by Macronomicon
It only took him a minute to get there, but he was almost too late.
From the sky, he could make out several figures locked in combat, dimly lit by the single campfire. One of the figures was smaller than the others, more slender, and grievously wounded, clutching a snapped off spearhead embedded in their stomach.
Jess.
He tore through the air and landed on the ground with a whomp, drawing the attention of the combatants to himself.
Jessica took their distraction as an opportunity to tear the spearhead out of her stomach, flickered closer and stab the closest guy in the neck, sending him flailing to the ground.
She looked a bit like she’d been through a garbage disposal, covered with minor cuts and bruises, her armor and clothes nowhere to be seen.
Jeb scanned the scene. Including the last one, she’d taken out three of Eddie’s group, leaving five angry men facing her down.
“Goddamnit,” Eddie shouted. “Chris, get a hand on that collar, or I’ll tear your damn arms off.” he said, standing between Jeb and his teammate.
Chris, he assumed, lunged for Jess with a longsword. He rushed forward and delivered a vicious strike against her improvised weapon, knocking it out of her hand.
Chriss took a hand off his blade and lunged for a metal collar around Jess’s neck. She caught his hand with her own, stepping in close to his chest to prevent him from swinging his sword at her.
“Pip nine.” She said, her finger pointed at his center of mass.
Chris tried to dodge, but the telekinetic bullet tore a hole through his side.
In his shock, Jessica wrenched the sword out of the man’s hand and executed him with it.
Now it was just Eddie and three others left.
Maybe I wasn’t needed, Jeb thought. Jess was winded though, and one hand was occupied staunching a trickling puncture wound on her stomach.
She wasn’t looking great.
“I thought you were dead.” Eddie said, glaring at him. “Amanda was nowhere near you. You should’ve died in seconds.”
“Yeah, well, shit happens,” Jeb said with a shrug.
“This time, I’m gonna cut your fucking head off,” Eddie said, unslinging Razorback from his waist. “See if that sticks.”
“You sure you wanna try that?” Jeb asked, pointing. “You’re running out of backup.”
The three remaining lackeys were hesitating to approach Jessica, glancing between her and the four corpses she’d made.
Eddie glanced over his shoulder and snarled. “Forget about the collar, just kill her!”
“The score’s four to nothing,” Jessica said, levelling her stolen sword at them. “You’re welcome to try.” She was probably bluffing, but there were four corpses scattered around the clearing.
So these nameless lackeys had to decide whether they were more afraid of Eddie or Jessica.
“Fuck this,” one of them said, turning and breaking into a sprint. The other two glanced at Jeb and followed a breath later.
“You bitches, I’ll – “ Eddie was cut off as Jessica jumped him, gliding across the ground despite her wound and bringing her stolen sword down at his face.
Eddie blocked it with his forearm. The sword didn’t even sink into his skin, halting harmlessly right at the boundary of causing damage.
He heaved Razorback forward, the sword glowing with power as he aimed to cut Jessica in half. Jessica hopped over the strike, her body weightless. The swing sent a shockwave of power sailing out into the distance, causing the grass of the Safe Zone to ripple.
Hovering in front of him, Jessica took the opportunity to angle her sword off his wrist and aim a thrust at his face.
The sword came to a dead stop against the man’s forehead, and Eddie grinned. Using the free hand her sword was sliding against, he slapped the blade. There was a little burst of light and force, and Jessica’s sword was snapped in half, sending shrapnel off to the side of the combatants.
The hell is his Class skill? Jeb thought, sending his Myst out and sliding a dagger out of one of the corpses sheaths, along with a nearby sword.
Some kind of impenetrable skin, maybe? How am I supposed to beat that…
Jeb sent his controlled blades to interfere with Eddie’s follow-up killshot, aiming for his eyes to make him flinch and getting in the way of his sword-arm.
Eddie flinched, but the dagger against his eye did nothing, and the sword aiming to cut deep into his arm merely restrained it.
What the hell?
Jessica took the opportunity to kick off of Eddie, sailing through the air toward Jeb.
