[Silver Gemstone Ring] = [Gemstone] (Chipped, 0.02-0.05kg) + Silver (Bar, 0.05-0.07m) + [Knife] (Copper) + [Jewelry Table] (Any)
----------------------------------------
So it began again.
Twilight formed above, the cobalt curtain of day melting into darker cosmos, with only the tiniest of torches alive amidst this expanse. Auroras snaked across this fledgling night, bending the darkness in tints of lilac and vermilion. No clouds obstructed the red planet, its fury radiating out.
Despite the brilliant display, all these beacons were but candles compared to the shadows that lay beyond. Even as the sky became a bright mosaic, the same could not be said for the island beneath. An opaque veil formed there before long, and it was in this darkness where his enemies’ cries ululated as they manifested into existence.
It was a painful birth. An agonizing birth. One formed in a blackened womb, destined for nothing more than to beget more pain against Natura’s enemies.
Just as the stars held their own pockets against the everlasting night, so too did Jay stand guard by his own torch tonight atop his boulder. His gear remained piled nearby, with the bulk sitting in his leather backpack. His magical Bag ‘a Mats would not save him this evening.
Only his accrued knowledge, experience, and practice.
His location had been chosen well. Less than a mile from his base along the same mountain, the land was open and the terrain more forgiving. He lacked cover against his enemy’s assault, but the same could be said for them.
Looks like a phalanx, Jay considered, watching the manifestations form at the rim of the jungle. Where Natura’s raids prioritized speed to lock him down, a phalanx used many heavier enemies as a single unit.
He sighed, knowing his current Stats.
Name: Jay Reis (Copper Age)
Vitality – 61/61
Hunger – 69/72
Thirst – 21/24
Fatigue – 4/32 (Poorly Rested+1) (Stimmed+1)
Sanity – 86/100
Natura truly was a beast. Just as it had learned to anticipate his moves enough to hunt him down, so too had it adapted to his psyche. A phalanx wouldn’t be able to chase him down, but it wouldn’t need to either. It only had to keep him busy for the next four hours.
He grumbled, seeing his gamble called. Sure, Jay could have slept the day away, but then he would have been ill-prepared to win.
And Jay was damned tired of not winning.
The advance came slowly, with a cluster of clay gorillas taking the lead, and verdant wolves on the side. Granite bears hugged the backline, and mossmooses were on the flank. So many!
Another creature rose above the rest, one that Jay had never seen before. Starlight fell across its monstrous, shelled form. A tortoise by the looks of things, with a body of jungle mud, and boulders across its carapace, forming a giant shell. Two flaming infernos erupted from its eyes, where Natura’s power grew strongest.
And the sky had its own vanguard. Timber eagles circled above, eclipsing their owl brethren in size by a factor of three. So long as they held air supremacy, Jay would be incapable of [Recovering] lost energy. The perfect counter against his marathon technique. Coupled with this gigantic tortoise, their prey would not be able to get near without becoming flanked from above.
The largest eagle monster hovered in place, its pale green eyes beaming at the pitiful human in front.
…Until a flinthead arrow pierced its chest.
The creature shrieked, its body suddenly bursting into flames. Its neighbors swooped to safety while the alpha fought to maintain its altitude.
A second arrow brought it down for good.
The others squawked angrily, but more flinthead arrows whizzed through the air, each igniting the eagles on collision.
Jay breathed deep, his softwood bow in hand, its center glinting with the ruby he’d socketed for bonus fire damage. His fingers glinted with the additional silver ruby rings that stacked this benefit, and the air tasted of the tang of the firesap oil he’d coated his arrows in to ensure they ignited upon hit. Even with the loss in physical strength, the power of the bow’s softwood elemental boost, added silver rings, and firesap oil created a stacked firepower that blew through these birds like a blowtorch through butter.
All about the synergies. Jay [Recovered] spent stamina and entered [Sharpshooter]. His eyes traced the next target, and using [Longshot] before the end guaranteed a hit, even from this far away. His arms roiled from leveraging both skills at once, but [Recover] was the counterbalance to this exploit, and he had plenty of health potions to refresh vitality lost.
One by one, the eagles floundered from the sky, even as the rest of the army continued its advance.
Jay didn’t mind. This was survival, and survival was as long as it was brutal. Only one of the two sides would live to see the morning, and he knew where he’d stand.
