[Copper Shovel] = Copper (Bar, 0.2-0.3m) + Wood (Hard+1, 0.7-0.85m) + 4 Copper (Nail, 0.01-0.015kg) + [Knife] (Flint+2) + [Hammer] (Stone+2) + [Workbench] (Any)
----------------------------------------
Ugh, Jay thought. Can’t believe I got talked into this.
He tied his track shoes tight, keeping to the corner of the locker room where the fewest people would make eye contact with him.
Not that any would. After Dad got the new job and they moved into this city a few months back, Jay had been as friendless in this school as his last. Now, he just had to think of how he’d get through this “track team” bullcrap long enough to go back home and play games. Maybe he’d stick with long distance and call it a day, though it didn’t help that he’d gotten the top speed for the short distance dash. Shouldn’t have tried so hard…
“Hey, you!” someone shouted.
Jay looked up, first onto a dirty pair of shoes, then chubby thighs that ran up to an equally wide chest, and finally, into the blue eyes of some kid with dirty blonde hair and pudgy cheeks, currently pinched in a scowl.
“Yeah, you,” he said. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Tying my shoes?” Jay squeaked.
“I mean, why are you over here by yourself? You should be talking to the rest of us since you’ll be on our relay team.”
Jay held up his hands. “No, I won’t. It’s cool.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Huh? Why not?”
Jay looked around. The other kids were watching the two of them, whispering among themselves. He averted his gaze.
“I’m new and understand how this works,” Jay said. “I’m happy to stay in my lane and not step on anyone’s toes.”
But the boy with blonde hair only grew more frustrated, now watching everyone else watching them.
“Screw that. You’re going to be our closer.”
His eyes widened. “I am?”
But he’d already turned to face the others. “Hear that, everyone? The new kid is on the relay team, and I don’t want to hear shit from the rest of you about it. Got it?”
Now, it was their turn to avoid his gaze, afraid of going against this bully’s decree.
He turned back, grinning wide. “What’s your name, anyway?”
“Jay,” he said. “Jay Reis.”
“The name’s Kevin Smith, and don’t worry.” He gave a thumbs up. “I got your back, Jay Reis.”
* * *
The shovel tore through the dirt.
Jay’s lips were a firm, fixed line as he dug the grave deeper, the note still fresh in his mind.
I don’t really know what to say in this, it said. I kind of just panicked and asked, and Viktor gave me the chance to write down whatever was in my head. He’s all about ‘classy’ or whatever. I don’t know. I’m just glad to have this chance to say how I feel.
He crunched deeper, the head of his copper shovel caught on a tangle of roots. His cheeks reddened, and he pressed harder through. The earth parted against his will.
Nothing would get in his way.
You were right, Jay. When push comes to shove, I don’t have what it takes to survive in this world. But it’s a good thing that I was chosen tonight and not you. You can make it through all this. You might be the only one who truly can.
The hole grew in size, almost large enough to fit the thing it would soon hold.
Jay wiped the sweat from his brow and kept going.
I just want you to promise one thing to me when you read this, it continued. Promise me that you won’t let yourself shut off for good. Like you said, there’s always room to adapt. To grow. To become a different person completely. But what matters more than everything else is what type of person you’ll become, and how much you’re willing to change. Stay true to the guy I knew growing up, and not this cold-blooded killer you’re becoming.
The grave was complete, ready to swallow the body this world had claimed.
Hopefully, what I’ve done will help you remember what we’ve lost, but for now, all I can do is say that I’ll miss you buddy, the letter finished. Kevin.
Jay studied the dead body of his old friend. He’d pulled him down from where Viktor had hanged him, with the final note Kevin left him still attached to the knife his murderer had planted into his chest.
But where his friend had once been lively and ready to go against just about anyone, his flesh sagged under the weight of the sun, his lips were cracked and flecked with dried blood, and an empty gaze resonated from his eyes.
And it was in that, more than anything, that Jay could not avoid. Against the glossy surface of his dead friend’s irises, his own reflection stared back. Just as empty. Just as dead. Trying to compartmentalize this moment so it wouldn’t hurt him too much, and succeeding far better than any human ought to have the right.
He glanced away and went back to digging.
This too would pass, soon enough.
* * *
“Well, well. If it isn’t Jay.”
Here we go again. “What do you want, Blake?”
The older boy grinned, his pearly white teeth glittering in the bathroom’s fluorescent light, and fresh blazer jacket without a speck of dust. “I heard you aced last week’s test for Mr. Philips.”
