NOVEL WEB Chapter 14: Time to Pack
"Everyone back in the house," Tom ordered, pulling Alex and Chloe back inside.
"Was that a dragon?!" Chloe asked excitedly.
"No, it's a wyvern," Tom answered.
"Is it friendly?" she asked.
"No, it would eat you," Skippy said.
Tom would have snapped back at skippy, but his mind was in a daze as he tried to remember the average stats for a Wyvern. It was easy with [Library of Akashic Records]. Yeah, it was at least fifty times stronger than them, with stats in the average 500 range. They would get flattened in an instant right now.
Tom pulled out his phone on reflex and found he had reception.
"Phones still work," Tom announced.
He immediately called the police.
"Thank you for calling emergency services. We are currently experiencing a high volume of calls. Please stay on the line, and your call will be answered as soon as an operator becomes available. Your call is important to us. Please remain on the line and do not hang up. If this is a life-threatening emergency, please hang up and dial again. If you require immediate assistance, please contact your local authorities or seek help from nearby individuals. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your patience." The recorded voice spoke through his phone in an emotionless tone.
"The 911 line is busy," Tom said in disgust.
"Really?! A fucking Wyvern flies over, and you think everyone in a forty-block radius isn't calling 911?" Skippy asked sarcastically.
"We can't stay here," Alex said. That bear left a gaping hole in my house."
"That's what Hector's mom said after I visited her last night." Skippy chuckled.
Hector smacked skippy. His increased size sent skippy tumbling across the carpet.
"Gross," Tom stated.
"We should get out of here and get powerleveling," Alex stated.
"Is the dragon bad?" Chloe asked.
"Wyvern," Skippy corrected.
"Yes, the Wyvern is very bad," Tom said. And I don't think just running around aimlessly to grind levels is a good option. Where could we go?"
For a long moment, nobody said anything. Then, an answer came from an unexpected source. Though perhaps they should have expected it.
DING!!!
You have received a System Quest: Settlers of Noralon Ⅰ
Welcome to Noralon players. As you may have noticed, you are now a permanent feature of Noralon. Unfortunately, the transition has resulted in the birth of dungeons, monster lairs, and other dangers yet unseen.
While human society will function for quite some time, civilization will eventually break down and must be reforged in the fires of adventure.
Humanity will need to rebuild around the system, so we are giving a special promotion to our long-time players. Monster lairs have been placed in prominent locations all over the world. If you can clear these lairs, a settlement seed can be found inside. These seeds function as they did in the game and offer many benefits, including monster repellent, faction creation, class unlocks, and other bonus effects.
As a premium player, the three settlement seeds nearest to your location have been marked in your [Mapping]. However, there is no such thing as a free lunch. All settlement locations have been seeded with monsters to ensure only the worthy may claim them.
Objective: Arrive at a settlement location
Rewards: Bonus XP for twenty-four hours
Failure penalties: Any unclaimed settlement seeds will be converted into monster lairs.
Time Limit: 29 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 51 seconds.
Tom pulled up his [Mapping] skill to examine it. What he saw was an almost medieval version of Google Maps around Alex's house. He quickly examined the map, looking for points of interest, and found them. The first was a hospital a couple of miles away in the city, the museum deeper into the suburbs, and, strangely enough, his high school sitting between the suburbs and the city.
<[Mapping] has Reached Level 3>
"I've got three," Tom stated.
"The hospital, the school, and the museum? Which one should we take?" Alex asked.
"The zoo where the bear came from is closer to the museum. And I can't see a major hospital being left unclaimed for more than an hour. Even if monsters spawn inside, cops will be called to handle it." Alex pointed out,
"What if the hospital spawns ghosts or something?" Hector asked. "You can't shoot ghosts."
"Yeah, but we'd have to get past all those police officers. I'd rather have the settlement before we have to deal with other people," Tom shot back.
"Well, that sums things up, we are going to apocalypse high," Skippy quipped.
"Our world just became our favorite video game, and you want us to go to school?!" Alex asked, horrified. What about adventure? What about glory? We could make a beeline straight for the dungeon and clear it. I bet the rewards would be sweet."
"We have no food, no shelter, nothing. This won't be like the LAN party with pizza pockets and root beer," Tom stated. "We will be in the wilderness with no food, no water, no shelter, no internet, no electricity, and I don't know if you noticed, but the pain setting was set to 100 and then removed, so this is going to fucking hurt until we raise our EGO stats. Also, we don't get a guild bonus unless we have a guild." Tom pointed out.
