Chapter 16 Team

Jon finished his notes, the smell of coffee drifting through the open kitchen. He sighed, giving Kate a slight smile when she handed him a cup. “Berserker hmm?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Mine is called Assassin,” Grey said. He couldn’t fully hide how cool he actually thought that was.

Kate puffed, drinking from her mug. “Of course it is.”

“And I have the Precision stat that comes with the Class. I think it’s one point per level, two normal stat points for the Class level itself, I’m at level two already from what we’ve done in Keilberg. I… don’t know if I would’ve survived… without it. The four points I had to put into Vitality…,” Grey said, frowning a little at the last bit. “I guess it makes sense as a hardcore character. Nobody respawned yet, right?”

“What do you mean? Grey you need to use normal people language, not gamer speak,” Kate said with a sigh, making herself another mug of coffee.

“Well… you know RPGs. The Classes, they usually adhere to some kind of roles. I don’t know how this system works exactly but so far it seems to go that route at least. Precision increases my ability to hit weak spots with my attacks for example, which fits with the Assassin Class. I get bonuses to light bladed weapons, throwing knives, nimble movements, all that from passive skills in my Class. The system is basically telling me to invest into Dexterity. Because I’m moving fast and because I attack with nimble weapons, not for example like you… I assume Berserker is more a Strength thing?”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” Kate said, taking a sip of coffee. “What was that about respawning?”

Grey moved a hand through his hair as he walked in a small circle. He wrung his hands and bit his lip. “Well you see… in most games an Assassin wouldn’t really level Vitality much. Because you’re going for the kill basically. DPS, damage per second. But the issue here is of course… we might not come back to life. And testing that would be insane. So I think it’s best if we all invest some of our stats into Vitality. I tested a little with a fork earlier and my skin alone is… well watch,” he said and grabbed the aforementioned utensil. The man proceeded to stab his arm with the metal piece.

Jon stood up from his chair but Kate just sipped from her mug. She knew nothing would happen, her own Vitality was at twenty after all.

Grey stabbed a few more times and showed them, his skin only slightly red where he had rammed the fork down. “I don’t know how, but these stats are making more than noticeable changes. As to the hardcore comment, some games have an option to play a character that is permanently gone when they die once. The entire meta is different for those… meta being… like the best gear and skills to level, often more on the defensive side for obvious reasons. If you can come back to life you’re basically fine with using a single high damage spell before being one shot.”

“Gamer speak,” Kate reminded.

“Yes. Well, it doesn’t matter. This is hardcore, which means we have to consider our defenses,” he said, cupping his face with both hands before he took in a deep breath. “But it’s good. Our composition so far isn’t bad. Logan has a Paladin Class and I talked to him about his skills already. Bonuses to heavy armor, large weapons, and he has a light heal. Nothing quite like Melusine but it’s still substantial. That brings us to your wife, Jon. Having a healer this early on in this mess is key. We wouldn’t be talking here at all without her, but recovering somewhere on our own. If we had the chance to recover at all,” he said and gulped. “Do you mind sharing your skills with us?” he said finally and looked at Kate.

She looked at the coffee before she closed her eyes. “I suppose I can,” she said, noting that the young man hadn’t stuttered a single time in all the talk so far. Kate went on to describe her special stat and her various skills, reading the descriptions to the others.

“Pretty much what I expected,” Grey said, now sitting next to Jon who noted everything down with his fast handwriting.

The older man looked at Kate with some apprehension. “That’s why you ran off…,”

She didn’t say anything.

“It’s good,” Grey said. “I mean she was the first one to fight and kill things. We couldn’t have adjusted as quickly without your Class. Now in a game I’d just send you in from the side, or as a frontal attack while everyone else is at the rear but that’s obviously quite dangerous.”

“I can control it to an extent. I managed to stay quiet and wait before attacking. The problem is… stopping,” Kate said, gulping.

“Maybe there’s a way to snap you out of it. We will have to test, but our abilities and levels are just not high enough yet to know a lot. Five percent seems to be the baseline for every skill that grants a tangible bonus, with half a percent more per level, but other than that… the descriptions could mean anything. We don’t have the dev notes or anything so we’ll just have to figure things out. I’m interested in the food and gear bonuses; you got anything there yet?” Grey asked.

Kate shook her head.

“We’ll have to figure that out at some point. The question also remains if there are support Classes or if everything is battle focused. Even Melusine has a bonus to damage with medical tools,” he said.

“Gibberish,” Bert murmured from his chair.

“Thanks for the contribution,” Kate said, receiving a dismissive wave in return. “So how do we level the skills and Classes? Just… killing?”

Grey tapped the table. “Maybe. It depends. Just using the skills while training together might do the trick but who knows. That stuff is usually possible early on in games but there are exploits too. Though I doubt there are any bugs in this system. And… it might be too dangerous for us to train with your… main buffs active.”

“I can go without. But we can’t be sitting here training while the world goes to shit out there,” Kate said. “There are still a lot of things we can get in Keilberg. I think it’s best if I go again today.”

“I’ll...j… join,” Grey said.

“No. Out of the question,” Kate replied.

