CHAPTER 24_HEX - A Zombie Survival LITRPG

Ray

Ray stared down the defiant Aelvin.

The almost Elf-like slave showed nothing but defiance toward him. That was until Gale walked over and, with zero hesitation, punched him hard enough to fling him across the room and into the back wall. The Alevin leader slammed into it so hard Ray could almost hear the bones breaking from there.

“Art thou any more complaints?” she asked into the stunned silence. “No? Thou may continue, Ray.” Stepping back, she sat down in one of the nearby chairs.

Ray stared at her a moment longer before turning back to the stunned Aelvin. “Right. So … so that just happened. Ahem, any other questions? What was the deal with so much hostility?” he said, asking the question as he made eye contact with the next Aelvin in line.

With slightly less animosity the next Aelvin responded with, “We cannot, as warriors, serve someone less than ourselves. The fact you have a single arm, are remarkably close in look to Thymians, and do not have a class tells us you are beneath us.”

“And what do you think of Gale over there?” he asked, pointing to the irritated Drakling that had just decked their leader.

The Aelvin thought for a moment. With pursed lips, he said, “She is worthy.”

“And mine loyalty is to Ray. Not out of some misguided appropriation of my services, but out of true loyalty,” she laughed. “Thou art pathetic, Aelvin. In both awareness and ability. Ray hast slain an undead juggernaut in battle, losing an arm in the process. Still, he fought on. Can thou boast the same?”

That seemed to give the Aelvin a second pause. True consideration came across his features, even as the far-flung captain groaned and began coming to his senses.

“Either way, thou art a slave,” continued Gale. “Thou wilt address thy owner with proper homage or find thyself sold back to the System. Perhaps to an Ogre?” she said with a wicked smile, baring all her sharp teeth to the pointy-eared bastard.

“That … we were unaware. Perhaps your assessment of our observational abilities was correct, and we were hasty,” admitted the Aelvin. “I am Verrick. Bow Master Second of our hunting team.” He turned to Ray and bowed, “I apologize for any offense our Bow Master Prime may have caused.”

“No harm no foul,” Ray said, causing Verrick to scrunch his eyes up in confusion. “Regardless, speak with Gale. She will bring you up to speed on our situation and needs.” Turning to the Thymian man who was smiling openly at him.”

Gale lead the Aelvin off to the other side of the central area even as Ray gestured to the seats around him. “Sit down, get comfortable. I have a feeling we may be here for a bit,” he admitted while taking a seat himself. “Tell me about yourselves.”

The man smiled genuinely, “First off, seeing those Aelvin bastards taken down a peg was amazing. We are appreciative that you allowed us to see such a sight. Thank you,” he said with a quick bow. “My name is Remus. I am a fire mage.”

“How the heck do people like you end up on the open market like that?” Ray asked, unable to contain his question any longer. “Your ability to use fucking magic is amazing! I couldn’t imagine enslaving and selling you for anything!”

Remus looked deadly serious as he explained. “Our world was met with a cataclysm we couldn’t handle. It was rendered nearly uninhabitable, however, there was hope. But the cost was more than our people could bear. So we volunteer to be sold on the market or sell ourselves as mercenaries, to raise funds for the restoration of our world. This story is … common.”

“Well, welcome to the common story then. That’s exactly what we are aiming to do here,” Ray said. Remus sighed as if he weren’t surprised. “I won't sell your lives cheap Remus,” Ray continued. “That I will promise. And if b chance I have an opportunity to bring more of you on I will do so. I know the System has restrictions on you as slaves, however, you are my people the moment you arrive.”

With that, he turned and walked away leaving Remus opened-mouthed in surprise at the mild outburst.

Gale walked up to the Thymian. “Thou art surprised. However, thou should not be. Ray is … an oddity within this universe. Caring, yet distant. Kind, yet cold. Thou will find him a most appropriate master. Mine own opinion finds him to be so.” With that the Drakling wandered off, leaving Remus to his own thoughts.

Ray, however, was busier than ever. Having no time for such conversations and still needing dedicated scouts, he was eyeballs deep in the System. Reviewing slave lots by the dozen, he eventually came across one that he thought would fit the bill, regardless of the literal warnings plastered all over it.

