AN: So, here's chapter 2. Feel free to enjoy. :)

Chapter 2: A Ridiculous Turn-Based Existence

A land of mist and shadow, that was what Scott saw before him. The last thing that he remembered was lying down on his couch. Now, he was somewhere else. It seemed to be some sort of grassland covered in an all-encompassing fog.

He walked through that dark, dreary, land and searched for some sign of another human being. Barring that, perhaps a place to get away from the endless fog.

Finally, unable to stand the sheer loneliness of his surroundings, he called out into the darkness. “Hello!”

He was greatly surprised to hear someone answer him. “Hello.”

Scott looked toward where he believed that the voice had come from. “Hello! Is someone out there?”

“Yes.” replied the voice quietly.

“Well, where are you? Who are you?” called back Scott before he walked toward the sound of the voice.

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are here, hovering in the space between life and death. Congratulations.” replied the voice.

“What do you mean? Do you know what’s happening?” asked Scott.

“Yes.”

Scott growled. “Can you tell me what’s happening then!”

“No. You’ll learn more at dawn.” said the voice.

Scott started to ask another question, but the grassland faded away. Soon, his eyes snapped open and he sat up. It was dark. Far too dark.

He groped at the air around him and smacked against something soft, pliant. It felt like his couch cushion. He continued to search blindly and discovered something flat and hard, like a table. Realization hit him. He kept searching and found the little LED lantern he had gotten from Dale.

After turning the battery powered lantern on, he was able to discern that he was in his living room once more. “The power must have gone out.”

Scott made a quick search of the house, it still smelled of various cooked meats. He had not slept that long. The windows seemed to still be shuttered, and the doors were barred.

He turned his lantern out and peeked through the peep hole in his front door. Overtime he noticed that it was starting get lighter outside. It was close to morning. He could see a short distance down the road, though beyond the next house things were blurry. There were a few people wandering around outside. He assumed they were shark-tooths.

Disheartened that everything he had experienced had not been a dream, he stepped away from the door and turned his lantern back on. The shutters would prevent the light from escaping the room, but the things outside prevented him from escaping from it as well. He had plenty of food and water for the moment, but his situation would grow dire in a few days.

He went to check his refrigerator. It was still cool on the inside. The power must not have been out for long. He shut the door quickly to avoid ruining his food too soon.

The muffled sound of moans and growls drifted to his ears. The freaks outside were feeling chatty it seemed. Unfortunately, that also meant they were closer to his house than he would like.

Scott went and looked out through the peep hole again. There was a shark-tooth standing on the road just in front of his house. It was not looking at his door, but it did seem to be fine with standing where it was. It scented the air like a hunting animal. Could it smell the food that he’d been cooking earlier, or was it after something else? The house was locked up pretty tight. The smell of cooking food shouldn’t have escaped in any great degree since he had not opened the doors and windows once he locked them down.

The shark-tooth stopped in place then slowly turned around to look in the opposite direction. It tilted its head to the side as though it were listening for something. Suddenly, a bright yellow light flared outward from the monster. Scott noticed that the light did not extend through his door, as it was focused like a cone or a flashlight, toward his neighbor's house.

It was then that Scott saw other movement. A small brown blur bounded out from the bushes near his neighbor’s house.

It crossed properly into his field of vision and revealed itself to be a rabbit. The shark-tooth immediately let out a strangled cry of, "Meat!" just before the yellow light turned blue. Scott watched it move one step toward the rabbit, and then watched the rabbit bound away a distance that had to be at least ten, perhaps fifteen, full steps compared to the zombie.

It was not long before the rabbit made its way to the edge of the blue field of light then hauled bunny tail across the grass. The light winked out a few seconds later and the ghoul hungrily trotted off to try and capture its speedy prey.

“So, that’s what it was after?” Scott asked quietly. He stepped back from the door and returned to his couch. The monsters did not know he was in here, he was sure of it. If they did, he doubted they would just wander off after a rabbit.

It was almost dawn. Scott was not too hungry, but he ate anyway. The food needed to be eaten or it would go to waste. Whatever meat was not eaten by midday would become a problem later.

He brought out his little emergency radio and turned it on to find some sort of news broadcast. After dialing through a lot of static, he changed it over to AM broadcasting and found a station with little effort. The static level was higher than he would like, but it was still a broadcast.

