Silence hung over the room. Tension coiled between Steven’s shoulders as the System’s words echoed in his mind.
Everyone stood, staring at each other. Wind gusted outside, howling against the mansion's walls.
Steven licked suddenly dry lips.
Del rolled her shoulder like a pitcher getting ready for the game as she took a deep breath.
“Well, shit.”
The words snapped them into motion, and they all turned towards the door.
“We need to go hunt that moose.“ Steven said, his eyes hard. “The System just confirmed that it’s going to be gunning for me.“
Markus and Del blinked at him. “What?” Del snapped. “Why!?”
Steven rubbed his neck. “I got into a fight with it on the first night. It was about to crush my head when the System zapped it away.”
Del stared at him for several long seconds. “…Okay then, let’s go get the moose.”
Steven paused. “You don’t have to. It’s not after you. I don’t-“
Del shook her head. “I already agreed to help you lot with the Beasts. I’m not backing out now.”
Steven swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. “Thank you.”
Markus threw on his coat and pulled open the door.
“We’re not all level 10 yet, but I’d rather fight it on our terms than wait for it to take a swing at us.”
Steven nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.“ He waved his hand, and all his shields vanished.
Markus checked his watch. “It’ll probably take us a half hour to get to the park. Our Skills will be refreshed by then, and we can take a minute to activate Micheal’s buff. That’ll leave us with enough time to start the fight before the moose goes wandering.”
“Sounds good to me,” Margie pulled on her own coat before turning to them. “Anything else we want to add?”
Everyone shook their heads, and they rushed outside, only to get smacked by the wind.
It hadn’t calmed down at all, and it tore at their clothes and lashed their skin.
As they pilled into the truck, Steven idly wondered if he could use his Tower-Shield as a wind block. There was no reason it shouldn’t work. Though it took too much energy to be practical, and he couldn’t easily take it with him.
Steven shook the thought off as they started moving.
His foot drummed up a steady rhythm against the floor.
He was… he wasn’t sure—something in between nervousness, excitement, and anger.
Both at the System and the stupid fucking moose.
It had tried to kill him, and for some reason, that felt more personal than when the System tried to do it.
As far as he was aware, Bulwinkle wasn’t a System construct. It was a real animal that had been enhanced, similar to gaining a Class.
Which, if true, meant this wasn’t just a puppet following a script. It had chosen to attack them. It had decided to keep coming.
The cold ice on his back, the burn in his lungs, the hoof gleaming in the purple and green light.
He’d seen the gleam in its eye. This thing wasn’t a dumb animal anymore.
It was aware, and it had done it anyway.
And that pissed him off.
He embraced the feeling. Holding it close. He was going to need it.
Steven looked up as the car bounced. They were pulling into Golden View, the long road stretched along the hillside, connecting to Rabbit Creek.
Del spoke up. “If you’ve fought this thing before, can you give us a rundown on its abilities?”
Steven looked over at her. She was leaning forward in her seat, her eyes intense. “I’m sure the moose has more tricks now, but when I fought it, it could shoot ice from its mouth like a cannon. And it was smart. I’m not sure how smart exactly, but more than an animal should be. Aside from that, it was basically just a furious bull moose.”
“That’s a pretty fucking big ‘just,’” Margie pointed out.
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He chuckled. “Fair enough. But we should expect it to be a hell of a lot stronger now.”
Micheal nodded, then froze. “Your shenanigans and the System’s shit made me forget! Our Traits!”
Margie grunted. “I can’t look over mine while driving. I’ll send them to you lot. Tell me which I should pick.”
Margie Vern has sent you her Trait shop. Accept?
Yes.
Know Thine Hound
Effect: Hounds and Maiden are aware of each other's presence regardless of distance. And can sense the physical condition of each other.
Cost: 1 TP
Hounds Are A Maiden's Strength Squared
Effect: Increases the strength you gain from your hounds.
Cost: 4 TP
Well, that one’s a no-brainer. “Take Hounds Are A Maidens Strength Squared, no question.”
Margie grunted, and Steven turned his attention to Micheal. “Wanna send me yours?”
