With the 8 upgrade points you have remaining, it is recommended that you choose Basic Targeting, Augment Jump, and Reflective Damage. You can afford 1 point of each.
“Let’s go with that then,” I muttered as I made the selections. “And now onto the main event.” I reached into my pocket and grabbed the platinum token like Griswold had made me do, and said, “Redeem.” His words echoed in my mind as I was reminded of him asking me again and again what I’d chosen. He must have had a reason, if that was all a trick.
Please Choose An Ability
Firebolt, Magic Missile, Cover of Darkness
(Skip These - Note: Once a choice has been discarded, it cannot be revisited.)
I skipped. These weren’t what I was looking for, and Griswold had warned me against getting any of them. This was low hanging fruit that I was pretty sure a lot of people before me had opted into out of fear of losing out.
Please Choose An Ability
Impenetrable Armor of the Kraken, Ever-Burning Phoenix Fire, Aura of Regeneration
(Skip These - Note: Once a choice has been discarded, it cannot be revisited.)
I skipped those too. If Griswold had been giving me tips discreetly, it had meant I needed to wait. Griswold didn’t know what was beyond King of Dragons and Holy Purge, and I didn’t plan on finding out either. The FOMO was too much. I stopped skipping when I reached Holy Purge and selected it. If I was going to be a Crusader, it only made sense to me.
Notification: Ability Unlocked - Holy Purge.
Details: This ability grants the user the power to rain down on an enemy the wrath of heaven. This is an area of effect ability. This ability does heavy damage to the undead, corrupted, and the dark. It deals no damage to other holy targets.
I nodded, that seemed pretty good to me, and I could practically taste the power I wielded in my hand now. It was sharp, like ozone. I was going to check out the Settlement and Item Synthesis tabs on the upgrade terminal, but I realized I could hear the shouts of men coming from outside. I went ahead and grabbed my bat, commanding Napoleon to stay behind, and I took off out of the room, through my still destroyed house, and then out the front door into the road.
A giant undead abomination roared as it wielded a telephone pole like a club, swinging it wildly at the group of men that looked like they’d been camped out in my cul-de-sac. I’d have to ask later about their business after the abomination was defeated. Besides, this is a good chance to test out my new abilities. I started storing power within my weapon with Accumulate. This was a good chance to try to prove myself, to myself.
The health bar I saw was the largest I’d seen yet, and even had another square on top of it which I assumed meant it had to get damaged that much a few times if I was going to kill it. A red circle appeared just under the abomination’s kneecap as it swung the pole, catching one of the men in the ribs and tossing him aside.
I lurched forward using my newly-acquired Augment Jump and released the power I’d been charging as I swung the bat with reckless abandon and where it hit, the skin froze and shattered as the giant undead stumbled. The men kept shouting, though in the heat of battle I couldn’t really make out what they were saying.
Another red circle appeared on what I assumed was the monster’s Achilles as I ducked under its reaching hands and once again hit it with everything that I had. The tendons in the back of its leg buckled. Barely any of the monster’s health had moved, but at the least I had managed to cripple it.
“Holy Purge,” I shouted as I ran towards another red target while a divine circle appeared within the entire cul-de-sac, not just underneath the undead. The monster shrank back with fear and pain as the circle began to pulse and strobe, dealing steady damage.
“STOP!” a voice commanded as bones pulled themselves up from underneath me and clasped my arms. “We’ve been yelling at you to stop. Why didn’t you listen? Do you have any idea how hard it is to tame a Flesh Golem?”
I stopped completely, confused by what was going on and looking for the source of the voice, wondering how I’d been rooted in place.
Below me, the bones began to burn away from the effect of my spell, freeing me up to continue my attack on the roaring abomination that even now was trying to climb and claw its way towards the men.
“Stop now! My name is Edgar, and this area is under the control of the Crusaders. Stop before you kill my pet. We use it for defense and training,” the man implored, looking at me with something like desperation, and that look was enough for me. I released the magic while the abomination still lived.
“Alright, talk. I’m Dan and you all are on my property. Care to fill me in on what’s going on?” I wasn’t trying to be a super dick, but this was my Republic.
“Ah, it’s you, that’s fantastic. We’ve been ordered to move into the area by the Crusaders Corps Elders. This is one of the only safe zones in the area. We plan on using it to try to stage recovery operations into the city to rescue people. Nobody wants a repeat of this neighborhood. Apparently almost everybody on this street was turned undead and nobody knows why.”
Eh, that’s news to me. So that’s not normal everywhere? “Alright, so what do you need from me?” I asked as Edgar’s men came over, and it wasn’t lost on me that each still had their weapons at the ready. They plan on taking this place regardless of what I do or say. Still, sounds like an honorable cause.
“Well,” said Edgar, clearing his throat. “If you’re the Dan I’ve been told about, that would make you a recruit now and no longer a prospect.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” I answered, not sure where he was going with this.
“Good,” Edgar replied, relieved. “Then that makes me your superior officer. We need this space, and I’ve been sent a message to start training you.”
Ah, it’s going to be like that. “Alright, so when exactly is this training supposed to start?” I asked, the disapproval on my face. I was trying to be tactful enough not to start a war.
“Tomorrow morning at first light,” Edgar responded as if it was a favor he was doing for me.
“I’ll see you then, I guess,” I replied, dismissing the rest of the conversation as I turned around to go back inside. I’d had a rough couple days; I could at least get a little sleep before getting started on a new adventure.
Authors Comments
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Books By This Author
The Genesis Game: Volume I
Also in Audio
The end of the era of humanity was marked by the appearance of the World Dungeon and the system of power it provided. No one gained more power than the tyrant known as the Black Seraph, the Angel of Death. Surviving at the expense of the rest of humanity, Seraph was able to complete the World Dungeon. A hollow victory, as he was cursed by the spirit of the dungeon for ruthlessly focusing on his empowerment.
His power sealed away within the dungeon; Seraph was cast into the past, reincarnated into the body of his child-like self. Forbidden from hoarding power for himself and charged with the mission of ensuring the survival of humanity. But people do not change overnight, and Seraph must find a new path forward and learn there's more to power than being a tyrant if humanity is to survive the Genesis Game.
The Genesis Game:
Volume II
Murderer. Psychopath. Bastard. Seraph knows what he is. The best hope for humanity to conquer the World Dungeon and survive the Genesis Game.
By his own actions, Seraph has become a pariah, ostracized and rejected by the few humans inside the World Dungeon. Far removed from the savior, he was tasked to become. His mission to bring humanity to the Altar of the End and save them from Wormwood is endangered by the hate of the Elves of Hometown towards him and the distrust of other people
Essense Waver
An Empire crumbles from within as a young man with unstoppable potential rises towards a destiny ordained by fate. Bearing a weapon forged from the seed of a Dungeon Core that allows him to absorb into himself slain monsters, Daniel Richards embarks on the journey of a lifetime.
An ancient seal unlocked.
Daniel holds the secret to the survival of the nation, a secret kept from him since birth. Fighting against tradition and an unforgiving system, Daniel must discover the true meaning of thrice blessed if he is to save his homeland from the gathering storm of enemies.
Apocalypse Hero: A Dark Fantasy Gamelit (The Adventures of Dan Book 1) Page 16