The sound went in and out, but he got the gist of what was being said. Everyone should stay in their homes, avoid the monsters at all cost, and do not venture outside under any circumstances.

There were assurances that the government was planning rescue operations and emergency shelters were being erected, but Scott had his doubts. How would they protect such a place or rescue anyone? Even if you came riding in, guns blazing, a few seconds later everything that you killed would get back up and be perfectly fine. Even the ones that can’t jump or climb could easily overwhelm a wall or crawl over the bodies of the temporarily fallen to get over the top of a fence. Hell, the people inside the shelter would not even be able to escape easily since they would only be able to do it one step at a time.

Humanity’s days were numbered. Scott knew that. There was nothing that could be done.

It was hard to discern what the voice on the radio was trying to say. Yet, it was a human voice. It was garbled and sounded like nonsense, but it was his only link to humanity at the moment. It reminded him that he was alive.

Time wore on, dawn finally came, and with it came something even stranger than immortal monsters. A bright light flared from the center of his coffee table. Scott turned toward it in shock and then saw an ornate box reminiscent of a little treasure chest.

“What the hell?” What was this? Scott eyed the box critically for a moment. Was it another monster, or was it something else.

The dream that he’d had not long ago entered his mind. His eyes widened in realization. “I would learn more come the dawn…”

He had little recourse, if it was a monster-in-a-box or whatever, he would die either way. But what if it was something useful? Scott reached forward and opened the little treasure chest. Inside of it there were two marbles and what looked like an envelope.

Scott took the envelope out and opened it. Inside, he found a letter and several brown coins with the number one on them. The letter was short and to the point:

Congratulations, Scott Keen, on surviving till dawn! As a true survivor, you are granted an opportunity to better your situation. Each person who survived till now will be granted the same sort of basic deal. Each of you can choose to take it or not.

The coins in this envelope are initial payment. They are a type of currency that you can use to buy better equipment, train your abilities, and other things. The two spheres that accompanied this letter are unique items. Each person will be granted access to them only once. If you have not used them by dawn tomorrow, they will disappear.

The red sphere is a weapon sphere. It can turn an ordinary item into an item capable of harming demons. As you no doubt know, ordinary human weapons cannot do such a thing in any meaningful manner. Please be advised, even though it can change a firearm into a demon slaying weapon, it does not guarantee ammunition. Normal ammunition will not work to kill a demon, so you will have to purchase devil slayer rounds from the weapon shop.

The white sphere is the more vital of the two spheres. Swallow this sphere and your body, mind, and spirit will change to reflect a new supernatural reality. You will be able to become stronger and more capable than you ever dreamed, should you survive the horrors to come.

If you choose not to use these two items, your safety cannot be guaranteed. If you choose to use them, the same is true. However, only by using them can you obtain the power to survive in this new world.

Note: You may only have one weapon in hand when combining the stone with your chosen weapon.

[--]

“This is…” Scott was not sure what it was. Currency to buy better equipment and abilities? Weapon upgrade spheres? What was going on here?

He eyed the two spheres in the box then frowned. It smelled like absolute bullshit. On any other day it would be nothing but said bullshit. After what he had experienced recently, however, he had to accept what was given to him. He had to swallow the white one and use the red one on an item. “Better test the red one first then.”

Scott retrieved his bush axe then took the red sphere out of the box. “So how does it work?”

He tried telling the sphere to upgrade his bush axe. He waved them both around. Nothing happened. How did he combine the thing with his weapon?

He set his bush axe to the side then frowned. He rubbed his forehead a little then hissed. He had scratched himself with his ring. Not one for jewelry or finery, Scott wore it solely because it had been a gift from his grandmother. It had belonged to his grandfather and was meant for the man of the family to keep and pass on to the next generation. His father had not earned it, apparently, so it had fallen to him.

The stone had long since fallen out of the ring, but his grandfather had left it that way for sentimental reasons. Scott smiled at the thing for a moment. Then he glanced at the red stone. Out of a strange sense of curiosity, he placed the stone atop the empty ring setting. His eyes widened when the ring rippled like water. The stone was absorbed into it and the tiny bit of jewelry shifted. It had been old and worn before, but now it had the appearance of a brand new ruby ring set in silver band.

