A blast of green energy hit them both, and Keat was blasted back into a wall. Keat saw Torana baring his fangs.

  'Me sorry boss, you moved a bit.

  Try to hold this nasty git.'

  Keat's health bar dropped down to a quarter, he couldn't take another hit like that. Slob recovered fast, charging back at Keat. Keat tried to stand but a fractured rib double him over. Balls.

  Mel's open palm smacked into Slob's temple, stunning him. Her fist wreathed in blue energy, her eyes glowing, she hit a series of blows to his torso. Where she struck left behind blue spike's of energy, keeping Slob pinned. Keat surged upwards, his BBQ fork jamming through Slob's throat. A fountain of ichor burst onto Keat.

  Notifications blurred past his eyes, and Keat dismissed them. He felt the golden energy of a level up wash over him, shooting his health bar back to full.

  Mel hauled him to his feet. Torana, the cane-goblin hedge-mage stared them down. Nugget's fist cracked into the hedge-mage knocking him flying. Torana wrenched his neck back and forth. The rest of the party was free from their bonds, Blake having untied them.

  A poisonous green cloud burst around Torana. When it cleared, Torana was disappearing into the distance.

  'Torana runs, but he be back.

  With gobbo friends, your head to crack.'

  Drenched in gore, cane-goblins piled around them, Keat slumped to the ground.

  Blake threw his arms around Mel. 'Your monk skills are so amazing, sugar-muffin.'

  Mel blushed. 'You clever man Blake, poisoning their meal with your magic. See Keat, he's a great member of our team.'

  Keat's jaw dropped, unable to speak he was so exhausted.

  'Yes a brilliant plan,' Blake acknowledged. 'Inspiration is never far away when your mind is trained. It came to me deep in meditation. Still having Keat as my sidekick did help.'

  Keat ground his teeth, that mother-fecker.

  Nugget came over, sat down, and nudged Keat. 'That plan was good, a brain it takes, me thinks that plan did not be Blake's.'

  Keat snorted at Nugget's impersonation of the goblins. Loot would cheer him up, and he had slain a level four goblin head-honcho. He flicked through the notifications from the battle.

  You have slain Slob - Cane-gobbo head-honcho

  +212 XP (split with party)

  You have reached level 4. +5 stat points

  You gain the title: Cane-gobbo slayer (10% damage against goblin's, -5000 reputation with all goblinoids)

  Congratulations, for clearing out a cane-goblin infestation you gain +50 tenant points.

  Tenant score: +51 (-5% mortgage and rental costs)

  Keat scratched his head. Again with the tenant score. Who would be applying for mortgages in the apocalypse? The XP had started splitting once the others woke up. All of the rest of the party had hit level 2 which was great. Blake had even hit level 3. The latte kid would be useful yet.

  Keat lowered his hand to loot the Goblin head-honcho. Loot would cheer him up.

  Ten silver

  Slob's Ruined singlet: Baked in with the stench of head-honcho Slob, enemies suffer a penalty trying to get close to strike at the wearer.

  (+1 armour, -2 to stealth rolls)

  Slob's brutal club: Ideal for bopping the heads of annoying minions, this club gives +2 to damage.

  Slob's dungeon map (shoddy quality): A crudely drawn map of one corner of a dungeon. Best not to ask what this is drawn in.

  Ding! You have gained knowledge (shoddy admittedly) of the Broken Hill Dungeon, one of the Nine Pillar Dungeons in Australia.

  XP gained 100

  He hurt, he'd nearly gone down from a couple of blows. He needed to be able to dodge hits, dodge more, and deal more damage. He added points to constitution and agility.

  The BBQ fork slithered out of his hand, stabbed into the chieftains club, and wrapped around it like a constrictor python. The BBQ fork started drinking the club up like it was liquid. He swore he heard a burp as it finished.

  Exhausted, sleep-deprived, and covered in cane toad bits, the Gap Year Six retreated back into the pub for the night.

