Brin tugged on Hogg’s sleeve and did his best young-child voice. “Papa, that one. I want that one, Papa. Pleeeeease, Papa!”
Hogg slapped his hand away while Luiza shook her head in incredulity.
“Come on, Hogg. You basically already gift wrapped it for me,” said Brin. “When am I ever going to get a better chance to grab some combat experience?”
“The point is you’re not supposed to be getting any more of that kind of experience. We agreed, remember? No more putting yourself in extreme danger chasing achievements. The only experience you need right now is glass making experience.”
“One zombie’s worth of experience won’t ruin my build. And I’ll be completely safe, you’ll be right here,” said Brin.
Hogg scratched his chin, then shrugged. “Alright.”
“Wait, really?” said Luiza.
“Like he said, it’ll be good experience,” said Hogg. “Now listen, Brin. You’ll be taking a defensive stance. Nothing fancy or heroic. You hear me? Fight cautiously. You’re not a [Scarred One] anymore who can shrug off injuries. I want you to walk away from here without a single scratch.”
“Got it,” said Brin.
Brin took a firm grip, with his hands near the back of his spear, keeping it pointed at the enemy. This wasn’t a great position if the goal was to kill the enemy at all costs, but it was the best bet if the goal was to stay alive and unhurt. He didn’t think Hogg would appreciate anything else.
“Now as for you,” Hogg spoke to the zombie in a voice that wasn’t loud, but seemed to penetrate the night. The zombie was halfway across the clearing, and Brin had no doubt that it could hear every word. “I bet you have orders to preserve yourself if possible. Tell you what. If you can manage to put a single scratch on him, I’ll let you go free. You can go back and report to your master. How does that sound?”
The undead snarled, and when Hogg loosed the coil of shadow, it launched forward without hesitation. Gone was the awkward gait; this one was going full-out from the beginning.
He carried a hand-ax. There was a bit of time, so Brin used [Inspect]. Undead Soldier Level 22 Description This undead was a [Woodsplitter] in life. A [Woodsplitter] commonly evolves into [Lumberjack]. It focuses on breaking down logs for transport, for firewood, or for preparation for use by carpenters. Skills [Chop] - Imbue your weapon with Mana for greatly increased power in a downwards chop.
Watch the downwards chop. Got it.
Brin held his position. The undead would definitely try to dodge to the side. All Brin had to do was keep the spear between him and it, and he’d be fine.
Unfortunately, the undead wasn’t dumb enough to try to charge through his spear. It swung at his spear, trying to knock it aside, but he’d been expecting that. He pulled the spear back just enough to evade the ax and then stabbed forward. The undead jumped back without taking a wound. It was quick. It was seriously unfair how fast these things were.
The undead moved from side to side, trying to suss out a weak spot, but Brin stood firm. Half of what Hogg spent time on during training was footwork. He wouldn’t trip himself up while adjusting his feet to keep his stance firm.
The undead tested him with slashes at his spear, wild attempts at grabs, but Brin played it by the book. His spear was fast and loose, always ready to stab forward if the undead got too close.
It dropped back a couple step, arms at the sides. It tilted its head to the side, watching him.
Brin took a step forward and thrust. The undead snapped a front kick so fast he didn’t see it until it had already knocked his spear up, making his hands sting, and giving it just enough time to close the distance.
Brin started to twist the spear around to block with the haft, but the undead froze.
Black chains had grabbed its ankles and wrists. They lifted it into the air, and flung it back into the night.
“No good,” said Hogg. “The gap is just too wide. Luiza, you help him this time.”
Luiza gulped. “Wha–”
But there was no time to argue, the undead was already sprinting back at him. She nocked and loosed an arrow in one smooth move.
The zombie sidestepped it without slowing. He ran on.
She loosed again, and missed again.
“The name of the Skill is [Trickshot] not [Straightshot],” said Hogg. “Try curving it in at an angle.”