“Shit…” he said. That had been both disturbing and cool. He tried to remove the sphere from the ring, but it would not budge.

"What the hell? This thing was supposed to make a weapon." Scott took his bush axe in hand and lightly pressed the stone in his ring against the blade of his weapon. "Get in there dammit."

Nothing happened. "Fuck. How do I fight with a ring? Come on, get in there!" He pushed the sphere against the blade once more and this time maintained steady pressure. Soon, the bush axe rippled then dissolved into motes of light that flowed into the ring.

"Damn... What now?" He asked, confusion obvious in his tone. That confusion only grew when a bright blue screen of light appeared before him.

Item Upgrade Complete

Congratulations!

You have successfully created the [Burning Soul Ring of the Arcane Warrior].

Abilities Granted while wielding the ring:

Arcane Stat Development

Arcane Attack: + 4

Arcane Defense: + 2

Arcane Evasion: + 1

Mana: + 20

Hit Points: +10

Stamina Points: + 10

Burning Soul

Blade Weapon Competency

Summon Weapon: Long-handled sword

[—]

Further information was shown as well. He was given general information about how to access the weapon he stored within the ring, and how to use his [Burning Soul] attack. Blade weapon competency was something he simply increased through training. He was also privy to basic information about increasing his stats and how to access those as well.

"This. What's with this?" It was obvious that it looked like some sort of game interface, but that could not possibly be true.

Scott rubbed his face then looked to the screen once more. The events of the day before came to mind. Now that he saw the stats, the strange turn-based nature of what happened when the blue light flared made a bizarre sort of sense. "Holy shit... The world turned into a strategy RPG."

A laugh bubbled up inside of him, though it did not reach his eyes. Had it finally happened? Had he cracked under the pressure of his life? How the hell could life become a turn-based strategy RPG?

"Wait. How was it that I saw my stats again?" Scott looked to the blue screen then smirked. "Oh yeah. Show Status!"

Scott Keen

[Age: 20

[Level: 1]

[HP: 1][11]

[MP: 0[1][21]

[SP: 1][11]

COMBAT

[Attack: 1][Arcane Attack: 0[1][5]

[Defense: 1][Arcane Defense: 0[1][3]

[Evasion: 1][Arcane Evasion: 0[1][2]

ABILITIES

[Strength: 1][Agility: 1][Vitality: 1]

[Durability: 1][Reflexes: 1][Arcane: 0][1]

[Intellect: 1][Charisma: 1][Luck: 1]

MANEUVERING

[Speed: 1]

[Counter: 1]

[Movement: 1]

[Jump: 1]

[Load: 10]

[—]

It took him quite a few minutes of ridiculous, if quiet, laughter before he calmed down enough to give his new skills a try. The appearance of a stat screen had caused him to lose his grip on reality for a moment.

Burning Soul was a power that would cause his body to burst into flames and generate intense heat and pressure for a short time. Alternatively, the weapon summoning skill would summon out a version of his bush axe that would work as a system weapon.

Scott did as the information had said. He focused on the image of his weapon then strongly desired its presence. "Equip Long-Handled Sword." His stalwart blade appeared before him in a ripple of light and energy. It floated in the air briefly until he took it in hand.

Technically, the bush axe was considered a long-handled sword, but he did not need to say the whole thing. He could change the name of the weapon if he found a weapon shop, which would allow him to equip it by name. Alternatively, he could upgrade it by finding a better sword type weapon to take its place. Though, changing the weapon stored within the ring would remove the system weapon status from his former weapon.

When the light died down, the bush axe looked no different. Scott wondered for a moment if anything had gone wrong, but decided to just let it go. Something had happened, he just did not know what.

The blade was returned to storage after a moment, just so he could see if it worked. He spent a few minutes calling it out and sending it back before he felt like he was comfortable with the process.

He took a moment to consider why the stone had turned his ring into a system item instead of his bush axe. He re-read the note then paid extra attention to the notice at the bottom. "Can only hold one weapon when upgrading... Was that it?" Scott glanced at his ring. His ring must have been considered a candidate for a system item as well as his bush axe. When he put the bush axe down, he could upgrade his ring.