“W… what you d… did. Was right,” he said. “And y… your skills-”

“Exactly. My skills. I’m unpredictable. And you followed me in. We could’ve both died, all three of us even. I don’t want to risk that,” Kate said.

“We’re here together,” Jon said in a calm voice. He leaned forward slightly. The expression on his face was different now. More serene. “You’ve saved us a few times already, Kate. The least we can do is not send you into a monster infested town by yourself. Especially with those… skills of yours. If I understand it correctly, your abilities allow you to ignore pain to an extent, and you can… absorb… health. Of the monsters you kill. With a few people having your back, our overall chance of survival is higher.”

She shook her head. “I understand the logic, Jon. But this isn’t a game. You were there, you saw what happened.” She tried hard to stay calm but her voice got louder in the end nonetheless.

“I did,” he said with a sigh, rubbing his brow. “But this isn’t about how I feel about it. I’m sure it’ll take years for me to work through what I experienced in the past few days…,” he said and paused. “Neither is it about how you feel, Kate. If we plan to stay alive, get through this… mess. We have to make the decisions most likely to succeed.”

The man remained quiet for a few seconds before he talked again. “My… daughters… are here. I d… I don’t know what I would do if… I’ll come with you too. I’ll get a Class, whatever it may be. We were given this… system… I know it’s not what you want. I don’t want to go out there either, Kate. I want to hide. I want to hope the military is coming, but I have a feeling it won’t. I have a feeling that these creatures are here to stay. They’ve already killed everyone in Keilberg.”

The man paused and looked at each of them in turn. “I won’t let them take my daughters. We will survive. Everyone here. You included.”

Grey smiled but didn’t say anything. He glanced at Kate before he looked down.

She lowered her mug and sighed. “You pieces of shit,” she murmured. The father, protecting his daughters. The awkward gamer kid turned Assassin. Maybe we will. Maybe. She didn’t want to think about them dying on her. Maybe even because of her own actions. Jon was right though, it wasn’t just about her. The rational side was there. She could’ve died several times in the past night alone. Someone to support her or distract the enemies would’ve made a massive difference. She couldn’t deny that. It annoyed her but she knew Jon was right. And most of all she couldn’t deny their guts. It reminded her of her friends in the force. She didn’t like it. Not one bit. But she supposed if the world was going to shit, she too had to adapt.

Kate downed the rest of her coffee and steeled herself. And though the fires may rage, all consuming. We shall stand. We shall fight. We shall prevail.

She couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Fred, you absolute idiot. The firefighter had loved his quotes and catchphrases. Silly really, but so were goblins and orcs roaming the forests of Keilberg. Perhaps I could use a bit more of his optimism.

“We’ll prepare to leave momentarily. Grey, get your gear ready, we have enough clothing now thanks to our expedition yesterday and thanks to Kate. I think it’s best if we use the truck,” Jon said and finished his notes. He closed the notebook and put it into one of the cupboards. “Bert, you’re tasked with protecting the castle.”

The old man coughed. “Boy. I’ve protected this castle for fifty years.” He got up and grabbed his shotgun. “Just come back without nearly dying.”

“Sure you’re up for this?” Kate asked the two. She thought back to Grey nearly bleeding out on the ground just out in the yard.

“I could ask you the same,” Jon said.

She smiled. “Don’t act cocky now, Mr. Crossbow. I’ve killed an Ogre all on my own.”

“And you nearly died doing it,” he said and stood, starting to prepare his own gear. His hands shook ever so slightly but he looked into her eyes now. “Next time, we’ll kill it together.”

Kate smiled and finished her coffee before she too started to prepare. Her gear was mostly already on her but she grabbed one of the radios and tuned it to one of the few available frequencies before testing quickly.

“The range is not very good on these,” Grey commented.

“You’re into radios too?” Kate asked as she put one onto her belt. She added a headlamp and a few extra batteries before she shouldered her pack and grabbed her spiked hammer.

“I r… read the… package,” the man admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

That makes sense, she thought with a smile and left.

Back in the armory, Melusine had sat down the newcomer on the ground floor. She had cleaned her wounds and cuts. She looked better. Much less grimy and pale.

Kate noted her blue eyes as she glanced her way. Her makeup was cleaned off now but Kate assumed the woman made quite a few heads turn wherever she went regardless. “You look better,” she said, glancing to Logan as he joined them.

“Ethan is awake. Already mentioned the stinking bedrolls, the nerd gallery of medieval garbage, and this fuckface,” the man said as he pointed at himself. “He still needs rest but he’ll get around. Melusine, let me know when he goes too far.”

The woman smiled his way as she cleaned off the last of the blood on the newcomer. “I’ve handled worse, Logan. How are you feeling Allison?”

“Less shit,” the woman said with a sigh. “What were those monsters? You h… you have a hammer. Is this really happening?” she asked with a shaking voice.

“I’m afraid so,” Melusine said in a calm tone. A tone which said that everything would be alright.

Kate took in a deep breath hearing her. Guess I needed that too.

