Respawn: 18 and Up (Respawn LitRPG series Book 3)

by Arthur Stone

  “I’ll think about it.”

  * * *

  “One thousand two hundred and forty-two spores; three golden peas, fourteen white peas, and sixty-two yellow peas; one golden star, two white stars, and nine black stars; thirteen strands of simple amber thread, plus four knotted strands; one black pearl; one hundred and eight kernels; and four nuts. And one black regeneration egg. First time I’ve held loot without any of that webbing. I didn’t bother looking for it; the wind has scattered it since the blast, anyway.”

  “That’s fine,” Cheater said distantly as he tried to convert the stash into a spore equivalent.

  If he was right, the total was ten thousand and forty. Depending on the small price fluctuations from one stable to another. Minus one thousand for Titty Tat’s services. For a miserable level eleven player, the take was unimaginably wonderful, but Cheater was still disappointed.

  After all, the bag had seemed bigger than that. Richer. Had his delusions of wealth inflated it? Or had it been the hallucinations as his sanity slipped away? Of course, Tat could’ve just missed half of the loot entirely. Who knew how far a grenade could toss a pearl?

  Still, if he made it to the stable with this loot, his bow would be a child’s toy in comparison to what he would get. His next weapon would be a much better one. He could even start spending a little on himself. Anything that an immune consumed became his forever. Nothing and no one could take it away, and that was priceless in a world where at any instant you could be whisked away to respawn and wake naked and barefoot.

  Titty Tat had clearly been making similar calculations.

  “So based on our agreement, you owe me almost all of the spores. But I doubt you’ll miss them much.”

  Cheater nodded.

  “Are you sure, though? I could give you half of the yellow peas.”

  “For how many spores each?”

  “Eleven to one?”

  “That works. Fifty peas, then. I could hardly imagine carrying all of that wealth in spores.”

  Cheater began to count out the promised price, but Tat had another question.

  “Where are you off to next?”

  “Why?”

  “We could ride together. Or walk, whatever. Oh come on, I might look threatening, but I’m not soulless. If I wanted to stab you in the back I already would have. I’m heading to Pyramid, anyway.”

  Cheater mulled that over for a second. “That’s where I’m going, too.”

  “Alright, but If you’re really going to be afraid of me putting a bullet in your head, then we need to take different paths to get there.”

  “That’s not what I’m scared of.”

  “What then?”

  “I think you might be growing attached to me. I don’t want that. Like I said, I work on my own. No friends necessary. And I have a serious girlfriend.”

  “I’m fed up with you talking about this girlfriend of yours. You’re all the same. You might try thinking for once, Cheater. Look, you’re only level 11, but you’re lugging around twenty pounds of spores. And I got a good look at that guy before he dissolved. One bullet hit him in the thigh, another in the stomach, and then one final round to the heart. You couldn’t have possibly seen him through those bushes. Shooting blindly and urgently, through bushes and branches, at a target you didn’t even know the exact position of, and yet you didn’t miss a single shot. It’s like magic. But it’s not magic. There’s something unique about you, Cheater. This is just the second day we’ve been together, but already I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Nobody could. And I earned a whole grand in that short time. You see what I’m getting at?”

  “If you’re about to suggest earning another grand tomorrow, you might as well stop there.”

  “I have a useful ability. It helped you out. With the spores and with your stalker. So you and I could be very helpful to one another. There’s nothing to stop us from being good acquaintances. I might not be an advanced sensor, but I can still detect dangers as we travel. And we’ll become better friends on the road.”

  “Friends, is it? Just seconds ago it was acquaintances.”

  “It’s more than twenty miles to Pyramid, as the crow flies. That’s a decent distance. And you never know what will assail you on the road when you’re in the Continent. We might get along.”

  “More than twenty miles? How do you know that?”

  “I have a map.”

  “What? Why’d you pull my leg this whole time, then? We could have seen the road behind the forest on the map without all of that stalling and guesswork.”

  “It’s not the greatest map. I’ve never had much money, you know that. But at least I have a map.”

  “So you’ll be a good co-traveler. Sure, I don’t mind. We’ll go together. But not for long. We’re not friends, and I’m not destined to be in this area for long.”

  “Where are you off to?”

  “Somewhere very far away.”

  Chapter 14

  Life Seven: Safe, Safer, Safest

  Cheater turned the wheel, but not quickly enough. The front driver’s side wheel struck a rock and nearly tossed the pickup on its side. Some miracle kept Tat in the back, the string of curses from her mouth nearly overpowering the sound of the pounding machine gun.

  She didn’t suffer from the peculiar affliction of those prone to waste ammo. Something had made her forget her usual frugality. A creature had been pursuing the car for a couple of elongated minutes. And it had nearly caught up to them.

  Cheater’s view had gone to hell—both side mirrors had been torn off, back when Cheater had seen a similar pickup in front of them, also wielding a sizable machine gun in the back. He had harbored no intention of stopping to ask about those inside or their plans. Instead, he had abruptly spun the steering wheel, sending the car into a thin forest. Or one he had thought was thin, anyway. The vehicle had plowed through the undergrowth with difficulty, and then dove into a ravine. Thankfully, they had entered at the place where the descent was the easiest.

