Now, Las Vegas
The desert had partially reclaimed the human-abandoned city. Dirt and sand covered many of the structures in a fine layer. There were the occasional sand dunes piled up against the sides of buildings and signs depending on if their flat surfaces faced the wind. The fact that the resort casino’s lights and fountains still functioned as they did over a decade ago lent an eerie feel to the entirety of the image presented.
Watching the light and fountain show outside the Bellagio while monsters and mutated animals roamed through dirt and sand-covered streets was weird.
Cal had the baby in one of those wearable harness things.
He did look ridiculous as Nila had pointed out a couple of times, but he didn’t care. The only around to see were monsters and mutated animals.
“What are we facing in there?” Nila said.
Cal finished his telepathic scan.
“Well… unlike the other resorts, which had mutant white lions and tigers, mutant flamingos, landsharks and other mutated animals this one has monsters. Specifically, humanoid ones that appear to have biological weaponry and armor based on historical gladiators.”
Nila eyed the huge fountain, pond combination. The pseudo Roman architecture of several buildings, including the much smaller copy of the Colosseum, that made up the hotel and casino. “I sometimes think that the spires are actually a bunch of kids making fun of us.”
“Very GM-like,” he agreed.
“It’s a spawn zone like the rest. How come none of those gladiator monsters are out here?” Nila regarded the bloody corpses of dozens of mutant animals piled up on the street and the sidewalk.
Cal had cleared them a wide circle and was keeping a telekinetic bubble around himself and the baby to protect them from the stench. Nila had the Threnosh-made helmet to filter the air.
“They might be shut-ins. Or the buffet is just that good. Which we already know,” he said.
“I feel that we are being very irresponsible in regards to the little guy,” Nila smiled at the baby, who smiled back.
“You know what… you’re right. I don’t know what I’m thinking. It’s like, I’m a hundred percent sure he’s safest with me even when going into a spawn zone. I mean,” he gestured at the dozens of dead things in the street.
Nila hefted her blood-covered baseball bat-like Threnosh club. “You floated in the air, while I smashed heads.”
“Hey, I helped keep them from touching your armor.”
“Thank you for that, Love, but I’m pretty sure it would’ve kept me mostly fine. Probably, just ended up with a few bumps and bruises,” Nila said.
“We should go with the original plan, Love… if you don’t mind being stuck with the baby?”
“I guess I don’t. I’d be a horrible person if I did,” Nila sighed.
“To the motel!” he pointed in a random direction. “Don’t worry. After you guys are settled in and safe, I’ll make this a priority,” he gestured at Caesar’s Palace, “we can stay in the most expensive suite and eat at the Bacchanal all the time.”
“You know that we still have to cook the food, right?” Nila said.
“They probably have instructions,” he shrugged. “Just imagine it… all that food, but with our current superhuman appetites.”
“I have been,” Nila laughed.
Cal gathered the RV and flew them all to a small motel on the outskirts of the Strip.
A quick fight to claim it from the gremlins and he flew back to the resort casino with the knowledge that Nila and baby had a safe place. He hadn’t detected anyone or anything in the area that was powerful enough to challenge his and Nila’s combined claim to the motel.
As soon as he crossed the invisible boundary between the sidewalk and resort property he was greeted by a voice in his ears and text in his vision.
Welcome to the Caesar’s Palace Spawn Zone!
Do you—
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he waved it away. He knew how it worked. Either he needed to kill enough regular monsters to get the boss to come out. That would give him the option to turn it back into an encounter challenge. He could also opt to fight the true boss, which would give him the option to claim the whole thing. “Let’s get on with it… too bad Nila couldn’t get in on the points and bonus rewards.” Which probably would’ve been more points or perhaps some kind of item. The two of them didn’t have classes, so no Skills or spells.
His own experiences showed that power increase and improvement came from exertion, greater knowledge and moments of breaking through one’s limits during a desperate moment. His cousin, Madalena had a similar experience. As had his brothers.
He could never deliberately put Nila into something like that.
Something came flying out of the large fountain.
A net.
He swatted it aside with telekinesis.
Whit-skinned humanoids came out of the water.
Their weapons and armor appeared to be bone that came straight out of their flesh.
“Gross as always.”
More nets flew at him.
As he batted them aside, he noticed that they appeared to be made out of bloody sinew, bits of bone and what looked like teeth.
A check with the monsters’ sharp-toothed grins confirmed the latter.
He floated higher to avoid the bone tridents being thrust.
