Doom System Survivor: A LitRPG Apocalypse, page 11
Even with his lackluster Interim grade, he was currently in the most comfortable bed he had ever laid in, one that probably cost several times his monthly rent before the system appeared.
But he knew he couldn’t get comfortable.
As easy as it would have been to keep his barrier up and sleep another few hours—or hell, sleep until the gates opened—Hiro wanted to do better. Grow stronger. Make more connections with other Survivors. Prepare for the worst.
And maybe if I’m just lucky, ask the right questions and stop the Doom System for good. But first, shopping. After all, you can take the capitalist out of the market, but you can’t take the market out of the capitalist.
Hiro didn’t know if he heard that phrase or if he came up with it on his own. But it did remind him of a Japanese proverb his grandfather was fond of—“the child of a frog is a frog.”
This reminded Hiro of his grandfather as he stood before one of the penthouse windows, where he saw numerous golden beams. The nearest merchant wasn’t very far away. Midtown, near Hell’s Kitchen. It looked like he would be able to make his way down using {Bounce}.
His next stop was the closet, which mostly had women’s clothing.
“I’ll make it work.”
Hiro found a sleeveless black top, a concert T-shirt judging by the band name, Black Pumas, and the dates on the back. This replaced his black hoodie, which had seen better days. The man’s clothing didn’t fit, much too large, but he was able to exchange his shoes for a pair of Nikes that looked like they had never been worn.
Gear in tow, Hiro removed the {Sacra Limina} barrier with the wave of a hand. He cautiously checked the rest of the home to see that he hadn’t been discovered. There was less to loot than he would have liked, unless he wanted to carry another backpack with him.
I can always come back. I don’t even need to set a {Beacon}; this building is impossible to miss.
Hiro moved on, leapfrogging his way from rooftop to rooftop in the direction of Hell’s Kitchen.
As he traveled, he caught a glimpse of the other side of the river, New Jersey, which looked equally as fucked as New York. Are people there considered part of the “City Survivors”? How far does it span? Is it the entire Tri State Area?
Hiro blinked this thought away as he reached a smaller building in the shadow of a steel and glass skyscraper. It was here that he found the merchant, who had set up shop in an alley rarely touched by the sun.
“Hello, Survivor,” the man said in a grizzled voice, his features hidden by a conical hat.
The merchant had set up a tarp over a pair of oversized crutches, enabling him to crouch with his sandaled feet visible. He was surrounded by shopping carts, his digs more appropriate for a homeless encampment than some post-apocalyptic arms dealer.
The merchant tilted his head back, and Hiro saw that his eyes were missing, replaced instead by a pair of glowing buttons that began to spin. He revealed a pair of sharpened yellow teeth as he spoke. “I see you have a Kiri Yōso Vape Pen.”
“I do.”
“I have cartridges for that. If you would like to upgrade the vape pen itself, you will need to visit a different merchant. But don’t worry. I’ve got what you need. The name is Wayne, by the way.”
“Hiro,” he said as he touched his chest. “Cartridges for my vape pen, then.”
Wayne rifled through his items. “Got it. I have more gauze, but it seems like you already have access to something like that.”
“You can see my inventory list?”
“Is that what you are calling it? Yes, I can see what you currently have, and I have an idea of what you could possibly need. It is up to you to make the decision, however.”
“Armor?”
“Unless you make it yourself or find it, there is no armor for sale during the first Interim. The Doom System has yet to decide if this will apply to the Second Interim.”
So Wayne calls it the Doom System as well. Hiro shook his head. The merchant came from the system; he’s basically an NPC, yet he refers to the system in the same way that we do? Weird.
“You are hesitant to sacrifice followers?”
“What? No. I don’t care about that part.”
Wayne maintained the crooked smile on his face. “Are you sure? You haven’t sacrificed them yet.”
“Can you see how many followers I have?”
“Naturally.”
“Then tell me what I can afford and what you think I should buy.” Hiro gestured toward the shopping carts. “You seem to have a lot of stuff.”
