The combination of the Oil Spill spell removing the gremlins’ footing and Will’s fireproof Shield protected him for long enough to check the two cards he drew.

Amplify. Web. The former cost a single mana point to cast while Web took five. With Amplify, make that… nine. A total of ten points. He had 23 remaining after using both Oil Spill and Shield, so this was manageable, but he did need to keep an eye on his mana count. Will had five mana potions in his briefcase, which he put down right behind the shield. As the Amplify card dissipated into dust with its usage, Will took one out and prepared to use the DRINK function.

This was going to get messy.

Earlier, he’d used his coins to purchase a knife from the System’s store, which he’d clipped to his belt. Will unclipped it just as he stepped around the corner of the Shield, activating his Web with eight mana points. That equated an 80% power boost over the regular spell.

Which it desperately needed. The oil fire was still burning, and Will knew from experience that Web was weak to flame. To adjust for that, he placed the spell off-center. It wasn’t going to be able to catch everything in one go, but that was an acceptable tradeoff for not burning the entire thing to bits.

Sticky string exploded out from the centerpoint he designated, just over the tip of a wooden half-wall. The origin point was high enough that the Web spell wasn’t blocked by any barriers, and so it glued down everything in sight. A few gremlins screeched as the string swept over them. One or two of them were smart enough to start breathing fire at the oncoming spell, but the increased power of the Web made it just flame-retardant enough to stay intact, snapping mouths shut.

It didn’t catch all of them. At level 4, Web had an 18-foot radius, which was quite a lot, but the awkward placement of it combined with the Oil Spill meant that a few got away. The thick webs were difficult to see through, but Will eyeballed that he’d gotten maybe ten.

“H-holy shit,” Charles said. “Did you pick Mage?”

“I told you to not get in my way,” Will said, gritting his teeth. “That includes wasting my time with stupid questions.”

He selected DRINK on his mana potion, throwing the glass vial aside even as the liquid within drained. Instantly, his mana refilled, going from 14 to 29.

The two-card draw was on cooldown, so Will drew a single card alongside his brand-new knife, stepping around the shield. Web would last for two full minutes, and with the Amplify, it was sure to hold even the fire-breathing gremlins. For now, he could focus on the ones that got away.

His next card was Peek.

As it revealed his next two cards, a very angry red gremlin the size of a twelve-year old clambered atop a table, screeched at Will, and dove towards him.

Chill and Magic Missile.

Will cursed under his breath. He’d usually get more time than this to choose—the gremlin gripped his shoulders with claws fingers, leaving him no more time to think.

“Fuck!” he shouted, selecting Magic Missile and immediately activating it, stabbing upwards with his knife hand in the same motion.

A number of events occurred in quick sequence.

One: Will’s haphazard strike somehow managed to connect with flesh, though the angle was off. He barely had an instant to process the sensation of the blade sinking into soft flesh, soaking his hand with blood before—

Two: The gremlin tightened its grip on Will’s shoulders, piercing his skin, and it breathed fire at his face. Will jerked his head back even as his shoulders bled fiercely, avoiding the worst of the sudden attack, and—

Three: Magic Missile triggered. In his panic, he used as much mana as he possibly could; with Amplify active, that was a full 10. These monsters weren’t particularly strong, and so—

Four: The gremlin exploded, showering Will with gore as he fell to the ground. His Magic Missile, however, did not stop there, which resulted in—

Five: His spell twisted in midair, curving around his Web, and it smashed straight into something he couldn’t see. Will heard a screech, then another. Both abruptly cut off.

[You have gained 15 + 16 + 14 = 45 coins!]

With the amplification, Magic Missile was apparently strong enough to burst through not one but three entire gremlins before fading away. Not bad. Not bad at all.

That still left a few outside of the Web, though, which—

Thwack. Will didn’t see the attack, but the sound of Waylan’s bricks was familiar to him now.

Thwack. Thwack.

Waylan: Hey, check out my new battlecry!

“COINS!” the crow squawked. He flew over Will’s head, a rusty knife clutched in one of his talons.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“That’s abysmal,” Will said. “Seriously?”

[You have gained 2 + 1 + 1 = 4 coins!]

Had Will only contributed that little to the others? Maybe the System weighted the finishing blow a lot higher.

“Got three!” Waylan crowed. “Back up, bitch! I’m taking the rest!”

Charles’ terrified yelp reminded Will that the other man was still here. He looked healthy now, the fires completely snuffed out; the healing potion had done its work.

“Stay behind the forcefield if you want to live,” Will sighed, following his own advice by walking right behind the spell. “Or don’t. I think I know what he’s about to do next.”

Sure enough, Waylan exchanged the rusty knife for a stick of already-lit dynamite, which he dropped straight into the Web that trapped the remaining gremlins.

Wham! Heat rolled over Will’s skin once more, but the force of the blast was entirely blocked by his Shield spell. The gremlins, however, were not so lucky. They were forced to stay in place, bound by the Web as the shockwave of the blast tore straight through them. It broke the spell in the process, but that was fine when it was breaking their enemies, too.

[You have gained 3 * 10 = 30 coins!]

“Hahaha, get fucked, Will!” Waylan shouted.

