The warriors daughter, p.8
Unranked Ascension: A LitRPG Adventure, page 8
Chapter 16
Wielder of Words
Now that they had rescued Patrick, it was time to seriously consider the future. As Lucius, Jack, and Patrick sat facing each other near the store’s register, eating some of the snacks every convenience store carried, James ran around with Jack’s shield, playing hero while Mary chased him about, trying to get him to stop.
“That’s not a toy, James! Look at those dangerous spikes. You could hurt yourself!” she complained, but the boy was undeterred.
“But I need to get strong like Jack and Lucius, Mom! Maybe I’ll get a shield skill like Jack’s if I practice with it long enough!” countered James.
“That’s fine, but you can practice with one of the shields Jack made from the cabinet doors—not the one with deadly spikes!” Mary insisted, finally managing to pry the large shield from his hands. Despite its size, it was amazingly light, and even James could hold it without too much trouble.
“Fine!” he relented. “But I want a real knife. What if another monster gets close to me like when the bugs first attacked? I need to defend myself!” James explained, his argument sounding rather convincing.
“I’ll think about it. Now quiet down and let your father speak,” admonished Mary, as Patrick patiently waited for the drama to finish before he began talking.
“Before we discuss anything else, I’d like to show you all something. Mary and James, come take a look too,” Patrick began. “I studied Latin before all this happened, and while I was trapped in that car, I practiced my writing to pass the time. That’s when the system first spoke to me.” Patrick held out a piece of journal paper with the word Fortis written on it. The word was placed prominently in the center of the page, written with artistic flair and full of intricate details. Patrick had obviously put a lot of effort into it.
Upon being handed the piece of paper, Lucius realized it wasn’t a mundane, everyday item any longer. “I can feel it—there’s power coming from it!” he exclaimed.
“That’s right!” Patrick responded. “I unlocked an ability called Wielder of Words. If I focus my energy and attention while inscribing a word, I can imbue it with magic. For some reason, the more details I add to the word, the better it works. I was able to create a rudimentary inscription with this paper and pen, but with proper materials, it could become much stronger.” Patrick showed the boys a plastic water bottle filled with blue liquid. “I filled this up with the blood of the Abyss Queen before we burned her. I’ll try creating stronger inscriptions with it. Think about what you’d like inscribed and let me know. Your sword and shield are too strong, though. Since I’m not very skilled, I can only inscribe ordinary objects. I tried it on a piece of the queen’s carapace but wasn’t able to do it. However, I can enhance the protection of a piece of defensive equipment or increase the amount of damage a weapon can do.”
“Can we use more than one inscribed item each?” asked Lucius.
“No, but if I level up the skill enough, I have a feeling that it will become possible,” Patrick replied.
The boys considered it for a few moments before deciding what they wanted inscribed. “Can you inscribe this belt with durability? I’m trying to use it to hold my sword, but I’m having trouble.” Lucius had used two belts, wearing one around his waist and looping the other around it to hold his sword. However, the sword was slowly cutting through the belt with how keen its blade was.
“Probably,” Patrick agreed.
“I know what I want,” said Jack, walking to the back of the shop and returning with a large sledgehammer. “This weapon suits me better than the spears or knives. It’s already pretty durable, so I’ll go with enhancing the amount of damage it can do.” Jack handed the hammer to Patrick.
Patrick laid the two items on the floor and took out a black case from his vest pocket. He opened it, retrieved a strange-looking pen and a bottle of ink, and mixed some ink with the blood from the Abyss Queen. He then dipped the pen into the mixture. Starting with the belt, Patrick carefully inscribed the word durabilis, working incredibly slowly, pouring utmost attention into every detail. As he wrote, golden motes of light like those that had created the boys’ items appeared, although not nearly as many. Whereas thousands of lights had appeared in an instant during the item creation, they now appeared one every few seconds. The lights lingered around Patrick’s hand before moving toward the tip of the pen, eventually joining with the item being inscribed. He kept working until the entire item was dotted with lights. With the last stroke, the lights disappeared, leaving the belt with a slight magical sheen. Patrick repeated the process with the hammer, this time inscribing the word damnum on its head. When he finished, he handed the items back to the boys.
Lucius put the belt on and tried placing his sword inside it. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it held the sword without issues. Focusing on his makeshift sheath prompted a description from the system.
Sheath: Belt, Quality [Mundane]
This is a mundane belt that has had its durability magically enhanced through inscription.
Jack’s hammer had a similar description, with the difference being that his item had received a damage enhancement.
With that out of the way, the companions continued the discussion. “Has anyone tried to look up the news on a cellphone or on the TV?” asked Jack. “Maybe there are designated shelters we could try to get to.”
“The internet hasn’t worked since the beginning of the emergency, and even regular electronics are starting to malfunction. Look.” Mary picked up a flashlight off the counter and pressed the button to turn it on. Only the tiniest flicker of light came from the bulb. “I’ve tried new batteries and even opened new flashlights. They’re all the same. The more time passes, the more broken everything seems to get. So we won’t be able to receive any TV, radio, or internet signals.”