“Gale, can you take a look at this for me?” he asked, spinning the screen around.

She took one look at the slave lot he was proposing and hissed in disgust. “These are … disgusting creatures. However, I can see where thy thoughts are going. They are most effective, but difficult to control and highly untrustworthy. I shall agree, but be careful. Trust them not.”

Ray nodded and tapped the purchase option. Six bright lights formed in front of him, rapidly dispersing to reveal six humanoid beings. Four males and two females stood in front of him. The males were bare-chested, wearing only loose-fitting pants and head wraps. The females were slightly more attired, having chest bands and shoes but no head wraps.

Their fiery red skin was offset by the smooth, banded horns that rose from the upper portion of their foreheads and swept back. The men sported closely cropped black hair and blazing red eyes, while the females sported equally as black hair. However, their eyes were dazzlingly green, an offset to the men’s fiery red ones.

“Welcome. My name is Ray, and I guess I just purchased you from the System. I brought you on board to be scouts, possibly assassins, and general mischief makers,” he explained, as the their heads swiveled and eyes narrowed. “I was advised to make my rules clear, short, and concise. Don’t betray me or mine. Don’t steal, harm, hurt, or attempt to kill or undermine me or mine. Follow instructions in both word and spirit. Follow the chain of command. Any questions?”

One of the larger men stepped forward, “I am Jalla. I lead this Burst. What are your goals?”

“Retake my world. The primary opposition is undead, however, there are opposing factions here on the world as well apparently. My immediate goal is to claim as much territory before the integration,” Ray explained.

Jalla nodded. “We have a joy of burning the undead. Very well, we will follow you for now.” Then he and his people wandered off, interacting with the other new arrivals, as well as seeking out Grok for more instructions.

Ray sighed. He can see why the warnings said what they had, as well as why the so-called Draemon had been so cheap. They were likely to rebel at the drop of a hat the very moment they became unhappy. Not a single one outside of Jalla had even said a word, simply glaring at everything and observing their surroundings. Honestly, he had dismissed the warnings out of hand up until Gale reinforced them with her immense dislike. Although … their trickster nature could be of benefit if directed properly.

Ray sighed, maybe not focusing on humans first was a mistake. He was certainly having misgivings. And on top of all of this, he still had to bring Gale’s clan on board.

Grunting in frustration, he waved Grok over. “Hey, get together a group. Let's go see if we can't figure out where that horde came from so we don’t get blindsided again.”

“Gotz ya boss, but weze already know where dem undead came from,” the big green lug grunted out.

Ray blinked at that, a tad confused. Gale hadn’t updated him on any scouting that had been done. In fact, he was sure he had told everyone to bring it in and focus on the perimeter. Grok must have seen his confusion and clarified.

“Ah, dem undead came through the back doorz boss,” he clarified with a grin.

Ray rolled his eyes at the Orkin’s fuckery. “Not funny Grok. Not funny at all,” he said with a small grin. “Let's get a group together and go kill something. There are several small outbuildings here that we haven’t cleared yet. And this is only the tip of the island as well, there are tons of little nooks and crannies we need to clear out.”

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Grok nodded in his stoic, ‘I get it but don’t have time for words, way and trundled off to put together a team. Ray finished up with the System check and headed over to Gale to let her know what was going on.

“Very well. I shall stay here while thou galivant across the island, murdering undead. Again,” she said with a smile. Then turned back to what she was doing with the interface. As an advisor, Gale had automatic access to most administrative functions of the territory. So she could handle the organizational stuff while he was off being a murder hobo.

He spent a bit more time exploring the building before heading back to the main area. There was still some time left in the day, so he figured a routine patrol with some of the new folks would go a long way to building some comradery.

One look at the Aelvin told him that wouldn’t happen.

“Why are these … inferiors tagging along? All you should need is my hunter squad,” Verrick stated directly.

“Because they are a part of this team. Because you will get along with them, or I will find a new home for you,” said Ray with a threatening tone. The somewhat cowed Aelvin bowed his head and pulled back to his group.

“Aelvin are not known for their hospitality,” Remus drawled, reaching out and clasping forearms with Ray. “But they aren’t the most difficult to get along with. Honestly, I’m surprised the little Goblins aunt a bigger problem than they are.”

