"Well Fuck" Tom muttered as he looked out at the base of the apocalypse force. From really far away.
"You can say that again," Alex said as they stared off into the distance
Surrounding the Bell Performing Arts Centre was an army of goblins. They had besieged the place, and even now, the sounds of fighting could be heard from where they sat at the top of the Surrey Operations Centre building.
"Any ideas on how we're going to get in there?" Skippy asked.
"Not yet," Tom admitted.
"Do you mind if I go ahead and grind some levels off that horde?" Skippy asked hopefully.
"Absolutely not," Major Adams said.
"Sure," Tom countered.
Major Adams looked at them like they were insane.
"If you go in there and start killing them, you're going to know someone's out there. I don't care how stealthy you are."
"Goblins are a moronic group. Goblin infighting is so common that it borders on the mundane. As long as I make it look like one group of goblins killed another, it will be ignored." Skippy explained.
"That doesn't even touch on the foblins," Tom said.
"What's a foblin?" the Major asked.
"Fodder goblin. It's kind of an inside joke. They breed and die so often that I don't think anyone would notice unless Skippy starts making an actual dent in their overall population.
"So we're ok with letting Skippy just walk into a siege?" Adams asked.
"We need information. Alex and I can work on finding out the information with divination magic, but I'll be surprised if they don't have defences against that. So Skippy is still our best option for a primary source of information." Tom explained, giving a shrug. "Everyone else, take a break, set up a perimeter. Try and salvage some more vehicles. I expect we may end up taking in some more people."
Tom gave Skippy a look just before a notification appeared in Skippy's face.
DING!!!
Private Guild Quest: Reconnaissance in Force
You have decided to sharpen your blade against an entrenched goblin horde. Whether or not this is a smart idea is beside the point. You are going to do this, and your Guild Leader has decided to make the most out of it.
Objectives:
Discover valuable pieces of intelligence 0/???
Gain levels 1/20
Bonus Objectives
Free human slaves 0/???
Bring the Human Slaves to Major Adams 0/???
Rewards:
Prismatic Snow Leopard Leather Fur Boots
Failure Conditions:
Get caught
Fail to Meet the Objectives in 12 hours.
Skippy accepted the quest and activated [Reaper's Cloak]. He was pretty confident that even if he fucked up, he would be able to get away.
Padding along with mostly silent footsteps, the only signs of his passage were the footprints in the snow that the goblins had already churned up in their march.
When he got to the goblin's battle line, guards were on the lookout around the perimeter, ready to call out if they saw anyone trying to sneak up on their camp. Fortunately, their security was lax if he was being nice, shit if he was being honest. Goblins were nocturnal and not naturally inclined for the bright days. Skippy suspected that snow blindness was exacerbating the problem. Skippy walked past a goblin control not thirty feet from his position as he stalked into camp.
Camp might be too strong a word. It was probably closer to what he thought Burning Man was like. There were tents everywhere. Goblins ate, slept, did questionable substances and fucked out in the open as if they weren't in the middle of winter. Skippy imagined this might be what burning man was like, but more fucked up with slavery, rape, and murder. Despite the sounds of battle nearby, the goblins seemed to be in a mostly good mood.
<[Reaper's Cloak] has Reached Level 10>
<[Rataskurs Tongue] has Reached Level 11>
Unfortunately, Skippy never bothered to learn gobliniese or whatever the fuck goblins spoke, and he wasn't willing to wait around until [Rataskurs Tounge] levelled up enough for him to be able to understand more than bits and pieces. So he would have to steal any documents he could find for Tom or just try and figure out their secrets on his own.
Despite his invisibility and the fact that the goblins were half blind from the snow, he made sure to stay out of the common areas and pathways. Instead, he moved behind tents, over and through buildings. He did anything he could to keep out of the limelight.
He found dozens of dead goblins just tossed to the side of the pathways. So Skippy wasn't too concerned when he saw a roided-out goblin who was taking a piss away from all of the other goblins. Pulling out a dagger, he stabbed it into the Goblin's neck.
