End of an Era (Project Chrysalis Book 2), John Gold [ebook reader online txt] 📗

have access to the raid participant panel. Okay, get out of here.”

Finally, finally, finally, it’s time for levels!

I take strengthened leaps down the side of the hill, healing myself continuously as I go. There are lots of little ledges and overhands that are simpler to jump off than crawl down.

Lots of other people get down the same way. I’m not the only nimble one.

As soon as I get down to the bottom, I stop to think about what my tactical advantage will be. The ravines are a possibility, though I assume the other players will pick them as easily defensible positions. That leaves the plains, the forests, and the small hills.

It’s crazy, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. I use everything I can to win absolute superiority in a situation with a stronger opponent.

I dash off as fast as I can toward a forest right near the base of the mountains. It’s the one farthest from the ravines, meaning that I won’t have to worry about getting stabbed in the back.

Zigzagging, I shoot fireballs at the undead around me.

Tattoo: Fireball spell seal

Effect: Lets you use a fireball spell. The damage the spell does depends on your intellect and Fire Magic spells, and you take 5% of the damage the spell does in fire damage.

Mana cost:

100

Tattoo effect:

Intellect +1%

Wisdom +1%

Morale +1%

Additional effect from the ink:

+610 mana, spell not destroyed when used

It’s a cool trick I can use to one-shot the undead. I end up combining ten streams of consciousness for each fireball, shooting six or seven of them off a minute. The undead have a hard time with fire damage, and there’s even physical damage thrown in from the effect of the explosion.

Level 1 unlocked

Available for distribution: 5 attribute points

...

Level 27 unlocked

Available for distribution: 135 attribute points

I would be excited, but I don’t have time for that. There isn’t a second of downtime. I have to keep moving to make sure I don’t get caught in a trap or take a hit from one of the ghouls, zombies, or skeletons. The entire plain is teeming with all kinds of undead that can’t wait to see how I taste. Where are the normal bots? There aren’t any!

The farther I go, the more of my opponents there are. There are so many of them by the mountains, in fact, that I have to run around them. However, they quickly catch on and start cutting me off. My advantage is my speed; the undead have their numbers. My brain kicks into overdrive. There are too many of them, but if I can run along those stones… Barrow-wights are incredibly fast and agile when they’re created, though they don’t have much health. They’re the only ones who can chase me down. The only problem is that I can’t keep track of everything at once.

As soon as I start leaping across the stones, leaving the undead to wander around below me, I sense that something’s flying at me. Without looking, I shoot a fireball at it. Flesh terrors are shooting Barrow-wights at me! What’s going on?! I have no idea how the undead could have that kind of intellect, creating a trap and waiting for bottlenecks to use their flesh terrors and Barrow-wights to their best advantage. It’s just a good thing they don’t have any archers. Why are there even chimeric undead here? What about the normal zombies and skeletons?

I can’t kill all of them at once, so I just have to shoot down everything coming at me. There are too many.

Undead, Barrow-wight, Level 513

How am I supposed to bring something like that down in one shot? The problem is only compounded by the number of enemies all around me.

The undead don’t follow me into the forest, which I’m really happy to see. I need to take some time to calm down.

“What kind of idiot are you? They have advanced intellect, and you went running right into the thick of them!”

Well, this is interesting. I just got to the forest, and there’s already someone here. Oh, it’s a girl! She’s maybe two years older than me.

“I guess I forgot to ask what you think… And what are you doing here? Everyone else is in the ravines.”

“Of course, they are. Last year, I got taken out right at the end. The more participants there are left after the first trial, the harder the second one is, so I headed for the forest. The tactical advantage is on my side here.”

Oh, aren’t we smart! After what happened with Rachel, I keep a closer eye on girls. She’s talking too smart for a kid, and she isn’t behaving anywhere near the way I’d expect her to.

The girl is dressed in matte-black armor with a variety of different components. I’ve never seen such fine work; it has to be the work of a master or grand master blacksmith. Really, it’s too perfect for normal armor. The symmetry is flawless, the plates shift as she moves, and it all works well with the chainmail underneath. Could it be a set? It’s pretty clear what she’s going for: semi-passive protection to match her completely attacking style. She doesn’t have a shield, just a longsword that looks like an enormous, two-handed Flammenschwert in her hands.

“What do you need?”

“A group.”

You received a group invitation.

Accept: Yes/No

She’s a slippery piece of work, that girl. Not on your life! I don’t need a girl around.

“No, thanks.”

You declined a group invitation.

The girl looked at me and thought to herself before replying.

“But you’ll die alone.”

“I’m used to being on my own. You’ll just get in my way, and I’ll kill you without even noticing.”

“Oh, you think you’re that strong, little boy?”

Certainly shouldn’t have said that. A double dwarf hammer squishes