Chapter 68

Halbert finally talked about how his apocalypse had been. I felt so sorry for my friend. He'd only done his best, but now he was depressed.

You've already done a lot more than I would have. I tried to console him for leaving those orphans out to die, but Halbert only snapped.

"That doesn't make it any better! You're not my standard, Jackal. And maybe you should try to be better!"

I backed away, unconsciously. I looked at Halbert and just gave a curt nod.

"Wait. No. I didn't mean…" Halbert reached out, with hesitation, but I already knew to give the both of us space.

Besides, he wasn't really wrong…

Briella looked between the two of us, arguing in the middle of a supermarket full of corpses. The remains of monsters that we have killed.

"Sorry about him, Jackal." Briella looked conflicted, but she chose to stay with Halbert in the end. Her voice whispered into my ear from afar, because she had already crossed the level threshold and gotten her second Class. "He's been through a lot. Halbert was… a lot worse when he first got back. I just wanted him to be happy again, and I thought following your dreams is always a good thing because that's certainly what I'm doing. But now… I'm not so sure if encouraging him to be Friendom's very own hero was actually the right call. But I can't take that stupid advice back after all this time. I've tried."

I… Uh… I just gave her a curt nod as well, for I truly did not know, how else to respond.

My friends really are way too good for me.

~~~

"Hey Jackal." Halbert eventually walked over to me as I was just checking out some things on the second floor while dealing with the occasional monster that survived us. "Sorry about earlier. I really didn't mean it that way. Although, you are actually… you know. Kind of terrible. To like, other people. But not in a judgy way!"

I actually chuckled at that. Sure. I know you're right.

"Right. Well then, shall we get going?"

I gave him a nod, and my two friends hopped onto my back. It was a fun time as they screamed when I went up and down the stairs like a roller coaster, until I finally jumped out of the building from the third floor, and onto the roof a car.

"That was fun! Do it again!" Briella cheered.

"I believe we should…" Halbert first started off serious, but his words petered out. "...do it again. Let's do it again. I agree."

[Longstrider]

I neighed my approval, and quickly run around the mall again, even faster. I knocked over the displays that remained blessedly standing, taking in the sight of such a mundane place, now covered in dried blood.

I made it to the rooftop after a while, and I jumped down from there. I remembered the early days of the apocalypse, when Flaze and I did the exact same thing… after burning down an occupied building.

I ended up breaking my legs today just like I did back then, but it was nothing that a quick heal couldn't fix.

I still winced and cried from the pain, of course. But seeing my friends having so much fun was definitely worth the trouble.

~~~

I galloped across the road, as I and my friends marveled at the rushing wind. Halbert and Briella actually exchanged seats at some point, for they both wanted to be up front, and feel the wind hammer against their face. It was very relaxing.

We killed plenty of monsters along the way, and even took far more detours than what was necessary to try and find Halbert a Level 100+ monster he could defeat. We found another one that looked promising. A hulking creature that looked like a bug thanks to its chitin. The monster was the size of a small house, with four thick and bulky legs, attached to a round and textured body at even intervals. The ground shook with its every step, asphalt cracking and breaking, and it wasn't just because of the weight. A group of four-armed humanoids covered in bone approached the monster, only for the ground under their feet to explode outwards into a geyser of rocks and boulders. Some of them died, but most survived, still somehow determined to fight. It was a survival that was short lived however as the ground underneath their feet exploded again with every lazy step taken by the giant of a monster.

The bug-like thing unhurriedly drawled towards the bleeding and broken bodies, only slightly deviating from its inevitable path. It paused right when its body passed above a gaggle of corpses.

A horrifying maw opened underneath the monster's stomach, from wherein tentacle-like tongues slithered out to partake upon its prey. Its round mouth was a mix of teeth, some sharp like a shark's, others specially long like fang, and others yet were flat like a herbivore's. It crushed, diced, and enveloped prey all the same, in a visceral yet weirdly beautiful display.

I gulped, casting an Identify on the creature. I was sure it'd at least meet the Level requirement.

[Mage - Lvl 100+]

Halbert stalked off, upon seeing his foe. He looked back at us, and nodded. "I think I'll be giving this guy a go. Please go away." The last part was said in jest, but we understood his meaning.