“Sounds like regular electronics are failing over time…” Lucius muttered. He had a suspicion about what was happening and decided to ask the system directly to confirm his fears. “System, do you know what’s happening?”
As the mana levels on your planet rise, mana is imbued into every molecule of your world. This has an impact on physics itself, as well as the chemical reactions you have relied on to create technologies. Technologies affected might include batteries, gunpowder, explosives, medicine, electronics, internal combustion engines...
The system continued listing technologies until Lucius finally asked it to stop. This new discovery would throw a massive wrench into any plans they might have. They would need to travel on foot anywhere they decided to go, greatly restricting their ability to cover long distances. They were also completely cut off from the rest of humanity, with no way to communicate or gather information from the outside world.
It was sinking in that no matter what they decided, they were on their own. As the group fell into silence, considering what they had just learned, they heard a rumbling noise coming from far off in the distance. It was the same noise that Lucius and Jack had heard when they first stepped outside, right before the battle with the Abyss Queen. It was getting closer, and Lucius could feel a warning from Sense Danger rising up in his chest. The sensation was an explicit warning to Lucius that it was not safe to remain anywhere close to whatever horrid creature was creating the sound.
Chapter 17
Setting Off
After the four of them spent half an hour anxiously proposing ideas, most of which were unworkable, it was Jack who finally came up with the winning plan.
“Uh, isn’t there a military base, kind of close by?” Jack asked.
“Oh yeah, it’s right down the street from that big church. I used to go there when they had food drives,” Lucius answered. “I’ve walked there a few times from here. It takes about half a day.”
“That was before the world was invaded by monsters. It would take much longer now. We need to move slowly and carefully,” Patrick added. “It’s not a bad idea, though. The people best equipped to survive this disaster are soldiers, and even if the base is empty, we might be able to find some useful equipment.”
“Are we really going to try walking across the city while those monsters are out there?” Mary asked. The idea of leaving the relative sanctity of the convenience store was chilling.
“We don’t have a choice. We can’t stay here, and if we need to make contact with others if we want to survive in the long run,” Patrick replied, his tone of voice reassuring but firm. Mary could tell that he had already made up his mind.
“It might not be as dangerous as you think. I can scout the way. With my unique skills and Sense Danger, I should make a great scout.” Lucius’ confidence helped ease Mary’s worries.
“Fine, then. We had better pack plenty of supplies. We don’t know how hard it will be to find more after we leave.” Mary made her final suggestion before the entire group set about preparing for the journey ahead.
Jack had some camping gear that would be useful. A rucksack, a small tent, a few sleeping bags, as well as supplies for starting a fire. He filled the rucksack with as much non-perishable food as he could fit, while the others picked backpacks from the store to fill. Mary packed the medical supplies that she had been using, and Patrick packed his inscription tools, as well as all the food that he could fit.
“Can we spend the night here at least? It’s already late and I’d rather not travel through the darkness,” Patrick suggested to Lucius. They were relying on Sense Danger to know how much time they had left.
“It should be fine. I’ll take first watch tonight to keep an eye on things. If anything changes, we can leave,” Lucius responded.
The party settled in for their first night after the beginning of the apocalypse. Luckily, it passed without incident, and the sun rose on the embattled planet. The companions awoke feeling weary. None of them had slept well on the hard floors of the store, but they had no choice but to be ready to face the day. After one last check to make sure they had all the supplies they would need, they pushed open the doors of the store for the last time and set off down the street. Patrick and Mary carried a new set of makeshift spears and shields, similar to the first pair that Lucius and Jack had created. Lucius activated his aspect and walked along a few minutes ahead of the rest of the group for safety, with the intention to double back and warn them if the path ahead as too dangerous.
Lucius moved through the area at a modest pace, feeling a budding sense of melancholy at the eerie silence of the familiar streets he passed by, as if the city itself had been murdered by the Abyssal creatures. The few humans he saw along the way were already dead, laying slain within their cars or along the side of the road. He thought he saw movement once or twice, as he peered inside the windows of the buildings beside him, but he couldn’t be sure, and they didn’t have time to check every building they passed for survivors.
It didn’t take long for Lucius to run into the first Abyss creature of the journey. Only ten minutes after beginning their slow trek through the empty streets, Lucius stumbled upon a terrifying creature. It was different from the Abyss insects that he had seen before. It was larger than any of the others, at least five times the size of the Abyss Queen. The massive creature looked like a nightmarish mix between a crocodile and a snapping turtle, with milky white scales, a large, armored shell on its back, a long snout filled with sharp teeth, and a thick tail with an intimidating bulb on the end that looked like a battering ram. The creature was sniffing around an overturned car, and it stopped to lick at what looked like a puddle of stale blood on the ground beside the vehicle. Lucius tiptoe backwards, planning to avoid the encounter, when the creature lifted its head and sniffed rapidly. At that moment, Sense Danger blared a sudden warning just as the creature came barreling directly toward him.