“I just got lucky,” Jay said with a gulp, having a feeling where this would go.
“Ah, come on, man. There’s no luck there. You’re just a natural. Speaking of…” His muscly hand rubbed his scalp. “It’d be super chill if you let me borrow some of that luck. You know, maybe I can keep your homework for a bit.”
“What are you talking about? We have Mr. Philip’s in ten minutes.”
“Yeah,” Blake said with a nod, still smiling. “Perfect timing, right? I get my homework done, and we get to be chill, right?”
Jay paused, unsure what to say. He can’t be serious, can he?
But as the moment lingered, his smile slowly dissolved, and his eyes grew hard. “Come on, Jay. I thought we were cool. Are you saying we’re not? Because that would be super uncool.” He took a step forth, fists clenched.
Jay shrunk back a foot. Blake had been pushing his buttons lately like so many of the other jocks, but this was next level, and he didn’t know how to get out of it. Was he supposed to stand up to him?
No, he wouldn’t.
Blake suddenly yelped as he got thrust aside, his muscled body falling against the floor. A second kick sent him and his fancy jacket sliding, right across the moist tiles, the grimy patches, and into the corner where the piss collected. He blinked in furious shock, but that quickly turned to fear when he saw he’d knocked him down.
“Kevin…? What are y–”
“Got a problem, Blake?” Kevin snapped. “Or are we chill?”
He looked from side to side, up to the kid who sent him on his ass, over to Jay, and back the way he came. Without saying another word, he lurched to his feet and stormed out of the bathroom, gritting his teeth against the shame of it all, even as his eyes watered.
And Jay winced when he left. “You sure that was a good idea? Isn’t Blake, like, the headmaster’s son, or something?”
Kevin guffawed. “Please. You think I give a shit? That guy’s a pompous ass, so I say, fuck him.”
“You didn’t have to step in. It’s not a big deal, seriously.”
His laughter died at once. “It’s always a big deal, Jay. People like him think they can push people like us down. Just because they have more money, or friends, or know people in high places. You can’t let them do it, not for a second.”
Kevin’s brow furrowed further. “You have to fight for what’s yours.”
* * *
Jay took a swig from his lifeberry potion, almost immediately regretting the choice. The bump to his sanity did not wipe the pain from his mind like he had hoped, but only compounded it further. His malaise washed with it, and Jay saw this moment with a clarity he could not forget.
This was his fault. Maybe not the way Kevin died, but where their relationship had devolved to before the end. He’d been trying to communicate to him in a way that Jay had always struggled to understand, and only now with him gone could he see it exposed.
And no amount of potions could wash that truth away.
* * *
“You getting pumped for today?” Jay asked.
Kevin said nothing, merely tying his worn sneakers in place.
“Hey, you alright, bro?”
He blinked. “Huh?”
“You look a little off, Kevin. Everything alright?”
“Oh, yeah… Sorry, I’m fine.”
Only then did Jay notice his chest. There were bruises running where his stomach was poking out. But the moment Kevin saw him, he tucked his shirt low, avoiding his prying eyes.
“Get into another fight last weekend?” Jay asked.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Something like that.”
“You really gotta be more careful, Kevin. Today is the semi-finals. Weren’t you the one telling us that we should be at our best?”
He grumbled. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be good enough for the hand-off. You just keep your head in the game and get us through that final stretch.”
Jay rolled his eyes. “You always run into trouble when you go out drinking. Should’ve listened to me and stayed at home where it’s safe.”
He started to walk off, but the faintest whisper rolled out behind, right at the cusp of not being heard.
“I did.”
* * *
Jay stared around the empty home, already showing the tell-tale signs of rot, now that its owner had died.
Viktor had cleaned him out hard. All the tools were missing, all his ores had disappeared, and all his chests were empty. Jay thought there’d be something left behind, but it seemed that this was yet another lesson being forced down his throat.
Rule 7) Viktor goes first.
No one could impede on his kingdom, and nothing was too sacred for him to not claim for himself. Not even a close friend’s death would slow his roll.
Jay sighed. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting to find here. What could possibly remain that would make this empty feeling go away.
He rubbed his eyes. Why the hell was he even still here? That cold pragmatism inside told him that it would be a good idea to harvest whatever he could before it all despawned, but a bigger part knew that was just bullshit. If all he’d wanted was to get ahead, then the most efficient way would be to harvest his Expat Core and find a way to make that work.
But he just couldn’t bring himself to become that person. Not like this…
The floor creaked, an unnatural bend where it should have been solid. His spider senses tingled, and he crouched down, feeling along the seams. Dust furled out where he yanked a board free.
