[Class Skills]
Arcane Strike
Blizzard Strike
Lightning Strike
Flame Strike
Gale Strike
[--]
“Seems like an attack oriented profession… Makes sense with a name like slayer, I guess.” Scott checked the individual skills then nodded. Each of them had a specific usage.
The [Arcane Strike] was a skill that had no elemental affinity but could use mana to increase attack damage. The other skills added elemental effects to attacks and allowed increased effectiveness against specific types of opponents. From what he could tell, he would need to develop his elemental affinities for the other elements to use them to their fullest potential. Currently, he only had an affinity to fire. Using burning soul and then flame strike would increase the damage of the attack.
The [Blizzard Strike] was good against monsters weak to water and ice. If he faced a water or machine monster the [Lightning Strike] skill would do extra damage. The same sort of thing was true of [Flame Strike] and [Gale Strike]. Fire was good against plants and the undead. The wind based attack was good against flying monsters among other things.
Part of him wanted to run out and test his new skills on the monsters outside. A more sensible part of him remembered that he was exhausted and injured. Rest was in order. He could try things out later. Right now, he needed a nap.
Chapter 4
In the darkness of his home, Scott had spent the last two hours at rest. He had eaten once more and come to terms with the fact that his cooked food was destined to either go to waste, or would be wasted soon. It was still a matter for debate to him, as he could not recall how long cooked food could sit out without it becoming an amusement park for bacteria. The smell might be an indicator, but most of his food stores did not smell particularly bad. There was an unappetizing aroma involved certainly, but that might have simply been the co-mingling of the scents from different meat items.
He could not afford to get sick now, either way. He figured that he could push things till later in the afternoon, but whatever was not eaten by then he would consider useless either way. It was just too much perishable food for one person and the risk was too high.
Normally, if the power went out he would go buy some ice from the store to try to prolong his food supply. The closest store was at least three miles away. Even if some ice still survived in the coolers, and there should be at least a few bags remaining, he would have to walk there and back. It would not be worth the effort for food that might not even be safe to eat.
Scott sat up on the couch and thought about his situation for a moment. He could not be outside for long, not if he did not want to get killed or draw attention to where he lived. Yet, he did not really have to walk everywhere, did he?
His status effects had all healed save for the moderate wounds that he received. While they did feel slightly better, they still hurt quite a bit and made it difficult to move as well as he normally could. A long distance trip at the moment would be a bad idea. However, there was something else that he could do if he was quick about it. His neighbors were dead or worse. They did not need any of their supplies, did they?
A dark light entered his eyes while a gleeful smile rose upon his lips. It was time to go discount shopping.
He gripped his bush axe then checked the peep holes. Several ghouls were nearby but did not seem to know that he was there. He had been careful, but there was something strangely convenient about their lack of awareness. Were they just stupid, or was something else at work here?
Whatever the case might be, he did not want to waste any more time. Scott slowly unbarred the front door, but then went to the back door and slipped outside. He wanted to be able to get back in quickly from either side if he needed to do so.
He peeked around the side of the house. A lesser ghoul shambled around up ahead. Scott raced forward several steps before a bright green light flared outward from his body. The electronic sounding music began to wail in the background as the announcer voice cried out. "Scott Keen versus Rotten Trio. Fight-O!"
Scott moved quickly into position then hacked downward with his bush axe. The monster moaned loudly and whipped its body around in a hair-raising display of retaliatory violence.
"Counter!" cried the announcer voice.
Scott's initial attack was avoided entirely by that surprising maneuver, and worse the monster continued its movement in an attempt to tear into his stomach with its claws. However, it was a futile attempt at a counter-attack.
The newly minted arcane slayer was already moving as he was still far faster and more agile than the beast. He slammed the handle of his weapon to the side to block the counter-attack of the ghoul. He followed his block up by twisting his hands around his weapon and slamming it upward in a brutal rising strike. The blade tore a chunk of bone and decayed flesh out of the beast’s chin and knocked it back a half-step due to its poor balance.
"Counter reversal!" shouted the announcer. The beast lost four of its precious hit points in that moment, much to the joy of the slayer.
Scott tried to maintain his focus despite the shouting announcer voice. He ignored the low damage number that floated above the monster's head and continued his assault. He rammed his blade forward in a hard lunge that took it in the neck, and then pressed forward. Scott rotated his weapon quickly back and forth in the process so that he could get the hook behind its neck. The plucky little arcane slayer that could brought the beast down to the ground with a hard yank and side-step maneuver. One final strike to the head ended his turn.
The ghoul remained on the ground for a short while and then to Scott's surprise he could move again. A quick glance told him that neither of the other two monsters had moved. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he immediately struck out at the downed monster with a series of blows that the monster attempted to block in a pathetic manner. After the fourth strike the ghoul flailed its arms a little then fell limp.
"What the hell?" asked Scott before he turned toward the other two monsters. He had a little movement left due to his recent rise in level, but he opted to wait in order to rebuild a few points of stamina.
