CHAPTER 72: Interlude: Lucas
“I can see why you left,” said his pops, looking around the condo.
They were standing in the living room of Lucas’s condo. Lucas knew the Rift Menu could do a lot of the cleaning for him, but Lucas felt like he had to clean up after his own messes. Plus, he spent little time in the unit. During the days they were busy with training or hunting, and in the evenings everyone went to Adam’s place to unwind as a group.
His place just had the basic decorations with a few personal additions. Jordan Lane had created a speed bag for him that wouldn’t shake the room or the neighbors, and then a much more durable punching bag made from Testudinate skin. Truthfully Lucas still couldn’t hit either with much of his stat enhanced strength, but for him these items represented home more than a place did.
Just a few minutes ago his father had arrived, shown to his place by whoever had been on guard in the lobby. He had a large box in his hands containing Lucas’s trophies, pictures, and nicknacks from his childhood.
True to form, his dad had glared as he looked around. First into the bedroom, giving a bit of a whistle at the quality and size of the bed and coverings. Then he scowled as he looked out the window at the people still working far below and the other buildings visible from here. Finally, he trudged into the kitchen, moving appliances and looking in the nearly empty fridge.
“I guess you did have a fancy place all lined up for you,” his pops said. By themselves the words couldn’t be taken as good or bad, but the constant edge in his voice was still there.
Three days prior, Lucas had been taken by surprise. Since there was no source of XP that was strong enough for his group, they had decided to begin taking others through the basics with the mutated wildlife. Their group split into pairs, with Lucas bringing Ed as his second to ensure he had a solid healer.
Packets of information about leveling, known classes, and suggested strategies were prepared. They would be given to anyone new to the hunts. Then they would go through the roles and strategies. Finally, the group would enter areas with mutated animals, and they would go hunting.
The hunts would initially focus on getting everyone used to being attacked and then killing, with the leaders mostly power leveling them. Then the next day’s hunt would allow the groups to work together with the leaders, being there to keep everyone safe. People needed the experience of actions as much as the XP for leveling.
Each day they had blocked out time for three different groups, to get enough people in the hunts as they could without causing exhaustion in the attendees. Police, military, civilians, and even other kids from school were all included, with preference given to the level zeros on the first day. The second and third days had the military and police running their own sessions, for longer periods since they weren’t including civilians.
People included in the hunts weren’t always in the same groups. They shifted around with other people, or due to time issues, and sometimes the leaders moved them to balance the groups. Those who attended all did so voluntarily. They were willing and eager, even if they weren’t always ready for the emotional impact of killing and receiving wounds.
The first day of hunting started off as expected. Lucas managed his first group while Ed played with his drones and laptop. It went fine. They spent half an hour to explain the packets and tell people what they were lacking.
At first only Earth hunting knives were loaned out to prevent self-inflicted injuries. An hour of driving time on buses to their assigned hunting grounds was expected, with an hour and a half to hunt on the first day, and two hours on the subsequent days.
When he returned with the first group, Lucas and Ed grabbed food and water that had been prepared for them. The hunters then went their own ways, separating from Lucas and Ed. Some needed rest, while others needed therapy, which the police had provided. A few psychologists were on hand for one on ones, as well as group sessions being run at all times. There was a lot of mental adjustment required with everyone, including the therapists.
The surprise had come when Lucas grabbed a clip board with the names of his second group. The names were familiar. They were names he had grown up with. Most were nicknames, and none had first and last names. A special note on his clipboard indicated they had requested him as their leader and insisted on being grouped even though they had terrible class balance.
Lucas sighed before pushing open the door to the meeting room where they waited. Twenty pairs of eyes focused on him as he entered. They were all hard, judgmental stares. The room had been quiet before he entered, and it stayed quiet as he looked them over. No one moved and no one spoke.
The men were all army buddies of his father, with his father there in the front seat glaring at him. They were the retired army men that his pops talked so positively about. Throughout Lucas’s life he had thought of them like a type of family, always supporting each other when times were tough, and sharing their resentment of the rest of society.
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They had short names like Buck, Will, Lute, Chuck, Church, and Gunt. When Lucas was in elementary school, he had thought of them all like uncles, not realizing that the yelling, drinking, cursing, and violence were abnormal. Yet these men all had a bond that tightly held them even if arguments might devolve into fist fights.
Lucas wondered what was going on. He was too surprised to see his dad, even if that was only expressed through glaring eye contact. A few of the men put on a smile when he looked at them, but most were stoic and gruff. Ultimately Lucas decided that unless someone said something, he would run this like they planned for all the groups.
“These are packets with information about the [System], leveling, and your classes. Make sure you read them over. Take one and pass it down. I’ll give you a few minutes to read before going over what matters for today,” Lucas said as he handed the packets out.
