Chapter 151

Pittsburgh - 3:21 PM

Creating barricades in the streets was a rather simple affair, it just took a lot of time. There were plenty of cars and SUVs to shove around like I was solving some kind of puzzle. Since many of the trucks were too heavy for me to move efficiently on my own even with my Strength and Warmind abilities, I mostly left those where they were.

It was tiring work, even though my Constitution stat was well over 50. My goal was to stop the zombies from heading towards the downtown area, instead herding them to the east. Some of them would try to climb over, but the majority of the mindless enemies would hit the wall, turn, and then keep walking in whatever direction they could. For them, it was simple.

The solution wouldn’t last forever, but it would do for now. As more buildings were liberated, the power of these zombies would slowly rise until they were capable of instinctual thought and, eventually, animal-like intelligence. By that time, the cemeteries would be locked down tight and turned into farms for points.

I looked upon a line of cars I had set up between the foundation of two houses, making up for someone’s fence only going so far, and nodded in satisfaction. In the distance, I saw a building pop out of the ground. It was always a strange sight, and I paused to regard it.

The lot the house belonged to glowed as a small pillar of light erupted from the ground. It started emerging slowly, like the sun rising over the horizon. Since the process only took about ten seconds for a building that size, it was over quickly. I saw people walk out of the front door, congratulate themselves, and then start running back towards downtown.

Another successful liberation, it seemed.

My attention got caught by the sound of a running engine a few blocks away. It seemed so out of place in the system’s world that it was immediately apparent. I could still hear the people fighting the zombies back at the cemetery, and when I stopped to focus I could tell the sound was heading that way. Slowly, but surely.

Taking my Writhing Belt Whip in one hand, I pulled out Vermon’s Smash Stick out of my inventory with the other.

[[Equipped]]

Vermon’s Smash Stick

(+8 Strength, Smasher passive acquired)

[[Passive]]

Smasher

When attacking an object or structure, deal 50% more damage.

You have learned the Smasher Passive. Increasing the bonus damage to 75%.

Using the cars I had moved as cover, I swiftly made my way towards the sound of the rumbling engine. It didn’t take long before my prey came into sight. A large Ford truck was scraping around, walking around on six large, trunk-like legs. The arm of a zombie disappeared under its hood, and I saw tentacles consuming it completely. Obscuring it further was a large truck cap, though I could see limbs writhing through the tinted windows.

I tapped the car beside me with the Smash Stick, making a noise, and the monster went still. It pulled its legs up into its body, but continued making the noise. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a regular, idling truck. Of course, I knew better; I had already faced one of these before.

A Writhing Recluse.

This apex predator of the system had an entire evolutionary line, and I had already had the displeasure of fighting all three versions. The Recluse was the smallest version of this eldritch hermit crab abomination, though this one was on the larger side. They were known to consume every living thing in their paths, and had more than enough power to chase down most anything that knew to flee from it.

Back in Etson, I had specifically planned to hunt one that was using the shell of a Porsche to hide before it was supposed to be released. It would have killed a lot of people without my intervention. Sometimes, it even lasted long enough to be eaten by the Writhing Juggernaut.

At that time, I knew my stats couldn’t keep up with it. My plan had been to set up traps and force it to chase me through a house where its movements would be constricted but mine would not. I thought back to that time fondly; it had certainly been a lot of fun despite the imminent danger.

Now, however, I didn’t need to be as worried about it. Standing up, I walked into the middle of the road where it sat idling. The monster didn’t move. Even though it was fully capable of running me down, it still preferred to save its energy and wait for its prey to come to it. Raising the Writhing Belt Whip, an item I received from the Writhing Zeppelin, its final form, I cracked it.

There was no response.

“Come on, you stupid thing,” I said as I cracked the whip again and again. Pebbles started to fly from the asphalt as I continued to hit the ground, creating gashes every time I did.

One of the headlights of the truck opened cautiously, revealing a red eye that quickly focused on me. The other one followed, and the hood raised to reveal a forest of tentacles. Thick, bristle-like hair covered toothy maws on each one, and a few were even topped with red eyes. There was no sign of the zombie it had just finished eating.

The Writhing Recluse released a loud roar as its feet hit the ground and it reared up. More tentacles lined the bottom all around its legs, and its four arms emerged from the cab doors. They were long, thick, and ended with three slim fingers. Attached to what would be wrists were the doors, reminding me of bucklers. This one was bigger than the last and had more limbs, indicating that it wouldn’t be long before it grew into a Writhing Juggernaut.

It was exactly what I wanted to deal with.

