As soon as Luke finished up Tom's training exercise, he gathered up the rest of the jocks. Now that he knew that Issac and the rest of the people who died could be brought back, they needed to head out and gather their bodies.
"Alright, Luke, why the hell did you drag us out here." Chad barked.
"We're going out again to grab the guys we lost in the park," Luke said. Tom said he could revive them all if we could grab their bodies, so we're heading out again."
"Not interested," Chad said as he turned and left the group.
At least two-thirds of the football team turned to leave with him.
"Wait, what are you doing? I just said we're heading out." Luke asked.
"Yeah, and who put you and that fucking nerd in charge?" Chad shot back as he wandered off. "I'm not risking my life for some corpses."
Luke quickly relized that most of his so called friends weren't coming with them as they all walked away from him. Some apologized, some were scared, but many more just weren't interested. Ultimately, only two people stayed behind with him: Gareth and Sam.
"Give them time," Sam reassured him.
"Fuck Chad," Gareth spat angrily. "Issac gave his life for that dude. If he can't be bothered to help, he can get mauled for all I care."
"A level 1 [Berserker], a level 6 [Treasure Hunter], and a wannabe level 7 Demigod," Theo said as he floated over his shoulder. "This will be … interesting if nothing else."
"Where have you been?" Luke asked as the fat man on the cloud floated into his field of vision.
"Looking around," Theo said as he pulled a bear out of his cloud and cracked it open.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Luke asked eagerly.
"You'll figure it out, 'oh great master.' I have to say, for a work in progress, this place is shaping up to be a good base, well, better than the dumpster fire I was expecting. Those Awoken Myths guys actually know what they're doing. A focus on basic infrastructure, a resurrection skill, and a complete faith that monsters will attack them. You should really try to be nice to them. You'll live longer." Theo said as he sipped his beer.
"So that's true. Tom can actually bring back the dead?" Sam asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, toots, that's what the skill [Hand of Mercy] does," Theo said, rolling his eyes before turning to Gareth.
" Hey, chuckles, join the party," Theo said.
"Well fuck you too, asshole. Are you going to share those beers or …"
<[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 4>
"Sorry, chuckles. I can only do what the system allows me to do. Free beers are not included."
Luke, so, let's see what you pick as your next skill, 'oh great master.' Show me your magnificent wisdom and grace.
Luke frowned. "Can you go one sentence without insulting me?" he asked.
"No. Now, let's look at your options, and then you can pick what I was going to choose," Theo said.
Skill Options for [Heir of Theseus]
* [Sword & Sandals] - Ancient: Theseus lifted a great stone, and underneath, he discovered the sword and sandals his father left for him when he began his journey. You will receive a +1.25% bonus to your Sword Mastery, Footwork, and Athleticism per skill level.
* [Nettle’s Bite] - Ancient: Remembering Theseus’s encounter with the deadly plants when challenging the Athenian wilderness. +0.5% resistance to Elemental and Poison per skill level. Your physical attacks now inflict weak poison.
* [Salt Water Spring] - Ancient: Like your Father before you, you summon up a spring of salt water, providing you with both a source of water for combat and also a source of drinking water. Allows the user to Summon a Salt Water Spring once every 100 days. Reduce the cooldown by 1 day per skill level. Increase the water production by 1 liter per skill level. This skill renders you immune to the negative effects of drinking salt water. Water from this spring counts as seawater for the purposes of skills or rituals.
* [World Wanderer] - Mythic: Theseus first walked to his father's palace across miles of uneven terrain and then sailed to Crete to slay the minotaur. +5% to all movement speed. +1.25% to Sailing and Footwork Mastery. Furthermore, this skill allows the user to Fast Travel rapidly, covering vast distances in minutes.
* Theos first choice → [Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling] - Legendary: as the father of wrestling, the heir to Theseus, transforming you into a master of close-quarters combat. +1.25% bonus to your Unarmed Mastery per skill level. +5% to Footwork, Athleticism, Evasion, and Balance per skill level. +10% CON
* [select for previous options]
"So 'oh great master,' what are you going to pick?" Theo asked sarcastically
Luke paused for a moment. "I think I understand what Unarmed and Sword Mastery are, but what are these bonuses to footwork, athleticism, and balance stuff?"