Ray laughed, “Oh, they run amok. But Grok keeps them in line,” he said with a grin. Looking at the group that was assembled before him, Ray took count. Four Aelvin archers, a dozen Goblins, five Orkin which included Grok, two Thymians, Josephine, and himself.

“Excellent. We seem to be good to go,” he said. “Look, here’s the goal for this little patrol. We have three outbuildings that haven’t been swept. The goal is to clear one, maybe two, of them and then retire for the evening. I want no injuries, no deaths, and everyone to fully support one another. Is there anything about those instructions that aren’t clear as crystal?”

“I like this saying, clear as crystal,” said Verrick, trying out the phrase.

Ray stared at him for a moment, then a question came to mind. “Hey uh, where is that first bow guy?”

“Gale killed him,” Verrick said with a shrug. “He was weak, inciteful, and did not take proper stock of his surroundings or environment. It was no loss.”

Ray shivered slightly, “Right. Good to know you cared,” he said. “Anyway, let's get a move on. Remus, you and your guy will play support.”

Before the Thymian could respond, the second figure who had been hooded in a cloak flung it back to reveal a young Thymian woman with bright red hair and deep blue eyes. “I am no man you pig, retract your statement or-“

Remus bopped her on the head with a fist, knocking her to the ground.

“Child, you are gonna be the death of me,” he sighed. “This is my niece, hot-headed youngster that she is. My apologies, Ray, she’s just a bit of a git.”

“As I apparently like to say now, no harm no foul,” he said with a grin as the young woman staggered back to her feet with a glare at Remus. “Play by the rules missy. In combat, there are no second chances. To drive this home, just keep in mind we were once three times the number you saw when you first arrived.”

That caused her to pale slightly. With a more serious nod, she got into formation with her uncle. Nodding, and happy with the resolution, Ray beckoned for the Aelvin to move forward. They were almost at the doors when a single male Draemon approached him, taking up position for him at his side.

Shooting a curious look at the horned man, Ray quirked an eyebrow in challenge.

“I will go with you. Jalla says don’t let you die until we figure out this place,” he said simply.

Ray didn’t have much of a response to that. He simply walked outside the double doors leading into the main meeting area, Josephine at his side. Being outside in the late dawn air, Ray could taste the precipitation on his tongue for the first time that he could remember. At least since his reincarnation.

He lead the group across to the street to the much smaller, boarded-up warehouse. Being only a quarter as large as the structure they just came from, it was large enough to house a significant threat if packed with the undead.

“Ok Grok, the show is yours,” ordered Ray.

The Aelvin next to him looked at him curiously. “You do not command us yourself?” he wondered aloud.

He shook his head, “No. Grok is an excellent fighter when he’s not beserking his way through enemies,” he responded, watching the Orkin and Goblins arrange themselves. “No sense in fixing what isn’t broken.” Verrick had a pensive look on his face as he took up a position near the rear, bow at the ready.

Grok grunted and stepped up to the large rolling door. Testing it, he found it rocked back and forth fairly easily. Grunting, he gripped the handle and with a roar yanked the huge door open all the way.

True to his expectations, there were hundreds of undead packed inside. How the fuck they even got onto the island, Ray couldn’t guess. But here they were. So they needed to re-die. Again. But he really needed to figure out how they were getting here.

“Josephine,” he said as the first line of the fuckers crashed into the Goblins and Orkin, “Watch our backs.” She nodded and turned away, watching their approach as well as keeping an eye on him.

Drawing his blade with his remaining arm, he started forward. They had a while before the integration, but a while wasn’t forever. And with the number of things that just seemed to keep showing up, the number of issues that just kept increasing, they would miss the window to expand at all.

And that would be a travesty.

***

RAYMOND ‘RAY’ FINNEGAN

RACE

HUMAN

CLASS

NONE

NEX

CALCULATING

LEVEL

PHYSICAL STATE

HEIGHTENED

MENTAL STATE

WARY

ATTRIBUTE

BASE

CURRENT

NEX TO INCREASE

STRENGTH

AGILITY

POWER

100

WISDOM

LUCK

400

JOSEPHINE SANCHEZ