Once the roar ended, the Writhing Recluse lowered itself back onto its wheels and surged forward. My Crash Test skill had come from the first one I fought, and now this one was using it right out of the gate. Lowering my shoulder, I activated my own and matched it.

We collided in the middle of the street. The backlash of the move failing jolted through me, and I coughed as I felt my shoulder nearly shatter. My Strength was 50, so I lost over 20% of my hit points from recoil alone. However, I was not pushed back; we were evenly matched and the Writhing Recluse received the same amount of damage as I.

I jumped away from the Ford's crushed grill as the front two arms reached forward to grab me. They missed by inches. Raising the Smash Stick, I brought it down as hard as I could on the closest door, denting it and dealing enough damage that it seemed to be dangling off of the Writhing Recluse’s wrist by strings.

The monster’s many mouths hissed as it retracted its arms and lunged at me. The hood opened as its rear end lifted high off of the ground. I wheeled backwards on my Heelies as it tried to grab me with its tentacle mouths, staying just out of reach as it walked towards me at a quick clip despite being nearly vertical.

Jumping again, I landed on the hood and swung the Smash Stick towards the truck topper. I managed to hit it once before the Writhing Recluse returned to the ground completely, causing me to sprawl backwards. Its back hands reached up to grab me, and I Pushed myself forward. Too little, too late.

Slim fingers wrapped around my leg and squeezed hard. Even though they were slender compared to the rest of the body, they were absurdly strong. I could feel my bones creak as it tried to break them, but I was too tough for that to work quickly. Flicking my whip backwards as I fended off the other arm, it took two attempts before Eldritch Chomp activated.

[[Passive]]

Eldritch Chomp

Whenever a blow is struck with the Writhing Belt Whip, there is a 50% chance to deal damage equal to your Constitution stat and inflict the bleeding debuff as the whip grows teeth and takes a bite out of your target.

The massive creature recoiled and bucked as the teeth growing from the whip bit through one of its fingers and started eating through its hand. It released me, and I Pushed myself out of the way, slithering against the top of the truck like some kind of snake.

Spinning in midair once I was free, I smashed my club against the back of the truck topper. The glass shattered and the back bent in. When the Writhing Recluse spun around, the cover nearly fell off completely from my two powerful blows breaking it. Using its uninjured back hand, the monster kept it on manually like one would try to keep a hat from flying off in a heavy breeze.

Smirking, I lashed at the creature with my whip, aiming for its many mouths. The hood quickly closed to protect them, and I wheeled forward on my Heelies. I took the Smash Stick and shattered one of its headlights. Its eye began bleeding as broken glass pierced it. Roaring, the Writhing Recluse started running forward.

I managed to keep myself upright, one hand on the truck’s broken grill, as I returned to my wheels. Glancing back, I could see the line of vehicles I had set up. While it had probably wanted to trample me, crushing me between it and another truck would probably be just as good. At the last second, I jumped and put my legs behind me.

The truck I landed on buckled against the cars behind it as I strained myself. I pushed back against the Writhing Recluse with every muscle in my body. They screamed, and I could feel my hit points dropping as I was nearly folded into an accordion. The barricade was pushed back before the monster was stopped. It leaned back, letting me fall, and snapped forward.

Dropping myself so that I would hit the ground faster, the Writhing Recluse hit me on the back with the bumper of its truck. When it raised itself up to do the same, I Pushed my shoes backwards and slid underneath the truck to the other side. Rolling onto my back and kipping up onto my feet, I saw that the monster was already climbing over the barricade.

Tossing the Smash Stick back into my inventory, I pulled out the Vague Stick and immediately willed it into a sword. The Writhing Recluse’s soft underbelly was showing, and I wasn’t about to let this go to waste. As it flailed to clamber onto the truck completely, I backed away and Lifted my weapon before Pushing it between its front legs.

I stopped it before it could penetrate and instead made it Spin. The front legs were cut off, and it tumbled towards me. Its arms caught it from falling onto its back, but I wasn’t done. With my mental grip still firmly on the sword, I continued to Spin it.

It started slicing through the monster’s belly quickly before I felt it get stopped, likely by a leg. The Writhing Recluse scrambled and fought to get back onto solid ground, but I surged forward and slammed my foot against its hood. It fought against me, but I was already activating another skill, though it would take time to fully form.

I struggled to keep the creature where it was now that my Strength wasn’t equal to its, but made due by manipulating the truck’s body with my Warmind abilities. The hood flapped as the tentacles beneath banged against it, trying to dislodge me from my spot. I used Orbit to bring my Vague Sword around its body and back to my hand. As I expected, one of its arms raised off of the ground to move me.

