Without the wagons holding the material, tons of rock, boulders, and dirt rained down over the cliff like a landslide. The ground shook, a massive crash sounding as if a building were coming down on top of his head, followed by screams and a plume of dust that blew into the tunnel like a hurricane. Damn, if it was this bad in the tunnel, how bad must it be outside?
Logan didn’t have any further chance for speculation before System message after System message flooded in like the tide.
Ding!
[You have defeated a Level 5 Squishy Blob!]
[You have defeated a Level 5 Squishy Blob!]
[….]
[You have defeated a Level 6 Squishy Blob!]
[….]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[….]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
Holy shit. He must have killed forty of them at once! It took all his acting ability to force his expression into shock rather than euphoria. It felt like ages since he’d last leveled up and it was a hell of a rush.
Logan had forgotten that since he was the one to technically push the rocks over the cliff, he’d receive the XP credit. That meant that the Silverdagger Clan couldn’t learn that he’d leveled up, since the only conclusion they’d draw was that Logan had been the one to push the rocks over the cliff, which would lead to a whole host of questions of how.
He’d advanced five levels. Five! That meant that he’d have 25 free attributes to burn. Could he assign them while he was under scrutiny? Logan was betting that he could since he had no plans to upgrade his physical stats. As long as he focused on intelligence or wisdom, he should be able to get away with it.
Outside, he could hear screams, dust still pluming. He had a few minutes while he waited for everything to settle down.
Logan pulled up his full stat sheet to make sure he was making the right decision. He’d been in such a rush that he hadn’t had a chance for a review since the perception trial.
Name: Logan Hart [Hidden Name: Idiot]
Rank: 35 out of 6,009,998,981
Level: 39
Class: None
Grade: F3
Species: Human
Skills:
* Idiot’s Paradox Lv. 28
* Idiot’s Inspect Lv. 4
* Deepwater Explorer Lv. 3
* Life Cycle Master
* Regenerate Lv. 4
* Mimicry Armour Lv. 2
* Universal Language
* Undead Stamina
* Liche Siphon Lv. 2
Titles: Eager Beaver; Mass Murderer; Audacious Corpse; Run Until You Drop; Malicious Meat Sack
XP Progress: 42,000/78,000
Karma: 660/660
Intelligence: 110
Constitution: 46
Strength: 182*
Agility: 242*
Dexterity: 192*
Endurance: 441**
Perception: 35
Wisdom: 85
Luck: 55
(*Pure Grit Ring, *Undead Stamina)
Free Attribute Points: 25
KarmaCoin: 302,600
He couldn’t believe what a difference the true grit rings made. His perception attribute looked pathetic compared to the others. And yet, even though it needed improvements, Karma still had to be his priority. There was a reason that Asthea’s people didn’t value the perception trial. He needed Karma for [Life Cycle Master] and [Mimicry Armour]. Perception could wait.
If he threw the 25 points into intelligence, he’d increase his Karma pool from 660 to 810. That was a massive increase. Alternatively, if he threw the points into wisdom, he’d increase his Karma regeneration rate from 85 per minute to 110.
Before he’d entered this trial, that would have been the smart decision, but [Liche Siphon] changed things. The skill would let him increase his Karma regeneration rate by siphoning Karma from others, but if he needed [Life Cycle Master] for the Save Humanity Quest, that meant trees and who knew what… even the birth of a star. To get anywhere close to that possibility, he needed a massive Karma pool.
Logan made the obvious decision and threw all 25 points into intelligence.
[Intelligence: 111]
[Intelligence: 112+]
[Intelligence: 135]
Biting his lip to hold in a gasp, it took all his willpower to not stagger like a drunk man. Each time he upgraded the stat, it was a hell of a rush. His eyes widened, scene after scene rushing through his mind. By now, he’d figured out that intelligence wouldn’t make him into the next Einstein, rather, it opened his mind and made his recall ability and imagination more acute.
He did his best to contain his smile, but his lips curved before he disguised his expression by looking down at his hands.
Logan was excited to get started, but more than anything, he was eager to use his full arsenal. After he’d stumbled through the underwater portal, he’d fashioned a weapon with [Mimicry Armour] that he was anxious to test. With a blink, he removed a handful of crushed diamonds and a cup full of dust from his spatial collar and then reformed his talons. This time, he lengthened them, turning them into ten-inch-long blades with a curved edge that should cut through solid rock.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The dust wasn’t quite as bad outside, and the screams were dying down.
