CHAPTER 30_HEX - A Zombie Survival LITRPG

Ray

“What do you mean what?” snarled Kevin. “You did something to break or damage the System on your little ball of dirt, and it is causing me no end of issues!”

Ray wasn’t sure how to respond to that. It wasn’t every day you got jerked into God’s office and talked down to. Much less being told that everything on Earth was your fault.

“Yeah, I’m not totally sure what you’re talking about,” he said, causing Kevin to turn purple in rage. “First off, this dirt ape has been struggling to stay alive. I barely have the ability to do that, much less mess with something I don’t even understand. Hey, wait a second,” he said pausing, “are you the asshole sending me all those messages?”

Now it was Kevin’s turn to look perplexed. “Messages? Do you mean the System messages? Those are automatic. Set to respond to what you do,” he said while waving Ray’s concerns away. “No, I’m talking about every event you complete, every mission you take on, and every NEX you accrue,” he explained, pushing his glasses up.

That wasn’t what Ray had been talking about, but he stayed silent. If this so-called God didn’t know about the messages then he wouldn’t enlighten him. “Right. So am I just supposed to die then?”

“No, you were supposed to just fucking survive. Not somehow get your hands on a core, plant that core, then proceed to claim fucking territory!” he raged. “You should have stayed still, done nothing but survive until the Integration, and been a good little mortal. But no! You had to wander around and cause all these issues!”

Ray raised his hand and said, “Yeah, I still don’t know what issues you’re referring to. I mean, if you’re talking about all the undead, that’s hardly my fault.”

Kevin stared at him for a moment, at a loss for words. “Right,” he muttered. “He doesn’t know. He wouldn’t know. Just a dumb dirt ape. Right.” Turning to him fully the God said, “Every action you take shapes the core and how the Integration will take place,” he explained, deadly calm. “It's basically already a certainty that … Earth, stupid name by the way, will become a Dungeon World. What has everyone including my boss in a fit is that so much of the System that should govern how that works out is broken. Take your fucking Nemesis for example. Normally those things show up, you die, Nemesis becomes a faction leader. Bam. Happy resolution.”

“Except for the part where I’m dead? That doesn’t sound happy at all,” Ray complained.

The divine being waved him down. “Doesn’t matter, because that’s not what happened. The first time you killed it was in the house. Yeah, it died. Against all logic a weapon you were given, that shouldn’t exist or be able to function on a planet with the System, was used to kill it. It confused the way the fucking thing works. So what did it do? It brought it back to life. And you killed it again. This time with an inventory chock full of shit that shouldn’t be possible to possess on a Tech Zero world.”

“So … I have a multi-tool, a gun, and a sword I bought from the System. That makes me an issue?” Ray said, still clearly confused as to what the problem is.

“Yes. No. Yes. Aw fuck,” Kevin said, leaning back. “Your little Nemesis still isn’t dead. And you are probably wondering why it hasn’t popped up to eat your face. It's because you killed it with something the System recognizes you shouldn’t have. But because you had it, and the damn thing doesn’t understand why it essentially stored it for later. It will pop up again after the Integration. Who knows how fucking strong it will be at that point. Or weak. Or whatever. I don’t even know at this point.”

Ray gaped at him, “That thing may come back stronger? We’re fucked. Totally fucked.”

“Yeah. That sums it up. Maybe. Look, when a node is deployed everything on the planet gets about forty-eight hours to get their affairs in order. Then everything is reset during the Integration. Two days on your fucking planet,” Kevin said, emphasizing the amount of time. “You got fucking sixty.”

Ray shrugged, “And how does that matter?”

“Let me spell this out for you shit for brains,” Kevin said slowly, “It only takes two days because that’s the amount of time to infuse the planet with energy to fuel the conversion. You are getting thirty times the amount of time.” He stared at Ray expectantly and, upon not getting an answer, finished with, “So you’re getting thirty times the fucking energy. What the hell do you think happens if you put thirty gallons of water in a two-gallon tank? A two-gallon tank that doesn’t have a release valve?”

Ray paled at that. “It tends to break, shatter, or explode,” he said slowly.

