~~~Lee~~~
Lee picked up the glowing discs and threw them one after the other down the tunnel as they advanced. He didn’t need the light. Not really. But it helped with morale… and his companions needed it.
His forward progress halted when the rodents came boiling out of the darkness and attacked.
He caught the first one on his shield and the second one split open under his machete strike. Then they were in the melee and he flailed only somewhat wildly at the monsters as they swarmed over and even past him.
Everyone knew to leave some space around him. Far too many accidental brushes with his enchanted weapon had led to an abundance of caution.
That same wariness didn't apply to Lee. His regeneration was no secret, and it led to him as the ideal vanguard of each encounter. Even now, he took numerous bites and scratches to his legs and arms.
Lee saw the hits coming. His Mana Mind made it impossible not to. But there was only so much he could do to avoid them, even with armor, and sometimes it was easier to let himself get bit so he could execute the attacker while it thought it was winning.
It still hurt.
He made the others wait after the swarm while he chowed down one of Jamaal's boxed lunches. A few others mirrored him, breaking out their own snacks in the downtime, which were all from Jamaal. Lee had driven a lot of business to the man, often taking whoever was joining him by the man's shop before they left. The quality of his meals brought most everyone back the next time.
It was odd to be sitting in a cramped underground tunnel, in the glow of magic lights, and having a picnic. But it was becoming more normal every day. This was life now. Instead of getting up to head to the office or worksite, now they strapped on armor and weapons, and went hunting.
His companions today were a mixed bunch whom he didn't know before this excursion, and it was Lee's second trip of the day. Most people didn't want to hunt all day, and he couldn't blame them. There was a fatigue that built when you were fighting for your life, and it added up.
Lee just couldn't afford to let that slow him down.
He would have preferred Alejandro and Saira, and of course Jake, who was the only other person more driven than him.
Unfortunately, Jake often ran solo, looking for exciting fights, as he called it. Lee had tried going with him once to fight the giant hawk after Jake had tracked it down, but it felt like a lot of wasted time just trying to catch the thing. Grinding through the lairs was more rewarding for the shit ton of cores Lee needed to keep up with the others.
The rest of his preferred team still joined him sometimes, but they all had other responsibilities back at the base.
Saira was growing an increasingly larger crop of food that wasn't meat, which Lee enjoyed. Well, mostly the potatoes. Hell, only the potatoes. The absence of vegetables had not made his heart grow fonder of the disgusting things. Besides, he was pretty sure vitamins were far less important these days...
Alejandro had his kids, and he was also taking a more active role in the complex's defense. He was also working with the budding leadership that was trying to set up a more structured way of doing things. Which Lee suspected would go nowhere.
Word had spread about his enchants, and on Alejandro's advice, and May's example, Lee had sold his runes for a high price. Ten cores a day to rent a weapon or piece of armor, payable at the end of the day if they didn't prove flaky. It was a system that worked especially well considering he could take the runes back even if he didn't have access to the gear. Something he hadn't had to do yet. Shockingly.
Alejandro had started the ball rolling on that end by showing off his own runed machete. While May's weapons and armor were good, there was great appeal to a weapon that ignored armor and cut through literally anything. One of his runes often trivialized a hunt from a life and death battle and turned it into a slaughter.
Luckily, it wasn't too hard to find volunteers for his hunts after word spread. Lee even doled out enchanted armor and weapons for the excursions, and stood at the forefront, taking most of the hits. It helped make up for the lack of healers when Saira wasn't along.
Accidents still happened, with far too many coming from the runed weapons on the first day. Lee had ended up carrying a wounded man in his arms and sprinting all the way back to base for healing. Twice.
Inconvenient, but it had earned him a good reputation of looking out for his teammates.
"Queen's room should be nearby," Lee said to his group, packing away his remaining food. He could see the mana flows rushing down the tunnel, and they always got denser the closer you got to the queen.
He was right. They found the queen after two more waves and one failed ambush attempt through the tunnel wall. Failed because Mana Mind saw them coming.
One step into the queen's room, and she surrendered. A step back, and the tunnel closed up, a core materializing on the ground. It was always nice when they appeared nearby rather than at the entrance to the lair. Less worry about someone stealing it before they got back.
Claw Slash - (Common)
Sharpens the user's claws with mana and adds a slight extension to the reach when slashing.