Normally, when you’ve got a guy with impenetrable skin, you go for the eyes, but that logic doesn’t seem to follow, here. Maybe I can goad him into revealing something stupid.
“You think you’ve got a chance?” Jeb asked, raising a brow as he spun his blade through the air, making an ominous whirring sound. “I’m a Telekinetic Combatant, my Class Skill lets me manipulate tons of weapons with my mind at once. I can kill you where you stand.”
Eddie gave him a pitying look and snorted. “Hah! I’m a Reckoner, my class skill lets me absorb any attack’s force and add it to my own. It doesn’t matter what you’re holding the weapon with, and it don’t matter how many there are! You. Can’t. Hurt. Me. You get it now? As far as you two are concerned, I’m indestructible.”
Jeb met Jessica’s gaze, and they shared a look.
Wow, this guy is dumb.
Jeb dropped the two blades and created two new strands of Myst. One wrapped around Eddie’s torso and lifted him off the ground.
Eddie, divorced from the ground, was unable to find purchase on anything, flailing wildly like an angry toddler being hoisted by their parents.
“Hey, what the fu-“
The other strand of Myst hardened a golf-ball sized chunk of air and shoved it into Eddie’s trachea, bringing blessed silence as the bruiser immediately began to suffocate.
“So,” Jeb asked, glancing at Jessica. “Whaddya wanna do after this?”
“I was thinking,” Jessica said, reaching down and tugging a man’s belt off before cinching it around her oozing stomach wound. “I’d go hunt down Ron and get some payback.”
“Naw, I’m pretty sure that all happened because these guys blindsided Ron and that caused his zombies to go feral.”
“Oh?” Jessica asked.
“Well, it fit the scenario. I suppose Ron could have backstabbed as well as these guys, but I think it’s unlikely. He was nowhere to be seen and the ejector seats trigger when knocked out or gravely wounded, so my money is on Eddie’s boys knocking out or killing Ron.
“I can see how that might have happened,” Jessica said with a nod. “We’ll have to make sure though.”
Turning red, Eddie threw Razorback at Jeb in a desperate bid to be released from the chokehold.
Jessica plucked her sword out of the air like a magician, causing Eddie’s eyes to bulge. She winced as the movement strained her wound again.
“Is that stab wound life-threatening?” Jeb asked, wiggling his cane to catch her attention.
“Nah, save it for an emergency. It’s my turn to grin and bear it.”
They watched the man slowly suffocate for a couple minutes, his struggles growing more and more intense, tearing at his own skin to try and free himself from the telekinetic lift.
“This feels awkward,” Jeb said into the silence.
“I think they left some booze behind.” Jessica said with a shrug. “We could play a drinking game. He’s got enough Body that it’ll take half an hour to actually suffocate to death.”
Jeb pursed his lips, meeting Eddie’s bloodshot gaze.
“Yeah, I’m down for that.” he said, hopping over to the fire and joining Jessica where they could both keep an eye on their enemy, and keep their feet toasty warm.
“Every time he scratches his throat, we drink.” Jessica said, handing him some of the booze. He had no idea where Eddie’s goons had gotten it, but it was
a welcome distraction from what was essentially slow, calculated murder. It didn’t even have the in-the-moment desperation to it. Just a gut-wrenching sense of wrong.
Eddie had long since passed out when they heard a woman’s voice from the edge of the clearing.
“What are you doing!?” Amanda called, rushing out from the woods. The healer’s armor was torn to shreds, but she herself looked fine. Likely healed herself. From the looks of it, she’d taken quite the beating.
“…Suffocating Eddie to death so he doesn’t try to kill us anymore?” Jeb said with a shrug. Jessica nodded, expression icy.
“Well, stop!” Amanda said, her hands on her full hips. “You can’t just kill people. All life is sacred, and everyone deserves a second chance!”
“Where were you when I was thirty,” Jeb muttered. To be fair she was just starting college when he was discharged.
“You’re not seriously considering it, are you?” Jessica said. “He tried to kill us. We leave him alive, he’ll try again.”