A ladder fell below, into cold darkness. Jay climbed into a cavernous pit, a musty smell to the air. He went through the all-too-familiar motions of taking a torch from his backpack and lighting it.
His eyes widened as he took in what lay inside this improvised basement.
Hopefully, what I’ve done will help you remember what we’ve lost… The light of the torch flickered back as it ran across everything that had been sprawled out here.
Jay opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Pure iron bars sat inside this basement. Pallets and pallets of them.
The entire ore vein which Kevin had taken… Processed into their final products, but never turned into research.
I’m trying to come up with the best way to give back what I took that won’t break these fucking Rules, Kevin had said when they last spoke, and only now could Jay understand why. The stolen iron wasn’t gone like he first assumed.
He’d planned to give it all back.
* * *
The roaring crowd echoed around them.
Jay sidled into position, his legs ready and heart beating fast. It wasn’t just the full weight of his classmates pressing against him, but their parents, the faculty, the neighborhood, and even college recruiters. Their relay team had made it to the finals for the four-hundred-meter dash, and all eyes were slowly closing in on him.
Many people thought that the first person running was the most important of the group. They set the tone of the relay by either pulling ahead or falling behind, right from the start. Like a quarterback in football, everyone looked to them first as the hero of the run.
The truth was more nuanced. Every member played their role, all the way down to the end. And with Jay as their team’s closer, every failure or success wouldn’t matter if he did not do his part. It raised the stakes that much more, but only if the foundation his teammates left was not strong enough on its own.
And in this moment, with what felt like the entire world watching him closely, Jay did not break an inch, keeping his form solid and eyes fixed forth.
Because Kevin was the runner directly before him, and even if he did not turn and see, he knew what his friend looked like. Pudgy chest bouncing with each step, face bright red, and eyes burning with a ferocity that would not be contained. They’d been through this routine a hundred times before now.
Kevin never let his team down.
Their coach nodded, and Jay began to accelerate, his arm lagging behind his body but fingers open, waiting for the prize to be sent.
And then the baton came through, and Jay launched off with all his might.
* * *
Jay strolled through the jungle, eyes fixed forth.
He never used it, Jay repeated in his mind, over and over. All this time he’d been hating Kevin for being an impulsive thief, and he hadn’t ever so much as processed a single bar. That hurt more than anything. For all his misgivings about where they’d ended up, having his life taken without so much as the chance to reconcile was more than he could bear.
But there was still a chance to make this right.
Night was quickly coming. Too fast for Jay to turn and go back home in time. Even if he ran at full speed, it wouldn’t be enough.
Not that it mattered. Jay had come up with a new plan to deal with Viktor. A better one. And he would see this through until the bitter end.
No matter the cost.
* * *
“What’s going on this time, Kevin?” Jay asked. “You lose your uniform again?”
Kevin said nothing for a moment, his calloused knuckles curled as he twiddled his fingers.
Jay yawned. “Oh, come on. Don’t be stubborn. If you just need a shirt, I’ve still got that extra in my locker, and you stretched it out too much for me to use anyw–”
“I’m not coming,” Kevin said.
“Huh?”
He rubbed his hands through his greasy hair. “It’s Cynthia, man. We thought she was just being late on her period, but it turns out it’s not that.” He met him in the eyes. “I’m gonna be a dad.”
Jay gaped. “Holy shit.”
“Right? I still can’t believe it, Jay. My head’s all over the place. Me, a father. This is changing so much though…”
He went on from there. About how he wasn’t going to let himself be terrified over this. And how he’d do a better job than his old man. And how he’d have to change so much in his life to make it work, but he wasn’t going to half-ass it or give his future kid anything less than the best chance possible.
And Jay stood and stared, feeling as if his own world was pulling apart with him. Sure, their lives had always taken them in different directions, with Jay as the reclusive nerd and Kevin the hardheaded brute, but did he really have to move out into the country over this? There were plenty of places in the city to make it work, and it was illogical to uproot himself at a moment this significant. Shouldn’t he be trying to see how Jay could help him?
“What about our relay team?” Jay asked. “We’ve got the finals coming up.”
The second the words left his mouth, he knew he’d fucked up something fierce. Kevin stopped at once, lips quivering as he processed what had been said.
And Jay felt an even greater level of discomfort. Against the awkwardness. Against the change. Against the fact that this was all outside of his control.
“I gotta go,” Jay said, wanting nothing more than to be anywhere but in this room.
He’d never been good at any of this.