Now that he had a reasonable, possibly true, answer to his concerns, it was time for the other item to be used. He picked up the white sphere. This was the one that worried him. If the note was to be believed, he had to swallow it. The idea of ingesting something that he had no knowledge of was disconcerting to say the least.

Finally, he sighed then said, “Fuck it.” He would die here either way. If the letter was telling the truth, then he would have a chance. If not, he probably would not have lived to see next week anyway.

Scott popped the marble sized sphere into his mouth then worked up a little saliva. It took some effort but he in the end, he did manage to swallow it.

A ripple similar to what had happened to the bush axe moved through his body. A bright light flared outward from the core of his body and continued to do so for several seconds. Scott felt a sense of heat and pressure, but not any particular discomfort.

Once the light died away, Scott sat there in confusion. Had anything changed? He did not feel any different. Well, if anything he felt weaker than before. He glanced down at his ring to see if that had changed.

He blinked in surprise as a sudden image appeared with his mind. It was two images, actually. One was his ring. The other was the bush axe. If he focused on one of them, it rotated to the forefront like it was part of an item selection ring in a game. The bush axe rotated to the front. There was a series of words and numbers that surrounded the mental image.

Inferior Light Bush Axe

A relatively lightweight weapon designed as a landscaping implement. It can slay a demon, but it is not of good quality.

Type: Sword

Attack + 4

Defense + 2

Value: 4 Copper Coins

Rage Skill: Power Cleave LV 1 – 14 Stamina | Cool Down: None | Increase Attack Power 50% for one strike.

[--]

He sat there staring at the bush axe rotating in his mind's eye for a while. He would have probably stayed there for a while still if nature had not decided to call. He stood up, weapon in hand, and headed over to his bathroom.

After using the bathroom, a thought occurred to him. He could check the status of system items, and even his own status.

He rushed to his front door and peeped out of his peep hole in an attempt to see if he could do the same with something else. A shark-tooth was milling around outside like it had nothing better to do than hang out near his porch step. Even through the peep hole he was able to receive information about the beast just by looking at it for a few seconds.

Demon

Lesser Ghoul

Level: 1

Species: Undead

[—]

Scott quickly retreated from the door. The information that he had seen had not been surprising. The shark-tooth, rather the lesser ghoul was only a low-level monster. Even though its stats had not been shown, they were probably designed similar to his own.

He glanced down at his bush axe then back to his door. He thought about it for a moment. If this was like a game then those attributes meant something, and the term level would mean something as well.

The murder-minded moment passed after he realized the truth of his situation once more. His stats felt like they were quite low. If life was some sort of game now, then he had to pay attention to that sort of thing. What was the likelihood that he would be able to beat the ghoul outside with enough speed and efficiency to completely avoid detection by its friends? The chances were low, too low. He needed to learn more first.

Scott slowly backed away from the door. When he felt like he was at a safe distance he quietly considered his options. What he needed to know was his actual ability to deal damage and survive. Fighting now took place one turn at a time. What could he do other than trade blows with the rotting bastard outside? After a brief moment of reflection he realized that there had to be a screen for his skills. He knew that he had skills because of the ring. He tilted his head to the side then slowly asked the air, "Show skills?"

Just as before, a blue screen flared into life. Scott eagerly searched its information.

Available Skills

[Burning Soul Attack][Blade Weapon Competency][Summon Weapon: Long-Handled Sword][Unarmed Combat Competency]

[—]

It was a highly limited set of skills, but it was something! He was also interested by the fact that he had an unarmed combat competency skill. "Wonder if the white stone did that?" He decided that it was probably a skill everyone acquired, a natural weapon.

If the world really had become a game-like existence, then he would need to increase his stats to survive. The skills he had gained would need to be put to the test as well.

Scott was not sure that unarmed combat competency development would be a good idea at the moment, he actually had a weapon, and it had a far greater reach than his fist. Even before that, though, he would need to try and increase his attributes.

"Man, I can't believe I am doing this shit..." he muttered. This could not be real, and yet it seemed to be. He dropped to the floor and began to perform push-ups. According to what he had read, heavy training of an attribute could increase it. Further, increased attributes lead to better development once he gained a level. The information itself had been vague, but it had hinted at the possibility that early stat development was vital in the long run.