“I do indeed. But different Survivors require different items, so I will focus on you for now. As to what you’ll need…” The merchant shifted his neck to the side. An arm on his back pressed out of the fabric of his tattered robes, which produced a three-finger claw that searched through the shopping carts.
While it did this, the merchant swept some of the other items away and began setting things down. Once the items were all placed on the carpet, the third arm disappeared into his robes.
Wayne spoke again. “One-time-use vape pen cartridges. Remember, these won’t affect you. Later, there will be some options that can affect you, but you will need to make it to that point first.” He tapped on the first few cartridges. “Poison. Corrosion. Decoy. Bleed. These are the ones I would suggest for the first Interim.”
“And once the gates open?”
“Things change when the gates open,” he said ominously. “Focus on the Interim for now. Poison is self-explanatory, I believe. Blow it at your opponent and provide poison damage. Corrosion does the same but is best used for an armored opponent, something like a Sentry or certain Hunters. Decoy produces a bouncing decoy that will distract most opponents, at least during the first Interim. Later, you’ll need something stronger. It is useful if you need to flee.”
“And bleed?”
“Heh. Bleed is a good one. It causes seeping wounds to appear on an opponent. These wounds are compounded by your follow-up strikes and the passage of time. You are aware that there are some opponents out there that are too strong for you.”
Hiro thought of the Twin Bunnies. “I am.”
“This would be something to use against them if you decide to risk a fight.”
“Can I have all Bleed cartridges, then?”
Wayne cackled at the suggestion. “If you had more followers to sacrifice, sure, but this is part of a one-time package I’m offering you to give you a taste of what is possible. There’s something else as well. Your opponent doesn’t have to be directly in front of you to feel the effects of these cartridges. As long as they are engaged with you, the cartridges will affect them.”
“Nice.”
“There’s one more thing. Because it is your first time visiting me or any merchant, I have a small gift to encourage you to come again—once you have more followers to sacrifice. Don’t say I never did anything for you.” Wayne’s glowing button eyes twisted, and the text appeared before Hiro.
{Kore Nani Neko}
Rank: A
Type: Attack/Area of Effect
Upgrade: N/A
Description: The Catlady of Vila Nova De Gaia knew that her children were poisoning her through daily servings of toxic pastéis de nata. During a torrential downpour, Father of the Iron Bridge came to her aid, advising her to feed the famous Portuguese pastries to her fifteen cats instead, with the promise that they would be reborn as her minions.
In retaliation for killing their childhood pets, the Catlady of Vila Nova De Gaia’s children pushed her off the balcony of her seventh-story flat. Returning from the dead to torment her children, the Catlady brought her beloved felines with her, who scratched her ungrateful children in the night, preventing them from ever sleeping again.
Kori Nani Neko Summons a horde of phantom demon cats to overwhelm your opponent, causing bleed damage. It can be used once per fight.
Kore Nani Neko? Hiro was familiar with the Japanese song, which was later used on social media with cute cat videos. Once again, this gave him the feeling that the Doom System was messing with him by constantly warping his Japanese heritage. What about my American heritage? I have that too… he thought.
“It’s a good ability, trust me.” Wayne the merchant smiled up at him. “The demon cats are the land equivalent of piranhas. A horde of them will be a bloodbath. A fun one. You’re lucky. But I could sit here and tell you that forever. Are you ready to sacrifice your followers?”
17
KUNG FU PANDA
The pleading screams from the sacrificed followers were so loud that Hiro had to cover his ears.
Please, no!
Stop!
Noooo!
STOP!
Not my leg, no!
ARRRRGGHHH!
Stop! Yeeeeeeooooow!
The screams were those of men, women, and children, all of them growing louder as Hiro was forced to listen to his number of followers dwindle.
The onslaught ended with sobbing and a final throaty lament: How… could… you?
Hiro felt gutted. “Fucking hell,” he whispered as tendrils of red energy poured into the merchant.
