Chapter 18 – Rescue Rangers

Laraaq was pleased with his progress.

Laraaq was pleased with his progress so far. Today he took a giant step forward by forming his core before he gained a class. He had gained a level for the achievement, so he was happy about that. Even better, it had netted him some additional spells.

The Earth spell was the one Laraaq was most excited with. This would allow him a chance to grow his proficiency with Earth mana. Even better, the spell would finally provide some defensive options which were sorely lacking in his current build. If he hadn’t distributed his stats more evenly, Laraaq would be a ‘glass cannon’. Survivability rule for the Apocalypse, if you can’t take a hit, you’re dead. Firepower is great and all but is meaningless if you get one shot.

Shifting his focus externally, Laraaq asked, “What do we know about our next destination?”

Carl took his eyes off of scouting and looked back. His eyes seemed puzzled. “Did you get more handsome? The angles of your face seem more defined.”

“I just leveled so put most of my stats into Charisma. Figured I’d need it if we have to talk to more people.” Laraaq explained.

Carl just shrugged. “Makes sense. I’ll keep that in mind. To answer your question, we are rescuing a family. The parents are in their late forties with a daughter in their mid-twenties. Mom said they seemed like a sweet couple with their heads on straight.”

“I’d say that’s high praise coming from Carol.” Laraaq commented.

Carl relayed the intel he received. “You have no idea. Guess the dad is a mechanical engineer. The mom is an inventor and electrician. Their daughter is a civil engineer and artist. Guess the two of them came up with some cool gadgets that work with the mana in the atmosphere.”

“Wow! Those three-sound amazing. They sound like the perfect people to bring us magi-tech!” Laraaq said excitedly.

Sharon chimed in. “What is that?”

Simon answered seemingly as equally excited as Laraaq. “It is the combination of magic and technology. In theory to be able to do more with both than you could do with only one. I have listened to a lot of books about it...”

Sharon cut him off. “Okay no one wants to hear about your immature gaming and fantasy nonsense. Geez why couldn’t I have found a real man.”

Simon went from excited to sullen and withdrawn. “Sorry.”

Carl and Laraaq both wanted to throttle the woman for how toxic she was being. Mario walked back to where Simon was sitting and quietly asked, “Can you tell me more about what you heard about magi-tech. I’d really like to know.”

Simon seemed down and just replied, “No it was dumb, just childhood fantasies.”

Mario put his hand on Simon’s shoulder. “Man in case you haven’t noticed we are kinda living in a fantasy now. Granted it’s a bit on the darker side but still magic is clearly real. I bet all those people that were teased for their wild ideas and fantasies are going to be invaluable in this new world.”

Simon seemed to consider Mario’s words but one look at Sharon changed his mind. “No sorry. I got to man up and stop thinking about such things.”

Mario shook his head. “Hombre, a woman can’t tell a man how to be a man, just like a man can’t tell a woman how to be a woman. Sure, we can have an opinion but don’t let her limited mind stunt your growth.”

Simon got defensive. “She has helped me grow a lot and encouraged me to step up and take more responsibility.”

Mario glared at him. “Don’t be a fool. That is classic narcissistic behavior. They do that so you will be of more use to them not because they know what’s best or even really care about you.”

“Don’t listen to him baby. I know what’s best. I haven’t steered you wrong yet!” Sharon said as she gave dirty looks towards Mario.

Standing up, Mario walked back towards the front of the bus. He whispered to Carl, “She is going to get that man killed.”

Carl just nodded before resuming his scouting out the windows.

Laraaq decided he would rather be upfront with the rest of his squad. The more he had to listen to their toxic dynamic the higher the chance someone, Sharon, was going to get a Fire Arrow to the face.

“So, any other intel on this situation?” Laraaq asked to get his mind focused.

Carl finished debriefing Laraaq. “Yes. They are dealing with a mix of Mutated Coyotes, Undead Zombies, and something they call the beast. The whole family claim to be good shots but the beast they mentioned wrecked their transportation. The thing seems to have a thick hide, as regular bullets just bounce off it.”

“Sounds fun, not.” Laraaq commented as they pulled into the suburb.

The squad spotted twenty undead as they turned into the cul-de-sac. “Well, that’s not a small number of undead.” Jerome commented.

“They came here to party but so did we.” Mario said as he pumped his shotgun.

Carl grabbed the CB radio. “Let me call and let them know we are here for pick up.”

After a few clicks they heard a girl’s voice come over the radio. “This is Jennifer. I take it you’re our ride. Over.”

“That’s right Jennifer. This is Carl. You spoke to my mom Carol. Are you guys ready to go? Over.”

