Though I was panting and barely breathing, I managed to reach the cursed beach again with the goblins in tow. Though their legs were tiny and feeble in comparison to mine, they still somehow managed to keep up. Yet as they neared the line between the jungle and the sandy beach, the goblins suddenly stopped and backtracked, disappearing back into the forests while slinging threats my way.
I saw Godfrey sitting at the dock with his back to the beach and smoke coming off the pipe. He seemed to have been whistling a cheerful tune when my great stature cast a dark shadow over him.
“Godfrey,” I said, and the man flinched almost dropping his fishing pole into the azure blue waters.
“You again,” the man said with no joy in his voice, “You… look terrible.”
“Why meet me with insults again?”
“You’re bruised and bloody all over! It’s true.”
“Blood and bruises are the Shieldfather’s jewels.”
“Maybe where you’re from.”
“Not maybe, certainly. Now help me, Godfrey. I have no weapon and no shield and out there in the jungle, a group of goblins almost took my life. I don’t wish for coin or another sword hand, I only need strength to overcome them myself. In return, I will offer you my body for you to find divine pleasure in.”
“What! Are you ma-a…That will not be necessary, Shieldfather,” he said.
This confused me somewhat. Never has a Shieldfather offering his body been refused. Godfrey truly was a special kind of creature. Alas, even demons couldn’t resist the temptation of tracing their filthy claws along our impeccable bronze skin which now assured me that Godfrey was indeed a man.
“I could not best the goblins, Godfrey,” I said, hating the words with a passion.
“Of course not, Shieldfather. They’re level 4 and you’re just level 2. You could kill one if you were alone with it, but a pack of them is way too much… even for someone as great as you.”
“I killed two out of seven, Godfrey.”
“That is…well honestly that’s pretty impressive. I’ve never seen an adventurer of yer level survive them cursed goblins,” he said, smoking his pipe and gazing at the horizon.
The sun was slowly setting on this world. A sight I had only seen in pictures and Steelspeaker magic. To behold it in such glory almost made me forget my fate.
“Godfrey, you knew they were in the jungle but you spared no word of caution?”
“Shieldfather, there’s a thousand things that can kill you in the jungle. I thought you knew. You are…Shieldfather and all.”
“I am, that is true,” I said.
I could not argue with that logic.
“Listen, son. Ye need more levels.”
“Then give me more quests and I will do them.”
“I only had the one, Shieldfather,” he said. “Unless you’re ready to go strangle me wife in ‘er sleep,” he added and chuckled anxiously.
“I do not murder,” I said feeling somewhat disgusted by the offer.
“I was joking… no, never mind. Listen, if ye can’t get any further there’s not much I can help ya with, son. Ye might as well grind those crabs until morning.”
“Grind?”
“It means to kill over and over until you reach whatever ye need. In your case, my good man, that’s experience, and maybe some more clothes.”
I did some quick calculations and realized I’d need to kill 15 crabs for another level. About 40 for two levels. With a little more tactic, I could do that and eventually level the playing field with the goblins.
“Brilliant, Godfrey,” I said sincerely.
“And listen, son, ye can sell me the crab parts. The ol’ missus cooks a mean crab stew. Sometimes she sells some of it on the market too.”
The offer to trade seemed appropriate for the time. As I had no use for the crab legs and pincers, I sold them to the old man for six silver which he handed over quickly. I looked at the rusty coins in my palm, bit down on one then raised a curious eyebrow at the fisherman,
“I know, it’s not real silver,” he said, not waiting for my questioning look to turn into a question. “We all call it silver but it’s…well, I don’t know much about these things.”
“I will take your word once more, fisherman Godfrey,” I said, lowering a hand on his shoulder.
The rugged fisherman smiled apprehensively.
“Shieldfather,” he said, his tone shifting. “Be careful.”
I would not heed the man’s advice, though motherly and kind in nature, I had already forged a plan that would see me triumphant though at great risk.
I strode down the beach back to the crab-infested rock the demons called home with a stalwart resolve. As soon as the beasts saw me, they, well, they didn’t react as they had the first time around, but their confidence would soon prove to be their demise.
The new generation of crabs looked the same as their dead parents. It seemed that they had not learned anything from their predecessors. So be it, for the demon tides that wash upon the Steel Bastion had not learned much either in ten thousand cycles, how then would these mush-brained critters?
