This is real life. This is reality. Rowan mouthed silently.

A part of him still looked at the new world through the lens of an observer getting to witness something fantastical. It was still a bit hard to believe all the system screens and the stats. In fact, they offered him a comforting sense of distance from everything, where he could keep up the illusion that this was all just a game. A hard game, to be sure, but a game nonetheless.

The demon stripped all of that away, laying bare a startling truth about his new world. Death was watching, lurking, and out to get him.

This is real life.

Keen Spear flared, keeping Rowan’s mind clear and giving him enough wits to manage a joke. “Why is it just standing there?”

It was true. The demon just stood there, making no real move since revealing itself. Even its eerie canine army was perfectly still, looking more like melted wax figures than real creatures.

“It’s probably enjoying this.” Bron gritted out the words, eyes narrowed. “Demons can feed on the negative emotions their sheer presence produces.”

“What happens when it stops enjoying this?” Rowan asked.

“Bad things,” Bron breathed. He steadied himself against the protective parts of the wall. “If I were a betting man, I’d say that thing is at least rare tier. Putting it down will be difficult.”

Olivia’s face scrunched up as she spat out her thoughts. “Bron, I know you have your own party, but I need you to join ours.”

Rowan was a bit surprised at how easily Bron accepted Olivia’s request. And at how the two of them were still thinking about fighting the demon. All that was running through Rowan’s head right now was how he could survive an encounter with the demon, not how they could defeat it.

Bron Hollander is requesting to join your party, accept?

Y/N

Rowan hit the yes button and, a second later, their party got their third member. An odd kind of force filled Rowan’s body, likely some kind of buff from Bron’s class or status.

Maybe that’s why he’s an officer while the others are soldiers.

“Good. Now, I want you to have this,” Olivia said. The care she showed when retrieving the potion in question was a bit alarming, given how carelessly she handled her exploding potions. When Rowan had asked her to handle the explosives with care, she dismissed his concern by saying that the bottles and vials were enhanced and wouldn’t break unless there was intention behind the motion.

But when Rowan saw the potion in question, he understood why she used such tenderness. It looked like a miniature galaxy caught in a bottle, coruscating and revolving around a center so bright he couldn’t look straight at it.

Potion of Heroic Might (Unique)

As one of the three named pieces produced by Olivia Sutton so far, this potion is a unique marvel of tricky alchemical processes. Its creation almost led to tragedy, but its frightening potential has been constrained to suit the purpose of its creator.

WARNING:

This potion cannot be safely imbibed by anyone with an uncommon or common class, and will act as a poison if the attempt is made.

Effects:

All stats +20 for sixty minutes. [Burning Braveheart] status applied for the potion’s duration.

[Burning Braveheart]

Your will and body are bolstered by the power of The Crimson Ember, granting you immunity to negative status effects and bolstering your might.

WARNING:

If your body cannot contain the power of the effect, it will slowly immolate itself, bolstering the power you’ve been granted but worsening your condition.

“That’s a lot of warnings,” Rowan whispered, awe leaking into his voice. The +20s would almost triple his total stats, it was the equivalent of adding 60 levels at once.

Bron looked at Olivia, who returned his gaze with just a bit of distress in her eyes.

“Is there anything else I should know?” Bron asked softly.

“You’ll also benefit from my Pursuit of Brilliance card. That means you’ll get double the potion’s effectiveness.” Olivia paused as her voice broke. “Don’t use that potion unless you have to.”

“I understand,” Bron said. He took the potion and tucked it near his chest. “Thank you, Miss Sutton.”

Rowan was a bit too distracted to pick up on the social cues at that moment. He looked out at the demon and its hounds before glancing back to Olivia. “Got anything for me?”

Olivia huffed as Bron walked away. But she dug into her supplies again. “Nothing as powerful as that. But at least you can pop this as soon as we’re officially in trouble.”

Lesser Potion of Might (Common, Top Quality)

Concocted out of powerful reagents collected from creatures who symbolize might, this potion will lend part of their power to the person who consumes it.

Effects:

All stats +5 for sixty minutes. [Boosted Toughness] status applies for the potion’s duration.

[Boosted Toughness]

Your body is bolstered by the might of creatures whose bodies are well beyond yours, granting you a medium increase to your physical resistance.

“No warnings for this one?” Rowan asked, gripping the off-brown potion tighter. The potion wasn’t as powerful as the earlier one, but Rowan was still plenty happy with it.

“Besides the fact that you’ll be half-dead when the effect wears off? Not really,” Olivia said. “It’s not a unique, but I’m the one who came up with the potion, so you still get a fifty percent bonus.”