After he performed his eighth push-up, his arms began to feel like they were made of lead. It became difficult to perform another push-up. He persevered, however, and continued to do so another four times. He now felt like something was trying to crush him as it became incredibly difficult to push his body up. After his fifteenth push-up he felt too exhausted to continue, but he tried to force himself to do so anyway. He managed one final push up, and upon doing so he felt pain rack his body. He gasped in surprise then collapsed to the ground.

"The hell was that?" he asked surprised. He checked his stats and noticed that not only was his stamina depleted, but he had lost a hit point.

A tense moment passed as he continually checked his status. How long would it take to recover? After roughly one minute he had his answer. He regained both one hit point and one stamina point. He immediately felt better.

After another minute passed he regained more stamina, his hit points were already healed. This time he received two points of stamina, and felt significantly better. The third minute passed and another point of stamina returned to him. He watched as his stamina returned to him over the course of a few minutes, every other minute restored two points.

"Regenerates fast at least..." he said thoughtfully in a quiet voice. He blinked in surprise, however, when his stamina points regenerated one more time and he was left with fourteen instead of thirteen. His hit points even increased to two. A helpful window informed him of what had happened.

Status-Up!

Through rigorous training, you have increased your potential!

Stamina +11

Hit Points + 1

[--]

"Already?" Sure, his stats felt like they were quite low, but this level of growth was ridiculous.

He set about to repeat the process since he knew stamina and hit points would be vital. The more he had, the less often he would become too tired to move. He was able to perform a few more push-ups this time, but it did not take long to reach the point of exhaustion. He pushed past the pain and lost two of his precious hit points before he collapsed.

Time passed as he rested, eventually a new screen appeared to show him what he had earned through hard training.

Status-Up!

Through rigorous training, you have increased your potential!

Stamina Points +1

Hit Points +1

[--]

"Not bad at all. My stamina is already thirteen times what it was before." It took several minutes longer to replenish his stamina after the last round, but it did not matter as he gained another stamina point and hit point. He had nothing but time, so he set about training in earnest. Scott repeated the push-up training process again and received another point of stamina. There was no hit point increase that time.

After the next round of training, Scott decided to get up and seek out a way to increase another stat while his stamina regenerated. He did not want to train with Burning Soul as he could not easily replace his house. He opted to grab a few of his text books. He could study while he waited for his stamina to replenish.

Scott took his time walking to his bedroom, lantern in hand, to grab his books. He did not want to risk losing stamina while moving around. Once in his bedroom he settled down onto his bed and tried his best to read by lantern light.

Time passed, hours in fact, while Scott worked out and studied. He has lost track of the number of times that he had performed push-ups but he found a welcome message had appeared.

Status-Up!

Through rigorous training, you have increased your potential!

Vitality +1

[--]

Excited, he checked to see how things had changed for his stats. A slow frown spread across his face.

Scott Keen

Age: 20

[Level: 1]

[HP: 3][13]

[MP: 0[1][21]

[SP: 22][32]

COMBAT

[Attack: 1][Arcane Attack: 0][1][5]

[Defense: 1][Arcane Defense: 0[1]][3]

[Evasion: 1][Arcane Evasion: 0][1][2]

ABILITIES

[Strength: 1][Agility: 1][Vitality: 2]

[Durability: 1][Reflexes: 1][Arcane: 0][1]

[Intellect: 1][Charisma: 1][Luck: 1]

MANEUVERING

[Speed: 1]

[Counter: 1]

[Movement: 1]

[Jump: 1]

[Load: 10]

[—]

"A single stat point didn't change much." he remarked in annoyance. In fact, other than vitality increasing nothing had changed.

He went to get something to eat and drink then started to train once more. He wanted to become as strong as he could become before his food and water came close to running out. After another half hour his intellect increased, proving that studying did work. A few hours later his strength increased as well.

Over time, his stats leap-frogged each other. By the time that the daylight hours came to an end he had increased several things.

