Congratulations! You have condensed your Soul! Your Soul Bullets will now deal more damage! WARNING! Your Soul Bullets now cost 3 Souls each! You are now able to purchase Soul Adept from the System Shop!

Name: Alex Donner

Age: 24

Race: Human

Level: 7

EXP: 0/6,000

Class: Soul Survivor

Soul Tier 1: 400

HP: 200

MP: 110

Vitality: 16

Strength: 8

Agility: 20(30)

Dexterity: 20(30)

Wisdom: 8

Intelligence: 7

Alex awoke the next morning to the notification that he had successfully condensed his Soul. However, his Soul stat had gone from 1,300 to 400. With his Soul bullets now costing 3 Souls per shot, he was only able to shoot 133 Soul bullets before he was out. While that might seem like a lot to anyone not familiar with firearms, 133 bullets was barely enough for decent range practice. He could only hope that his damage output had gone up significantly and that his Soul regeneration had upgraded as well.

He still needed to apologize to Danny. He considered using the phone for a brief moment before laughing that thought away. Calling to apologize was almost as bad as texting an apology. That kinda shit never went well. Throwing on his boots, he headed towards Danny’s room which was one floor below his own.

He knocked to the tune of ‘Shave and a Hair Cut’ without realizing it and Danny opened the door, her arms crossed.

Yep, definitely pissed, but at least she didn’t slam the door in my face.

“I apologize for what I said before.” Alex stated quickly. Apologize first, then try to explain. At least, that’s what his Dad had always said. “I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on you. It’s not your fault that I’m here and to be honest with myself, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I would have.”

Now the tricky part.

“That being said. Things like the Monster Stampede might happen again. There will be times where we will have to do something that will give everyone a greater chance at survival. I wasn’t exactly happy with a wave of monsters on my ass but it was the only thing I could come up with at the time. Please, don’t blame me for trying to keep you and Rishi alive.”

Danny considered his words, taking in everything he had said. Alex worried that everything probably would have gone fine if he had just apologized, but that wouldn’t fix their situation. Danny needed to come to terms with the fact that he might end up putting himself in danger again, just as she probably would if their roles were reversed.

“I get it and your right.” Danny said quietly.

Oh Shit! Chance of successful apology increasing!

“I know you did what you could for us, you and Silvia both.” Danny continued.

30%...40%...50%...

“And I really got emotional, not being able to help.”

…60%...70%...80%...

“But don’t think that me caring gives you the right to take it out on me!” She said angrily.

…Error…Error…80%...70%...

“Apology accepted.” She finally said, kissing him on the cheek as she passed him.

…100%...110% Apology Successful! Bonus Kiss acquired! Error, Cheek Kiss potentially leads to Friend Zone! Proceed with caution!

Alex shook his head and followed Danny down to breakfast.

Ty, Toby, Rishi and Silvia were already waiting for them.

“What happened to you two last night?” Silvia said with a sultry smile.

“Bro! Score?” Ty asked.

Danny smacked the back of his head as she sat down.

“No Ty, no score.” Danny said. “You need to put more points into Wisdom.”

Ty mumbled something into his eggs.

“With the way things happened, yesterday.” Rishi stated. “We think we shouldn’t rush getting to level ten. There are several items in the shop we could buy that will help all of us when we reach the next zone and we don’t want to leave before the next set of players are brought here.”

“They won’t receive the 10,000xp gift that we got.” Toby added. “We need to help them out, then they can help the next set of people and so on.”

“So, we should start looking through the System Shop, finding what we can afford to better our chances.” Alex mused, liking their idea. “The armor and weapon upgrades would be beneficial.”

“We thought so as well.” Rishi said happily. “The first armor upgrade that Silvia received costs 5,000xp. Same with weapons. The next is 10,000xp. We can upgrade both our weapons and armor twice before needing to leave the City Zone.”

“There are specialized Modifiers for each Class as well.” Danny said. “That’s where I found my companion, after all.”

Willow, who was sitting on Danny’s shoulder, waved happily at everyone, earning a few waves along with a few chuckles.

“Too cute!” Silvia said, gushing over the little green Eldaman. “I wish I could have a little companion like her but the Amazon Class is more about martial skills than anything else.”

“Xena, eat your heart out!” Ty exclaimed. “Does that mean that Toby is your little blonde sidekick?”

Toby glared at Ty while Silvia gave Danny a whimsical wink.

“Anyways.” Rishi continued. “I know we are separate teams but I think we should head out together again and find another higher-level door. We should get familiar with what we are in for.”

“I’m fine with it.” Alex stated. “But make sure you have your Minor Health Pills handy. Danny might need to be on mob control if we have to deal with stronger monsters.”

