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

by Han Yang

  “Understood.”

  I forced my HUD to keep scanning cameras trying to find the enemy. When I rounded a corner, I barreled into a jurn’narock at full speed.

  The beast’s chest cavity cracked under the hard impact. The eight legs and long body somehow bounced me back. The gorilla clutched at her chest, struggling to breathe.

  A blast of orange light flared blinding me briefly before my HUD dimmed the intensity. The narock’s head snapped back with a smoldering hole through the middle of it. The body collapsed with a thud, and I lunged over it.

  “Ugly bastard,” I said, driving on.

  A loud series of hoots echoed through the halls. I reached an extra-large viewport area where Darcy installed privacy booths for humans to rent for intimate moments. The massive section of exposed ship contained some very angry jurn’narocks pounding on the steel doors.

  The beasts had piled bodies onto their back torsos, sealing them there with webbing. This required a team effort, again showing intelligence. As one they turned at our arrival, frustrated they had been cut off from the jungle.

  I slid forward, taking a knee while I drifted across the hall. When my skid came to a halt, I sighted the closest ape looking face and squeezed for a full second. A blast of fiery orange energy leaped out of the weapon.

  In a flash, the beam punched a hole through an eye. A crude spear slammed into my shoulder, sending me spiraling across the deck. The jurn’narocks charged, eager to close the distance with their intense strength.

  I halted my spin, bringing my beam rifle up in time to sight a straggler, three quick indents caused beams to hiss out of the weapon.

  The clacking of spider feet trying to reach the trained soldiers faded quickly. My team unleashed torrents or raw energy cutting them down one by one.

  Jurn’narocks were ambush predators. If you got the jump on them, with superior range weapons, you’d likely win. Something I’d need to consider once we left the ship was how deadly they were in the jungle where their webs played a factor.

  “Cease fire,” Ayla called out.

  “73%,” Craig said.

  “96%” Fen said.

  “95%” Ayla called out.

  I glanced down at my reading. “92%”

  Lenny said, “100%. I was watching our backs.”

  “Well, Craig, less trigger now means more trigger for later. You’ll get better as time goes,” Fen said in a positive manner. He bent over and snatched the spear that hit me. “Any damage from the spear?”

  “Suit is telling me I have a new dent, minimal integrity damage, operations are fully functional,” I told him. “Only half the ship cleared, but if I had to guess, this would have been a decent clump for this floor.”

  Roma chimed in and said, “Another clutch is further down at corridor 17C. So far most of the fighting has been downstairs. Major Campbell is requesting a flank attack and is unable to push forward due to the chance of being captured.”

  “That’s not good,” Ayla said. “Time to group up, the others are trapped here. She could be bogged down.”

  “No, I don’t want to play whack a mole. 17c is right around the corner,” I said, grabbing the spear from Fen.

  The crude weapon held a stone at the tip and a honed edge. If I hadn’t been in armor, it would have killed me.

  Knowing time was of the essence, and exactly where to go, I picked my legs up and into a run. The sprint turned into superhuman speed in short order. I weaved through the halls, seeing the HUD helping to guide me on a path I knew all too well.

  Without having to check side halls or worry who I’d bump into next, I reached a group of four jurn’narocks well ahead of the others. The moment I had a decent throwing lane, I hurled the spear.

  The beasts huddled talking to each other in a broken language. If I had to guess, they were discussing how to get out of the ship with their prizes since the way they came in was now blocked.

  The spear twirled for the back of the nearest monstrosity.

  I spun sideways, planting my feet to skid me to a stop. The noise of my arrival reached my foes right before the spear. My target tried to flee the incoming weapon. Instead, the spear picked the creature up upon impact.

  I raised my beamer, sighted the three others, and released gentle squeezes for center mass. The left and right targets sought avenues to dodge, earning gaping holes in their upper bodies.

  The middle back one, it leaped onto the ceiling, sticking in place.

  A web streaked out from under its spider butt coming right for me. I fired again and again, standing my ground. We nailed each other. I put four holes in his body, he coated me with thick webbing.