Rowan wanted to ask what that meant for odd numbers like five, but then figured he’d find out soon enough. That really only left one thing for him to say. “Thanks.”

That earned him a small smile and a nod, before Olivia grew serious again.

“I don’t know how long it wants to toy with us, but I say we do something about that,” Olivia muttered, casting a glance at the demon. “I’m going to try using my Inspect on it.”

That one caught Rowan’s attention right quick. “Are you sure that’s smart? I tried using it on your father, and it didn’t go well.”

“I can do it. My Inspect is a rare one, and I’m an uncommon specializing in mind stats. It won’t be pleasant, and it’ll definitely provoke a reaction. But at least we’ll have some idea of what we’re facing, though.”

“That sounds like a plan to me,” Bron said as he walked back. Behind him, Rowan could see that the villagers and mercenaries were standing a bit taller than before. Whatever Bron had done had given them a dose of confidence.

“Here goes,” Olivia muttered.

And then it was like the world itself sprang into action.

A blue sheen covered Olivia’s eyes, and for a second, it looked as if she was peering into the soul of the demon. And then a grunt of pain escaped her lips as she staggered back.

On the other end, the demon jerked like it had been slapped right across its ugly face and screeched in anger. All of the canine monsters that had been as still as statues suddenly broke into motion, yipping and howling as their feet ripped up the ground under them.

“BRING ME THEIR BODIES! I WILL DEVOUR THEIR PHYSICAL FORMS AND FEAST ON THEIR SOULS!” the demon howled, its voice ringing out without any lip movements at all.

“Soldiers, to arms! Mercenaries, block the gates! Everyone else, retreat to your homes immediately!” Bron bellowed, moving closer to Olivia and Rowan.

Olivia was in the process of wiping the trail of blood from her nosebleed, but she still sent over the system info she’d managed to get.

V̴̱̼̔̕ă̶s̴͕̘̋̂t̶͐̀͜r̴̪̺̔̎o̸͇͕͠z̸͚̑ò̵͙l̴̢̞̚

LϠvȝl 51 [RØ₮floⱳēɍ Ca₥฿łon]

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Shit. 51, rare class,” Bron cursed. “How’d they let something like this get so deep?”

Before Rowan could answer Bron’s rhetorical question, the demon released his chains and the dogs began sprinting forward.

“DESTROY THEM!” the demon yelled after them.

As dozens of different canines made their way through the half-cleaned carnage of yesterday’s siege, Rowan turned to Olivia.

“Did you get to inspect those hellhounds? It’d be good —” Rowan shut up as another screen popped up in front of him.

[Rotsworn Charger]

Level 23

STR: 28

VIT: 9

DEX: 34

PER: 7

INT: 5

WIS: 5

Deck (5/5):

* [Heart] Demonic Breeding (Rare)

* Death’s Remembrance (Uncommon, Passive)

* Pestilent Embrace (Uncommon, Active)

* Spewing Mucus (Uncommon, Active)

* Final Promise (Uncommon, Passive)

It was pretty close to what Rowan expected. The Rotsworn Chargers were like him, high strength and dexterity builds. And where Rowan had no clue what the cards meant, Bron did.

“The dogs. Don’t let them touch you. Archers, double time on them. I don’t care if you pass out from mana exhaustion, every ranged skill that you have, use it!” Bron roared.

His words had an immediate effect on everyone, and dozens of different attacks in the form of arrows, fireballs, and even rocks flew at the hounds. But because of the distance, most of the attacks bounced off the Rotsworn Chargers at the end of their flight.

While Rowan looked on, Olivia rummaged through her bag and popped a mana potion, getting some color back into her cheeks. This was quickly followed up by a couple secondary potions, and Rowan didn’t need a status screen to know she had taken something stat enhancing. Her face practically glowed.

As the hounds got closer to the wall, there was both good and bad news. The good news was that there weren’t nearly as many hounds as there were monsters in the previous horde. The bad news was that every single one of the dogs was at the uncommon tier. And when paired with their small size, their dexterity was utterly ridiculous. They’d dodge projectiles with the slightest tilt and then keep charging forward.

Every so often, a clump of incoming projectiles was simply too dense for the hounds to dodge. Most of the damage was too soft to truly take them down, and they’d reemerge behind the smoke with arrows sticking out of their rotting skin. But the defenders sometimes scored a lucky hit, striking at a vital spot or dealing too much damage to be ignored.

When that happened, the hound would whimper for a second before its body bulged, ballooned, and finally exploded in a shower of hissing entrails and disgusting liquids. Everything in the blast radius turned black.

“Shit, are they coming for me?” Rowan asked when he noticed that the hounds were focused on a single point in the wall. Him.