The last of the eagles took cover in the shadow of the tortoise. Jay redirected, not missing a beat as he aimed for the weaker monsters. His fingers grew raw, the army wearing down.
A volley of rocks came forth as the clay gorillas entered range. Jay ditched the bow and snapped up his shield for a [Trace]. The rocks clattered against its copper surface.
And the verdant wolves rushed forth next. Jay went for his copper sword, ready for this next phase. The monsters filed along the pathway up his ridge, too fast for them to kill at once. Their mouths salivated for the human they would soon envelop.
…Until they hit the ball bearings, of course.
The verdant wolves yelped the second they reached this obstacle, their sudden charge now a disorganized mess.
[Rend] let Jay close the distance and massacre the nearest ones, while [Leap] let him avoid the trap he had laid. As the ones in the back collided with those in front, he [Slashed] through their backline until there were no more. His max-level sword worked well for this purpose.
More stones flew, but Jay had already raised his shield to [Track]. He went back on the retreat and [Recovered].
But one struck harder than the other, cracking the bones in his arm. Jay staggered to a knee. The tortoise monster stared him in the eye, its throat bulging.
He [Leaped] as it spit out a rock, this one exploding into the ground behind.
So that’s its power. The tortoise was too slow for melee attacks, but its large size made it a mobile fortress for lesser monsters, and it could launch missiles with destructive force.
If tonight’s army was the phalanx, then this monster was definitely its core.
So Jay did what he always did and fell back to a safer distance, his softwood bow in hand again and body moving at an inhuman speed. He’d crafted an amulet socketed with tourmaline, its “Tempus” essence increasing his movement speed further. Now coupled with his heightened vitality, a potion he’d unlocked earlier in the day, and constant boost from his Boon, Jay could sprint faster than Earth’s toughest athletes without breaking a sweat.
Some tortoise wouldn’t stand a chance trying to catch up to him.
The fight continued from there. With Natura’s airforce dwindling and its quickest enemies extinguished, he focused on wearing down the main army, again using his softwood bow and super-heated arrows to pick off his foes. Their phalanx organization worked against them before long, his shots tearing through their hardened design. Not even the granite bears could hold their own against this overpowered combination.
Jay thought back to his start on Annwyn, back when he assumed that this was all a game. The streamer inside of him screamed to bring more flair to the fight. To perform perfect combos right now and showcase his skills as a gamer. Just become a one-man army fighting within an inch of his life.
Instead, Jay merely continued to do what worked, using his low-tier arrows enhanced by fire magic to kill off his enemies before they drew too close, now that the faster ones had been defeated. Only the mossmooses stood a chance to charge, but there were enough ball bearings scattered throughout this plateau to keep them from attacking at full speed.
Shoot. Flee. [Recover]. Repeat.
That was the strategy of the evening, and it was one that his enemy could not surpass. Even as the phalanx spread apart and moved to surround him, Jay had a backpack filled with firesap-coated arrows and could poke holes faster than they could fill them up.
Shoot. Flee. [Recover]. Repeat.
Thus, what could have been a climatic battle that brought him to an inch of his life ended as a mundane extermination. Not even the tortoise monster could withstand his assault forever. The arrows continued without remorse, its shell slowly cracking apart.
It coughed up smoke in its final moment, eyes burning with an acid gaze and legs struggling to find purchase through torn muscles.
The manifestation hissed, knowing that it would not be victorious this evening. That this creature was more stubborn than it thought. That not even the disadvantages imposed against it would be enough.
Jay finished the tortoise off from well over a hundred yards way, safely behind a boulder.
Because he was a survivor in this savage land, and true survivors won using their brains, not their fists.
He grinned, savoring the chance to fight whatever would come next.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
* * *
“Haven’t seen you in a while,” Naomi said. “Thought you might’ve died on us.”
Jay yawned. “I could say the same for you. Where have you been?”
“Trapped on the other island.”
“The leviathan?”
She nodded. “I swear, we would’ve been halfway through D-Rank if it wasn’t for that fucking thing guarding the waters…”
She went on from there. They’d deduced that the leviathan was drawn by blood in the waters, and because their group had been ferrying meat back and forth for so long, the ocean had enough floating around to keep it from leaving. That was why it had been patrolling their shores for so long instead of migrating.
Now, what was once a manageable risk became ever steeper, to the point where they had to wait days for it to migrate enough where they could afford to zip across.
