Fist Full of Credits: A New Apocalyptic LitRPG Series (System Apocalypse - Relentless Book 1)

by Craig Hamilton

  I scanned the room, but nothing moved in my sight, and I heard nothing throughout the rest of the house. I closed the front door and latched the deadbolt before I searched through the rest of the house for any signs of occupancy. Besides the state of the front room, and the smell from whatever was rotting in the fridge, the rest of the house seemed to be in fair condition.

  The first floor cleared, I cautiously approached the stairs to the second level as a tiny pair of red dots appeared on the minimap in the corner of my vision.

  No sound came from the upstairs, but I crept upward with my pistol raised. The wooden stairs creaked as I climbed, but I continued despite the small noises. The stairs turned ninety degrees at a landing halfway up, and I slowly cleared the corner pistol first before I continued the climb.

  A patter of tiny, padded feet across the wooden floor brought me to a halt as I drew even with the top of the stairs. A streak of white flashed in front of me at eye level, past the top of the stairs. I jerked my weapon to track the movement and another streak followed, though this one was more brown.

  The brown blur stopped suddenly, and ominous, glowing red eyes faced me.

  Then I blinked, and I snorted. It was a rabbit.

  The rabbit quivered and launched itself toward me. I fired my pistol, but the rabbit somehow twisted in flight to dodge the energy beam.

  Then the creature landed on my chest. The rabbit’s claws dug and scrambled for purchase on my armor as its sharpened front teeth snapped toward my neck.

  I stumbled back down the stairs and crashed into the wall at the landing as I batted at the demonic beast with glowing eyes that had latched onto my chest. Finally, I dropped the flashlight and used that hand to grab hold of the creature. The fabric of my jumpsuit ripped as I pulled the monster free, then I threw it to the floor. The impact stunned the tiny beast, and I quickly smashed my foot down on the prone rabbit.

  I stomped again and again until the beige fur of the creature was matted red with its blood. When the creature finally stopped moving, I stood panting. The monster’s blood had spattered onto my dropped flashlight, which lay angled on the landing and cast the stairwell in a dim, eerie light.

  Glancing up at the top of the stairs, I saw a pair of glowing crimson eyes staring down at me, and I realized it was the first monster that had streaked past the top of the stairs.

  The white rabbit sat, watching me.

  Arrrghhh Beast (Level 18)

  HP: 175/175

  I lit into the beast with my beam pistol as it charged down the steps. This time, my flurry of shots all hit and burned into the rabbit before it could get close enough to leap like the first one had. The body of the small creature tumbled down the last few stairs and flopped limply to a stop on the landing at my feet.

  I shook my head and brushed the front of my ripped jumpsuit. Those little creatures had seemed far more of a threat than they’d actually turned out to be.

  A quick looting of the bodies turned up some small pelts and a pair of rabbits’ feet, all of which I stored in my Inventory. Then I collected my dropped flashlight and headed back up the stairs.

  The acrid stench of urine and accumulated animal filth drifted out of the first bedroom at the top of the steps. Just inside the door sat an elevated rabbit hutch with a hole chewed through the wire cage, which revealed how the animals had escaped their confines. I shut the bedroom door to block the worst of the smell and wondered who would keep a hutch like that inside their house.

  The remaining rooms of the upper level were empty, and I picked one that looked like an unused guest room at the opposite end of the hall from the foul-smelling rabbit room. After I closed the door, I slid an empty dresser in front of the door in the hope that it would block anything that tried to batter through the door in the night.

  I pulled out my pistols and set them next to me on the bed as I lay down on top of the comforter. Staring at the dark ceiling, I contemplated my plans.

  In the short term, the goblins had more bounties posted at the casino. Working through those would help me obtain Credits and experience. The exposure to more of the Galactics in the region might open up further opportunities for reward.

  Beyond that, I still hoped I could find clues to the whereabouts of the Krym’parke. If they were even still in the area. I had to assume they were, since if they weren’t, then I had little chance of doing anything about them.

  I also wanted more levels and more Class Skills. Using my abilities brought with it an almost addicting sense of power and purpose. Despite the dangers of this changed world and the constant need to fight for my life, today’s successful hunt for a bounty had filled me with immense satisfaction. I wanted more of that challenge.

  Content with the thoughts and plans that circled through my mind, I soon drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 21

  “We have an ice machine, you know.”

  The goblin bartender’s shrill admonition almost interrupted me as I fed Mana to the jagged spike of ice that coalesced in the air over my upraised palm. Sweat dripped off my brow despite the frigid aura radiating from the end of my arm. Satisfied with the size of the icicle, I cut the flow of Mana and tipped my hand to the side. The miniature Frostbolt tumbled into the rocks glass on the bar in front of me with a satisfying clink.

  Unamused with the bartender’s interference in my little experiment, I glared at the spectacled goblin. The bartender blanched and quickly retreated to the far end of the bar.