Level Effects: (Novice)
+1% Strength
-1% Stamina drain when using claw attacks
Destroy Skill and absorb +1 All Base Attributes
Lee passed it around to see if anyone wanted it. They would have to give up an equal share of cores if they did. Though the price might go up if more than one person wanted it, especially if it was something good.
Two of the team discussed the pros and cons of the skill as they all trudged back through the tunnels. It was easy enough to find their way out, between Lee's Mana Mind and the trail of bodies they'd left.
They each carried one monster on their way back. Meat was meat, and the corpses alone would earn free meals from Jamaal if they didn't want to prepare it themselves. Plus, the man could make any random monster taste good.
The sun was on its way down when they emerged, but they still had a few hours of daylight left. Likely not enough for another full hunt by the time they got back to the complex. It was just as well. The rodent lair was one of the deeper ones they'd found. After fighting through the whole thing, even Lee was ready to call it quits. Besides, he had another appointment this evening.
Everyone dropped the corpses with Jamaal and then headed to the garage to drop off the weapons and armor that had been borrowed for the day's excursion. May begrudgingly allowed Lee to do that, but no one else, probably because, thanks to his runes, none of it came back even slightly damaged. Sure, they occasionally lost a strap or something, but that was an easy fix compared to resharpening or hammering out dents. It was also a way for people to get a taste of combat without already having cores. Which you couldn't get without combat.
He pulled his runes from the gear and topped off May's runes while he was there. She had a lot of them... but it honestly cost Lee nothing to cast and maintain them, so it was a good trade.
The ring of sound suppressing runes around her crafting area had been a gift to everyone living in earshot of the incessant racket.
Alejandro caught up with him as soon as he left the garage, another man with him that Lee didn't know. "Lee, good hunt?" He gestured to the man beside him. "This is Wilson. He wanted to talk with you about something."
One look at Alejandro's expression and Lee knew this was probably something stupid. A glance at Wilson only reaffirmed the opinion.
Wilson did not fit in. At all. Where once he would have been another faceless white guy in a business suit, now that same look made him stick out like a sore thumb. Lee highly suspected the man hadn't fought even a single monster. Meanwhile, Lee was wearing armor and covered in dried blood from all the healed wounds he'd suffered that day. He stepped around the duo. "Let's walk and talk. I have somewhere to be."
"Of course, Mr..." Wilson said with a wide smile, falling into step beside him. "I'm afraid I don't know your last name."
"Does it even matter?" Lee said.
"I... suppose not. Though I believe we should strive to hold on to the conventions and proprieties that humanity has built into our civilization throughout the centuries. We still need to work together to survive, now more than ever."
"Fancy talk, that does nothing to help us survive. What we need now is fighters. You want to survive? Then pick up a weapon and fight."
"True... but as evidenced by the armor you are wearing, not everyone can fight, nor should they. While we need those such as yourself and Mr Morales here, we also require those like the smith who will need to be protected, both from the threat of monsters, and from less... savory characters."
"Fair enough," Lee said. "So what does that have to do with me?"
"Yes, let's get to the point." Wilson cleared his throat and continued, "We are attempting to create a more cohesive whole out of this small bastion of humanity. To uphold law and order in this time of increasing chaos."
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
He was clearly a politician. Or a wannabe one, at least, considering he hadn't led with some now meaningless title.
"To that end, we wish to bring the structures of our home under a singular banner. To..."
Lee stopped to stare at him. "You want my building? The building I earned by nearly dying in defense of this place?"
"You would not lose any..."
"Forget it." Lee kept walking.
Wilson hurried to catch up while Alejandro said, "I told you he wouldn't go for it. Just like all the others."
"Please, hear me out." Wilson fell into step beside him. "We need to work together if we are going to survive. Heroes like you have carried us through the initial storm, but it won't be enough in the long run. If we wish to recover what we've lost, to rebuild society..."
"The old world is gone," Lee said. "Now the powerful will rule, and everyone else will fall into line or die." It was something he was very worried about, and one reason he hunted relentlessly was to increase his own chances to survive when those inevitable powers came calling.
"That's just it!" Wilson said. "Right now we are individuals, each defending our own small corners. That will be our downfall if, as you say, the powerful come to take what we have. We must come together! A common cause. A shared..."
"He's talking about taxes," Alejandro helpfully supplied, cutting to the crux of the issue. "He wants to tax everyone living in the complex."
Lee laughed. "That will not go over well. And who's going to enforce it? You?"
"It would not be a matter of enforcement, but a willing contribution for the greater good of all!"
