Reincarnation Trials: A LitRPG Apocalypse (Systems of Salvation Book 1)

by Han Yang

  He swiftly closed the vent and committed us to full steam ahead.

  I stole a glance before bracing. The narocks died, the firing stopped, and everyone went deathly silent.

  “Brace for impact!” Craig bellowed.

  I readied my good shoulder against the door, hoping to -

  The ship vibrated, cracking something under us. We progressively slowed and the bow of the boat gradually angled up before suddenly stopping.

  Yilissa glanced at me in shock. “Is that it?”

  “Yeah, and it's bad,” Craig said.

  I glanced back, seeing the dock a few feet off the back of the barge - not the middle.

  I said, “Anti-climactic? Check. The dock within reach of the barge, also check. The shore is clean of narocks, final check. Seems good to me.”

  “Yeah, we hit the narock you wounded I think. The body acted like a bridge, beaching us smoothly but much higher on the shoreline. It’ll take some heavy rain to free Apple,” Craig said.

  “Well, it's better than blowing up,” Cella said in a snarky tone I’d expect from Matt or Mark.

  “What’s the plan boss?” Craig asked.

  “We move as a team, staggering fire, and clear Lornsto. We fight with minimal supplies for now. The fallback being here,” I said before shouting, “Kevin.”

  He ran up the steps and I stripped my shirt off. The doctor pulled out a small flask and I knew the sting would come soon. I grimaced with a growl.

  “The outside wound healed nicely. The old stitches need to come out and I need to sew in a new set. This will take five minutes,” Kevin said.

  “Tell the others to take a final pee, drink some water, and stay diligent,” I told Yilissa.

  She headed downstairs while I sat at the crescent table. After fixing me up, he headed into the captain’s suite. He walked out, carrying a groggy Trisa who looked awful. Her brown hair swayed in tandem with her lulling head.

  Based on her green coloration, I expected her to vomit soon.

  I finished putting all my gear back on before downing a healthy helping of water. I headed down the stairs with Yilissa taking up the rear. When I reached the back deck, Beverly and her kids stepped out of my way.

  Dex laid down the ramp from the Apple to the barge and I stepped across. The narock I shot in the shoulder washed up to the shore. Based on the fact he was pancaked told me I had one less problem to worry about.

  The only person ahead of me, Fen, connected the barge to the docks.

  Without a hand cart, I didn’t see the point of trying to carry anything until we secured the route to the mines.

  “I can stabilize it better if we spend ten minutes securing ourselves to the pilings,” Fen said, nodding at the ramp.

  “Don’t bother, just help Sally and Kevin. Even the swelling on Matt’s ankle went down and Craig is using his filled in boot quite well,” I told the man, hopping onto the ramp.

  The bridge held, and I crossed the docks. The shorter span still held my planks from two weeks ago, leaving me astounded. I scanned the water, checking for protruding eyes, and let out a relieved exhale at the lack of an attack.

  Cella’s boots smacked against the planks, letting me know she was hurrying behind me. She stuck close to me once we reached the shore, her shotgun at the ready.

  I continuously scanned the inclining shore and the ridgeline while we diligently stepped forward, doing our job of securing the beachhead.

  Over the next five minutes, everyone departed the ship with a ton of noise. The docks were just so damn loud. Once we gathered, we formed a loose oval group with Sally, Trisa, and Craig in the middle.

  “This road goes up and then there’s a lip. We go to that rock, start sniping the local threats, and then push for the mine. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. The mine is only fifteen minutes at a slow walk. That’s nothing,” I said to the group.

  “No speech?” Max asked.

  Lenny popped him with an elbow.

  “I’m about results. Stay together, stay ready, and call out targets as you see them,” I said, casually walking up the hill.

  I tried to avoid the large indents, leading us on a winding trail.

  “I hope they didn’t run out of bullets,” Yilissa shouted from the back.

  At least four people shushed her.

  Roar!

