~~~Stanley~~~
"Fuck." Stanley cursed softly when he flew around the corner and saw the people near the building ahead. He hated people.
This was all Samantha's fault...
Instead of heading that way just yet, he crossed the street and attacked the giant roaches swarming throughout the open area within a massive apartment complex. Monsters were so much easier than people. They were straightforward in wanting to kill you. No lies or subterfuge, just right to the murdering.
To be fair, some humans also went right to killing.
The roaches jumped... or flew up to his dirt sphere and then scrambled all over it. Stanley couldn't tell what magic they were using, but it left small holes in the dirt. Magic holes... not just in the dirt, either. He could feel it like tiny bites taken out of his mind... So he stepped it up by sending the rocks out of the dirt and setting them to orbit. At speed.
That did it, and the fight turned into him just hovering above the complex and killing the never-ending swarm that came up to fight the orb. They chewed through the dirt and rocks at an alarming rate... but he only pulled more from the ground and kept killing.
The only difference now was that he kept the knife zipping in a steady orbit as well, just outside the dirt and rock. It wasn't fancy. Not even skilled, but it killed stuff all the same. Also, it added a level to Knife Work every so often.
He tried to drop all the corpses directly below, where he could bury, or at least contain and protect them for later core collection. The only problem was a lot of the roaches kept twitching even when they were dead. It made it a lot harder to watch for scavengers stealing his cores.
Luckily, the swarm eventually subsided to a trickle, and then even those stopped. Stanley opened his shell to look at the massive pile of gore and corpses. He smiled, not at all evilly. Sometimes it paid off to have a group collecting the cores for him.
So he closed up the sphere and waited for the little bundle of excitement in the distance that was Caffeine to get closer. As long as the feeling stayed excited, everything was fine. It was only if Caffeine got nervous that Stanley would worry, and he was consistently getting better at sensing it.
When the pug launched into the sky, Stanley opened a hole and caught him on his lap. He hugged the squirming pug and ran his hands gently over the soft fur while Caffeine tried to lick him. "I missed you..." Caffeine calmed and let Stanley hold him, leaning into the hug while his tail wagged.
Stanley stayed there until his three camp followers didn't show up like they should have. He pushed his mind out further in the direction Caffeine had come from... and finally felt three people walk into his mental touch... That felt weird. Were they walking backwards? With their hands up?
Then more people entered. Strangers. Marching directly at his people...
Caffeine perked up, maybe hearing something, or just sensing the mood shift, and he was already in the air when Stanley opened the sphere to both let him out and see what was happening.
"...our hunting ground, and you think..." The man yelling at Samantha stopped moving. All of his friends behind him stopped moving. And then they all buried their faces in the mess of dead cockroaches covering the ground. Did they not see his flying murder sphere?
"Who's fucking hunting ground?!" Stanley yelled as he descended upon them. He was so tired of these stupid, petty...
"Stanley, stop!" Samantha yelled, and he stared at her in disbelief. They were moments away from attacking her and now she was trying to protect them... "You're being a bully."
Her face was unblemished by the ugly bruises he'd put there, but not untouched. She'd healed far faster than anyone could pre-system, but it hadn't all healed cleanly. Her mouth was slightly lopsided now... her nose a little crooked.
He had to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths before he spoke. Partially from the guilt, but also because… come on! "How, dear Sam! Am I the bully here?"
"You're the strongest one. That means you have the power to keep things civil. To have a conversation instead of resorting to violence."
Stanley took a few more seconds to just breathe before he let go of the idiots. They looked slightly less hostile when they stood up... or it might have been the mess they were now covered in. Whatever it was, they didn't go back to threatening anyone, and instead just stood there. Maybe she had a point?
"Is she right, guys? Should we talk about this like civilized people? Or can I just kill all of you like the monsters you are?"
Six heads nodded rapidly, and one voice choked out, "Talk! Yes, we should talk!"
"Great! See, Sam? I'm very civil."
"Threatening them first is not civil!" She huffed. "Though, I suppose they came on a bit strong..."
"Anyone can hunt here!" the speaker said quickly.
"We just wanted to warn you how..." a second voice chimed in, then trailed off as they finally looked past Stanley and presumably saw the mound. "...how dangerous... it is."
