by Arthur Stone
Level up! Congratulations, you are now level 20.
Alert: You have reached level 18! You have completed the quest Pump or Chump. You have received 400 distributable base stat progress points.
Alert: You have reached level 20! You have completed the bonus condition for the quest Pump or Chump. You have received 750 distributable bonus stat progress points. Your special personal cache cell limit has increased by 50 grams.
No way. So miracles did happen. The butterfly, though already embalmed and pinned into the collection, had still managed to sting the entomologist to death.
Of course, butterflies had no stringer.
But Cheater did.
Or at least he did before...
The pistol had fallen from his arm as his body went limp. The pain did not subside, but it became more familiar, and he relaxed. Cheater, without a thought as to the meaning of his actions, pulled up the party menu and stretched his smashed mouth out into an ugly smile. Kitty’s gray icon was still there, and the girl had made him party leader again.
That was how they had fun. Sending party leadership back and forth between them.
It was the only form of communication they had available.
Somewhere, not even in the back of his mind but farther away still, he knew that he had to do something to keep himself from slowly but surely dying of loss of blood and heat. But he had neither the strength nor the will to act on the thought.
It could wait. Somehow. First, he had to rest.
And then, rest some more.
A grumbling noise brought him closer to his senses. Apprehension, malice, greed, and uncertainty all flooded him at once. He did not like that sound.
It didn’t scare him—just annoyed him. Cheater awkwardly turned his head, dangling as it was from his relaxed neck, and saw the growling infected. This was the same runner that had saved his own life by fleeing from him, thus hinting at the elite’s presence.
In order to be approaching the behemoth this close, the ghoul must have been famished. Normally, even dead elites instilled the younger beasts with terror. An elite cared nothing for a runner. Even keeping it in a flock, as food for a rainy day, was nonsense. Perhaps it really was too stupid to realize the dragon was dead.
Or was it a prodigy who had managed to understand the situation within seconds?
The infected hesitated, but it would clearly overcome all remnants of fear within a matter of minutes, or even seconds. Approaching Cheater, it would give him a toothy smile and dig in. It would finish what the elite could not.
Then, the man would have to rush at all speed from his respawn point, with its unknown location, to the meeting point. There was no telling whether he would have enough time. If he didn’t, then it was all over, no matter what had just happened here. March had clearly stated the conditions, and the System’s award of a completed quest would not matter if he was late.
Cheater would be left alone to deal with his problems.
Unsolvable problems.
With one last look at the icon of his only party mate, Cheater gritted his teeth. “Get away, you bastard.
Go!”
The sound of a human voice finally helped the ghoul overcome its terror. For infecteds, it was a song guaranteed to boost the appetite. It stretched out its paws and approached the helpless-looking man with a grumble as it noisily splashed through water and mud.
Cheater tensed his muscles, beat back the pain, and clenched his fists. He dealt the monster a sharp, direct blow to the bridge of its nose. Even though he doubted it would help, it felt good. The pain felt good.
He had planned to strike it in the jaw but had missed. His position was too uncomfortable, too agonizing. The creature’s back, including the spine Cheater was pinned to, was at a height far above the road.
Enough of this. The ghoul, who had just taken a fist from a player whose Strength, discounting any current penalties, was at 19 times a multiplier of 1.15, grunted and reeled backwards, clutching at the air with its hands.
But Cheater grabbed both its forearms and yanked, pulling it, grinning evilly as its skull fractured. A short spine pierced the beast’s eye socket, through its brain, and out the back of its head.
Good. Now two bodies were pinned to the back of this elite. One was alive, angry, and stubbornly opposed to dying. A player mangled so badly, it defied description. But thanks to the attacking ghoul, Cheater’s apathy was in the past. He was eager to get out of this place, without losing a single life.
He clapped the infected on the shoulder in mock camaraderie.
“Looks like life is on the up.”
Infected destroyed. Level 8. Chance of valuable loot: 86%. +3 progress points to Strength. +1 Humanity point. Level up! Congratulations, you are now level 21.
The message nearly made Cheater guffaw.
He slammed the infected wish his hand once more.
“Thanks for the stat points.”
Many thanks to my readers!
Be sure to check out my series coming out soon: STYX: The Humanhive.
Welcome to the Hive. A place where entry is easy - and escape impossible. Where mere survival is so daunting that nine out of ten new immunes perish before the end of their first week. Where reaching even the one year mark earns you the title of veteran. How long can you survive?
I would like to heartily recommend the books Play to Live by D. Rus, my good friend and one of the founders of the LitRPG genre. The Play to Live series is one of the finest works in the genre, and a must-read for any fan.
I would also like to recommend the book of Andrei Livadny, my good friend and one of the leading talents in the LitRPG and Cyberpunk genres in Russia.
I want to recommend my friend G. Akella's Realm of Arkon series. For the past few years it's been one of the top series in both LitRPG and epic fantasy genres, and deservedly so.
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