  With no one left to bother me, I swirled the Mana-created ice in my glass half full of amber liquid under my nose as I sat at the bar in the casino and contemplated the whiskey’s oaky finish. I took a sip and savored the rich, golden liquid as it flowed smoothly over my tongue. With a sigh, I set the glass back on the bar, almost disappointed despite the quality of the liquor. The improvements to my Constitution meant that feeling any buzz from booze was now nearly impossible.

  The pricey drink was a little reward to myself, since I had just finished the last posted bounty and the goblin job board on the casino wall was now completely cleared. It had only taken me four days, and the rewards from the various jobs had added up to a tidy sum of Credits.

  The jobs themselves had been more tedious than difficult or dangerous. The majority of the tasks involved humans too clueless or too lazy to completely read through the details of the various contracts to which they had bound themselves. I got hired to hunt them down when they invariably ended up in violation of the contract because they had not read the fine print.

  The hardest part had been tracking down the various offenders, and fortunately, they had all been local. The phonebook I’d liberated from the shelves of the dusty copier kiosk had led me true more often than not. The few who weren’t in the book took longer, but I’d still managed to hunt down leads while I trekked all over the North Shore and then farther north into the city environs. In those cases, my questions from interviewing the locals pointed me in the right direction, then the bounty fled when they caught wind of my approach, which only served to paint a target on their back.

  Even while out hunting, I’d kept my eyes and ears open for clues about the Thomas kids, the missing children, or the mysterious attackers from the school, but nothing had turned up so far.

  The downside of my bounty hunting was the negative reputation I was picking up from the local townsfolk. Most of it was relegated to dirty looks or muttering as I passed by, but the fact that I was a human hunting other humans on the behalf of the exploitative aliens who had taken over the area was drawing significant vitriol from the population.

  On the plus side, slightly offsetting the negative reputation, the loot and experience from the monsters slain along the way as side tasks on my hunts only added to my overall take. Since the fights typically took place in the middle of the street, my rep as a monster slayer was almost on par with that as a bounty hunter.

  In fact, the experience gained from the bounties, combined with what I had earned from slaying various
monsters along the way, had pushed me to the next level, and I brought up my latest notification now that I had time to deal with it.

  Level Up!

  You have reached Level 16 as a Relentless Huntsman. Stat Points automatically distributed. You have 2 Free Attributes to distribute.

  A quick look over the attributes on my status sheet at the points that had been added automatically showed that Agility remained my highest stat by far, with a level in the mid sixties. Constitution sat just behind that in the fifties, then Intelligence, Charisma, and Perception were all in the low forties. Strength and Willpower were the two attributes that lagged far behind, with their levels in the low thirties. My highest attribute was nearly double the value of my two lowest, and that made me uncomfortable.

  I added a free point to both Strength and Willpower in an attempt to shore up the lack I felt there. Satisfied with my choices, I confirmed the changes and reviewed my updated status.

  Status Screen

  Name:

  Hal Mason*

  Class:

  Hunter*

  Race:

  Human (Male)

  Level:

  16

  Titles

  Sharp Eyed (Title hidden)*

  Health:

  540

  Stamina:

  540

  Mana:

  430

  Status

  Normal*

  Attributes

  Strength

  33

  Agility

  65

  Constitution

  54

  Perception

  42

  Intelligence

  43

  Willpower

  32

  Charisma

  42

  Luck

  18

  Class Skills

  Greater Observation

  1

  Hinder

  1

  Implacable Endurance

  1

  Keen Senses

  1

  Meat Locker

  1

  On the Hunt

  3

  Rend

  1

  Right Tool For the Job

  1

  Perks

  Gut Instinct

  Combat Spells

  Frostbolt (I), Lesser Disguise (I), Minor Healing (I)

  “Excuse me, Adventurer Mason.”

  The nasally voice grated on my ears and pulled my attention from my status. I closed the window and looked over to the source of the interruption.

  A goblin in a tailored suit waited a few paces away from my seat at the bar.

  Meqik Blastlock (Concierge Level 32)

  HP: 310/310

  MP: 360/360

  A pair of armed guards stood behind the sharply dressed goblin, and a quick scan with Greater Observation pegged the pair as a Bruiser and a Bouncer. The two bodyguards had levels in the mid twenties, making them lower leveled than their charge.

  “You have performed great services for the Goldmiser Cartel with your completion of our posted bounties,” said the goblin in the fancy suit when I turned toward it. “So I wanted to thank you personally.”

  “You’re welcome,” I replied.

  The goblin remained standing there, and I got the sense it had more to say.

  “Is there something else?” I asked with an eyebrow raised.

  Meqik took a half step forward and leaned toward me. “There is a further opportunity that may be available for someone of your skill set, but that discussion will require some discretion.”

  The goblin pointedly looked around at the other occupants of the bar, and I understood that the concierge wanted to talk business somewhere more private. I nodded to the goblin and finished my drink in a single swallow, lamenting the lack of liquid fire that would have burned its way down my throat back before the System. I stood from the bar, completely unfazed by the alcohol in my system.

  I waved for Meqik to lead on and joined the goblin as it walked across the casino’s gaming floor. The two bodyguards let me get ahead of them then trailed after both of us.