"Got any people in your camp talking about eternal life?" Stanley asked the dazed group.
"W... what?"
Stanley sighed. "Who wants to check them and who wants to get all these cores?"
"Not it!" Jerry and Samantha said at the same time.
"Jinx!" Samantha said immediately after. "I'll go check with Caffeine!"
She didn't give anyone a chance to object before practically skipping to the group, all cheerful smiles and friendly introductions. Stanley let Caffeine go with her. This bunch stood no chance against him.
They still didn't know if the pug could sniff out the invaders, since they'd found fuck all in two days, but all agreed it was likely.
Jerry only stared resigned at the pile of oozing roaches and shook his head. "Could you just kill me instead?"
"Don't be a drama queen," Stanley said. "I did the hard part already."
"I'm going to spit in your food tonight."
"You know I don't care."
"I know..." Jerry sighed and started for the pile with Arthur. "You really take the fun out of being a cook."
Stanley had mercy on the man anyway and smashed the pile down into a more flat spread. It would take too long otherwise. Then he flew around to check the nearby buildings. With Caffeine running off, his collectors would be vulnerable. On that note, he took what cores they'd already gathered. Might as well make them a less valuable target.
He'd told them to give up the cores if pressed. Then ideally come back and tell him who took the cores so he could go kill them. If that didn't work... Well, Caffeine was protective of his friends. Lethally so. Plus, Stanley would feel it if Caffeine started fighting.
The roaches looked to have claimed the whole area, considering how empty it was now, and Stanley eventually went back to help with the cores. He also monitored Caffeine the whole time after the pug happily followed Samantha while greeting the newcomers with his nose. He hadn't reacted with hostility to any of them, not yet...
He came back soon enough, with Samantha, and Stanley left her to help the others while he went looking for the next hunting area. He searched while on the lookout for other groups of people that might give him a lead on the invaders. The lack of suspects had Stanley half suspecting they'd made it all up to keep him busy...
Caffeine still trusted them, though. And since he was still collecting cores, it wasn't a complete waste of time. The desire to escape this hell hole was a strong motivator as well. If he could just find the damn invaders...
A grid search of the city had shown no increase in the Miasma debuff. So that was useless. Assuming they weren't lying about it...
There was a hopeful moment when Samantha woke up in the morning shouting about how it was now a negative three percent, except it was apparently the entire city. Stanley flew high enough to confirm it diminished in that direction, then flew out to the edges of the dungeon, where it fell off completely. So he knew it was coming from somewhere in a massive city...
Even worse, the monsters downtown were becoming insanely aggressive. Not only did they wage war from their respective skyscrapers, but they weren't above ganging up on him when he flew in to attack. It wasn't impossible... but it would be a death sentence for his little team of core gatherers.
Which led to them staying out of downtown and instead clearing out neighborhoods. The plan to find the invaders via the debuff was dead, and all he had to go on now was finding groups of people that might have seen the so-called recruiters.
Night came with no more progress on that front, and Stanley was grouchy with everyone. Except Caffeine. He was an angel and could do no wrong. Well, he had practically dragged Samantha and company along for the ride... but that wasn't his fault. Angels were nice to everyone.
Stanley wasn't expecting it when Arthur busted out with a violin while Jerry was cooking. He hadn't even seen the man carrying it... "Are you trying to attract more monsters?"
"You're not seriously worried about that, are you?" Samantha said deadpan. "Besides, it would only be more cores for you."
"And more filthy work for us," Jerry muttered.
"Maybe it will attract the invaders!" Samantha said with exaggerated worry. "That might be terrible..."
Stanley sighed. "Fine." Jerry was at least useful. Samantha and Arthur did little more than collect cores. Which was something... still, they should do more.
His opinion changed once the man started playing.
It was beautiful.
Samantha is the only useless one, Stanley thought, but his heart wasn’t in it. Arthur sang a bitter song of sorrow and regret. It was more of a lost love type song, but Stanley only thought of his mistakes that led to him abandoning Lee as he turned away to watch the night.
Caffeine helped when he jumped into his lap for cuddles.
