I summoned a Smith & Wesson Model 29, once claimed as the most powerful handgun in the world, from my inventory and pointed the massive revolver at Richardson’s head. The hammer clicked back as I pulled the double-action trigger and continued to squeeze. The .44 Magnum round almost blew off the killer’s head. I fired a second time, finishing the job. Notifications flooded my vision. I quickly flipped through them to confirm the quest completion for tracking down the town killer.
I touched the corpse and pulled it into another System inventory space with the Meat Locker Class Skill. Never knowing when the next conflict might come, I took the time to pull the spent weapons from my inventory, checked them for damage, and reloaded them. I then picked up the pieces of my Silversmith beam pistol, found my dropped Colt, and looted Richardson’s daggers. With those items picked up, only the pooling blood splattered across the pavement remained as evidence of the fight that had taken place. I glanced around to ensure I’d left nothing behind, but I quickly noticed that I was no longer alone.
Surrounding the parking lot, Truinnar in the uniform of the town guard formed a perimeter that cut off any route out of the area. At the mouth of the alley waited a Truinnar more finely dressed than the uniformed guards who stood behind him.
The guards eyed me warily as I approached the finely dressed figure, which gave me time to examine the man. He had the typical tall, slender build of the Truinnar, though he somehow seemed softer than the guards and most other dark elves I had encountered. The elf also seemed younger even than Dayena. He carried no weapons, clearly trusting the escort behind him for protection.
Lord Aradin Daxily, Baron of the Argent Sea (??? Level ???)
HP: 790/790
The noble’s level and class were hidden, likely by a Class Skill, but the meager health points hinted at his level being quite low. Especially low if he was the man who, I suspected, ruled this town.
“Adventurer Mason,” greeted the young dark elf in a high, nasally voice.
“Lord Daxily,” I replied politely.
“Thank you for ridding my village of that menace,” said Daxily, which confirmed that he indeed owned the town. “He was a drain on resources and lowered my village’s value.”
“You knew he was the killer.”
Daxily sniffed. “Of course. I know what goes on in my village.”
“And you did nothing?” I asked, annoyed by his inaction in the face of lost human lives.
“It was a human problem.” The dark elf waved dismissively. “I leave human problems to humans. But now you’ve become a problem for me by breaking the peace in my village.”
I was seriously aggravated by his knowledge of the killer and his lack of action. That he now declared my action of taking out the killer as problematic made me debate whether to show this spoiled punk a real human problem. I kept my face blank, but something of my intent must have leaked out because two of the guards stepped up beside the noble, their weapons half-drawn.
I examined the guards critically. I figured I could take the ones in front of me, along with the noble, but at least another half dozen guards were somewhere behind me. They would call for assistance, and I would certainly not survive if the entire town guard were called in.
Before the situation could escalate further, a figure materialized out of the alley shadows. Hips swayed as the figure sauntered toward us, and I recognized the seductive silhouette of the musician from the bar. The sensuous dress from earlier had been exchanged for an armored jumpsuit, one of significantly higher quality than my own, but it still managed to give her slender figure mouth-watering appeal.
Mental Influence Resisted
“Take it easy, boys,” said Dayena.
The sultry voice grabbed the attention of everyone in the alley.
As if hit between the eyes by a hammer, the wide-eyed Truinnar noble seemed stunned. “C-countess? I knew you were in town, but what are you doing here?”
Fantastic. The spoiled noble had revealed my potential employer as a ranked member of the Truinnar peerage. Her comments in the bar made more sense now. I needed to be wary, or else I’d quickly become buried in Truinnar politics. Unfortunately, my gut had the sneaking suspicion my caution was entirely too late.
Dayena gestured toward me and looked pointedly into my eyes as a prompt appeared before me.
Contract Initiated between Dayena Baluisa and Harold Mason.
Do you accept? (Y/N)
“The huntsman works for me,” Dayena stated confidently while she stared at me intently and ignored the other noble.
I got the hint. She’d just made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I accepted the prompt and resigned myself to working for the gorgeous elf in a deal that would clearly be in her favor.
Contract Agreed Upon by Dayena Baluisa and Harold Mason.
Further Details? (Y/N)
I ignored the prompt and hoped for a chance later to read through the fine print.
“What? Is this true?” the young noble demanded, finally recovering from being hit with the full force of Dayena’s charms.
“Yes,” I replied, though I found it safer to say as little as possible.
“Fine,” Daxily huffed. “I want you both out of my village. I rescind my hospitality, Countess.”
“We’ll be gone before daylight.” Dayena turned to leave the alley. “Come on, Adventurer Mason.”
I followed the woman and nodded to the town guards as I passed. I ignored the spoiled noble. The guards tracked me warily, likely aware that any violence would end poorly for all involved.
