CHAPTER 7: Gearing Up on a Budget
“He was serious?!” Andrea demanded of Adam while everyone was gathered in the garden center of the nearby hardware store.
“I already said yes,” replied Adam, no real concern to it.
“Yes, but goblins?!”
A sigh escaped Adam as he passed over his cell phone, video paused at where the goblin assassin came out of the shadow. The video of the fight wasn’t great. It was blurry and zoomed out. The camera had been too far from where it happened, lots of moving bodies blocking the view, and Adam’s motion tended to be blurry due to his speed. However, the goblins entering the alley near where the camera was set up was much clearer, and even from the back you could tell they weren’t human. One clear thing the video captured was the blood and gore splatter when they died. That tended to linger in sight.
There were lots of gasps while everyone who hadn’t been there gathered behind Andrea to watch. No one took their eyes off the screen, and no one complained about being packed in closely. When the video finished there was only stunned silence, until Andrea replayed the video. Adam reach for his phone to stop her but she pulled it away. Laughter followed the tension as the beginning of the video showed the fight with the bullies.
“Wow!”
“Damn!”
“The hell?!”
“Adam,” Nick addressed him. “All these years we’ve been friends and you’ve never shown the ability or interest to do that. How is this possible?”
“Well, I think I couldn’t select a class because for some reason I got one without the [System], but it seemed to be broken. There is definitely something inside me now that is a bit scary.”
“Scary awesome! You are like an action star,” Andrea quipped, getting a lot of nods.
“That might be, but it also has been screwing with my emotions, especially anger. I get full of heat and fury and just attack. I’m starting to figure it out, though in a fight be careful if I get too intense.”
Carlos, one of the two Nick had brought along with Lamar, spoke up, “This suddenly seems like it is going to get dangerous. I’m excited to see what happens and scared that it won’t be through a video. Anyway, glad to be a part of the group, but why are we in the garden center?”
“Weapons,” Lucas said quietly. “Those bastards were tough, and we only survived because Adam could use their own weapons. Crappy stone weapons at that. We need something sharp and easy to get.”
“Sharp?” asked Nick.
“Almost everything used in gardens has a blade or edge or poky bit,” Joseph stated.
“Here’s the plan,” interrupted Adam. “The bullies…”
“Hey, boss!” Tom cut in indignantly. “Get a better name for us.”
“…and I brought some money for a few things. We don’t have enough for everyone, so if you guys want in on this fight contribute some. Otherwise leave now. No following out of curiosity. This is going to be a life and death situation. We need to be prepared, work together, and level while we do it. If you can’t do that, walk.”
Adam looked at everyone in turn and they nodded. Except for Abbey, who tried to hide behind the shorter Andrea, but even she nodded.
“Ok, so they should have machetes here or some hunting knives. Everyone with a fighting class needs one. Supports need something that will cut. I think a pair of clippers in case we get snagged on something or those box cutting razors. Then we need a few flashlights with lantern options, rope, zip ties, and something to sharpen blade quickly.”
“What about damage type?” Brittney hesitantly asks.
“Damage type?” Randall looks confused.
“Well, in all Brandon’s games they have different types of damage. Um, blunt, piercing, and uh...”
“Slashing,” Brandon quietly adds.
“Right, slashing,” continued Brittney. “There might be different situations where we need different things.”
“Makes sense.” Adam thought a moment. “We should look at the larger hammers for the stronger people too. And something to use as spears for some length.”
Lamar chose then to speak up. “There are things called scrapers, they look like hoes but with a flat head. We could probably sharpen it to use as a spear until finding something better. It might be with the painting supplies.”
Lucas looked around and then added, “Probably just you and me for the hammers. I don’t think the others will be strong enough yet. You and I can probably use sledgehammers.”
Adam looked to his arm cast. “Uh…” Embarrassment showed on Lucas’s face.
“A-actually,” Abbey slinked out from behind Andrea while raising her hand slightly. “I have a healing skill I could try.”
“Huh. That sounds interesting. Do all supports get a healing skill?” asked Adam.
