"Well, that was a fucking disaster," James so eloquently offered.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We fucking saw it ok." Tom said, annoyed at how poorly that plan had gone.

"Your fucking fart bear was doing better than the rest of us. Man, that thing was ugly. It probably has to sneak up on a glass of water to get a drink. It didn't get hit with an ugly stick, the whole fucking tree fell on it." James continued.

"We get it, it's ugly as sin. But it was fairly effective." Tom replied.

"Compared to us anyway," Derek said.

The team was panting heavily after running several blocks. The lizards gave up the chase after about a block and a half and went back to the diner. Running an extra block just to be sure they weren't still being followed seemed like the best option at the time. Tom and Derek began to heal the others. Starting to feel lightheaded and an ache behind his eyes, Tom had to stop and rest from lack of mana.

Derek was able to heal all the others and sighs of relief escaped them as they felt their wounds close and the pain dissipate. The team sat on the sidewalk as they recovered. Tom noticed a blinking icon in the corner of his vision and opened it to see what the message was about.

Pact Update

You have completed both of your first quest to upgrade your pact. Kill monsters and send their souls to Azroc 100 of 100. Kill a Boss level monster 1 of 1. New powers are ready for you to choose. Summon Azroc to get your reward.

"Well, I guess there is no time like the present," Tom said aloud.

"No time like the present for what?" Derek inquired.

"Time to summon Azroc again and get a new power," Tom replied.

"Oh! I like that guy! Let's get that son of a bitch on this side!" James interjected.

Tom found a rock on the ground and used it to mark out the summoning circle with the dust from the rock on the asphalt. He made sure it was on the ground this time not a wall. After the summoning circle was complete and he chanted the ritual again the circle lit up and a portal opened on the ground. As before Azroc began to rise out of the ground in his typical I'm a badass pose.

Having not seen the ritual before some of the others were a bit skeptical of what was going on.

"What the fuck are you doing? Summoning more demons? You don't know what powers you're dealing with! This seems evil." Joe said.

"Nah, he's just my patron. It's how I get my powers. We've met before. A bit of an asshole sometimes, but he's cool." Tom replied.

"You summon demons to get your powers?" Jay asked a little concern in his voice as well.

"I don't really think Azroc is a demon. Just some super powerful entity from another realm." Tom said.

"I'm totally digging the vibes. This would have made a badass metal song." Kiera added. "Rising from the portal at the beckoning of their call, the master showed his favor by giving power to them all!"

"Kinda catchy," James said at the lyric Kiera sang.

As Azroc finished ascending from the portal he looked around at the group.

"Ah, I see you shitbags learned from the last encounter. Well done not putting me on a wall again." Azroc said.

"Yeah, sorry about that last time. There wasn't a space big enough on the floor and we didn't know how that worked." Tom said.

"I see you completed the quests. Well done. I have gained power from the souls you sent so I shall increase your power as well." Azroc said.

Joe pushed to the front to see Azroc as well.

"Can you give me powers?" Joe asked.

"No, you didn't choose the path of the Warlock. So I cannot help you." Azroc answered.

"Well if that ain't a pile of chicken shit," Joe said.

"Come on shit for brains. You had a chance to choose this sort of power and you went and chose something stupid. Don't blame me for your fucking choices. Next time read through the list and don't just pick the first thing that seems macho asshat." Azroc said as he slowly turned to face Joe. "Your ego is the thing that is going to get you killed in this world. Stop being such a prick and listen to the people trying to help you instead of spending all of your time being a fuck-for-brains know it all you little cunt fart. Now go back to sucking at your whore mother's saggy deflated teat before I get upset."

Everyone was stunned to silence. Joe stood there with his mouth agape trying to understand what had just happened. He finally collected himself and became angry.

"Now listen here you..." Joe began but was cut off completely when Azroc turned to him, eyes now glowing bright red.

"I highly suggest you keep your next words to yourself you fucking cockholster or I'll turn you inside out just to see if we can make you prettier," Azroc said.

Joe's eyes were wide with fear as Azroc leaned in closer to his face.

"I don't know what kind of a pompous asshat you think you are, but you're nothing but a cum stain on my boot for all the power you hold. So go back to your miserable shit stain of a life and let me do my business." Azroc continued.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Jerky appeared on Azroc's shoulder and flipped Joe the bird before turning and hopping over to Tom's shoulder.

Joe only nodded and started to back away.

"And who is this little fella? I like him. He's spunky." Azroc said reaching out and scratching jerky behind the horns.

"This is Jerky, he's my quasit familiar," Tom replied.

"Well, you got a good one. Keep him around. So, where were we? Ah, yes! Your powers." Azroc said turning back to Tom and brightening. "Now since you finished the quest you can choose one of these powers to help you."

A notification appeared in Tom's vision.

Pact of the Tattoo Upgrade:

You have completed a quest for Azroc. Due to your continued service, Azroc has rewarded you with an additional power. Choose one of the following:

- Tattoo of Dexterity - This tattoo will allow you to move faster for 1 hour. Your speed will be increased by 50% at the cost of 20 mana.

- Tattoo of Scrying - This tattoo will allow you to see anything within 5 miles of your current position if you have seen it before. Scrying costs 20 mana per use and cannot be used to see underground.

- Tattoo of Life Absorption - This tattoo will allow you to sap the energy of creatures nearby. This will target all creatures in a 60-foot radius of you and sap them of up to 20 HP each. Activation of this tattoo costs 50 mana and lasts for 40 seconds.

"Shit....these are all great. I want all of them!" Tom said excited at seeing them and sad he could only pick one.

"I know right?! You take care of me and I'll take care of you. Now what's it gonna be?" Azroc asked with a knowing wink.