  I considered the trade a win since he died.

  “Warning, movement function degraded,” the suit said.

  Ayla caught up running around the corner. “Hey, hero. You have to realize, we’re not accustomed to our augmentations,” Ayla said. “You run faster than us.”

  She snatched a section of ruined view screen off the wall, using the edge to wipe the webbing off my armor.

  “Major Campbell is falling back,” Roma said with concern.

  I grunted in frustration. “Understood. On our way to relieve the pressure,” I said.

  Roma populated a direct route for me. “They are crying out for allies, and some are showing up. So far, all the exterior breaches are on the port side near the bow. The decks above you show no signs of invaders.”

  As the others caught up, I outpaced them again. The second I entered a stairwell, I hopped over the railings, dropping floors from side to side. When I reached the bottom, the stairs lost their cohesion at this point, twisting and bending from the crash. I only had three more vaults to go.

  Ka-Boom

  The ship shuddered.

  “Report,” I said, noticing the walls warp from the pressure.

  “Major Campbell used explosives on thirty narocks, buying time for you to arrive,” Roma said.

  “I didn’t know it was that bad,” I said, continuing to hurry.

  Roma showed a video in my HUD. “A surge of reinforcements arrived suddenly. If you hurry, you’re playing cleanup.”

  While I wanted to wait, I decided to capitalize on the explosion. “Understood.”

  The door to floor thirteen rested open and I zoomed into the hallway from the stairs. Green gore dripped of white walls and the jungle floor rested mere feet away out my left.

  A few hesitant reinforcements peered in, seeing a gaggle of monsters trying to collect themselves from the concussive force of the explosion. I planted my feet, giving the others room to join me when they arrived.

  I sighted a spider gorilla struggling to get up. They shook their head, clearly in a daze. While a few cried out from horrific wounds, this one was mostly fine, until I blasted a beam through his temples.

  A female with sagging breasts and gray fur tried to crawl across the blood slicked floor. Her eagerness to kill me was rewarded with a kick to the face with enough force that I sent my boot through her skull.

  “Forward! Press the advantage,” I called out.

  A series of orange beams zipped out of a hallway.

  “Coming forward in formation,” Jenny said.

  I continued to shift, taking measured shot after shot. I earned six kills before a sudden force slammed into me from behind.

  My assailant and I soared forward, squishing a spider torso until it burst in green fluid. I tried to roll out of danger, bring my gun around. Instead, powerful arms wrapped me tightly.

  “This idiot thinks he can crush me. Ayla, scan left before right on your exit. I got hit from behind,” I told her, whipping my helmet in a reverse head butt.

  I smashed something, hearing a crack and feeling the arms loosen. I drove an elbow into ribs. Another loud crack followed a grunt.

  The jurn’narock wanted space at this point, concluding that it was too much to handle since their massive squeeze didn’t work. I, of course, provided no quarter.

  My han
ds squished under a ruined carapace when I shot myself to my feet. When I spun, the beast grabbed their ribs, pain etched on their face. I lunged at the beast with my fist of fury aimed right for a compressed face.

  The white of the beast’s eyes widened right before I smashed my metallic hand into its skull. When I extracted my knuckles, they dripped blood mixed with brains.

  The narock collapsed, falling with a wet smack.

  I snatched my rifle off the ground, seeing 72% charge left. Instead of rushing out and into the jungle, I proceeded to help the others secure the combat zone.

  A struggling jurn’narock climbed up a wall, blasting Craig with webbing. I fired a beam of energy into the monster’s forehead, leaving a sizzling hole.

  When I glanced back, a team of narocks dragged him into the jungle.

  I hurried to beam them down, but to my dismay, a volley of spears slammed into friends and foes. I pirouetted to dodge two near hits. Jenny flew off her feet and careened into the wall when a spear caught her in the chest.

  Kevin rushed to her aid, and I saw her vitals flat-line, before bouncing back with small blips. Craig’s heart rate pinged in mountainous peaks and low valleys. The man was clearly in distress.