“What did they call you guys?” He tried to remember the specific term for the gladiator that fought with trident and net. He knew that there were a lot of different designations depending on fighting style and armament. Much like how sports teams have— had specific position names for specific roles. “Murmillo? Nah, I think that was sword and shield. Caestus… that was a weapon name.” He could review his memories, but if had never picked up the knowledge then he remained ignorant. He could’ve delved into it deeper, he knew that he had watched documentaries on ancient Rome. Those might’ve included the information. “Focus. I’m getting overconfident. Who knows how powerful the monsters inside are?”
He crushed the monsters with telekinetic hands.
The sculptures of Roman figures near the circular fountains cracked open to reveal the monster hidden within as he flew closer.
Each time they leapt at him.
Each time he crushed them.
It was easy to get overconfident.
Monstrous mockeries of mythical demigods broke out of the sculptures. They hopped on bat-winged horses that dripped viscera from open, oozing flesh. They brayed a sick sound. A call for Cal’s flesh and blood.
He ripped their wings and smashed them into the ground until their bodies burst.
The splatter bounced off the invisible telekinetic shield he had surrounded himself with.
“Huh?” he stopped before descending toward the entrance.
There would be sculptures of Roman deities and other mythological creatures inside.
How close to the myths did the spires make them?
He couldn’t imagine them having anywhere near the might of mythical gods, monsters and heroes.
“I came here to, at a minimum, fix the spawn zones,” he said.
The sliding doors opened with a hiss. Possibly a decade had passed since they had last done that and yet they had slid open smoothly as if they were brand new.
Cal was attacked as soon as he floated into the grand lobby.
Monstrous gladiators of many types came at him from every direction.
He dropped his telekinetic shield and sent his weapons flying out to meet the monsters.
Blades, spikes, rotary saw blades and even ninja stars cut and pierced white flesh.
The monster’s bone armor provided some protection, but the gladiator aesthetic meant large areas of their bodies were unprotected.
This fight wasn’t a show.
Death was the point.
Dozens of projectiles flew. Each one was under Cal’s precise control. They didn’t hit each other even as the wove together in arcs meant to confuse the monsters and get past their defenses.
Cal hung a web of barely visible metal wires around him.
The few monstrous gladiators that evaded the storm of flying death found themselves running headlong into the web.
He immediately wrapped them up and squeezed the wires tight.
Bloody giblets hit the once pristine floors.
He was glad that he wouldn’t have to clean any of that.
Everything would be nice and clean the next day. After he claimed the place.
The thunder of hooves and wheels filled the huge lobby.
Cal glanced to the left.
A chariot was bearing down on him from out of nowhere.
Monstrous horse, chariot and bow wielding rider fused together in a disgusting package.
A bone arrow bounced off Cal’s telekinetic shield.
The rider pulled another arrow out of what appeared to be its shoulder. Nocked it on a bloody string, that was probably its own sinew and loosed from a bone bow that came out of its wrist.
Cal cut the string with a spinning saw blade before the rider could loose.
A pair of knives followed and plunged into the rider’s eyes.
It slumped, dead, but the horse kept coming.
He sent his weapons to carve up the beast, which allowed the monstrous gladiators to get closer.
Some he snared with wires, while others he crushed with telekinetic hands.
One got close enough to punch out with moon-shaped bone blades coming out of its wrists instead of proper hands.
Cal stepped back while bobbing and weaving.
He was gratified to find that one of the monster gladiators did indeed have caestuses. Or was it caesti?
He hit it with an uppercut.
The punch was so fast and powerful that it ripped the head right off.
Gore covered Cal’s unarmored fist.
His face twisted.
He had used full-coverage armor for so long that he had forgotten about that one very important benefit.
“Yeah, okay… fighting is a very disgusting thing,” he reminded himself.
He telekinetically shoved the still spurting corpse away, careful to block the rest of the blood spray, while wiping his hand free of the gore. Telekinesis was more thorough than a rag could ever be.
“Almost clean,” he eyed his hand. “I’ll need soap and water though.”
Later.
He still had to deal with the chariot horse monster.
He floated up toward the ceiling as the beast thundered underneath him.
It was tough.
Its skin was crisscrossed with so many slices and holes that it was more red than white and yet it was circling around.
Cal wasn’t interested in prolonging the fight. He wanted that buffet food.
He pulled the camping axe he had picked up from the sporting goods store off his belt and threw it.
Guided and empowered by telekinesis the axe head sunk deep into the monstrous horse’s skull.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
It crashed into a pillar sending dust falling from the ceiling.
Its body remained still and its brain was silent.
The remaining monstrous gladiators joined it a few seconds later.
“Feels nice being overpowered. The appeal is undeniable.”
Cal had several options.
The casino or the hotels.
The totality of Caesar’s Palace was separated into several buildings.