  Morning came, and they gathered in the pub, ready to roll out. Each of them headed for the door, to hit the road. Standing at the exit, Keat felt a pull towards an area behind the bar. Holding up a hand to the others, he walked behind the bar, and found a chest sitting recessed behind a few kegs of beer. He held out a hand, and it clicked open, revealing a diamond the size of a golf ball.

  Congratulations tenant, by clearing out the infestation of cane-toad goblins, you may claim ownership of Shearer's creek.

  Simply place your hand on the pub's core and start climbing the property ladder. Why a few renovations, and this place'll be ready to sell. After all, there are only three rules to real estate, location, location...and no cane-toads.

  Keat put his hand out to claim the pub's core.

  Blake put a hand on Keat's shoulder. 'Why don't you let me take it, Keat? The Barista class has a few perks that go with bars and clubs.' Blake grinned at him and winked.

  Keat hesitated, was he being selfish taking this for himself? Blake had helped out a fair bit last night.

  'Here have a latte while you think it over.' Blake said, in what Keat guessed passed for a peace offering from the inner Melbourne layabout. Should he do this to make peace? They needed to work together to survive this, and the Barista class must have some perks to offset its lack of combat ability. Keat's hand started to fall to his side.

  Seems silly really, giving up the loot. When have you ever given up loot?

  Keat shook his head and grabbed the town pub's core.

  A faint crack showed in Blake's serenity, gone as quick it appeared. Dickhead, he just wanted to impress Mel, probably with the diamond.

  The ground shook.

  Localised alert:

  Tenant Keat Walker has taken control of Shearer's Creek from Ned Skelly.

  You gain 100 XP.

  Keat immediately got a new menu tab for information on the town.

  Town: Shearer's creek

  Level 1: 'Look mate, it's more than a granny flat.'

  Rent per week: 500XP and 20 gold

  As long as you retain hold of the core, the town of Shearer's creek is considered a safe zone. Monsters will avoid it based on levels. Note - higher level monsters will require higher level towns to deter them.

  Error: Shearer's creek lacks the population and infrastructure to add walls or create a safe zone. Recruit more population to unlock options.

  What the actual ...the cost in XP per week was monstrous Could he give it back? He furiously tried to unclick, to get rid of bad debt.

  Did people ever regret their mortgage like this?

  He'd gone and got himself a mortgage, in the apocalypse, with no down payment. Surely alien mana systems didn't have compound interest, right? He tried to pull the diamond out of the chest, but it was stuck fast. The whole thing seemed anchored into the pub.

  Keat whistled aloud. If that's how much this place cost, what would the XP cost for a place in Sydney? Or the gold? Sydney was the second most unaffordable city in the world behind Hong Kong. The only way to create safe zones was to take out a mortgage. What was happening to the millions of people in Sydney at the moment?

  A searing pain hit Keat in the chest.

  A vision struck him, and he was ripped from his body. Keat soared up into the sky, he flew east past the towns of Wilcannia, past the city of Dubbo and over the Blue Mountains. He raced towards Sydney.

  The city was a war zone.

  The Sydney Harbour Bridge had been cleaved in half, as if by a giant axe. Monstrous winged creatures hunched over the wreckage. The Opera House had been made into a fortress, with walls, and towers. A sea monster rose from the harbour to assault it, and a woman with bone-white hair blasted out waves of energy, driving it back. Beasts roamed the streets. Giants, and ogres as tall as three men. Bands of people huddled in burnt out buildings, scrambled through the streets. Pockets of resistance gathered, sparks of defiance.

  Keat snapped back to reality. He ripped open his shirt. A red keno ball, like you'd get from Lotto, was burned into his chest with the number 5.

  Sigil of Sectorem - Champion 5

  Your actions in claiming territory, and clearing out the goblins, have gained the attention of Landlord. Good on ya mate, you been entered in the Contest of Champions. Congratulations, you are considered a great investment. What will happen when you encounter another champion though?

  Tenant score +50

  Reputation +100

  Keat's eyes opened wide.

  'We need to get to stronger. Fast.'