Theo rolled his eyes. "Those are special attributes. Their impact is a lot more subtle but important, especially for a melee fighter. Footwork, for instance, keeps you on your feet, subtly helping you correct your stance but also reducing the chances of losing your footing. Athletic, on the other hand, is more about moving around and reducing stamina costs. Like I said, It's subtle enough that I doubt you'll notice it until you don't have it. Now please hurry up and pick [Father of Wrestling]."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Why would I pick [Father of Wrestling]? That skill seems to be all about … well, wrestling. Hell [Sword & Sandals] at least boosts my swordsmanship. [Nettles Bite] gives me poisons, and [World Wanderer] lets us fast travel."
"[World Wanderer] lets you fast travel, only you. And once again, you miss the point. It's a chain of skills, first through sixth labors. [Father of Wrestling] isn't as useful, sure, but it doesn't really matter because [Sixth Labor] makes up the difference. Of course, you can only get [Sixth Labor] as a capstone skill. So you either do as I say and get it now, or ignore me and fuck up your build when you have to waste the level 20 capstone to pick it up. You choose"
"But …" Luke was cut off.
"But you're going to ignore your guide. You're going to ignore my advice and do whatever you want to do because of your extensive knowledge of the system." Theo said mockingly.
"Did anyone ever tell you, you're an asshole?" Luke asked.
"I'm a spirit of the air enslaved to a demigod who doesn't know anything. I'm not paid enough to care about your opinions," Theo said, rolling his eyes.
"Fine, fine, are you happy?" Luke asked as he selected [Fifth Labor: Father of Wrestling].
He immediately felt the difference. He felt more solid, healthier, and less tired.
"To be fair, Legendary Classes tend to railroad a lot more than other classes. You're not making something yourself; you're borrowing someone else's legend," Theo explained, "especially in your case, as you haven't done anything special yet.
"As fun as it is watching you two argue until the heat death of the universe. I literally have a million better things to do, so can we please get a move on?" Sam grunted as she hefted her compound bow.
"Right off, we go to retrieve your dead friends." Theo looked at them expectedly.
Luke was about to smack the sarcastic little spirit. He had questions about his mom and dad and about the whole demigod thing, and he wanted answers, too. Unfortunately, they needed to go get Isaac and the other who had died. Afterward, he would throttle the little imp for proper answers when they had a free moment.
----------------------------------------
Luke led the group through the snow towards the park where they had lost Isaac. Cars were constantly driving down the road, heading to Vancouver proper or heading south to the US. Luke could already feel the effects of his two new Skills. [Father of Wrestling] had him gliding across the snow-covered ground with ease. At the same time, he was using [Vision of Sciron] on anything and everything they came across.
<[Fourth Labor: ] has Reached Level 2>
<[Fifth Labor: ] has Reached Level 2>
<[Fifth Labor: ] has Reached Level 3>
When they finally came to the mall area, Luke was expecting to do something familiar. His friends had come here at least once a week to browse the stores, eat fast food, and just hang out. Now, however, the parking lot that was normally nearly empty was now full of cars. People were running around screaming at each other as they fought over toilet paper as they tried to empty the food market. Luke [Vision of Sciron] instantly told him that most of these people were hostile to anyone and anything that got close.
"Come on. Let's keep moving," Luke said, doing his best to usher his friends past the rioters.
They met people from time to time. Luke gave anyone who set off [Vision of Sciron] a wide berth. He was less paranoid than everyone else. All of them, even the nasty ones, seemed to be heading towards Hopkins. This was confirmed when they were asked for directions towards Hopkins more than once. They gave what they could before continuing onward to the park.
They moved further down the road, moving slowly because of the snow, and it was another hour before they finally arrived at the park, where they fought the hippo. They were greeted with the sight of a hippo carcass picked clean, and there were no human bodies in the area.
"What the hell?!" Luke shouted as he ran out to look around. "They were right here."
"I've found prints," Sam called out. They're large and cat-like. I'm seeing three, four, six, seven different prints."
"Hey asshole," Gareth called out to Theo.
"What's up, roid rage?" Theo shot back.
"What kind of monsters does the dungeon create?" Gareth asked.
Luke turned. That was a very good question.
Theo shrugged.