  I glanced upstream and deflated because what I saw shouldn’t be possible. A prog’narock had reached alpha tier two. The six-legged gator body stood taller than I did, lengthwise it was as long as a building, and the head could probably swallow me whole.

  On Earth it took a year for this level of advancement to happen, not a month. The only saving grace was, it was a good mile away and running fairly slowly, giving us time to retreat.

  “To the boat,” I shouted. “Dex grab a box of dynamite. Fen, get a stick lit to use as a torch. Hurry.”

  A mad dash erupted as the gaggle of people sought the safety of the boat. This wasn’t a military unit and the terrain made running difficult.

  “Easy. Make that a jog,” I called out too late.

  At the back of the group, Sally tried to keep up. Her ankle twisted in a bad way from trying to hurry.

  “Whoa!” Sally shouted, losing her balance. She tumbled into a lobo'narock hole, and a crack of a broken bone caused me to wince.

  I hopped down to get her out, but her neck had twisted to the point it faced backwards. I slid her eyelids closed and stayed in the hole for a moment.

  “Want me to carry her?” Cella asked.

  “Uh, no. We could have walked,” I said in disappointment. “Everyone panicked and I didn’t tell them to run.”

  Cella shook her head. “Theo, since the narocks arrived, running has saved lives, not walking. Sally was a good woman and will be missed. She’d want you to keep living, come on,” Cella said, leaving me behind.

  I scampered out of the hole, seeing the tier two alpha rushing down the shoreline. The gritty terrain transitioned into docking in short order, and I raced for the high ground on the ship.

  Part of the reason for the fall back was all the younger shooters were armed with .22s. Those would do nothing against this beast's hide. Henry would pack a punch, but I’d struggle for a one and done type shot.

  When I reached the barge, Matt removed the ramp. I saw him trying to figure out if we were all back on board.

  “Sally fell and died.” He frowned when I said this. When he tried to set the ramp as a defense I added, “Connect the ramp to the piling’s top so it is forced to smash it or jump over.”

  Dex and Fen readied a torch and dynamite near the docks.

  “We got this part. I think,” Dex said somewhat confidently.

  The angry narock shifted to a jog, then a walk, and finally a pause.

  I loved and hated this. I managed to get all the way back up to my sniper point and everyone settled into shooting positions with weapons aimed outward before the attack happened. Without a doubt this variation could leap from the shallow and onto our barge.

  “An epic alpha versus lobo’narock fight?” Yilissa asked.

  I scanned the area, not certain what was happening. “Maybe it just wanted us off the beach. For all we know there’s a tier two webo in the water.”

  “How high do the tiers go?” Yilissa asked.

  “To ten, then they get special classifiers like meta monster alpha. It’s silly but scientists created the system. Let me check my linker,” I said.

  I tapped on the device and navigated the menu until I reached quests.

  Quests selected.

  Quests:

  Quest: Break Lornsto Siege.

  Reward: 10,000 points, plus 1500 points per survivor, plus 10 points per supplies brought.

  Quest 2: Reach Lornsto Mines.

  Reward: 1000 points per survivor. Plus 1 point per supplies brought.

  Quest 3: Kill tier two alpha webo’narock.

  Reward: 800 points.

  Quest 4: Kill tier two alpha prog’narock.
>
  Reward: 800 points.

  “I got good news and bad news. Actually, it’s all bad. The mine is under siege and there’s two bosses before we even reach the mine,” I said.

  “We have nothing to fight a prolonged battle near the mines,” Yilissa said. “This is a great defensive spot is what I mean. We won’t have that out there.”

  “Lenny!” I shouted, having an idea.

  The young man came out from the captain’s suite. “Yes, Theo.”

  “Tell Kevin we’re not going to be taking your sister anywhere anytime soon. After, I need you to go be bait. I think the alpha is territorial. We left its turf,” I said, sweeping a hand across the shore.

  “Bait!” Lenny exclaimed.

  “I’ll do it,” Winston shouted from below.

  Lenny rolled his eyes. “He is faster than me because Winston survived by running. He also feels bad for Trisa and has been visiting her.”

