Chapter 14: Learning our Limitations

While I hesitate to mention anecdotal claims, and for obvious reasons this cannot be tested, I nonetheless feel obliged to mention that it is widely, almost universally claimed around our oldest soldiers against this menace that the first few battles were the easiest, giving them a sense that the monsters were just as new at this as they were. I bring this up at their insistence, for if you are in their position be aware – your first few battles are not indicative of the struggle to come. They are not mindless monsters – merely inexperienced at this point.

Still, I am assured it is a good opportunity to score loot, if you are lucky enough to meet them when they are still novices.

- What you need to know to survive the Voidbound System, by &*%:”%^%

“Yes yes yes!” Alicia was looking at one of the rifles, and beaming like it was Christmas come early. “This is a photonic rifle! I can use this!” her words got some interested looks – especially from Larry, who was looking at one himself.

“Are you sure? I can't even figure out how it works. Abstractly, I know it's a gun, but..” he said, shaking his head in irritation, even with his tone lit with curiosity.

Alicia nodded emphatically: her body language betrayed her true age. “Yes! I even bought some perks for it when this all started, because I thought I might get one as starting equipment! I have limitless ammo, and a perk that adapts my shots to be better at what I'm shooting at.” her voice was rich with enthusiasm and glee.

Larry's brows lifted at her words, and he grinned. “Good. Same rules apply – and when we get back, maybe you can run me through it? Maybe I can pick up the skill.” he nodded to the other four rifles that had survived undamaged. “And we can look at the differences. It's a sniper's weapon, yes?”

Giving his words a moment's thought, she nodded. “That works for me. It means I can stay back, which is good, right?” her expression grew excited once more as an idea struck her. “Shawn said he had a perk to make nanoforged gear change. If we got multiple weapons for him to copy, couldn't we have him make one gun that could turn into the type of weapon we wanted?”

Her words made several people perk up with interest: Larry gave a slow nod. “That's a brilliant idea.” she beamed at the praise, even as Bob shimmered back into visibility.

“It's a very good thought. Your first proper fight, huh? Anyone get anything good?” the apparition said, a light smile on his fluorescent face. “The first fights are always the easiest.”

Jonathon nodded – as did Bea, interestingly. “I got a respawn.” she said, which made Jonathon grin. “So did I.” she glanced his way, giving him a devastating smile., a twinkle of amusement in her baby blue eyes.

Bob smiled at them both. “Congratulations. You both earned a nemesis.” There was a brief silence at his nonchalant words – it took a moment to sink in - and Jonathan was about to ask what he meant.

But it was right then that the sounds of a massive explosion rocked the air, and the staccato sound of massed gunfire resounded through the forest.

They looked to where it was coming from – it didn't seem to be far – and Dave even took a step in that direction, before shaking his head as he stepped back – blurring from one spot to the next. “If we go that way, it's a party wipe.” he said, urgently, a look of fear on his face.

“Are you sure?” asked Sue, sounding concerned, trading a worried glance with Sue as another massive explosion resounded: David nodded. “I bought a few perks that give me forewarning of my actions and events. They're telling me that if I go that way, we all die. Painfully.”

David scowled. “But we can't just leave them! They need help!” he exclaimed, displaying the hero complex that had served him so well: right on queue, the radio crackled. “This is J-team! We're in the edge of a forest, calling for relief! Some kind of zombie swordsme..” the connection cut off with a scream of pain, as another massive explosion tore through the air: as the roar of the blast subsided, it became obvious that the sounds of gunfire had been silenced by it.

Dave licked his lips, and nodded urgently to David. “Make us a portal back to the Vineripper. Right the fuck now.” his tone was tense, with a noticeable undercurrent of worry.

The boy – he had a man's body, but he was still a boy – looked like he would protest, but with a second look at Dave's face his objections subsided: With a twist of magic, a luminescent portal opened, and he dived through, followed by the rest of the team: they could hear something coming towards them through the forest, tearing it's way through the foliage with disturbing speed. Something big, and Jonathon, for one, did not want to stick around and see what it was – not if it was whatever had wiped out another team of nine in less than a minute: He somehow doubted 'swordsmen' were responsible for the explosions.

Regrouping near the charred mass of the alien plant, they gathered together, the portal winking shut as soon as they were all through. “So. Now what?” Sue asked. “I need 4 XP to level.” One by one, the others chimed in – most were roughly the same. Frank's lips twisted in annoyance, however.