With everyone else agreeing, they headed out in search for another high-level door. Their heads were on a swivel as they each looked and listened for the Monster Stampede from yesterday but it didn’t appear before they found a building with a solid wooden door and several elegant looking bands of black iron reinforcing it.

“What do you guys think?” Alex asked.

“More difficult than yesterday.” Danny answered. “But who knows by how much.”

With nothing else to say, Toby opened the door, leading the way into what looked like the lobby of an old-fashioned theatre. As soon as the door closed behind them, music started playing.

“Opera?” Silvia asked.

Toby nodded. “That it is. Might get a little dramatic.”

Silvia bumped Toby, shaking her head while everyone studied the lobby.

The lobby was covered in dark red carpet and dark wood walls and counters. There were several posters that looked like they were from the early 1900’s posted up along the walls in finely made glass cases. Behind the counter, something shuffled about and the group focused on where the noise came from, spreading out with Toby, Alex and Silvia in the lead.

A rat jumped up onto the counter, growling at them, but this was no oversized rat. This thing was like a Wererat, standing five feet high on two legs. It’s presence only made more shocking by the Nazi hat it was wearing atop its furry brown head.

“Nazi Wererats!?” Ty yelled. “No, fucking way!”

The Wererat leapt off the counter and Toby surprised everyone by smashing into it, full force with his shield.

“Friend of yours, Toby?” Ty called out.

Toby only growled as he swung his sword down on the Wererat as it rose back to its feet. Toby was not prepared for the Wererats strength when its furry fist punched into the shield, sending Toby back several steps.

“It hits hard.” Toby grunted as he raced back in.

“Watch our backs!” Alex called out as he rushed to the side and started firing off his rounds.

His Soul bullets were far brighter and much bigger than they had been before which was a pleasant surprise. What surprised him more, however, was that each impact seemed to stun the large monster for a moment.

Silvia stepped beside Toby and stabbed out with her spear. The Wererat howled in pain and turned abruptly, its large tail catching her in the side and sending her crashing to the floor.

Alex could see that Toby wanted to turn and check on Silvia but the man kept his eyes forward, slicing and stabbing with a fury at the oversized rodent. Alex shot off two more rounds, hitting the side of the Wererat’s head and sending it crumpling to the ground. When the body disappeared and the orb popped up, Toby turned to see that Silvia was already standing.

“The armor upgrade is definitely worth it.” She spoke. “That hit should have broken a rib at the very least but I only feel a bruise.”

Toby sighed in relief as Alex touched the orb.

Experience: 300 (1,500xp Per Nazi Wererat /6)

Souls: 0 (Nazi’s don’t have Souls)

“Shit.” Alex said. “This place is going to take a while.”

“Why is that?” Danny asked, touching the golden orb. “Oh! That sucks.”

“What is it?” Ty asked.

“I can’t replenish the Soul Points I use because Nazi’s don’t have Souls.” Alex said grimly.

“At least they got that right.” Toby muttered under his breath.

Alex gave Toby a look but the man didn’t say anything else. He shrugged, leaving it be for now.

“Did you condense your Soul last night?” Danny asked. “Your bullets were brighter and looked like they packed a punch.”

“Yep.” Alex said. Before he continued, he realized that he had already gained back three Soul Points. “It looks like my regeneration went up as well. Still, we will have to wait between mobs, just to be safe.”

They waited patiently until Alex was topped off again before heading deeper into the theatre. They cleared the smaller rooms left to right with the first door leading to a maintenance room. There was another Nazi Wererat waiting for them, except this one was armed with a wicked looking knife.

The Wererat rushed Toby when he entered the room, sending him flying into the wall. Alex and Silvia pushed into the room, drawing the monster away while the others filed in, checking on Toby.

Rishi’s golem ran past Alex and Silvia, crashing into the Wererats legs. With the monster being held in place, Silvia stabbed her spear into its gut while Alex shot it several times in the face. Toby was healed up quickly but Ty had already joined in on the action, sending arrow after arrow into the monster. It was dead before Toby could join the fray.

“Sneaky little fuckers, aren’t they?” Danny said, coming up behind the group.

“And strong.” Toby agreed. “The only reason I wasn’t skewered with that things knife was because of my shield.”

He pointed out the small indentation in his iron shield.

Alex whistled. “Damn, I’m happy you are leading the way for this run, Toby. I don’t know if I could have dodged it.”

“My own fault.” Toby said, touching the orb. “Should have looked into the room before stepping in.”

They looked around the room but only found a few random tools and a large collection of Nazi memorabilia china that the group dutifully smashed.

