Zhaire’s arm, or what remained of it, gushed blood at an alarming rate. Any pre-integration human would have gone into shock at losing an entire limb. Fortunately, his improved willpower and constitution, along with his Feel No Pain trait, allowed him to keep his wits in a coherent state.
The wounded alpha bounded forward, attempting to bite down and end the fight. Zhaire dived to the side, rolling as best he could as he hit the ground. This time, he managed to dodge the attack without losing a limb.
Zhaire was confident he could evade these stumbling, biting attacks almost indefinitely now that he wasn’t surprised. He cursed his misstep, knowing it had cost him an easy victory.
With both of them operating far below peak efficiency, the fight devolved into a stalemate. If it continued this way, it would be decided by whoever had the greater resource pools and regeneration capabilities. While Zhaire had multiple traits and items augmenting both of those aspects, he still didn’t think he could outlast a tier 2 monster in raw points.
Steeling his will, Zhaire went on the offensive. With his one arm, he slashed into the creature’s side as it barreled past him, its snapping jaws having barely missed him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get the power he needed to inflict significant damage with only one arm, doing little more than scratching the alpha’s tough hide. He had probably lost more health from the extra blood loss due to exertion than he had dealt damage.
Zhaire refused to let it end like this. He would not allow himself to die because of one mistake, not while he could still fight. It was better to die in a reckless final attack than to take to the slow but even more certain death.
As the alpha lumbered forward towards him, Zhaire activated his Frenzy skill for the second time. Instead of waiting for the creature to come to him, he rushed to meet it with all the speed he could manage.
The alpha’s maw opened wide as it moved for the finishing blow, confident in its victory. It was close enough that Zhaire could feel its hot breath on him and smell the rancid remains of its previous victims.
At the last possible second, Zhaire slid feet first, like a baseball shortstop evading a tag. If the alpha had all four of its limbs, it easily would have been able to adjust its bite, or if Zhaire had shown any hesitation and hadn’t sprinted headlong toward it at full speed, or if any number of minor factors had been different his attempt would have ended with him getting crunched to bits by the powerful creatures bite. Instead, he slid just under the snapping jaws of the unbalanced alpha.
As Zhaire slid on the ground with the momentum that was the envy of every professional baseball player, he extended his sword up into the creature’s exposed belly. If it had been only his strength, it probably wouldn’t have been much more effective than his previous strikes. However, the unbalanced creature started to topple as it adjusted its bite downward while moving as fast as possible. The result was that the alpha’s considerable mass fell right onto his outstretched sword, sinking deep into it. With Zhaire’s forward momentum, the blade briefly tore down the length of the creature's stomach, disemboweling the mighty alpha.
Blood and guts poured onto Zhaire as his slide came to an end with the sudden resistance. A moment later, the weight of the dying alpha landed on top of him. Fortunately, Zhaire’s slide had taken him far enough that only a portion of the creature's considerable mass was on top of him.
Zhaire began shimmying his way down the creature's bulk while attempting to push it off himself. It was slow going, but he made steady progress. Eventually, he felt a surge of strength, and he instinctively knew that he had gained a significant increase in his stats.
Zhaire smiled, as the only conclusion was that the alpha had died and he had leveled up. With his improved stats, he freed himself from the last of the dead weight. With an effort, he rose to his feet, doing his best to appear unfazed.
Zhaire glared at the thousands of Ogrog who stared in disbelief, their eyes shifting between him and the lifeless alpha. Zhaire raised his one arm and let out a triumphant shout. The emotion behind it pushed the sound to a level that rivaled the massive creature’s volume. The cheers and shouts from the human crowd echoed his own.
The assembled Ogrogs fell to the ground, prostrating themselves. Zhaire had done it; he had retaken the city by himself. He had done it while slaying just the previous alpha, meaning he had nearly tripled his army. That was also far from the only gains he had received.
Achievement Upgraded Solo Hunter 3 to 23 (+2% to all primary stats) New Achievements
Conqueror 4: Claim an enemy's Nexus. Contribution depends on the level and tier of the Nexus. The amount of contribution needed/rank increases slightly with each rank
+.05% to all primary stats/rank (+.2%)
Grade Above 2: Solo kill a creature of a higher grade than your heritage, 1 rank/grade difference.