I brought up my second crab shell and charged the first enemy with violent intent. My footsteps tossed up sand and sea water, and my battlecry reverberated against the crashing waves, creating a symphony of roaring destruction for the demons to taste.
I struck the first crab with a [Shield Slam] then followed up with my fist, breaking the carapace and killing the fiend in an instant.
YOU HAVE KILLED: CRAB
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
EXPERIENCE GAINED: +7
EXPERIENCE: 36/130
“Death becomes me,” I whispered and then spat on the crab’s corpse. I looked over at the rest and bared my teeth. My health was at 7/100, having grown by one point between my unfortunate encounter with the goblins and killing the crab, which meant my [Rage Against Death] ability was lending me a permanent 200% bonus to my damage. Well, permanent as long as I was below 20% health.
The crabs, seeing their kin die, began to swarm me in groups of three or four, crawling slowly but surely at me, snapping their pincers in a demonstration of potential violence. I laughed, for these beasts were less than a threat to Shieldfather.
I repeated my attack pattern with the next crab, using [Shield Slam] to stun it, and then finished it off with my bare fists. Since I had a ten-second window between each [Shield Slam], I backed off and waited for its cooldown. It was easy since the crabs were very slow, but it was functional, pragmatic, and after the sixth crab, I knew I could do this for as long as my focus would allow.
It wasn’t too long before I reached level 3 and that same warm, hopeful sensation washed over me like the healing waters of the rosebaths.
[CONGRATULATIONS, YOU LEVELED UP!]
[YOU’RE LEVEL 3!]
[STRENGTH INCREASED BY 1]
[CONSTITUTION INCREASED BY 1]
STAT SCREEN
NAME: SHIELDFATHER
RACE: VAINAR
CLASS: IRON TOWER WARRIOR
LEVEL: 3
DEFENSE: 4 [+1 from equipment]
ATTACK: 2
HEALTH: 110
STRENGTH: 9 [+3 from race modifier]
CONSTITUTION: 11 [+5 from race modifier]
AGILITY: 5
INTELLECT: 3
[IRON TOWER SKILLTREE UNLOCKED!]
The number of chimes and notifications almost overwhelmed my senses. A Shieldfather’s mind was as pure as his intent, or so the Steelspeakers interpreted the teachings of the First Father, but I felt it impossible to reserve my thoughts for battle when so many other things craved my attention.
I stepped away from the sandy killing field and the ever-violent crabs to study my options for I knew that this decision would cut a path for me that could not be changed.
Two different skill trees branched out before my eyes, though at several points they intertwined. I couldn’t read what the nodes lower in the branch were, only those squares with descriptions at the very top expanded into more detail, but I could make out the images and they promised powers I had not yet witnessed.
A strange sense of wonder and excitement overcame me despite the wicked fate I now threaded. There were nodes depicting one-man shield walls and devastating area-of-effect abilities portrayed by fiery circles spreading from within. Other nodes depicted several shields flying at an enemy, and so many more. The abilities seemed, at least in the picture, more powerful than any I was privy to as a Shieldfather.
The thought disturbed me as much as it sparked my interest. No Shieldfather would decline an offer to power, the Steelspeakers said. And this was very much that.
For now, though, I had either the option to reduce the cooldown on my [Shield Slam] by 2 seconds and I could do this three times until it would allow me to use twice as many times, or select a different square that offered to increase the defense of my shield by 50%. There was no doubt I would pick the second square increasing his overall defense value from a meager 6 to a well-deserved 6.5.
“You test me, demons,” I muttered, “But you will find your evil machinations thwarted soon enough.”
I slammed my fist against the crab shield and cracked it, cleared my throat, tossed the shield aside, and picked another one from my inventory.
With the goblins on my mind and the humiliation I had suffered, I continued my onslaught against the crabkin as the sun was setting ever deeper. I bruised, and I was cut, I was pinched several times more, once on the buttocks, no less. I roared and I punched, stomped, and dismembered even as the chill of the night threatened to freeze my bones to the sand.
As I reached level 4, I picked yet another point in the skill tree. This time, I decided to lower the cooldown of [Shield Slam], for I felt the additional damage and crowd control were crucial considering how little else I had to offer. My health had returned to full so I allowed the crabs to chip at me for a while so I’d get the 200% damage boost from my Rage Against Death before I returned the favor.