"Aren't we already doing that? Between food and weapons, plus the other useful non-combatants. We trade cores for their goods and together all get stronger."
"But we need more. Mr Summers has begun construction of a wall. At my request, I might add. It is a useful project that will help all within its borders, but who will pay him for that?"
"I bet lots of people will." Though Lee wasn't sure how useful a wall would actually be... and how big would it have to be to matter?
"I am sure they will, but how many others here are hesitant to provide their own skills? How many fear that their efforts will go unrewarded and so never speak up about how they might contribute? If we set up a system that ensures recompense... if we have order... rules that all have agreed upon..."
"If you want to bring everything under one banner," Lee interrupted the tirade. "Then give it all to me. Or Alejandro here. People know him. People have seen him out here everyday defending their homes. I've never seen you before, and you don't look like someone that would be on the front lines defending the people you claim to want to lead. This new world is not one where leaders sit at a desk. Leaders will be the strongest, baddest, motherfuckers who can go out and punch shit until it dies."
"I... ahem, I wouldn't presume to lay claim to such a role. I merely wish to use what talents I have to facilitate a better world for myself and those around me."
"Well, you're giving off politician vibes to me. You want people to be more open to your ideas, then get out there and fight with them. Lose the suit and show that you're not all talk. Actions speak louder than words, now more than ever."
"I will take that under advisement. Though my class does not..."
"Alejandro, are you still stockpiling combat skills?"
"I am." Alejandro nodded. "Though the stockpile is rather low at the moment, and I have mentioned it to Wilson here."
Wilson grimaced and brushed at an immaculate sleeve. Lee wondered briefly how the guy was eating. How most of the people here were eating... Was Saira giving her food away for free? Were other people? Then he decided he didn't care about the logistics and left with a wave. "Time for my training. Good luck with... whatever you're doing."
Martin was an older man with white hair and Asian ancestry. Or so Lee guessed, at least. It might have been slightly racist of him, but he was bad enough at telling people apart, and the guy was a damn sword-master, like you'd only ever see in movies. He was already teaching a small group of people in the field, and Lee grabbed a wooden practice sword before joining the class. Strike. Step. Step. Strike.
He continued as the sun dropped lower and lower. Continued even when the rest of the students left. Martin did not complain, and willingly gave more personalized instruction to Lee on his footwork and blade handling. The sparring they did was embarrassing in the extreme when the man barely had to move and Lee ended up in the dirt every time. Still, it was invaluable, and Lee had cores for the man he'd saved specifically for this occasion.
Martin didn't hunt, but also wasn't charging for his teaching. He freely taught all who wished to learn. Every day he came out here, and either practiced with his own blade, or taught whoever showed up. He never laughed or smiled, and Lee had never seen him with anyone who might be family. He was, by all accounts, alone. Whether by choice or circumstance, Lee didn't know, and he didn't pry. Though he suspected tragedy, like so many others these days.
Nevertheless, Lee wanted the man to be strong, and on his side if it ever came down to it. He'd even paid for and enchanted a sword specifically for him. Martin would be an absolute terror if he ever wielded that blade in combat... It was honestly a shame that he didn't.
The man had to have a skill for teaching as well, because Lee always came out of the training with a full plus one to every attribute. And Martin would always know somehow and call it a night. Today was no different.
Training Complete.
+1 All Base Attributes
The man stepped back the moment Lee received the notification. "You are improving, but I can see in your movements that you expect to cleave your enemy in one strike. Do not rely solely on your magic. There will come a day that it will not carry you through, and on that day, your life will depend upon the lessons you have learned here."
Lee clasped one hand over the other and bowed the way he'd seen others doing. "Thank you. I will... try to remember." Martin bowed back and turned to leave. Lee had to stop him before he left and dig the cores from his pocket. "Please, Sir. Take these."
"I do not require..."
"Please. You are saving lives. Mine especially. I need you around if I'm ever going to become even halfway decent at sword fighting... and I want to repay your help. This is all I can offer, since you don't want more enchants."
"An eagerness to learn is payment enough... but very well." He took the cores. "Now leave me. I must prepare for tomorrow's lessons." Then he picked up a rake and began slowly smoothing out the churned ground. His movements looked methodical, almost ritualistic, but then he always moved that way...
Lee left him to it and headed to dinner with his new family. Along the way, he pulled up his status.