+.15% to all primary stats/rank (+.3%)
Tier Above 1: Solo kill a creature of a higher tier than your heritage, 1 rank/tier difference.
+.25% to all primary stats/rank
Zhaire Reeves has reached level 33 in Frenzied Berserker (2F) Zhaire Reeves has reached level 33 in Human (1E) Primary Stats Strength 183 (+8) Agility 149 (+5) Constitution 165 (+7) Intelligence 97 (+3) Willpower 135 (+5) Charisma 111 (+4) Secondary Stats HP 435 (+50) FP 312 (+29) MP 139 (+9) Attack Efficiency 400 (+41)
Traits Ranked Up Dodge 1F to 1D: Improves the effectiveness of agility by 2.1% (+.1%) to dodge an attack. Feel No Pain 1F to 1E: You do not feel pain, reducing the penalty from non-critical injuries by 25.62% (+.62%) The Thrill of Battle 2F to 2E: You long for the release of battle, letting it invigorate you and keep you moving forward. Improves all resource regeneration by 6.18% (+.18%) while in active combat. At the start of the fight regain 2.57% (+.07%) instantly, but only if there are enemies near or above your level, this effect only triggers once with an 18-hour cooldown. Heavy Weapon Proficiency 1E to 1D: Increases the rate at which attacks relating to heavy weapons are learned and improved by 5.25% (+.13%). Improves the attack efficiency of heavy weapons by 1.57% (+.04%). Traits Tier Up Dodge 1D has become Evasion 2F Evasion 2F: Improves the effectiveness of agility by 2.5% to dodge an attack. This effect can be doubled at the cost of 1 FP/second. Heavy Weapon Proficiency 1D has become Heavy Weapon Expertise 2F Heavy Weapon Expertise 2F: Increases the rate at which attacks relating to heavy weapons are learned and improved by 5.5%. Improves the attack efficiency of heavy weapons by 2.5%. Attack Rank Up Unstoppable Blow: Exert stamina to strike with unstoppable force. Increase damage by 4.12%/FP (+.12%) max 3 FP
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Zhaire laughed at all his improvements. It had been tier 2, and the gains reflected the near-impossible odds he had overcome. He mentally thanked the system for rewarding those who were willing to face challenges.
Una raced ahead of the crowd on her Starseeker, practically jumping from her mount as she reached him. “Stay with me, Zhaire,” she said as healing magic began pouring into him.
“I know it looks bad, but I’ll be fine,” he said, waving his one hand dismissively. He still had almost 100 HP, and his natural healing rate was only slightly outpaced by the blood loss after he had drunk a healing potion.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t regrow your arm. I’m so sorry,” Una told him.
“Don’t worry, it’s just a minor inconvenience,” he said.
“This isn’t how I expected you to react to losing an arm,” Una said, clearly confused. Zhaire just laughed.
“It’s a minor inconvenience because it will grow back. It’s one of the advantages of being part Drake. It took about a day to grow back when I tested it on my pinky finger, so this will probably take a week or two. If anything, this will help possibly rank the trait up,” he said to reassure the befuddled healer. Her relief was palpable.
Una continued pouring healing until he was well over 150 HP and the bleeding had stopped. She would have kept going, but Zhaire waved her off. His natural healing could take care of the rest.
With his life no longer in imminent danger, he shifted his attention to one of the notifications that had caught his attention. The Conquerer achievement description seemed to imply he had gained multiple Nexuses of Civilization. Just like all the notifications, with a thought, the information came to the front of his mind.
He had gained 5 Nexuses. There was no physical item, but he knew he could place them with a mental command. All of them were far lower than Celestia had been when he left, ranging between levels 1 and 4. Apparently, the Ogrog alpha had hoarded the precious items. From the reports he had gotten, the locations with a nexus had been the hardest hit.
In addition, they didn’t have the same restrictions as the ones granted for reaching level 10 within a month. There was no time limit, and these could be transferred to anyone nearby. That also meant they could be sold, probably making this haul worth more than the piles of cores accumulated over the campaign.
