The shape shuddered, struck suddenly by the projectile. Roy focused on it and again the blue screen appeared

Vineborn Brute

LV 7 HP 235 / 289

39 points of damage on the first attack, just as the description of the gun advertised. Roy held his arms steady again and took aim. The monster had shuffled to face him and now began to pound its way towards him, limbs kicking up a spray as they tore through the water. He had 6 rounds left, approximately 150 points of damage if every round landed. Then he had another magazine in his bag, which he could grab as he ran from the monster.

Focused on his goal Roy put the monster in his sight again and then pulled the trigger. Now that the thing was running at him and growing larger as the seconds ticked by, he could fire with impunity. He pulled the trigger, again and again as fast as he could, panic growing as the thing approached. Every round that struck broke the brutes stride, slowing it just enough for Roy to empty his cartridge.

Then quickly, but with a slight fumble, Roy grabbed his trident and ran from the monster, now only half a dozen meters from him. His heart drummed in his chest, partially from the running and partially from the danger that followed in his back. He increased his pace, making use of the additional points he had put in constitution. Slowly the distance opened up, again the monster was just a blur in the mist.

With some difficulty Roy stuck the pistol into his pocket and with his free hand, dug into his bag, feeling for the spare magazine. There it was, a cold metallic object, grasped in his hand. With the pitchfork clinched between his left arm and body, Roy ejected the empty magazine, tucked it into his pocket, and reloaded the gun, making sure to chamber the first round.

Finally ready, Roy surveyed his surroundings, ahead was a T-intersection with a house facing the road he currently ran down. A long driveway lead to a small garage set behind the house, and there in the middle of the driveway was a small car. It would provide some measure of cover, maybe even hinder the obtuse looking thing behind him.

Thinking so Roy ran the final couple of dozen meters and circled to the side of the grey semi. The monster was almost imperceptible now that he had put a good distance between himself and it. Roy took the chance to catch his breath, while his eyes were glued to the slowly emerging creature. He focused on the shape and then glanced at the attendant blue screen. Its health had dropped to 131, which meant that he had missed two rounds during his frantic shooting.

He needed to hit it six times, or rather he could only afford to miss once. Again Roy settled into position and put the monster in his sights. He could afford to take a bit of time during his first few shots. He could do this Roy encouraged himself as he steadied his shaking and depressed the trigger. Again a crack like thunder heralded the bullet, smoke from the gun mingling with the mist.

Roy glanced at the blue screen, which had faded to a light translucent blue. The number quickly shot down by 26 points, evidence that he had hit. He could do this, he repeated again in his mind as he took aim again. It took around ten seconds for the creature to cover the thirty or so meters between the two, now it loomed large just a few paces away. Roy pulled the trigger again, eliciting a small click from the gun. One it had one point of health left, he had missed twice.

Grabbing his pitchfork, Roy took a few hurried steps back, putting the car between himself and the monster. Ignoring the obstacle the creature clambered onto the vehicle, every step shaking the suspension. Strained for time Roy grabbed his weapon with both hands, clutching the pistol and the rod with his right hand.

Every step the monster took shook the vehicle which groaned under the weight. Now towering above him the monster was dreadful. The vines that crisscrossed its body had large angular thorns as opposed to leaves. Thorns meant for cutting and shredding as opposed to pricking. It’s feet and arms ended not in digits but in wooden hooves that were rough amalgamations of roots, some still jutting out and terminating in wickedly sharp points.

Despite this it only had a single point of health left. Again Roy repeated his mantra and tensed his muscles. He needed to catch it in a moment of weakness. With such great strength, if he got hit it would be cataclysmic. Thinking so, Roy prepared to dash to the side, remembering how Simon had been tackled to the ground.

Then the monster made its move. Its vines seemed to tense as it pushed against the car and leaped towards Roy. The roof of the vehicle bent and warped, upsetting the footing of the creature. The leap was awkward, the huge mass of its body tilted and leaning towards one side.

Roy twisted his abdomen as he lashed out with his pitchfork, pushing out his right arm to drive the weapon diagonally, towards the exposed flank of the creature. It was a brutish strike that tipped his balance, forcing his right foot off the ground and his body to tip forwards. The pitchfork hit, driving through a few inches of plant matter, and a point of HP, before finally embedding itself in the creature.

Still the creature continued through the air, dragging along an unbalanced Roy. It struck the water hard, sending up a geyser of the murky liquid that obscured the ground. Roy followed after it, the water thoroughly drenching his shirt. He landed, sprawled out on the side of the creature and hands separated from his pitchfork in a moment of panic.