<[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 13>
<[Reaper's Cloak] has Reached Level 11>
<[Reaper's Cloak] has Reached Level 12>
DING!!!
Congratulations
You are a level 3 [Fighter]
[Warriors Choice] - Common: +1.25% to your Sword and Axe Mastery per skill level
[Deny Death] - Rare: When someone uses a [Execution] skill against you. You counterattack, knocking aside their blow and throwing their own attack back into their face for 1% of the damage you would have been hit with per skill level.
Skippy dumped the body next to another dead goblin as he kept moving through the camp. He assigned his new levels as he went, still being careful not to be discovered.
Then, he paced the first slave pen. At least a dozen people were trapped inside of a wooden cage. But how the hell could he get them out of here? He used [Mirage Step] to get to higher points to scout around. He considered trying to lead the slave out of there but dismissed it.
It wasn't impossible. Hell, he was pretty confident he could shepherd Abaddon out of this camp. But only if Abaddon did exactly what he was told. Skippy didn't have any faith in a bunch of beaten and starved slaves doing as they were told when they were told with no questions and hesitation. Worse, these were not Noralon slaves. These were Canadian slaves.
Self-important woke people who questioned everything and were generally a pain in the ass before the system showed up. Yeah, he didn't have nearly enough LCK to pull that off.
"It's too bad I can't put them in my inventory. That would make it much easier." Skippy muttered to himself.
Unfortunately, his inventory only allowed inanimate or dead ….. Skippy smacked his head. He was a moron. He could just kill the slaves, stash them in his inventory and then have Tom bring the cry babies back later. Duh.
Skippy teleported back down to the cage. He cut open the wooden prison and then slit the throat of every human inside in quick succession before they could speak. [Unseen Blow] made it quick and painless. Once they were dead, Skippy loaded them up in his inventory.
Then a thought occurred to Skippy. Goblins liked to make big pits where they tossed the dead bodies of slaves or just humans in general. If he could find those pits …. Skippy was oh so going to abuse those quest rewards.
Skippy moved onto another goblin, a lone goblin guarding one of the houses that was being used to hold humans in another pen. The moment he got close, he stabbed the goblin in the neck.
<[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 14>
Dropping back to the ground, Skippy double-checked to make sure he hadn't been spotted before he checked the body for any valuables. That's when he discovered a collection of …
"What the hell is a paper called when it's made out of sheepskin? Parchment?" Skippy muttered to himself.
He couldn't remember, but this was clearly written on something's skin. He really hoped it wasn't human skin. He didn't know how relevant it was, but it went into his inventory, along with a couple of cores and a metal shiv. He pocketed them and then moved on to the humans. It was time for some serious grinding.
<[Reaper's Cloak] has Reached Level 13>
<[Reaper's Cloak] has Reached Level 14>
<...>
<[Reaper's Cloak] has Reached Level 29>
<[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] has Reached Level 22>
<[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] has Reached Level 23>
<....>
<[Thiefs Swaggering Grace] has Reached Level 35>
<[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 14>
<[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 15>
<...>
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<[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 20>
<[Mirage Step] has Reached Level 26>
<[Mirage Step] has Reached Level 28>
<...>
<[Mirage Step] has Reached Level 30>
<[Focus] has Reached Level 10>
<[Focus] has Reached Level 11>
<...>
<[Focus] has Reached Level 23>
<[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 13>
<[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 14>
<...>
<[Unseen Blow] has Reached Level 20>
<[Mapping] has Reached Level 21>
<[Ratatoskr's Pocket] has Reached Level 25>
<[Ratatoskr's Pocket] has Reached Level 26>
<...>
<[Ratatoskr's Pocket] has Reached Level 38>
<[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 21>
<[Way of the Reaper] has Reached Level 22>
DING!!!
Congratulations
You are a level 10 [Fighter] - Uncommon
[Guns] - Common: +1.25% to Firearm Mastery
[Death Blow] - Epic: Critical hits deal +1% more damage per skill level and inflict [Insta-death] on your victims
[Chopping Block]: when your opponent's hp reaches 20%, you can execute them, killing them instantly
Capstone - [Inevitable Execution]: The effect partly fails when someone uses a [counter-execution] against you. You don't get hit with a counterattack, but your attack will only inflict 10% of the original damage.
