True John Crusade, page 7
I moved quickly, bringing my weapon down over and over again on the Balverine’s head, wild with bloodlust. I might have laughed a few times in a manic haze. I’m not quite sure. The frost didn’t engage this time, but it was all right. I could use brute strength to finish it up. After all, what else were all those strength upgrades for?
Finally, the creature lay still, its head a bloody, pulpy mess. It was gruesome but oddly satisfying. I felt meaty little arms wrap around my leg, and I smiled.
Notification: Experience Gained - +9 experience, next level in 48 experience. +12 Sol.
Current experience: 51/100.
Sol: 9026.
Bloody Pulp has been acquired.
Use, UNK
“Hey, Napoleon,” I said, an idea forming. It had everything to do with the new item I’d acquired. “I think I’ve found a snack for you for later.”
The mimic burped, and I looked over at the patch of asphalt where his Balverine had been. A large, oversized tongue came out of the mimic and licked up the last little bits. I cringed but tried not to focus too much on it. Within seconds, Napoleon was back to normal.
Together, we turned to face the last and largest Balverine. Its health bar was larger than the others, and its fur was a mottled gray and white where the smaller ones had been black. It reared back on its ugly-looking legs and roared. I wrapped my hands tight around the handle of my bat.
Then, unexpectedly, the Alpha sniffed the air, turned tail and ran away, whimpering. I watched in surprise as it lurched awkwardly around the corner of Kiku Sushi and out of sight with a quickness that surprised me.
“That was weird,” I said, mostly to myself. “I was sure he was going to try to kill us. He looked pretty big too. He might have been able to.”
Napoleon waddled over and grumbled. I got the distinct sense that he was still hungry.
If I knew anything about this brave new world at all, it was that the large Balverine’s sudden disappearance just meant we’d have to face it later. But there was nothing I could do about that now. I also need to think about why that Alpha took off. Always a bigger fish, right?
“Don’t worry, buddy,” I said to Napoleon, setting him back on my shoulder. “We’ll get you something else to eat. Soon.”
Chapter Twelve: A Boy and His Dog
* * *
I kept an eye out for that last Balverine as we kept traveling, just in case it was laying in wait somewhere, but I didn’t see it. Disappointing but expected. It would probably come back when we were the least prepared to fight it.
“You like shopping, Napoleon?” I asked the mimic as we walked. “We’re going to the mall!”
Napoleon just ignored me. But I did think there was kind of a twinkle in its walk, like it was excited to eat something else. I’d never met another mimic, but I guessed this was just what mimics were like.
Springfield Mall was at the end of one of the ugliest roads on Earth. We passed a whole row of decrepit one-story buildings. All of them looked the same, and to be honest, they all kind of blended together after a while. I almost wished for a fight just to break the monotony of travel and search. Just a little though. Nearly dying, or in my case, actually dying, regularly is said to be bad for one’s health. It was an almost endless row of trashy mobile homes and double wide constructions.
But then I remembered how many times I’d died screaming in agony, quickly deciding that I didn’t want a fight after all.
Weirdly, and contrary to the norm, nothing tried to kill us. We didn’t see any monsters at all. I wondered what was going on with that. Were they all gathering in one convenient location, waiting to jump us all at once? Or had somebody else come through already and taken them all out for us? Somebody is out here just grinding levels, I’m sure. I grimaced. If that was the case, I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet whoever, or whatever, it was.
The two of us walked in silence down the road. I didn’t want to attract attention, and Napoleon thankfully seemed to follow me in that regard. Finally, I saw the big rooftop sign that marked the mall in the distance. It was classic Seventies style with faded red letters in oversized block font on a dingy white background. For whatever reason, I assumed money had something to do with it since they’d never changed it. Now it just made the mall look dated and sad, like it was stuck in a perma-time warp.
Parked cars packed the huge parking lot to the brim. Some sat in impossible angles, as if their drivers had been forewarned of the apocalypse and felt the urge to go on a last-minute shopping spree. The end of the world didn't matter if you could get great deals on the leftover pickings at Circuit Shack. As if any of that matters now. I’ll just never understand what motivates some people. And really, why Circuit Shack of all places? Totally overrated.
Only one thing worried me, and I begged and prayed silently to whoever might be listening. I really, really hoped all those people weren’t still in the mall, locked inside as the meatier undead that like to munch on flesh. Please, no zombies. Not now. Not today.
I clung to that thought for a moment and let it linger before shaking my head. Who was I kidding? I knew they would be because that’s just how things worked around here now. There were probably thousands of undead inside, awaiting my arrival so they could get first munch on my meaty bits. So, I better avoid it.
Rowe’s took up an entire side of the mall, and it had its own parking section. From the looks of it, Rowe’s had been incredibly popular as a final destination of the doomed. The mini parking lot was full of pickup trucks loaded up with warped building materials.
