Ch 15: Farmer Luke - ?? Days (Luke)_Broken Empires

As I set out, I think I had 26 days to finish the tutorial. It's 1.8 actual days or something.

It was 21 natural days till integration. Due to the ridiculous time compression Tasar, the crazy bastard Imperial Trainer, had set up, I would be back with a lot of time to spare. I was unsure about the math, but that was what I was working on.

Tasar wanted me back before I reached Level 10. The collar he had cursed me with and I had sworn at so much blocked me past level 9 and banked my experience and stat gains. I was counting on this so I could kill Grimclaws for days. Wait for them to respawn, then collect their tokens. I was going all the way with this. I’d wait, and then on day 25, get the lair stone to return to collect the rewards for the repeatable quest, triple dipping! Sounds fine. While I waited for the respawns, I could do some training in the woods to raise my stats, too.

Crap, I had forgotten about my training. That included all the weights and puzzle books, and I was unsure about charisma and karma since I would be alone. Still, I got Karma boosts for killing agents of Chaos.

I realised that I had been slacking with the training so far, but I was 20 and didn’t have a proper adult to tell me what to do, so some slaking was in order. I was used to doing my own thing but could be disciplined if needed sometimes. I hit the gym twice a week semi-religiously, so I knew I could put in the hard training. I would have to see how far I could game the system if I wanted more power. I needed to focus and get this done. For a change, this sounded like fun, except for the exercise part.

The boys, Roy, Sean Dipshit, and Jimmy, were watching from behind one of the farm barns. They ducked away when they noticed me looking at them, and I swaggered a little. I had my guns out. I had forgotten Sean Dipshit’s name, Earnest or something.

True to his word, Lloyd had actually stopped the collar from beeping. Not that I didn’t trust him, but he had disabled the notification noises and paused the bounty, claiming that it was pending an investigation and I was in his custody. It had been a tense ten minutes, me waiting for the Beep.

I missed it a little. Now, I had no easy way to measure time.

Once I was about half an hour from the outpost, I stopped. It was time to start gaming the system with Tasar’s plan. I loaded the weights inside my tactical clothing using the kit's cord, duct tape and Velcro straps over the NanoGuard. They were heavy and uncomfortable, but I would train and train hard.

I set off jogging this time. Five minutes later, I was not.

I was gasping for breath—rest time.

I lay on my back to catch my breath, and I pulled out a puzzle book and completed some of it until my dying fish gasping breathing became more manageable. I am sure that five in my stats was lower than before I got enhanced. Well, I liked to think so. I don’t remember being this unfit. My ego said my strength and endurance would have been 10. I didn’t want to know the reality of an average Earth human.

I continued this way: ten minutes of torture, ten minutes of mental torture for half the morning. Once I was near where I had fought the second Grimclaw in the meadow, I started slowing down. I activated my "Stealth - Hide from shit". I kept the weights on but was walking slower, doing a weird power walking stalk through the forest. I knew I had to leave the path but did not know where.

I found where I had slain the Grimclaw and started looking for tracks.

I laughed at myself. Me, a 20-year-old city and town boy, crashed through the forest trying to track nightmare cat tracks.

It was not fun.

It was really not fun.

Suppose I had a phone and Internet access. Then, I could look up the opposite of fun on Wikipedia and adjust the entry to include my time looking for cat tracks. An hour and a half later, and half of that with the forest near the meadow trampled by me, the tracker, I saw my first clue.

Over the next hour, I could finally track broken twigs, small depressions, and other slight indications back to a small creek. I was going to have to buy a tracking skill. I added that to my notes of things to do.

I had Hide and Can't See me active, which was lucky because I saw the first Grimclaw. I activated "Eyes of the City Watch" and "Mystical Eyes". I felt a larger weird mana and energy drain. I hoped I would get used to it.

Minor Fickle Grimclaw (Chaos, Tier 2). Agility. Healthy.

With the "Mystical Eyes", I could see the links of what I assumed was mana around it. I could see how the normal energy around it was ordered and nice and how that became turbulent and chaotic as it got closer to the cat and moved around it. Its claws and maw were particularly vile, with a distinct concentration of chaotic energy. I understand the concepts of Chaos slightly better now. I did notice a thin energy trail twisting away from it back into the forest.