“…We even watched a level 160 killer whale get swallowed by that thing in a single bite,” Naomi continued.
His eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yes. If you ever had the stupid idea of crossing over before, don’t bother now. That leviathan is a timebomb waiting to go off. It practically tore apart the shore on the other island hunting us down. Here? It would be like the zeppelin times ten. We’re all strongly considering moving inland and hunkering down once Sayid gets back.”
“Hold on, Sayid is still missing?”
She frowned. “His raft is slower than the rest of ours, and he can’t get most of his Alchemy mats here. He was supposed to be right behind, but we haven’t seen him since the last attack.”
“Maybe we should call him?”
“Tried it already, but he’s outside radio range. Besides, Sayid knows what he’s doing. He was dodging drone strikes back on Earth. I’m sure he can deal with a sea monster just fine.”
Jay peered into the distance. Even from his position at the harbor where the rest of the Expats based themselves, he could still see the foam-crested geysers that always showed where the leviathan patrolled, even when deep underwater.
He shuddered at the thought.
“So why’d you come down here, anyway?” Naomi asked, her head resting against a rock as she waited for her latest meal to cook. “Still trying to find our dead drop?”
“I’m just here to collect seawater,” Jay deflected. It was half-true, anyway. His latest potion recipes demanded them, and there was no better place now that he knew his way around.
She yawned. “Give me a break, Jay. You’re not fooling anyone. You’ve been trolling around our half of the island for weeks, looking for the chance to steal from us.”
His cheeks reddened. “I have not.”
She nudged over her shoulder, up the cliff he had come. “What do you call that lodge of yours? A nice, relaxing resort?”
“It’s got a source of water, plenty of mats to collect, and is next to a copper mine. What’s the big deal?” And better yet, why was she giving him the third degree?
“So you just happened to pick the perfect place to camp if you wanted to spy on your neighbors.” She grinned, the shadow going over her dark face. “You might think you’re being subtle by using [Sharpshooter], but I’ve got [Deadeye], which goes twice as far.”
“I was just hunting,” he squeaked, suddenly feeling like he’d been trapped in an interrogation room.
Naomi sighed. “Let’s stop beating around the bush, Jay. I know what you’ve been up to.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.” He really didn’t.
“You might think you’re being clever, but nobody is falling for the introverted nerd routine. Despite wanting to be alone, you built your home to watch this area, you’re looking for gaps in our defenses, and the only cairns you’ve entered have been in earshot for the rest of us. Hell, you didn’t even try to go inland until getting that Bag ‘a Mats, and only after Kevin pulled enough from your mine. You’ve been perfectly content biding your time.”
She stared deep. “All part of the plan, too. Ever since I found you and explained how this place works, you’ve been waiting for one of us to get too weak so you can go in for the kill. How else would you be able to collect the Expat core you’ve been denied?”
Jay paled. “That’s not true…”
“Isn’t it? No one gets the Grand Bargain by accident. The Wyrms picked you for the same reason as everyone else, and I couldn’t figure out why until now.” She squinted, piercing right into his soul. “Yeah, you’ve got that school-shooter-in-the-making look in your eyes, even now. The kind that I used to see when we hauled loners into juvie back on Earth.
“Was that how your Expatriation went down? You finally got fed up with the world and wanted to go out in a blaze? Maybe take as many out with you while you had the chance? Don’t lie. You’ve got the same darkness in you as the rest of us. You were built for this place.”
Jay turned away, his jaw clenched. It wasn’t true… Jay was a decent person. He only wanted a second chance. Nothing more than that.
And yet, had that been where it ended? He’d been dumbstruck about why he’d been chosen too. Everyone else he’d encountered seemed to be fighters and killers. Even Kevin had always been rough around the edges. But Jay was just a gamer back on Earth. Yet, with her words floating through his head, he could not help but wonder.
Was there more to him than Jay knew?
A fresh geyser suddenly erupted off-shore, miles away from the other patch. The ear-splitting bellow followed. The two lurched to their feet.
“Is that what I think it is?” Jay asked.
She had her musket out in a flash, pupil dilating around the sight as she used the power of her [Deadeye] skill. “Yep. The leviathan’s found something else…” She gasped. “Shit. That’s Sayid’s skiff!”
His heart sank. “No way.”
“Why wouldn’t he wait unt–” she paused, musket twisting. She grinned. “Wait… That son of a bitch.”