  “We all feel bad for her plight. I just need to keep the rest of us safe, I - I - I need help and it's a team effort,” I said.

  Kevin poked his head out. “Rest of us?”

  “Sally had an ankle give out. Broke her neck in a fall,” I said evenly. “Now, I want revenge.”

  “Really,” Yilissa gasped. “I liked her.”

  We shared solemn nods of sadness.

  “Hey! Come get me, ugly beast,” Winston shouted from the beach.

  The older teenager waved his arms to catch the alpha’s eyes. He never ventured too far, but sure enough, the prog’narock alpha waddled down the beach, shrieking out an angry roar.

  The damn thing was still a decent distance out. I controlled my breathing to get comfortable and establish a sway to my body.

  With the scope close to my eye, I watched for a clean shot. The wide face with the cunning eyes perturbed me to no end. I really hated these beasts existed, and even more that I had to fight them in two places.

  I glanced up at a flapping sliver of silk that waved upstream from a decent wind.

  With all the factors analyzed I aimed up and to the right.

  The beast closed the distance and entered a comfortable range. When the stars aligned, I exhaled and teased the trigger back.

  Bang!

  Henry slammed into my shoulder, barking out a round. The bullet zipped across the distance, lining up for the snarling snout. I reloaded with muscle memory and watched to see the impact.

  The shot deflected off the scaly hide, pinging away. A small red seam dripped blood, giving me hope, while at the same time - worry.

  A half-dozen roars from the ridgeline caused me to groan in disappointment. The prog’narocks from Lornsto arrived, deciding to join the fight with their alpha.

  Crack!

  Yilissa’s shot dug into the back, sinking into the alpha’s back with little effect.

  “I’m going to need a bigger gun.”

  “Yup. Do me a favor. Tell to hold,” I said, not wanting to let my breathing pattern be broken.

  I needed to save this crew. They were my people and this next shot mattered.

  The alpha chased Winston who ran around like a chicken without a head. Thankfully he kept the beasts on a fairly narrow approach.

  They were closing quickly, aided by the slope, and I grew nervous.

  I sighted an eye, only leading the beast by so much.

  I casually exhaled and caressed the trigger back until -

  Bang!

  Henry bucked against my shoulder and the round hit the lower casing of the eyeball. It drove into the skull, but to my dismay, the bullet didn’t kill the beast. The alpha stopped running and began ambling about in confusion.

  I figured I hit something vital, turning it into an idiot. Knowing there was more to worry about, I shifted to glance at the other narocks.

  Winston had balls of steel. The six narocks closed on him with the lead one leaping short. He’d done his part, luring the wave of targets into our kill zone.

  “Tell Winston to retreat, everyone else is to open fire, and have them start chucking dynamite onto the shore,” I said.

  Yilissa bellowed out my orders.

  The crack of rifles opening fire ripped across the land. The six narocks became two under the volley of bullets. Winston literally ducked under a stick of dynamite that soared over him.

  The twirling red stick bounced off the ground and rolled between the closing narocks.

  KA-BOOM!

  A few things happened at once. The entire ship shook from the blast, washing us in a wave of expelled air. The naraocks exploded into bits, raining gore with a sprinkle of showering blood.

  The alpha, who I did hit in the eye, meandered aimlessly. Fen and Dex charged onto the docks, readying to throw another stick of dynamite at the dazed alpha.

  Everything happened in a flash, and everything went to shit when thirty webo’narocks arrived on the ridgeline. Right in the middle of them, awaited boss number two. The second tier two alpha of the webo’narock variation stood stoic like a commander on the field of battle.

  The sheer size sent shivers down my spine. The webo’narocks were known for their speed and agility, meaning this wave would be one hell of a fight.

  The duo retreated back to the barge, deciding to wait to kill the alpha and I was glad they made that decision on their own.

  “Reload,” I called out when my ears stopped ringing.

  The webo’narock alpha parted the smaller variations who swarmed it. The huge male spied the blinded and confused prog’narock alpha and called out a challenge.