He suspected that he’d have to clear them all to trigger the boss.
Nothing in the spires’ words indicated the possibility that there’d be other trigger conditions. Then again, vagueness was the standard.
“The casino is probably considered the heart of this place. I’ll save it for last.”
He turned away from the bright, flashing lights and sounds to float toward the hotel section.
Monstrous gladiators periodically attacked him, but were easily dealt with by the bladed death that orbited around him.
Clearing each hotel building was an easy if tedious task.
He didn’t make the mistake of using the elevators, even though they were functional.
The stairs had been packed with monstrous gladiators. It would’ve made for a difficult climb had he been forced to wade through the bodies.
Each floor repeated a similar pattern. There’d be groups in the hallway and then a few more inside each room. After a time, he realized that he could speed things up by telekinetically opening each door as soon as he entered a floor.
Once he figured that out it was a simple matter of sending his flying death to dispatch the monsters as he walked to the other end of the floor. He climbed the stairs and repeated. Back and forth he had gone.
One hotel building.
Then another.
He cleared offices, maintenance tunnels, supply areas, power supply, water supply, employee lounges. Everything hidden in the background of the illusion of decadent fun that the entire city had been built upon.
Once done he returned to the main lobby. This time he was met by monstrous humanoids in the guise of a Roman legion.
“… that makes sense.”
The monstrous legionnaires filled the air with pila.
He caught each one in invisible hands and threw them right back.
He fouled many scuta, but killed surprisingly few.
The monsters drew their gladii and advanced.
Cal noticed a much taller monster in the rear of the legion. Its head was crowned by bone carved to look like a laurel. His thoughts went to the statue of one of the Caesars he had seen earlier. “Really? Disturbing attention to detail.”
He sent out a telekinetic wave that knocked every single monstrous legionnaire off their feet. At the same time he ripped their bone gladii out of their hands and plunged them into their chests.
The monstrous Caesar drew a gladius out of its hip and charged only to be stabbed in the back a dozen times by its own legion’s blades.
“Hah! I wish Nila was here to see that. It won’t be as funny when I explain. Too bad it’s October.”
The casino was filled with more legionnaires. No more Caesar though, which was a little disappointing. When he finished the entire space looked like a tornado had spawned in the middle. Slot machines and tables where broken and scattered in pieces. Nothing had been spared.
A trip to the sportsbook yielded similar results.
Cal was done and still no boss fight.
That was when he remembered something. A fountain and light show about the fall of Atlantis he had once watched long ago. He had passed it earlier when he had gone through the shopping area, but at that time the statues had remained statues.
As soon as he got within visual range the spires sent him a message.
“Finally.”
----------------------------------------
Then, Mexico & New Mexico
The bullets stung, but didn’t penetrate Cooper’s armor.
Their terror gave him and his steed strength.
A happy, bloodthirsty neigh filled the cold night air.
The Dread Paladin and his steed thundered toward the bonfires lighting the barricade.
An arrow shot on a line to his helmet’s eye slit. He snatched it out of the air inches away. Someone had used a Skill. He raised his shield, couldn’t get careless. An arrow to the eye could hurt him, slow him down. Maybe even kill him. Best not to find out.
He was close enough to see their faces. The whites of their eyes. He smelled something pungent. Several had lost control of themselves. Lost their nerve and their bladders.
They were supposedly cartel according to the briefing.
The interstate ran through Juarez and Elliot had decided a mad run through the city, even if parts of it were cartel controlled, was a better idea than going off-road.
He was a weak man, spooked by the monsters on the plains.
And so, as he had done several times, he had thrown Cooper in front.
Cooper knew that his success or failure were equal objectives in Elliot’s eyes. Knew that the man was trying to get him killed. It suited his purpose. Each terrible monster he slew only grew the dread in the entire expedition.
And now they would watch him plow right through this cartel as the entire convoy followed on his heels.
A ball of fire exploded against his shield. He tightened his grip on the reins in time to keep from being knocked off.
Spells, bullets and arrows peppered him and his steed.
Cooper thought it was weird that a cartel had survived the spires apocalypse. Did they still sell drugs? If they didn’t, then why call them a ‘cartel’? At this point there wasn’t much difference in the various types of communities that had emerged in the aftermath. Some were definitely better than others.
The Dread Paladin didn’t care. He savored the screams of terror as his steed plowed through the barricade. He released the reins to let his bloodthirsty steed snap out and take heads and limbs while he guided her with his knees. One hand held a shield, blocking attacks. The other hand held a long spear that he thrust through armor and into flesh.
Word of a dark rider on an impossibly large horse that hungered for flesh would spread far and wide as the survivors scattered in the coming days.