"...what could have been." Arthur finished the song, and it was Samantha who spoke up first. After the notification. And while Stanley resisted the urge to do… something unpleasant to the man.
Buff: [Serenade](59:59)
Doubles All Regeneration.
Amplifies Emotions.
"That was beautiful, but maybe something more cheerful next?"
Arthur complied, and Stanley felt better when it was time to eat. He ate and considered his progress.
Status
Name: Stanley Cascade
Race: [Psychomancer](F-Grade Human)
Titles: [Titan Slayer]
Traits: [Adaptable](67%) [Energetic Resilience] [Psycho]
Class: Psionic (Rare) - Level 24 (Basic)
Class Skills: Psychokinesis (Uncommon) - Level 28 (Intermediate) | Premonition (Epic) - Level 11 (Basic)
Attributes:
Strength: 60(-10%)54
Vitality: 61(-9%)54
Dexterity 59(-1%)59
Wisdom 62(+123%)138
Intelligence 60(+122%)133
Willpower 68(+633%)498
Twin-Soul ???
Non-Class Skills 1/3: Knife Work (Rare) - Level 9 (Novice)
Buff: [Serenade]
Debuff:
Premonition had finally climbed out of the Novice rank, and all it took was him risking bodily injury on the regular. The description hadn't changed, but now it gave him a whopping 0.2 seconds' warning before something was about to hurt him. Which wasn't as bad as he'd feared. Maybe the increased stats were actually affecting his mental processing speed... but it was just enough time to react.
Unfortunately, the skill only gave him the sensation of pain. While that was usually enough to know which direction an attack was coming from, it was rarely enough to do anything other than try to block. Some magic didn't care about blocking. Or physical obstacles. Or even mental obstacles. Magic was bullshit. Still, he held hope that the skill would prove itself in time.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Psychokinesis had climbed a rank at 25, which hopefully meant his class would do the same. A new class skill would be nice, especially if he got some better options than last time.
Knife Work was close to its first rank, but so far wasn't living up to his plans for it. The message he saw at each skill rank up about 'No Evolution Options' implied that there could be such a thing. He had to be using the skill in a wildly different manner than intended. He didn't know if that was enough to prompt the evolution since he'd never actually seen the option, but he could hope.
The skill also stood out as the only one not boosting his primary attribute, and as he watched the numbers climb, he was wondering if there was any point to the other attributes. He could only learn two more non-class skills. If he found good ones that boosted willpower more, it might be better than collecting random skills like Knife Work.
He'd experimented somewhat by using his... guests. They seemed happy enough to absorb the skills he gave them and then tell him what happened.
Arthur had Sonic Aspect mana, and his primary attribute was intelligence. One skill Stanley gave him was wisdom boosting, and it didn't change from that after Arthur adapted it. Still, the guy was slightly less useless in a fight now that he had an actual attack. Not good against anything large or fast, but he could stun smaller creatures with sonic attacks. Maybe the violin would help improve that...
It was the same with Samantha, in that skills didn't change to match her preferred intelligence bonus. Though she had a Nature Aspect instead. They had found nothing that really stacked onto her class, but who cared? Growing trees was stupid and useless in a fight, though she could team up with Arthur and they made a decent team. If the enemies were weak. And there weren't too many. And they were slow.
Jerry was the odd one out in that his class boosted all of his attributes, though to a lesser amount. He'd been the most reluctant to adapt skills, but changed his mind after the first one turned from quasi useless into a helpful addition to his cooking skill set. Something to do with heat control. He already had something similar to Stanley's Knife Work skill, but was more focused on preparing a kill rather than actually killing it. Still, it gave him enough extra speed and precision that he could join the other two in a pinch.
While he ate, Stanley watched Caffeine make the rounds and get bites from everyone. They also slipped him cores with each piece of meat. Caffeine got bored with eating them, and this was the best way to keep him growing. Stanley made sure they each gave one type of attribute and kept track of how many the pug consumed.
His plan was to make sure Caffeine reached at least fifty in all stats before he kept pushing his own. He would have focused on physical only, but Caffeine’s weird status made him think that total stats were more important.