I stared at it for a second.

Eyes of Fury.

I was proud of myself; I didn’t shout this time. I was so glad I managed to get these skills upgraded. Top-tier skills were so OP that I was almost laughing.

This was too easy. One down. Ten or so more to go.

DEFEATED: Minor Fickle Grimclaw (Chaos, Tier 2)

Experience Awarded: 40 x 100% contribution bonus: 40 experience.

System Credits Awarded: 10 credits x 100% contribution bonus. 10 Cr.

Credits returned due to fugitive nature.

Karma awarded.

Do you wish to loot this defeated foe, Y/N?

Yes

Looting to Personal inventory.

1 Tier 2 Chaos Trophy added to your inventory.

4 Common Minor Fickle Grimclaw claws were added to your inventory.

1 Common Minor Fickle Grimclaw pelt added to your inventory. Excellent Quality

2 Common Minor Fickle Grimclaw steaks have been added to your inventory

Still, with stealth fully active, I followed the faint energy trail for a few more minutes before I saw Grimclaw 2 and 3. One was munching on a poor forest creature, and the other was watching from a tree. Again, I used "Eyes of the City Watch" and "Mystical Eyes". With practice, I felt their synergies and thought of them combined into what I considered an Identify skill.

The system agreed with me.

Personal Skill awarded: Identify. (Skill Combination)

Using an already combined skill, you have simplified your understanding into a more specific skill. Draws deeper on System Records.

Effect: See Mystical Eyes. Eyes of the City Watch.

Bonus Effect: Both Skills are active, with a 10% reduction in energy and mana use.

Minor Fickle Grimclaw (Chaos, Tier 2). Agility. Healthy.

This was a bit trickier. I wanted to get both and not have to bleed or get eaten. I didn’t particularly appreciate bleeding, being ripped to shreds, or being eaten, even if it was only my ear. I kept feeling my ear where the first one had ripped it off or swallowed it. I never actually found it. Besides, the pain was, well, painful.

I smiled. Regeneration was such a good thing. Relying on that was Plan B. Slowly, I drew one of my pistols. The next round of combat would take some skill to get both in an ambush. My heart rate increased as I saw the one eating. It was disgusting. I lined the pistol up on the one in the tree, bracing it to keep it steady. Then, I focused my eyes on the one eating. When I was happy, I let loose. I almost missed the "Eyes of Fury" shot. Still, with the element of surprise, I could dispatch both chaos beasts before they managed more than a startled jump.

DEFEATED: Minor Fickle Grimclaw (Chaos, Tier 2) x 2

Experience Awarded: 40 x 100% contribution bonus: 80 experience.

System Credits Awarded: 10 credits x 100% contribution bonus. 20 Cr.

Credits returned due to fugitive nature.

Karma awarded.

Looted to Personal Inventory.

Due to multiple foes being dispatched, loot details are available in logs.

Turning Autoloot on for multiple opponents.

Excellent.

Again, following the energy trails, I came across more, in ones and twos. I could dispatch them without too much trouble using the same strategy. At first, I was worried that the sounds of the plasma discharge would attract more, but it seemed they did not notice the disturbance, although the groups were reasonably spaced out. I smiled as I had to swap out an energy pack after ten shots. I was trying not to get too complacent.

Things seemed to be going well, but I had no idea. I was randomly moving around and searching the forest, following what I started calling a disturbance in the force. The whole process was getting tedious, and I was anxious. I would have to stick at this until I found the stone or no more cats. Moving through the forest had also shown me I could use my "Identify" skill to follow concentrations of chaos energy. They seemed to leave a taint and distortion behind.

My Tier 5 skills were so OP despite being crippled by the collar. And the pistols were just next-level destruction. Over the next hour, I slaughtered a more Minor Grimclaws. Using the same tactics each time was easy, as they seemed to possess only animal-level intelligence. I spent some time observing them; each group appeared to have the same behaviour patterns. I only felt in danger once when I encountered 3 of them together. Still, some quick shooting and some luck saw me through all my encounters uninjured. Eventually, after what seemed to be way more than the dozen or so that Lloyd said spawned, I got my second level up.