Still, no one talked.
Each man had a handgun, some type of rifle, from simpler hunting rifles to semi-automatic assault rifles, full body camo suits, hunting knives, helmets, and a hefty pack to carry. Lucas knew some of these men were too worn down from injuries they had suffered to carry their own gear. He also knew that someone else would pick it up for them without complaint.
Buck and Lute, both with a tag showing they were [Scouts], flipped open the packet and skimmed through it while the others just put them in their packs.
“Ed, go cast a stronger heal on Church and Hank over there,” Lucas ordered. Church had nerve damage in his leg and could barely walk while Hank constantly shook from liver damage due to excessive drinking.
Both eyed Ed warily as he approached them, Church going so far as to rest a hand on his gun. Ed ignored them, then touched them and his hand flashed red. Each man in turn opened their eyes wide and gasped for breath. Hank even had a tear fall down his cheek. A restlessness filled the room as their comrades were ready to jump in if Ed or Lucas did something they didn’t like.
Once done, Ed absently walked back to his laptop. Lucas didn’t expect the heal to completely negate the old injuries, but it should rejuvenate the rest of their bodies so they could make the excursion easier.
After a few more minutes of staring, while Buck and Lute finished reviewing the packets, Lucas went on with the rest of his lecture. He gave the rundown of the dangers, what to expect, how to handle their levels, and to not use guns. The guns part drew a lot of frowns. He explained about the weaknesses of guns against skills and how the sounds would bring more predators instead of scaring them away.
Lucas expected the men to think they knew better than him and to behave based on their own experiences instead of listening to him. He would just deal with it as they went.
The trip to the hunting group was done in the same silence. No questions, or arguments, or discussions. Simply quiet.
The hunting portion also felt weird to Lucas. The older men never said anything to his orders except, “Yes, sir,” though a few said it with an amused smile on. They got into formations he ordered them to. They shifted and moved as he directed. When the two scouts wanted to explore, they begrudgingly pulled back at his command.
For their hunt, they targeted mutated bobcats. Without any rangers, Lucas was glad he hadn’t booked an area with bird monsters. The first beast they found, he grabbed by the back of the neck and threw to the ground. It was as big as a Saint Bernard, with patches of quills instead of fur around joints, and hooked claws, each as long as its paw. The men gave him disapproving looks as he ordered them the stab it and then killed it himself.
Bopinca [4] slain. 238 shared XP gained.
Lucas had the scouts work on tracking the animals. They found a second one as it burst from the trees, obscured by bushes of thistles. It was much faster than a regular human and almost reached Lute, but Lucas grabbed it out of the air, suffering two shallow slashes on his forearms where his wrist guards didn’t cover.
His vitality was high enough that the claws were unable to cut deeply. It took a bit more work to pin this one due to its thrashing, though Lucas managed it with his much higher strength. The men were more willing to stab this one, each with a quick glance at Lute.
Bopinca [6] slain. 305 shared XP gained.
In the third encounter they accidentally walked into a pack of the beasts. The underbrush would shudder, then one would burst from the other side. Several even came down from the trees. The former soldiers, unable to cope, had reactions from their own experiences. They quickly pulled out their guns, but the bullets only lightly penetrated the fur and muscles of the animals.
Instead, it was Lucas who quickly got control with this war hammer. Adam’s was made completely out of the heavy Testudinate metal, making it heavier than Lucas could use. Lucas’s hammer used a wooden handle and a smaller head to keep it lighter, though it did have a spike on one side that could be used for penetration.
By the time the second Bopinca in the pack was visible, Lucas was swinging his hammer right to where it would be. He then brought it down from overhead and snapped the hind legs of the monster that almost reached Gunt. As the bullets were fired and more Bopincas entered the area, Lucas spun, swung, and spiked the former bobcats.
When Lucas propped his hammer on his shoulder in a more relaxed pose, there were 12 Bopincas laying on the ground amid muck and blood. Unlike the former soldiers, he wasn’t sweating and his breathing came easily. The older men were all heaving for air while still aiming guns at the tree branches and underbrush. Their canvas clothes were stained with sweat.
A few had gotten scratched and were bleeding, but Ed walked between them without recognizing that a fight had happened. All their wounds were healed. Wounds that were clearly allowed by Lucas who always arrived right before the cuts got too deep.
For the first time, there was respect in the men’s eyes as they looked at Lucas and Ed.
“The animals are all alive. Make sure you get your XP from them before finishing them off,” Lucas ordered, surprising them. The men looked around and even in the splatter of blood and guts, they saw the cats breathing. That he was able to control the fight while intentionally not killing caused the older men quite a shocked.