Darling of Fate: A LitRPG Apocalypse Adventure, page 23
The semi-circle closed slowly, none of them wanting to be the first to step up—they were cowards, remember? As they mustered up that watered-down courage, I scanned a handful of them with my [Analysis] ability.
None of them were higher than level 5.
They pressed me back, getting the bright idea to hold their weapons across their bodies, forming a sort of barricade as they pushed forward. I let them, taking a step towards the cliff edge. Then another. My back heel was over empty air. I was teetering on the edge now. Smiles filled their sick faces as those nearest me gave one last shove, pushing me over the cliff edge.
As I fell, my Mantle flared out as wide as possible, spreading to touch the front five men. I activated my [Sticky Fingers], latching the cape firmly onto to each of them. As I fell, I also activated it on my hand, grabbing the edge of the cliff to halt my fall, yanking the five of them over the side with me. Shocked shouts echoed out as they were dragged over the side. They scrabbled and clawed at my Mantle, but I quickly deactivated the ability. I tried to activate the reverse ability, [Lubed Up], on the cape, but I met resistance, like trying to stretch a rubber band past its breaking point. A headache began to form instantly, so I let the idea go and simply clutched the side of the cliff as the men slowly began to slide down, their grips struggling to hold to the magical cloth. When the last man fell with a blood-curdling scream, I whipped my Mantle up again, latching onto as many of the nearby men as it could. I felt it connect with two more, and I yanked them over the edge to follow their buddies.
The rest backed up in a panic, taking swings at my cape as it lashed out to snare more of them. After a moment, it was clear that they were out of range, so I pulled myself back up over the edge, a twisted grin on my face.
“Come on, pussies.” I beckoned them over with one hand, my katana still clutched in my other.
They were wide eyed, nervously glancing between each other. It was obvious they were thinking about bolting, despite there being a ten to one advantage. Rather than give them the chance, I attacked.
A thought had occurred to me earlier, that I was underutilizing my [Sticky Fingers] ability. With my bare toes clutching the rocky ground, I maxed out the ability, giving me a perfect grip with my feet. At the same time, I reached forward with my Mantle and did the same, gripping the stone in front of me. With my enhanced Mind stats, it was trivial to coordinate the efforts of my own body and the Mantle. As I kicked off with my feet, I pulled forward with my cape, launching me forward like I had an Agility of 50. I crossed the distance to the first man in the blink of an eye, my katana slicing through his clavicle before he could pull his metal pipe into position. My Mantle flared to the right, blocking the vision of all the people on that side as I ripped the katana free and attacked the left side. The crowd broke into a panic, their safety-in-numbers mindset dashed to the ground along with those I’d literally thrown below.
Their cohesion shattered in the space of three breaths, my katana battering aside halfhearted blocks and cutting through flesh like a scalpel. With coordinated pulls of my Mantle and careful application of my ability, I moved among them like a specter—at least as fast as Kneer when we had fought. Three more people fell before the entire group was routed, fleeing deeper into this new region where there seemed to be a series of cave entrances. I chased after them, stabbing another handful in the back before the rest fled into the dark tunnels.
Rather than chase them into the dark, I turned to eye the other bastards who had continued to rain down rocks along the cliff edge. There were dozens of them to the right and left, eyeing me with shock and fear in their eyes, already backing away from the cliff and the rocks they had rolled up to the edge. Some of them held up their hands in surrender, while others turned and bolted for the caves.
There was no way I’d be able to get all of them—though God knew they deserved it. But I made a good effort of it. Picking a side at random, I raced after those still lingering, sending them fleeing as they screamed for mercy. I slew another handful, but the rest escaped.
One thing was clear in my mind as I watched the last man fly over the cliff edge, the others gone into the cave system: none of these people were even remotely prepared for this System Apocalypse or the Tower. Among the dozens that had been actively murdering the people below, not a one had shown even a hint of training or preparedness. No one had landed a single blow on me or even used a single class ability! Maybe most people were given common classes with very little utility? I truly hoped that these were simply the lowest humanity had to offer. Otherwise, the Jree and Co’xatl would tear us apart—if the Tower mobs didn’t first.