“What the fuck is wrong with this game?” Danny asked. “Dust Bunnies, Nazi Wererats. Who thinks up this shit?”

“The System, apparently.” Rishi said, checking over his golem. “It probably knows all about us. Our history, stories, films and books. Maybe it just meshed everything together.”

“Our fantasies and nightmares, mixed all into one.” Alex said. “Wonderful.”

“Ugh. I hope my Moms not here.” Ty said.

The group all looked to the red panda.

“Ew.” Alex said.

“Dude! No!” Ty yelled. “I meant nightmare!”

Alex grinned. “Sure, you did, Ty. No reason to be ashamed. She’s not your real Mom after all.”

“Not cool, bro.” Ty said, a little growl escaping from his chest.

Toby burst out laughing and the other’s shook their heads as they continued to sweep the theatre.

They checked each room, clearing out the Nazi Wererats. The monsters were becoming better equipped, the last one carrying an old World War II German pistol. Luckily, Toby was being more cautious while entering each room and the Wererat missed his first shot that was aimed at Toby’s head.

They moved at a snail’s pace but with everyone piling on the damage, Alex didn’t need to expend as many bullets per fight. Soon, they were standing in the theatre lobby in front of a large set of double doors.

The doors leading into the theatre was the last room they needed to clear and most likely where the Boss would be waiting. Even with all the Nazi Wererats, they were still surprised when they entered to find a Nazi Wererat sitting on the stage, a Hitler like mustache on its furry face and a flamethrower in hand.

The Wererat stood up, growling.

“Juden!”

“Racist as fuck, man.” Ty whispered.

The group scattered as the Wererat’s flamethrower shot out towards them. The flame went impressively far but wasn’t nearly fast enough to catch them. Ty and Danny immediately started their attacks while Rishi sent out his golem. The clay golem didn’t move fast but it made up for its lack of speed with blunt trauma. Alex, Toby and Silvia spread out across the aisles leading to the stage and ran towards the Hitler wannabe.

Apparently, Toby was taking personal offense to this whole place. The German Tank, Ha! jumped onto the stage and slammed his shield into the Wererat with an impressive amount of force. The Boss didn’t budge and Toby felt the pit of his stomach drop.

Toby didn’t show his distress, however, stepping past the Boss and keeping its back towards the others while Alex and Silvia attacked from the sides. A perfect gamer move. The Boss lifted up its flamethrower and slammed it into Toby like a sledgehammer, taking the German man down to his knees. The barrel of the flamethrower bent as the Hitler Wererat chopped down on the Tank with abandon.

“Danny! Toby is going to need heals for this fight!” Alex yelled as he fired off several rounds into the Wererats head. The Soul bullets weren’t stunning it but it did cause it to miss a few attacks on Toby, who was still on his knees, his shield held above his head.

Danny had to run past the theatre seats to get into range of her healing spell. After a quick chant, a warm green glow surrounded Toby. The Boss suddenly turned around and screamed at her.

“Nein!”

The Boss jumped off the stage, aiming his makeshift flamethrower club at Danny but she stumbled backwards and the Boss found Rishi’s golem instead. The golem couldn’t stand against the Boss’ strength but its arms wrapped around its legs, tripping the Wererat up.

Danny cast a root spell on the Boss before gaining a little more distance. The thorn covered vines wrapped up the Wererat along with the golem but the golem didn’t seem to mind. Rishi, still near the back of the theatre, chanted a long spell and his golem started to flash bright light from its brownish grey skin.

“Get back!” Silvia shouted. “He’s going to blow it up!”

Alex, who had already jumped off stage, turned and ran. He took two steps before the spell went off; the loud explosion rang in his ears as Alex was tossed up in the air. He crashed into the stage with a heavy thud. Danny had gotten farther away but was staggering, along with Silvia.

Ty had been far enough back to not be exposed to the impact of the explosion and fired arrow after arrow into the smoke and rubble where he had last seen the Boss. Toby was up as well, running forward.

Alex was dizzy but he had enough sense to pull out a Minor Health Pill and swallow it. The pill started repairing his legs. They had been torn up by shrapnel of the blast. He tried not to look as the gaping wounds sealed themselves shut. Once he was finally standing, he watched as the Nazi Wererat jumped out of the smoke at Toby.

The Boss was covered in burns and bleeding wounds. The fact that it was still standing said something for the level of this place. While Alex or Toby’s team could possibly clear this place themselves, they would be hard pressed to do so. It just went to show them that they needed to get stronger.

