October 23, 2022
Day 4
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The next 3 days were uneventful. The settlement was slowly yet steadily advancing, with everyone gaining stats across the board as well as the basic skills in archery, one-handed swords, and small weapons. The trainers and a few promising individuals had second levels too. The attacks that they were expecting never came, and every day Mark invested the 1000 settlement points into expanding the underwater cavern.
A sense of monotony quickly took over, and concerns that were earlier pushed to the back of everyone’s minds could no longer be ignored. In the absence of deadly attacks, the general mood in the settlement was getting worse rather than better. People had plenty of time to think, and everyone grew concerned and worried about their family and friends back home.
Rahul’s parents lived in their small hometown back in India. While Rahul couldn’t help but worry about them, he also knew they were as safe as they could be. He had grown up in a joint family, and his grandparents, all his uncles and aunts, and cousins too many to count, were living in his ancestral home. His father and uncles had worked in the fields for a large part of their lives and were hardy folk. If there was a safe place in the world for his parents, it was there, and certainly not this desolate island.
It was his concern for Neha that had Rahul growing more and more desperate every single day. His sister had gone to study in a prestigious university in Delhi, and was far from home. She was smart, kind, and affable, getting along with people very well. Rahul knew she could take care of herself. But in a lawless world, Rahul was afraid none of those qualities might matter in the face of a disability she was born with. Due to a mistake by a nurse during her birth, her spinal cord was injured and she was born paraplegic. She never let it get in her way and had always lived a full life.
But if the system had taken away her wheelchair, how would she move? If there was an attack, would anyone go out of their way to keep her safe? How Rahul wished she were here with him, where he would do anything and everything to keep her out of harm's way. He wished she were home, where Mom and Dad could have protected her.
The only thought that kept Rahul from spiraling out of control was the knowledge that his sister was a fighter. She had faced many setbacks in life, but none came close to breaking her spirit. He vowed to himself that he will get stronger and go find her at the earliest possible opportunity.
He had spoken to Mark about it and got assurance that getting everyone to their loved ones was the highest priority, and they would discuss solutions with Martin as soon as the dungeon was done. Initially, Rahul had expected empty platitudes and promises from Mark, but the assurance he got seemed very genuine. In fact, when Mark spoke about getting back to their loved ones, he spoke with almost a religious zeal.
So, Rahul accepted that there was nothing he could do right now. He chose to trust that Neha would take care of herself in the meantime, and that Mark would take care of the situation as soon as possible. She would overcome this obstacle like any other. As an older brother, Rahul couldn't help but worry.
What he could do is turn that worry into fuel that pushed him to train with renewed vigor.
Choosing to focus on getting stronger, Rahul looked at his status, the result of 3 days of hard work.
Character Overview Name Rahul Sharma Race Human (F) Class N/A Level 1 HP 100/100 MP 180/180 Stamina 120/120 Strength 10 Endurance 12 Dexterity 15 Vitality 10 Intelligence 18
He had progressed across the board and felt far fitter and stronger than just 3 days before. He was not yet at the level of peak athletes from before the integration, but had definitely made progress that would have taken years before the system. Rahul didn’t doubt that within a few weeks, almost everyone alive would be faster, stronger, and harder to kill than Olympic gold medalists pre-integration.
The system was making the impossible possible, and Rahul hated to admit it, but he was itching for a challenge. And he wasn’t the only one. In the last few days, more experts emerged in various fields and received trainer skills, improving the rate at which everyone's endurance, dexterity, vitality, strength, and intelligence grew. Everyone was a lot stronger than they had ever been in their life, and now had decent training in combat as well as defensive formations.
They wanted to put themselves to the test.
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Unfortunately, their wish was granted before the next dusk, when the first attack on the Laysan bastion began. The sound of thousands of croaks interrupted the quiet of night, and woke everyone up even before the gong was sounded by the watch. Waves upon waves of frogs were rushing into the island from the ocean all around them, with no end in sight.
They were slowly converging, and as they drew closer, the sound of croaking grew into a cacophony so loud that people couldn’t hear each other even 10 feet apart. Thankfully, the practice drills over the last few days kicked in, and everyone gathered their bows and arrows and took their positions.
Rahul looked at the approaching frogs from the top of the wall. The designated archers had focused the majority of their time on training with bows and arrows and had taken positions on the towers and the roof of the castle. A majority of the potential mages had also joined them on the roof and would use their bows and arrows, as no one had managed to gain any magic skill so far. Everyone who had been designated a melee fighter by the steward, and a few mages with impressive physical stats, were positioned on the outer wall as the first line of defense.
Rahul pulled his bow and aimed. As he focused on the first wave of approaching frogs, his heartbeat sped and he felt drops of sweat trickle down his brows. These frogs were larger than any he had ever seen, nearly the size of an adult cat. Dusk was approaching and in the very dim light, he could only make out that they were greenish. As he saw the first volley of arrows pass over his head, Rahul released his shot.
Many arrows fell short and missed the target, but any that flew far enough didn't miss, as the entire ground seemed covered by a wave of frogs. Rahul’s own arrow had struck a frog but it continued hopping towards them, seemingly unfazed. Rahul nocked another arrow and released it again in tandem with the archers on the roof. The archers had calibrated the distance with the first arrow, and this time, almost all the arrows found a target. Rahul noticed dozens of frogs stopped dead on their tracks, but they were trampled by the ones behind them, and all the empty spots in the wave were filled within seconds.
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Not discouraged, Rahul knocked and fired another arrow, and then another, and another, as every subsequent volley came sooner than the last. In no time, it became impossible to distinguish one volley from another as the sky rained arrows upon the frogs.