Brandon answered, “when I took the class, I had a choice of three skills to take. I took one called [Bolster] that gives a slight stat boost.”
“Sounds interesting. Did everyone get a choice from three skills?” Everyone nodded. “Guess that’ll give us some variety and allow people to direct their future paths. Ok, Abbey, give your heal a try on Lucas.”
Hesitantly, as if touching a snake, Abbey put her fingers on Lucas’s hand. A very dim red flash appeared at the contact point and both people winced. There were two more flashes before she backed away.
“I don’t have the mana for more,” informed Abbey.
“That feels better but probably needs about five more,” Lucas stated.
“Ok, that’s a positive though. Abbey, whenever you have the mana, cast it on Lucas. Once he is better use it on Tom’s face,” directed Adam towards Abbey. She gave a slight nod, so he continued. “Now let’s talk money. It’s all moot if we don’t have the cash for things. I brought $50.”
“$150 from my part time job,” Randall said.
“$100,” said Lucas.
“$60,” said Tom.
Joseph just turned-out empty pockets and shrugged, earning him a grumpy head shake from Lucas.
Everyone else emptied their wallets or purses. The amount in total wasn’t great but it would get them quite a bit. Then Abbey spoke once more.
“Uh, here is my dad’s emergency credit card. It had a $500 limit. As long as we pay it back before the end of the month, I can use it.”
“Terrific! Abbey is now our treasurer,” Adam said while smiling at her. “You hold on to group funds and we’ll discuss them when we need them. Now, Lucas and I will look at the heavier tools. Nick, Carlos, Lamar, and Brandon should get the blades. Tom, Randall, and Joseph get the other things I mentioned. Andrea and Alissa go find some cheap duffle bags or large bags for paint supplies. Also grab two cheap paint tarps and see if the place has any of those cheap rain ponchos, preferably in dark colors.”
“Rain ponchos?” Andrea asked.
Tom burst out laughing, once more wincing due to his nose. “Good call on that, Boss. You sure make those goblins splatter.” That caused everyone to grimace at the thoughts of the gore.
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Everyone split into their groups. Lucas, Abbey, and Adam went to the heavy tools. What surprised Adam was that Brittney followed them instead of going with Brandon. When he got to the sledgehammers, he picked up a 12 lb one and moved it around in his hand. Gently swinging it in the small aisle and moving his wrist around felt no different than a lightweight baseball bat. He was much stronger than before.
Lucas tried the 12 lb sledgehammer with his left hand, but then put it back in favor of an 8 lb one. Brittney also tried different weights of sledgehammers, while the other two watched. After a while Lucas spoke up.
“That hammer is too heavy for you. Try a 4 lb short handled one over there. No matter how light it seems it’ll get heavy quickly, at least until we level up some.”
Brittney nodded and tried out the lighter ones until she was comfortable picking one. Before heading to meet up they also grabbed several pairs of worker gloves to help with gripping and in case they had to touch something unsafe. They met up with everyone in front of the self-checkout. Adam made sure everything had a fiberglass or metal handle, he didn’t want any wood breaking or splintering. Then a few items were purchased by each member of the group so it didn’t look so conspicuous.
***
By the time they got to the warehouses, Lucas and Tom were healed. Tom had ripped all the tape off his face and was breathing in big, exaggerated breaths. Lucas thought about taking a machete to his cast, but instead held his arm towards Adam without even saying anything. Adam pinched it with both hands and tore it apart, too comical for everyone not to laugh at it.
“So, we are here. What next?” asked Andrea.
Adam dropped the two large bags full of their purchases in the center of the alley in the late afternoon sun, far enough from the shadows. He looked at the shadows intently, trying to feel any sign of movement. At a gesture from Lucas everyone got quiet and waited until Adam was satisfied they were alone.
“We don’t know where they came from but I assume there are quite a few more. Four does not constitute an invasion. Each warehouse will need to be explored, and we will need to be cautious about it. Tell your parents you might be home late; this will take a while.”
