Sitting down next to him, I muttered,"Status Window", which let me see what stats I have.
Ethan Turner:
Stats: |Strength: 7|Endurance: 8|Agility: 6|Vitality: 9|Instinct: 8|Wisdom: 8|
Charisma: 2|
Skills: Lvl 1 skill: (Flowing Serpent, Clear Mind: Passive): Using any Spear or javelin type weapons automatically brings your focus to a heightened degree, increasing concentration and strengthening weapon related skills. Lvl 1 skill: (Basic Spear Technique): You now know the basic ways to use a spear type weapon. Once you begin to adapt this skill into your own, you will begin to receive special abilities based on your technique.
Reviewing my skills and stats, I decided to increase my Vitality stat to 10, and put one in Strength and Agility. As I upgrade my stats, a soft bell sounds and golden aura envelops me as I feel my body becoming lighter and stronger. I stand up, and for some reason decide to punch the wall. But instead of my hand bleeding or bruising, I make a small fist sized dent, scattering small chunks of brick all over the floor. Not wanting to be left out, Jake opened his stat window
Jake Ferguson:
Stats: Strength: 9-Indurance: 8-Agility: 5-Vitality: 9-Instinct: 8-Wisdom: 6-Charisma: 1
Skils: Lvl 1 skill: (Heavyweight Champion: Passive): Strength and endurance is multiplied exponentially with each level at the cost of your stealth. Lvl 1 skill: (Basic Great Weapon Technique): You now know the basic ways to use a great weapon. Once you begin to transform this skill into your own, you will begin to receive special skills designed on your technique.
Jake put two of his stats into Agility, and put the last one into Strength. Again, the bell rang and a golden aura surrounded him, and he looked much stronger than before. Same as me, he stood up and punched the wall. His punch had even more power, and he left an enormous dent about 3 times bigger than what I had left. Finally, Landon opened his Status Window.
Landon Constantine:
Stats: Strength: 5-Insurance: 8-Agility: 9-Vitality: 6-Instinct: 8-Wisdom: 7-Charisma: 8
Skills: Lvl 1 skill: (Fleetfoot: Passive): Ramp up in speed the longer you run (capped at 2x your agility investment). Lvl 1 skill: (Basic Archery Technique): You now know the basic ways to use an Archery type weapon. Once you begin to adapt this skill into your own, you will begin to receive special skills designed on your technique
Landon put one point into Agility, one into Vitality, and his last into Strength. The golden aura appeared once again, and Landon stood up to test his strength. Instead of punching the wall like we did, he began to run around the roof, at first a sprint but soon all we could see was a vaguely humanoid blur as he looped the roof faster than any seasoned Olympic athlete.
"Jesus christ…" I said to myself, "With these upgrades, we could easily take out that giant guy five times over!"
"Don't get cocky yet," Landon told me,"We might have gotten slightly stronger, but we still have a long way to go if we are going to actually survive in this world."
"You're right...But speaking of getting stronger, the new quest should be out any second now." I say, right as the system screens pops up again.
Congratulations! You have officially passed through the tutorial! After the second quest is announced, the only notifications you will receive from the system will be about events within your area, or C_(@%*ties that you will have to face against. Good luck with your journeys, chosen ones!
Second Quest Wave! Quest type: Group Subjugation - Find and kill 1
"It looks like there are more types of infected." Landon says, staring at the screen, "Judging by the name 'Stalkers', I'm guessing they're the type to sneak up on their prey, so it might be difficult to hunt them."
"Well, we'll only know what they are like if we go and see them ourselves…" I say as I grab my spear and head to the staircase.
"I don't care what they are like, as long as I can kill these fuckers." Jake says as he grabs his greatsword and sheath.
"If we do kill them I just hope that I can get some sort of planning or mapping skill." Landon says, following us outside.
Instead of walking like last time, we decided to take the truck and some supplies for emergencies. Driving past the building we encountered that Bloated fellow, we eventually made it to our destination.
"Okay, let's stay on guard." Landon says, closing his door silently,"If we catch their attention early we could be fucked."
"Gotcha, just no loud noi-" Jake attempted to say, but was cut off by his door crashing violently against its frame, "-ses…"
The silence following the slam was deafening. We froze in place, eyes wide with panic, and only the sounds of our hearts pounding against our chests, but soon after a blood curdling scream came from in front of us. Turning to where the noise came from, Landon nocked an arrow and fired, hitting a lone zombie in the head.
"You fucking idiot!" I hissed at Jake, "Now they know we're here."