“I'm short one point from getting my class.” he said. “So can we find something else? Dave? Which direction gets us another small fight like that last one?”

Dave considered this for a long moment, then turned to face towards the Dungeon. “This way. It's... definitely going to be a fight that won't be a party kill?” He sounded slightly uncertain, then scowled. “I need better fucking precog.” he muttered. “Shall we?”

Thee consensus was that they shall, and off they went in that direction. Bea slid beside Jonathon, and fired another devastating smile across his bows (metaphorically speaking, if her smile earlier had been a shot across his bows, this one was a broadside right into his flank). “You seem pretty powerful. So how did you become the most skilled life mage, handsome?” her tone was flirtatious, and no god could save him now: he nearly stumbled, catching himself at the last moment.

Feeling more than a little flustered, he smiled back: In a self-effacing tone, he replied, “Mostly by having the dumb luck of wanting to see how the system worked before I realised there was no way to undo my choices.”

The gorgeous blonde – He honestly thought she could give Helen of Troy a run for her money – chuckled wryly at his words. “Well, dumb luck is better than bad luck, isn't it? I Don't suppose you'd want to give a girl a few magic lessons when we get back? Just you and me?”

“Ah.. sure, we can do that.” he replied: He was not used to this sort of attention, nor was he entirely sure how to handle it. Especially knowing that even if she looked like a supermodel, she was well over eighty: He liked the thought of experienced women, but he wasn't quite certain how he felt knowing that whatever she looked like, she was old enough to be his grandmother. He had to admit, he had a weakness for blondes.

Happily, he was pulled from his ruminations by David hissing and ducking, gesturing for everyone to cover behind a ridge: The precog's orders were followed promptly. The transformations to the terrain had created a rolling, complex countryside with lots of places to hide: while that was useful, Jonathon reflected, it was also rather worrisome: After all, if the Dungeon was responsible for the changes – what was it trying to conceal? What was hiding from them?

Peering over the rise, the neon glow of the gothic fortress that had replaced their home shone in the distance, the light bouncing off – water? It had a moat, perhaps; something was reflecting the glow and casting illumination back upon those menacing walls.

Of more immediate interest was the entity on the other side of the ridge: Perhaps a hundred metres away, in the process of devouring a skeletal form that was half devoured already, the bones sticking out of a slimy mouth filled with teeth, slowly being drawn within. There were signs of recent battle all around it, the ground torn up and the scattered remains of a few other skeletons could be seen: Whatever this thing was, it had proved victorious.

What manner of beast was this? It looked a bit like a snail, if it were the size of a Volkswagen, with a shell shaped akin to that of a main battle tank, flattened and angular, covering most of its soft flesh. A portion on top slowly rotated, looking round with a trio of glowing eyes, arranged like a triangle around a short, hollow protrusion that looked enough like a gun barrel to make Jonathon start: He ducked back immediately as it started looking in their direction, worried it might have seen them.

“What. The fuck. Is That.” Larry remarked in a disbelieving tone, trading glances with the others: There was a degree of shock in everyone's eyes. The skeleton warriors? Those they had half expected: Jonathon had briefed them on what he'd seen in the map room, and they had seen similar monsters when running to safety, in the moments before the fortification arose to protect them.

A Tank-snail, however, was new.

There was a long moment of silence, then Dave gave Jonathon a speculative look. “How quickly can you make a new fucking spell, Jon?” he murmured. “Specifically, one that could tell us a bit about that... thing. Health and abilities. That should be in your wheelhouse, right?”

Eyes turned to Jonathon as he thought about it: It wouldn't be hard, the knowledge in the back of his head said: He bit his lip. “Give me a minute or two.” They nodded – Larry carefully watched it as the others stayed silent, eyes on him as he worked. His form blended best into the background, the camouflage he wore proving exceptionally good at masking his presence.

It did not take long: Indeed, Jonathon realised he already had a spell which collected the information – the one that read genetic code. It was a matter of converting that information, pulling a little data from the system... Five minutes passed before he was done. He was almost finished when he realised he could apply it to other objects as well, and with a bit of editing, adding in the scattered bit of knowledge he had from his other schools...

Congratulations! You have discovered the Spell 'Analyze'

As this spell already exists in the System, you are not awarded Innovation XP.