“Yes and no. Over.” Jennifer replied.

Laraaq held his hand out for the radio. Carl nodded and handed it to him.

“Jennifer, this is Laraaq. I’m in charge of the rescue squad. We are going to need more than just a vague yes and no, the zombies seem to like your little cul-de-sac. Over.”

“... Hold on I’m telling them...” It was clear she was talking to someone other than their squad. A few moments later she continued speaking to Laraaq. “Sorry about that. Mom wanted me to let you know we can’t leave just yet. They are almost done with one of their prototypes. We have some equipment too that dad wanted to make sure we bring along too. Over.”

“This isn’t a...” Laraaq started to argue then he thought better of it. ‘Man, that Charisma just might be helping after all.’ He thought before replying. “Scratch that. We will start taking out the undead. We have to do that either way. That should give you some time to do what you gotta do so we can get out of here. Over.”

“Roger that. Over.” Jennifer replied.

Laraaq summoned a Weak Flame Arrow. “Alright guys. Let’s light em up!”

“Allow me.” Mario said as he opened the door and stepped out as he shot two zombies in quick succession.

“Hey, don’t hog all the fun brother!” Jerome said as he too exited the bus and started taking out zombies with his rifle.

Carl turned to Laraaq and said, “We can’t let them have all the fun.” He joined the fray quickly after.

Laraaq looked at Simon. “Stay here. Keep your heads down and try not to make any noise. The zombies seem to be attracted to the vibrations.

As Laraaq stepped out of the bus he flanked Carl, covering his back.

“Looks like the initial twenty zombies were down to about ten...” Carl started to say before he saw Laraaq cast a Minor Fireball.

BOOM!

“Make that, six remaining zombies.” Carl commented.

“Five.” Jerome said as he blew the head off another zombie.

“Three!” Mario called out as he blew away two zombies close to each other.

Carl shot another zombie in the head. “Two.”

Laraaq double cast his Weak Flame Arrow. This time it was easier, and he was rewarded with a notification.

Congratulations! Your core contains Fire mana. This has helped you connect with your fire spells and increase your mastery. You have gained the skill: Dual-Casting.

Skill: Dual-Casting

Description: Why cast one spell when you can cast two instead. Reduces the mental strain from maintaining two spell constructs at the same time. As this skill improves the increased mana cost required to dual cast will decrease over time.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Finally!” Laraaq exclaimed as he used his two Weak Flame Arrow to take out the remaining two zombies.

Misunderstanding his words, Carl spoke up. “It didn’t take us that long to take them out.”

Laraaq shook his head. “No, I finally got the Dual-Casting skill. I have been trying to unlock that...”

Getting a sense of unease, Laraaq acted on instinct and tackled Carl to the ground.

Two giant shapes flew over them. One shape turned towards them. It was a Mutated Desert Coyote. The other coyote darted off toward Jerome.

“What the...!!!” Jerome said as he barely dodged out of the way. He didn’t quite fully dodge the left paw and caught a gash to his shoulder.

“Son of a...!” Jerome began to curse but was cut short as he had to roll out of the way from a follow up attack from the coyote.

BAAM!

The head exploded spraying brain matter all over Jerome as Mario shot the coyote while its attention was on his squad mate.

Mario was out of ammo, so he drew a short sword that looked like a machete, waving it at two other coyotes that showed up.

Laraaq got a chance to see all of this before him and Carl had to focus on their targets. Another coyote joined the one that tried to pounce on them from behind.

So close to the coyotes Laraaq didn’t dare use Minor Fireball so instead he cast his new spell Flame Spear and had the spear grow wide like a flamethrower.

The coyotes did what most animals instinctively know, ‘fire bad’ and you get as far away from it if you don’t want to get burned, they tried to back up and run.

Sadly, for them the two coyotes were not fast enough and Laraaq released his Flame Spear in a rush of flames that caught both coyotes on fire.

YIP!

YIP!

The coyotes yipped and cried as they ran around not knowing what to do. This caught the attention of their packmates as they turned to see what happened. This too turned out to be a fatal mistake as Mario used the distraction to swing his machete to cut into the coyote’s neck as Jerome killed the other one with his 9MM.

Carl used his rifle to put the two burning coyotes out of their misery.

“Hey I leveled!” Carl said excitedly.

“So did I!” Jerome exclaimed.

“Same here!” Mario chimed in.

The three men looked out at Laraaq expecting him to say something similar. He just looked back at them. “What?! I didn’t level Okay.” He said in irritation.

Carl headed towards the bus. “Well let me ring Jennifer and see if they are any closer to being ready to leave. Mario, why don’t you look to Jerome’s shoulders.”