LEVEL UP.

Congratulations, you have levelled up. You are now level 3. 850 XP is required for level 4.

SYSTEM: All stats are locked at 5 until the Incarceration Collar is removed when stats revert to the accumulated total. You may continue to collect stats and experience. Note: Experience level is capped at level 9. You may gain further experience, but it will be banked until you resolve your fugitive nature.

Future Negative Karmic Penalties are doubled.

Not too long after, I got another one.

LEVEL UP.

Congratulations, you have levelled up. You are now level 4. 900 XP is required for level 5.

I tried to pull up my status, forgetting most of my HUD was disabled. I sighed. It would have been nice to see these increases. I knew I was getting stronger, but not being able to see the increases was frustrating. It was weird. I was already comfortable reducing myself to a series of numbers. Yet, I could feel the changes. That was the whole point of Tasar’s training: to be more in tune with the changes happening.

I paused in my post-levelling bliss and continued following the energy trails my new sight skills enabled me to see. It was becoming easy to notice and feel the increased chaotic energy as I moved through the forest. Eventually, following the back trail of chaotic energy, I found the Lair.

It was almost the opposite of a Shop obelisk in looks and the feeling it generated looking at it. It was rough and pitted, not smooth and shiny, with a sick, putrid energy that swirled around it in an almost hypnotic, chaotic manner. I felt a powerful urge to get it and own it. The pit of my stomach felt nauseous, and I had to stop myself from vomiting.

Lloyd had told me the theory of shutting one down. Essentially, it was a menu system—the same as a shop node. Once you find the administration section, then initiate a shutdown. That was how you moved it. You could also take ownership of it if you had defeated all its guardians.

I could not see any monsters around, and I was pretty paranoid. I approached cautiously. I placed my hands on the pitted surface.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Identify

Undefended Covenbour Timberland Lair Stone (Chaos Node) Tier 2 97% Guardians: Grimclaw. (T1 60%, T2 37%, T3 3%)

Do you wish to take ownership? Y/N

I was tempted for half a second to see what would happen.

SYSTEM: NO, YOU DON’T.

????: No.

Well, that was pretty straightforward.

Available Options: Ownership, Shop, Bounty, Administration.

Given the options, I selected Administration.

Do you wish to shut this node down, Y/N?

Again, I was almost tempted.

"No", I had a plan. I was going to be Farmer Luke for a couple of days.

I backed off. I was not ready to shut this down. I had Grimclaws to farm.

Lloyd said it took about a day for them to respawn, so I figured I had a maximum of 18 hours before they respawned. I’d allow a two-hour margin for error and six hours for sleep, leaving me ten hours to train and set up my farm.

I backed away from the stone to where I could detect it, then started training my strength and endurance. I was in a forest, so I decided to clear around the Lair Stone for lines of fire, so I chopped wood until I collapsed, and then I did it again with the weights on. I could not even chop one tree down before I was panting and needing rest. While I was dying, I did my Intelligence and Wisdom. I did puzzles and read until I was rested.

Training agility was reasonably fun. I set up the ropes, climbed, rolled, ducked, and all the rest, tapping into some of my "Leet Parkour" skill knowledge without using the skill until I collapsed. I seemed to be able to do about twenty minutes of exercise, and recovery took about the same. I paused to watch the stone every hour or so.

Undefended Covenbour Timberland Lair Stone Chaos Node. Tier 2 98%

I was not sure what would happen at 100%. I was guessing that when it hit 100%, it would Tier up, evolve or whatever. I continued the routine.

Undefended Covenbour Timberland Lair Stone Grimclaw Chaos Node. Tier 2 99%.

Despite my concern about the high percentage, I was confident I had time to set up my farm for a bit longer. I was on a levelling high, and the XP from the cats I had killed so far seemed fantastic.