"Sorry! It was reflexive I swear!" Jake mumbles in apology, but he suddenly stops and draws his weapon, "Somethings here…" He whispers.
Right as he said that, something zips forward with blistering speed and hits him with a punch. He managed to barely block its fist and I was able to get a good long look at it. I estimated it to stand around six feet tall upright, but it was crouched on all fours and was uncannily skinny. It hissed at Jake, then kicked him and managed to scurry away into a building. Staying silent, we all raised our weapons and waited for their next strike. I hear the scraping of claws on cement behind me, and barely manage to turn around as another tries to claw at my back. Its claws were deflected by my chestplate, proving to me that it was worth the fight against the Juggeraut. It scurried away before I could counter, so I had to get my senses in check. Closing my eyes I focused on hearing my surroundings. It didn't take long for it to try and attack me again, but this time I was ready. Spinning around, I raised my weapon and swept down at it right as it lunged to bite my shoulder.
The spear slashed down on the creature's shoulder and cut its arm clean off. It fell to the ground clutching its stub, writhing in pain, allowing me to swiftly decapitate it. One down. Two more emerged from the shadows, both headed for Jake. The first went to attack him from below, crudely contorting its form to slide just under his guard, but Jake anticipating the move beforehand, lowered his guard in order to get an upwards swing. Before he could finish his slice, the creature reeled back. It retreated far enough for me to see the extent of damage Jake was able to do with that near effortless cut. The stalker's entire jaw was nearly torn completely off. It attempted to reattach its severed jaw which hung, swaying by a thin stretch of rotting skin. Quickly realizing the mandible couldn't be salvaged, it held its open face cavity with its hands trying to stanch the bleeding and focused fiercely on Jake with its red, beady eyes. Before Jake had time to charge in and finish it off, the creature arched back, its dangling jaw smearing dark green blood across its boney chest, and rang out with an impossible screeching noise from it's carved-open throat. A noise like hundreds of tortured souls given each their own voice filled our ears. We froze in fear and caught Jake off guard, the second Stalker dashed around from Jake's left side and kicked him in the stomach. Jumping back from the two Stalkers, he put his left hand around his bruised side to protect it, and was forced to wield his greatsword with his one remaining hand.
Sensing his weakened state, the uninjured stalker jumped towards Jake with alarming speed and rained down a flurry of blows. Jake blocked all of the stronger attacks, but the weaker, faster ones were slowly wearing him down. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to last much longer, I decided to step in, jumping on top of an abandoned car and taking aim. I steadied my footing and hurled my spear at the uninjured Stalker. It attempted a dodge but my spear pierced just below its collar bone and pinned it, squirming to the wall. It shrieked and flung its limbs around in panic but for now, it was stuck. Using this distraction, I dashed off of the car and shoulder checked the stalker to the floor, and Jake finished it with a swing of his sword. Two down now. Turning back around to the Stalker that was pinned to the wall, the last two Stalkers appeared in front of me. One changed at me while the other protected its pinned brother. Knowing that I couldn't do any significant damage without my spear, I ran towards Jake. Before I was completely safe, it leaped into the air and smashed down into the ground. The shockwave sent me flying into the sidewalk, but I managed to catch myself on a light post.
"LANDON!" I screamed, "TRY AND FINISH OFF THE INJURED ONE. JAKE, YOU NEED TO KILL THE STALKER PROTECTING THE INJURED ONE!"
"WHAT ABOUT THE ONE THAT'S ATTACKING YOU!?" Jake screamed, raising his sword.
"DON'T WORRY! He's not going anywhere." I snarl as I square up against the Stalker.
He was first to attack. He sent a quick but sloppy punch at my face, so I weaved under its arm and slammed an uppercut into his chin. He backed up, stunned, so I went after him again. Closing the distance, I sent a low kick into his calf to make him kneel, then I hit him with a right hook. He backed up again, and began to retaliate. Faster than I could react, he sent a forward kick straight into my chest, knocking me back. Leaping forward, he tried to knee me in the face, but I dodged in time and he went flying through the window of an abandoned building just behind me. Standing up, I picked two large shards of glass from the ground and ripped off pieces of my jeans to use as handle wraps, securing the strips to the handles of the shards and waited for the damn thing to crawl back through. He slowly emerged into the light of the sun covered in green blood and small cuts, and stared back at me through the broken window with a filthy, shit-eating grin.