Ty kept firing his arrows, never letting up the constant stream of damage. Once Alex finally got into range, he sighted the half charred Wererat and pumped bullet after bullet into its chest. His legs might be healed but his head was still a little fuzzy and he doubted he could pull off headshots, even as close as he was. When the Boss finally fell over, dead and still smoking, Toby fell on his ass, taking a canteen out of his storage pack and taking a huge swig.

“Fuck Nazis.” He said quietly. Again, Alex was the only one close enough to hear him.

Checking that everyone was still in one piece, Alex touched the orb.

Experience: 1,000 (6,000xp per Wererat Hitler Boss /6)

Souls: 0 (Nazi’s don’t have Souls)

Boss Loot: Exquisite Bone Dice

“Fuck this game and its fucking loot!” Danny yelled after touching the orb.

Alex was sure he didn’t want to read the description of the Bone Dice, so he didn’t.

“Haven’t seen Exquisite grade before.” Rishi said. “Considering the Boss had a flamethrower; it might do some good for our armor. Possibly resistance to heat or even elemental magic. Or add fire damage to your other handgun, Alex.”

That was an interesting thought. He could always use more firepower but that flamethrower was no joke. Resistance to something like that could be extremely helpful.

“I think Rishi is right.” Alex said. “We need every boost we can get and while this loot is probably the worst possible thing I can think of, it doesn’t mean we should ignore it.”

Danny threw her hands into the air in defeat.

“Are you thinking armor or weapon?” Silvia asked.

“I’m thinking armor.” Alex said thoughtfully. “I can dodge most strikes but a firebolt could catch me by surprise. But for Danny, I would suggest she put it on her robes instead of her breastplate, since it covers her more.”

“Fine.” Danny said, throwing the orb into her robe. Her robe shimmered and they waited for her to read the description.

“Nullifies all burn effects to the wearer.” Danny said. “I think your leather clothes would be best since it goes underneath your armor.”

Toby checked his Interface. “The leather clothes count as one piece of armor so it would be the most ideal place for this upgrade. I’m guessing the robes work the same way for Rishi and Danny as our leathers do?”

Rishi and Danny both gave a nod. They both had chest armor, which was out of the norm of most rpg games Alex had played but not unheard of. Danny had her steel breast plate over her robes, while Rishi had scaled armor covering his chest and shoulders.

“That’s settles it for me.” Alex said. “While having Blazing Soul bullets might be cool, I would rather not be roasted alive.”

They all applied their orbs to their leathers, or in the case of Rishi, to his robes. Alex pulled up the description for his leathers.

Fiery Underwear (Upgraded to Exquisite): While not your typical Earth undergarments, your leather underclothes will nullify all burn affects to the covered portions of your skin. Sorry, you head, feet and hands don’t count!

Toby stood up and started walking towards the exit.

“Let’s get out of this place and never speak of it again.”

“Dude!” Ty complained. “We can’t not talk about killing Nazis Wererats!”

Toby ignored Ty as he headed for the theatre.

Catching up to Toby, Alex leaned over to the brooding German.

“You okay, man?”

Toby walked with an air of melancholy. When he finally spoke, he kept it quiet so that the others wouldn’t hear.

“I am distantly related to a particular infamous Nazi.”

Alex eyebrows went up but he didn’t interrupt the man.

“My family, my real family that is, thought it was a mark of pride. They would go on and on about the true Aryan race. When I was old enough to learn what they were trying to force me to believe, I ran away. Lived on the street for two years before I was caught.

“When the police tried to return me to my family, I told them about my parents. I was sent to an orphanage and both my parents ended up losing their jobs when word got around that they were Nazi sympathizers. Germans, well, most Germans are ashamed of that part of their history. To support one of the largest mass genocides in history is something we do not look kindly upon.”

“I’m sorry, Toby.” Alex said. “I don’t know if it means anything, but I really respect that you stand against it. There are so many things that people hold onto. America is worse than most. It’s just not brought into the spotlight as much.

“There are still people in my country that agree with slavery, condemn homosexuals and ignore the impoverished even though our country was built upon the backs of impoverished people. It’s hard to face those ignorant sycophants while they blindly spout bullshit to the masses.

“I’ve never really cared about Democrats or Republicans. Different sides of the same coin if you ask me, but I hate the whole demonizing for the sake of feeling special. Right is right and wrong is wrong. Are there grey areas? Sure, but if that’s people’s only excuse to act like douche bags then fuck ‘em.”

“That does help.” Toby said with a smile. “Thank you, Alex. Maybe I should tell people that we kicked a bunch of Nazi Wererat ass today.”

“That’s the spirit!” Alex laughed, clapping the man on his shoulder. “We will kill our demons, one boot to the ass at a time!”