  The wounded beast pretty much told it to get lost because it was hurt. At least that was how I deciphered the return roar that was somewhat pitiful.

  To the surprise of us all, they turned, readying to leave.

  “Like hell you do,” I said, rushing to raise Henry.

  Fighting here, versus in the open, was our best hope. While I’d prefer to not fight this group at all, they stood in our way, and I needed them to recklessly charge into a defensive position.

  The scope lined up on the ass of the big bear-lion creature. I aimed right for the pucker and fired.

  The round soared across the distance, catching the balls in a direct hit. The poor alpha’s nuts exploded from the blast.

  I wanted to react, either with a cheer or squeamish gag, but instead I hastily reloaded.

  The alpha webo’narock leapt onto a nearby beast, unleashing its awesome strength by breaking the neck of its younger brethren.

  “Did you just…?” Yilissa said.

  “I was aiming for the butt hole, but yeah, I nailed the crown jewels. Here they come,” I said, sliding a fresh round into the chamber.

  A half dozen smaller webo’narocks peeled off for the big prog’narock alpha. While this was encouraging to see, the main swarm raced for the ship, and I knew we were in for a hell of a fight.

  I swapped into rapid fire mode, fearing the worst. Everyone on the ship unleashed holy hell as the swarm approached. Off to the left the brain dead narock tried to defend itself falling prey to the clump that attacked it.

  Henry continued to buck, and I continued to yank out spent casings. Every shot was a hit, but because of my expedient firing, I left a few wounded instead of dead. Fen and Dex hurled red sticks with precision, proving to be the heroes of the fight.

  The constant boom of dynamite left my ears numb from the ringing and more importantly, kept the enemy from reaching the water.

  I never slowed, training my scope on a fresh target as quickly as I could.

  A hand tugged at my leg. “They need help at the docks,” Yilissa shouted. I couldn’t hear, but her lip movements were slow enough for me to read.

  I spun to see Craig sniping off the back of Apple over the crew quarters. While I had killed the swarm attacking the big beast; the webo’narock alpha had used the shore downstream to enter the fight under the murky waters.

  I knew this because he created a wake while approaching the barge. I leaped off the front perch and slid ont
o the back.

  When the webo’narock alpha surged out of the water, I figured all our supplies would go boom from him jumping on the TNT and whale oil.

  With a desperate shot, I aimed for center mass.

  I think we all did because a flock of bullets zipped into the beast before it could land. Spurts of blood shot out and the impact of a dozen rounds altered the big creature's path.

  I didn’t land the kill shot, but someone zinged a bullet into the mouth and into the brain. The alpha fell like a rock, smashing a few casks of whale oil as it crashed onto the barge.

  As a team, we shifted to the remaining targets with rapid explosions of dynamite keeping the creatures from reaching the docks. The shores ran red with blood, trails of it snaking downhill.

  Wounded narocks cried out in pain.

  I left the near targets to the others, rushing back to shoot with Yilissa at the front perch. When I surveyed the scene, the thirty narocks were down to half a dozen. The prog’narock alpha barely breathed, swatting at a fresh attacker.

  With the death of the webo’narock alpha, the battle turned into a disorganized chaos among the enemy, and I couldn’t be happier.

  My shoulder grew numb, and I grinned, earning three kill shots in a row. The fighting didn’t seem fair from this perch, and I suppose it wasn’t.

  War was about winning, and in this case, their reckless charge gave us an advantage when combined with the TNT we looted from Opo.

  When the last beast twitched to a final death, I walked to the barge to reload my bandolier. After that, I removed all the TNT and the whale oil onto the shore with big gaps between them.

  I wasn’t sure what we would find at the mines, but I wanted the danger to be out here, instead of on our defensive platforms. After half an hour of waiting for another attack, I figured we might have reached a point of peace.

  The quest to break the siege wasn’t complete though, so I decided to volunteer myself to scout the mine.

  40

  Snagglewood Day 44