Once again, Scott froze up after several seconds passed. Just as before the ghouls made no move toward him. Uncertain what was going on, he decided to take a few steps toward the monsters then wait once more to regain stamina.
After his turn ended the green light of battle shifted to a vibrant blue color. This time the ghouls each took a step toward him.
Scott tilted his head to the side, but did nothing. After his turn ended, his stamina returned to full once more. It was time to test out his new skill, Flame Strike. Just as with his other skills, he was infused with the knowledge of how the ability worked and was now eager to see the result.
If he used Burning Soul first the damage would increase greatly, but he did not want to expend that much mana to test the basic capacity of his skill. Flame strike would cost him ten points per strike. His mana would deplete by a good amount after a single use of the skill, but if he added Burning Soul, it would cost him another six points.
He thought strongly of a flame burning brightly in a dark room then focused on the concept of that flame and his bush axe becoming one. It took a moment to get the feeling exactly right.
Once he felt the connection was ready, Scott cried out, "Flame Strike!" A bright red glow radiated outward from his weapon and then a small flame burst out from the blade. Flame Strike had been successfully activated.
Scott ran forward four steps then whirled his blade around and hacked at the side of the closest ghoul with great ferocity. His eyes widened in shock when he completely severed the beast’s arm and tore into its rib cage with extreme force. Bone and flesh were torn asunder while flames washed over the beasts' body. The well-done lesser ghoul shrieked in agony then fell sideways. Black blood dripped sickeningly from its charred and gaping wounds.
"Oh... Hell." said Scott, his eyes wide in shock as
a bright red minus sixty-six flared above the beast's head. What was with that damage? His normal attacks were so weak compared to his magical attacks that an inane laugh tried to force its way to the surface. It made sense since the use of magic and stamina based skills were limited to how much mana and stamina he had, but this difference was ridiculous.
A dark desire erupted within his heart. He wanted to know. Scott wanted to know exactly how much damage he could deliver at full attack strength. Was it his imagination or did the only remaining ghoul's teeth begin to chatter a little when Scott looked toward it? A predatory smile crossed the man's face just as his turn ended.
The ghoul took a single step toward him and its turn came to an end. Scott gauged the distance then nodded. He would not be able to reach his opponent until the next turn. He spent his time preparing for his attack. Scott unleashed Burning Soul. The fiery aura flamed around him with warm and ferocity. He then activated Flame Strike. The flames that licked along his blade shifted hue and became a vibrant blue flame that flickered wildly. He took a few steps forward then stopped to allow the rest of his turn to restore his stamina to a small degree.
Unthinking, the beast took another step and entered Scott's threat range. Once it was the arcane slayer's turn once more, he rushed forward five steps then unleashed his ability [Power Cleave]. His blazing bush axe of power rocketed downward in a powerful overhand blow that slammed into the shoulder of the ghoul and tore downward through its rotting body like it was made of nothing but rancid butter.
Unlike the last time his power cleave ability had done that sort of thing, this time the ghoul caught fire while being hurled backward by an invisible force. It was knocked away roughly one yard, or a full-move as Scott now saw things.
"Hell yeah. How's that for a foot in your ass," said Scott with a joyful laugh while staring excitedly at the blazing red minus one seventy-two that flared over the head of the beast. That single combined skill attack had taken a good chunk of mana and stamina from him, but now he knew that he could do obscene amounts of burst damage if he went all out.
The burning ghoul flailed around weakly for a few seconds, though it had been dead the whole time. No happy little columns of light appeared after the battle, sadly. Scott earned nothing from that fight but the thrill of battle, and possibly some experience.
Quickly he began scouting the area. He dealt with another five lesser ghouls, one or two at a time, before he found an unlocked house that was far enough away for his purposes, but close enough that he might make it back to his house.
Scott did not want to bash his way in anywhere, and he did not want to risk climbing through a window. It would make more noise than his fights had, and the window would leave him open to attack if something was hiding in the room. Soon, he would do it anyway, of that much he was certain. Right now, he wanted easy access.
“This is Miller’s place, right?” Scott asked himself. He was pretty sure of that. He did not spend a lot of time with his neighbors. He'd gotten the impression that they thought that they were too good for him. Admittedly, it was probably because he was living in the house of a known meth dealer, but the thought rankled on his nerves a little.
No ghouls were in the house despite the unlocked door. He gathered up a bunch of canned goods, and searched for car keys. Miller had an ice maker but no ice in his freezer. Not particularly useful without electricity. There was partially frozen meat in the deep freezer that he found, but he left it there. He already had more of that than he could use at the moment, and there was no use in moving it.
Scott used the bed sheets and pillowcases of the Miller household to take anything he could find that was useful. Dry food, water, and canned goods were the most notable items, but he also found a first aid kit and a few other things. There was too much to safely take at once, and sadly no car keys to be found. He would have to take multiple trips.