"I'm with Tom," Hector stated. "School is the best option. It's got plenty of facilities for crafting and cooking, plenty of space, and even some basic defenses. They're not great defenses, but metal doors and brick walls will work for now. Besides, it's a designated safe area, so it's already set up as a gathering point during emergencies or natural disasters. So it should have emergency supplies."
"How do you know all that?" Tom asked.
"How do you not? We had an entire session about this when we were freshmen." Hector said.
"Doesn't that mean we're going to have to deal with a bunch of assholes?" Skippy asked. "Even if we take the fucking school, we're going to have to deal with all those people. I don't remember any of us being all that good at public speaking, and that was before I turned into a four-foot rodent."
"That's why Tom is the face of the party," Hector said.
Tom rolled his eyes. He wasn't any more social than the rest of them. Ignoring his slightly higher charisma stat, he only had two social skills: [Analyze Person] and [Wordsmith].
"Do you think we can deal with a wyvern if it's just the four of us?" Hector shot back.
"Not at this fucking level," Skippy admitted. "So back to fucking school then?"
Tom nodded. "Alright, Alex. I'm sorry, but we need everything we can get, so we're looting the house. We are going to need every advantage, so let's grab as much food, water, and clothes as possible. Actually, where is the rest of your family?"
Alex shrugged. "Dad took Fang out towards Vancouver for the night. Something about making a man out of him and introducing him to his colleagues. Some dumb sexist thing, I don't know."
"Should we, like, leave a message or something?" Tom asked.
He knew that Alex's relationship with her one remaining parent was almost as bad as his relationship with his own parents, so he wasn't sure what she would want.
Alex waved her hand, burning the words 'I'm at Hopkins' into the wall of her living room.
Alex nodded. "There, now Fang can come find me. Come on, Chloe. Let's go find some clothes that fit us while the boys rob my house."
"Ok. Hey Alex, why are your butt and boobs so big now?" Chloe asked innocently
"I ate my vegetables. It was totally worth it." Alex answered, winking at Tom.
"Corrupt her, and I'll bury you alive," Tom warned her.
Tom, Skippy, and Hector started to take everything in the house. They emptied out the fridge and stashed all of their computers inside their storage, including the books and any clothing they could find. They didn't know what they would need, so they made sure to take everything.
<[Storage] has Reached level 13>
"Should we take the couch?" Skippy asked.
"Um, sure," Tom said. "Skippy, you have an upgraded [Storage] skill, you take it. Actually, just take all the furniture, would you? I think Alex wouldn't mind having her home in her back pocket."
Skippy nodded as he got to work stuffing the furniture into his inventory.
Tom went into the kitchen to find Hector eating a stack of ham from the fridge.
"Hector, what are you doing?" Tom hissed.
"What?" Hector asked as he slurped back a pound of ham. I put on an extra two feet, I'm freaking starving.
"Just make sure to put plenty of food into our inventory. We don't know where our next meal is coming from."
Hector nodded as he stuffed a block of cheese into his storage.
"I'm almost out of space," Hector noted.
Tom signed.
"Alright, give me a minute. I need to assign my eleventh level, and I'm going to pick up [Tactician] and get us some party skills," Tom stated.
"You're not going to max out Augur?" Hector asked
Tom shrugged. "We're playing on hardcore mode as far as we know. We only get one shot at this. We need every possible benefit if we are going to survive. I have [Party Leader], but that doesn't do shit unless I get more supporting skills."
Hector nodded.
"Yeah, having an angry bear banging on my head was instructive."
Tom nodded as he opened his status and got started
DING!!!
Level up!
You are now a level 1 Tactician
You have two free Skill points to assign
Tom pulled up his skill list. At this point, his choices were already starting to get too large. He had the options for light magic, divination, life magic, utility, and leadership skills available.
Scanning down the list, he wanted one skill for Augur and two for [Tactician]. He scanned the ever-growing list, focused on finding the one he was looking for.
[Tactician] - [Leadership Ⅰ] - Inferior
"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." - Warren Bennis.
The Leadership skill imparts multiple effects, which the user may select to better reflect their own personalized way of leading.
[Group Discipline]: You and your party gain 0.5% resistance to all mental attacks per level of this skill.
