‘Avatar,’ I mentally called out as the container shook. I was laying down on a cot in the back along with my father. Mes suddenly popped up in the air in front of me.
‘User Mittens,’ Mes said with a grin as they held a large plate of food and picking various pieces off of it and eating them. ‘You did a really good job. Lots of killing. Call up Combat Log, it is a subsection of the Interface like the Store.’
‘Combat log,’ I thought.
COMBAT LOG
3 Rat Drug Dealers (Low): 216 EXP
2 Duck Cultists (Low): 151 EXP
7 Duck Cultists (Mid): 712 EXP
1 Duck Cultist Leader (High): 146 EXP
14 Duck Cultists (Low): 1,073 EXP
1 Apostate (Boss): 2,381 EXP
TOTAL: 4,679 EXP
‘What do low, mid, high, and boss mean?’ I asked.
‘The quality of their soul, or the energy that I managed to get out of them. I told you before most creatures are around a hundred EXP. The leader gave more and has his best ducks down their in that chamber working.’
‘That seems quite precise,’ I replied.
‘There is some leeway in terms of labels. But that is just the way things are. As for the boss label, it means they were a unique existence that granted an above average amount of EXP for an area. That was why you got so much EXP for killing that Apostate.’
‘That is a lot,’ I thought, since Mes had said my father was only worth about 5,000 EXP.
‘You are quite capable Mittens. I am a weapon after all, and you used me to great effect. A shame the other ducks escaped. That would have been a couple thousand more experience, but quality is a quantity all on its own.’ Mes kept putting food in their mouth.
‘The combat log is just a summary?’ I asked.
‘Just to clarify where all the EXP comes from after a heated battle. If there are any concerns, I am happy to explain.’ That made sense. It was also nice to see all my kills had been confirmed and tracked. I also noted the ducks trapped on the stairs, weren’t counted.
They were killed by their own actions not me. That was unfortunate. I needed to get faster and better at killing. I needed as much EXP as I could get and pay back my debt. Now to see how much my skills had improved. ‘Interface.’ The floating screen changed.
Experience: -14,221 EXP (+4,679)
Features: Interface, Avatar, Skill Attunement
T1 Skills: Movement (83/100) +4, Balance (58/100) +4, Listening (54/100) +2, Breathing (31/100) +7, Smell (21/100) +11
T2 Skills: Danger Sense (41/100) +3
T3 Skills: Claw Combat (55/100) +6
I frowned a bit. That wasn’t as much of an increase as I was expecting. ‘I thought the numbers would go up more,’ I thought at Mes.
‘They went up a quite a bit. But you have already progressed quite a bit and didn’t do anything that new compared to your intense training. They still went up even when they were already at such a high level. Claw Combat is doing very well.’
‘I can’t make them increase faster?’ I asked.
‘Just keep doing what you are doing. A couple more fights like the last one and you will be able to purchase your own skills and the ones you do have will start to hit max level.’ I just wanted the numbers to go up faster.
‘Any chance of getting some new skills or features?’ I asked hopefully.
‘Nope. You need to get into the positive again. And you are still too weak to be assigned quests,’ Mes replied.
Too weak? After everything I had just done, that was a bucket of cold water. I had cleaved my way through duck cultists and an Apostate. I hadn’t even taken a scratch, but I was still considered too weak. It was almost scary the fights Mes expected me to engage in. I could only imagine their sheer danger.
‘How much EXP would I be worth?’ I asked out of curiosity.
‘About six thousand, which is more than your father. But your skills have eclipsed his. He wins more in your spars, since he uses movement and combat skills beyond the ones you have. Also, his experience in fighting. EXP is just a representation of how much energy I can get from your kill.’ Mes said while finishing off the food on their glowing plate. They tossed the plate away and it quickly disappeared.
‘Shouldn’t an Apostate be worth more?’ I asked.
‘Nope. That is what they were worth. The fact is, they weren’t using that much of their own energy, but calling on the energy of the Snake Ancestral Spirit. Now if you killed that, now that would be some serious experience.’
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‘That isn’t happening any time soon,’ I thought with a bit of frustration. ‘I need a way to resist snake hypnosis,’ I mentioned. That skill by the Apostate was highly concerning.
‘Then you need the feature Mind Attunement for ten thousand EXP and then supporting stats to boost your overall resistance. And you know what I am going to suggest in order to get those upgrades,’ Mes said with a grind as they floated about, above my cot.
‘Kill, kill, kill,’ I thought.
‘Exactly! The more you kill. The more I can help you. Just wait until we really get going. A one cat shredder. Just murder your way to the top.’ I rolled my eyes at this. It was time that I got some sleep. I had improved, but my skills hadn’t gone up like I had expected.
The experience points had been decent, but I had been hoping for a lot more. What I really needed was a lot of EXP. Hopefully the next ritual site had multiple Apostates and hordes of duck cultists. I slowly drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face. My first mission had been a massive success.