Stanley hadn't forgotten about the teleporter. If that bastard came back, he needed Caffeine to put him down. Or just drive him away if not. That guy probably wasn't getting a tenth of each core when increasing his attributes, but powerful as he was, Stanley doubted he could reach the same farming speeds.
Food gone, cores consumed, Stanley barricaded himself away from the others and slept. He slept lighter now, maybe a reaction to almost killing someone, and Caffeine had an easier time waking him up from the inevitable nightmares. It helped.
...
The smell of roasting meat when he woke for the third or fourth time told him the night was done. Also, Caffeine bouncing excitedly around the room was a big hint. The best part was that he woke from normal sleep, no lingering nightmare. As long as he didn't think about the earlier ones...
Jerry worked fast and had a massive pile of meat ready to go by the time Stanley joined them. They ate it even faster and got back to work. No rest for the wicked.
Stanley took down their barricade, which he'd made much more substantial now that they were sleeping in the smaller lairs. It probably made little difference, but having twenty empty floors below you just felt safer than two.
Then they hunted. Well, Stanley hunted, the others collected cores.
His skill, Knife Work, stubbornly refused to level despite putting extra effort into more deliberate use of the blade. It wasn't all a waste though, because the struggle still rewarded him.
Class: Psionic has reached the Threshold of Level 25
No Class Evolutions Available. Ranking Psionic up to Level 25 (Intermediate)
Stanley checked his class, even though he was pretty sure what would change.
Psionic (Rare)
I think therefore it is.
A Rare Class that focuses on the power of the Mind.
Practitioners eschew the use of Mana, instead converting all external and internal energy directly into their mental energy.
Strong minds use this energy to force the world around them to bend to their will. Masters of this class can alter reality on a whim and a thought.
Class Level Effects (Intermediate)
+5% Effective Mind Attributes
-5% Mental Fatigue
As expected. He'd felt the change more clearly this time. A full 25% boost all at once. Of course, he was more interested in the next message.
For reaching (Intermediate) rank in your class, you may choose a new Class Skill.
Make it a good one... he thought and checked his options. All the previous choices were still there, and he grew more disappointed with each shitty option.
To his relief, there was something new afterward.
Psionic Shield (Rare)
I think, and it doesn't touch me.
User creates a shield of Mental Energy above the skin. The shield will reserve an adjustable portion of the user's energy to maintain protection from all outside encroachment.
Skill Level Effects: (Novice)
+1% Effective Willpower
+1% Shield Energy Reserve
It looked good. 'All outside encroachment' sure sounded like it would block magic... though the 1% energy reserve made him question just how strong it would be, at least at first.
He moved on to the next option.
Accelerated Thought (Rare)
I think faster.
User accelerates all thought processes.
Skill Level Effects: (Novice)
+1% Effective Mind Attributes
+1% Mental Acceleration
That was the simplest skill description he'd seen to date... which worked. It didn't really need to say more. Stanley liked it, but still checked the next option.
Psionic Healing (Epic)
I think and am restored.
User may direct their Mental Energy into restoring their own flesh and mind. User may also restore others, though with lesser effect.
Skill Level Effects: (Novice)
+1% Effective Mind Attributes
-1% Mental Energy Cost
It would have been awesome... if he didn't already regenerate, and at a likely faster rate than he expected the skill to. Healing others could be useful... but not enough to miss out on one of the first two options.
He went back, and it was a tough choice. The shield could be a game changer, especially for magic. It didn't specify how much it would actually block, but even if it was small, it would grow better in time.
On the other hand, he could instead think faster. That held so many potential benefits... from defense to offense. It wasn't a protection against magic, but it still might help in that regard. He'd blocked magic before, usually the weaker, slower stuff, but still... If he could react faster... or could use it with his premonition skill...
It might have been enough to catch that fucking teleporter.
Remembering that disaster of a fight had Stanley leaning more heavily toward the acceleration skill. He had his regeneration... he could trade hits if necessary... and if he could attack faster, that might be more than enough.
The real clincher was when he reread the shield and saw that it would hover above his skin. It didn't say that he couldn't push it out further, but it didn't say he could either. That was a deal breaker. He wouldn't shield himself and leave Caffeine exposed. Never.