Towards the afternoon, I set up my tent in a gully just outside the line of sight of the stone, about one hundred and fifty meters away. Supposedly, a trained Legionnaire could set a tent up in a few minutes. Let’s say I was not a trained Legionnaire. I blame all the weights I had. I gathered some firewood - at least I didn't have to worry about chopping wood. I just grabbed all the offcuts from where I had cleared around the stone. Just as it was getting dark, and I was lighting a fire, the Stone changed; it was in that weird twilight time.

For one moment, it was just normal. The next moment, there was a pressure wave of energy. The stone collapsed, and when I blinked, there was a larger, more sinister-looking structure.

I approached cautiously, ready to shut it down and get it ready to go. As I touched it, what could only be described as portals opened. I was basing this on pop cultural references, games I had played and the fact that they looked like blue, glowing portals.

Shit. I backed off quickly. Now I knew what portals looked like. I identified them.

Identify

Chaos Node Portal. Tier 3. 9 seconds.

Chaos Node Portal Tier 2. 11 seconds. Chaos Node Portal Tier 2. 23 seconds.

I counted 7 Tier 2 portals and 1 Tier 3 portals. Crap, Double Crap, with times ranging from 9 to 37 seconds.

I backed out of sight in the 9 seconds I had. From the first portal, a pair of Grimclaws appeared.

I made stealth and invisibility active.

Minor Fickle Grimclaw (Chaos, Tier 2). Agility. Healthy.

Major Grimclaw (Chaos, Tier 2). Agility, Strength. Healthy

Major Grimclaw (Chaos, Tier 3). Intelligence, Agility. Healthy.

My plan was perfect. I had clear lines of sight, was set in an ambush position and had my pistols ready. They had no idea I was here. It was a perfect ambush. However, my execution was flawed. I was shouting this time, "EYES OF FURY", EYES OF FURY", EYES OF FURY", with no one to see or hear me. I could look and sound like a dork while I blasted them. I was shooting as I jumped and used Leet Parkour to dodge and gain position so I could fire away.

Since I knew I didn’t need to say "Eyes of Fury", I started yelling, "pew pew pew," and trying not to laugh.

It was fun. I was glad no one could see me. It reminded me of that Purkey quote about dancing as if no one was watching.

Crap. I was being recorded. Oh well. I’d deal with that when I wasn’t busy singing like no one was listening.

I had never used my abilities in quick succession before, and I could feel the drain on my mana and energy. I could also sense a build-up of heat behind my eyes. Another thing I’d have to check out later, not now, when I looked like I was in the middle of that creek without a paddle.

I had not been waiting long enough in between usages.

DEFEATED: Minor Fickle Grimclaw (Chaos, Tier 2) x 4

DEFEATED: Minor Fickle Grimclaw (Chaos, Tier 2)

Eyes of City Watch Deactivated due to overuse of ocular skills.

Mystical Eyes Deactivated due to overuse of ocular skills.

You may no longer use Identify (0:45)

You may no longer use Eyes of Fury (0:15)

-10% to visual perception until the optical system healed (2:11)

Seek Medical Advice.

Crap. Could they do that? Not only were cats trying to kill me, but my goddamn implants as well.

The portals stopped forming, and despite the five I had defeated, I soon felt 28 eyes fix on me. There were 14 Grimclaws and 2 of them, and this was a guess based on size, Tier 3. Crap, Crap Triple Crap.

I backed up and drew my pistols.

I read a book once where the hero described the battle as blow by blow, in beautiful detail. Each blow and counter. A parry, block and strike, executed with skill and grace. Each wound, the blood, the bones shattering in his enemies. He could look around the battlefield and see his companion's moves, easily describing them. He used names for strikes, forms, and stances. He had time to look around and notice the details of everything. He could make split-second judgments to place himself in the best positions for the fight, yell to his companions and glide through the battle. I would have to have an insane perception, intelligence and maybe wisdom to pull that off.

My battle was like that in my head. Except I had no cool names for my moves. I really didn’t have any moves at all. So, my reality was Grimclaws chewing on me and swiping me. At some stage, I saw my other ear fly from a Grimclaw that I had kicked in the jaw.

Leet Parkour and my stealth skills were my only saving grace.

