The Cost of Survival (The System Apocalypse #3)

Regrets are a part of life, one that we all bear in different forms. Words that should never have been said, punches that should never have been thrown, anger that should never have been swallowed. Actions and inactions can lead to regret, making your entire world nothing but pain and disappointment over things you should have done or not done.
Right about now, I’m regretting getting out of bed and making this meeting.
“You going to help?” I snarl as I snap-kick a weird snake-cow hybrid away from me, then shoot the one that follows it in the gut. Standing in the middle of a monster swarm in the Carcross Cutoff, surrounded by Hakarta who are barely bothering to do anything, is not happy making. It really isn’t. Of course, if I’d known the swarm would happen while we were talking, I would never have come out but some things you just can’t control.
Major Labashi Ruka, the space-marine mercenary Orc and my erstwhile semi-employer, grins at me in response. Labashi flicks a pebble with his off-hand so hard that the impromptu projectile pierces a Snow Caribou in the head, dropping it instantly. The major and most of his people out-level the swarm of monsters around us by a significant amount. Which would be great for me if they decided to actually help. Instead, Labashi seems insistent on continuing my debrief.
“This is the fifth swarm then?” Labashi says in that System-given upper-class British accent of his.
Another of the deer swerves rather than rush him, heading in my direction. Behind it, even more monsters cluster and charge over the snow, the swarm running, jumping, and flying away as they abandon old zones for newer, less dangerous ones. Monster swarms are part and parcel of our life since the System designated Earth as a Dungeon World. Mana begets monsters who vie for control of mana-rich zones. Leave the monsters alone in any one zone too long and the most powerful eventually drive away the lower-level ones, kicking off a giant domino effect.
I sidestep the deer whose head butts up against Sabre’s—my mecha-cum-motorcycle—shield before I snap off a shot with the Inlin machine gun at another threat. “Just about.”
“Just about?”
Beside Labashi, the rest of his squad are taking bets and fighting bare-handed in a casual display of strength while they wait.
“Yes. The fifth! Things have been a bit busy lately,” I snap as I shoot the next three deer in quick succession. High-explosive projectile rounds from the Inlin tear holes into the monsters, sufficient to deter their advance. “The swarms are coming faster and faster.”
“Not surprising. Your defenses?”
“Improving. The first were ultra-low levels. These guys,” I snarl and catch the Level 24 wolverine before it can clamp its jaws around my helmet. A powered-armor-assisted throw sends the monster flying into the distance to be gored by another as it lands. “Are a bit more of a challenge than the last swarm.”
“Your hunters leveling?” Labashi continues with his questioning about the city.
Months ago, I ended up with a System-enforced Contract with the major, forcing me to feed him information about Whitehorse whenever he wants it. I do get paid in Credits, but even if everyone knows I’m spying for him, I still feel a little dirty about it all.
Above us, Ali sits cross-legged in his usual orange jumpsuit, holding a bowl of popcorn and staring at a System screen only he can see. I’d ask what my brown-skinned System Companion is watching, but it’s likely some cheesy reality TV show. The last time I checked, he was into house hunting and renovations, but I’m pretty sure he’s moved on by now. I’d be annoyed by his antics if I wasn’t so damn used to them. Actually, never mind. I am annoyed.
“Decently. Most are in their mid-30s now and they’ve gotten pretty serious about training. The displacement has made it a lot easier to find level-appropriate monsters.” I duck beneath a magpie that’s literally on fire. “This swarm might be a bit of a push, but they should be able to handle it.”
That also explains why I’m doing my best to kill, maim, and otherwise redirect as many of them as I can before they reach Whitehorse. The fewer of these monsters there are, the fewer the city will have to deal with and the easier they’ll have it. Especially since in monster swarms, the damn System reduces our experience gains while it’s happening, so no one is leveling up from this. On the other hand, the system-generated quests for safeguarding the city can compensate for the loss in experience—if I had been in town.
Ten months since the world changed under a series of blue System notification windows and we’ve lost nearly ninety percent of the human population and all our electronics. The earth had plunged back into the early 1900s, since delicate electronics don’t mix well with high levels of Mana—unless they’ve been specially constructed. I’d been caught up in the change while I was camping in Kluane National Park and, luckily, ended up with a few additional System-generated Perks due to my location.
Without electricity, without most of our machinery, and with monsters spawning all across the world, staying alive became a mad scramble for everyone. Unfortunately, keeping as many people as possible alive meant making some deals with people I shouldn’t have.
“What are you doing here anyway?” I say as I spin and chop the head off a monster, my soulbound sword appearing in my hand. One of the nice things about my Class was I got to bind a weapon to me. It levels as I level, giving it greater strength and sharpness. It also appears and disappears on command, which can lead to some really interesting fighting techniques.
“I’m out of those Belgium chocolates.”
Bullshit. Considering I buy my chocolates from the Shop, he could get some just as easily as I do. Which is trivial, so long you have enough Credits. Heck, you can buy anything in the Shop—and I do mean anything. Secrets, Classes, Skills, equipment, and more. I’ve even heard that there are sections in the Shop that include sentient contracts. Serfdom, if not slavery.
“Bullshit.”
“Again, I am not Yerick,” Labashi says, referring to the minotaurs that have taken up residence in the city. “And your other visitors?
“Xev and Sally?” I play dumb, not that I expect it’ll work. Xev’s a giant arachnid that makes grown men cry, and Sally’s a tiny cheerful gnome with a very sharp tongue. Both Galactics are well known to Labashi and his employer.
“No. The Kapre.”
“Oh. Them.” I sigh.
The Kapre are recent immigrants, another race of disenfranchised aliens who have been ground under the System’s heel. Unlike the Yerick, they never had a whole planet of their own—they were one of four races on their home planet. When their planet integrated into the System, they spread across the Galactic core in a desperate race to remain relevant and level up. All of the Kapre are tall—like, a good seven feet tall—with elongated faces and brown bark-like skin. Weirdly enough, they all have beards and are, at least to human eyes, male. All of them.
“They’re doing well. I think. Hard to tell. They’ve taken over the hills along Long Lake behind Riverdale and don’t mix much with us. Humans aren’t excluded from going in, but we’re not exactly welcome either.”
“Us?”
“The city.”
“So you have become an us,” Labashi muses, absently holding a tiger-like monster by its face as it attempts to claw him. Razor-sharp claws just bounce off his armor, which is impressive, considering most armor takes damage from attacks like that. I have a feeling a Skill of some type is being applied to increase the armor’s strength and durability. Might be something for me to look into.
“Yeah.” I flick my blade wide, calling forth a Skill of my own and sending a wave of power flowing forward in its wake, cutting through monsters and throwing the tougher ones aside. Blade Strike, my anime-inspired—or really, the other way around if I understand how this works—System-generated Skill.
“Interesting. Well, I believe this is all that we needed,” Labashi says then raises his hand. Light plays along it for a moment, then he calls down the sky.
Lightning flashes from clear skies to destroy the swarm. My helmet automatically flickers, compensating for the overload of light, and by the time I’ve stopped flinching, the Hakarta are already walking away.
“Oy! Boy-o, they’re still coming,” Ali shouts, and I bring myself back to the present.
The monsters that were present are dead, giving the Hakarta more than enough time to wander away without harassment, but more are coming and I know what I need to do. I call my sword back into my hand and I wait, smiling at the monsters as they come. Time to get back to work.

Release Date: 24. Januar 2018

Pages: 303

Genre: LitRPG Sci-Fi

eBook ISBN: 9781775058762

Language: English

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