* * *
The island’s central peak rose up.
Unlike the others, there was a certain centralized bent, steeper than everywhere else nearby. No one could blindly rush up its sides without using a skill, not unless they took one of the natural passages, carved from the stone cliff-face. Each came from a different way. North, south, east, west. But all had the same destination, with the hollowed plateau at the top, recessed another couple hundred meters to accommodate the monster it would hold.
The roar echoed down the hill, freezing Jay momentarily.
Yes, his timing was perfect. The leviathan had respawned again.
He’d learned the details some time back. Every island had their own leviathan, behaving almost like a Guardian for the world around them, a boss monster that stood at the ultimate power level. Except unlike those cairn Guardians, the leviathan would respawn later, powered by the leviathan core that could be used to enter the next Rank.
But with the threat of Viktor, the E-Rank Expat group had claimed this area for themselves, farming the leviathan for its precious meat and allowing the core to despawn on its own. That let it come back unnaturally faster than before, quick enough for them to get by if they upscaled properly and rationed out the meat as best as they could. They’d made a habit of doing so at the start of each day, rotating people to give their group the best chance.
Jay hadn’t come during the morning though. He’d shown up at the cusp of evening, right before Natura would strike.
He fired his grapple gun, ascending another ridge. That feeling of unease crept up as he closed in on an enemy he’d struggle to overtake, but that did not matter. This was all part of the plan, and one he knew would work.
His other hand remained wrapped around the stick grenade as if it was a baton, ready to be sent off the moment the time was right.
Jay didn’t need anyone else to see this through.
He’d defeat Viktor tonight, even if it killed him.
Name: Jay Reis (Copper Age)
Vitality – 99/99
Hunger – 64/72
Thirst – 20/24
Fatigue – 33/48
Sanity – 87/110
Main Crafts: Alchemy 2, Armor Crafting 2, Base Building 3, Cooking 2, Jewelry 2, Medicine 2, Tailoring 2, Tool Crafting 3, Tinkering 1, Vehicles 1, Weapon Crafting 2.
Weapon Crafts: Axes 5, Bows 9, Clubs 5, Daggers 5, Spears 5, Swords 11.
Armor Crafts: Heavy Armor 5, Light Armor 5, Medium Armor 8, Shields 6.
Sub-Crafts: Curved Swords 5.
Character Skills:
[Forbidden Knowledge]
Armor Skills:
Heavy Armor: [Push], [Stampede]
Medium Armor: [Recover], [Leap], [Waterform], [Quickstep]
Light Armor: [Dash], [Feather Fall]
Shield: [Brace], [Track], [Break]
Weapon Skills:
Axes: [Chop], [Whirlwind]
Bows: [Sharpshooter], [Longshot], [Scattershot Arrow]
Clubs: [Bash], [Paralyze]
Daggers: [Slice], [Flourish]
Spears: [Thrust], [Sweep]
Swords: [Power Attack], [Slash], [Rend], [Shirk], [Violent Storm]
Armor:
[Copperplated Hat+3] (Nightmarish+5), (Buttressed+2), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+1)
[Copperplated Coat+4] (Nightmarish+6), (Buttressed+2), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+1)
[Copperplated Leggings+3] (Nightmarish+6), (Buttressed+2), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+1)
[Copperplated Shoes+2] (Nightmarish+3), (Buttressed+2), (Hardened+1), (Reinforced)
[Copperplated Gloves+1] (Nightmarish+2), (Buttressed+2), (Hardened+1), (Reinforced)
[Silver Amulet]: Socketed with [Chipped Tourmaline] (Tempus)
[Silver Ring]: Socketed with [Chipped Spinel] (Vitus)
[Silver Ring]: Socketed with [Chipped Spinel] (Vitus)
Weapons:
[Copper Scimitar+6] (Nightmarish+8), (Sharpened+4), (Hardened+4), (Reinforced+2), (Stable+2)
[Treated Bow+1] (Hardened+1): Socketed with [Chipped Ruby] (Ignis)
[Basic Leather Quiver]: Contains 17 [Silver-tipped Arrows] (Elemental+2), (Stability+3) and 3 [Scattershot Arrows] (Elemental+2), (Stability+4)
[Stick Grenade]: (Thermal+1)
Tools:
[Copper Knife+3]
[Copper Axe+3]
[Copper Hammer+3]
[Copper Pickaxe+3]
[Copper Shovel+3]
[Basic Grappling Hook]
Boons:
[Minor (Speed)] (x3), [Minor (Sanity)]