DING!!!
Congratulations
You are a level 5 [Assassin] - Rare
Skippy nodded at having finished the levelling aspect of the job and turned to leave. He had been hopping between camps, excavating graves, and killing any goblin that wandered on its own for the better part of three hours … in broad daylight. His skills were getting a fracking workout.
That's when he heard the screams. Skippy climbed up onto a building to get a better look and immediately wished he hadn't. A cluster of human slaves were being held down and rapped. Tom and Alex would have gotten angry. Maybe they would have done something stupid, blown their cover, and burned the world to the ground.
Abaddon was just detached. He liked games with his friends and alchemy. Anything else, and the big guy was oddly detached. Skippy thought he was detached. But he couldn't bring himself to look and turned away. Their screams and cries for mercy were heart-wrenching, but there were too many goblins for him to save them.
Instead, he waited until the goblins finished with them. Then the goblins slit their throat and tossed them aside. Skippy slipped down to pick up their bodies before he turned to leave.
He needed to get Tom to help him finish his build. After that, he noticed a rather large tent that he suspected housed the leader of this army. And didn't he need to kill a leader in a single blow to unlock his [Regicide] Class?
----------------------------------------
Skippy returned to Tom. he felt wrung out after seeing the goblins
"How bad is it?" Tom asked sympathetically.
"Bad," Skippy said. "On the plus side, I was able to save a lot of people."
Tom looked back and forth.
"Where are they?" Major Adams asked.
Skippy shrugged.
"Well, I couldn't get them out, so I killed them and stashed them in my inventory. We can resurrect them later." Skippy explained.
The look of shock on everyone's face was priceless.
Then Abaddon started laughing.
"That is so messed up." Abaddon laughed.
"It's not that messed up." Skippy protested.
"It's very messed up," Alex said as she tried not to smile.
"It's sick," Major Adams said, not an ounce of humour on his face
"But it's totally brilliant." Tom pointed out as he tried not to laugh. "Why didn't I think of that? I mean, jeez, if I didn't figure out how to contact the apocalypse force, I would be worried I was getting stupid."
"You figured out a way?" Skippy asked.
"I'm going to write a message on a paper airplane and use [Far Seeing] to guide it in," Tom explained. I'm hoping we can get some of their fliers to come out here so we can talk to them."
"Great, but before you do that. I need some upgrades," Skippy said. "I need you to get me [Executioner's Judgment]."
Tom complied. Pressing his hand against Skippy's chest and activating the changes he wanted.
DING!!!
Fusion Detected!!!
[Warriors Choice] - Common + [Guns] - Common + [Not Today] - Rare+ [Chopping Block] - Rare + [Death Blow] - Epic + [Inevitable Execution] - Epic → [Executioners Judgement] - Mythic
[Executioners Judgement] - Mythic:
1. Men had been executed in many ways: with the axe, by the blade and by the firing squad. Now, you can wield the power of life and death, too, with this skill.
2. +1.25% to Blade, Axe and Firearm Mastery
3. Critical hits deal +1% more damage per skill level and inflict [Insta-death] on your victims
4. When someone uses a [Execution] skill against you. You counterattack, knocking aside their blow and throwing their own attack back into their face equal to 1% per skill level of the damage you would have taken
5. When your opponent's hp reaches 20%, you can execute them, killing them instantly. This effect partly fails when someone uses a [counter-execution] against you. You don't get hit with a counterattack, but your attack will only inflict 0.25% of the original damage per skill level
6. +10% to STR
DING!!!
Class Sundered [Fighter]
[Fighter] Skills have become Personal Skills
[Executioners Judgement] has become an [Assassin] Skill
DING!!!
Your Buff [Build yourself Back up] has expired
"The buffs are nearly gone," Tom warned. "It's going to be a bit harder to level now. Especially if you aren't intending to sunder any more classes."
"It's fine," Skippy said. "I can still get to level 20 before the end of the day."
DING!!!
Quest rewards!!!