“Huh? What happened?”
Naomi chuckled. “He’s dodged another drone strike.”
Just then, a new anomaly formed, out from the distant geyser. Like a jetski cutting through the waves, water exploded out, feet moving too fast for eyes to track against the surface of the sea as it came straight for the shore.
That can’t be who I think it is… But before he could finish the thought, the stream hit landfall, showering the two of them in a sudden swell. Sayid gasped for air, veins bulging black from whatever potion he’d swallowed, his face bright red and body radiating steam.
Naomi wrapped her arm around him. “Easy now, Sayid. You doing okay?”
His fists pounded the ground. “That damned creature!” He entered another coughing fit.
“What the hell happened?”
“I waited until the tide shifted as planned, but the bastard is getting smarter, for it was a trap. He disrupted a sub-surface lava vein to form those geysers, and hid elsewhere until I drew near.” A tear streamed down his cheek. “I had everything from that run. Three cairns worth of loot and half a mountain in herbs. I would have feasted like a king for a month if only I’d made it home!”
She rubbed his shoulder. “It’s okay, you got out with your life, Sayid.”
“Correct, and I used the meat trap as bait once again.” He exhaled. “It won’t know where to track me.”
“Are you sure?” Jay asked.
Sayid scoffed. “Yes, Jay. I would not put this place in jeopardy with so many lives at risk.”
“It’s just…” he wasn’t sure how to phrase this. “Didn’t Naomi say that that thing was drawn by blood?”
“So?” Naomi asked. “He’s fine.”
He cringed. “I don’t think you got out as fast as you thought.”
They all saw it now. A small piece of wood jutted out from Sayid’s thigh, with blood gushing from the spot and into the pale sand beneath. As the wake of his inhuman sprint across the water cleared and the foam fizzled out, thin patches of red became apparent, pointing like an arrow straight to their harbor.
Another bellow shook the very land beneath. More geysers exploded out.
And they all watched powerlessly as the leviathan drew near…
Name: Jay Reis (Copper Age)
Vitality – 61/61
Hunger – 69/72
Thirst – 23/24
Fatigue –44/48
Sanity – 83/100
Main Crafts: Alchemy 2, Armor Crafting 2, Base Building 3, Cooking 2, Jewelry 2, Medicine 2, Tailoring 2, Tool Crafting 3, Weapon Crafting 2.
Weapon Crafts: Axes 3, Bows 4, Clubs 3, Daggers 3, Spears 5, Swords 9.
Armor Crafts: Heavy Armor 5, Light Armor 2, Medium Armor 6, Shields 6.
Character Skills:
[Forbidden Knowledge]
Armor Skills:
Heavy Armor: [Push], [Stampede]
Medium Armor: [Recover], [Leap], [Waterform]
Light Armor: [Dash]
Shield: [Brace], [Track], [Break]
Weapon Skills:
Axes: [Chop]
Bows: [Sharpshooter], [Longshot]
Clubs: [Bash]
Daggers: [Slice]
Spears: [Thrust], [Sweep]
Swords: [Power Attack], [Slash], [Rend], [Parry]
Cursed Items:
[Bag ‘a Mats]
Armor:
[Copperplate Hat] (Buttressed+2), (Reinforced)
[Copperplate Coat] (Buttressed+2), (Reinforced)
[Copperplate Leggings] (Buttressed+2), (Reinforced)
[Copperplate Shoes] (Buttressed+2), (Reinforced)
[Copperplate Gloves] (Buttressed+2), (Reinforced)
[Silver Amulet]: Socketed with [Chipped Tourmaline] (Tempus)
[Silver Ring]: Socketed with [Chipped Ruby] (Ignis)
[Silver Ring]: Socketed with [Chipped Ruby] (Ignis)
Weapons:
[Copper Sword+3] (Sharpened+5), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+2), (Stable+2)
[Wooden Bow+3] (Elemental), (Reinforced+2): Socketed with [Chipped Ruby] (Ignis)
[Basic Leather Quiver]: Contains 20 [Flinthead Arrows] (Elemental)
[9mm Semi-Automatic Pistol] (Accurate+2), (Quick): Contains 4 [9mm Cartridge] (JHP)
Tools:
[Copper Knife+3]
[Copper Axe+3]
[Copper Hammer+3]
[Copper Pickaxe+3]
[Copper Shovel+3]
Boons:
[Minor (Speed)]