Once we reached the main street at the end of the alley, Dayena turned back toward me. “Is there anything you need in town before we leave?”
“No. I only needed to finish the quest here, and that’s done.”
“That was an impressive fight,” she said. “I enjoyed how you toyed with him. It almost reminded me of court politics back home.”
“Speaking of politics,” I said with an arched eyebrow. “Countess?”
Dayena shrugged dismissively. “It’s just an honorific. My family is complicated, so I have no lands or responsibilities. I want to forge my own path and not have it dictated to me. And now I have you to help.”
A moment later, the woman climbed onto a sleekly armored motorcycle that materialized on the empty street in front of us. I summoned my bike from my inventory and mounted it beside her.
“Help with what?” I asked.
“Hunting monsters, of course,” Dayena replied with a wink. A helmet snapped up out of her collar and over her head. Tires squealed, her bike shot forward, and she quickly left me behind.
Resigned, I kicked my bike into gear and followed the Truinnar countess off into the night. Hunting monsters, indeed.
###
The End
Author’s Note
I want to thank you for taking the time to read this book and I really hope you enjoyed this new adventure within the System Apocalypse Universe. Ever since I wrote the short for the Anthology (also included here as a bonus!), ideas for Hal have been bouncing around in my head and I wanted to tell his origin story before I took his story further.
I really appreciate Tao providing the opportunity for some of those ideas to hit the pages here, and for allowing me to play in his playground.
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review! Reviews are the lifeblood of indie authors and they encourage us to keep writing.
-Craig
About the Publisher
Starlit Publishing is wholly owned and operated by Tao Wong. It is a science fiction and fantasy publisher focused on the LitRPG & cultivation genres. Their focus is on promoting new, upcoming authors in the genre whose writing challenges the existing stereotypes while giving a rip-roaring good read.
For more information about latest releases from Starlit Publishing, visit our website!
For more great information about LitRPG series, check out the Facebook groups:
- GameLit Society
- LitRPG Books
About the Authors
Craig Hamilton
Craig Hamilton is a technical sales engineer who spends most of his day translating tech speak to a non-technical crowd. While writing has been taking up most of his free time lately, Craig also appreciates playing tabletop RPGs or board games with friends. When his inner introvert demands a break from polite company, Craig can be found sprawled on a couch with a book or playing a video game with spaceships and entirely too many spreadsheets.
Follow what Craig is doing on his Author Page
Tao Wong
Tao Wong is an avid fantasy and sci-fi reader who spends his time working and writing in the North of Canada. He’s spent way too many years doing martial arts of many forms, and having broken himself too often, he now spends his time writing about fantasy worlds.
For updates on the series and other books written by Tao Wong (and special one-shot stories), please visit the author’s website:
http://www.mylifemytao.com
Or visit his Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/taowongauthor/
Also, subscribers to Tao’s mailing list will receive exclusive access to short stories in the Thousand Li and System Apocalypse universes.
Books in the
System Apocalypse Universe
Main Storyline
Life in the North
Redeemer of the Dead
The Cost of Survival
Cities in Chains
Coast on Fire
World Unbound
Stars Awoken
Rebel Star
Stars Asunder
Broken Council
System Apocalypse - Relentless
A Fist Full of Credits
Anthologies & Shorts
System Apocalypse Short Story Anthology Volume 1
Numerous Individual Short Stories
Comic Series
The System Apocalypse Comics (7 Issues)
Preview my other series: the System Apocalypse
Life in the North ( System Apocalypse Book 1)
Chapter 1
Greetings citizen. As a peaceful and organised immersion into the Galactic Council has been declined (extensively and painfully we might add), your world has been declared a Dungeon World. Thank you. We were getting bored with the 12 that we had previously.
Please note that the process of developing a Dungeon World can be difficult for current inhabitants. We recommend leaving the planet till the process is completed in 373 days, 2 hours, 14 minutes and 12 seconds.
For those of you unable or unwilling to leave, do note that new Dungeons and wandering monsters will spawn intermittently throughout the integration process. All new Dungeons and zones will receive recommended minimum levels, however, during the transition period expect there to be significant volatility in the levels and types of monsters in each Dungeon and zone.
As a new Dungeon World, your planet has been designated a free-immigration location. Undeveloped worlds in the Galactic Council may take advantage of this new immigration policy. Please try not to greet all new visitors the same way as you did our Emissary, you humans could do with some friends.
As part of the transition, all sentient subjects will have access to new classes and skills as well as the traditional user interface adopted by the Galactic Council in 119 GC.
Thank you for your co-operation and good luck! We look forward to meeting you soon.