Jerome was holding his shoulder and wincing in pain, but he was still alert, demonstrating his resolve. “I can manage.”

“Don’t be an idiot brother. I can patch you up back in the bus with the first aid supplies.” Mario chided the man as he cleaned off his machete and sheathed it before picking up his empty shotgun.

Laraaq did a quick circle of safety around the bus just to make sure there weren’t any remaining enemies. By the time he was at the front door of the bus Mario had already dragged Jerome in and had the first aid kit out. Carl was in mid-conversation with Jennifer.

“Yea we heard all the commotion, sure hope that doesn’t attract the big guy... Oh, Mom said she’s almost done. Over.”

“Sounds good...” Carl was interrupted when everyone heard a roar.

RRROOARRRR!!!

A giant honey badger plowed through someone’s garage. Laraaq instinctually identified it.

Giant Mutated Honey Badger

Level 12

Description: Someone thought it would be a good idea to have a wild honey badger as a pet. When the apocalypse hit the concentration of mana mutated and corrupted him, increasing his size and ferocity.

Laraaq stared at the three meters tall, deformed honey badger. He turned to Carl who just said. “Good luck with that.”

“What do you mean good luck with that?!” Laraaq asked in shock.

“Guns don’t work on that thing. That kind of makes us not so useful.” Mario said on behalf of Carl.

“I mean we are willing to try and distract it, but I wouldn’t count on it doing much.” Carl commented.

“You guys suck! Distract it if you see I need help.” Laraaq said before turning his full attention on the honey badger.

The honey badger was sniffing in his direction. Laraaq, not trusting the bus to survive a direct hit from that thing, stepped away from his squad mates. That motion seemed to be all the monstrous honey badger needed as it started to charge.

Laraaq cast as quickly as he could two Minor Fireball spells, two Flame Spears, and he was about to cast more when the first set of spells detonated on the giant honey badger.

After the flames cleared the honey badger looked a little singed but no real damage, worst yet it was still charging straight at Laraaq not hindered in any way.

“Well, I’m screwed!” Laraaq commented as he was about to turn and run when the two Flame Spears hit.

The resulting blows left minor gashes on the honey badger’s left front paw and right shoulder. Laraaq didn’t have time to charge those spells, knowing the spells wounded the beast, he had one attack that could hurt the thing.

Seeing it get closer Laraaq cast Stone Skin as he dodged out of the way. As the honey badger barreled past him, the monster used its giant tail to smack Laraaq across the chest sending him rolling across the ground.

The honey badger’s skin seemed to flow and shift directions. It somehow used that movement to transfer its momentum and change directions heading right where Laraaq lay on the ground.

“I COULD USE SOME HELP HERE!!!” Laraaq called out as he tried to regain his feet.

Rather than casting two Flame Spears, Laraaq channeled one and increased the heat before he had to release it and attempt to dodge once again.

His squad mates stepped off the bus and began firing. Carl and Mario were using rifles and Jerome was using a 9MM as his other arm was in a makeshift sling. They fired at the honey badger with impeccable accuracy and speed.

The gunfire did nothing to the monster and the beast completely ignored them. It had eyes only for the one that dared to challenge it, Laraaq.

The single Flame Spear hit the right paw as it was in mid-swipe at Laraaq. The blast saved Laraaq from being shredded as it blew the attack wide and severed a tendon.

“Ha! Take that you overgrown rodent!” Laraaq yelled as his spell put the limb out of commission.

The giant honey badger shifted its skin again changing its momentum allowing it to lunge towards Laraaq and clamp down with its jaws across his left shoulder and torso.

Once again Laraaq’s magic saved his life. Laraaq had covered a good portion of his body using Stone Skin. The problem was, with all the running and fleeing, Laraaq’s stamina was low so he could not make the Stone Skin as dense as he wanted, especially as the denser it was seemed to slow him down too much. This allowed the giant honey badger’s teeth to pierce the stone. The spell still saved his life, but he was trapped in the jaws of the giant beast.

He could smell the stench of rotten flesh coming from its hot breath. “UGH! Eat a breath mint! You ugly...” was all the words Laraaq could get out before the badger shook its head further tearing gashes into his flesh.

Laraaq tried multiple times to form a Flame Spear but kept losing his concentration as he was shaken like a rag doll.

“Hey ugly! Try these on for size!” An unknown male’s voice could be heard as the badger continued to shake him.

Then Laraaq heard explosions and the honey badger was knocked back.

BOOM!!!

BOOM!!!

The blows caused the honey badger to release Laraaq and he went flying into someone’s yard.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Looks like he didn’t like that!” The male voice said.

An unknown female voice replied back. “Let’s take this guy out together!”

