6.

“SHOOT IT!” Miguel screamed in my ear as the latest crab monstrosity pulled itself up the wall. Its long legs gouged stone as its tentacles wiggled around, grasping at anything that moved. The last bolt we had was being aimed at the creature’s gaping maw. It perched above us, stared down on us for a moment with the scorpion’s bolt only a few feet away. I took it all in, a creature ripped straight from some eldritch nightmare. A cavern of conical teeth, six foot long whirling green tentacles attached around its mouth, the stench of rotting meat and sea brine. That’s all I saw, then Agatha fired the scorpion at point blank range.

The bolt didn’t explode, like the others had, against the hard shell of the crab. This one ripped through the mouth and blew out the back. Viscera showered us, the guts and teeth of the crab landing over the wall even as its long armored legs went limp and it slid out of view. The crash of its body hitting the sand was lost in the cacophony of the fighting. Fishmen had scaled part of the wall using one of the crabs as a ladder and fierce hand to hand fighting was ongoing at the far end of the wall. I was glad we weren’t over there seeing as none of us were armed. It wasn’t like we weren’t facing our own dangers though, as evidenced by the now dead behemoth.

The warmth of the kill confirmations had turned into a fever beneath my skin as the hours dragged on. Each bolt loosed from the scorpion reaped the lives of dozens of fishmen as they fragmented into deadly shrapnel. Agatha was the worst of us though, her face bright red and her white hair lank against her forehead. She was panting heavily and shaking, yet she had been moving and firing the scorpion without complaint.

Miguel was a little better, though I couldn’t tell if it was from exertion or from the kill energy. The younger boy was leaning with his hands on his knees and breathed like he had just finished a race. He was stealing looks over to the far side of the wall and the struggle over there but so far he hadn’t suggested anything dumb like going to help them.

Bobby had been working in silence with mechanical precision. I couldn’t see her over the weapon emplacement but I assumed she was in the same sorry state as the rest of us. The hours had exhausted all of us, the pale red light of dawn breaking the horizon over the black waters of the sea was the faint hope we all held to. As the minutes passed, Deacon and the others managed to clear their section of the wall and soon we all stared down at the torn apart beach with a growing sense of horror. It was a field of corpses.

Sand had been replaced with broken bodies. Nearly twenty of the giant crabs lay in shattered pieces and the dead fishmen were too many to count. Still, even though the dead lay in thick piles, many had managed to make it past us and assault the gates. Runners had come up and given Deacon reports as the night wore on. At one point Deacon had even sent a detachment of crossbowmen down to help reinforce the gates, but I had been too busy with loading to pay too much attention to it. Now I just had to hope that they had managed to hold long enough for the retreating tide to have called back the monsters.

“You three stay here. Agatha, just invest in vitality. From everything I read it’s the only stat you can’t grind up to average. Otherwise hold your stats for a little while.” The three of them were exhausted enough that they didn’t bother to respond, just slumped against the wall. My reading and study were still in their early stages but I was sure we could gain enough stats from eating the crab hearts that it would just be wasting stats to invest them now.

Leaving the wall, I moved down the stairs, the ache of overused muscles pulsing. It had been a long day and longer night, every step down the stairs was enough to cause my legs to wobble and my back felt like a piece of concrete. It wasn’t the hardest I’ve ever pushed myself, but the mix of fading adrenaline and fear was a harsh comedown in combination to the physical stress of the battle.

As I came out to the main hall I had to fight to control the look of shock on my face. The previously clean hall was filled with wounded. Men and women lay on the tables, blood soaked rags, flesh peeled apart, bone showing, and those who were dreadfully quiet. The battle to hold the gate had been won, yet the cost looked steep. Excellent.

A contest with Dan for control of the group would be too hard if I met him on his strengths. He had a capable core of subordinates, was older, and had experiences that were directly applicable. He was also the visible face of the fighters and all would know he was the one who had led this painful victory. Another victory or two at this cost and there would be no faction to take control of, I would need to help here. If I couldn’t match Daniel in a martial sense, as a warrior and defender, I would have to be superior elsewhere.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

These were soft people, most of them average people plucked from their regular lives and dropped in this place. Only the sheer absurdity had kept them pliable, willing to do things like pick up spears and fight to hold a doorway. As the days went on and they grew more accustomed to this world though, that willingness to just follow would fade away. Especially if they started leveling and bringing their stats up. If an average joe off the street could invest a few points in strength and suddenly have the accumulated strength of years of training, well I was suspecting we’d be dealing with some inflated egos sooner rather than later. Which would clash with the strongest person here, or at least the strongest perceived person. Let that be Dan.