Allison rolled her eyes back. “Fuck, this sucks. At least festival season is over. Internet doesn’t work and now there are monsters. Thanks for bringing me here, I’m Allison,” she said, addressing Kate. “I don’t know how much longer I could’ve run from those things.”

“Happy to have stumbled upon you,” Kate said. “You were around Keilberg when it all happened?”

“Yes. I was hunting for squirrels,” the woman said and rolled her eyes at Kate’s brow rise. “Dead ones. I’m not a monster.”

“You were hunting for dead squirrels in the forest?” Kate asked.

Allison sighed. “That’s why I don’t tell people about this stuff. Yes. I make stuff. Here, look,” she said and pulled out her phone. The screen was cracked and it didn’t turn on. “Shit. I make cosplays alright?”

“You do? You don’t look like someone who does cosplay,” Kate said.

“At least you know what it is. It’s so annoying to explain all the time. And yes. I have… well had, an instagram with over a million followers. Horny nerds but it pays well. I do a lot of personal projects too but I guess that’s over now. God I hope Heather is alright,” she said, sharing the words quickly before she tried to check her phone again.

“I’m lost,” Logan commented.

Allison glanced at him for the first time, her eyes lingering on the man for a second before she turned back. She opened and closed her mouth before she spoke. “I’ll explain it to you later.”

Kate smirked and pointed to her left. “Brought back a bunch of phones if you want to grab a new one. If you have a storage card or something you might be able to use it. Reception and internet are fucked of course.”

“Are you going somewhere?” Logan asked. He glanced past her to see the others moving about outside.

Kate looked at him for a moment. “Yes. Back to Keilberg.”

“Didn’t we just come from there?” Allison asked. She groaned when Melusine tabbed a cut on her arm with a piece of wet cloth.

“You should eat something, shower, and get some rest,” Melusine said to her, touching her brow. “I got rid of the infections.”

“How?” Allison asked.

The others looked at her.

“There’s magic now,” Kate said.

The woman covered her face with both hands. “Oh my god.”

“I’m good again,” Logan said. “I will join you.”

Kate looked at him and shrugged. She was too tired to have another argument about the same thing. He could heal with magic. Their chances would be better. Jon is right.

Melusine didn’t comment on anything, her focus on the injured and exhausted woman.

“Put on your armor then, big man. We’re leaving in about ten minutes,” Kate said.

He nodded and went upstairs.

“Did he decide on his own?” Melusine asked when the man had left.

“Jon? Yes. I wanted to go alone,” Kate said.

“Holy shit, you’re like some medieval fighter or something. Are you alright in your head?” Allison asked before hissing again.

“I’m a firefighter,” Kate said in a matter of fact tone.

“That’s good then. Thank you, Kate. And you stop insulting the woman that saved you,” Melusine said.

Kate smiled. “She’s tired and hungry. Can’t exactly blame her.”

“You understand. Good. Reasonable people. Speaking of which, it does smell really nice,” Allison said and stretched.

Kate left the two alone and prepared herself as best she could. Her bags were empty once more and she put them back into the car when Jon stopped her.

“We’re taking the truck. More space,” he said, checking the quiver on his belt.

“It’s louder,” Kate said.

“We know there weren’t any goblins near the parking spot. And we know most of them are asleep during the day,” Jon said. “And we have to assume there’s another attack coming tonight. We have to get everything we can, as fast as possible. Before Keilberg is full of creatures. I do hope that horde you saw doesn’t come up here.”

Me too. She didn’t disagree with anything he said and moved the bags out to the truck instead. She had a few knives on her belt again and her hammer. As prepared as I’ll get. The clothes felt good at least. As did her weapons. She looked at Grey and Jon, the two men now dressed in black and gray, weapons at the ready. Not exactly a military force, but at least we’re no longer a miss matched skiing group.

Logan managed to improve the look further with his steel armor and greatsword. The others didn’t argue when he got onto the back of the truck without a word.

“Food, medical supplies, weapons, and anything else useful we can find,” Jon said. “I drive.”

Kate didn’t argue. He knew the way now too. She got in on the passenger seat and checked her radio. “Test, one two three.”

Her voice resounded from three corresponding radios.

Jon grabbed the steering wheel and closed the door, silence coming over the group.

Kate turned on the radio, switching to the usb left behind by the original owner of the truck. She glanced at Jon and then the two others on the back, nobody complaining about the guitar solo in the middle of a Metal track. She moved her hammer to the side a little but kept a hand around the handle. And then they were driving.

Kate Lindgren

Unspent stat points: 0

Class: Berserker – lvl 7

- Active: Mindless Ferocity – lvl 9

- Active: Furious Dance – lvl 9

- Active: Reckless Charge – lvl 6

- Active:

- Active:

- Passive: Toll for the Living – lvl 8

- Passive: Courage of the Unarmored – lvl 6

- Passive: Two Handed Weapon Fighting – lvl 7

- Passive: Unrelenting Carnage – lvl 1

- Passive:

Support class: Locked

Status:

Vitality: 20

Endurance: 14

Perseverance: 7

Strength: 11

Dexterity: 8

Intelligence: 7

Wisdom: 10

Equipment:

Torso: -

Legs: -

Trinket: -

Food: -