"The dungeon can recreate anything that's already eaten. Right now, it can mostly only reproduce creatures from its birthplaces. Somewhere called … the Vancouver Zoo."
Gareth pulled up his phone.
"Okay, the Vancouver Zoo had lions, tigers, cougars, cheetahs, and Snow Leopards," Gareth said.
Sam nodded. "Lions then."
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"So how does that work anyway?" Gareth asked. "Is the dungeon like forcibly breeding the lions or something?"
"No. Dungeons kill anything they can get their hands on. If an animal dies in a dungeon, then the dungeon can learn that animal's template and can recreate it. Basically, it can spawn in dungeon monsters, though those dungeon monsters can also breed with each other. That leads us to another problem. Dungeons can mix and match monster templates. These prints could just as easily come from a pack of chimeras or some lion hybrids." Theo explained
"Well, ain't that just great," Sam said as she hefted her bow over her shoulder.
"So, did something eat them?" Gareth asked, his voice cracking.
"Maybe not. Big Cats like to store their prey in trees. If they filled up on hippos, they might have stashed the guys in trees," Sam said. "Let's follow their tracks back to see if we can find anything."
Luke nodded in agreement.
"Alright, lead the way," Luke said.
They followed Sam as they followed the tracks. They moved across the field and into a creek surrounded by trees, where they found the dead. Six people, their bodies placed up high in the trees, their bodies hung up over branches. Gareth didn't hesitate. He clambered up the tree with ease thanks to his enhanced strength, pulling Issac's body from the tree before returning to the ground.
Issac's eyes were milky, and his body would have been snow white if not for the splattering of blood. His left side was savaged.
"So how do we do this?" he asked. "Are we going to drag him all the way back to Hopkins? I don't think we can stash a body in our [Storage] space."
"No, I've got a Skill for it," Sam said, touching Issac's body. Then, he disappeared into her thin air.
"What was that?" Luke asked.
"When Tom … taught us that [storage] skill, I was offered the chance to upgrade it into the [Vault] skill. It's like [Storage] but bigger and harder to break into."
It wasn't too long before they had stored all six people inside of her [Vault] and were moving away.
Luke trudged through the snow with the ease he had managed before becoming level 9. He could already tell it was going to snow again, and he wanted to get back to Hopkins before that happened. That's when he heard a crunch of snow.
Luke turned around to find a group of three lions stepping padding through the snow towards them.
"Oh fuck." Gareth muttered.
Luke activated [Vision of Sciron].
Nemean Lion
Race Class: Lion 3, King of Beasts 6, Nemean Lion 3
Lion Skills: Pouncem Camouflage
King of Beasts: Aura of the King, Lion Pride, Aegis of the Pride
Nemean Lion: Skin of the Nemean Lion, Claws of the Nemean Lion
Lioness * 2
Class: Lioness 5 Man Eater 3,
Lioness: Pouncem Camouflage, Coordinate Ⅱ
Man Eater: Manslayer, Subterfuge
"Luke, you should run," Theo said.
Something about that sentence sounded off.
"Did you just call me by my name?" Luke asked as the Lions approached.
"Yes, now run you idiots. A nemean lion's hide can't be pierced. It's going to kill you." Theo screamed.
Then the Lioness pounced. Luke sidestepped the first one, slashing at her as she sailed past him. Gareth's woodcutter ax flashed outward, digging into the lioness's flesh as a spurt of blood erupted from her flank. Sam pulled out her pistol and shot round after round at the Nemean lion.
Luke had to do a double take as Sam's bullets deformed against the Nemean Lion's golden hide.
Unfortunately, Luke didn't have time, as the second lioness attacked him, swiping at him with her claws and forcing him to back up.
"What do we do?" Luke asked Theo.
"Run away, idiots. Fight your way through the Lions and RUN!!! You can't beat the male; you can't even hurt it!" Theo called out as he flew around the Nemean lion's head.
The lion was immediately distracted by the little man on the cloud flying around his head, and he tried to smack him out of the air like a cat with a bird.
Luke slashed at the face of one of the Lionesses as she turned to face Theo. His replica sword destroyed one of the Lioness's eyes with a sickening pop. The lioness didn't even have time to be angry as Sam shot it one, two, and three times. This time, the bullets actually penetrated the big cat's hide.