He returned to the hell outside, several pillow cases full of dry food in hand. However, it was not long before he began to pant heavily. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
After a few more steps he was forced to drop his newly acquired goods while he caught his breath. A sneaking suspicion had him check his status. His stamina had dropped to almost zero! "Damn! What the hell...?"
Once a minute passed he felt slightly better. He took a few experimental steps forward, but nothing negative happened. So, confusion still evident on his face, he walked back over to his overstuffed pillowcase of loot and started toward the house once more. He took only a few steps before he fell on his ass. He labored to catch a breath. It was like every part of his body had reached total exhaustion at the same time.
"What—" Scott panted a few times, "—the hell was –" He panted again then lifted one hand to the bridge of his nose, "—that?"
Another minute of extreme vulnerability passed while Scott sat immobile in the road. Until his stamina ticked back up a few notches he was not even able to stand up.
He eyed the sack of crap that he had gathered up. Physically, he was able to lift it. However, if he tried to carry it around his stamina dropped rapidly. Another minute passed before he bothered to stand up.
Curious, and more than a little concerned for his current vulnerability, Scott hefted the sack and tried to guess its weight. It felt quite heavy. Whether that was because his strength was rated at seven, or because of its actual weight, he did not know.
Experimentation was vital in this new world. Scott risked taking a single full-length step while holding his makeshift bag. His stamina dropped by three points! "Shit!" he said a little too loudly for his own comfort. Four steps would take more stamina from him than he regained in a full minute.
Guessing that the bag was simply too heavy, Scott unloaded part of his stash. He kept a few of the more essential items. The sensation of weight for the bag dropped a good bit. Afterward he took another experimental step. His stamina dropped by two points this time. "Damn, still too heavy."
Half of his loot was removed from the sack. Another step was taken. This time he did not lose any stamina. His curiosity made him place items into the sack and take a step. He repeated the process a few times until he found the exact amount of weight that he could carry without losing stamina with each step. Another minute passed not long after that so he regained a little of the stamina that he had lost.
"Shit man..." muttered Scott as he looked at the two significant piles of stuff behind him. He could not carry much at all. He decided to get busy with the carting about of his goods. It would be a slower process than he liked, but at least one mystery was solved.
Scott nearly made it back to his house before his next opponent arrived. He nodded to the trotting monster, dropped his loot, and then casually whipped his blade around in what he considered to be a battle stance. "Come get some."
The battle itself was a short-lived affair. Just as each battle had gone before, a light flared out and an announcer announced things. Scott waited for it to come for him to build his stamina then made short work of his opponent by striking out at the monster's head when it came into range. His blade bit deeply and generated a satisfying crack.
Scott forced the ghoul to the ground then ripped his blade free and finish it off with two more hard strikes. Lesser ghouls of this thing’s level were no problem for him now, at least not unless they came in packs.
His eyes lit up when a little column of light appeared. They narrowed when an envelope appeared in the light and hovered lazily in the air. A smirk appeared on his lips and he unleashed a mildly amused sounding laugh. “I’ve got mail?”
Scott took the envelope and snatched up his loot sack. He wanted to get off the street again before he attracted trouble. The ghouls were not that much of a problem anymore if they came one at a time, but he remembered that wolf-headed centaur thing that chased his neighbor’s Chihuahua. He doubted that thing would be as simple to deal with as the low-level version of the shark-toothed bastards. That thing was the main reason he was not doi
ng a house-to-house ghoul slaying free-for-all. He would never know when he might run across it, and it was probably not something he could handle easily even now.
Once he made it into his house, he searched and secured it once more. After that he cleaned his equipment and checked the mirror. He was still level four. It was not a surprise but he would be lying to himself if he did not admit that he’d hoped for another level gain.
He checked the peepholes, saw nothing that interesting, and then settled down on the couch to see what his new letter said.
[[Missionary Mail]]
[An Earnest Prayer]
“Please god, don’t let them get in! Please! Protect my babies!"
--
The mother of a small family trapped inside a barn has prayed for salvation. The gods are currently too busy to care about any of that, but you seem to be a likely sort. The survivors are good people trapped in a terrible situation. Rescue them and receive fabulous rewards!
--
Side-quest: Daisy, the youngest daughter of the family, is asthmatic. Her inhaler is in a car abandoned on Coulter Road. Get her inhaler and bring it to her.
Time Remaining: 33 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate
Success Condition: Defeat the monsters trying to get into the barn.
Failure: The monsters kill everyone.
Side-Quest Failure: Do not retrieve the inhaler for Daisy prior to the success or failure of main-objective. (You can get it afterwards, but you’ll receive no special reward.)
Reward(s): 20 Silver Daemons, 1 Attribute Upgrade Point, 1 Salvation Crystal
Additional Reward(s): A young girl’s appreciation.
[--]
“Shit… This, is this some sort of joke?” asked Scott. The letter folded out and revealed a map. His location, the location of the car, and the location of the barn where the small family was holed up were circled.
Earth Tactics Advance: Volume 1 Page 8