[Tactician] - [Raider Ⅰ] - Inferior
"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women." - Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The Raider skill imparts multiple effects, which the user may select to better reflect their own personalized way of Raiding.
[Terrorize]: when you or a party member attack an opponent, you have a chance equal to 1% * skill level to inflict an injury on your opponent with the [Terror] aliment.
Tom nodded in satisfaction at his first two purchases. Honestly, they were bog standard for these skills, but for a very good reason.
Tom sat his ass down and mediated, reentering her soul space. The [Soul Forge] firing up. Once inside, he immediately searched for three motes of light: [Party Leader], [Storage], and [Mapping]. The three were easy to find as he didn't have many free skills floating around yet. He gathered up all three skills and moved to his newest constellation. He shoved all three into the [Tactician] class.
You have Migrated the skill: [Party Leader] from your personal skills to your [Tactician] skills.
[Party Leader] - Level 5 has evolved into [Tactical Leader] - Level 2
[Tactical Leader] - Level 2
Party Leader: All party members now share experience regardless of their actions. All party members can see the health, stamina, and mana of all other party members. Party members may see each other's status. Party members can share quests with each other. You can add three people to your party per level in this skill.
You have migrated the skill: [Mapping] from your personal skills to your [Tactician] skills.
[Mapping] - Common has mutated into [Coordination Ⅱ] - Lesser
[Coordination Ⅱ] - Level 1
"Without a map, you're lost in a hostile environment" - William Mcnabb
The Coordination skill imparts the following effects, which the user may select to better reflect their own personalized way of Coordinating.
[War Map]: You have an internal map. It automatically and permanently records details of the terrain you and your party members travel over. New information is displayed in full color. Areas of the map lose color as time passes, indicating that the information portrayed may be outdated. Areas that appear completely black have not yet been explored. The area of the map highlighted by exploration and its detail is increased by 3% per level.
You have migrated the skill: [Storage] from your personal skills to your [Tactician] skills.
[Storage] - Uncommon has mutated into [Logistics Ⅱ] - Lesser
[Logistics Ⅱ] - Level 6
"Amateurs study tactics; professionals study logistics." - General Robert H. Barrow.
The Logistics skill imparts the following effects, which the user may select to better reflect their own personalized way of handling Logistics.
[Storage]: You can store items in an extradimensional space. Space equal to your skill level multiplied by 1 meter cubed.
[Supply Chain]: You can now connect the inventories of your party members, creating a shared network of inventories. This allows the members of your party to transport supplies between their inventories for a distance of up to 10 yards per skill level.
.
<[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 6>
<[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 7>
<...>
<[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 10>
Tom sent out an invite to the party to everyone, including Chloe.
"Chloe, make sure to hit yes to the party invite I just sent you. OK, Pumpkin," Tom called out.
Chloe didn't respond, but Tom noticed that an icon with his sister's face appeared in the corner of his vision along with his three friends.
"Alright, I just filled out [Tactician]," Tom said
"Wait, how have you already filled out all your skill slots?" Skippy asked.
Tom nodded
"I bought [Leadership Ⅰ] and [Raider Ⅰ]. Then I transferred [Storage], [Mapping], and [Party Leader], which are now [Tactical Leader], [Logistics Ⅱ], and [Coordination Ⅱ]. Until [Tactician] hits level 10, I won't be able to add any more skills."
"That's going to fucking suck. That's like nine levels and no skill slots." Skippy said.
"Eh," Tom shrugged. I'll still get skill points, and I can always use them to upgrade my existing skills."
Alex and Chloe came back downstairs at that moment. Chloe was wearing oversized winter gear that clearly used to belong to Alex. Alex, on the other hand, was clearly wearing her dad's clothes in order to contain her new pornstar-sized assists. Even still, the way her breasts were stretching that sweater was just … Tom shook his head, trying to banish those thoughts. This was his best friend, and he was in an apocalypse. Now he needed to think about something else … something other than his bimbofied best friend.
He was going to smack her for picking such a distracting avatar.
"I grabbed all of the clothes upstairs, so we should have spares," Alex said.
"Is there anything else we need to grab?" Tom asked as he tried to hide his blush.
He was met with shaking heads as everyone was ready to go. Slipping on some more winter-appropriate clothes and boots, the group moved outside. Unlike the movies, the neighborhood was still full of people looking around, trying to figure out what was going on. The snow had fallen deep enough that it was halfway up Tom's shin, the cold air biting at his face.