Bron confirmed it a second later with his next set of commands. “They’re coming for our hero. Protect him. Make sure none of the monsters get to the hero.”

Despite Bron and the defender’s best efforts, the hounds were fast. They zipped their way forward through the barrages and were soon just a couple hundred paces away from the wall. Rowan decided to play things safe. He popped the cork on the potion Olivia had given him, quickly throwing back the brownish liquid while trying not to think about how the potion was made.

If nothing else, the potion was fast acting. An overwhelming feeling of strength surged through the spot in his chest he’d come to associate with his deck. His body creaked as it spread throughout him, and every part of him changed. His senses surged in power. His muscles coiled and tensed. Even his sensation of his mana pool doubled in intensity.

He checked, and found that the increase rounded up, giving him an extra eight in all his stats.

Suddenly, the monsters’ breakneck advance was something his eyes could track, and a smirk played across his lips. He took a step forward, trying to get a better look at everything.

Of course, that’s when the alchemist cruelly smacked him in the head.

“If you die because of potion madness, I swear I’m going to find a way to resurrect you and then turn you into the royal jester,” Olivia hissed. “They’re coming for you. Stay in the back.”

As the hounds came within a couple dozen steps of the wall, Bron ordered most of the defenders back. The soldiers and defenders who stayed had an air of toughness to them. These guys are uncommons. I would bet an arm on it.

The wall that had given so much trouble to the monster horde yesterday did almost nothing to stop the Rotsworn Chargers. They either leapt straight for the battlements or scrambled up the wall like it was level ground.

In the back of his mind, Rowan knew that his confidence was probably the potion madness that Olivia described. But he felt unstoppable. Putting his strength to the test, he surged forward, relying on his boosted stats to empower his strikes in a way he never could before. A thrust of his spear nailed one of the hounds back down to the ground. Another hound tried to bite away the spear, but Contortionist's Physique helped him lean backward, out of the hound’s range. He used the rebound to swipe the hound away.

Olivia wasn’t wasting time either. As soon as the enemies had drawn near enough, her tried-and-true strategy of hurling potions was employed again. The explosions were notably bigger, which translated into more monsters getting consumed in blasts and spaces where other hounds avoided.

Both of them paled in comparison to Bron. Rowan had never seen the officer fight without his men, but apparently Bron was just as ferocious fighting by himself. He used a longsword that glowed in a light blue. It wasn’t exactly like Olivia’s Honed Mana Edge card, but when Bron sliced through a hound unfortunate enough to get caught by him, the sword emitted a crescent blast of mana that left the other hounds scrambling.

For just a moment, the monsters’ assault actually faltered in the face of Bron’s might. Then they made him the priority target as they renewed their attack.

As the battle raged, Rowan expected his body to falter. It didn’t happen. If anything, he was only starting to find his rhythm. For one, he had to adjust to fighting the hounds, given their tendency to bite at his spear and the desire to not eat a corpse explosion to the face. Instead of doing thrusts like the baron had taught, Rowan began batting the monsters away with furious swipes of his spear.

For once, he felt like a hero. For once, he was in control.

Off to his left, Rowan heard a wet explosion, a bit too close for comfort. Taking a few steps back, Rowan risked a glance, only for his stomach to turn.

A mercenary had been showered in the monster’s pieces, and wherever his skin had been stained, boils and lesions were breaking out. He tried to wipe away the monster’s fluids, but it did him no good. In a matter of moments, his entire body was deformed, and he was left gurgling on the ground, somehow still alive.

One of his companions rushed to help him, potion in hand. Before he could even try to apply it, the man stilled.

And then the body exploded in a shower of gore.

Bron cursed. “It’s a chain skill. Make distance. Don’t try to help them.”

But Rowan watched as people who had been splashed were tottering towards their allies, begging for help. The good news was that those hit by the second explosion didn’t immediately explode themselves but in the chaos of battle, no one wanted to take a chance, forming a second against both monsters and those infected.

“I’ve got a plan,” Olivia yelled, her voice barely audible above the fray. Rowan closed the distance and stood by her. “I need help.” She scanned the wall frantically and located the person she was looking for. “You, big shield. Come this way!”

To their right, in an area which was still clear of exploding corpses and puss, stood the beastfolk duo, doing a remarkable job of keeping the wall clear.

But Olivia’s words were lost to the wind. Rowan picked up the mantle, yelling as much as his lungs would allow. “Beastfolk. Gather to me!”

That got their attention. The two of them exchanged a look and started to fight their way over. Rowan helped, batting as many of the hounds back down the wall as he could. The boost in dexterity gave him an almost superhuman level of control over his body. Each move flowed into the next and somehow, he kept up with the rushing menaces.