Phones were pulled out and text messages sent. Two people made phone calls, and a few didn’t even bother. Not everyone had a decent home life.
While they did that, Adam opened the bags and started sorting their supplies. The longest machete was buckled to his own belt, and he took the heavy sledge and put it at his own feet. Then he started opening the ponchos.
When everyone was ready, he let the scouts choose machetes first, then the other warriors took one. Box cutters went to the mages and support. Brittney and Lucas grabbed their sledgehammers. Since they had four of the scrapers, he handed one each to Randall, Joseph, and Tom. The fourth he handed to Brandon along with one of two knife sharpeners.
“Brandon, you are in charge of weapons. If anyone’s machete or scraper gets dull, pull back and have Brandon sharpen it. For now, Randall and Brandon sharpen all the scrapers as well as you can. We won’t know what we are going to find so no splitting up. A circle will probably be the best formation. Brandon and Abbey in the center. We have three mages, three spearmen, and three scouts. We’ll pair you guys up. Stand in different positions around the support. Only move from that spot if someone else gets injured. The scouts will be the roamers, helping whoever is in combat, while I lead the way with Lucas, since the two of us seem the most experienced,” Adam received nods as he gave out directions. To his surprise everyone was listening to him.
“Next, we should talk about skills. I don’t have any, or at least know what they are, but we need to know what each of you can do. We know Brandon and Abbey. [Bolster] and [Slight Heal]. Ellias has [Mana Dart]. I assume all level one skills will be crap, so we won’t be relying heavily on them. We need to make sure everyone levels, so if you are in a controlled situation try not to finish off the Goblins until everyone gets a hit to share the group experience. Now, what skills do you have?”
“All us [Warrior] boys took [Sturdy Weapon]. It gives a 5% durability to whatever weapon we are using,” Tom informed.
“Alissa and I also took [Mana Dart],” contributed Andrea. “The other mage starter options didn’t even do damage. I forget the names, but one made the ground softer to walk over, and the other increased mana regen by 5%. What’s the point in getting mana regen before even having spells?”
“[Harden Shield] for me,” said Brittney. “Like the weapon one it’s a 5% durability to shields.”
“There are no shields yet for you, so stay with the support and move out if one of our spearmen are engaged. Since you aren’t an agility fighter don’t leave the circle. Try to hit or kick any controlled goblin, just like the support.”
“Yes,” said Brittney. Adam was a bit surprised to see that she seemed almost excited about what was happening. Her eyes were almost sparkling.
“I have [Light Steps]. It allows me to walk 5% quieter, though not enough to matter at this level,” spoke up Nick. “How do we even quantify walking noise?”
“I have [Clear Sight],” said Carlos. “It allows me to focus on a single detail but honestly it’s not very good since I already need to know what I’m looking at.”
“[Notice Sign] is what I took. My dad and I go on hunting trips,” explained Lamar. “I figured it would lead to being a tracker and hunter.”
“Ok, so Nick took the path of stealth, Carlos inspection, and Lamar of tracking. More variety there than the other classes. If those are what you want to do then use them as much as possible to find the goblins. Until you get some levels don’t push yourselves and stay with the group. Does anyone have any questions or suggestions?”
No one readily spoke up, everyone looking a bit nervous. Adam decided that since he didn’t have a class yet he would use his experience points to level his body. He brought up the menu for [Levels].
You have enough XP to level your class or your body. Which will you level?
[ Class / Body / Cancel]
Adam clicked on “Body”. A barely noticeable tingle went through his body.
You have 5 attribute points to use. Would you like to allocate them?
Thinking about how tough the skin of the goblins felt he dropped 3 into strength and 2 into vitality. A sensation like an electrical shock hit his spine. Adam wasn’t sure what it was supposed to feel like, but that felt wrong. It reminded him of trying to eat a hamburger when he was already full, and the nausea that would follow. He had enough XP for a second body level so he selected it again and allocated 3 into agility and 2 into vitality. The same shock of wrongness hit. A frown appeared on his face as he checked his status.