The moment the stalker leaped out onto the open street, I surged forward, ducked down, and slashed at him with the glass daggers. They sliced deep into its lower leg, crippling the creature's main advantage, its speed. I continued past it and turned back around, the soles of my shoes grinding into the ground till I came to a screeching halt. I huffed heavily, gasping for breath as I gripped the makeshift daggers before me. I could win this now, but it had to be quick, because my stamina wouldn't be able to last much longer. We both realized that the other was going to run out of gas soon and entered a flow state filled with a savage flurry of punches and kicks. It was his speed against my strength. During one of our traded blows, I managed to lodge one of my daggers through the stalker's exposed ribs, nearly piercing its heart. Despite missing its vital point, the attack left a weakness for me to exploit. Understanding the peril of the situation, the creature skidded back and activated its last resort, a
He began to growl, and it soon turned into a beastly scream. He had used the
"This is my last chance… if I don't counter him here, all of our work would be for nothing… if I could just reach that dagger." I thought to myself before leaping over its extended leg and delivering a clean dropkick to the stalker's mangled face.
But the perfect opportunity presented itself to me the moment I finished the thought. The creature raised both its arms desperately, attempting to crush me with its gnarly fists. But his stance was wide… too wide. I lunged for the gap between its legs and barely slid through before the stalker's fists came crashing down on the gravel where I had just stood, but I paid it no mind and immediately spun back around toward the hunched beast and leapt onto its mangled back.
It screeched and shook, but I was unrelenting. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and gripped its throat with one arm. In a last ditch effort he tried to get me off by clawing onto the arm that was holding his neck, sinking his two inch claws into my forearms but I still wouldn't budge. Reaching under its arm and grabbing the blade of glass with my free hand, I yanked it out of his chest, sending tremors throughout the titan's body, but it was too late. With a swing from my arm I stabbed inwards, this time, the blow was critical. Again and again I ripped the shard of glass from its chest and thrust it back in, shanking the creature in a ruthless onslaught, unyielding as if my life's goal was to kill this one creature. I could feel the stalker shift ever so slightly before it began tilting back dangerously. Straining against my body screaming back at me, I swiveled around its neck, landing atop its marred and bloodied chest. Breathing heavily and blinded by putrid blood, I tore the knife from its painfully spurting perforation one final time and roared furiously as I used both hands to plunge the shard of bloodstained glass into its gaping wound. Finally, the stalker lay dead in a pool of its own gore. Green mist sprayed desperately from the wound into the sky as if pleading to the gods to bring the felled creature back to life. Standing shakily from its desecrated corpse covered in its own vile blood, I spat at it and turned to walk in Jake and Landon's approximate direction, but after a single step the fatigue from the struggle caught up to me, the adrenaline wearing off and my whole body shutting down. My legs gave way as my vision blurred and I collapsed to the ground unconscious. About 3 hours later, I woke back up, sore and half mummified in medical grade gauze.
"What...what happened?" I asked, my head throbbed as I tried sitting up.
"We were able to kill the last two." Landon said, continuing, "Thanks to you I was able to take out the injured one and me and Jake finished the last one off."
"We've already claimed our rewards." Jake continued, "And check it out, we found out how to show what we earned to other people."
Jake Ferguson:
Stats: Strength: 10-Indurance: 8-Agility: 9-Vitality: 10-Instinct: 8-Wisdom: 6- Charisma: 1
Skills: Lvl 2 skill: (Heavyweight Champion: Passive): Strength and endurance is multiplied exponentially with each level at the cost of your imperceptibility. Lvl 1 skill: (Basic Great Weapon Technique): You now know the basic ways to use a great weapon. Once you begin to adapt this skill into your own, you will begin to receive special skills designed on your technique. New! Lvl 2 skill: (Counter Hit: Passive): After parrying an attack, your opponent is stunned for half a second.
Landon Constantine:
Stats: Strength: 6-Indurance: 8-Agility: 10-Vitality: 7-Instinct: 8-Wisdom: 7-Charisma: 8
Skills: Lvl 2 skill: (Fleetfoot: Passive): Ramp up in speed the longer you run. The limit of your speed increases with your level. Lvl 1 skill: (Basic Archery Technique): You now know the basic ways to use an Archery type weapon. Once you begin to adapt this skill into your own, you will begin to receive special skills designed on your technique. New! Lvl 2 skill: (Basic Planning): Create a 3D model of your surroundings to create a plan/map that you and your allies can see. Lasts for 2 minutes.