The thorns dug into his flesh, opening up a dozen small cuts. Almost instantly a series of blue screens popped into view, Roy ignored them and pushed himself off the corpse of the monster. His body felt numb and a quick check of his [Status] showed that he was suffering from [Weak Paralysis] and [Minor Bleeding].

Roy slowly shuffled away from the monster lowered himself into the water so that he was half submerged. He was made painfully aware of the heat and the humidity as he sweated during the run and the fight with the monster. The water was probably filthy, but it was cool, almost temperate.

Roy rested as he examined the new cohort of screens.

Level Up!

Level 2 > 3

+3 Stat Points

Skill Up!

Pistol Mastery LV 1 > LV 3 (Novice)

Skill Up!

Pole Weapon Mastery LV 0 > LV 1 (Novice)

Ability Up!

Reckless Strike LV 0 > LV 1 (Novice)

He had forgotten to check the effects of the Pistol Mastery last time so Roy quickly navigated to his [Status] and focused on the two skills and single ability in turn, bringing out another host of windows.

Pistol Mastery - Novice III

Increase skill in wielding a pistol. Increase based on skill level.

Increase firing accuracy while wielding a pistol. Increase based on skill level and DEX

Pole Weapon Mastery - Novice I

Increase skill in wielding a pole weapon. Increase based on skill level.

Increase power of attacks while wielding a pole weapon. Increase based on STR and skill level.

Increase speed of attacks while wielding a pole weapon. Increase based on AGI and skill level.

Increase accuracy of attacks.while wielding a pole weapon. Increase based on DEX and skill level.

Reckless Strike – Novice I

The user launches a melee attack with all their might, increasing STR. The attack is wild and unbalanced, decreasing AGI and DEX. The magnitude of the increase and decrease is based on skill level and the attack performed.

Tires the user based on the magnitude of the increase in STR. Tiring effect decreases with CON and skill level.

The description for Pistol Mastery was vague. Now that Roy had time to think it appeared that proper shooting posture had just somehow appeared in his mind, this must have been a result of the skill; Pole Weapon Mastery was the same. Both skills also seemed to raise the effectiveness of the weapon, increasing power or accuracy based on his stats.

Reckless Strike was now his only ability. Strenth seemed to determine the power behind his attacks so the ability essentially boosted damage at the expense of spee and accuracy. To Roy this meant an action would take a greater number of frames and thus an opponent could more easily counterattack. The ability was also tiring, but then again all fighting was exhausting.

All in all Roy found it all very underwhelming, he wanted to shoot fireballs and call down meteors. Then again, in a game things were fair, work was rewarding, people didn’t die, fighting wasn’t exhausting. Roy wanted to scream, this wasn’t fun, and this wasn’t a game. Mr. Stenson, Simon, and how many others, they were all gone. And he was laying in the sludge, biting back the pain from the damn cuts he’d suffered falling on the corpse of some ghastly creature.

Roy got back onto his feet; the numbing sensation from [Minor Paralysis] was gone. Staring at the [Status] once more, Roy dumped three more points into constitution. Instantly his fatigue faded away, even the stifling humidity had lessened. His max HP was now at 276, 23 points up from 253. Now that he was done lamenting about the unfairness of it all, he took a moment to reflect on the positive.

Character Sheet

Name Roy Stone Level 3

Race Human Condition Minor Bleeding

HP 268 / 276 HP Regeneration 0.015

MP 118 / 118 MP Regeneration 0.04

-

Statistics

STR 9 INT 10

CON 15 WIS 7

DEX 10 AGI 10

Unallocated Stat Points 0

-

Resistances

Heat 0 Cold 0

Force 0 Electric 0

Poison 0 Corrosion 0

Hallow 0 Void 0

Mental 0 Spiritual 0

-

Skills

Pistol Mastery - Novice III

Polearm Mastery - Novice I

Abilities

Reckless Strike - Novice I

Traits

-

He was used to this of course, his grades were bad and he had few skills to speak of. Now that Roy looked back at his recent actions, they could be considered as heroic. He had put his life on the line luring the brute away from the group. Then he had single handedly slain the monster.

Congratulations and praise surely awaited him once he regrouped with everyone. Then it occurred to him, in their haste they had never specified where they would meet up. Roy looked around for a moment, dazed at his new conundrum. Where would he go now, what would he do. The visibility was dreadful and the town was now crawling with monsters, it would be foolish to wander around without a clue.

That meant he was on his own again. Though not for long, Roy assured himself. There were bound to be others; there were thousands of people in the small town of Anamosa. Thinking this Roy turned his thoughts to his next course of action.

Now sufficiently renewed, Roy turned his attention to the corpse of the [Vineborn Brute]. The creature could now be mistaken for a tangle of vines jutting from the surface of the water. Roy looted the body with a thought.