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Keat put a hand on Nugget's shoulders. 'It's okay mate, she had a good run.'

  Nugget wiped away a tear from his eyes. His hands reached up to the number plate that read 'Nugs,' and jimmied it free from the statue. Keat had gotten that for him for Nugget's seventeenth birthday. Nugget had been proud as punch to sit his P-plate exams the very day of his birthday, taking the car for his first solo spin that night. Initially he'd not trusted anyone else with the Commodore, until he realised he was the designated driver every party. Abby, and Keat, had gotten used to driving after that. Mel had even picked them up from a few shindigs towards the end of the year, when she caught up to their age.

  Mel, was seated on the porch of the pub, quietly meditating while Nugget had his moment.

  Mel's eyes blinked open. 'Keat, I want to try something.'

  'What?' Keat asked.

  'I just got a +1 wisdom for learning the meditation skill. I wonder if I could teach it to you all?' Mel said.

  The others gathered around and took seats next to Mel. She showed them how to adopt a seated position, she folded into a lotus position but let them find their own comfort levels.

  'Close your eyes, focus on my voice, and count your breathing.'

  Keat closed his eyes and tried to meditate. He really did. The heat was already making him sweat. A fly kept buzzing around him, and humming right past his ear. He gritted his teeth. He didn't want to offend Mel or distract the others, but this meditation was not for him.

  To keep himself occupied, he pulled up Mongrel's stat block. Mongrel had hit level 3 during the combat, and he wanted to see what upgrades were available.

  Mongrel the Magnificent

  Level 3

  Abilities

  My bite is worse than my bark: x2 damage against larger sized creatures.

  Ruff as guts: Advantage on intimidation checks. (synergistic with Keat Walker)

  HP: 150

  Loyalty: 100%

  Upgrades available

  1) Get Around Back: Tapping into his domesticated side, Mongrel teleports behind an enemy at his masters command. Instant, cooldown one minute.

  2) Howling Fury: Tapping his wild aspect, Mongrel gains a 10% boost to attack for thirty seconds, and a chance of causing fear. Ability only able to be triggered by Mongrel, cooldown one hour.

  Keat scratched his chin, where stubble was growing in nicely. The two directions were interesting. Howling Fury was a heck of a buff, but he'd seen how lethal a backstab was in the last fight. It seemed like Mongrel didn't have a mana pool, just a cooldown on abilities. Ultimately he felt the utility of teleportation was worth it, and the ability for Mongrel to teleport out of harmful situations. The Howling Fury ability was more likely to get Mongrel killed.

  Mongrel learns Get Around Back.

  Keat pulled up the BBQ fork stats, and it didn't show any changes, although the XP counter had maxed out. Curious. Finding no way to upgrade the BBQ fork to the next level, he looked at his own stats.

  Class: Jackaroo

  Level 4

  232/400 XP to next level

  Abilities

  Animal companion: (1/1)

  Tracker

  Rustic Charm

  You call that a knife?

  Cane-gobbo slayer

  Stats

  Strength: 18

  Agility: 17

  Constitution: 18

  Intelligence: 10

  Wisdom: 8

  Charisma: 15

  Luck: 1

  Tenant Score - +51 (-5% to rental costs and mortgage costs)

  Reputation + 100 (A few people have heard of you, and think you're great, some would even buy you a round at the pub).

  HP 216/216 (3.6 per sec)

  Mana 100/100 (0.8 per/sec)

  Skills

  Stealth - Shoddy level 3 (+3% to stealth checks)

  Backstab - Shoddy level 3 (x2.3 multiplier to attack damage on unsuspecting foe)

  Tremorsense - Shoddy level 2( +2% to chance to detect enemies early)

  Sigil of Sectorem's Champion - Champion 5

  - (LOCKED ABILITY):Location, location, location.

  Well he understood why tenant score was so important now. It would make holding territory, safe, monster free territory, much more realistic. What was the locked ability? He couldn't see any details on how to unlock it. Damn, now he really wanted it. Finally who was Sectorem, and why had they taken an interest in him?