The building supply store had a rooftop sign all its own in the same sad Seventies style as the rest of the mall. Something about it didn’t look quite right to me. It wasn’t even in the normal Rowe’s font. I didn’t dwell on it.
“You ready?” I asked, turning to my mimic. “We’re going in. Might be pretty ugly in there. Try to avoid eating anything right away, I might need you.”
Napoleon sulked and shifted on my shoulder and growled in the direction of the Mall. I knew he’d be ready. He was a bold little guy, always down for a fight then a nice big feast afterwards.
We weaved our way through the cars in the lot, half-expecting something to come crawling out of one of them. Surprisingly, nothing jumped out at us yet. Whatever was waiting for us at the mall, it was all inside.
There was a mountain of shopping carts in front of the door that acted as a sort of barricade. I groaned when I saw them, but I didn’t have much choice. I knew what to do.
I cleared the carts out, one by one. Contrary to my expectations, I actually enjoyed that part a lot. Every time I freed a new cart, I pushed it into the parking lot with all the strength I could muster. Watching them roll around wildly and crash into cars all over the place was therapeutic. Quality fun. At least, it was for me and Napoleon.
“Lirai, anything we should know about this place?” I asked, figuring the AI might finally clue me before I got in trouble.
Notification – Query – Information About Location
Details: Rowe’s Building Supplies is a source of raw materials that can be used in building projects back at the player’s base. Come here for Wood, Stone, and Concrete. It is a popular location and tends to draw enemies and rival factions.
I frowned. The prompt had clued me in on some things I hadn’t really been aware of. Now that it had, I need to know more. “Enemies? Other factions?”
Lirai didn’t clarify. Dang thing never answers when I’m curious. My mimic pal and I could find out the answer for ourselves.
Even after I’d moved the rest of the carts, there were still a few broken boards blocking the front door, and I ripped them off one by one. It was great having augmented strength after spending so long... well, not quite so strong. I smiled. It was a good feeling. I might have decided then and there to put more points into strength. Napoleon made a triumphant noise as I pulled the last board off, and I grinned.
“Thanks for cheering me on, buddy,” I said. “It means a lot.”
We pushed our way through and carefully stepped over some broken glass. It wasn’t my fault. Inside, the store was a mess. The shelves had all been ransacked. There were building supplies and tools all over the floor as well as torn open cardboard boxes. I wondered if there were other people that had been here since the apocalypse. You know, people trying to build walls around their kingdoms too. Given the information Lirai had provided, I was pretty confident that was the case.
Napoleon jumped to the ground and started to half run, half waddle away. I looked in the direction he was going. A trio of giant spiders was rushing toward us, clacking their mandibles with venom dripping to the ground. Obviously, I stood my ground and didn’t panic.
Excellent. You see, I ended up liking it when I got to fight spiders. They were easier to kill, deserved to die, and the crunch of their exoskeletons was very satisfying. Napoleon seemed excited too. A win-win for everyone.
The first spider reached me, and I bashed it in the abdomen with my bat, eliciting a sick crack from its fractured carapace. The monster shrieked and fell over, drawing its legs in on itself. I wasn’t sure if it was dying or doing that for protection, so I beat it over and over again until it stopped moving, green goo pouring out of its body. I took a moment to do a victory roar before I felt a searing pain in my ankle.
Another one of the spiders had closed its jaws around my calf and was trying to drag me away toward its web. I freaked out. I had lied to myself previously. I was not even slightly okay with spiders. Nope, no, not at all. I know I screamed, my voice almost instantly going hoarse, but it was drowned out by the immense panic in my head. My mind was going nope, nope. nope.
This! Is not! Happening!
There was no way I was going to let this thing turn me into a desiccated corpse. Even if I did reincarnate, I wasn’t going out that way. Not again. I’d already learned that lesson the hard way.
I smashed the spider in the face with the butt of my metal bat, forcing it to release my leg. It didn’t go away without causing a whole lot of pain. Immediately, it tried to back away out of range. It was too slow though. I chased after it, and with a scream of rage, I unleashed myself on the monster. I beat it over the head until it dropped to the ground. Like I said, very satisfying. I hated spiders.
Notification: Experience Gained - +30experience, next level in 18 experience. +21 Sol.
Current experience: 82/100.
Sol: 9047.
Broken Watch
Napoleon waddled up next to me and burped. I looked down. He’d already eaten the other two spiders, and he was looking hungrily at the one I’d just killed. He wasn’t distended like he’d been with the Balverines either, so I didn’t feel like I needed to hold him back.
“Go ahead, pal,” I said, pointing at the crushed and still oozing spider. “Have your snack. You earned it.”
He opened his mouth wide, so wide it was unsettling, and swallowed the third spider down. Its spindly legs were the last thing to vanish down his throat.