You have killed a Level 1 Cocoi Frog. 10 experience earned.
You have killed a Level 1 Cocoi Frog. 10 experience earned.
The arrows from the roof continued to fall in an arc above Rahul, but with the frogs drawing nearer and more clearly visible, he shot his own arrows straight and with a more precise aim. Noticing that many of the frogs that were jumping towards them had arrows sticking out of their limbs, Rahul aimed his shot at their torso. He kept firing at a rapid rate, and every arrow which struck either the head, neck, or torso of the frog led to instant death. After the 10th kill, he got a new notification.
You have advanced to level 2.
0/250 experience to the next level.
You have 5 free stat points available.
His original plan was to use the stats gained from level-ups to balance his stats, but Rahul had noticed how fast his stamina bar was depleting with every fired arrow. Every shot cost him 2 points on average, and nearly a fifth of his stamina was already depleted. While he had more than enough stamina to keep firing nonstop till the frogs reached the walls, he did not look forward to swinging a sword with half his stamina already gone.
With a focus on his deadliness as well as survivability in melee combat, he invested 1 point each in strength and vitality, and all the remaining three in endurance. All this time, he did not stop shooting his arrows, and as the frogs drew closer, his accuracy increased and he kept firing faster and faster, ignoring the stinging pain in his fingers and the ache in his shoulders from the effort. He set a goal of killing 25 frogs to get a level-up boost before switching to melee, and that helped him focus on the task at hand and ignore the pain.
You have killed a Level 1 Cocoi Frog. 10 experience earned.
You have killed a Level 1 Cocoi Frog. 10 experience earned.
…
…
You have advanced to level 3.
0/500 experience to the next level.
You have 5 free stat points available.
By the time he reached the third level, the first wave of the frogs was only 30 seconds away from the wall. Seeing that he still had about two-thirds of his stamina left, he prioritized other attributes. He put two points each in strength and vitality, and the remaining one in endurance. While firing a few last arrows, Rahul looked at his stats.
Character Overview Name Rahul Sharma Race Human (F) Class N/A Level 3 HP 130/130 MP 180/180 Stamina 160/160 Strength 13 Endurance 16 Dexterity 15 Vitality 13 Intelligence 18
While his stats on the whole had not quite doubled in the last few days, he felt much more than twice as strong as he was when the tutorial started. The last-minute stat boost he gained from the two levels was quite significant, and Rahul felt he was as ready as he was going to be. With the first of the frogs about to start climbing the walls with their sticky webbed feet, it was time for Rahul to drop his bow and arrows, and pick up his sword and shield.
He looked to his side and noticed everyone else doing likewise. Some had equipped spears instead of swords, but Rahul had not trained with the weapon, afraid of spreading himself too thin. A spear would be a much better weapon for what they were about to do, but there was nothing to be done about that now.
Shaking his head to dispel unnecessary thoughts, he went close to the wall, ready to cut the approaching frogs. The bulk of his body was protected by the parapet on the wall, and he manned the same gap from which he was earlier shooting his arrows. The first frog that approached him got a swift slash across its front feet. It lost its grip, and fell 50 feet to its death, taking a few others with him.
Rahul smiled as he got two kill notifications from the single swing of his sword. For the next 10 minutes, he continued to dispatch dozens of frogs, and similar scenes played out across the wall. The guy beside him who was using a spear benefitted from its better reach, but had a close call when one injured but enterprising frog flicked out his tongue and grabbed the wooden shaft of the spear just as it started falling. The poor guy almost lost his balance due to the sudden weight on his spear and barely managed to avoid toppling over and falling to his death.
Rahul continued on with the grisly business for a few more minutes before he heard a muted sound of a gong ringing between the cacophony of croaks. Looking around, he noticed Mark on the roof, banging the gong. He also noticed that most around him didn't hear the sound due to the deafening croaks, and had continued fighting. Coming to a decision, he went to the person on his right, the one with the spear. He had asked his name when they had taken positions next to each other during the drills, but sadly could not remember it at the moment. That didn't matter now.
“Hey, take a look at the rooftop, Mark is signaling retreat but most won’t hear it. Can you run in that direction and shout for everyone to retreat to the castle? I will run the opposite way.”
Rahul hurriedly said.
The guy looked at the roof once, and immediately came to the same realization as Rahul. Not wasting his time, he nodded and started running along the wall. Rahul did the same, and soon enough, the entire force on the wall was climbing down the stairs and funneling into the castle. Within a few minutes, the last of the forces were inside the castle, and the door was shut tight from within. They also piled some furniture near the door to further help it brace against impacts. With that, everyone climbed up to the roof, and once they looked out from there, the situation became immediately clear.
The frogs had invaded the islands from all directions, but with the castle being much closer to the ocean shoreline in one direction compared to the others, the initial threat came from there. Naturally, the melee forces were deployed to man those walls, as no frogs were coming from any other side. Now, however, the frogs coming from every end of the island had crossed the lake and arrived and surrounded the castle. Flanked from all sides, the outer walls of the castle were too vast to defend with the little manpower they had. This is why Mark had signaled a retreat.
The sun has risen by now and illuminated the Laysan island. The 168 residents of the settlement had survived the first stage of their bastion's defense. They did not have a single casualty and had whittled down a large number of the attacking frogs, coloring the soil red on one side of the island. But for every frog they killed, there were 10 ready to take its place. The first stage was a stalemate, but the second phase of the defense of Laysan holds the promise of an epic last stand atop a castle. Who will come out on top, only time will tell.