With my sword in hand, I casually swung it, augmenting the strike with Drop. It sliced through the truck door and the wrist it was attached to. The Writhing Recluse screamed as its hand fell to the ground with a loud, wet thud. Its efforts doubled, and I was forced back by its panicked Strength.

Too little, too late.

I opened my mouth as wide as I could, revealing a pinprick of golden energy hovering over my tongue as I dropped my weapons. Putting both of my hands on the truck’s grill just as the Writhing Recluse opened the hood to look at me again, I activated Dragon’s Breath. The pinprick expanded.

A beam of brilliant golden energy escaped from my mouth, slamming into the grill and quickly burning through it. It might have had the Holy typing because of my Half-Angel heritage, but damage was still damage. The beam was narrow, only about the size of my head when it left my mouth, and the concentrated damage quickly pushed through the enemy.

It flailed and attempted to move away, its every instinct screaming at it to flee, but I had a tight grip on the chassis it was using as body armor. The Dragon’s Breath continued to spill forth, cutting through the Writhing Recluse and disintegrating everything in its way. The monster’s screeching got louder, and I heard the beam punch through the truck behind it with no issue.

When the Writhing Recluse fell still, I finally closed my mouth to end the skill. Hundreds of Mental Points spent, but it was well worth it. While I matched the creature in most stats, its Constitution and regeneration dwarfed mine by a considerable margin. Even without everything that made them dangerous, they were huge sacks of hit points.

[[Victory!]]

You have defeated x1 Writhing Recluse; +50 points.

I took a deep breath and rubbed my jaw after I snapped away the victory screen. The Writhing Recluse was still a strong monster, but at this stage it was no longer considered a Roaming Boss. What used to be worth 200 points was only a quarter of that now. It didn’t really matter, but it still would have been better if it had been a boss.

“You are Anthony Franklin?” came a quiet, feminine voice from down the street, and I turned to see Olivia Hunt standing there.

“That I am,” I confirmed as I leaned down to pick up the skill book the creature left behind. It was brown, and showed a picture of a person wearing heavily padded armor. I was also very pleased to see the hole I had punched through both the Writhing Recluse and the truck behind it. “How are Kayla and Jeff doing?”

“They are doing very well,” she said. “I am Olivia Hunt, by the way. I’m Mr. Davis’ right hand.”

“Charmed.”

“Likewise, sir. Would you like to join them? Mr. Davis was very interested in meeting the guildmaster of Sol Ligatus, but he can’t leave his post. I’m sure you understand.”

“I got a job to do as well, unfortunately,” I said, gesturing towards the barricade of cars I was working on. “You know how Patrons are, so demanding.”

[[Patron Quest: Zombie Barricade!]]

If this is all you’re planning on doing today, then I suppose I can make it a quest. Especially since I’m so demanding.

I’m teasing, of course. But this is still important work, so make sure you do it right. Perhaps you can use the body of the Writhing Recluse as bait for the zombies. They’ll eat everything that’s made of flesh, right?

Objective: Create a barricade that prevents at least 90% of the zombies from making it to downtown.

Reward: 400 points.

“So very demanding,” I said, swiping away the screen with a smile.

“Of course, Mr. Franklin. Still, you have an open invitation to visit Mr. Davis at any time,” Olivia replied with a slight bow of her head. Her gaze turned to the monster I had just slain. “I came to check on all the noise. Are there more of these beasts? Should we be concerned?”

“Nah, they’re fairly few and far between,” I answered. “This one was just following the zombies. They’re good for cleaning up, but very dangerous.”

“I see.”

“Alright, well, if there’s nothing else, I’d like to get back to work,” I told her. “There’s a lot of cars to move, and there’s still a lot of ground to cover if I want to make sure this barricade is up to my Patron’s specifications. Please tell Kayla and Jeff that I’ll probably head back to base once I’m done here. I’ll meet them there.”

“Yes, sir. And there’s nothing else, Mr. Franklin. I hope to see you again in good health.”

“You, too, Ms. Hunt,” I replied with a wave.

She turned and started walking away, and I opened up the skill book and accepted its contents.

[[Passive]]

Sturdy Shell

Reduce physical damage dealt to places where you are covered by clothing by 10%. Reduce this damage by 20% if you are wearing hard armor.

Sturdy Shell was a great passive. It had a restriction so it was more powerful than Tito’s Hard Body, which reduced damage from physical attacks by 5% regardless of where it struck. When battles were drawn out and clothes started to be shredded then not being covered could be an issue, but the restriction was otherwise such a non-issue that I never really considered it to be a problem.

Glad that I had another layer of protection, I started dismantling the Writhing Recluse for parts. It was a big creature with a lot of strange limbs and pieces, and I knew it would be perfect for Ashley to work with.