HistoriAI floated higher, scanned the immediate area but didn't detect any Undead. Looking down she saw her companion sitting on the rocky ground just staring into space. Not for the first time she felt her non-existent heart break. Alex had been the star of her 2015 graduating group. He should have his phd, he should be married and his wife, her favourite, Maddy, should be the same. Quietly she'd hoped for some unofficial grandkids who she could spoil with archaeology gear. But no, due to arrogant and greedy men Alex didn't have a phd, he wasn't married, but he was a broken shell of his former self. She was hard on him, she had to be. But it broke her more every time she had to jolt him out of his head.
"Till, are you ready?"
He didn't reply.
"Till… The moon is up."
Alex looked down at his wrist at the gold and silver bracelet, the silver threads glowed like hardened moonlight while the golden segments seemed to have tost their lustre. Running a finger over it he could feel the heat contained within the gold and the refreshing coolness in the silver. Running the back of one hand over his damp eyes he slowly got to his feet.
"Sponsors are great." Looking up he confirmed the state of the Moon and smiled. "Let's kill… re-kill… burn some Undead."
"Till?"
"Don't worry about it Professor. Memories. Just memories."
"I miss her too. I miss both of them. Every day."
"I know. She was always your favourite."
"Maddy Santiago…"
Alex gave a brittle laugh and had to steady himself against a broken wall.
"I'd forgotten that you called her that. It always made her laugh."
"Where in the world is Maddy Santiago? Though in hindsight, Maddy Croft or Maddy Jones would've been more accurate."
"The connection to an international superthief was interesting, especially with what we did."
"A prime example of why I shouldn't give people nicknames."
Alex laughed, long and unexpectedly.
"You're wrong, professor. You're exactly the person to be giving out nicknames." Alex pulled out his axe and gripped it tightly, the heat from it dried his cheeks. "Thank you."
"Till?"
"Just, whatever happens… thank you."
"Always Till."
Releasing a long sigh Alex shook himself, checked the balance of his perfectly balanced axe and looked up at the moon.
"We miss you Maddy…" he whispered, then started jogging forwards.
HistoriAI's non-existent heart broke all over again.
"I'm sorry Maddy," she whispered so Alex wouldn't hear. “I’ll look after him for you.”
----------------------------------------
Underneath a layer of the disgusting Corpse Juice Alex was smiling for the first time in as long as he could remember. He'd regularly put on a brave face or smiled at the right time but, talking with the professor, laughing, it helped.
The Tome flashed blue, lighting up the darkness for a moment.
"Map."
Alex did as he was told, flipping the Map Screen up.
"Shit, that's a lot."
"Time to use Volcanic Eruption?"
"Alex smiled even wider, grimaced, spat a few times then nodded.
"As good a reason as any. That's a lot of Undead."
Faction Quest:
Clear Las Vegas Boulevard South to Sunset Road
48/2000 Undead Slain
The first Undead appeared, quickly followed by a second and a third until the tide seemed to be unending.
"Now this is a Horde."
"You sound far too happy about it, Till!"
"Just a little closer… that's it."
"Till…"
"A little more…"
"Till!"
"A little…" Alex stamped with his right foot and gripped his axe, "Volcanic Eruption!"
Then he swung and sliced through the first Undead's eyes. It had been a human, but the fleshy cocoon had formed.
The Earth tore itself apart, two large fissures opened from where he had stamped his foot. Lava gushed out and just kept coming, quickly covering the ground in front of him. It formed a wave that crashed into the Undead, popping their cocoons and driving them back.
"Oh wow, I could get used to this!"
"It does appear to be super effective."
"Mostly against the Undead in those flesh cocoons."
Alex moved slightly as a large Undead bit down where he'd been standing, gripping the unfortunate woman who was covered in serious burns he threw her into the fissure that was still spewing out lava.
"That works!"
"Throwing Undead into the fissure you tore in the Earth that is releasing waves of lava works does it?"