Luiza frowned, and tilted her bow to aim to the right of the oncoming zombie. She loosed, and the arrow curved in the air. This time the zombie stumbled when it dodged the arrow at the last second. It launched back to its feet, and dashed forwards. Only fifty feet; it would be on them in seconds.
Luiza loosed two arrows in quick succession. The zombie jerked to the right to dodge the first one, and the second hit it square in the chest. It kept running as if it didn’t notice at all.
Brin stepped forward, spear ready. The undead kept running forward, and sidestepped at the last second to try to get around the spear. Brin followed the movement and stabbed a shallow puncture to its shoulder. It backed up.
Luiza loosed another arrow, and this close she couldn’t miss. The undead tried to dodge, but still took a scrape along the forearm.
It threw its head back and howled, making such a disgusting, wet, and loud sound that Brin flinched despite himself. Then it launched itself at Luiza. It was probably counting on Brin stabbing it again and figured it could tank the damage and still get a solid hit in.
Rather than stab, Brin switched to a middle grip and put himself in between Luiza and the ghoul. It swung downwards with the ax, and all Brin could do was hope the Bog Standard shaft could take it.
The ghoul’s ax hit like a train engine. The shaft held, miraculously; it was Brin’s strength that failed. The powerful blow knocked the spear shaft out of his hands and into his stomach, ramming him to the ground. The ghoul wound up for another downwards chop, but an arrow through the chest from near point-blank range stopped it cold.
Brin rolled to his feet and stabbed the undead in the stomach, then pushed it. The zombie kept its feet, dropped its ax and grabbed the spear shaft and pushed. They strained against each other in a demented game of reverse tug-of-war. Even wounded like this, the undead was strong and Brin started to get pushed back.
Up close like this, the zombie was even more grotesque. The strange light in its eyes illuminated little worms wriggling inside its eyeballs. Yellow fluids dripped from tears in its skin, and the stench was overpowering. Knowing this was psychological warfare didn’t help, Brin couldn’t stop the rising swell of panic.
Luiza slipped around the back of undead. She drew a long knife and slit its throat.
It gave one last push and then lost its strength and slipped to the ground.
Brin jumped back, and it was all he could do to stop himself from bolting at the sight of the brackish blood burbling from the monster. Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier [22] Due to level disparity, extra experience will be rewarded. Experience will be split between members of your party. Level up! Level 11 -> 13 +4 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +4 Vitality, +4 Mental Control, +2 Will, +4 free attributes.
Even half experience was enough to level up twice! That boost to experience in melee combat was really nice.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
The entire fight had been the matter of less than a minute, but Brin was panting like he’d run a marathon. He felt great, though. Too good. What was...? Oh, right. [Battle Fury] was active now. It increased his attributes by fifty percent for each enemy he killed. Obviously it had counted that as "kill" since his spear had been in the zombie when it died.
Luiza wasn't looking quite as well. She paced back and forth, red-faced and possibly hyperventilating.
No one wanted to stay near the stinking corpse, so Hogg and Brin started moving a dozen yards forward through the clearing. Luiza followed them, still looking panicked. She kept looking at the bloody knife in her hands like she didn’t know what to do with it.
Brin wiped his spear shaft on some wet grass, and seeing that, Luiza did the same with her knife. She took probably a little bit too much time on it, but when she rose she'd gotten her breathing under control.
Brin used [Inspect], and saw that she’d gained a level as well, moving up to twenty-three. He didn’t think she had the presence of mind to change her [Hide Status] which meant that it was probably real. Did that mean she wasn’t a [Witch]? It could be that she was hiding her Class but not her real levels. But in that case, she was awfully low-leveled for a [Witch]. No, it just didn’t add up. Her [Gatherer] Skills were real and proven, and so were her [Hunter] Skills. He didn’t think curving the arrow in the air like that would be possible without [Trickshot]. She possibly could’ve taken [Hunter] and then immediately evolved it to [Witch]... but that didn’t seem likely at all. Luiza wasn’t a [Witch]. Hogg was just screwing with him.
“That was completely insane!” said Luiza.
“Oh, it wasn’t that bad. You did ok for it being your first time,” said Hogg.