Status
Name:
Lee Cascade
Race:
[Mana Conduit](F-Grade Human)
Traits:
[Adaptable] [Energetic Resilience] [Conduit] [Ley Line Attuned]
Class:
Runic (Legendary) - Level 9 (Novice)
Class Skills:
Rune Scribe (Uncommon) - Level 15 (Basic)
Attributes:
Strength: 41(+1%)41
Vitality: 40(+2%)40
Dexterity 40(0%)40
Wisdom 30(+220%)66
Intelligence 35(+217%)75
Willpower 30(+216%)64
Twin-Soul ???
Non-Class Skills(1/3):
Liquid Mana Blast (Rare) - Level 1 (Novice)
Mana Mind (Epic) - Level 20 (Basic)
Buffs:
Debuffs:
His class wasn't leveling ever since hitting nine. Apparently enchanting tons of blades and armor with the same runes over and over didn't cut it. Still, it wasn't a major concern. His class bonuses didn't really matter for fighting. Though he was still trying to figure out a way to enchant his entire skeleton... and expected doing so successfully would likely get him to that next level.
Mana Mind was his most valuable skill for now, aside from enchanting his gear, obviously. But being able to see everything around him was fantastic in battle. Combining it with his runed weapons was even better.
There had been no noticeable side-effects from the runes on his leg and hip, so Lee had done the same thing to his skull, ribs and breastbone. Then pretty much all the bones that were large enough for him to draw a rune on.
It made him a lot tougher, but he still needed a way to deal with the cartilage between everything, or else a monster like the damn hawk could just rip him to pieces.
Lee munched on his more perishable food on the way home. His workout with Martin never made him tired, but it made him hungry. He didn't want to be a total pig when eating Maria's cooking, no matter how much Alejandro encouraged it.
His working shower was a godsend created through teamwork between Bradley and Sophia, the water summoner whom Lee had finally learned her name. It involved a large stone cistern on the roof, and a lot of rearranged pipes to send the water to faucets and showers. Both of them were earning cores hand over fist without ever having to face a monster in person. And now Bradley was supposedly building a wall...
A small rune on the pipe turned the water hot, and Lee resisted the urge to linger in the steaming pleasure. The water wasn't unlimited. And he was still hungry.
Laundry was a bit more of a chore these days, and one Lee avoided for now by stealing a shit ton of clothes from the abandoned stores. Though supposedly there was someone in the complex with a tailoring class that was making more clothes for people. Now, if she could make something sturdy enough to hold a rune...
Alejandro let him in, and Lee allowed Gabriel to ambush him from behind the door. "I got you, Uncle Lee!" He exclaimed, while wrapped around Lee's leg.
"You sure did," Lee agreed, walking without effort despite the boy clinging to him. He could swear both kids were getting bigger every day. Likely something to do with the sapient lair they lived in, and the way their bodies constantly sucked in mana... "Did you wash your hands yet?"
"I did!"
"What about after you were crouched on the floor?" Lee countered, already carrying him to the bathroom.
Anita watched them from the table. She hadn't warmed up to the new face just yet, but Lee thought he could see jealousy in her gaze as she watched her big brother ride his leg across the room.
They all made it to the table, and Lee ducked his head politely while Maria said grace over the food. He thought it was ridiculous considering their new reality... but, hey; she was the cook. So he kept his mouth shut.
The meal was delicious, an observation he shared with Maria, earning an actual smile. Or maybe it was the way he cleaned his plate in seconds and then accepted another serving and repeated the process.
After the meal, Alejandro left to do a patrol with the budding guard force he'd raised up, with some small bribery of runes from Lee to bolster their numbers and survivability. Even stingy May had coughed up some discounted gear after Lee assured her that anything he enchanted wouldn't wander far. Besides, they were protecting her as well. Mostly they watched from rooftops and sounded an alarm when spotting monsters, but it was a start. Also, it was something useful for people to do, especially those that were too scared to go hunting in the lairs.
Lee stayed behind to help Maria with the kids, primarily by bribing them with a magic show if they got ready for bed in a timely fashion. While he was there, Lee once again brought up the idea of letting them learn from Martin. If they could get attributes from his training... not to mention learn to defend themselves.
She surprised him by admitting she'd already taken them that morning, and planned to make it a habit. She'd also confirmed that they did indeed gain the attributes.
It was fantastic news, and likely meant they would both be F-grade before long. Neither of them knew what that would mean for children... but it was hard to argue against anything that would increase their chances of survival.