  “You mentioned the Goldmiser Cartel,” I said while we crossed the casino. “I haven’t seen that name anywhere except the fine print on the bounties I’ve been collecting.”

  “The illustrious leader of the Goldmiser Cartel, Trade King Fezz Goldmiser IV, purchased this outpost as an expansion to be managed by his son, Trade Baron Fazz Goldmiser,” explained my goblin guide. “If Baron Fazz can manage this facility into turning an ample profit, then he will have proved himself worthy of being named heir to the Cartel.”

  “Seems like you’ve got a brisk business going here so far.” I gestured to the bustling gaming tables around the floor.

  “Projections for this quarter are exceeding expectations so far,” the goblin replied.

  In other words, they were fleecing the local rubes for every Credit they could, and I almost snorted in disgust. I’d been lucky that my first visit to a Shop hadn’t turned out like the farce the goblins had set up outside the casino.

  Still, there was little I could do about the situation. The goblin forces were numerous, even if they were mostly low Level. If I engaged them directly, I would just be swarmed by overwhelming numbers. And now, I had learned that the Cartel presence here was only a part of a larger Galactic organization. Any actions on my part would have to be subtle.

  “Many of the Cartel’s youngest members joined this expedition,” Meqik continued, oblivious to my cynical thoughts. “They hope to take advantage of the profits and experiences gained by the Cartel setting up a resource monopoly in this city.”

  The goblin lapsed into silence for several paces.

  “However, we have had some setbacks recently,” the goblin finally admitted. “Instead of relying on our trade bazaar for System weapons and supplies, the local population is obtaining equipment from a source across the rivers from downtown.”

  While the goblin talked, we went up a flight of stairs and toward the location of the casino’s Grand View Buffet restaurant. Another pair of goblin guards waited on either side of the open doors, but neither of them batted an eye as my suited escort walked me between them. One guard was too busy picking his nose to even look up, but the room beyond quickly pulled my attention from the careless guards.

  Despite the lackadaisical demeanor of the guards, I felt a brush of static across my skin as I walked through the doors.

  Meqik caught my puzzled expression and looked up at me. “Privacy field. Anything said in this room should be difficult for any enemies to obtain details about.”

  My attention was pulled from my escort by the massive golden throne that had been raised in the center of the former buffet style restaurant. A well-padded cushion took up the seat, but the rest of the structure looked to have been built from slot machines. Lights blinked over the frame in attention-grabbing sequences, and I figured out that the effect was intentional when I had to exert mental effort to focus on the throne’s occupant.

  Seated on the throne was a large goblin with slicked back black hair. The goblin wore a purple tracksuit with the jacket unzipped to reveal several gold chains that circled the goblin’s neck and rested over a bulging gut that hung out from under a stained white undershirt. The goblin played idly with the slot machine in one of the throne’s arms and repeatedly pressed the button to spin the reels every few seconds.

  Meqik guided me in front of the throne then took an additional step forward after I halted.

  “Trade Baron, I bring you the human adventurer, Hal Mason.” Meqik bowed as it spoke.

  I nodded my head respectfully but did not bow. Instead, I observed the goblin on the throne as the goblin cocked its head and looked away from the slot machine to examine me in turn.

  Fazz Goldmiser, Sticky Fingered, Corporate Climber (Trade Baron Level 3)

  HP: 890/890

  MP: 970/970

  The sobriquets after the goblin’s name were something of a first, or
they would have been, if I wasn’t hiding a title of my own.

  The ridiculously low level contrasted significantly with the high health and Mana values, which informed me that I’d finally met another Advanced class. This goblin was someone who had received their Class by earning the full fifty levels of their Basic Class first, instead of being granted the Class as a shortcut by the System. If I had to guess, the higher Mana value indicated the goblin focused less on physical attributes and more toward intellectual gains. That assumption fit with the name of the Class itself, which seemed to indicate a focus on leadership and mercantilism rather than combat.

  Interestingly, it seemed that the goblin’s Class was treated as both a title and a Class from the way my escort addressed the Gribbari leader.

  The Trade Baron looked down at me and over at the concierge who had brought me, then raised an eyebrow in surprise. “This is the human who completed all of our bounties?”

  “Yes, Baron,” replied Meqik.

  The goblin leader harrumphed in disappointment.

  “He’s just a Hunter,” Baron Fazz said dismissively, giving away the fact that it had been able to read my status and Class. At the same time, the slip told me that despite also possessing an Advanced Class, the Trade Baron was unable to penetrate my On the Hunt skill.

  “A resourceful one,” Meqik chirped. “He located many quarries that our own hunters were unable to track down.”

  “Fine then, give him the Quest.” Fazz sighed. “If he fails, at least it won’t be one of ours that goes missing this time.”

  That statement hinted that the problem the goblins had encountered with their business was a dangerous one, but that was far from surprising. Even in the pre-System world, disrupting the logistics of a foe was a tried-and-true battlefield tactic. Without anyone owning enough of the city buildings to create an area-wide Safe Zone, the continued spawn of monsters meant that most of downtown Pittsburgh remained little different from a warzone.