"You knew which one I would need didn't you?" Tom asked.

"Of course not, these are all randomly generated powers. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it." Azroc said.

Tom eyed him suspiciously, then decided not to look the gift horse in the mouth. He selected the Tattoo of Life Absorption. Needle pricks began to burn on his chest over his heart as a new tattoo was inscribed with black ink. He pulled the collar of his shirt out to see it finishing the design. Another intricate tribal symbol where the outer lines all seemed to flow into a central power design. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Tom sighed with relief when the tattoo was complete.

"Excellent choice. The Tattoo of Scrying was a face tattoo, so not sure how people on your planet would have reacted to that." Azroc said. "But I think you made a good choice. This can be activated to help in a fight as well as keep you alive in desperate situations. Your health can't be more than one hundred percent full, so if you are low on mana or stamina it will fill those instead. If you are totally full, then the energy is just lost, unfortunately." Azroc explained. "Also bear in mind it can only target enemies, so none of that fruity stealing life from plants or animals around you bullshit."

"Alright, I think that's fair. Thanks for the new power, Azroc." Tom said.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you are grateful. You wouldn't believe how many dumbasses are out there complaining about the powers they get." Azroc said. "Ungrateful bastards. Well, time for your next quest."

Requests:

Your dark patron, Azroc, has sent his requests to you. Complete the following tasks to receive further powers and gifts.

- Kill 1000 monsters and send their souls to Azroc.

- Claim a site of power in the name of Azroc.

"A site of power? What the hell is that?" Tom asked.

"You'll know it when you see it. I can't give you any more information than that. Even someone as powerful as I am is bound by the fucking rules of the Grand System." Azroc replied. "You either play by the rules of the system, or you don't play at all if you catch my drift."

Tom nodded.

"Excellent! Time for me to head back. I'll see you shit stains later. Oh and one more thing." Azroc said turning to Joe. "If I find out you did something to my Warlock, I'll make sure you end up nothing more than a stain on a bukakke rug you fucking jizz dumpster. Am I clear?"

Joe nodded vigorously.

"Good. Alright, I look forward to our next meeting Tom. Don't take too long to finish those requests." Azroc said with a wave as he descended back into the portal.

The light winked out and the party looked at each other for a moment.

"I think it's time to go pay those tiny fuckers another visit," Tom said.

The party turned back to go to the diner. On the way, Tom explained what his new tattoo did and the rest of the party was excited to see it in action. Agreeing that this should be a perfect tactic to handle the lizard problem, the team agreed that Kevin should stand next to Tom and activate his taunt ability to drag as many of the lizards in as he could. This would give Tom the perfect opportunity to activate his new tattoo and drain their life away.

When they got back in view of the diner Tom and Kevin strode forward. Making sure that Jerky stayed with Kiera, Tom took in a deep breath and let it out. Hisses came from the lizards again as they warned them about getting too close.

"Alright you cocky little bastards, it's time for a rematch," Kevin said. "Your mothers were nothing more than cum gargling dumpster sluts!"

At these words, a red glow emanated from Kevin and moved out in all directions. The lizards reacted immediately, becoming more and more agitated as they began leaping into the air to fly toward the two men. Tom waited until they were beginning to be within striking range and raised the shield he had borrowed from Derek at the last moment to block the first wave.

Multiple resounding pings rang out from the first of the lizards hitting the shield. Behind the first wave, the others saw the tactic and pulled up and down to avoid it and began to latch onto Kevin and Tom. Letting out a massive roar, Kevin activated his rage and began grabbing lizards, stomping on them, and punching them out of the air in an attempt to kill as many as possible around him in a frenzy of motion.

Activating his new tattoo, Tom felt a rush of power come back into him as his life went from sixty-five percent from all the bites and scratches up to one hundred percent in a matter of seconds. Next, his mana bar was filled, followed by the stamina bar from the exertion of holding the shield up. Soon all his bars were full and the energy began to be lost to the ether. His tattoo began to burn from absorbing so much life force from the hundreds of lizards around him. After twenty seconds the tattoo released its power and steam began to rise from under Tom's shirt.

The vast majority of the lizards lay dead at Tom's feet, and the rest were being picked off by the rest of the party. Slumping to the ground Tom rested on his knees with the shield out in front of his legs, panting heavily.

"Great job Tom," Kiera said coming over to put a hand on his shoulder. "Kinda regretting my bard decision after seeing some of the things you can do."

Tom laughed at that and Kiera chuckled as well. "I think you're perfect as a bard. Your buffs are a big part of the team dynamic."

"That's true. I am pretty awesome aren't I?" Kiera said with a mocking tone.

Once all the lizards were cleaned up, Joe went inside the diner to tell the others what they had decided. Nine other people exited with Joe and seemed excited to be joining forces with the new guild.

"I gotta go pack up the supplies. Most of it will fit in my storage, so I'll only be a minute." Joe said as he went back inside.

"Don't mind him," an older woman said to the group. "He's a bit of a hard ass, but he's just trying to survive in this world. I'm Susan by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Susan. I'm Tom, the leader of the Vanguard guild." Tom said shaking her hand.

"We are so glad you agreed to let us join. There just weren't enough of us to get any sort of self-sustained system off the ground. Despite what Joe thinks, having more people to help actually makes things easier because they can share the load." Susan said.

"We couldn't agree more. Welcome to Vanguard. As soon as Joe is back, we will head out for the guild building. I think you'll find it nicer than this diner. We just need to work on getting beds set up for everyone." Tom said.

"Oh, I think we can help with that. Carl here is a carpenter and we can look at finding some mattresses from hotels or a mattress store in the area." Susan said.

"Susan, I think we are going to be great friends," Tom said with a big smile.