Lucius was stunned for a moment that the creature was able to sense his location so easily, but he quickly suppressed his surprise as he retrieved Matriarch’s Fury from its sheath. When the creature was almost upon him, Lucius dodged to the side to avoid the snapping teeth that moved through the air he had just occupied, slashing his sword at the side of the creature’s face as he moved past. Even with the sharpness of his magical sword and the upgraded strength he now possessed, the weapon barely broke through the creature’s hard scales. It was obvious that it relied heavily on defense as a survival mechanism. That was okay, Lucius had an ability perfectly suited to countering that. He felt thankful that the creature seemed to rely on its sense of smell to pinpoint his location, and could not actually pinpoint his exactly location from moment to moment. As long as he moved at the right moment, he could easily dodge the creature’s poorly-aimed attacks.
For the next few minutes, Lucius and the creature traded attacks. The creature lashed out at him, and he danced out of the way, returning a backhand strike toward its exposed face. After three or four successful strikes, Lucius’ blade tore through the scales much more easily, releasing fountains of blood from the creature’s face. He felt confident that he would be able to defeat this opponent. He only needed to keep doing what had worked so far. Unfortunately, his confidence was misplaced, and the creature’s behavior soon surprised him. After Lucius dodged another of the creature’s snapping attacks, he moved forward to strike it again. At that moment, the creature’s entire body spun like a top, slamming the bulbous end of its tail into his chest.
Lucius was thrown through the air by the strength of the blow. He could already tell that the wind had been knocked out of his lungs before he hit the ground, and some of his ribs were potentially broken. Landing on the floor in an ungraceful heap, time seemed to slow down for Lucius as the creature turned to face him. Thinking quickly, he kicked out at his backpack. It had fallen off his shoulders and landed just beside him after his fall. His kick sent the bag rolling across the ground away from him. His quick thinking saved his life, as the creature’s attention immediately shifted from him to the backpack. It charged up toward the inanimate object, snapping up the item in its mouth before viciously wrenching it back and forth a few times. Finally, once it felt confident that it had defeated its foe, the creature tipped its head back and swallowed, not seeming to realize that the bag was not food.
Although he had lost his supplies, the sacrifice had bought Lucius enough time to scramble to his feet and regain his composure. He grabbed a handful of pebbles off the ground as the creature realized it’s mistake and approached him once again. He tossed the pebbles off to the side as the creature neared him, and when it rushed forward in after the sound, Lucius pushed himself forward with all the strength he could muster. Aiming his sword at the back of the creature’s knee, he sailed toward it at incredible speed, stabbing down with all his might. Even after taking a hit and losing the strength he had accumulated from his Assassination skill, his sword managed to pierce the armored scales, sinking all the way down into the creature’s leg. The moment the sword penetrated the creature’s flesh; Lucius felt an immediate sense of relief coursing through his body. The creature was so large, with such a powerful life force, that even though his sword only stole a small amount of its life, it was enough to go a long way toward dulling the pain he was in.
Lucius pulled his blade out of the creature’s knee and jumped back just before it spun to defend itself. His attack had achieved its goal, and his enemy was now limping as it moved. The creature was less mobile than before, and his own ribs were healed enough that it was no longer slowing him down. With renewed confidence, Lucius resumed exchanging blows with the now-crippled creature. It was clear after only a short while that he had gained the upper hand. He landed a few more strikes on its face, aiming for its eyes and nose whenever he could manage it. When he was confident that he had built up enough power through Assassinate, he leaped forward past the beast’s last desperate attack, driving the blade into the side of the creature’s skull. Its armored scales and thick skull could not prevent the magical sword from sinking into its brain.
The creature was stunned for a moment, frozen to the spot. Lucius thought it might turn and continue attacking him at first, but his worries faded away when its body collapsed to the floor the next moment.
You have defeated Crocodīlus Titanum level 14.
Through effort, you have gained +1 to Vitality.
Latent talent detected.
You have unlocked the talent Sword Fighter!
Sword Fighter level 1.
Chapter 18
Ambush
Jack, Mary, Patrick, and James trailed behind Lucius. They had set out five minutes after him, moving along the route they had agreed on. Mary held James’s hand tightly, unable to keep herself from glancing toward Jack every few minutes. The sight of the young man armed with a heavy sledgehammer and a magical shield helped calm her nerves. She looked up at her husband, Patrick, who was walking beside her, practicing his inscriptions in his journal. Mary stifled a sigh of exasperation. Patrick’s inscriptions were an asset that would help the group survive, but it didn’t help her feel any safer right now.
The group walked along the route in an anxious silence, doing their best to avoid attracting any danger. Unfortunately, danger would soon find them.
“Wait…” whispered Jack, cupping his hand behind his ear. A bestial roar had come from Lucius’ direction, catching the young man’s attention. One thing they had recently discovered was that adding attribute points to either strength or vitality had the additional effect of boosting perception. Both attributes empowered the body, and it seemed that along with that power came enhancements to their senses, allowing Jack to hear what the others could not.
“Is something wrong?” Patrick asked as he lifted his eyes from his journal, glancing around warily, while Mary pulled James close. The group was standing in the center of a four-way intersection, abandoned cars littering the road around them. The nearest building was at least thirty yards away; they were quite exposed at the moment.