As his focus turned to the external, he noticed that the Ogrog were still prone on the ground. Zhaire waived everyone away from the slain alpha because it was necessary for symbolic purposes. He strode over to the corpse, doing his best to appear strong.
The dead weight of the slain Ogrog was nearly a ton, but with his inhuman strength, Zhaire managed to roll the corpse over. Using his sword, he hacked into the chest cavity. Its core was easy to spot, nearly the size of a basketball, just like the snake. Zhaire pulled it out and held it aloft, a symbol of his triumph.
There was a moment of trepidation as the two forces began to commingle. Fortunately, the only fights were duels to establish a new hierarchy for the Ogrog below him. Zhaire was mildly annoyed that his new soldiers were killing each other, but he didn’t think he could stop it, even if he wanted to. He could use Imri’s help as a translator to sort this mess out.
Zhaire noticed Antonio and Veronica staring at the city that had once been their home with conflicted looks on their faces.
“I never thought we would make it back. I definitely didn’t think it would get retaken as a part of a duel,” Veronica said wistfully.
“It feels wrong, like it's hollow and lifeless. Even more so than at the start of integration, when we were all spread out, and almost no one was here,” Antonio added.
“So what are you going to do now? I could give you a nexus to place within the city if you want,” Zhaire offered. The twins stared at him, mouths agape, before shaking their heads vehemently in unison.
“We’re with you for the long haul,” Antonio said.
“We’re Knights of Earth Reclamation, not Knights of Kansas City Reclamation,” Veronica added. Zhaire nodded, pleased he wasn’t losing two powerful mages.
Zhaire turned and addressed the gathered crowd of people who had followed him. “We’re spending a couple of days in the city, looting anything that could be helpful for a new settlement.”
That night, there was a raucous party as people relieved all their pent-up emotions. A few of the more ambitious looters had already begun their work, and they had secured more than enough alcohol to down a battalion of Ogrog.
The party became even more rowdy when Christina started singing a slew of lewd songs. Even though she was clearly intoxicated, she performed better than the subject matter required. The song was also tinged, her skill unintentionally leaking into the notes. It further encouraged everyone to throw caution to the wind.
“So I assume you're going with everyone to Celestia?” Zhaire asked the singer as she finished her impromptu set.
“It seems like as good of a place as any,” she said with a shrug.
“Why not join the knights?” he asked.
“I thought you hated me,” she said.
“I hated that you called me out for my shit. It would be dumb of me to let someone with unique abilities walk away just because of that,” he said.
“I should have gotten you drunk sooner,” she teased.
“Your skill is having more of an effect than the alcohol with my constitution,” Zhaire grumbled.
“My skill?” Christina asked.
“Yeah, nearly everyone is getting laid tonight, and I’m willing to bet almost half of them have you to thank,” he said with a chuckle. The slight woman looked mortified before Zhaire added. “Don’t worry, it wasn’t so powerful that anyone would do something they didn’t want to.”
“Not you?” She asked, noticing the lack of a new woman on his arm.
“I had things to think through,” he said with a shrug.
“You, think,” she mocked, using an exaggerated caveman accent.
“Fuck you,” he said, though he smiled at the good-natured jab. He really was in a good mood tonight.
“You could, you know,” she whispered before blushing. Zhaire was surprised, and it took him a moment to gather his foggy wits.
“I don’t think that is a good idea,” he said. Christina visibly slumped and didn’t meet his gaze.
“Forget I said anything,” she said.
“It’s not that I don’t want to. I’m just not in the right head space,” he said.
“You don’t need to lie to me; I can handle rejection,” she said.
“You remind me of her, my ex-girlfriend Teresa. She was the only other person who called me out like you have, though it didn’t start out that way,” Zhaire explained.
“Why did you break up?” Christina asked.
“I got her killed,” Zhaire said.
“Oh,” she said, which was followed by a long silence. “I should go,” Christina said after the silence had gotten uncomfortable.
Zhaire mentally berated himself. He really was an idiot.