’t that smart, and I needed to acknowledge that.
Notification: Query - Suggest Upgrade Point Allotments and Usage.
Details: Based upon the Bound Spawn Point special ability, defensive abilities can currently be forgone, and the benefits of currently available upgrades are intended for the beginner zones, which user is no longer considered. As such, it is suggested that “Further Upgrades” be purchased.
I groaned. That wasn’t something that I wanted to hear. I didn’t want to blow points to unlock something that might be useful, and Napoleon growled, almost as if in response to my complaining. “Ok, ok, guess this just needs to get done.”
I clicked the upgrade and waited to see what I could now purchase, hoping this hadn’t been a mistake.
Notification: New Upgrades Have Been Unlocked.
Details: You have unlocked the following upgrades: Reflective Damage, Thorn Skin, Augment Jump, and Basic Targeting.
“Lirai, what’s the difference between these ones? What would you suggest?” I’d already trusted the AI this far, may as well follow its lead the whole way through. There was no point to changing my mind midway. “Help me, please.”
&nb
sp;