What was it with these things and eating my ears? Not sure. There was blood all over me. Unfortunately, most of it was mine. They seemed more coordinated and working together this time, not that I had fought more than a couple at a time before, so it could just be a pack tactic thing. They were working on keeping me from getting a good view and moving around, with blood and claws, and every time I tried to yell "EYES OF FURY" or "pew pew pew", I had a face full of teeth, claws, or dirt. I was also blasting away with my pistols, in blind panic, missing as many as I hit.

I had to ration my laser eyes to avoid damaging my eyeballs. I shot some, lots, and I did manage to laser beam some. Still, it was the most painful and terrifying experience of my life. I was shouting, "OMG, Heal me, it hurts.", as much as "EYES OF FURY". The cooldown kept increasing, and my mana and energy dropped. Each time I used a skill, I could sense the brain freeze headache building as I dipped into whatever reserves I had. Between my burning, blurred vision and my freezing brain, I wished I had some HUD bars or indicators that showed me shit that meant something, like health, mana and energy. If it were a game, they would be there. Man, I needed an AI or something. Wait, I had an AI coming. Damn, I was losing focus. I was weakening from blood loss, and I was exhausted. I knew that I was dead when my first pistol stopped firing.

I had emptied another energy pack on my gun. It would take quite a while to recharge from ambient mana. At one stage, I had managed to swap an energy pack for one of the ones attached with Velcro to my vest, but I was not going to try my luck again. In a rare lull in the fight, I wiped the blood from my eyes. I could see 4 Grimclaws. The biggest one had been hanging back, snarling and growling at me. It seemed to have slightly more than the beast's level of intelligence. From what I saw, it seemed to be directing the fight. I took a shot at it with my other pistol now and then, but it dodged, and I missed it with every shot. I was breathing heavily. I was bleeding. I was ignoring notifications that were coming through as I killed the Grimclaws. I noticed I was down to a few shots left, and the energy pack was low. I had one or two uses of "EYES OF FURY", feeling the headache building, and I wished I had taken a melee skill and weapon.

Exhaustedly, I shot one more Grimclaw. The pistols were OP when they hit. I wish my stats were not crippled to 5 across the board. An Agility of 100+, and I would not miss a stupid cat. Another Grimclaw soared through the air at me as I was distracted. "Eyes of Fury" took care of that. That was OP as well. I would be so dead if I had not lucked into these skills. I was so happy that I had been able to pay to win at the start. Usually, I was not too fond of Pay to Win, but that was when I played against others and in a game where you could respawn. Right now, I was okay with paying to win. But I wished I had spent more on combat skills, especially when spending money that was easy come easy go.

Focus Luke, Focus. I kept telling myself.

I needed to focus.

Now I had two circling me. I lost sight of the big bastard. It had taken advantage of the dimming twilight. I kept an eye on the one in front, hoping I was not getting flanked. I tensed as the one I could see crouched. I tightened up, getting ready. This fight had to be finished while I had some energy. I would go on the offensive in 2 seconds until my eyes came off cooldown. Fuck I am stupid. Maybe I needed a combat tactics skill, knowledge, or experience that would help. This lull was what the big bugger had been waiting for. I was slammed in the back. As I was flying, I lost hold of my pistol. I did manage to blast what seemed to be the last of my mana into the "Eyes of Fury" at the one in front, finishing it off. That didn’t help me as I was crushed by the largest of the Grimclaws, about twice my size. Where the others had about twenty kilos on me, this one had at least double that. I felt the jaws clamp around my neck as I spun around. The silver collar saved me from being decapitated. Bonus, thanks, Tasar.

I managed to look into its eyes. This one seemed more intelligent. In my hunt, I had seen some of them break the neck of smaller prey, so I was waiting for it to end everything. Goodbye, Sarah. If I ever see you again, I will ask you out. I am not saying I Love You or anything, just… If I don’t make it, I hope Mike asks you out.

No scrap that. Mike, I will hate you forever if you ask Sarah out.

With my thoughts rambling, instead of being crushed like the prey I was, it dragged me off the ground and took me to the Lair Stone. My head was mashed into it, and I managed to shove it back. The Grimclaw let me go. I struggled up through the pain—my back on the stone. Its large paw held my chest down, pressing me against the stone.