BOOM!

“You got it honey. Let’s give em the ole one-two punch!” The unknown male voice said.

As Laraaq lifted his head to see what was happening he saw a man and woman in a mechanical suit that looked like something out of a steampunk novel. It had giant arms and fists. It had some kind of arm cannons and the fists themselves seemed to crackle with energy. The two-man Magi-tech suit was being expertly piloted by the couple he assumed he was here to rescue. They were jumping around and practically boxing the giant honey badger then shooting something out of those arm cannons that were blowing literal holes into the giant monster.

His vision was soon blocked by a beautiful blond woman who ran to his side. “Don’t move. You’re badly injured. Let me heal you!” Laraaq recognized the voice as Jennifer.

A feeling of soothing warmth spread across his body. Laraaq’s wounds began to close. He canceled his Stone Skin as the healing took effect.

“Ah. I see. You had some kind of defensive ability or spell. No wonder you aren’t dead.” Jennifer braced herself as she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her.

“Are you okay?” Laraaq asked in concern as he sat up.

“I’m fine. Just a bit tired. That much healing takes a lot out of me.”

“Still pretty cool ability to be able to heal people.” Laraaq commented.

They both turned to watch the couple in the magi-tech power suit finish off the honey badger.

Jennifer spoke up while she watched her parents. “I used my perk to gain a healing ability. It only made sense with my parents and their experiments. I lost count of the number of wounds I had to heal from one explosion or another. It was just prudent.”

“Is that why there were so many enemies in this area? All the explosions attract them?” Laraaq asked.

Jennifer nodded. “Yea. The downside to their experiments, lots of noise. Before we knew it the neighborhood was overrun with monsters. Lucky for us, our house and their workshops were reinforced.”

A notification popped up in Laraaq’s vision when the monster died.

Congratulations! You helped kill a Level 12 Elite Giant Mutated Honey Badger! Your help might have consisted of running away and being a chew toy, but hey, it counts! +3,000 experience.

Level Up! Congratulations! You are now Level 9. You gain +10 stat points per level. You have +10 total stat points to distribute.

Congratulations! For rescuing three critical team members that will be crucial to the survival of your new community you gain the title: Rescue Ranger.

Title: Rescue Ranger

Description: Survivors are more likely to go with you or come to your aid. +25% success in favorable negotiations with survivors you helped rescue. +15% stats when conducting a rescue mission. One-time bonus of +1 level increase.

Level Up! Congratulations! You are now Level 10! You gain +10 stat points per level. You have +20 total stat points to distribute.

Standing up and dusting himself off. “I don’t suppose you have some kind of mending option for damaged clothes?” Laraaq asked hopefully.

“Sorry I don’t. Let me introduce you to my parents.” Jennifer replied.

“Hey, I just met you. Don’t you think you’re going a little fast.” Laraaq teased.

“Cute, but no. Good one though.” Jennifer said before calling out to her parents.

They were using their power-suit to loot the corpse.

“Hey mom and dad, this is Laraaq, he is the leader of the rescue squad.”

“Not sure who was rescuing who. Your power suit is awesome.” Laraaq commented.

“We built it to deal with big guys like him.” They said as the power suit pointed to the dead honey badger. “I’m Mike. That’s my wife Marcia. You already met our daughter Jennifer.”

“Nice to meet you all. I got to ask; how did you build the power-suit?” Laraaq asked excitedly.

“Facts we live by.” Mike answered.

Jennifer smiled.

Laraaq looked confused. “Facts you live by?”

Marcia spoke up. “Fact 1: Realize you are on the same team. Fact 2: Tearing down your partner tears you down. Fact 3: Build and create together. Whatever you both help create will be far better than solo. We live our lives by those facts of life and relationships. Fact 4: If you both always put the other person first you both are always taken care of. Fact 5: Don’t do something for someone expecting something in return. Do it cause you care and it’s the right thing to do. That’s real love. With all that in mind, it only made sense to combine our talents to create this baby.”

Laraaq commented. “I got a guy in the bus named Simon who could really stand to get some facts and truth sent his way.”

Mike laughed. “Ha! More than willing. We been happily married for twenty-six years!”

“That’s my parents. God knows I love em, all their quirks and all.” Jennifer stated as she smiled.

Mike chimed in. “We will grab our equipment and load it up. We have a giant moving truck we bought forever ago. The engine was torn up by the honey badger but now, we can pull it along using the suit.”

Marcia spoke up. “That is if you don’t mind us remaining in the suit and following you along.”

“No problem I see. You want to ride with us on the bus Jennifer?”

“Sure. Sounds good to me. Let me grab my stuff.”