"Yea…"
"Consider me shocked Till."
Alex spun and kicked a large gorilla into the same fissure.
"What's the line? Damn it… oh! This. Is. Sparta!"
“The moment is gone Till. You need to say it when you kick. Saying it when they’re already in magma… it’s just too late.”
“You could try and be supportive.”
The AI didn’t reply and Alex knew he’d pushed it a little too far.
“Professor?”
Still nothing.
“Professor!”
The AI still didn’t reply.
“Flame Manipulation.”
Alex jumped on steps made of fire, launching himself over the heads of the swarming Undead. He shuddered as the tentacles that will still contained in the fleshy growths tracked his progress. Landing in the middle of a large pack Alex crouched in the fire as the Undead registered his new position and started to swarm him. Slamming the head of his axe into the fiery ground he created a large Firestorm which whipped around him.
“Blazing Fury, Flame Whirlwind!”
Alex spun, churning the fire from the ground and the Firestorm into a vortex of death and destruction. The Undead kept coming, heedless of the carnage being wrought on members of their horde. Alex’s body was pure flame and death, his axe tore into every Undead that got close, body parts were strewn into the fire. Clenching his fist the chains from Smouldering Embers were imbued with Volcanic Resonance, they pulled all the Undead who were furthest away closer faster than those in front of them. The horde met Alex’s axe and fire as a stumbling mess and were torn to shreds. After it was done Alex stood surveying the massacre with a smile on his face.
“Professor?”
“What?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Good job killing all of the Undead.”
Alex looked up at his companion, not sure what to say.
“Ah, thanks.”
Killing Blows:
Undead Gorilla (Level 63) x 117
Undead Gorilla (Level 60) x 103
Undead Scythe Monkey (Level 61) x 201
Undead Adventurers (Levels 5-20) x 139
Unable to Loot Items Due to Corpse Damage
Loot received
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Undead Gorilla (Level 63) x 117
50,310 experience
Undead Gorilla (Level 60) x 103
40,170 experience
Undead Scythe Monkey (Level 61) x 201
82,410 experience
Undead Adventurers (Levels 5-20)) x 139
2780 experience
“Imagine killing 560 Undead and only getting just over 175,000 experience.”
“It’s just the Experience Limiter. Every kill gets you closer to the final boss in the STRAT dungeon.”
“I know, but still. I need to complain about something.”
Faction Quest:
Clear Las Vegas Boulevard South to Sunset Road
608/2000 Undead Slain
“There's something you don’t need to complain about. Two battles, and you’re over a quarter of the way to completing your quest. How far down the Strip are we?”
The Tome drifted higher and released a small pulse of light.
“That’s the Palazzo just up ahead. We’ll push down to the Excalibur next. Then assess from there. Its odd that Earth 51 is different, but major buildings are exactly the same.”
Alex started walking away from the carnage, marvelling as the fissures Volcanic Eruption had torn in the earth flowed and warped until there was no sign they'd been there… except for the rapidly cooling igneous rock deposits and the Undead bodies.
"The Multiverse allows for unlimited variations, my records indicate that-"
"Professor?"
"That-"
Alex stopped and looked up at his companion, the Tome was frozen.
Frantically looking around Alex was at a loss for what to do.
Companion Screen
HistoriAI (Archaeology Nexus Companion) | Fully Bonded
Status:
Censored by the System
8:32
8:31
8:30
"That's a problem…"
Alex watched the Tome until he was sure nothing was going to change then sat on a pile of rubble and kept watching HistoriAI, unwilling to leave her alone. Pulling up his Ability List he focussed on one entry.
Blazing Fury: Channel your Inner Fire doubling your attack speed, Strength, Inner Fire and fire damage output. Every attack creates a Flame Elemental which burns enemies within range for 30 seconds, extended to one minute within Smouldering Embers.
Then he checked his Inner Fire.
Inner Fire: 162*
"And the rest…?"