Scott Keen

Age: 20

[Level: 1]

[HP: 5][15/15]

[MP: 0[1][21/21]

[SP: 26][36/36]

COMBAT

[Attack: 1][Arcane Attack: 0[1][5]

[Defense: 1][Arcane Defense: 0[1][3]

[Evasion: 1][Arcane Evasion: 0[1][2]

ABILITIES

[Strength: 2][Agility: 1][Vitality: 3]

[Durability: 1][Reflexes: 1][Arcane: 0][1]

[Intellect: 3][Charisma: 1][Luck: 1]

MANEUVERING

[Speed: 1]

[Counter: 1]

[Movement: 1]

[Jump: 1]

[Load: 10]

[—]

With the exception of his stamina, his stats had barely increased. His primary attributes such as strength did not seem to do anything but make it more difficult to increase stamina or hit points. It became obvious that when those stats increased it required more repetitions of push-ups to increase is stamina. What purpose increasing his attributes served was beyond him in that case, unless the developments after a level-up were substantially different.

The only real bonus he could see was that he had determined that vitality did directly relate to how fast hit points and stamina were restored. Strength seemed to play a part in stamina regeneration as well. He now regenerated four stamina per minute. Hit point regeneration waffled between three to four points per minute.

After dinner, he checked his peepholes, and then he opted to get some rest for the night. His stamina had been replenished completely, but he still felt a strong desire to rest. The events of the day had taken their toll on him. The meat in his freezer was no longer safe to eat, he was certain. The odor was still minimal, but he would have to be rid of it in the morning or never open his fridge again.

Once he fell asleep, he fell hard. Despite his stamina stat, sleep came readily and he spent the night in exhausted dreamless slumber.

He slept well into the night, thought it was impossible to tell how long. Refreshed completely, he set about training again. It was a lengthy process now. He had to completely exhaust himself and rest three times for each single point increase to stamina. It averaged out to around a two point increase per hour of constant training at first, but it became more difficult over time. By morning he had earned less than ten additional stamina points, but had performed thousands of push-ups, and spent hours studying his books.

"This won't work much longer." he said at last, sweat pouring from his body. Push-ups were no longer a reasonably viable source of developing stamina unless he could spend hours on end doing nothing but working out. Though, he did manage to acquire another point of strength near the end of his training.

Scott checked the water then smiled. It was still working. One shower later, he was refreshed and ready to make a few changes. "There's meat going, or gone bad, in my freezer, and I only have enough food for a week at most."

Concerned about the state of the world around him, he went to peak out his peepholes. There was only one of the ghouls in sight anywhere. Scott closed his eyes and considered carefully. Was he ready to try fighting one of the things for real, or would his food supply last long enough for him to become amazing? There was only so much he could do to train inside his house.

Decision made, he went and looked through his closet in search of a few things that would be useful. A long-sleeved shirt and a thick winter coat were not armor, but they might help. He switched out to a set of work boots that he used to wear when doing landscaping and house repairs for people. The last new addition was his winter riding gloves. They were thicker than the ones that he wore during the rest of the year. Even a scooter could cause windburn or weather related injuries if the rider did not wear appropriate clothing.

Bundled up for a winter war, he summoned out his bush axe then nodded. It was time to assess the area and his chances of survival. He was tired of sitting around. Hopefully this was not all an elaborate joke just to screw with him and he could actually fight the things outside his home.

Scott went to the back door and peeked out the peep hole there. He saw nothing. He went to the front door, and the slacker ghoul from before was still hanging out. Nothing else was in sight. It would be a worthy first battle, or last one depending on what happened.

He quietly unbarred the door. He eyed the monster through the peep hole and waited for it to sluggishly turn away. It took a few minutes, but it was the only chance at surprise that he would have.

When the monster turned, Scott quietly opened the door then rushed out. He noticed a bright green light flare outward from his position just as the monster started to turn back toward him with a low-growl.

"Scott Keen versus Ghoul Slacker! Fight-o!" exclaimed the announcer voice for the first time in a while. The customary electronic dance music intermixed with an electric guitar began to play in the background.

The ghoul froze in place and did nothing as he took two full steps to reach it. The bush axe lanced out and slammed into its face with solid force.

-3

It was driven back slightly, giving Scott enough room to whip his weapon around in a bid to strike again. However, it was not meant to be. He froze in place.

The monstrous existence growled low under its breath then righted itself. Scott panted a little, one of the few actions he could take. Movement returned to him just as the monster launched its attack. He was barely able to lean back a little as the beast whipped its talons through the air in a brutal display of power that tore through Scott's winter jacket with ease and gouged several deep cuts into his chest.