As no-one else on your World has this spell, you have the right to rename it in your natural language, as the Creator of this incantation on your own world.

Would you like to do so?

This really was a no-brainer...

Congratulations! You have discovered and learned the spell 'Analyze'

Requirements: Life (Initiate 4), Destiny (Initiate 2), Death (Initiate 2), Solid (Initiate 1), Liquid (Initiate 1), Gas (Initiate 1), Plasma (Initiate 1), Mana (Initiate 2)

Cost:11 Mana

Upon casting this spell upon a System subject, Learn the species, Class, Level, Mana points and health points of your target, as well as a basic understanding of any unusual capabilities.

You have gained 1 XP for your assistance.

He flashed them a smile when he was done and – checking with Larry that it wasn't looking this way – stuck his head up just long enough to cast the spell on the monstrosity.

Species: Panzer-snail

Class: Devourer

Level: 19

Health: 1984/2280

Capabilities

Armoured Shell

Alkali Projector

Deaf

Efficient Consumption

Jonathon just stared at Dave. “Won't be a party kill?” he said, incredulously. “That thing is level nineteen. It has a class – 'Devourer' – whatever the hell that is, it's shell is as good as light tank armour, and it can spray corrosive liquid a good three hundred feet!” He wasn't quite sure how he knew what the terms he'd seen meant: They looked almost like they were traits, but he presumed his knowledge of life magic was translating them for him. “It apparently took out a group of those skeletons all by itself, and we know they're more powerful than we are. What the hell are you smoking? It has over two thousand health! How much damage do your guns do?” he nodded towards Alicia's new laser rifle. “That thing – It seems to do something like ninety to a hundred per shot. Before it hits the armour.” the others were giving him worried looks – he was getting worked up, and wasn't exactly keeping his voice down, but when they tried to shoosh him, he shook his head. “It's deaf.”

Alicia switched to giving him a curious look. “How do you know how much damage it does?” she asked, curious.

“Because I was hit by one, and I took about eighty damage through my resistances and natural armour.” Jonathon replied, in a dry tone. “I am pretty sure I'm the only one of us who could take a direct hit right from that gun now. Let me put it another way: Pretty sure that thing has more health than our party combined. So what the hell, Dave? Answer my question! How the hell are we supposed to kill that thing?”

Dave glared back. “How the fuck should I know? All the information I got was 'it won't be a party kill'. That's still all I'm getting.” glances were exchanged amongst the group. “Suggestions?” Dave said in a pointed tone. “Let's run through spells and perks. I've got fuck all that can hurt it. We know Jon can set things on fire. You've got your summons, your undead.” nodding to Bea and Larry. “Anything else?”

“I can make it choke?” Alicia offered, a little helplessly. “I mean, I killed some of the monsters that way when we were running. David would knock them down, I'd cast my spell and they'd start to choke – The undead started to decay, instead, like they were dipped in acid or something.”

Larry glanced to the 'boy' in question. “How'd you knock them down?”

David gave a nervous smile. “It's a Space spell? It inflicts Knockdown? Same spell I used to knock the skeletons out the trees.” his tone was a mix of fear and eagerness, like he had something to prove,

Dave looked back to Jonathon. “Is it armoured on the bottom?” Jon shook his head, and Dave looked back to the group. “So we knock it over, you choke it, Alicia, and then we pour our shots into the bottom? Send in the summons to keep it from getting up again? And David – you get ready to portal us away if things become a shit sandwich?” Nods were exchanged as everyone steeled themselves to the task: Larry stuck his head up, cautiously, to check it wasn't looking this way: Then they struck.

David's spell streaked across the ground, rocking the shell badly – for a moment, they thought nothing would happen: the dread turret started to spin their way as they got ready to run, but lifted up and up: with a majestic, ground thumping THUD the snail toppled onto one side, exposing the slick, slimy foot upon which it was resting – even as they rose to fire, however, the squirming, fleshy body was twisting to pull itself right once more.

Jonathon's Gaze of Malignancy was active – he hadn't turned it off – but he was increasingly realising that even with his power, it didn't do that much damage. Against someone of his own level, perhaps, it would be devastating: But against the local monsters... he was beginning to regret having focused on close quarters combat. He tossed another ball of lit tissue, casting to make it into a fire elemental before it hit the ground, racing towards their foe: at the same time, he cast Growth of immolation, and the long grasses writhed and grew, pinning it in place for a few seconds more.