In the meantime I would have to build goodwill through other ways. Food, shelter, and some guidance. I had to project some strength and competence, but not that of an apex warrior. The backlash from the death and forced subservience would be Dan’s to deal with, while I’ll work to reap gratitude from selfless work. The plan formed in my mind by the time I was halfway through the hall, heading toward the ramps that would lead up to the courtyard.

The ramp was clear of any signs of battle, the choke points were locked and each had a pair of tired looking spearman standing watch. Their discipline was poor, I caught several of the guards snoozing or far away from their station. Dan would have his work cut out for him if he had plans of forming us into a fighting force. I debated how long I would let him try to build an army before cutting him down at the knees. Some good fighters would be needed, elites who could carry a fight. Everyone else would be support staff or cannon fodder. Monster fodder? I shook my head slightly as my train of though wandered.

The courtyard was a disaster. When I had walked through yesterday it had been pristine, with a thin layer of snow on the ground. Now it was full of the dead. Humans and fishmen lay in tangled piles, the mounds of corpses hinting at where the fighting had been the fiercest. Dan stood in the center of the courtyard directing the efforts post fight. The man looked haggard, deep black bags under his eyes, his face was pale and there were stained red bandages wrapped around his left arm and leg. He leaned on his blood splattered spear, but his voice was commanding as he ordered people around.

I was not liking the look of admiration and respect on so many of those around him. Deposing a military tyrant who had led them to disastrous victory was one thing, but a respected general who had the loyalty of the warriors? I shoved those thoughts away as Dan turned and saw me. He waved me over and I felt myself walking to him without thought. Seeing him tired and wounded, that dark whisper spoke up that I should strike now, kill the threat to my desires while he was weak. Completely illogical with the dozens of people walking around and watching, but then again, when are desires ever logical?

“Casualties?” Dan asked.

“Light compared to down here.” I answered. I had no idea if anyone had been injured or killed on the wall. My team was safe so I hadn’t bothered to check on everyone else.

“How long till the next attack?”

“If the reports I read were correct, they should come every night at high tide and depart as the sun rises and the tide retreats.”

“We won’t be able to hold another attack. We lost too many people holding the damn gates. Everyone young and strong enough was given a spear and told to stab at the fish. Lost too many.” Dan’s voice faded away as he looked around at the destruction around us.

“When we get some better light, I’ll take some people out and start harvesting the mana hearts from the oversized crabs. The energy from the mana hearts will allow the fort to activate some of its defenses and we won’t have to fight like this again.” I waved around the carnage around us.

“I’m in no condition to go. Lost Ferguson and Jones. Everyone is going to be up to their eyeballs in work. I can’t have anyone shirking, do you understand? You are the only one who can read what’s in that library right now. We need more food and medicine and some better defenses if we want to survive.” Dan was starting to sway and I noticed that his leg bandage was growing quite sodden. Maybe I wouldn’t have to plan against him after all?

“We need to get you to the infirmary. Can’t be losing our general in the first battle.” I waved over one of his men, I think it was Alan, and pointed to the drenched bandage. Alan quickly pulled Dan out of the muck and was half carrying him down to the infirmary before he had a chance to say anything else.

I walked out of the gates and was surprised by how clear of the dead the gates were once I walked a few feet. The wind came off the sea and it brought with it the scents of death but I was finally free of the corpses. I grabbed a trident as I cleared the gates, the weapon leaning against the wall almost like it was waiting for me. With no one around me I finally took a moment to look at my earnings from the night of fighting.

Congratulations you have leveled (x4)

Free points: 8

The alert was fairly boring, no kill lists, no achievement awards. The information stones I had browsed hadn’t been particularly helpful when it came to leveling, just broad outlines rather than firm rules of what was going on. It would take longer to figure out exactly how leveling worked but from what I had read I think the way we leveled had reduced the amount of points we should have earned. The more danger you were in, the greater the challenge you faced as you leveled would reflect with your rewards. While shooting the scorpion had been physically taxing and the battle itself was emotionally draining, the actual threat had been rather low. I wouldn't be surprised if Dan had earned more levels with higher rewards than myself and the team. There were some positives to our way of doing it, such as I wasn’t dead in the mud or on my back in the infirmary.

I stepped around the front of the fort to look at the beach and the target of our ranged attack and saw Luke. The strange blonde man was drenched in blood from head to foot. He was practicing a lunge as the sun rose behind him, turning him into a shadow as he trained over the corpses of his foes backlit by a red dawn. I wanted to groan, Luke exuded Main Character vibes. Hopefully he would be the solitary hero rather than the one who pulled everyone to him. Oh hell, maybe it was time to go introduce mys