“If you don’t let him go right now,” Amanda said, putting up her dukes. “I’ll fight you.”
“Alright, alright,” Jeb said, putting his hands up. “I’ll let him go…If you and Brett join my group.”
The healer gave him a squinty look. “We’ll talk about it.”
“That’s all I can really ask for,” Jeb said, hopping to his foot and hobbling over to Eddie, checking his pulse. It thudded away under his fingertips.
Still strong as a horse, huh? Body must be outstanding. That’s like, dolphin levels of breath-holding.
Mystic Trigger.
“He’s still alive,” Jeb said, backing away before freeing Eddie from his hold.
The Reckoner folded to the ground and gave a sharp inhale, but otherwise didn’t move.
“We should get out of here before he wakes up. Dude could punch a hole through my sternum.”
Ignoring him, Amanda went up and checked Eddie’s pulse herself. All the while, Jeb was biting holes in his pants, waiting for Eddie to come alive and use her as a hostage.
Thankfully that didn’t happen.
“Alright, let’s get moving,” Amanda said, rising to face them. “Ron and Brett are further North East.”
“They survived too?” Jeb asked, picking up his duffle bag and allowing Amanda to lead the way.
“Could I get a heal?” Jessica asked with a wince.
“Oh, Of course,” Amanda said, tapping Jessica on the shoulder, a bolt of concentrated Myst arcing out and penetrating her body.
Jessica gave a shiver and unbelted her stomach, tossing aside the blood-crusted belt. She gave Eddie a long look, before glancing back at Jeb.
“It’ll be fine,” Jeb said, drawing his fingers across his neck while Amanda’s back was turned. “He won’t bother us again.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Jess said.
“Yeah, Ron, Brett and I met up here. I got sideswiped by something, and woke up to Ron splashing water on my face, a lump on the side of his head big as an egg!”
“Called it,” Jeb said.
“Then Brett fell out of the sky, covered in blood. I thought my heart was gonna stop.”
She glanced over her shoulder, looking Jeb up and down speculatively. “That was your good luck charm, wasn’t it?”
Jeb shrugged.
“Anyway, we didn’t think this safe zone would be safe for long, so we put as much distance as we could between ourselves and the Boss.”
>>>ALERT<<<
Safe Zones Have Expired!
Easy Zone automatically closed.
0/84,000 Normal zones active. Normal closed.
113/10000 Hard Zones active.
100/100 Impossible Zones active
The Hard Tutorial enters its second phase…
The Impossible Tutorial Enters its second phase…
“Well, that’s fucking ominous,” Jeb muttered, glancing over his shoulder at the Tortoise that dominated the horizon, blocking the fading glow of the sun.
The stars above it flickered as tens of thousands of monsters streamed out of the creature’s shell, drifting up and settling down into the forest beneath it. Their numbers were endless.
“I think we should haul ass,” Jeb said, picking himself up. Amanda and Jess nodded and started running like the wind, Jeb flying along behind them.
***Eddie***
“Boss?”
Eddie’s eyes flew open and he sucked in a sweet lungful of air, groaning as he sat up and held his hand to his throbbing head.
Throb, throb. It felt like someone was beating on the inside of his skull with a hammer
“Motherfucker,” Eddie muttered, glancing up. The three traitors were standing there, looking at him nervously. They’d returned in a tremendous act of bravery, considering what he was going to do to them for abandoning him.
No, wait. They’re the only ones left. Eddie reigned in his impulse to immediately punish them. They had the advantage of being some of the last convenient toys left, and their value was increased by scarcity.
“You okay, boss?” Kyle asked, offering him a hand.
“I’m fine,” Eddie said, ignoring the hand as he pushed himself to his feet.
That fucking bitch. The little tease had killed four of his men. And the other one…
Eddie felt an unfamiliar thrill of fear.
I almost died.
That fucking cripple almost killed me!
Apparently Jeb was too stupid to know you have to choke someone out for several minutes after they pass out if you want to kill them.