This was actually something that Friendom had well documented. Intent matters for solo kills, and so does distance. Having someone to immediately butt in when you're in danger… might still count as a solo kill in the notifications, but they largely do not give the same rewards. That information was confirmed by tests made by Orlean because she'd already taken on multiple Level100+ foes by herself before we even met up. Fucking cheating. Some of those battles were done with backup just watching close by, ready to intervene. Others with a retreat point. And some literally just by herself, with no safety net, because she found a cool monster.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

We'd learned from her that having a retreat point was probably the best option for achievements. Not that we could know for sure. Magic was finicky like that. The System itself could behave quite inconsistently. So that's not good.

Reaps, our other Level 100+ was little help. He was very cagey about a lot of details. Which… probably makes a lot of sense, actually. We should really start trying to hide things more.

~~~

Halbert POV

I was really an ass earlier to Jackal. That was my fault. Although, completely honestly, I question sometimes why I'm even friends with the guy. I do like him, a lot, truly. But I also knew, from the beginning, how callous and uncaring he could be of other people.

It didn't matter much back then. When we were just a bunch of kids doing theater. It still didn't matter, when we grew older, and had to enter the workforce while desperately trying to fit time for our hobbies, utterly powerless to make any meaningful change to the world. But now? With how the world currently is. His choices could really get a lot of people killed.

It already had.

He'd already made choices that I hope I would not have, were I in his shoes.

…Horseshoes.

I shook off all those thoughts, as the horse in question galloped away. Jackal would remain a good friend to me, I couldn't bring myself to abandon the guy, and I know that he'd be willing to do things that would be a lot of help, to a lot of people, if we only asked.

Now though, it was time to battle. So that I may become stronger. Strength that I need to wield, to protect the people, and the future.

That is my purpose. I am a hero.

[Mage Lvl100+]

Third time's the charm. I thought to myself as I sized up my opponent. Because I had already attempted to brutally murder a similarly advanced creature twice on this trip.

The first one was a twisted sort of immobile pillar shell, but with terrifying curse magic that just punished me for every attempt to kill it. Punishments that only got harsher the longer the fight went on. Thankfully, it couldn't actually give chase once I left, although I could barely shake off its taunt.

I uhm… I had to literally crush my own balls to shock myself out of it. Not my proudest moment. Then I had to tell Jackal to get it healed faster because it hurt so bad and just… Fuck. They didn't have to laugh that hard? Briella was there too and I didn't try too hard to get her to leave because I just knew that Jackal would tell her anyway! Orlean and Flaze too once we get back… that fucking traitorous horse.

My second try at slaying a further evolved monster was with a monkey with a lot of hands. Every limb it had was a hand. And it had more limbs than permissible! ….By the council of limbs.

I was barely able to escape when it finally managed to get a grab on me. Hell, I'm pretty sure that the only reason I was able to escape at all, was because the monster was stupid enough to let go out of pain, when I hit it in the gut hard enough. If it just kept on squeezing then… I would be dead.

And who knows what would happen then. To Friendom, to my friends.

Although it's probably arrogant to think that they can't handle themselves… but I would like to think that I make a difference, at least.

So now I was at my third try, against some sort of horrifying 4-legged bug-thing. It drawled forward, not carefully, but slowly, crushing the roads underneath its feet. I could already feel the vibrations from afar, the power of my opponent's earth magic.

I continued my own careful approach, taking stock of the surroundings. Cracks blossom across the earth from my foe's every step, and I tracked their progress, noting with both interest and worry, how the fissures snake towards the nearby buildings.

I grew ever closer, the tension built up within my body begging for release. I finally indulged in it, as I turned into a whirlwind of speed, reaching the creature's leg in seconds and slamming into it with maximum force right from the get go.

[Wind Impact: Level 2]!

The chitin bent under my fists, the monster recoiled from the attack, the steps of its massive body halting. I attacked the same leg again, and the creature shrieked. Another punch, and it stomped, causing the earth to ripple all around us, but I was unaffected for I was holding on to its own leg.

My opponent eventually realized this after stomping around like it was dancing very very poorly. But it did not catch on until I managed another wind impact on the leg I was focused on destroying. A small crack became visible, and I immediately redoubled my efforts to break it open with a barrage of punches.