A series of notifications had backed up as I’d slain the bastards, and I glanced at them now.
Your skill with [Pistols] has reached level 2.
Your skill with [Pistols] has reached level 3.
Your skill with [Two-Handed Long Blades] has reached level 2.
Your skill with [Two-Handed Long Blades] has reached level 3.
Your skill with [Two-Handed Long Blades] has reached level 4.
You have killed Abdul Shamir - 1 kill
+ 1 Chaos Points
You have killed Penelope Cray - 3 kills
+5 Chaos Points
You have killed Darren Porter - 9 kills
+ 11 Chaos Points
You have killed Allen James - 2 kills
+3 Chaos Points
And so on. Each notification showed me that not a man or woman amongst those I’d slain was innocent—they all had kills to their name. But the last notification filled me with a bit of worry.
You have surpassed 50 Chaos Points — Wardens will now actively attack you on sight.
Shit! I had forgotten to ask Lex about that. What were Chaos Points? And what the hell was a Warden…?
I had an ominous feeling that I would find out sooner rather than later—was that my Affinity with Fate talking, or just a general bad feeling?
I put those thoughts from my head as I rushed over to the edge of the cliff. Looking over the side, I noticed hundreds of people still desperately rushing up the ropes, their expressions panicked once they saw me at the top.
Cupping my hands to my mouth, I shouted down as loud as I could. “IT’S SAFE! I SCATTERED THEM!” Confused and skeptical faces stared back at me, but that was okay. I wouldn’t have trusted my ass either.
Off to my left, a panicked shout reached my ears.
“HELP! I’M SLIPPING!”
My head whipped around, looking for who had shouted. A young girl was dangling midway up one of the ropes far to the left. She was stuck frozen on the rope, while those beneath her continued to climb up and over her. She screamed in panic as a man put his boot on her thigh to hoist himself past her. Her grip slipped and she slid down the rope a few feet, narrowly holding on as the man ascended.
“HEY!” I shouted at him.
He ignored me, so I ran over to the top of her rope, looking down at them. A dozen people were in between me and the man, each focused on their own survival, and not daring to put themselves out there for anyone else.
Was there no altruism in the Apocalypse? Stupid Dirk, of course not. Every man and woman for themselves.
Using my Mantle and my ability, I jumped over the side of the cliff, sliding down by altering the friction slightly, almost like a belaying effect. When I had slid down directly next to the man that had almost sent the girl to her death, I stopped. His eyes went wide as I seemed to stick to the cliff by nothing but my cape. He was frozen there, like a fox with his leg in the trap, waiting for death.
“What the fuck was that?” I barked, causing him to flinch.
“I’m sorry!” he said pathetically. “My hands are cramping! She’s been holding up the line for twenty minutes! If I didn’t go now, I wasn’t gonna make it!”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. A part of me had wanted to send him flying to his death. But his pitiful reaction ate away at my soft heart.
Soft, soft, soft…
“Grab my hand,” I said, reaching out to the man.
He eyed it warily, and my face hardened.
“Grab it now, or I’ll send you down the hard way!”
His hand reached out reluctantly, his other hand latched onto the rope with a death grip. I pulled him toward me, but he wouldn’t release the rope.
“If I count to 3 and you’re still holding that rope, I’m going to cut off your right hand. 1… 2…”
He let go of the rope with a panicked cry, his body swinging beneath me, stopped from a long fall only by my application of [Sticky Fingers] between our hands. He dangled beneath me, his other hand scrabbling against my leg. Suddenly, I loosened the friction between my Mantle and the wall, letting us slide down the cliff face at a dizzying speed.