“W-w-why is the bird talking?” Charles asked. “Is it a monster? It’s a monster, right? There was one like that—“

“The bird talks. Not an enemy.”

They were out of combat now. The center of the food court was a complete mess now. A mixture of gore and webs painted every intact surface—though there weren’t many of those left. Somehow, the Web had increased the force of the explosion, and so it had torn straight through the tables Will had webbed up. It looked like a tornado had blown straight through the center of the room, honestly. What a mess.

With no immediate threats, Will returned his attention to the man crouched by his feet. Charles had recovered enough of his wits to keep a deathgrip on his sword, though apparently not enough to relax. Given Waylan’s murderhobo mentality, Will couldn’t say it was unjustified. Then again, it wasn’t like the crow had actually committed to attacking him.

Waylan: I could kill him right now. 500 coins, man.

Will: Sure you can.

“You’re so calm,” Charles said, gripping his sword with his second hand. “How can you be so fucking calm? The world is ENDING! I almost died!”

“Yeah, whatever,” Will said. “Look, I don’t want to party with you if you’re just going to be screaming your head off this whole time. Can you go away?”

“You’re insane,” the swordsman said. “Off your rocker. Are you a sociopath? How can you just ignore that nothing will be the same again and that everyone you know and love is probably dead and—“

“I’m leaving now,” Will said pointedly. “Bye.”

He walked away, and Charles did not follow. Shortly after, Will heard the sound of fleeing footsteps.

Insane, huh… Will wasn’t sure how to respond to that. It sucked that his life was being threatened, of course, but he couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling of the fight every time he got into one. Was that too far-fetched?

“We totally should’ve killed him,” Waylan said, coming to a rest on Will’s shoulder.

Will ignored him, very pointedly not bringing up the fact that Waylan had chickened out of doing it.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Will said as they walked through the abandoned mall, killing mobs here and there, “Where are you getting all this shit from? I assume you have a shop, but mine doesn’t display anything like what you get.”

“Yep, it’s the store,” Waylan confirmed. “There’s a few items I can guarantee I can buy, like the bricks and the lesser dynamite, but most of my stuff is coming from gacha. Loot boxes. Whatever you want to call them.”

Well, that was interesting. Will’s cards operated in much the same way.

“You haven’t used Immovable Object much,” Will noted. “Why not?”

“You think any of these fights can make use of it? I’ll use it when I use it,” Waylan said. “That’s that, alright?”

“For someone who’s dead-set on making me fight your way, you’re awfully closed off to criticism.”

“Shut up.”

“And you kill-steal after complaining about kill-stealing.”

“Kill-stealing pays,” Waylan said, doing what Will guessed was a shrug. “I’ll do that instead of killing the guy, I guess. Pays pretty similar, and it’s waaaaay less effort.”

“Works with me,” Will said. “Though I doubt it’s going to be as much of a problem. I bet a bunch of people are already dead. If I had to guess, there’s decent odds that the next person we bump into is going to try to kill us.”

“Lovely,” Waylan replied. “I eagerly await it. In the meantime, uh, what do you want to do?”

“Huh?” Will asked. “I thought you wanted to come here.”

“I just want coins. This was the best way to get them.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“You’re insufferable.”

Will ran over the options in his mind. “Let’s find shelter, then. Preferably somewhere that we can find weak mobs like the gremlins to grind with.”

“Sure, sure,” Waylan said. “Find somewhere nice to eat, maybe? The 25-coin food and water is basic as well.”

“How are we going to find that?” Will asked. “None of these places are open.”

“My shop changes depending on where we’re at,” Waylan said. “I want steak.”

Huh. Will would have to check that out himself.

He was about to open his store again when he heard footsteps.

Human footsteps.

They were approaching a T-shaped intersection, and someone was coming from his right. It didn’t sound like Charles. There wasn’t any whining, at least.

Will: Waylan, be alert.

Waylan: Way ahead of you. I can hear just as well as you, and I’m more used to actually using my ears, y’know?

Will came to a stop. A moment later, so too did the other person. If it was a person. There was every possibility that it was a lone wandering monster that just so happened to have footsteps that sounded like a person of average height and weight, but this Event was called “Killing Game.” He was fairly sure it was designed to pit human against human.

“Who’s there?” a voice rang out from where the footsteps had come to a stop. “Show yourself!”

That voice… Will had to pause to make sure he wasn’t hearing things. He hadn’t expected to see someone familiar so soon into the end of the world. He hadn’t expected to see anyone familiar at all.

“Ashley?” he asked.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The all-too-familiar woman stepped around the corner, a loaded bow pulled taut in her hands. She pointed it at him.

“William,” she said, ice-cold. “And… company.”

Waylan: Who the hell is this? Should I attack?

Will: No attacking. I’ll explain later.

“Why don’t we talk?” Will asked, setting his briefcase down and holding his hands up. He had no cards in hand yet, so it wasn’t hard to feign total weakness.

“Yes,” Ashley said, not allowing her aim to waver a single inch. “Let’s talk.”

Will suddenly realized he didn’t know what to say. He’d trained in conflict resolution, workplace management, and the like, but this was entirely different. He wasn’t prepared for this.

It wasn’t every day your ex showed up with an arrow to your throat.