Suddenly, a pair of boots and gloves fell into his lap.
"Oh yeah," Skippy muttered as he held up the much higher-quality items.
DING!!!
Prismatic Leopard Leather Fur Boots
Rarity: Rare
Armour Rating: 121
Quality: Masterwork
Set match 2/4
Enchantment: [Enhanced Grip] increases the friction on the gloves, allowing the user to maintain their footing even in extreme circumstances.
Essence: [Furtive]: make no noise when moving
Material Effect: [Prismatic]: can shift the colour of the material
Prismatic Leopards Leather Fur gloves
Rarity: Rare
Armour Rating: 121
Quality: Masterwork
Set match 2/3
Enchantment: [Enhanced Grip]: increases the friction on the boots, allowing the user to maintain their footing even in extreme circumstances.
Essence: [Furtive]: leave no footprints
Material Effect: [Prismatic]: can shift the colour of the material
"Why didn't you give out these rewards earlier?" Skippy asked as he chucked his old boots and put on his new boots.
Tom shrugged. "I don't actually give out the rewards; I can only issue the quest; the system gives the rewards."
"Oh well." Skippy shrugged, a little disappointed, as he pulled on the gloves before pulling off his shoes and replacing them with his new shoes.
Skippy nodded as he felt everything slip into place.
"I'll be right back. I've got one more thing I want to do," Skippy said as he disappeared.
You may skip to the next chapter.
Name: Skippy
(Andrew Owens)
Race: Beastial Human
Type: Humanoid / Beast
LVL: 5
SubRace: Squirrel
Age 18
Health: 100
Stamina: 100
Mana: 0
Health Regen: 2.0 per min
Stamina Regen: 2.0 per min
Mana Regen: 1.0 per min
Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths
Immune
None
Resistances
Physical 15%, Elemental 15%, Magical 15%, Vitality 15%, Mind 15%, Soul 15%, Crit 30%, Poison 30%, Disease 30%, Insta-Death 30%
Weakness
None
Bane
Manslayer, Beastslayer
Classes: Assassin 5
Total
STR: 0
AGIL: 60
DEX: 15
CON: 10
END: 0
PER: 25
INT: 0
WILL: 0
SPIRIT: 10
EGO: 0
CHA: 0
LCK: 44
Base
STR: 0 +10%
AGIL: 60
DEX: 15
CON: 10
END: 0
PER: 25
INT: 0
WILL: 0
SPIRIT: 10
EGO: 0
CHA: 0 +10%
LCK: 40 +10%
Personal: +4 AGIL +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK
Racial: +3 AGIL +2 CON +2 SPIRIT +1 PER
Bloodline: +5 AGIL +5 LCK
Bloodline:
[Bloodline of Ratatoskr] - Legendary: The Blood of the Legendary Squirrel who runs up and down the length of the world tree carrying insults from the dragon Nidhogg at the roots to the great eagle at the top of the tree.
* [Ratatoskr's Tongue] - Level 10 >> Level 11
* [Ratatoskr Instincts] - Level 30
* [Ratatoskr Vicious Mockery] - Level 30
* [Nidhogg's Gift] - Level 16
* [Ascending Yggdrasil] - Level 26
* [Aura of the Divine Beast] - Level 20
* [Defiant Regeneration] - Level 30
* [Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 30
* +5 to AGIL per level
* +5 to LCK per level
Skill Slots: 14/60: Skill Points: 0
Personal Skills
* [Storyteller] - Level N/A
* [Rataskurs Pocket] - Level 24 >> Level 31
* [Mapping] - Level 20 >> Level 21
* [System Wiki] - Level 10
* [Meditation] - Level 22
* [Thiefs Swaggering Grace] - Level 23 >> Level 35
* [Mirage Step] - Level 25 >> Level 30
* [Focus] - Level 9 >> Level 23
Assassin 5/6
* [Way of the Reaper] - Level 12 >> Level 22
* [Unseen Blow] - Level 12 >> Level 20
* [Reaper's Cloak] - Level 9 >> Level 29
* [Perfected Strike] - Level 10
* [Executioners Judgement] - Level 3