I looked for a second to make sure the mimic was okay to keep moving. It raised its arm, and I was almost positive Napoleon tried to give me the thumbs up. “Okay! Time for what we came for.”
He waddled along behind me as we approached the counter. No one was there. Not even a zombie, I wasn’t quite sure what to do though.
“Lirai,” I practically shouted, “How do I work this thing?”
Notification – Query – “How do I work this thing?”
Details: To acquire building materials, player must touch the cash register. This will trigger the process “Seizing Resources”. The process may take some time. Player may need to defend the cash register from enemies while the seizing process is underway.
“How much time?” I asked, not really liking the AI omitting any specifics.
Notification – Query – “How much time?”
Details: Anywhere from fifteen minutes to four hours. The process wildly varies.
The lack of an answer killed me a little bit. “Four hours? Seriously?”
Lirai didn’t respond. It seemed she didn’t like it when I was rude to her.
Without any other cues, there was nothing else to do but touch the cash register. As soon as I put a hand on it, it started glowing a violently bright white. It was so bright, I worried for a second that it had scorched the retinas off my eyes.
“Augh,” I groaned. “Napoleon, why did I look directly at it?”
Notification – Process – Now Seizing Resources
Details: Resource extraction has begun. Player should prepare to defend his materials from attacking enemies. They will destroy anything they can.
Immediately, things started to move. I looked toward the front of the store. Pieces of lumber had started to pile up just inside the door. They appeared out of nowhere, floating in the air, as if they were being assembled by a replicator, magic, or something I couldn’t explain. It’s kind of like when the other side of the pillow is always colder. Then, they dropped into a neat stack on top of the others.
“Great,” I said, groaning internally. “Get in, get out, get on with your life.”
Napoleon touched my leg with a grimy little meat paw.
“Alright Napoleon. What’s up, buddy?” I asked, figuring the mimic was trying to push my attention towards some terrible something-or-other headed our way, or maybe just a snack he wanted to swallow whole like the rest of the monsters.
I looked in the direction he was pointing. Thirty spider monsters were pouring down the aisles, and they were practically salivating at the chance for some fresh meat. They were all coming directly at us.
The mimic growled, and I wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or not. “Don’t worry Napoleon, it’s just more snacks for you!”
And more trouble for me. But that was life. I grabbed my Steel Core bat and got to work. The spiders weren’t hard to kill in my new strength-augmented form. There were just a lot of them, and there was power in numbers. Quantity has a quality of its own.
But, as they say, sometimes you have to divide and conquer. Having a companion made that a lot easier, being the two of us instead of me out and about on my lonesome. Napoleon and I spread out, trying to draw a crowd of spiders to each of us. Three of the monsters surrounded me, and I beat the crap out of them with my bat. I’m not gonna lie, it felt great. Spider monsters were rapidly becoming my favorite kind of monster.
I watched as Napoleon swallowed a spider whole, then turned around and scarfed down the one behind him too. He was growing, and with it, his ability to destroy. I was thoroughly impressed. Good thing the spiders were smaller though, because I didn’t think he’d be quite so useful if they’d been the size of the Balverines.
“Nice work, buddy! You’re doing a great job,” I called out between blows of my bat.
He raised a meat-arm at me in acknowledgement and engulfed another spider.
Notification: Emblem Unlocked – Some Dog
Details: For synergy in battle, you have gained the “Some Dog” Emblem. Possessors of this Emblem may summon their bonded pet to their location at any time.
Chapter Thirteen: Hamburger King
* * *
It was quickly becoming super obvious to me that Napoleon and I made a great team. Not just good, great, and the new ability we’d unlocked would come in handy if, somehow, we ever got separated. Which, if I had anything to say about it, would basically never happen.
Who could have known how things would turn out after I first found that package in my living room? He’d scared, hurt, and killed me a little at first. Like all other things, It went hand and hand, but now? I couldn’t deny that he was a grade-A fighter and a loyal companion.
The two of us were practically unstoppable. We cut through spiders like they were butter. Green, oozing butter. I beat another one of the monsters to death and tried my best to avoid the drops of sticky green goo that flew into the air every time I brought the bat down. I was the tip of the spear, and Napoleon was everything else. He was right behind me doing clean-up, eating dead and dying spiders alike. It felt good. I thought I was finally hitting my apocalypse stride.
Suddenly, I heard a distressed squeal from behind me. Napoleon was in the middle of swallowing a spider, but another one, a bigger one, had closed in on him. The mimic struggled to move while he was eating, and he couldn’t defend himself either. As I watched in horror, the new spider scuttled toward him and sank its mandibles into his meaty leg.
“Napoleon!” I screamed in rage, a rage that only bugs could bring out. “Get away from him, you filthy monster!” Even with my fear of spiders, I wasn’t going to let that stop me from saving the mimic. I wasn’t just mad, I was furious.