“That’s not what I meant,” she said. “You should’ve asked me before–”
Hogg kept talking like he didn’t hear her. “Just remember what you learned about [Trickshot]. Anyone who wants to stay alive in a combat situation has a plan for arrows. If they aren’t carrying a shield, that means their plan is dodging.”
“I don’t have a plan for arrows,” said Brin.
“I’m your plan. One more reason you should never come out here alone,” said Hogg.
“I never even suggested that,” said Brin.
“You were thinking it. I can tell. Now, on the next one–”
“Next one?” protested Luiza. “Every one of my [Trickshots] costs Mana. I can only do two more.”
“Then make them count. You always want to make the first shot count. You can’t depend on getting a second one. As for you, Brin, you did ok this time. Your mistake was when you jumped in to protect Luiza. She’s faster than you; she can run away if she needs to.”
“Wait, you can outrun these things?” Brin asked Luiza.
She sank in on herself at the sudden attention. “Probably… yes. Definitely.”
“She’s that fast?” Brin asked Hogg.
“She is. It’s how [Gatherers] stay alive,” said Hogg.
Brin [Inspected] her again. Nothing changed, except in her Description a line was added. Luiza has a hidden Skill, Title, or Achievement that increases her movement speed.
“Look sharp. I’m letting the next one loose,” said Hogg.
The next one was level 25, and carried a sword. [Inspect] didn’t warn Brin of any special Skills to watch out for, so he fell into position and waited. He felt a lot more confident against this one, with [Battle Fury] burning through his veins.
This zombie was fat. Only his stomach, though, which made him look almost like a pregnant woman if not for the white patchy beard, hanging in wisps in the places that still had skin. Maybe it was corpse-bloat or maybe he’d just been overweight in life. Either way, his stomach bounced wildly as he ran, sword raised in the air above him. Luiza shot two arrows at him in quick succession. He swatted the first one out of the air with his sword, while the second hit him square in the thigh.
His pace had slowed, but he limped on. He seemed to gain power as he ran, or at least momentum, because his speed increased until he was nearly on Brin.
Brin held his spear, watching carefully for the way that the undead would try to dodge at the last moment. There was no way he was just going to run straight into the spear.
The zombie ran straight into his spear, fat stomach first.
The stomach felt like he was stabbing a bag of gelatin. It popped straight in, but then the stomach collapsed, pushing his spear to the ground.
The zombie took the last step forward and swung for Brin’s neck.
Brin let go and rolled back, missing the blade by a hair. An arrow sprouted from the zombie’s forehead, and it fell to the ground. Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier [25] Due to level disparity, extra experience will be rewarded. Experience will be split between members of your party.
Level up! Level 13 -> 14 +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.
One more level. Even though this one was higher level, he’d probably gotten less of the share because Luiza did most of the work. He also didn't feel another boost of stat increases from [Battle Fury]. The System must not have counted that as a "kill".
Luiza rushed over to Brin, patting him down for injuries. “You ok?”
“I’m fine,” said Brin.
“That was way too close,” she moaned.
“I agree,” said Hogg. “You should expect them to be unpredictable by now. What about that thing's stomach wasn’t a huge red flag to you? By the time he touched your spear you should’ve already been stepping back.”
Brin nodded. “I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Expect the unexpected. What could be easier than that?”
Hogg snorted. “Alright, take a breather and I’ll free the last one when you’re ready,” said Hogg.
“What do you mean, the next one?” said Luiza. “I just used my last [Trickshot]!”
“You are more than your Skills, girl. You’ll think of something. Two minutes,” said Hogg.
Brin took a few gulps from his canteen, then stretched his body and went through a few moves, just to be sure he hadn’t pulled something in all the excitement. He was good to go.
Luiza shivered, and walked back and forth again shaking her hands. Her eyes darted into the forest more than once, no doubt thinking about trying to run again, but she had to know Hogg would just drag her straight back here again.
Hogg had pretended to need convincing to let Brin fight the undead, but clearly the old guy had wanted to do this from the beginning.