Displaying Full Attribute Information
Inner Fire: 162 (Base)
Volcanic Axe +20
Clark County Fire Department Volcanic Jacket +30
Inti's Sweat, Coniraya's Tears +40
Mama Qucha's Blessing +10
Inner Fire: 262
"This should be interesting."
Without thinking about it for long Alex tapped into his Inner Fire, the whirling inferno at his very core. Instantly his body was wrapped in flames. A pillar rose from where he sat to high above his head, pulsing from white to blue then from red to yellow and back to white.
Minutes later HistoriAI seemed to shudder, the Tome appeared to shiver before disappearing entirely leaving a bewildered looking woman in its place. She frantically looked around before holding ethereal looking hands up to inspect herself. Then she noticed the flames that seemed to be consuming Alex.
Stumbling forwards she drifted to her knees, instinctively holding hands up to shield her face from the heat.
"Till… not again. I can't lose another one."
Alex was unaware of his audience, he sat absorbed in what he instinctively knew was an Ability Evolution. He pushed harder on his core, attempting to open the conduit wider to release more fire, more destruction, more ferocity. Deep inside the pillar of fire Alex smiled and the flames burned hotter, like a new volcano had erupted inside Alex's core.
Blazing Fury: Channel your Inner Fire doubling your attack speed, Strength, Inner Fire and fire damage output. Every attack creates a Flame Elemental which burns enemies within range for 30 seconds, extended to one minute within Smouldering Embers
Becomes
Volcanic Fury II: Channel your Inner Fire doubling your attack speed, Strength, Inner Fire and fire damage output. Every attack opens micro fissures in the Earth increasing the Warriors connection to the magma within, greatly enhancing every Fire and Lava based ability, these fissures release lava that will rapidly cool on contact with enemies, trapping them in igneous rock and restricting their movement
"I'm starting to see a theme…"
"A theme?"
"Professor! You're… not being censored anymore."
"Astute as always."
"I see the System didn't remove your sass."
"No. Now what theme?"
"A distinctly volcanic theme. My fire abilities are becoming more fire based. So, still fire, just more fire."
"That makes sense…"
The AI paused for long enough that Alex checked if his Companion was being censored again.
"Professor?"
"I was just reviewing my new Engagement Protocols. The System did make some changes. Some very specific changes."
"Bad?"
"Not bad, more… restricting. I can't engage in inane conversation now. Actually that's a bonus, I have a legitimate reason to not provide answers when you ask what we should do next if Archaeology isn't an option. Also, any advice I provide needs to be based purely in historical evidence."
"That's… we can work with that. Anyway, we'll find out how to upgrade you when we clear the dungeon. Let's keen moving."
With that Alex got to his feet and kept heading down the Strip.
----------------------------------------
"This is starting to feel a bit like housekeeping. I expected the higher level Undead to provide more of a challenge."
"Your Abilities are-"
The professor stopped speaking abruptly.
"You have a distinct advantage. Fire is anathema to Undead."
"Based on historical evidence."
"Yes."
Loot received
Undead Gorilla (Level 68) x 133
61,180 experience
Undead Scythe Monkey (Level 72) x 201
84,420 experience
Undead Adventurers (Levels 10-30) x 52
4680 experience
Faction Quest:
Clear Las Vegas Boulevard South to Sunset Road
994/2000 Undead Slain
Alex walked away from the blackened corpses, then looked back as several Adventurers were reduced to ashy piles.
"I expected the more powerful enemies to be congregated near the STRAT."
"That makes sense. There will some high levels near the entrance, the rest will be-"
"This is going to get annoying. Bob once for Yes and twice for no."
One bob.
"Near military bases?"
One bob, then a pause and a slow bob.
"That wasn't one of the options. Does that mean near high level people?"
The same response.
"You aren't making this easy. Are you saying that the stronger Undead, the ones not near the dungeon, are close to larger groups of people?"
One bob.