It was time.
Time to let go. When he returned to the viewing arena, he’d need an explanation for his level increases. There was only one way forward.
Besides, he’d promised the Cursed Rope that he’d feed it.
Stumbling out of the tunnel, Logan scanned the battlefield. Scattered throughout the area were piles of rubble, massive clumps of boulders and earth that covered the remains of crushed blobs. Fleshy bits of material like ground up snails pooled in a puddle, a noxious odour that smelled like crushed worms making him scrunch his nose.
A week ago, if he’d been confronted with the same sight, he would have recoiled in horror. But now, after going through chopped off limbs, wiggling flower tentacle tongues, a fried, burnt hand… Not to mention insects eating him alive and acid boiling off his skin… well.
Logan was a changed man.
Through the moans of pain, he could pick up the sound of Zig urging the evil blobs onto the battlefield. This was all planned. Unlike Thorin, he wanted to be involved in the victory, but he also wanted his army to participate to demonstrate their prowess in battle.
That didn’t mean Logan couldn’t thin the herd.
The golden blobs were sliming themselves back into an upright position, swaying side to side like bowling balls before they grasped their swords with shaking appendages.
“The evil blobs rained down hell on us, captain!”
When there was no answer, someone shouted, “Where’s the captain?”
Silence.
“…Captain?”
A blob with a sterner, steadier voice that sounded like Glopky snapped, “He’s dead. Pull yourselves together, men! There was no evil power. The enemy threw a pile of rocks over the cliff thinking that would wipe us out. But we’re made of sterner stuff, right?”
Awkward shifting.
“…Right?” he demanded, his voice like a whip.
“Yes, sir!” answered a blob.
“You bet your blessed ass we are! We need a song, a song to rouse us. Zanricky!” he demanded. “Where’s Zanricky!”
There was an awkward shuffling before the blobs pushed the nervous soldier forward. Dust covered his body so thickly it was difficult to make out his saucer eyes. A cut on his forehead trailed down his face with gold-tinted blood. “Sir?”
The scent of violets that clung to the golden blobs now started to gain a metallic taste, something sour.
Fear sweat.
“Sing us a song! Men, gather your weapons! Blast your auras! The evil blobs have exhausted their rock piles—now it’s just down to battle. We’ll overwhelm them with our presence and slaughter them while they’re cowering at our bottoms.”
“S-sir, are you sure they’ve depleted the rocks? What if they throw more? Shouldn’t we seek shelter and regroup?”
There were shocked gasps from the soldiers.
“Blasphemy! Do we not have the backing of the blessed power? Blessed soldiers do not cower, gentleman! Blessed soldiers slaughter!”
“Slaughter the evil army!” said another blob. “We’ll send them to paradise!”
Led by Zanricky who had a voice like a choirboy, the blobs resumed their melodious song, their swords shimmering as they raised them with resolve and steadying appendages.
Logan ground his teeth. He knew this was only a manufactured trial, and if they’d been ready to surrender, he might have considered it, but as far as he was concerned, that was his signal to go ahead. He felt excitement surging, his insides vibrating in anticipation. This meant he was one step closer to finishing this trial and getting back to the real world. Plus, Logan could finally let go and turn his anger into something productive: killing the hell out of some shit.
Rope, he sent, it’s your time to shine. Remember, the grey blobs are friends. But the golden blobs are food. You can be a glutton, you can do your worst.
The rope sent an acknowledgement and then a rush of emotions. Foremost in them was excitement glee glee glee. Around his shoulder, the Cursed Rope unwound and then jumped into the air, ballooning in size and returning to its massive width. At the same time, a gust of wind picked up, blowing the dust and smoke in the opposite direction.
Logan couldn’t have timed it better.
“What’s that?” said one of the blobs, turning towards the rope. His eyes widened in alarm. “Evilness in our midst!”
Logan was still wearing his armour. Invisible. As far as the blobs were concerned, they were looking at a flying rope that had materialized out of nowhere. A rope that crackled with electricity. Evilness indeed.
“Okay, rope,” said Logan. “Let’s get to work.”
Glee glee glee, the rope responded. With a snap of its mouth, it lunged through the air, jumping on a current of electricity that made Logan’s ears pop. Chomping onto a blob’s head, it opened its mouth like a snake, extending its jaw and swallowing with fluttering muscles. Its throat was working overtime, its tail swaying from side to side. Acid ate into the blob, creating smoke and sending a noxious, burning smell through the air.