When morning came the Golden Eagle’s 1st Company was miles past Juarez and well into New Mexico. They hadn’t lost a single person. Sure, there were plenty of injuries. Some were serious, but they had Combat Medics, Mages with healing spells and one Pastor of Light that they had picked up a few weeks prior to setting out from San Antonio.
Elliot had called for camp to be set up on the westbound side of the highway just before dawn.
The adrenaline had worn off hours ago and his people needed to rest.
Reports began to trickle in shortly after he had set up his own tent and finally let his body relax. The mad drive through the city had been a close thing. Without the Dread Paladin, they wouldn’t have been able to do it without taking heavy losses.
The terrifying young man presented a paradox. One the one hand the lack of deaths through a week of travel was thanks to his ability to solo monsters that would’ve taken entire squads with lethal consequences. On the other hand, he created a pervasive sense of fear and dread through the entire camp.
Part of Elliot felt a bit of guilt and shame at putting the young man up against the worst things they came across while hoping for the young man’s death. Another part of him felt the same at the thought that they could go far with the Dread Paladin as the tip of the spear.
His tent flap rustled.
He wasn’t surprised to see Hayden duck inside.
“No,” he said.
Hayden scowled at him. “I didn’t even say anything.”
“I don’t want to hear it. Go rest.”
“I barely did anything last night,” Hayden said.
“Then you’re on guard duty.”
“I’m on my way to my post. I just wanted to—”
“No. You and the Furies do not have permission to engage any monsters beyond the scope of guarding the camp.”
“Look, one of the main reasons we’re doing this whole expedition is to gain levels,” Hayden said.
“You don’t level.”
“Dayana and Jayde do. I can get stronger through pushing my limits and I can’t do that by picking up the Dread Paladin’s scraps,” Hayden said.
“I’ve sent you and your team out half a dozen times on monster kill missions.”
“Not the stronger ones,” Hayden crossed her arms.
“Well, after last night, that bastard needs to rest. At least I’d hope so. Him and that demon horse took so many hits. Barely even slowed.”
“I know. I was in the first truck behind him. So, what you’re saying is I’ve got the okay to go after the next strongest monster that heads our way?”
“Only if he’s out. I still want you to gather as many available guys as possible. Don’t be reckless. That’s an order.”
“Copy that,” Hayden threw up a lazy salute before leaving.
Lucky for her the Golden Eagles wasn’t a real military group, despite the classes and titles they used in the loose hierarchy.
Elliot eyed his cot longingly.
Ledge ruined that hope.
“Captain, my captain,” Ledge said lightly.
“What is it, Lieutenant Legend?”
Elliot took some satisfaction as the lazy man reddened.
“Not so loud. There’s still a few noobs that don’t know my real name. Thank you, my dear departed father,” Ledge grumbled. He took out a silver flask and took a swig.
“Well…” Elliot said after Ledge didn’t give any indication of continuing.
“My report,” Ledge said.
Elliot blinked.
“You really need that cot time. My report on the Dread Paladin. The one you didn’t want in writing?” Ledge raised a brow.
Elliot waved a hand.
“He’s asleep. Snoring like a bear.”
“How do you know?”
“You can practically hear him from here,” Ledge snorted. “And I poked my head into his tent.”
Elliot frowned. “How can you stand to get that close? Everyone else can barely look at him when he passes. I piss my pants every time I have to go tell him to kill something. Aren’t you terrified?”
“Oh yeah, totally. Dreadful young man. When I catch his eye it feels like he’s going to kill me, wear my skin as a cloak and decorate his armor with my bones.”
“Then how do you manage to play it off like it doesn’t bother you?”
“I focus on the killing part. The worst thing that he can do to me is kill me,” Ledge grinned. “When I remember that I can deal with the dread. Your problem is you want to live.”
“I’m remembering why I hate talking with you.”
“Want a drink?” Ledge held out the flask.
“No thanks. I’ve got my own,” Elliot nudged the water bottle on his small folding table.
“In that case, that’s all I’ve got to say. So, since you don’t need me, I’ll be—”
“One more thing.”
Ledge cursed.
“You’re last man standing. All the other LT’s are hurt or in need of a long nap, like me. You’ve got command until I wake up,” Elliot savored the look of dismay on the other man’s face. “Don’t worry about it too much. The Furies are on guard duty.”
“One doesn’t use the words ‘don’t worry’ and ‘the Furies’ together.”
“True,” he conceded. “Just keep a tight leash on them.”
“I don’t think you’re speaking English right now. You really need that nap. Later, boss,” Ledge ambled away.