New Class Skill: Accelerated Thought (Rare) - Level 1 (Novice)
It was only after accepting that he realized the healing skill would have let him heal Caffeine... Fuck! He cursed at himself a few times, but didn't dwell on it long. Caffeine had good regeneration, too. Better to kill anything before it could ever touch the pug. Kill everything!
Then he remembered what he'd done to Samantha... he might have been able to fix her completely with the healing skill... That made him feel guilty all over again, both for hurting her in the first place, and then forgetting about it when he might have had the chance to make things right.
It was too late now... so he focused on his new skill.
The knowledge that came with the skill told him enough to know that it was both passive and active. His brief bout of self recrimination had activated the acceleration. He didn't know if it would trigger from premonition... so he tested it.
A few minutes later, he had isolated a single monster and then had to poke and prod it until it stopped trying to run away. The bug, a disgusting mix between what he thought was a mosquito and a cricket, finally tried to stab him. He felt the twinge of pain in his gut... and time slowed.
Or at least, that was what it felt like. The world slowing around him came with a certain pressure in his head that told him it was active. Unfortunately, both sensations were abysmally weak.
Skill Level Up: Accelerated Thought
Stanley killed the bug and rebuilt his shell of dirt and rocks. Then he forced every scrap of power he could into the new skill and kept hunting. It would level, and he would make sure it did so as fast as possible.
...
It wasn't until near dark that he found more humans. They weren't hard to spot, either. A glowing neon sign, in giant letters, said, 'Restaurant at the End of the World.'
The phrase tickled something in his memories, but whatever it was, it didn't make it to the surface of his mind.
Stanley scoped the place while he waited for the others to catch up. Samantha loved people. She could go in.
The building was large, two stories, and heavily fortified from what he could see. It was also lit up like a beacon in the night, thanks to that sign. How had he never seen it before? People walked in and out of the front doors, some of them lingering at the entrance. Guards, maybe?
It was a restaurant, allegedly, so maybe Jerry would want to stay. Maybe he could get all of them to stay. If Caffeine wouldn't complain too much. Maybe he could bring Caffeine to visit sometimes...
Speaking of Caffeine, Stanley only got a single second of greeting from the pug before he started sniffing at the air and then took off toward the glowing building. "Damn it, Caff!"
Luckily, Caffeine stopped when shouts rose from the guards, and Stanley was at his side a moment later. He prepared for the inevitable attack when a few glows appeared on the guards. But no one attacked. So he didn't kill them. They did plenty of useless shouting while Caffeine sniffed the air and whined.
A strong smell of food wafting from the building was the obvious reason for that.
Stanley was about to retreat when the terrible trio caught up at the same time that a very large man emerged from the front door, spread his arms wide and bellowed, "Welcome to the restaurant at the end of the world!" He stood like that for entirely too long, chuckling and grinning like an idiot.
"That's clever," Jerry said, staring up at the glowing but not actually neon sign.
"What is?" Stanley asked.
"It's... from a book," Jerry said, glancing at him. Then shook his head. "So we going in? Might as well check them out."
"Yes!" Samantha squealed, clapping her hands like an idiot.
The fat man finally stopped standing there and walked down the wide stairs toward them. "Newcomers, eh? Well, everyone is welcome here. If you're hungry, we got food. If you need a place to rest safe from the monsters, then we got that too."
That was entirely too suspicious. "What's the catch? You built some kind of deathtrap maze in there? We go in and you grind us up for food?" The fat bastard backed up a step. He hadn't expected someone to see through...
"Don't listen to him," Samantha said, walking forward to grasp the man's hand and shake it vigorously. "He's just hungry after a long day. Please tell me you have something besides meat to eat?"
He lit up again, obviously happy to have found another gullible idiot. "Why yes we do! Granted, the menu is somewhat limited these days, but we have some growers who are making remarkable progress in the vegetables department! Come in! Eat! Rest!"
Samantha turned to look at him. "Come on, Stanley." She deliberately looked down at Caffeine, who was currently pawing at the man's leg and wagging his tail. Her eyebrows went up as if to say, "see that?"
Stanley sighed. Caffeine was too greedy... and maybe they actually had food in there if he was acting like that. "What's the price for this oh so wonderful food?"