“Yeah. Exactly,” Kevin said, drawing his hands down his face tiredly. “Look, maybe most of this isn’t your fault. It’s really those Solian's fault. You’re just the one paying the bill at this point. Unlike my example, your world won't blow up. Probably. Instead, what will most likely happen is that everything on the damn thing will be five to thirty times stronger than it normally would. The overflow is also causing absolutely astounding mutations for nearly everything on the planet. I saw that snail you killed. You think that’s fucking normal?”

Ray was non-plussed at that. “Wait, probably? Holy hell, you guys have no idea what's going to happen. Do you?”

“Not a damn clue,” Kevin admitted. “This is so far beyond what the System has ever been used to regulate that we don’t know what's going to happen. I know that I want nothing to do with it, but that’s not my call.”

Ray sighed, “So what do we do? Roll over and die?”

“No,” the God said, leaning forward. “You take that little island of yours that was gifted to you and you fortify the ever. Fucking. Living. Shit. Out of it. You be cautious, work within the confines of the system, and try your damndest not to fuck anything up. And maybe, just maybe, you won't die.” He paused for a second, “And for fucks sake pick a fucking class once the Integration is over. Shit, it was unlocked for you a long time ago. You’ve been doing everything on hard mode for weeks. But now you will have to wait, I’m not unlocking shit for you until this mess is cleaned up.”

Ray frowned at that but nodded in agreement. He was about to speak but Kevin wasn’t done. “IN regards to your stuff, no gun for you. Bam. It's mine now. No bullets either. Those multi-tools? Also gone. You can keep whatever you earned from the System events. There's no reason to take those, they are System registered and recognized. All the shit you bought though? Gone. I don’t even know what to do about these resource boxes. Fuck if I know what they are, never seen those before. So keep them if you want.”

“What about all my people?” Ray wondered aloud, opening his inventory and watching things vanish from it.

That got an aggravated sound from Kevin, “You keep them. But you can't have anymore. I disabled your shop privileges to prevent anything else from getting onto that damnable planet. I really don’t need more issues for you right now. That seemed the best way to prevent additional variables.”

He paused for a moment, glancing at the screen he had pushed away briefly before turning back to Ray. “Fucking work. It never ends. Keep your head low, or I swear to every power I have that I will come down to that world and shove my boot so far up your ass you will be able to tie my laces with your tongue.”

“Shit!” he said suddenly, causing Ray to jump, “I kept you here way too long. Look, bunker down. Reinforce everything. Blow that fucking tower leading to the mainland to hell, it will cause you problems later. And for Pantheon's sake, avoid the fucking Solians. I really don’t need any more fucking issues. One last thing no matter what don’t lose control of that core, or you, your little race of dirt apes, and everything that isn’t undead on that world is done for. Get me?”

Ray nodded, then found himself skidding across the concrete in front of a surprised Gale and Josephine. There had been no warning, no heads up, and definitely not any communication. Kevin was a complete and total asshole.

“Ow,” he muttered, standing up and brushing himself off. He was immediately tackled by Josephine, who went over him in detail as Gale interrogated him.

After explaining everything in detail, they both looked shocked.

“Thou are sure this being declared himself a God?” Gale asked, incredulous. “Thy luck knows no bounds, to directly meet such an Administrator of the System. Didst thou retain any information that may be of use?”

Ray thought about that for a second, “Well, kind of? He said to stick to the island until the Integration was over. He also said the Nemesis wasn’t gone quite yet. Something about killing it both times with weapons that I shouldn’t have? He also mentioned that the Integration was taking far too long, and would most likely end badly.”

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Ray went on to describe the conversation he had with Kevin in detail, answering all of Gales's questions in detail. She was most concerned about the energy that would be absorbed by the core, and if it would be safe being anywhere near it.

“Not even remotely. It being safe that is,” Ray pointed out. “On the other hand, Kevin was very adamant that we not lose control of the core. So I say we bunker down, fortify this place as much as possible, and move forward once the Integration is complete. We have … somewhere around twenty-nine days left I think?” He pulled up the countdown timer to make sure:

WORLD INTEGRATION TIMER

711:44:19

“Yeah, a tad over twenty-nine,” he confirmed.

Gale nodded, “Very well. Thou has two tasks on front of thyself. The first, and foremost, being the moving of the core to this location. Both Beacons in thy possession will be required for that. Secondly, the full and complete fortification of the island.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right. By the way, what are Claim Beacons used for if there's already something in place? Are they just used to take over territories?”