“It’s time,” said Hogg.
Luiza picked up her bow in unsteady hands, then glanced at Brin and her posture firmed. She nodded to him, and he nodded back.
Then Marksi stepped in front of them, gave a determined squeak, and nodded his little scaly head.
“Looks like Marksi’s going to help you with this one,” said Hogg.
“Wait! Marksi, don’t–”
It was too late. Hogg loosed the zombie, a spear-wielder. It launched itself at them. This one was tall, maybe two feet taller than Brin, with long gangly arms. This one had more reach than him.
Marksi streaked towards him like a bolt of rainbow lightning. His scales were on full brightness, so they were the most visible thing in the clearing, nearly as bright as the moon.
He zipped around the zombie's spear, making it look slow and awkward by comparison. He darted past the zombie, and who turned to follow it.
At the last second, the zombie jumped to the left, narrowly avoiding an arrow by Luiza. It turned and started toward her and Brin again.
Marksi squeaked furiously and jumped on the zombie’s back. The spear was too long to try to use, so the zombie was stuck batting awkwardly at Marksi with its other hand.
“Marksi!” Brin yelled.
“What do I do?” asked Luiza.
“Shoot it,” said Hogg.
“What if I hit the snake?”
Hogg snickered. “You’re not that good.”
The zombie turned in circles, slapping at Marksi, trying to grab him, but Marksi slipped around it, completely untouched.
Luiza drew her bow and let loose. The arrow hit the zombie straight through the heart. Dead in one shot. Marksi rode its head right into the ground.
Brin didn’t even get a notification.
Luiza gave a yelp sort of sound, caught halfway between a cheer of triumph and a sigh of relief.
For once, she didn’t freak out. She laughed, a bit hysterically, raised her fist and let out a whoop! “That’s it! We’re done.”
“That we are,” said Hogg. “Good shot.”
Marksi sauntered back proudly, head held high. When he reached Brin he made a sort of hiccuping sound that meant he wanted Brin to pick him up. Brin cringed a bit when he realized that Marksi was covered in a thin layer of wet, particularly around the feet. Corpse juice. Marksi had crawled all over that thing, and now he was covered in it. Well, you can’t just not pick up your pet dragonling after he kills a zombie for you.
Brin picked him up, and held him close. “That was dangerous! You should have let me handle it,” he scolded, but his heart wasn’t really in it.
“He had to watch you fight, and honestly your thing was a lot more of a nail-biter. You should expect him to want to help,” said Hogg.
“He’s still so little,” said Brin.
“Well, Marksi, if you ever want another partner, I think I have an opening,” said Luiza with an open smile. None of her usual reticence was showing when talking to the little dragon. Brin glared at her in jealousy, which made her laugh. Marksi just buried his face in Brin’s sleeve and purred.
An [Inspect] showed that Luiza had leveled up again. Between this one and the last, she was all the way up to twenty-five. She seemed to notice exactly when he did.
“I’m level twenty-five! I’m… I’m the same level as ma!”
“Your mom is only level twenty-five?” asked Brin.
Luiza said, “It’s actually impressive she even got that far. Like I said before, unless you get the opportunity to travel, and she never did, it’s really hard to get past twenty with [Gatherer].”
Oh, so Luiza’s mother was a [Gatherer], too? Something about that felt off. Twenty-five was really low for someone in middle age. Why wouldn’t she just switch her Class? Maybe [Hunter] was too dangerous for most people, but [Herbalist] was a solid choice. Brin was willing to bet that Luiza’s mother did change her Class. To [Witch]. A new suspect to look into.
Hogg clapped. “Well, what’s next on our list?”
“What?” asked Luiza.
“Our next plant. I’m not paying you to fight undead. That was just a fun little aside. I’m paying you to find the plants on that list, remember?”
Luiza looked blankly from Hogg to Brin. Hogg looked calm and casual. Brin gave her his best child-like smile. Don’t look at me, I’m just an innocent little thirteen-year-old.
Luiza groaned. “Right this way.”