Luke immediately charged her, activating [First Labor]. His sword immediately grew to a two-handed blade, and he brought it down on the lioness. His sword cleaved through the lioness's spine with ease.
The second lioness yelped as aGareths ax slammed into its shoulder. It scrambled to try and get away, but Gareth was relentless, smashing the lion into the ground with his ax as he messily tried to cut off her head. He failed, but the bloody mess of bone he had transformed her shoulders into was lethal enough.
For a moment, Luke basked in his victory. That was why, when something heavy slammed into him from behind with enough force to knock Luke off his feet and onto the frozen ground forward, his shoulder exploding in pain, he dropped his sword and was sent stumbling.
“Gah!” Luke yelped loudly as a vicious growl echoed through his ear.
He reached up at the creature, now biting his shoulder, his hands finding purchase on a thick pelt of fur. Digging his fingers in, Luke did the only thing he could have done in the situation: lean into his fall as he slammed the beast's body into the ground, his elbow stabbing into the beast's stomach with everything he had.
"FUCK" Luke growled as the teeth came free, leaving him scrambling to get his footing. He snatched up his sword and spun around to face his new opponent.
Reacting as fast as he could, he didn’t let the big cat regain the initiative, and he lunged forward to slam the hilt of my sword into its nose.
But that was as far as he was able to get before the cat finished shaking off its rough landing and lunged towards him, a scything paw mauling over Luke's thigh with enough force to knock him down to one knee. Shouting in pain, Luke swung at the creature in hopes of keeping it at bay, but to no avail. The lioness’s leap was already taking it into the air by the time his sword was halfway into poston.
A heartbeat later, the two of them were down on the ground again in a heap, with his sword nowhere to be found. Luke had only his hands and fists to try to keep it from biting down on his head. All of a sudden, he was very grateful for his [Fifth Labor] skill.
To his credit, though, he did a well-enough job holding the lion's head back. A lucky swing connected with its jaw, even knocking a single tooth out of its maw. But as successful as it was, it came at the price of Luke losing track of one of its paws, which promptly slammed down on his chest with enough force to wind him as its claws dug in and through his football chest piece.
"No, no, no," Luke exclaimed as his mind tried to stave off panic.
Where was his sword? If he only had it, he could—there! He spotted it lying on the ground just a few feet away from him, his free hand immediately launching itself towards it, fingers grazing the hilt.
Just a little more! Luke thought desperately, gritting his teeth at the pain in my chest. I pushed against the cat, shifting us enough so that my questing fingers were able to wrap themselves around the sword’s hilt. Letting out a roar of triumph, Luke hefted the replica sword and began to stab out at the lion’s ribs, landing three solid thrusts before the fourth and final one found something important, causing it to collapse on top of him in a heap.
"Fuck you, you stupid cat." Luke huffed as he shoved the cat off of him.
Luke looked around, realizing things weren't looking good. The Nemean lion was ignoring Theo now, while four other lionesses had appeared out of nowhere and were now playing with Sam and Gareth like a bunch of cats with a mouse. Gareth was making some progress with his Ax, but the lioness was healing just as quickly as he injured them. Sam was having even less luck with her bow, her guns nowhere to be seen. Luke took a step forward when Theo's voice cut in on his left.
"Alright, godling. It's time to run. They're ignoring you right now so we can run away. I'm terribly sorry you can't save them, but we can get you out of here," Theo said as he floated over his shoulder.
"Fuck you, Theo, there, my friends," Luke said, struggling to his feet as he readied his replica sword.
"ugh," Theo groaned. "Stupid godling, do you know how much trouble I'll get in if you die?!"
"Theo, I'm going to save my friends. Help me or leave; I don't care, which!" Luke said half angrily, half pleadingly with the obnoxious spirit.
He really didn't think he could get them out of this.
For a moment, Theo said nothing, then spoke very quickly: "This is so stupid. I am going to get in so much trouble for this."
"Are you going to help or not?!" Luke asked worriedly.