He let loose a scream that would make a goat jealous, his entire life probably flashing before his eyes. When we neared the bottom of the cliff, I tightened up the friction, slowing us to a nice, gentle descent. When I let him go, his legs buckled with fear, and his eyes shut tight against what he presumed was his impending death.
When he didn’t die but rather lay against the stone ground, he slowly opened his eyes, his pupils racing about wildly.
“Huh…”
“Next time, be better,” I said, my tone full of iron.
“You—you’re not gonna kill me?” he stuttered.
I let myself fall the last few feet to the ground, my bare feet landing right next to his head. He flinched away, scrabbling back on all fours. His panic intensified like he had jinxed himself and I was now going to kill him.
I wrapped my Mantle around his ankle and pulled him back in so that I was standing over him.
“Not today,” I said quietly. “Not unless you fuck up again.” I leaned closer so that our faces were almost touching. “Are you gonna fuck up again?”
“N—no, sir!” His voice quivered and I felt that the lesson had been successfully imparted.
“That’s good to hear.” I scanned him with [Analysis], just to be sure he didn’t have any kills, then nodded happily. “Very good. Now, back of the line. I’d give your grips a few minutes before you start back up.”
Projectiles from the monkeys rained down around us, but their aim was shit at this distance. Still, I held my Mantle up to shield me—just me.
“Yo-you’re gonna just leave me—?” He cut off as my head whipped around, my eyes full of fire. He gulped, his head shaking side to side. “Ah, th-thank you, sir.”
He cried out as a stone-fruit struck his thigh but then settled when he realized that there was no damage done.
I eyed him a moment longer, then took off back up the cliff without another word. When I was next to the girl that had called for help, I could tell she was just barely holding on, the last of her strength about to fail her. Reaching out gently, I wrapped her in my Mantle. Her eyes went wide, but she was smart enough not to fight or panic. She had seen me deal with the man that had nearly knocked her to her death.
“I’ve got you,” I said softly. “You can trust me.”
Through the Mantle, I felt a heavy sigh leave her. She closed her eyes, then let go with both hands, as if accepting fate either way. Her weight barely registered as I held her tight with my Mantle. Dragging her behind me like a spider pulling a webbed-up insect, I scaled the cliff wall quickly. A half dozen other voices called for help when they saw me carrying the girl, and I called back that I’d get them too.
I glanced at my map as I hauled the girl up. My party was nowhere to be seen.
What the hell?
Chapter 30
No Off-Leash Dogs Allowed!
The girl thanked me profusely as I deposited her on the top of the cliff. But my mind was elsewhere as I scanned the map in a panic. Dragging it to the center of my vision, I expanded it so I could see all three regions at once. Most of the regions were unexplored, a fog-of-war effect hiding the specifics of the regions like in a video game. The sections that I visited were in greater detail with a basic topography present that displayed the cliffs demarcating the two adjacent regions, as well as the basic shape of the jungle.
But no matter how I adjusted the map, the six green dots from before were nowhere to be seen. Moving the map back to the corner of my vision, I could only hope they had just traveled so deep into the cave system that the map didn’t register them. For now, there was nothing I could do—people needed my help here.
The cliff was a few hundred meters wide, and I couldn’t possibly distinguish all the cries for help from my position. Turning to the girl I had saved, who was now slumped to the ground, her exhaustion overwhelming her, I asked, “What’s your name?”
She looked up sluggishly as if her mind and body were having trouble coordinating.
“Ally,” she said after a moment.
I nodded. “Okay, Ally, your rest is over. I need your help.” A look of despair crossed her weary face, but I continued. “There are hundreds still struggling on those ropes just like you. Will you help me save them?”
Her eyes went wide, and she immediately got her knees under her, then levered herself up to stand. She nodded and said, “Just tell me what to do.”
“Good woman,” I said with a nod. “I need you to identify anyone that seems like they’re about to fall. Rank them in order if you can. I’m gonna go this way,” I said, pointing to the right side. “You go the opposite way and call down to the climbers. Tell them help is coming, but if they can’t wait, they need to speak up. Clear?”