I felt my fleeting energy being syphoned slowly into the stone. I struggled to stand and was battered back to touching it.

Undefended Covenbour Timberland Lair Stone Grimclaw Chaos Node. Tier 3 2%

Undefended Covenbour Timberland Lair Stone Grimclaw Chaos Node. Tier 3 3%

Undefended Covenbour Timberland Lair Stone Grimclaw Chaos Node. Tier 3 4%

Energy Leech: 1% per second.

I felt my energy levels crash. I could feel that something else was being sucked out with each passing second, I had no idea what it was, but an ache and emptiness inside seemed to grow.

IT WAS GOING TO SACRIFICE ME ON THIS STUPID STONE!

Crap, crap, Crap.

It was looking at me. No! Cats cannot smirk. I must have been delirious. I could feel my very being sucked out as my biological body was bleeding out. Its massive paw was holding me on the stone, pinning me with the razor claw in my chest.

I tried not to smile.

My bleeding slowed. I did a kind of smile anyway. Regeneration was so cool. My eyes were healed, and my brain freeze was gone. I had minimal energy, and it was lowering each second. If I could stall it, I could recover and regenerate some more. I willed my power to stay with me. I looked deep inside myself, picturing my body and trying to force my energy to endure.

Something clicked. I felt my energy building slowly. My regeneration was higher than what was being sucked out. I pushed deeper, looking internally for further advantage. I was not ready to die.

I felt a connection to something more profound. Something grand. Then it was gone.

Kallax: Integration Incomplete. Minor Boon Expired. (-2 Karma) Kallix is displeased. Complete integration, Grow Stronger.

My energy levels jumped. It was not quite enough yet to use my eyes. Wait… I had one skill I had not utilised. I lunged my arms forward, surprising the cat, and I performed an open-hand clap on the head of the beast, yelling, "Thunder Grip".

Thunder Grip

I wish I had practised it on Dipshit, as I had no idea how it worked, but I assume it was not to be used double-handed like that. My arms were nearly ripped out of their sockets as the concussive blasts knocked them backwards, rotating my shoulders awkwardly in their sockets. The creature’s head exploded in a pile of bone and brain. I was sent flying to the side and backwards and crashed into the Lair Stone, dazing myself, and I am sure my shoulders were dislocated. My last action as I lay there, feeling my energy sucked into the stone, was to push myself away from it and rollover.

Sometime later, I felt more human, by which I mean alive and coherent. I was assuming I was human or at least Beta Earth Human, even if the stupid system didn’t know what actual race I was. I took stock. All the bleeding had stopped. My bones, bruises and sprains were starting to feel ok. I had some nasty yellow bruises covering most of my body. My mana and energy felt nearly topped up. It had been long enough for my combat gear to have been cleaned and repaired, which was a bonus. I must have been further out of it than I thought.

It was early morning, with nice, dappled light around the forest.

All the Grimclaws were gone, turned to ash. I would check my notifications soon, but no, I couldn’t. Tasar insisted I would get bonuses if I kept the system messages off. Fuck him, he better be right.

I was all for delayed gratification and all that, but goddamn, it was frustrating. Please give me my godamn marshmallow now, you stupid bastard.

First, I needed to stop shaking. I had almost died. I had faced a terrible situation and came close to being eaten again. I was terrified.

But strangely, I wanted more.

Something had clicked during the battle, and I needed to get better at what I was doing. I needed to stop reacting and start planning and acting. I wanted to challenge myself to improve. I didn’t like to coast along on other people’s efforts. Despite lying here half-dead, I had never felt more alive. It was the most exhilarating and incredible feeling I had ever had. I tried to remember the fight. I was facing my fear and being pushed to the edge. The details were gone, but the feelings were there.

I wanted more, to get better, and to challenge myself against more powerful things.

I needed to train, to get smarter, to get more powerful.

Finally, I looked at the stone and figured I had less than twenty hours before they spawned again. I needed a plan. Food first. I sat down, ate some rations, and went back to training.

Ch 15: Farmer Luke - ?? Days (Luke)

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