----------------------------------------
Alex continued clearing the Boulevard until he'd made it to Sunset Road. "Housekeeping almost done. This is worse that the Attunement Zones. Let's hustle back to the STRAT, knock the last of these pricks off for the Quest and get inside."
The two Companions sped up and headed back the way they had come, noting that the damage left behind by Alex's fire Abilities was stealing significant damage to the local area.
"Let's not say that this was us…"
Alex watched as a large building that was consumed by flames succumbed to the fire and collapsed, quickly spreading burning Embers into nearby buildings.
"Bloody hell, I'm going to burn the Strip-"
Staggering to the side Alex hit his head and collapsed.
Alex could hear screams, screams and crying. Looking around he realised he was trapped under rubble and a spear was sticking out of his left thigh. He tried breathing and couldn't fill his lungs.
"No… no! Not this again. I can't do this again."
He could hear dripping and could feel the heat of a fire on his face.
Taking several deep breaths he tried to get himself under control.
"Alex?"
He froze, he remembered that voice.
"Madds?"
"Help me Alex. Don't let me die here?"
Alex jerked as something cold rubbed against his cheek.
"No! You aren't Maddy! You can't be. Professor?"
"Alex… the fire. Don't let me burn."
Alex struggled and fought, then realised he was pinned through the thigh, not the chest. This wasn't a memory. He went very still.
"Madds?"
"Alex. Don't let me-"
"Who are you?"
"Who am I? Alex, stop it. It’s Madd-"
"No. Who are you?"
"Alex, what's wrong? I'm Maddy. Maddy Santiago."
Alex laughed, but it was cold and dead.
"No. I'm going to ask one more time. Who. Are. You?"
"Alex… I'm going to burn."
With a scream of rage, pain and madness Alex tore the spear from his thigh and pulled his legs out of the rubble.
"Oh. That's… that wasn't part of the plan."
Alex spun and advanced on the woman who was backing away.
Name: Olivia "Maddy Santiago" Mendez
Race: Human (Earth 0)
Class: Synthmage
Titles: Planetary Forerunner 100, Planetary Forerunner 50
Level: 30
"Synthmage?"
"Alex. Stop chasing me. Alex? It's me, your Maddy."
"Don't say her name!"
Alex watched as Olivia lifted a hand with a disappointed sigh purple mist flowed from it towards him. Alex didn't move, allowing the mist to wash over him and for a moment he saw his Maddy, his beautiful…
"No."
The word snapped out like a royal decree, scattering the mist and causing the woman to jump. Maddy disappeared and was replaced by a dirty young woman who was pulling a small blade from an Inventory.
"Why?"
"You're just a job. They said… you weren't meant to wake up. You were meant to think you were back in the fire that killed your bitch and your friend. All you did was make this harder."
Alex staggered when she referred to Maddy and Ben then watched again as the young woman waved a hand over the blade, causing it to glow with a purple light. Looking down Alex saw he was still holding the spear. Now he could see through faint purple veins running the length of the weapon.
"Don't do whatever you're going to do. Please."
With an evil smile Olivia looked up at him.
"Lover's Dark Embrace."
Alex could see Maddy. All he wanted was to wrap his arms around her and hold her again. To feel her lips against his. He'd settle for the smell of her hair after she washed it for the first time after a dig. Or her perfume on his pillow during exams. All he wanted was his heart back.
With an anguished cry he fell to his knees and thrust forwards, barely reacting to the hot liquid that coated his face and hand. Looking up he saw Maddy, his beautiful Maddy looking down at him. Then he saw the blood dripping from her mouth as the life slowly drained from her eyes and over his hand. Something clattered to the ground then she was in his arms, still warm, barely breathing, but she was back. She was his. His Maddy. Then with a final shuddering breath Maddy disappeared, replaced again by the body of the Synthmage. The knife and spear were gone, but her blood was still on his hands. Maddy's blood…
Shaking himself Alex stood up and limped away, accidentally kicking the woman as he moved past her body, his own blood running down his leg.
"I'm sorry Maddy," he whispered.