"Free for all who are in need!"
That definitely sounded like a trap.
"Though we do ask the more capable hunters to chip in, either with monster corpses... or cores, if you're feeling especially generous."
"What kind of charity scam are you running? What do you get out of this?" Stanley could understand someone like Jerry trying to sell food for cores. If they were stuck with a shitty class, then they had to do something, but this was...
"Come inside. I think you will understand."
"Said the spider to the fly."
"We'll be right in!" Samantha said, and then rushed back to Stanley. "Come on! This will be good, and you've earned a rest. We've all earned a night off!" Then she whispered, "Caffeine likes him, so he can't be that bad."
"Fine. Let's get this over with." Stanley gave up after watching the tub of lard bend over enough to let Caffeine sniff his hand before scratching his head. The guy was probably eating his customers to still be that fat...
He smiled widely when he saw them all approaching. "Come, come! Your dog is, of course, welcome. What's his name... Oh, my apologies. I forgot to introduce myself! My name is William, but everyone calls me Bill, and this is my restaurant at the end of the world!"
"You said that already," Stanley said to the chuckling idiot.
"Hah! Did I? No worry, come, come!"
"I like it," Jerry said with a wide grin. "Great name for a restaurant."
Stanley was staring at the normally dour Jerry in shock when they walked through the double doors. Who was this man, and what happened to...
You have entered a Sapient Lair: [Restaurant at the End of the World]
Bill was grinning at them when they stopped in surprise. "Do you see?"
"You claimed a monster lair?" Arthur finally spoke and said what Stanley was thinking.
"Ah hah... but no. We been hunkered down here since this all started, and after a few days, a message popped up asking if we wanted to create a lair. I accepted, and here we are!" He rubbed his hands together with a very sinister smile. "But that's not the best part, watch!" He shut the doors and threw the deadbolt.
[Restaurant at the End of the World] has entered Lockdown.
Time remaining until forced opening(6:59:59)
Stanley tensed up immediately upon such a blatant imprisoning, his mind reaching, closing around...
Samantha grabbed his arm, and Bill threw the deadbolt back open.
Lockdown lifted.
"See?" No one responded fast enough because he went on. "It is safety!" He slapped the wall with a meaty hand. "These walls are as strong as the monster lairs! And sure, we can't hide forever, but we have to go hunt, anyway. This way we at least get to sleep in safety!"
Stanley ignored the grandstanding, eyes closed as he waited for his heart rate to slow back down. Samantha squeezed his arm. He pulled away from her and opened his eyes. She only smiled when he glared at her... He still didn't know what her deal was. She kept touching him. That wasn’t normal behavior, was it? He couldn’t remember his life before that day… and hadn’t had any female friends afterward. Or any male friends… just Lee. Whom he’d abandoned… Whatever she was up to, it wouldn't work. And it was pointless; he’d already agreed to protect her…
Bill was staring. "What!?" Stanley demanded.
"I just felt... ah, it's nothing. Hungry? I assure you, it's better than you're expecting!"
They followed him down the long and suspiciously crooked hallway while Bill happily pointed out the murder holes and secret tunnels Stanley had already felt out the moment he locked the door. "See, the monsters will attack on occasion, and we can funnel them through this path. Makes the fighting a lot easier."
Stanley was expecting the large room they emerged into, including an excessive number of people that sat around numerous tables, but he still froze when so many eyes landed on them. He opened his mouth... and Samantha touched him again.
Before Stanley could growl at the woman, Bill yelled, "More survivors have found their way!"
Nearly everyone in the massive room lifted cups and cheered with a thunderous noise. It was... upsetting. And distracting. What were they planning...
"Sit wherever you like," Bill said once the noise subsided. "And no fighting in my restaurant. If you need to settle something, you take it outside. Or else I get involved. You got that?"
Stanley wasn't at all impressed with the threat.
"Got it," Samantha said. "No fighting."
Bill smiled his big, jolly, stupid smile. "Great. Now... I may have exaggerated just a tiny bit when I mentioned a menu... but how does meat and potatoes sound?"
"I might never leave!" Samantha said.
Stanley hoped she was serious as he looked for a table near a window. He had plenty of experience breaking lair windows.