“You’re in charge! I mean it!” Elliot called out.
Elliot hit the cot with many worries. Still, for all of Ledge’s morose lackadaisical-ness, the man always did the job. Sure, he did it to the minimum required standard, but at least he was consistent.
Much of the expedition slept through the following morning and into lunch before the more resilient and those with stamina related Skills began to rouse.
The Furies stood guard at the eastern side of the fortified camp. Hayden reasoned that if there was pursuit from the cartel it would come from that direction.
“How are we going to kill him?” Dayana said. “Those poor assholes nailed him with everything they had.”
“A lot of weak attacks isn’t the same as a few strong ones,” Jayde cracked her knuckles.
“What she said,” Hayden replied. Her thoughts had been on the same topic. Despite the impressive display of durability and carnage, she was still counting on being able to generate enough voltage to fry the murdering bastard.
“What’s the toughest thing you’ve fried?” Dayana said.
“Monster tortoise?” Jayde said.
“I don’t know. I don’t really keep track. Maybe that or that mutated jaguar.”
“Hate to say it, but I don’t think either of those things rides through what the Dread Paladin did last night,” Dayana said.
“Stop saying his name,” Jayde said.
“Okay… first of all, it’s obviously a class and secondly he’s not Voldemort. Everyone scared of him, yes, including myself, just feeds him power,” Dayana said.
“That last bit is true. There’s definitely some Skill or magic shit going on. Ask any of the other mage-types. I can practically feel him getting stronger the more afraid we are,” Jayde said. “Wait… what’s a ‘Voldemort’? You can’t just make up classes.”
“He’s from a book. A dark wizard. You’ve never read the series?” Dayana said.
Jayde shook her head.
“They’ve got the whole series in the library. You should give it a try. I try to read it once a year,” Dayana said.
“Its got wizards and mythical creatures. They use wands,” Hayden said.
“How come you guys don’t use wands?” Dayana said.
“Dunno. I’m sure there’s a Mage somewhere out there with a wand,” Jayde shrugged.
“Would they just cut a branch? Pick up a stick?” Dayana said. “I don’t think it’d be that simple. You’d need dragon horn or —”
“Phoenix feather, unicorn hair,” Hayden finished. “What? I read.”
“Do you guys think those things are out there? I hope they are,” Jayde said.
“I don’t. Going by the monsters we have. Dragons, phoenixes and unicorns are probably awful,” Hayden said.
“Dragons definitely eat people. I’d guess phoenixes can only feed on the ashes of their victims and unicorns feed by absorbing the blood and souls of their impaled victims,” Dayana said.
“Is all that in your books,” Jayde’s face twisted in disgust.
“Nah, it’s mostly wholesome, though the later books get dark,” Dayana said.
“I saw something huge flying once, but the wings looked like a bird’s,” Hayden said.
“Giant mutant birds are on brand,” Jayde nodded.
“Better that then the Meat Parade freaks. It’s worse when you know they’re supposed to be people,” Dayana said.
“That’s one good thing about heading west. No inhuman cannibals,” Jayde agreed.
“That we know of,” Dayana said.
“Yeah, okay, Dayana Downer,” Jayde stuck her tongue out.
“We have to hit him before he summons that armor,” Hayden said.
“Uh… random change of subject much?” Jayde snorted.
“Or after he dismisses it, like after a tough fight,” Dayana said. “If we can’t pick that moment then the only other possibility is getting something through his helmet’s eye slit. Like, say, a bullet.”
“I shock, Jayde punches and you shoot and stab,” Hayden said.
“Look, it’s pointless while we’re still on this expedition. Even I can see that Elliot is getting good use out of him,” Jayde said.
“He murdered Kath and the Hearts. I don’t care if he’s the reason no one has died yet. He pays,” Hayden said.
“A devil might argue that he’s doing that,” Jayde ventured.
“You mean you’re being the devil’s advocate,” Dayana said.
Jayde stared at her for a moment. “Sure… I guess…”
“You can’t trade lives that way. Even if that’s how the world is, you’d have to count all the lives being ruined now that Kath isn’t providing free supplies to the people. It’s all the ripples. Like Prim. She’s here on a dangerous expedition because Kath’s death directly led to the poor girl being set up as a plaything to a pervy old guy,” Hayden said.
“Maybe we take over for the Hearts when we get back,” Jayde said.
“I’d be down for that,” Dayana said.
“That situation needs a more lasting solution, but one problem at a time,” Hayden said.
Dayana suddenly jolted to attention. “Speaking of… I just danger sensed,” she raised her rifle to the southern side of the highway and aimed through the scope.
A cloud of dust rose up in the distance.