The Drakling shook her head, “No. Not exactly. Thou concept is on the right track but applied incorrectly. Nodes are used for a wide variety of purposes. They may be used to claim territories in thy name, certainly. But they may also be used to upgrade territorial nodes, dungeon cores, buildings, or provide raw sources of elemental energy.”

“So they are, for lack of a better term, a small powerplant?” he asked.

Josephine intervened, “No. Gale is saying they are an interface. They draw power from somewhere and store it. Like a battery. That battery can then be used for several different things,” she said quietly.

“I know not what a battery is, but thy description is precise. It is much like how Josephine has described it,” confirmed Gale. “However, based on thy conversation with this … Kevin, it seems there are many changes coming to this world. What that may mean for us, I know not.”

Ray grunted, “Yeah. No kidding. It seems even they don’t know what's going to happen. This whole idea of us sucking in a shit load more energy than what we should be has me worried. I would fucking hate to fight even a basic zombie if it was thirty times stronger and faster.”

Everyone gave a bit of a collective shiver at that. There would be no way to survive anything even remotely close to a horde event if the undead were even a few times more powerful than they were now. Or any event really. If there would even be events going forward. Who the hell knew at this point.

With a deep sigh, Ray rubbed his eyes and said, “Yeah. Ok. We need to head back and swap out the core for the Claim Beacon and get it over here. I only want to take a couple of people. Maybe Josephine and Grok. Keep the team small, light, and fast. A couple Orkin on the barge and we should be good.”

Gale nodded at that as Ray continued, “In the meantime, I want you and Derrick to get together with Jalla and work on turning this fort into … well, more of a fort. Get a plan together for the island as a whole as well. Something has to be in place before the Integration, preferably as much as possible.”

“I will get Grok, Derrick, and Jalla,” said Josephine, turning quickly and jogging away.

Ray laughed, scratching the top of his head with his arm. “Well, she doesn’t waste anytime. How is everything going with you Gale?” he asked, turning his attention back to the Drakling. “We haven’t had much of a chance to stop and actually talk.”

“Thou art kind,” she began, “to be honest, however, mine goals remain unchanged. Get my clan here. Get them established. Rebuild my race.”

He could appreciate those goals. “I will get them here, I promise. It will be among the first things I do when that prick Kevin lets me back into the System shop.”

She nodded appreciatively. “Just know, thy will have to contend with the Matriarch of the clan for dominance. It is our way. The choice of challenge is yours, however. Choose something thou will excel in, and thy will have a chance at victory.”

“You mentioned that before, having to fight with your … mom? Matriarch? I'm assuming that’s your parent,” he asked, unsure of how the family dynamic worked there. A quick nod from her reassured him, however. “Got it. Well, we can figure something out when we get to that point. I am kind of curious though, what happens if I lose?”

Gale snorted, “Thou will not have to worry moving forward. My mother will eat you.”

“Of course, she would. Probably not in the good way either,” he sighed as she snorted. “Grand. Just grand. Well, let's go get the fucking core. At least I can accomplish something before the fucking dragon eats me.”

“Thou are mistaken, I dislike sentient flesh. Although thou hardly qualify,” Gale quipped.

Ray placed a hand on his chest in mock pain, “Did you just … mock me? The great Gale? Mocking her poor little boss? The sheer audacity of it all!” he replied back with a grin.

Gale rolled her eyes and headed off across the fort. Already what remained of their group was setting up and fortifying. In the distance, through the gate, he could see Josephine sending some Orkin back outside, probably to retrieve Jalla and those who remained at the outpost. Moving again would be a pain, but they were only a few short steps from being as ready as they could be for the Integration.

He only hoped that, in the end, their efforts would be enough.

***

RAYMOND ‘RAY’ FINNEGAN

RACE

HUMAN

CLASS

NONE

NEX

CALCULATING

LEVEL

PHYSICAL STATE

FATIGUED

MENTAL STATE

HOPEFUL

ATTRIBUTE

BASE

CURRENT

NEX TO INCREASE

STRENGTH

AGILITY

POWER

100

WISDOM

LUCK

400

JOSEPHINE SANCHEZ