  “Secure the ship. Leave her Kevin. Finish off the survivors and we need to figure out how to clog this hole,” I said.

  “What about Craig?” Winston asked.

  “We get him, or he dies. I may go headlong into battle at times, but that is because every second we fought on this ship was worse for us. Running out there without having this breach sealed only helps them,” I said.

  “Craig is stabilizing, as is Major Campbell,” Kevin said in dismay. “Wow, the nanites are sedating him while saving her.”

  Ayla blasted three short bursts into crawling narocks who tried to exit the ship. “Fighting is over. Area secured. Also, call her Jenny or she’ll scold you later. She’s a field officer, formality matters less when you shit behind a tree together. Her saying not mine,” Ayla said.

  “Perform a second sweep,” I ordered before dialing into Roma. “Status.”

  “The ship is actually in pretty good shape. We are restoring power to downed cameras as a priority. We want to see everything we can. Each viewport rested in the middle decks and sealed properly. The hole you’re guarding is the last key point of entry,” Roma said with a pause.

  Her face turned to someone off screen. “Are you sure?”

  I waited patiently dragging bodies out of the ship while we waited. Time flew by as the process became repetitive. Even with my enhanced muscles, powered armor, and proper use of my strength, I struggled to single handedly manage a corpse.

  We formed two person teams with Kevin helping me. Jenny gasped for breath as the last of the bodies arrived. She shook her head, gulping in air with a panic that quickly settled.

  “Damn… Blunt force trauma to the heart is a bitch,” she said with a groan, getting to her feet. “Going to be sore for a bit. What’s the plan?”

  I was about to answer when Roma showed up wearing an expensive spacesuit from the armory.

  “Howdy miss, fancy seeing you here,” I said.

  “A few things are about to happen. I’m boarding the shuttle, Desmond is getting off and I’m flying to Dominus which is seventeen miles from here,” she said.

  “Uh… okay,” I said in confusion. “What is the plan?”

  “I was getting to that. The shuttle is the last one not involved in active production. There are no more shuttles to take humans to negotiate or barter with others. The wyvn’narock is on a rampage.

  “And… it gets worse. Darcy is grounding Tranquility and Hope by Dominus. Can’t have people dying from a craft coming down if it stays on the ground. Meaning humanity now has a base to defend and a central point to consolidate from,” Roma said to my nodding.

  “Not sure that other ships taking up landing spots is bad. The hulls are rated to withstand narocks,” I said.

  “Well, that is part of it. Darcy, even the messenger variation, left to preserve power as she runs cleanup through the service bots. You’re to stay outside, awaiting the shuttle's return. When it returns, it will clog the breach. With time, a new interior wall will be built, and the shuttle will be removed. For now,” Roma paused when droids arrived carrying fire extinguisher type canisters.

  “She’s going to seal the hole with concrete foam. That’ll ruin the shuttle,” I said.

  “Short term solution, and fixable with time. And you now have a choice. Continue with your original mission and purpose to bring all of us back or return to our cryopods. If you wish to proceed with the mission, which we both think you will, you’ll have to trek seventeen miles on foot,” Roma said with pursed lips, “to Dominus. Hence why I’m going, because I’m almost certain you are too.”

  “Charlie Mike,” Ayla said.

  “Charlie Mike,” Fen said.

  “Charlie Mike,” Jenny managed with a cough.

  “What’s Charlie Mike?” Kevin asked.

  I sighed, “Continue mission. It’s a military thing.”

  A shuttle landed on top of the dead narocks, flattening them with a gory squish. A scarred man with a full beard and short hair exited the ship.

  He looked like the kind of guy you meet in a cigar shop in a video game who told you to get over your parents dying because crying is for the weak. This had to be Desmond, Jenny’s man. The man wore basic armor, carrying a beamer and a spear.

  “Right on time,” Roma said. “Theo, guard this opening and wait for the shuttle to return. Do not rush off for Craig. The ship is your priority. Darcy’s words, not mine. Your group is to enter and get your briefing in about ten minutes. And dear lover, I’ll be waiting for your safe return.”