Then with a snap, the rope gulped down half the blob’s face, swallowing a chunk of forehead and a saucer eye down its gullet before swelling to twice its original size as electricity crackled and danced over the ground.
Ding!
[You have defeated a Level 5 Squishy Blob!]
Logan blinked. Damn.
“Hey,” he said to a frozen blob who was staring at his fallen companion in horror.
The soldier turned to face him and raised his sword, but Logan didn’t give him a chance. Putting every ounce of his newly earned strength into a strike, he slashed his talons and sliced into the blob so forcefully he didn’t have a chance to react.
With a plop, one side of his body fell to the left, the rest to the right.
Holy shit!
He’d severed him in half.
Logan looked at his bloody talons in disbelief.
Ding!
[You have defeated a Level 5 Squishy Blob!]
The rope was snapping through the air on its way towards another target. Meanwhile, the golden army was a mass of confusion as they bounced like slime-balls, raising their swords towards the sky as they tried to strike at the rope.
“Kill the flying demon!” yelled Glopky. “It uses mental tricks to instill fear in us! Stand steadfast, blessed beings! Steadfast!”
Ten blobs bounced at the Cursed Rope. Others slimed their bottoms towards it, trying to surround it.
Silly blobs. They’d neglected to realize the true enemy wasn’t the rope.
It was Logan.
Still invisible, Logan darted around one of the soldiers, slashing his back so deeply that he would have hit his spine—if he had one. He knocked over another, slicing an appendage as he darted past the next.
Again.
And again.
Ding!
[You have defeated a Level 5 Squishy Blob!]
[You have defeated a Level 5 Squishy Blob!]
[You have defeated a Level 5 Squishy Blob!]
“The flying demon must have invisible minions! Kill the flying demon!”
While they were focusing on the rope, Logan continued to dart around them, killing one after another like shooting ducks in a barrel.
Ding!
[You have defeated a Level 5 Squishy Blob!]
[You have defeated a Level 5 Squishy Blob!]
[You have defeated a Level 5 Squishy Blob!]
[You have leveled up!]
“To victory, blobs!” shouted a familiar voice.
Logan turned.
Zig. He was leading Logan’s army onto the battlefield. They slimed forward with their bulbous bottoms, swinging their flails at anything that moved.
“Victory! Flaying! Victory! Flaying!” they chanted.
Remember, rope, Logan sent, the grey blobs are friends.
Friends, acknowledged the rope, as it twisted its body like an alligator and tore off the top of a golden blob’s head.
I can be a friend. Glee glee glee.
***
As Logan materialized in the viewing arena holding the chicken egg, he couldn’t help but beam from ear to ear. He’d won. Won by utilizing tactics, by fooling the golden blobs, and even better, by letting go.
He’d leveled up ten times in that fight alone, and better yet, he’d done it with a cooperating rope and with the enthusiasm of his evil blob army. His Cursed Rope had excelled—obeying his command not to hurt the evil blobs and going to town, scarfing down golden blob after golden blob. As a reward, Logan had agreed not to put it away, letting its inert form loop around his shoulder.
Asthea’s performance would be difficult to beat, since she’d won her battle with half of her army still in reserve, but Logan was hoping that he had a chance. He’d managed to work his army into a fervor, employ tactics that fooled the golden blob army and caused confusion in their ranks. And better yet, he hadn’t finished them off on his own—his army had joined the fray.
“Well,” said Logan, grinning. “What did you guys….”
Logan came to an abrupt stop, his hand clenching on the egg. Instead of greeting him with impressed looks, he was met with hostility.
Asthea’s face was grim, her jaw set as she clenched her hands around her crossbow. She pointed the bolt at Logan’s chest, her finger twitching on the trigger. Around that finger, the True Grit Perception ring glinted in the white light of the room.
Thorin’s scarred face was pale. No longer jovial, he was looking at Logan as if he’d stomped on Asthea’s grandmother. A disgusted look. Full of suspicion. His skill ring glinted in his palm, and he glanced at it as if debating launching his clones, his massive sword in his other hand.
Errol had his cable whip deployed, his elbows tight to his body as he flicked his wrist, sending the barbed end swinging. His face was dead calm, his mouth in a thin line.
Worse yet, Arsen’s eyes were dead, lips pressed flat, his expression filled with nothing but uncompromising resolution. “That’s an interesting rope,” he said, his voice rasping with tension. “On our world, we also had an interesting rope and a man who wielded it.”