The monster made a particularly loud stomp and I had to jump away. I reached for my flight ability right after as earthen bullets fired after me from the ground, some the size of boulders, curving in their flight. I managed to boost away, but I immediately felt regret when I touched down, and recognized the tremors of the earth.

"Fuck…!"

The ground underneath me exploded into chucks, and I barely managed to jump away. This happened in tandem with more of the creature's steps as it shrieked an audible howl, and I leapt towards the roof of a perfectly flat car.

It was destroyed from the bottom immediately after, but by then I had managed to climb to the safety of a house. Only for it to shake from its foundations too, reminding me that I was still in hostile terrain.

The wall crumbled, and magically floated over to my position. I kicked off a particularly large one, dodged across the exploding ground, all the while taking many shots to my flesh, but it was nothing I couldn't passively heal.

I eventually made it back to my target, before slamming against its leg again. The same one that was already injured.

[Wind Impact: Level 2]!

Something bent and cracked, the creature wailed in agony. I gave it a couple more punches while more clumps of rock assaulted me from all sides, and I weathered the assault through both my durability and speed. Even the monster's tongue tried to join in on the assault, but the bundle of mass was weaker, slower and less protected than the rest of its body. It began bleeding after one kick, and the tongues unfortunately retreated after that singular try.

The wounds piled up on myself, but I healed them. I wasn't entirely breaking even, but I was soon able to use my Skill again.

[Wind Impact: Level 2]!

The leg gave out. It broke. The creature limped on one side, while the remaining three of its limbs toiled to keep it upright.

The attacks halted for just a second, as the monster cried. I did not take the same kind of break, I didn't need to take a breather even after all that exertion. My second Class was really helpful for that.

I bounded across the creature's own body, swiftly making my way to the top of its… spherical core center. Torso? Body? Doesn't matter, it looked like where most of the internal and critical organs were placed.

I gave it a good stomp, the force reverberating across the whole chitin. My opponent woke up from its daze right after, and we repeated the same song and dance of me attacking, and it trying to crush me with crashing boulders.

I noticed, however, that it was weaker now. It was a combination of the rocks having to curve from the ground, and having lost one leg. Its earthen magic seemed to be at least linked to the power of its stomps.

I weathered through the attacks easier, though they did ramp up and get stronger eventually when my opponent began collapsing all the buildings around as ammunition against me.

I dodged against the barrage. I noted with interest, how even the caster seemed to be affected by its own magic. It seemed like pure kinetic force was hard to resist.

A particularly bad avalanche of rock hurtled at me from above when the monster leapt up and stomped heavily with all three functional feet. I flew to the sky to dodge it, cutting it close, and taking many small injuries. I descended soon after regardless, with a kick empowered by my Wind Impact Level 2.

The same song and dance continued, as we both tried to damage and tire each other out. I was losing energy, but my Second class really makes me good at attrition. I made more punches, and more kicks, the second Level of Wind Impact used whenever it was off cooldown, until finally the shell cracked, and then splintered open.

The storm of rock around me grew more agitated at that, but that was its sole avenue of attack. My opponent could not reach for me up here with its limbs, and neither with its tongues. It was really a terrible design, making for a particularly vulnerable Level 100+.

I dug through the meat, even against the barrage against me. The monster eventually tried tipping itself over, which it was not made for, but eventually found success. I had already dug into its flesh at that point however, and I continued tunneling across its insides, smashing every important looking organ. Which was basically every single organ that was within reach.

Hostile stone eventually made its way to my burrow, as the monster was willing to hurt itself just to get me out. But while it was still painful and damaging, it did not have even half the power of the earlier barrage I had to wither. I could tell that it had lost its ability to properly stomp in this position, and was now just relying on the vestiges of its earth magic.

I found it wanting.

[Wind Impact: Level 2].

I sunk my fist into a beating organ, and it spilled blood all over me, but that was fine because I was already covered in gore. I kept on wading through the viscera as I noted how the flesh around started to deflate until in the end, as if my target was finally dying.

[You have defeated a Level 111 Mage!]

The creepy four-legged spider did die. I supposed that in the end, I managed to touch its heart.