Loot

1x Fisilian’s Fungus Fryer

In front of Roy materialized a short rod, half a meter long and almost too thick to fit in his hands. It was made of wood and poorly hewn. In contrast to the poor workmanship, were a series of symbols carved along the top rim of the rod. The decorations were so intricate and the lines so fine, that Roy doubted they were carved at all. However, most striking were the lime green gem that was embedded within the field of symbols.

To Roy this could only be a magic staff, so with open glee he though [Examine].

Fisilian’s Fungus Fryer

Cobbled together by the town mage. This weapon was designed to fend of the swarms of fungus that had laid waste to New Atlarium. It sprays out vast quantities of Aqua Liminus which is espeacially effective against fungus, a simple and crude solution.

2/s/L Corrosion Damage

0 / 2 Liters of Water

0 / 20 Mana

1000% Effectiveness vs fungi

(Venom) Paralyze with Potency 20

As far as Roy saw, the weapon seemed like some sort of giant water gun, which fired fungicides. 'Aqua Liminus' was also the name of the liquid he had looted from the creature that had been lurking in Madelyn's house, if so he wondered if that liquid also dealt additional damage to fungi. Conjecture aside, it did sound like the weapon was ranged, which would help now that his gun had run out of ammunition. Hefting the rod in one arms and his pitchfork in the other Roy approached the house that the driveway led up to.

The lights were out in all the windows, and from where Roy stood in front of the door he couldn’t make out any sign of activity. He had ringed the doorbell, only to then realize the electricity was out. It was unreasonable to expect the workers at the power plant to continue with things as they were. Without electricity, Roy settled for knocking.

As the minutes ticked by Roy contemplated his options. He could leave and look for another house, or he could break in. There was the possibility that the residents weren’t answering on purpose. The situation was dire and armed strangers showing up at the door covered in wounds was sure to set off alarm bells. Of course the residents could also be gone.

Roy looked around the street, it was desolate and not a sign of life could be seen. He would take the risk. If the cops showed up he felt he could justify himself in this time of emergency. Now resolved, Roy walked towards the window that looked out onto the street. Using his dagger, Roy cut through the screen and reached his hand in to detach it from the window frame.

With the screen out of the way Roy took a few steps back and smacked the glass panel using the head of his pitchfork. The glass shattered and the ring carried in the silence of the streets. Now with added urgency Roy broke the sharp shards of glass still attached to the frame. If he dallied for too long a monster might appear.

Again reaching his arm in, Roy unlocked the window and lifted it up so that he could stick his fingers in the gap between the window frame and panel, then he pushed the panel up. Roy tossed his equipment into the room and climbed in. The inside of the house was dark, illuminated only by the feeble light that shone through the few windows that dotted the first floor.

The blinds had been drawn over the windows that faced the street, further cutting out the sunlight. In the absence of light, the colors that would have tinged the photos that hung on the wall had been reduced to shades of grey. Roy stood up from where he had tumbled onto the floor and regarded the small living room he now found himself in. To his left a doorway led into the dining room and kitchen, in front lay a cluster of furniture, all arranged around a television set. To his right was the front door he had circumnavigated, and then a bit further ahead laid the stairwell and various doors that Roy guessed opened up into bathrooms, the basement and closets.

Most of all Roy looked for any signs of danger. He had made quite a ruckus breaking in, enough to alert any monsters, unless they lay in hiding. Picking up his pitchfork, Roy began to sweep through the first floor, opening up any door he could find. The house was quite small and from the outside Roy could tell that the second floor only extended above the right section of the house.

Roy had found nothing peculiar yet; no signs of struggle adorned the ageing furniture or the overly adorned carpet. Following that Roy checked the second floor and the basement. The second floor consisted of two bedrooms and a bathroom, arranged around a small landing. Little bits of decoration adorned the walls and the various bits of furniture. Roy tried not to pry considering he was an intruder.

The basement on the other hand was nothing more than a cellar. Bare beams and concrete foundation laid bare for all to see. Stacked in that open space were piles of cardboard boxes. To Roy the whole place screamed old couple. It reminded him of his grandparents’ house, before they passed away and the property got liquidated to cover his grandfather’s debt. A calculated move that ensured the old couple could spend lavishly and then pass on nothing to their children. A mentally that had been passed on to Roy’s own father.

His father had often told him that men ought to stand on their own two feet, a saying that often scared Roy. Considering he was planning to live off his parents after he ultimately failed high school. Roy pushed that though away as he climbed back up the stairs from the basement. Now, whether he liked it or not, he was on his own.