  It was when they emerged from the dip that they encountered the creature. Cheater had not clearly seen the beast itself, just the stalks of corn breaking in front of it, with dark angular shapes sometimes zipping across the gaps he could see through. He had floored the gas and declined to look behind him, and Tat had revved up the gun.

  Another long volley, and then the car was hit with such force that it barely escaped going into a tailspin. Cheater’s work with the wheel was masterful, turning the uncontrolled turn into one he directed. Then, he swung the other way in an attempt to confuse the creature and give the girl a chance to reload.

  But she was suspiciously quiet. Had she fallen out? Had the monster ripped her out of the back of the truck? Judging by her active icon in the party window, Titty Tat had not yet died, but that didn’t mean she was okay.

  A large-caliber machine gun sounded off to their left. The vehicle rocked immediately, and his comrade’s chat icon started blinking. Cheater opened the chat to read in it a single word: Stop!

  He slammed the brake, and then at last allowed himself to look back. But the rear window was too filthy, and the metal mesh protecting it eliminated whatever visibility was left. Titty Tat was exiting the car.

  Cheater slowly opened the door, machine gun at the ready, and crouched low as he tried to figure out what was going on. The girl approached the writhing behemoth just as cautiously. Then to their left, the pickup from earlier drove up, through the field of wheat. The machine gunner was aiming directly at Cheater, with a mean look on his face, but was not firing.

  Tat waved back to him. “It’s fine.

  The car has yellow triangles on it. It’s one of Pyramid’s patrols—you shouldn’t have run away from them.”

  Cheater held back two obvious reactions. First, he had never heard of this symbol until now. And he hadn’t had any time to see it in the whirlwind and through the filthy windshield. Second, couldn’t anyone put up a symbol on their car? Either Titty Tat was being rash, or
she had weighed well their chances in a fight against a machine gunner who had taken the creature down in three short bursts, after his own gun had basically only enraged the creature.

  The pickup stopped, and a man jumped out of the door like a little devil out of a box. He had a surprisingly broad face, though, with a color approaching so close to crimson he could have guided a sleigh. He shouted.

  “Hey! Don’t move! Step away from that. Not your kill!”

  Tat was still a dozen paces away from the dying beast and protested. “I want to finish it off!”

  “It’ll die without your help, kill thief. Now, where are you going, whelps?”

  “To Pyramid!”

  “Is that so? We just came from there.”

  “Yeah, she told me.”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “I’m new here. There’s a lot I don’t know yet. I just need to get to a stable. I’m a decent guy, and she’s decent too. We’re both green.”

  “Yeah, and you’re now just a newbie, you’re also a hero. How’d you manage that? Alright, get back in your car and head to Pyramid. And no need to run away from us like that, or the guys might get upset, and you won’t like them upset. The road is off to the right, and take the first turn, also to the right. That’ll get you to the highway. Don’t go driving through the bushes and fields. We’ve got a lot of mines, and they hurt when they go boom. Got it? Well come on, off you go!”

  Cheater waited for Tat to get in, then started the car.

  He pulled up the chat. “What kind of patrol is that? Not a single cuss word, and no insults.”

  “Of course not. We’re clients.”

  “Clients?”

  “What the hell kind of village are you from? How do you think stables survive? Where do they get all these mines and trucks and heavy weapons? And the people who man these patrols? Players need to come here, and come often, and stay for a long time. They buy what they need and sell what they don’t. They eat and screw and pay fines for their screw-ups. What they earn in the wild, Cheater, they give to the stable. And the more players visit, the greater their profits. If rumors spread that the stable is unsafe or lawless, fewer people will come here, and income will go down. Get it?”

  “So I could have spit at that guy in the face and he would have smiled back at me?”

  “I guess you could try. Let’s go back and see. I’ll watch from a distance.”

  “Next time.”

  “Hell, I filled that ghoul with bullets, but the patrol got all of the loot.”

  “Come on. That was a high-level trampler, twenty spores at best, and you’re carrying a thousand. Don’t be so greedy.”

  “Greedy? So I suppose you regularly find twenty spores just lying around. I must be looking in the wrong places, then. Show me yours. No? Look, I’ve basically figured out where I’m putting that thousand. And there’s not quite enough, as always. No matter how much you have, it’s never quite enough.”

  “I know the feeling. I have a sneaking suspicion, too.”

  “About what?”

  “I bet that only players with specific abilities become merchants. I’ve noticed that it seems they always know exactly how much you have, and then they give you a price that’s a little higher than that. Then they bargain, slowly, down to your exact balance. So you end up with nothing, but you’re still satisfied with the deal. Professionals.”

  “Spot on.”

  “I’ve heard Pyramid is strict.”