Time to System initiation: 59 minutes 23 seconds
I groan, freeing my hand enough to swipe at the blue box in front of my face as I crank my eyes open. Weird dream. It’s not as if I had drunk that much either, just a few shots of whiskey before I went to bed. Almost as soon as the box disappears, another appears, obscuring the small 2-person tent that I’m sleeping in.
Congratulations! You have been spawned in the Kluane National Park (Level 110+) zone.
You have received 7,500 XP (Delayed)
As per Dungeon World Development Schedule 124.3.2.1, inhabitants assigned to a region with a recommended Level 25 or more above the inhabitants’ current Level will receive one Small perk.
As per Dungeon World Development Schedule 124.3.2.2, inhabitants assigned to a region with a recommended Level 50 or more above the inhabitants’ current Level will receive one Medium perk.
As per Dungeon World Development Schedule 124.3.2.3, inhabitants assigned to a region with a recommended Level 75 or more above the inhabitants’ current Level will receive one Large perk.
As per Dungeon World Development Schedule 124.3.2.4, inhabitants assigned to a region with a recommended Level 100 or more above the inhabitants’ current Level will receive one Greater perk
What the hell? I jerk forwards and almost fall immediately backwards, the sleeping bag tangling me up. I scramble out, pulling my 5’ 8” frame into a sitting position as I swipe black hair out of my eyes to stare at the taunting blue message. Alright, I’m awake and this is not a dream.
This can’t be happening, I mean, sure it’s happening, but it can’t be. It must be a dream, things like this didn’t happen in real life. However, considering the rather realistic aches and pains that encompass my body from yesterday’s hike, it’s really not a dream. Still, this can’t be happening.
When I reach out, attempting to touch the screen itself and for a moment, nothing happens until I move my hand when the screen seems to ‘stick’ to it, swinging with my hand. It’s almost like a window in a touchscreen which makes no sense, since this is the real world and there’s no tablet. Now that I’m concentrating, I can even feel how the screen has a slight tactile sensation to it, like touching plastic wrap stretched too tight except with the added tingle of static electricity. I stare at my hand and the window and then flick it away watching the window shrink. This makes no sense.
Just yesterday I had hiked up the King’s Throne Peak with all my gear to overlook the lake. Early April in the Yukon means that the peak itself was still covered with snow but I’d packed for that, though the final couple of kilometers had been tougher than I had expected. Still, being out and about at least cleared my mind of the dismal state of my life after moving to Whitehorse. No job, barely enough money to pay next month’s rent and having just broken up with my girlfriend, leaving on a Tuesday on my junker of a car was just what the doctor ordered. As bad as my life had been, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t even close to breaking down, at least not enough to see things.
I shut my eyes, forcing them to stay shut for a count of three before I open them again. The blue box stays, taunting me with its reality. I can feel my breathing shorten, my thoughts splitting in a thousand different directions as I try to make sense of what’s happening.
Stop.
I force my eyes close again and old training, old habits come into play. I bottle up the feelings of panic that encroach on my mind, force my scattered thoughts to stop swirling and compartmentalise my feelings. This is not the time or place for all this. I shove it all into a box and close the lid, pushing my emotions down until all there is a comforting, familiar, numbness.
A therapist once said my emotional detachment is a learned self-defence mechanism, one that was useful during my youth but somewhat unnecessary now that I’m an adult with more control over my surroundings. My girlfriend, my ex-girlfriend, just called me an emotionless dick. I’ve been taught better coping mechanisms but when push comes to shove, I go with what works. If there’s an environment which I can’t control, I’m going to call floating blue boxes in the real world one of them.
Calmer now, I open my eyes and re-read the information. First rule – what is, is. No more arguing or screaming or worrying about why or how or if I’m insane. What is, is. So. I have perks. And there’s a system providing the perks and assigning levels. There’s also going to be dungeons and monsters. I’m in a frigging MMO without a damn manual it looks like, which means that at least some of my misspent youth is going to be useful. I wonder what my dad would say. I push the familiar flash of anger down at
the thought of him, focusing instead on my current problems.
My first requirement is information. Or better yet, a guide. I’m working on instinct here, going by what feels right rather than what I think is right since the thinking part of me is busy putting its fingers in its ears and going ‘na-na-na-na-na’.
“Status?” I query and a new screen blooms.
Status Screen
Name
John Lee
Class
None
Race
Human (Male)
Level
0
Titles
None
Health
100
Stamina
100
Mana
100
Status
Twisted ankle (-5% movement speed)
Tendinitis (-10% Manual Agility)
Attributes
Strength
11
Agility
10
Constitution
11
Perception
14
Intelligence
16
Willpower
18
Charisma
8
Luck
7
Skills
None
Fist Full of Credits: A New Apocalyptic LitRPG Series (System Apocalypse - Relentless Book 1) Page 43