-5

"Shit!" snarled Scott as he felt intense pain lance throughout his body. The monster froze in place after its attack. It was his turn to move. He whirled his blade around in a heavy arc and attempted to slam it down atop the thing's skull with all the strength he could muster.

The lesser ghoul became mobile at the last second. It slipped sideways, almost as though it had anticipated the maneuver. A chunk of its hideous flesh was torn off along with its ear, but it had taken little more than cosmetic damage. The real damage was done to the rotting meat of its shoulder, as the blade carved into it with a sickening thud.

-3

The beast lunged forward to try and grab Scott, but he the blade was still in the monster's shoulder. Instinctively Scott leaned with the attack and used his weapon to fend of the beast while throwing it off-balance. No damage was taken in the exchange, not even the monster took damage despite the rough handling. However, the blade came free.

His full mobility returned, Scott reared back and stabbed outward with his weapon once more. He did so at a slight angle that tore past its face to the left. Scott had wanted that to happen. He side-stepped slightly, not a full-step by any means, and jerked his weapon hard. It allowed him to use the hook portion of the weapon to drag the monster sideways even further.

Once the ghoul could move, it found that its prey continued the motion from before. Scott moved with its momentum and leveraged his weapon in such a way that the ghoul fell over. On the ground it was far less of a threat, as Scott now had free-reign to move again. He lashed downward with a series of hard strikes that beat it around the head and shoulders whenever his turn came up. He never pulled his blade completely back up before his turn ended, as was thus able to keep the beast on the ground by leaning down against it when it was the ghoul's turn. They were wildly desperate strikes that did little damage. He needed to be certain that the thing would die, or he would have tried to make his escape. Nearly one-third of his life had been torn away in the first exchange.

Over a dozen strikes later, a familiar shimmer rippled along the creature’s badly mangled body. Scott stepped toward his door, his only safety. There was no need for escape. The ripples stopped and the creature ceased all movement. Black blood leaked out from its many wounds.

Scott nudged it with his weapon, but it did not move. Had he really killed the unkillable monster? It had taken a lot of effort, even if the battle had been surprisingly easy.

He did not get the chance to celebrate his victory, however. Two more lesser ghouls staggered out of the wood line nearby. They had been drawn by the noise of battle, but were still too far away to engage him in a fight.

Bush axe in hand, he quietly closed his door then took a few small steps away from the monsters. He would take two minutes to heal completely, but did not know if that would be the case if a battle started. Either way, he could not risk them attacking his door.

He had only one hope. He had not used it, yet, but it was his only chance. He took a few steps away from his front porch and down to the ground proper. The shark-toothed bastards snarled at him then trotted toward him with their bloated and swollen tongues hanging out.

Scott conserved his energy by taking slow steps backward. Simple small steps did not lower his stamina, but they did keep a little extra distance between himself and the monsters that had come for him.

He did so in the hopes that the passing seconds would allow him to become closer to a recuperating instance. It required a full minute for his hit points or stamina to replenish to a small degree.

The pattern repeated itself for a moment, not quite the minute that he had hoped for, until the blue light of battle overtook him. The ghouls were a dozen steps away, and staggered a little. One was several steps in front of the other.

"Scott Keen versus Undead Duo! Fight-O!" announced the battle voice. The frenetic background music pounded away while the squeal of the electric guitar gave way to an intense pressure. A blue screen appeared in the air.

Warning

Ghoul racial ability [Horde Mind] now active. All ghouls within the combat area are now five percent stronger per ghoul participating in the battle.

Ghoul racial ability [Fear of Death] now active. All non-ghouls within the combat area are now one percent weaker per ghoul participating in the battle.

"Well, fuck." said Scott as he felt a trickle of fear worm its way along his spine in into the primal parts of his brain.

Scott waited several turns for the monsters to approach while he focused on one of his two special abilities, and how it worked. Once the foremost ghoul came within two strides from his current position, and it was his turn, Scott raised his bush axe into the air and cried, "Burning Soul!"

For a brief moment nothing happened. But then, like a sudden explosion, bright hot flames burst outward from his body and flowed up along his blade. The flames did not damage him or what he wore, but they would also not last long. "

The ghoul, hungry and foolish, stepped forward upon its turn. It was now within strike range of Scott's weapon. He lashed out with his blade and kept moving forward before taking a half-step quickly to the side. His maneuvering range was highly limited, but he could move as he fought. He simply needed to stay within the range of a single full step.