Equipment gained from quest:
Landon Constantine : Battle Worn Archer's Hood (C tier Headgear): This piece of equipment was used through many wars by an old archer hero who's been long forgotten by the world. Gain +2 Agility and +1 Instinct when worn
Jake Ferguson: Black Steel Gauntlets (C tier Armor): Forged by a race that has long been extinct, these gauntlets seem to fit even though you have never worn them. Gain +2 Strength and +1 Agility when worn.
Ethan Turner: Cloak of the Forsaken (C tier Growth Cloak): An item found floating in the ruins of a previous world. This item found its way to you because of your potential. Gain +1 Agility and +2 Vitality when worn. This armament will be upgraded as your level increases.
Ethan Turner:
Stats:Strength: 8-Indurance: 8-Agility: 7-Vitality: 10-Instinct: 8-Wisdom: 10-Charisma: 2
Skills: Lvl 1 skill: (Calming Hands: Passive): Using any Spear or javelin type weapons automatically brings your focus to a heightened degree, leading to more concentration and refining your weapon skills. Lvl 1 skill: (Basic Spear Technique): You now know the basic ways to use a spear type weapon. Once you begin to adapt this skill into your own, you will begin to receive special skills designed on your technique. New! Lvl 2 skill: (Weapon Summoning): Once you have begun a fight, if you lose or throw away your weapon, you are able to recall it three times. The force of attraction and amount of uses increases with each level until level 15, when you gain unlimited summons. While you are not in combat you have unlimited uses.
After analyzing everything that we had gained, I decided to put one stat into Agility, and two into Strength. The golden aura surrounded me and I began to feel my body becoming lighter once more. I began to stand as I realized that level ups seem to regenerate you significantly, checking my once torn-through arm where I was wounded by the stalker, fresh scar tissue was found instead. Walking over to my spear, I pick it up and prepare to throw it. Launching it into an abandoned car, the blade drives straight through the door, stopping just at the shaft. Impressed by my new strength, I say to myself, "Recall." and the weapon comes flying back, rocketing perfectly into my hand.
"This'll do, this'll do perfectly." I tell myself, turning to my new equipment.
Dawning the Cloak, I feel its strength flow immediately into me. It looked like it could be red or blue, but it was too weathered to really tell. Despite the cloth clearly having been heavily used, the clasp that held it to my body was surprisingly still clean.
"It works as good as it looks." I remark, turning around and looking at my cape in one of the building's dusty windows.
"Ditto that." Landon says, flipping up his hood while Jake flashes his gauntlets.
"We should gear back up," Landon says as he heads towards the truck, "The next quest should start any second now."
As if on cue the quest screen appears in front of our eyes.
Third Quest! Quest Type: Building Defense - Find a suitable building within one hour and defend it against 3 Walker Hordes (15-20 infected) and 3 Juggernaut captains. Warning! Because of your party's
"I figured something like this was going to happen, I mean the Title we got is called
"The base isn't that far from here, and since we have an hour to plan, why don't we test out your new skill, Landon?" Jake says as he jumps into the passenger seat.
"I was planning on it. Anyways, be quiet so I can conjure some sort of plan in my head." Landon says as he closes his eyes, focusing on the task that lays ahead.
After about a five minute drive we make it home, and Landon is ready to craft something up. As we exit the car we head to the front of the building where we begin to plan. Using his skill
Opening his eyes, he yells,"Jake! Go to other buildings that are under construction and get as much rebar as possible. Ethan, I need you to find some good solid wood and bring it to me."
"Wait, why wood?" I ask even though I'm going to do whatever he says.
"I'm going to need a shitload of arrows, that's why." Landon answers, going off to search for his own tools.
We all split off to fulfill whatever job we were assigned. Heading over to an unfinished building down the road, I carry dozens of 2x4's back to our base and drop them off by Landon. Jake headed to the opposite side of the building, but I caught glimpses of him carrying tens of metal rods in each of his arms and carrying them up to the roof. After around fifty minutes of this. We all headed upstairs to receive our final orders.
"Okay, here's the full plan. I will stay on the roof and snipe any stragglers with my arrows. Ethan, you need to try and stall as many infected as you can with your rebar. Lastly Jake, you need to hold out until Ethan runs out of javelins." Landon says to us," If you get overwhelmed, pull back to the second floor and hold them from the stairwell. If this doesnt go exactly to plan, this might be the last time we see each other alive, so lets fight until we fucking die."
"Thats some good motivation," I say sarcastically, "But we aren't going anywhere. We'll make it to the end, together." I'll make sure of it.
"I'll stop as many as I can. Just do your part and we'll survive." Jake adds, walking down the stairs. This could be our end, but at least we'd end it together.