Name: █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
Age: ██
Race: Human [2]
Class: █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
Strength: N/A
Agility: N/A
Vitality: N/A
Intelligence: N/A
Wisdom: N/A
Core Skills:
█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
Skills:
█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
…
There was no change. His stats still didn’t show and the added bits didn’t seem to do anything. There was no feeling of increased strength, speed, or toughness.
Before he realized it everyone had stopped what they were doing and were staring at him in concern.
“Is something wrong?” asked Nick.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Well, you just kind of stopped moving and started radiating anger. I don’t know about the others but I’m a bit concerned about what happened.”
Adam took a deep breath and let it out. “When you level you can choose your class or body. Since I couldn’t do a class I chose my body, but nothing changed and it felt wrong. My stats still say not available.”
“Haha!” Laughed Tom. “I don’t think you need more stats the way you moved before. Let’s just focus on the goblins for now and fixing your status later.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. Here, put this in the bags away from the equipment,” Adam said after taking off his jacket and shirt. More stares followed with a few dropped jaws. The frown returned to his face.
“WHA-WHA-WHAT is THAT?!?” Abbey exclaimed and pointed at his body.
Looking down, Adam didn’t see anything that should have elicited that reaction. He twisted and turned his body trying to check for anything unusual. The only oddity was the bandaged cut on his left oblique.
“I…don’t see anything. What’re you talking about?”
“You…I…that…what…” Abbey stammered on.
Andrea spoke up to clear the confusion. “I think she means your body itself. Have you always been that, uh, stacked? We just weren’t expecting you to be nearly so sexy.”
“Oh,” Adam said feeling some relief. There were so many changes since the [System] happened that he had been concerned he missed something. “After that last goblin fight my body looked a lot more fit.” He had been in normal shape for a teen before but now his muscles had grown, and the skin had tightened on them. His body still looked thin but what was there looked more like a fitness nut. There wasn’t much his body needed to fill out anymore and everything sat on his frame as if it belonged. Lithe and strong was how he looked, different than his formerly lanky appearance. Adam had been average height and slender width, but now his width looked better. His frame was packed with what could fit within its space without pushing his skin outwards.
By the time he finished speaking, Abbey had slowly walked towards him and was now gingerly touching his abs and stroking his chest. She looked up at him questioningly. He just shrugged. It took Andrea coming over and pulling her away.
“Hunkiness aside, why did you take off your shirt?”
“I can’t afford to ruin all my clothes,” Adam said. Then he added a teasing smile while looking at the girls, “Don’t get too distracted from our purpose.”
There were loose chuckles around. Gloves were put on his hands and then a rain poncho over his head. A few practice swings with the sledgehammer followed, to test his grip with the gloves and the poncho. Everyone else got the message and put ponchos over their clothes.
What followed was what an observer would call the most inept training session ever. While Lucas knew how to move from being a boxer, and Adam felt like his strength and agility let him grasp movement better, everyone else were amateurs. Even the three from the soccer team couldn’t coordinate their machete swings with their more dexterous feet. Surprisingly the only other capable one seemed to be Brittney. She attacked and defended while moving as little as possible, and only swung when she thought there was a chance of contact, letting the other person set up their own mistakes. Adam was impressed by her.
In the end, Lucas and Adam faced off with each person individually, giving them a few simple stances, a single thrust, swing and dodge. The spear users were to thrust without over committing and pin their opponent, or block with the shaft, but not to get too fancy.
“Alright! We are all in agreement. We are terrible at this,” confirmed Adam. Emphatic nods were everywhere. “Stay grouped, stay safe, and don’t hurt your neighbors. Andrea, Randall, and Lamar will watch the back. Alissa, Tom, and Carlos the left. Elias, Nick, and Joseph will take the right. I’ll lead with Lucas behind. If you notice anything unusual get our attention. Try to stay quiet otherwise.”
“You are surprisingly good at this, Adam,” Andrea said encouragingly. Then she muttered under her breath, “I hope no one dies.”