Micheal Vane has sent you his Trait shop. Accept?
Yes.
Dashing Hero
Effect: movement buffs are 25% more effective
Cost: 5 TP
Mighty Savior
Effect: strength buffs are 25% more effective
Cost: 5 TP
Resilient Rescuer
Effect: Defensive buffs are 25% more effective
Cost: 5 TP
The three buffs from before were just as strong and just as pricey.
But the new one…
Damsels Cry
Effect: When the Damsel cries out for help, all around them hear it. Doubles the distance the Damsels's cries for help can be heard from.
Cost: 1TP
“So…you could scream really loud.”
“Shut the hell up.”
Steven laughed. “No, I think the durability and the strength one are the ways to go.”
Markus nodded. “I agree. Especially the durability one.”
“Thirded,” Del echoed.
Micheal frowned. “Thirded? Is that a word?”
She shrugged, her dark hair shifting with the motion. “If seconded is, why not thirded?”
Micheal opened his mouth, closed it.
Del nodded. “ Exactly.“
Micheal shook his head. “Just because I can’t adequately explain why that’s wrong doesn’t mean it’s right.“ He shook his head again before she could answer. “We’re getting sidetracked! Why not the speed buff? That has great synergy with the rest of my build.“
“Because,“ Steven said. “The others are more consistent, at least, I think. Your new Skill makes you hella fast, and we get a nice boost from you being in danger, so it would certainly help. But those are both situational triggers.”
He scratched his chin. “It’s a situation we can play around and even trigger ourselves, but the other buffs are going to help anytime Oh, Thank You, Heroes is on us.“
“Oh, Thank You, gives you a bit of a speed boost as well,“ Micheal pointed out.
Steven nodded. “Fair. But it’s a minor increase compared to the durability.”
Micheal bit his lip. “Alright. I definitely agree that the durability increase is a must. But I’m still not sold on the strength Trait.“
Markus shrugged. “Speed isn’t a bad pick, in my opinion. I do agree with Steven. It’s more consistent. But I think either option will be fine.“ His sentiment got an echo of agreement from everyone.
Micheal clapped his hands. “I have my heart set on the speed buff. I don’t know if the System bundles reaction time under the same category as movement speed, but if it does, then this Trait gets a lot stronger. And even without it, a 25% speed boost is too tempting for me.“
Micheal locked in his choices, and they turned their attention to the road. They were only a few minutes out.
Steven took a deep breath. He was ready. Well, except for-
His phone rang, startling him into flinching. He scrambled to answer it, desperate to silence the blaring ringer. “Hello?“
“Hey, Steven,“ James said from the other end.
“James! You guys doing all right?“
“Yeah. You saw the System announcement, right?“
“Yeah. We’re actually on our way to fight one of the Beasts now.“
“Which one?“ The man’s voice was tense.
Steven paused before answering. “The moose. It’s the same one that attacked me on the night of the initiation. The System has informed me that it’s holding a grudge. So we need to hunt it before it hunts us.”
“Yikes. Our fearless leader wants to go pick a fight with the bear.”
Steven grunted. “We could maybe help after –“ James cut him off.
“No, unfortunately.” He sighed. “Tyler wants us to handle this ourselves. Doesn’t want it to be ‘boring.’”
Steven stared at the phone for a beat. “Okay then. That works out, I guess. Just ah, stay safe out there, man.”
“Yeah, you too.“ Steven heard laughter from somewhere behind James and what sounded like Tyler‘s voice chanting, “BEAR BEAR BEAR!“.
James sighed. “I need to go.“
Steven put his phone away to find the other staring at him. He shrugged. “It seems James and co have the bear covered. If we’re lucky, somebody will take care of the orca for us too. This whole thing might be over before it can really start.“
Margie made a face like she just bit into a lemon. “Goddamnit, Steven! Don’t jinx us!“
“Jinxes aren’t real.” He paused and looked down at the dogs, who stared back with far too much intelligence.
He opened his character sheet, the magical screen snapping open before his eyes.
And their mission, which was to kill the super-powered moose before it could come hunt Steven down out of spite.
“… Well shit.”