With this, I ventured deeper into the alcove where even more crabs gathered to attempt to feast upon my divine meat. I kept two stun-locked while killing a third, then finished off the others.
It came ever easier to me, yet the experience needed for additional levels had mounted, and the demon crabs offered very little to change that. Soon hunger found me, and I considered eating some of the dead crabs but did not know how. I had looted plenty of meat but knew not how to prepare it. A Shieldfather was fed in the morning before training once, then once again after. He was fed a lavish meal before the demon tide, then enjoyed a feast once the hordes had been fought off. Never had a Shieldfather made any food by himself.
“Perhaps Godfrey will help me with this too,” I muttered as I pulled free another crab shield from my inventory.
Deep into the night, I had laid waste to more crabs than I ever though I would see in my life. Even so, they kept crawling out of the crevasses of the rocks around me, oblivious to the fate their predecessors faced. Shieldfather soon learned that the crabs knew little of caution or history. Instead, they continued to pour toward their own demise.
It was beautiful to behold the starry night. A sight I only saw in paintings inside the Church of the First Father. The chills of the night were slowly threatening to overwhelm me, though. Despite keeping my health below 20%, and taking little to no breaks, my body struggled against the cold. My limbs felt heavy and slow, I was shaking constantly, making it hard to focus on delivering righteous death to my foes.
Despite all that, I marched on, landing blow upon blow and suffering the demon crab’s pincers in places I would not mention in my retelling.
My bronze limbs gained an eerie blue hue, and it was difficult to keep my shield up as the pain in my fingers rendered my grip numb. It wouldn’t be long before I would be defenseless and perhaps succumb to the crabkin even before I get a chance to seek revenge against the goblins.
What a death would that be? Pathetic, weak, laughable…
I would find myself swarming the Steel Bastion in a horde of demented demons for such a fall from grace. Clawing at my Shieldsons while they would surely hack me down unaware of who was behind those burning eyes.
No, the image was terrifying. A curse no Shieldfather could ever deserve. I steeled my mind against ruinous thoughts and continued.
But then, as I brought death to yet another, the sensation of leveling up met me again, warming my body and steeling my mind if even for a moment.
“I will prevail, demons! Even in the freezing domain of this beach and jungle, caught between skittering demonic crabs and the treacherous goblins hiding in the lap of ominous trees, I will prevail! I am Shieldfather! You hear me, world? I am Shieldfather!”
I breathed out hard and tossed my latest crab shield into the sea. Soft beams of light cast the darkness into a dark blue. The sun was coming up, finally. A respite for my paining bones.
Level 5 had something else to offer besides health, warmth, and another point for the skill tree. Not only was I awarded two skill points this time around, but a second layer within the two branches opened up. I quickly used one skill to reduce my [Shield Slam] cooldown to six seconds, then pondered my choices for the second rank of abilities on offer.
The left skill tree, just below the passive which increased the defense of his shield, offered a skill called [Triple Block].
TRIPLE BLOCK: Increase your shield defense value by 200% for 10 seconds or three consecutive attacks [30 seconds cooldown].
The right side of the tree where my [Shield Slam] cooldown reduction was, offered a skill named [Shield Bash].
SHIELD BASH: Use your shield for a single powerful attack that does 200% of your shield defense value [30 seconds cooldown].
Both skills seemed good choices against the goblins, but I subscribed to a philosophy, taught by the First Father and carried through the ages by his Steelspeakers, that a shield was for defense, and a sword for offense. Even though [Shield Bash] intrigued me endlessly, I chose [Triple Block] instead.
Perhaps, if this world would rain enough skill points at me, I would take Shield Bash once. Not to mock the First Father, of course, but only to gain more power. And that was something the Steelspeakers couldn’t deny was honorable.
Yes, it was all very clear to me.
With my inventory loaded with crab parts and a couple of other things I wasn’t really paying attention to, I made my way back to the pier. I was still freezing, extremely hungry, beaten, bleeding, bruised, and though I hated to admit, tired.
This time I wasn’t humiliated. I was proud, perhaps even prouder than after a successful revoke of the demon tide.
The thought both troubled and entertained me. The goblins would now face their end, this much was clear. Soon after, I would find Underock Village and learn from the priest of a path back to hell. It was simple, no doubt. Perhaps I even dare say easy.