Wayne the merchant’s shining button eyes spun again. “Fucking hell is right. But with the sacrifice of followers comes benefits to the tune of killing your darlings, all of them. Heh! Once you have more, visit my brothers and sisters across the city and see what the death of those that believe in you most can bring a soon-to-be notorious Survivor. For now, here are your things. And you already have access to {Kore Nani Neko}.”
The vape pen cartridges hovered in the air, Hiro able to take each one individually. He loaded the Poison cartridge into his vape pen, figuring he’d save the other three for the right moment.
“I’ll see you later,” he told Wayne.
“Maybe, maybe not. But you know where to find me, Survivor. I wish you luck until then.”
Hiro moved back to the rooftops. He turned in the direction of Bryant Park, toward the {Beacon} he had set for the Twin Bunnies.
As much as I want to go kill both of them using my new Bleed cartridge, it’ll be easier with another Survivor. As he sat there, perched above the city like a gargoyle, Hiro thought of his other current nemesis, the Lady in the Yellow Raincoat. If I go toward Juan, I could hunt her down as well…
In the end, Hiro decided it would be best to touch base with Valeria first.
With this in mind, he navigated a maze of rooftops in the direction of downtown. There was evidence that other Survivors were out, and he came across several fights playing out in the streets. Yet he didn’t join them.
Better to make it home first.
After crouching on a water tank, at least fifty stories above Midtown, Hiro briefly thumbed through the current world stats to see how things were shaking out.
“Not great…”
The world had lost over seven million Survivors since he’d last checked. At least forty thousand of them had been in the city, where thirty-nine Hunters had been killed alongside over two hundred and fifty monsters.
Good to see people are fighting back, but to think so many have died since I last checked.
Hiro couldn’t shake the bitter taste in his mouth.
Rather than head down the dark path that was trying to process all that had happened, he moved to a rooftop terrace and paused there for a moment.
It provided him with a view of a small dog park in the West Village, a place he had once made a food delivery of a single piece of cake to a woman out with her fluffy white bichon.
We used to be so disconnected. Now, we are desperate. A smirk formed on his face. And still disconnected.
He was just about to continue toward his shelter when a portly-muscled man with the head of a panda bear stepped out into the park. The man wore flowing red robes, and he was easily three feet taller than Hiro.
The skull indicating he was a Hunter appeared and faded away as a health bar took shape.
A yellow and red bandana was tied around his head, sitting just over his brow. On his human feet were a pair of geta sandals made of black wood. In his grip, the panda-man held a staff with a curled end, perfect for delivering a striking blow.
Miraculously, the Hunter had yet to spot Hiro.
The panda-man took a brief walk around the dog park and sat on the ground before a bench, legs crossed beneath him, staff rested across his lap like he was about to meditate.
Hiro’s mind raced as he took in the scene. Yes, the panda-man looks friendly; yes, the panda-man looks like he would be someone I could potentially team up with; yes, I could always use an animal companion, even a hybrid one. But this isn’t a movie. That’s a Hunter, Hiro reminded himself. Someone who wants to kill me.
As the panda-man got comfortable, Hiro quickly planned out a route of attack.
It would begin with a surprise {Bounce} and transition into {Blade Whirlwind}. From that point, he would either hit the panda-man with a mist of poison, spear him with his Buster Kunai, or simply engage him, hoping to return fire with {Refund} once the panda-man tried for Hiro with his staff.
Wild stuff gets more followers. More followers means more items and more powers in the future. I should try {Kore Nani Neko} in this fight too.
Hiro steeled himself, quietly drew his katana, and went for it.
He flew down to the small dog park, mere seconds away from landing his strike when the panda-man rolled to the side and came up with his staff.
Whack!
His parry sent Hiro hurtling backward, where he hit the ground, bounced by accident, and smashed into the second-floor window of a small residential building.
Ignoring a flash of pain, Hiro cast his hand out at the panda-man to use his new skill.