“Got it!” She started in the direction I had indicated, but I stopped her.
“Oh, Ally?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you shoot a gun?”
Her eyebrows rose in surprise, then her face hardened. “Yeah, I can shoot.”
I pulled the pistol I had just stolen from my Inventory. “If I’ve learned anything today, it’s not to trust those that reach the top. Anyone looks at you sideways, show them this.”
I handed over the gun. With the kind of day I’d had, I half expected her to turn it on me and destroy my trust in humanity once and for all. Instead, she deposited it in her Inventory, and I relaxed a hair.
“If you can, recruit anyone that’s willing to act as spotters. This is a large stretch of area to cover, and we can use all the help we can get.”
“Okay, will do!”
I watched her jog off, her scant energy rekindled in service of helping others.
Moving in the opposite direction, I scanned the weary faces below as they struggled up the ropes. When I was positioned about equidistant from Ally and the far side of the cliff, I shouted down over the edge, “If you’re about to fall, raise your hand!”
Shouts of anger and panic cried out from below.
“Okay, that was a poor joke! Just scream louder depending on your level of desperation!”
I scanned the climbers, noting a handful that was screaming at the top of their lungs for help. There wasn’t a great mechanism I could design to prioritize who needed help, so I just went after the closest person currently screaming like a banshee.
I know, I know. These people didn't really matter. This would all be reverted in the next redo. I should have been working on my skills, exploring the regions, and all that. Their deaths weren't permanent, so why not save them on the stat-less run?
But as much as I wanted to walk away, I couldn't. Only a monster would treat people like pawns on a chessboard. And though I'd done some monstrous things, I still had my humanity. But if I started letting people die that I could have saved...well, redos or not, down that path was the death of that humanity.
Of course, I knew that I couldn’t save everyone. And, of course, I knew that I’d have to do this all again. But I was here, now. And they were screaming for help now. And no matter what I did in the next redo, I couldn’t walk away while others cried out to be saved.
So I spent the next two hours climbing up and down the cliff face, carrying people that wouldn’t make it, giving others a much-needed rest until they could finish on their own, and generally just helping whomever I could.
When the cliff face was finally clear of people, there were over a hundred that had stayed behind to help my efforts. They hadn’t been able to do much, but one person actually had spare rope in their Inventory, so they had tied that off and hauled people up one at a time, so I could focus on others. By the end of it, there was a beautiful camaraderie amongst those that had stayed behind.
Not to say everyone had stayed to help. Some had reached the top and immediately booked it for the caves, intent on making up the ground they had lost. I didn’t mind. As long as no one sabotaged anyone else, I had no problem with someone looking out for their best interest.
By the time I was ready to enter the caves, I was sweaty, disgusting, and exhausted. But I still had plenty of time to explore before I had to reset the day, so I could take my time. Many of those I had saved wanted to stick with me, but I squashed that idea immediately. I’d already done my good deed for the day—adding additional responsibility for any of their lives on top of everything else was too much. But I suggested they stay together, safety-in-numbers and all that.
When that was settled, I walked over to the nearest cave entrances. They all looked the same, but with my jacked-up Mind stats, I noticed faint glowing text around a handful of the entrances near the middle.
As I examined the text, I realized it was messages left by the [Magic Chalk].
Ally…I’m sorry. (+1)
Stay the fuck outta this cave! (+5)
Jalen, we took this cave. Come through if you see (-1)
Dirk, if you’re here, we took this cave - Nikki. (+0)
My eyes went wide as I read that last message. Nikki!?
Without a second thought, I waved bye to the dozens of lingering people and crossed the threshold into the dark cave marked by Nikki’s chalk. The light from the tunnel mouth illuminated the space for a minute, but I eventually found myself in near total darkness. There was nothing in my Inventory I could use to light the tunnel and I cursed myself for not grabbing more flares or a flashlight. Instead, I ran my fingers along the cave wall, taking careful, probing steps as I went deeper.