His maneuver was designed to take into account his currently good position to strike at the closest one’s neck. It dodged back at the wait and avoided most of the blow, but a line of thick black blood formed at its throat and began to pour down.

-24

With his attack activated the difference in damage dealt was extraordinary!

Pressure, attacking pressure, was the key. He had to keep his movements swift and his attacks certain. He had to attack with his strongest abilities, and move as he fought in spite of his limited mobility. He could not afford to stand still and simply trade blows, not in his low-level state.

The monsters’ movements were slow compared to his, but the nature of combat mitigated a lot of those issues. They had as much of a chance to reach him as he did them. Case in point, when he tried to fend off the next attack from the beast he attempted to stab at it, but his blade glanced harmlessly off of its side. The creature's claws tore into his shoulder with great ferocity, though it too received damage from the flames.

-7

-1

Scott's vision faded in and out a little as pain racked his body. He was close to death after that strike. He could feel his body weaken as he was on the verge of total collapse. Blood poured freely from the gouges in his chest and shoulder. He found that it was difficult to wield his bush axe with two hands, so he was forced to attack with only one. His next attack was a single-handed whipping strike that tore across the monster's chest.

-26

The ghoul screamed out a horrible cry then fell to the earth defeated. Scott had no time to rejoice, however. The second ghoul was four turns away from his position.

It moved forward, and Scott gripped his bush-axe tight in one hand. His grip was so tight that the knuckles turned a brilliant white color. He gritted his teeth, but did nothing. He could do nothing at the moment but wait for the monster to arrive unless he wanted to waste stamina.

After his third combat turn ended, so too did his fiery aura. The ghoul made its move after Scott's turn ended, and Scott waited once more. The undead monster approached once again. Just as before his foe was a single turn, a panel's length away in game terms, before Scott focused on his power once more. He had a plan. It was all or nothing.

His chest and shoulder felt like they were on fire long before he cried out his special magical attack power. His breath came heavy, and his shoulders drooped as he felt the loss of blood keenly. It was surprising that he was still on his feet, but he ignored that in favor of what he needed to do.

The ghoul stepped forward then moved into an attack position, a feral snarl on its hideous face. Scott knew that he would not do enough damage with a simple attack. If the beast hit him, he would die. That was all there was to it. So, he put everything he had into his next strike.

An incredible surge of energy rushed through his badly injured body. "Power Cleave!" snarled Scott hatefully as he unleashed his maximum force. If the attack did not kill the ghoul, Scott would die in the next exchange. It was a nearly unavoidable truth.

The blade arced down with burning fury and slammed into the monster on the right shoulder. It kept going through the meat of the shoulder, exploded through the clavicle, tore through the beast's chest and continued down at an angle until it ripped down and out of its side of the left.

-40

The last of the beasts went down in two distinctly separate pieces. Black blood splurted out onto the uncaring earth and the battle ended. Scott stood there for a moment as the music died away, and the blue light disappeared. His breaths came hard. His blood continued to leak from his terrible wounds, and yet, he smiled a little.

Life was not that simple, however. The sound of battle had drawn the attention of several more ghouls. He was certain that most of the noise was not heard outside of the battle field, but that did not stop other monsters from hearing the growls of the ghouls that had come for him previously. Scott grimaced at the small pack coming for him. He was not certain that he could take that many at once. He counted at least seven of them.

He stepped away from the downed ghoul then looked around quickly. He could not risk his house. One of the nearby houses had a porch with a narrow step and a thick railing. That would have to do. He could not just run back inside when monsters knew he was there. He would be in deep shit, even deeper shit than he was currently.

Scott ran over to the neighboring house and checked to see if the door was locked. Thankfully it wasn't. He could only hope that there were no monsters inside. He moved inside and locked the door behind him. The house was not reinforced like his home, and would not last against a concerted attack. Still, it would give him a moment to rest.

Moving as quickly as he could, Scott made his way toward the back of the house. It was not long until he heard the growls and snarls of the hungry ghouls at the front door. A yellow light flared outward and encompassed the house. They were hunting for him. At this rate it would only be a matter of time before they found their way inside.