  “Not quite how I’d put it. They register all your weapons upon entry and take everything but pistols. And they unload your pistols. If you get caught with a loaded pistol, you’ll regret you were ever born. I don’t even know why they let you keep them. No shooting is allowed, no stabbing, and no weaponized abilities. If you really have to settle a fight, do it with your fists, and out of the public eye. But if some level-forty bodybuilder punches a newcomer to death, he’ll regret it. If there’s any hint of conflict, just bring it to the attention of the locals, and they’ll stamp it out. So it’s the perfect place for quiet, peaceful types. Not for violent ones. There’s a red zone with 24-hour pubs and brothels. It’s pay to get in, and you have to surrender all of your weapons, even knives. They make you sign a paper saying you have no squabbles with the authorities and are just there to have fun. The place is filled with drugs, and there are even gladiator-style fights, with prizes and betting. If you really hate somebody, you can strangle them quietly in some corner. The locals will just make sure your corner doesn’t interrupt the fun. The yellow zone is free, and that’s where you can find stores, affordable housing, and decent food, all for pretty good prices. There’s a green zone, too. That’s the safest area, and where most of the residents live. It’s boring, but there’s a guard on every corner. Locals can enter the green zone for free, but it’s expensive for outsiders. One night in a hotel in green will cost the same as ten nights in yellow.”

  “How does one become a local?”

  “That, I don’t know. You probably have to settle in the stable, pay taxes, and provide some useful service. Something like that. Why, you looking to move in?”

  “No. But I like hearing that this stable is a safe place.”

  “There are no safe places in this world. None at all. Even here, if someone hates you or even just finds you extremely annoying, you’ll be off to respawn.”

  Chapter 15

  Life Seven: Routine

  At first, Cheater wasn’t impressed with the stable. His experience with stables was limited, but he remembered powerful pillboxes, barbed wire, walls, and barricades which turned the roads into something like the front lines of World War I as you approached the city. But here, there wasn’t much of that. The only barriers and weapons were positioned in the gaps between the approach’s multiple canals and manmade lakes. It was only later that he began to realize that all the reservoirs and intricate fortifications formed a well-designed labyrinth, where ghouls would get lost and end up face-to-face with high-caliber weapons.

  The settlement itself was in an original location, across a huge, flat spoil tip along the northern shore of an old lake. Both the slag pile and the lake had been formed during the lifetime of an old quarry. The road spiraled upward, lined with a thick row of young trees. The same sort of greenery lined the edge of the top of the manmade hill. The trees were obviously meant to make the place less appealing to enemies from afar; the mountain stuck out of the landscape like a modest skyscraper.

  Once they had made the climb, Cheater stopped at the entrance checkpoint. He saw now that the trees were not quite planted on the edge of a cliff, but on an artificial wall that was trying to appear like a natural incline. The wall sheltered the buildings of the stable city and contained firing points with various weapons, fortified rooms for stable defenders, and even an irrigation system for watering the trees camouflaging the place.

  As Tat had warned him, the first thing they asked was that both of them unload and surrender all firearms. A few simple questions followed, with little ceremony. They had to leave their car in a parking lot, since personal transport vehicles weren’t allowed in the settlement, never mind large-caliber machine guns.

  Once the gates had finally closed behind them, Cheater surveyed the street, which was narrow but cozy. And clean.

  “Where are you off to now?” Titty Tat asked.

  “You say the best accommodations are in the green zone.”

  “Expensive, but you get what you pay for.”

  “I’ll just check it out.”

  “Whatever you want. So I can find you there, just in case?”

  “Why would you need to find me?”

  “Any number of reasons. When you find a man willing to pay someone of my level a thousand spores, that’s one acquaintance you need to keep. Maybe some new lucrative job will turn up, who knows?”

  “Add me to your friends list, then, and you can send a chat message if you need.”

  “Already done.”

  “See you late
r, then.”

  “You don’t wonder where I’m off to?”

  “Don’t worry, I’m not the curious type.”

  * * *

  A hotel whose level of comfort was hardly better than a two-star motel’s cost eleven spores. And that was just for one night. Cheater knew exorbitance was the path to bankruptcy, but as he slept, he regretted nothing. He had no idea how serious a search might be underway by the people working for the vengeful Romeo.

  Complaining about the hotel was unfair. This was a stable, not a normal cluster, and the entire city had been constructed from scratch, in an uninhabited place. Sadly, the result was not very impressive from an artistic standpoint, despite the constant abundance of materials from nearby clusters that reset frequently. Nearly all of the buildings looked temporary or fake. And machine gun nests, armored shutters, peepholes, and other maladies spoiled their appearance.

  Pyramid was considered a big stable, but he could walk its perimeter in about ten minutes, and that was if he wasn’t in a hurry. The journey from the green zone to the eloquently named establishment “The Squat” took him no time at all.

  March was seated at a large table in the center of the hall, in royal isolation. Six empty beer glasses stood lined up in front of him, and two more remained still filled with amber liquid, but by the look of March’s face, Cheater knew they didn’t have long.

  Without even looking up, March pushed one glass over to Cheater.

  “The beer here isn’t quite piss, but all Continental booze is of the same stock. It smells the same, anyway. Look at that, they’re not even clearing my dishes for me, and I’m a good customer.”

  “You drain the glasses too fast for them to keep up.”

  “Keep up? In decent stables, my empty glasses are gone before I have a chance to set them on the table properly. All while the naked waitresses wash the floor with champagne. At a price point less than a third of this place’s. I don’t like it here. Insolent. Arrogant.”