  She smacked my armored butt and I grinned. “I… I wish everything was different and I could give you tours and -”

  “Who’s Theodore Karo?” Desmond demanded with an interruption. Roma snuck off, boarding the ship before I finished. Desmond closed the distance, handing me a combat spear. “I have this for you.”

  “Holy shit,” Jenny said. “I know that face. I know it.”

  “I was reborn in the hangar bay of Tranquility. No idea whose body I’m in,” Desmond said. “Darcy herself hovered over me with some fancy machinery. She gave me a sob story about helping some suckers needing to find some secret facility. I told her to pound sand. She said my Jenny would be there. You know me babe, I’m a sap when it comes to you and caved quickly.”

  Jenny and Desmond droned on and on with insider jokes only they understood while I focused on ensuring nothing neared the ship. I stepped out of the hull, hearing the crunch of vegetation. The trees here soared at least a hundred feet high with a thick canopy.

  About half a mile away, Craig’s suit pinged that he was calm and alive. His HUD showed webbing and he stopped moving. If I had to guess, he was cocooned in a web.

  I received a ping, noting a classified text from Jenny. ‘It’s Desmond. One hundred percent she put him in this body. Theo, I know this guy. He isn’t from 117 like Darcy said. I don’t know how I know him, but I do. And if I can peg him, then others will. Darcy is up to something nefarious.’

  ‘She always is up to something. I just found out that the implants would be going into other people’s bodies today. This is huge and I haven’t had a moment to process it. But Jenny, if Darcy used him to bring Desmond back to the living, there has to be a reason,’ I texted, mentally writing the message.

  ‘It’s not good Theo. I just got him back and I know this will bring problems later, I just know it. I’ll drop it for now,’ she replied.

  The exterior of the ship stayed calm while I stomped around the forest. The more I studied it, the less jungle it was. When I stared back at the hole in the ship, I couldn’t help but agree, it was about the perfect size to clog with a shuttle.

  My HUD gave me a one-minute warning.

  “Alright, everyone out of Hope. Unless you’re staying behind,” I said. Kevin
stayed behind. “Wait, you’re for real staying?”

  “I can’t fight, I can’t heal. Yeah. Darcy the hologram has been talking to me to help her with the dead and her experiments,” Kevin said with a squeamish voice. “And I want to return to being Dr. Remski. Good luck.”

  Everyone else exited Hope and he waved goodbye. The shuttle landed, jamming the hole fairly well. Before I could even tell Kevin, or Dr. Remski how much I appreciated his help - and friendship - the bots started foaming up the gap.

  I sent him a quick text message, sparing twenty seconds.

  “Time for our briefing. Let’s see what Darcy has to tell us,” I said, entering the shuttle.

  My HUD pinged. Craig vitals spiked in concern, and I couldn’t help but frown. I sure hoped that whatever Darcy had planned would be worth the effort, because all I cared about was saving my friend.

  46

  Day 1 on Earth

  Texas Federation Outside of Hope

  The door hissed shut and I barely found enough room to fit in. The interior was so tight I couldn’t even see Darcy on the windscreen, so she patched into my helmet’s HUD.

  The sour AI shouted at a man I’d never seen before, “I don’t care. I simply don’t. Hope has had engine trouble and been forced to land for repairs. We’re going to exploit the area.”

  “But we’re not ready for this,” the man said, tossing his hands into the air. “Darcy, the Texan Federation hates you. And yes, the government is still alive and well. This is the worst area to settle. It’s high in narocks because humans live here in large numbers. We cannot go poking around, because you don’t tread on Texas. It was literally the nation's motto.”

  “As if I care. Do your damn job, lead the away team so I can build vital droids. I have a dozen units rotting in the woods because I have no damn fighters to knock out the wyvn’narock. Until I control the skies, we have to rely on the ground. Please, General Trin,” Darcy said.

  He sighed and nodded. “I’ll say it's for a nanobot plague or some such. The troops will do anything for their families.”