"Shit! Shit! shit!" Hector muttered
Tom turned to see his friend pulling coat after coat and wrapping himself up like a caterpillar in a cocoon.
"You ok, dude?" Skippy asked.
"Weak to frost," Hector said. "I'm literally taking damage right now."
"Oh, for fucks sake," Tom muttered as he cast a mend spell on Hector.
"Alright, I think I can take care of Hector if he's bundled up. Alex, could you watch over Chloe?"
Alex nodded. She scooped up Chloe with ease as princesses played in the snow.
"Come on, sweety, let's go," Alex said, turning to start trudging through the snow.
"What are you guys doing?" Skippy asked.
"Going to school?" Tom said.
"There's a car in the driveway." Skippy pointed out.
"Um, I don't have a driver's license," Tom said.
"Same," Alex agreed.
Skippy stared at them like they were all fucking idiots.
"Who fucking cares? It's the apocalypse. If it's too cold for scale butt to walk around in the snow, then let's get in the car and go. Who's going to pull us over a fucking centaur?!" Skippy asked.
"Your mouth is going to get washed out with soap, squirrel butt," Chloe said.
Tom and Alex looked at each other, and then she grabbed the keys.
"I'm driving," Alex said.
"You and I have the only ranged attack."
"I'll drive," Skippy volunteered.
"Oh, hell no. First, I've seen you drive in a Mario Kart, and I wouldn't trust you with a wagon," Hector said. Second, I'll drive because I'm the only one with an actual driver's license."
You may skip to the next chapter.
Name: Skippy
(Andrew Sawyer)
Race: Theirinthrope
Type: Humanoid / Beast
LVL: 11
SubRace: Squirrel
Age 18
Health: 270
Stamina: 380
Mana: 220
Health Regen: 3.3 per min
Stamina Regen: 4.4 per min
Mana Regen: 2.2 per min
Titles: Beta-Tester
Immune
None
Resistances
Physical 5%, Elemental 5%, Magical 5%, Vitality 5%, Mind 5%, Soul 5%, Crit 10%, Poison 10%, Disease 10%, Insta-Death 10%
Weakness
None
Bane
Manslayer, Beastslayer
Classes: Swordsman MAX, Dancer 1
Total
STR: 11
AGIL: 143
DEX: 66
CON: 22
END: 11
PER: 77
INT: 11
WILL: 11
SPIRIT: 11
EGO: 11
CHA: 11
LCK: 99
Base
STR: 11
AGIL: 143
DEX: 66
CON: 22
END: 11
PER: 77
INT: 11
WILL: 11
SPIRIT: 11
EGO: 11
CHA: 11
LCK: 99
Personal: +4 AGIL +4 PER +3 DEX +3 LCK
Racial: +3 AGIL +2 DEX +2 PER +1 CON
Bloodline: +5 AGIL +5 LCK
Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats
Bloodline:
[Bloodline of Ratatoskr]—Legendary: You possess the bloodline of one of the divine beasts. Ratatoskr, the great squirrel who runs up and down the world tree, delivers insults to the great eagle at the top of the tree and Nidhog at the bottom, both divine beasts in their own right. This squirrel has not only traveled the length of the world but has survived two other divine beasts' repeated attempts to kill him. Now, his blood runs through your veins.
- [Ratatoskr's Tongue] - Level 3
- [Ratatoskr Instincts] - Level 13
- [Vicious Mockery of Ratatoskr] - Level 17
- [Nidhogg's Gift] - Level 6
- [Ascending Yggdrasil] - Level 11
- [Aura of the Divine Beast] - Level 6
- [Defiant Regeneration] - Level 8
- [Raid Boss Physiology] - Level 10
- +5 to AGIL per level
- +5 to LCK per level
Skill Slots: 13/60: Skill Points: 0
Personal Skills
- [Stamina Burn] - Level 8
- [Rataskurs Pocket] - Level 10
- [Mapping] - Level 10
- [System Wiki] - Level 5
- [Blades] - Level 22
Swordsman 6/6
- [Power Strike] - Level 13
- [Piercing Strike] - Level 12
- [Soul Strike] - Level 6
- [Far Strike] - Level 9
- [Venom Strike] - Level 7
- Capstone: [Manifold Strike] - Level 4
Dancer 02/6
- [Swagger] - Level 1
- [Mirage Step] - Level 1