Alicia's spell had more luck: A haze hung around the snail's flesh, and it's writhing grew more frantic – then the guns spoke. Her rifle, unsurprisingly, make the biggest impact on the slimy creature, an explosion erupting where she hit as water flashed to steam, and a hail of gunfire followed after: Once more, Michelle's shot seemed to explode on impact, this time in a shower of – salt? Whatever it was, it hit the snail's skin like a chemical weapon, and it writhed and twisted and THE GUN WAS POINTING AT THEM, even as his elemental and Bea's Dart tried to burrow into it's flesh.

“Portal to there ! NOW!” Dave yelled, pointing to a spot about a hundred feet away - to the boy's credit, David didn't hesitate, and they dashed through even as a wave of corrosive chemicals arced high, descending towards their position – Sue caught the tail of it, and dropped to the ground screaming her throat raw as the portal winked shut: They could see the flesh of her leg bubbling, and Jonathan dashed to heal her even as the others resumed fire. For this, he dual-cast Mend, hand on her shoulder, cursing himself again. When he got home, he was making more spells. Journeyman level healing. Journeyman level killing. He was healing at a miserly 8 points every second or so – it added up, and happily she'd only caught a splash of that noxious, corrosive liquid.

Whatever it was, it would have melted her leg off if he had not got to her immediately – her screaming had subsided into sobbing as the healing took place, and he also made a determined note to incorporate painkilling into his new healing spells. He could barely contribute to this fight, and he castigated his own short-sightedness as Sue's breath, gasping for air slowly subsided, her wound healed: She came to her feet – the background noise of blasts and gunfire, explosions and the death scream of that monster the background to her wan smile.

“Thank you.” she said – before the notifications rolled in.

You have Slain a Level 19 Panzer-snail!

You receive 361 SMU credit

2 XP

Have Fun!

They both looked over at the gun line: The beast was dead, faster than they'd expected: The skeletons must have damaged it already. They saw Frank clutching his head, as if suffering a wave of transient pain: He waved Jonathon off when the omnimage reached for him.

“I just levelled – and got my class from Maskeline.” he said, blinking a few times – to clear spot, perhaps. “Adds four to both prayers and miracles every level, an additional perk per threshold – I assume that means every multiple of four, so that means every time I level – and a new trait..” he trailed off. “It boosts my mana. Holy shit, I have nearly a thousand... and it means I can use my miracles a lot more.”

His words got a series of smiles, and Dave clapped him on his shoulder. “What about the rest of us? Call in. I'm five from level three.”

“Two from two, here.” chimed in Sue, rising to her feet – she looked to her friend, and Bea made a face.

“Five from two.” she said, somewhat grumpily; Alicia responded with a bright, sunny smile that reminded you she was just sixteen: her peppy energy was almost contagious.

“I just hit level two myself.” she said, happily. “Twelve to go until I can get a class – can I have one of the custom classes, Jonathon?” she turned bright, baby blue eyes on him that once more betrayed her true age. “Please? I want to see if there's any way of being invisible. Then I can fly up high, with no-one to see me, and be a sniper with this rifle.” she patted her weapon like it was her new favourite toy.

Jonathon chuckled. “Maybe. But there's probably a spell that does that – we can look in the store when we get back, okay? I think...”

Without any warning, mid-sentence, Jonathon felt something coil around his waist, yanking him backwards: A choked off scream as he saw the shocked face of his team, the world around him shifting to a soft azure hue.

Struggling against the reptilian, inhuman coils that were wrapping around him, his view of the softly glowing blue space he found himself within was interrupted by a neon yellow system message.

Alert! Adrian attempted to alter your respawn point to:

Larder

Your Trait Indomitable blocked this attempt.

If you wish to permit this, focus on your consent.

Jerking in shock, he started to claw and tear at the tentacles that were holding him, even as a head appeared on each side of him – two heads? The rasp of scaled, ridged skin against his neck moving rapidly into place, the feeling of long fangs biting down on his carotid and jugulars with a vicious, ravenous cry of glee: rapidly, he saw his health bar dropping like a waterfall, rapidly growing woozy as his blood was pulled from his body – feeling spasms of pain as veins and arteries ruptured from the pressure, then...

You have been slain by Adrian the Trapdoor Vampire.

You have lost a respawn.

You may respawn in 1 LRP.

He'd just got that respawn, too...