~Kore nani, kore nani, kore nani, kore nani, kore nani, kore nani, NEKO!~
The sound of Japanese children singing was followed by the ferocious howl of numerous phantom demon cats, who all rushed toward the panda-man.
The Hunter struck the first with the end of his staff and managed to punch another, yet he was soon overwhelmed as the cats clung to him, yowling and ripping into his muscled physique with their claws and their teeth.
Hiro got to his feet, found his sword, and took off toward the panda-man just as his opponent swung his staff and was able to beat some of the cats back. Hiro hit the Hunter with {Blade Whirlwind} and followed this up with a quick strike that seemed to be mostly absorbed by a last-second pivot in the panda-man’s stance.
His cats continued to engage the Hunter, a few climbing a tree to divebomb him from up high. Another phantom cat jumped for Hiro, landed on his shoulder, and used that to springboard toward the panda-man.
After another blast from {Blade Whirlwind}, he caught a glimpse of the panda-man’s health bar, now half-full.
Getting there! he thought as he drew his Buster Kunai and tossed it at his opponent, the throwing knife morphing to full-size in the blink of an eye. It pierced directly through the panda man’s chest.
“Yes!” Hiro hissed, this word followed by another as he realized there was more to come. “No…”
Rather than keel over and die, the panda-man threw his arms back and forced himself off the huge blade Hiro had speared him with. He hit the ground seething, where he managed to kick away incoming cats with a barrage of quick feet.
The panda-man grew, his bloody robes shredding as muscles bulged, straining against his expanding form. He and bones pressed out of his flesh, where they quickly hardened into jagged armor.
The panda-man’s face was now a bear’s skull, his flesh peeled back into strips, drool and blood dripping from his open mouth.
His second form, Hiro thought, sizing him up.
“Grrrrrhhhhh…” The panda-man had a quarter of his health bar left, yet as Hiro caught a glimpse of it, he noticed the flash of gold that indicated that the opponent was now too strong for him.
Hiro could run.
There was no Zone of Influence here.
But I almost have him. I should go for it!
An idea came to him as the panda-man pulled his own arm out of its socket to use as a blunt object.
The seething beast swung with all its might at Hiro, who moved to block it. He managed to fully absorb the strike and send it right back at the Hunter through {Refund}, which hit the grotesque panda-man so hard it shattered bits of its ribcage.
Hiro ducked under another attempt, grabbed his Buster Kunai, and used {Bounce} to move to the air.
He sent his Buster Kunai hurtling toward the ground, where it morphed in size and drove directly into some of the exposed muscle on the panda-man’s shoulder. This pinned his opponent to the ground, the phantom demon cats doing the rest as they piled on top of the panda-man.
[A Hunter has fallen.]
You have new followers!
Soul Essence poured into Hiro as the Hunter faded away and the demon cats disappeared.
“What? No loot? Bullshit,” he whispered.
Hiro waited for his Companion to say something. When it didn’t, he turned back to the dog park.
“That’s weird,” he said as he noticed a pair of trash cans. The first trash can was stuffed with garbage and toppled to its side. The second was in its normal position, completely clean, its black bag practically crisp like a sanitation worker had just visited.
He took a step closer to the suspicious trash can.
“Whoa!” Hiro jumped back as the top of the trash can flew open, revealing a set of huge teeth and a long tongue that lashed at him. A health bar appeared over the creature as Hiro readied his blade. “A trash can mimic!? Fuck this place!”
18
WEST VILLAGE TRASH CAN MIMIC
Hiro’s first strike clanked off the outer surface of the trash can. He followed this up with a second attempt, hoping to cut the mimic’s tongue away.
The trash can mimic was too fast, the beast able to whip its tongue back and let out an unsettling shriek. “Yeaaahrrh!”
It lunged for him, metal cracking against the stone pavement as the monster snapped its jaw.
“Shit, shit, shit.” Hiro went for {Blade Whirlwind}, which did nothing to the mimic’s health bar. Its outer surfaces are like armor. I need a bomb or something to—