The truck hit a large bump and came to a halt. I had been drifting in and out of sleep as the truck progressed to our next destination. There was a small bathroom at the very rear in the container. There was no shower, just a bucket of water, a sponge, and a bar of soap.
That was the worst part about this job. The horrible accommodations. I got cleaned up and changed. My dirty clothes were put away into a container. Mousethief would handle getting them washed and having the septic tank cleaned out as needed. These things were handled at the port facilities in specific warehouses.
I felt stupid for suggesting we leave behind the container before the mission. But that was why this was a learning experience to help me understand how things were done and the best way to do things. Those types of small actions were the most important to keep track of and get right, since they could have large consequences.
The truck remained stopped, but there was nothing to do but wait until Mousethief came back. I took the time to stretch with my father. “Sleep well?” he asked me.
“A bit. Just hasn’t fully sunk in, that this is my job now,” I replied, and he chuckled.
“I felt the same way. It can get a bit intense, but taking the time to focus and calm down during the rest periods is important.”
“Also stretching,” I added.
“And that as well. We have a location, and Mousethief will confirm,” Master Tom Cat said and I nodded.
“I know. Well, I just want to keep completing missions,” I said.
“Just don’t go full feral. Rushing with an uncalm mind, is not good.”
“Yeah. I just felt so alive back at that compound. Facing and killing the Apostate. It was something I never thought I could do months ago,” I explained. My father nodded at this.
“The blood rush, or the blood rage as the Paladins call it. It grants great strength, but it costs a creature their sanity. You must never give into it Mittens. Promise me.”
“I promise,” I said. “Is it really that bad?” I asked to get a more understanding what blood rage was.
“It is. I have faced creatures that have entered it before. It is a lot like using an Ancestral Spirit to empower oneself, but even worse. Your sanity degrades. While the strength is incredible, if you can’t direct it, then it is only useful against hordes of creatures.” I nodded at this.
“I understand. Our advantage is our ability to think and dodge. We aren’t Paladins rushing blindly into combat,” I replied and my father nodded at this.
“Exactly. While you might live the first time. The blood rage will come easier the next time and then you will quickly die. That is why calming your mind is very important, so you don’t go feral.” That was when the container opened and Mousethief entered, closing the metal door behind him.
“Well, Mousethief is the best,” he said with glee as he made his way over. “The ducks have a compound up on a mountain. This town of Rockridge is at the base. A large team of ducks flew in last night. Has to be over 100 in the compound. Civilians are mixed in with the cultists though,” he replied. That was the group that had run off from the last compound. Mousethief’s driving had allowed us to catch up with them.
That didn’t matter too much. Civilians working with cultists were equally guilty. The last mission had the ducks in several compounds, so the other ducks could be excused. The clean up crew would investigate and make sure they all got a warning. They might even kill a few to make a point if there was any resistance.
“The hard part is getting up there. No cover from any direction. Just boulders and shrubs. Mostly tourists that go up there for the view. Also, the mountain used to be an active volcano thousands of years ago. If a Quackening is unleashed, it could turn active once again,” Mousethief explained.
Everything now fell on my shoulders to make a decision. “We need to act immediately. Full assault, we gear up, and drive the truck up the mountain. Break how the Heavy Machine Gun, HMG, and mow down anything that tries to get away. I will go directly into the compound and find the Ritual site.”
“You sure, that is going to bring a lot of attention?” Tom Cat asked.
“We can’t afford to have any cultists escape and they are risking activating a volcano. If they do that, it is the entire region that will be under a huge threat. Mousethief can handle the HMG, you can guard him. While I go into the compound.”
“I am meant to just be an observer,” Tom Cat replied.
“Well, as the lead Assassin of the mission I can invoke nearby resources to assist in the event of an imminent catastrophe.” I frowned a bit at that word. But cats were always being blamed and that had sunk into the language itself over the centuries. “Unless they have something more dangerous than an Apostate, we should be mine.”
“And if they go off partially like the last sight?” my father asked. I winced at that. “That is why I am suggesting a more stealthy approach. We wait until tonight. Then go in then,” he suggested. I liked the idea of a full front assault.
“Okay. I will do the stealth approach. But Mousethief will move up during that time. And cover the sky just in case things go loud,” I replied. My father nodded at that.
“You want shotguns?” Mousethief asked me. I shook my head.
“No. They weren’t that useful last time. Also, ducks can’t use guns and they don’t work that well against Apostates,” I replied.
“Well, an HMG will wake the dead. I haven’t fired one in forever,” he said with a grin.
“Because they are cumbersome, heavy, and hard to set up. And no creature is an idiot enough to run at an HMG,” my father explained.
“That is why they need to put one in the cars. Like a disguised military vehicle,” Mousethief countered.
“That defeats the point of handling things as quietly as possible. I don’t even know why I let you keep an HMG in the container,” Tom Cat replied.
“For situations like this with lots of ducks to shoot down.”