"You need to kill one more lioness to reach level 8. Aim for the one farthest away from the Nemean lion. Once you kill one, you need to grab your friends as quickly as possible. Tackle them, wrap your body around them, shove them up your ass. I don't care, which just keep them as close to you as possible. I'll handle the rest; now go!" Theo ordered
Luke didn't need to be told twice as he charged the lioness on the far left. He panted with the exertion as His feet ate up the distance. Even with his injured shoulder, he was on top of the lioness faster than he expected. Bringing his sword around, he activated [First Labor]. His blade hacked into the lioness's back with ease. The lion yowled in pain as she tried to get away from the pain. But Luke didn't let up activating [First Labor] again; he brought it down on the lioness and cleaved her in twain.
DING!!!
Level up!!
You are now a level 1 [Heir to Belerephone]
You have selected the Skill: [Legacy of Misfortune] - (Legendary)
[Legacy of Misfortune]: Belephon led a life of misfortune. When he was younger, he killed his brother Deliades. As a man, he was falsy accused of raping Queen Anteia by Queen Anteia. Before being shot out of …
Luke didn't even have time to skim over the information before an ear-shattering roar interrupted his thoughts. He spun around [First Labor], flashing to light just in time as the blade smacked into the Nemean lion dinner plate-sized paw. Luke felt the blow reverberate back up through his arm. The Lions claw cut through the light of [First Labor] and sliced through the metal underneath with ease. Luke stumbled backwards. His gaze pulled to his sword. Well, half of his sword that remained the metal had been torn apart like Playdough, and he was now wielding a short sword.
"Stop standing there and run!!!" Theo screamed.
The lion let out a low growl. Luke decided it was time to go. Luke turned and ran straight for Sam and Gareth, not even trying to interact with the lioness, and the Nemean lion chased him.
"Grab each other idiots!!" Theo screamed.
Sam and Gareth sprinted towards him. When Luke reached them, they tackled each other, wrapping themselves around each other as the lions lept at them. And then it happened.
Then the world twisted and warped around them, breaking down into fractal patterns of white and brown as he felt himself flung far, far away from lions to who knows where.
You may skip to the next chapter.
Name: Samatha North
Race: Human
Type: Humanoid
LVL: 6
SubRace: Native American
Age 18
Health: 540
Stamina: 895
Mana: 240
Health Regen: 6.0 per hour
Stamina Regen: 7.2 per min
Mana Regen: 1.2 per min
Titles: Awoken Myths
Immune
N/A
Resistances
Physical 13%, Elemental 13%, Vitality 11%, Disease 22%, Poison 22%, Insta-death 22%
Weakness
N/A
Bane
Manslayer
Classes: Treasure Hunter 6
Total
STR: 59
AGIL: 24
DEX: 18
CON: 48
END: 12
PER: 18
INT: 12
WILL: 0
SPIRIT: 12
EGO: 6
CHA: 0
LCK: 12
Base
STR: 54 +10%
AGIL: 24
DEX: 18
CON: 48
END: 12
PER: 18
INT: 12
WILL: 0
SPIRIT: 12
EGO: 6
CHA: 0 +10%
LCK: 12
Personal: +4 STR +3 DEX +3 PER +2 INT +2 LCK
Racial: +3 CON +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 EGO
Bloodline: +5 STR +5 CON
Treasure Hunter: +4 AGIL
Bloodline:
[Bloodline of the Ursa Nox] - Historic: Going back generations, the Ursa Nox were originally a group of powerful mystics deeply in tune with the spirits of the land. The Black Bear Spirits, in particular, favored the mystics and layed with them, creating the bloodline of the Ursa Nox. Generations later, the bloodline has started to fade, no longer matching the glory it once had.
- [Sense of the Ursa] - Level 29
- [Black Hide of the Ursa Nox] - Level 26
- [Immortal Organs] - Level 22
- [Hibernation] - Level 18
- [Spirit of the Ursa Nox] - Level 1
- +5 STR
- +5 CON
Skill Slots: 6/60: Skill Points: 0
Personal Skills
- [Pursuit Hunter] - Level 11
- [Storyteller] - Level N/A
Treasure Hunter 04/11
- [Deadly Aim] - Level 17
- [Magpie's Eye for Treasure] - Level 21
- [Silent Explorer] - Level 15
- [Vault] - Level 10
- [Snatch] - Level 1
- Capstone: [Legendary Strength] - Level N/A
- [Hidden Treasures] - Level 1