When he met up with the two beastfolk, things became much simpler. The shield bearer was an unconquerable bulwark. No matter what the hounds tried, they couldn’t get past his defense. And the mage was doing work too. Waves of miasma rose from around them and the hounds caught in the fog would either slow down or start stumbling around aimlessly.

When they met back up with Olivia, she laid out her plan. “You have a taunt card? Right?” The shield bearer nodded. “Use it. Full power. I want as many of them focused on us as possible.”

Instead of following the order, the shield bearer looked to Rowan. And trusting Olivia, Rowan nodded as if he was entirely sure that Olivia’s plan would work. The shield bearer nodded back, planted his feet, and howled.

There was something primal in the sound. Something that woke up a feeling of violence and anger in Rowan’s heart.

It took him a couple of moments to throw off the feeling, barely resisting the urge to skewer the man in front of him. For the monsters, their reactions were a thousand times more exaggerated.

Almost every single one of them paused in their fights and turned their eyes toward the shield bearer. And then they came.

A violet colored miasma rose around them, staggering a couple of the early hounds. But as more and more of them sprinted into the fog, the effects seemed to diminish. Rowan did his best to spear as many of them as possible, but they just kept coming.

“Buy me as much time as you can,” Olivia yelled at the center of their formation. Rowan was a mere beginner when it came to mana, barely able to use it with his cards. But even he could feel the storm brewing inside of Olivia. It was like she was a tempest, powerful and slow.

Thankfully, the shield bearer could take as much as he could dish. With more than half of the monsters trying to bite and claw their way in, he managed to keep most of them at bay with thunderous charges and heavy swipes. When the hounds tried to circle around him, Rowan was there with his spear, finally thrusting like the baron had taught him.

Even though the teamwork between the beastfolk and Rowan was solid, they still found themselves being pushed back. Soon, they were at the back of the wall, surrounded by the hounds on all three sides.

That’s when Olivia chose to strike.

All of the mana inside of her exploded outward. Everywhere it went, ice formed. Rowan shuddered, a gasp ripping its way out of his lungs. The cold gripped him, making his weapon slick, fingers numb, and armor uncomfortably stiff.

But that was nothing compared to what the hounds were going through. As the mana swept over them, cracking sounds rang out. They stiffened as the ice spread upwards from their feet. It went to their chests, tail, and eventually head. By the time Rowan was back in control of his body, the hounds were ice sculptures.

For a tense moment, Rowan still expected the dead creatures to explode. When they didn’t, he released a tense breath he didn’t realize he was holding, and together with the others, he knocked as many of the now stiff hounds down the wall. The sound that the iced Rotsworn Chargers made as they shattered at the bottom was like music to his ears.

There were a couple hounds that survived Olivia’s artificial ice age, but Bron made short work of them, blitzing through and slicing them in half while also kicking their remains off the wall before they could explode.

When all of that was done, Rowan turned back to see Olivia leaned against the wood. Her face was paler than he had ever seen it but she dug through her pouch and swallowed down more mana potions.

“You okay?” Rowan asked.

Before Olivia could answer, the same dreadful voice sounded again. “That was entertaining, little morsels. Can you repeat that performance?”

Rowan wasn’t completely positive, but he thought that the demon’s speech was improving. It was like it hadn’t spoken for centuries, and now it was relearning how to use its voice. He whipped around and looked at the demon, only to see that the forest began to shake, teeter, and then collapse. Slowly, three gargantuan shapes revealed themselves, breaking past the tree line.

Where Rowan could at least somewhat understand the monsters until now, these new beasts were something else entirely. They were vaguely humanoid, but their massive arms dragged on the ground, while their hands were tipped by sickle-like talons.

They weren’t giants though. Unless giants were supposed to be covered in long black fur that looked more like wires than any sort of hair. Whenever they moved, the fur produced metal-like grinding noises, filling the air with uncomfortable screeching.

The worst part about these monsters were their faces, bunched up things that were dominated by a giant mouth. Almost all of their jaws were left hanging open, showing hundreds of pointed teeth.

Even as others faltered, Olivia was on point, immediately taking action again.

[Diseased Titanic Mauler]

Level 37

STR: 43

VIT: 58

DEX: 18

PER: 5

INT: 2

WIS: 3

Deck (5/5):

* [Heart] Demonic Breeding (Rare)

* Plague Incubator (Uncommon, Passive)

* Titanic Physique (Uncommon, Passive)

* Mauling Strike (Uncommon, Active)

* Diseased Breath (Uncommon, Active)