  'Ah everyone, can I offer you a morning coffee?' Blake cut through the meditation session. Everyone's eyes blinked open.

  Abby cursed, 'I nearly had it, Blake.'

  'Ah well, time to get moving anyway.' Keat said, throwing on his brown broad-brimmed cattleman's hat. He hadn't put on any of Slob's armour, but he might be able to sell it later.

  The road from Menindee kept changing. On the drive out if was mostly red desert with scrubland in places. Now though, the road was lined with forest and vegetation sprouting out of hard, unyielding outback. The mana influx must be looking for any form of life. It even felt less dry in the air, as moisture was forced into the atmosphere by the new ecosystem. Curiously the new growth was thicker near the road, then thinned out a few kilometres from the road.

  None of that, however, was as strange as the sailing ship parked across the road. Some combination of an age of sail tall ship, and a barque with three large masts, and two horizontal masts sticking out to either side. Huge tires, at least ten each side, ran along the ship's hull.

  Leaning against the ship, head slumped, was a figure in a dryzabone coat, with a large tricorn hat. His features obscured by the cap's brim, he seemed to be catching a few z's in the middle of the highway.

  Keat scratched his chin. 'You go talk to him Nugs, you're a tank.'

  'Me, what if he's a pirate?' Nugget said.

  'A pirate, in the middle of the desert?'

  'He's got a pirate ship.'

  'A sailing ship doesn't make someone a pirate.'

  'But the hat, tell me, that's not a pirate hat.'

  'Bet you a sausage roll from Deb's Deli, that he's not a pirate.'

  Mel shoved them both aside. 'Men, never want to ask for directions.'

  A strong wind tore across the road, and three things happened simultaneously.

  First, the ship's flag billowed out in the wind, a skull and crossbones in a metal helm. Second, the tricorn hat flipped off the man's head, and revealed a bone-white skull. Finally Mel stumbled, and shifted a foot to the side.

  A crossbow bolt shot past where Mel had been standing, and cracked through a nearby tree. The tree exploded into splinters, then frost cascaded outward from the impact.

  'Nobody move, this is a robbery.' Came a voice from the skull. A suave voice, confident, with just a hint of danger.

  The body rose to standing, its joint's jangling, and a skeletal hand pushed out of the coat, holding a crossbow, already reloaded. The skeleton's coat was cast aside showing metal armour, and a helmet, which it jammed over its head.

  Keat slowly raised his hands. The small crossbow shifted between the Gap Year 6. Well, the word small is hard to apply when it is you having said crossbow pointed at you. Though it was a one-handed thing, the bolt looked plenty sharp.

  'I am Ned Skelly, and it will be my privilege to rob you today.' Skelly bowed.

  'Isn't much of a robbery.' Nugget said. 'Where's the surprise, where's the X factor, the panache.'

  'Well I'm afraid this is somewhat of an improvised robbery, normally we put a bit more planning into these things.'

  'See pirates, I told you Keat, no panache.' Nugget said.

  'We're not pirates, we're bushrangers.' Ned Skelly said.

  'See Nugget, not pirates.' Keat replied.

  Nugget crossed his arms, 'Well if they're not pirates, why is that one wearing an eye patch?' Nugget jerked his head to the side of the road. Another skeleton had a hand crossbow levelled and a sword drawn.

  Skelly pulled a cutlass from his hip. 'Now stand and deliver. Which one of you outlaws is squatting in my house.'

  Keat gulped, oh no. This was the former owner of Shearer's creek.

  Abby tugged on his arm, 'Keat, I want that crossbow, go do your stabby thing with the BBQ fork.'

  'Are you daft, get the ship.' Backpacker hissed at both of them. 'I mean its no Jucy van but it sure beats walking.'

  Skelly pointed the crossbow back to Mel and squeezed tighter with his finger. 'If you are done shooting the breeze, I'm afraid its bad manners to whisper in front of other people. There's a proper way these things have to be done. Sorry my lady.' Skelly nodded at Mel.

 

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