He’s not gonna get a chance to regret it, Eddie thought, gritting his teeth. That Telekinetic Combatant wasn’t going to catch him with his pants down again. Very much the opposite.
He’s gotta sleep sometime.
I’m going to find them, I’m going to figure out when he sleeps, then I’m going to crush his skull into paste.
Eddie’s mood turned marginally brighter. Then I’ll be able to relax again. Once Jeb was dead, he’d be back on top, and everything would be right with the world.
“The safe zones expired, boss,” Harry said.
“So that’s why you came crawling back to me, huh?” Eddie said, sneering.
“…Safety in numbers,” Tom said, nodding, flinching away from Eddie in a way that was deeply satisfying.
“Alright then, grab some weapons,” Eddie said, motioning to the corpses strewn around the safe zone. “’Cuz we’re going hunting.”
“I swear I’m gonna kill that bastard,” Eddie said, imagining that sweet moment he turned the bastard’s brain to paste and put that slu-.
***Tom Breshears, level 21 Pitcher ***
“I swear I’m gonna kill that bastard,” Eddie said, a malicious smile spreading across his face.
Then Eddie’s head exploded, covering the three onlookers in bits of gore.
The headless corpse fountained blood into the air for a surreal moment, still standing in front of them like nothing was wrong. A couple seconds later, it slumped to the ground.
Stunned silence reigned.
“I’m not with him,” Tom said, looking up at the sky and pleading to whatever wrathful deity just smote Eddie.
***Jebediah Trapper***
You have Gained a level!
You are now level 35!
...And boom goes the dynamite, Jeb thought as he got a level notification mid-flight, dropping his points into Myst.
Jebediah Trapper
Mystic Trapsmith, Level 35
Body 16
Myst 63 +2
Nerve 21 +3
Abilities: Mystic Trigger
Chapter 13: Happiness Tastes Like Hippie
There was a wrenching squeal from the side of the camp, drawing everyone’s attention.
Jessica was unclasping a piece of torn steel from her neck, scowling down at it.
“Whazzat?” Jeb asked.
“Some kind of magical control collar. Eddie was planning on using it on me, but h
e didn’t have the Myst for it.”
“What is he, some kinda incel?” Brett demanded, scowling.
Ron snorted.
“Can I see it?” Jeb asked.
All eyes turned to him. Some pitying, some cold.
Jeb held up a hand. “I swear, I will not use it as is. I just wanna take it apart and see how it ticks.”
Jessica watched him with calculating eyes for a moment longer.
“Knock yourself out.” She said, tossing him the warped collar.
“We’re gonna have to find you some new armor,” Amanda said, “You left your old stuff behind at the camp.”
“I didn’t leave it behind,” Jess answered. “They cut it off of me.”
Amanda pressed her lips together in consternation. “Sorry. Brett and I lost most of our stash when… We’ll get you something to wear, even if we’ve gotta make it ourselves.”
Jessica blinked a couple times, her eyebrows raising as if she’d had an epiphany. “That’s not a bad idea.” She leaned up against a tree and closed her eyes, adopting a meditative posture.
“You guys get some sleep,” Jeb said, getting their attention. “Ron and I got the night shift.”
Things could go very bad very quickly at night, which was why the people with the most area of control were tasked with night watch.
The others began settling down into a tight knot around the tiny campfire, composed of Jeb’s Fire-Flies spinning in a lazy cyclone, exuding a large amount of heat relative to their light.
The absolutely silent, ever watchful wall of zombies surrounding them was hecka unnerving, but the corpses prevented the light of the ‘fire’ from spilling out into the forest and attracting the new wave of monsters flooding into the woods.
Jeb studied the collar in the dim light.
It was pure steel on the sides, but the center had a little round decoration approximately the size of a silver dollar. Turning it this way and that, Jeb noticed a proprietary screw head on the back.
Out in the middle of the wilderness, it would have been a hopeless proposition to try and open it, but…
Jeb had long since graduated beyond needing a screwdriver. He grabbed the screw directly with a bit of Myst and spun it. A moment later, the back of the circular center popped off, revealing its guts.
