Chap. 24

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Robin did her best to console the visibly distraught children, trying not to let her own anxiety show through as she did so.

Kneeling on the fresh turf—it having regrown rapidly after the boss fight, almost like magic, as if a timelapse in real time—she held Alice and Chance in what she hoped was a comforting embrace. Rocking gently as they wiped tears and streaks of snot on her lapel. Spotting movement out of the corner of her eye, Robin snapped her head upwards—startling a sheepish Marlene as she tentatively approached on tiptoe. After the girl had recovered from her shock, a hand on her heart, Robin gave her a pleading look.

As if to say, “Any luck?” To which the girl responded with an apologetic look of her own, “No, none. We tried but we couldn’t find him anywhere. Sorry.” Robin bit her lip, trying hard not to think about the implications.

All they knew was, one second the children were charging headlong towards the overwhelming boss monster. Then there was the briefest flicker of movement—an attack of some sort, she was sure of it, even if it was looking like she was the only one to catch it—and in the next, the huge, frightening elite was just… dead. Stuffing raining down in place of gray matter. A few moments passed in shock, and then celebration, so that none of them noticed when one of their number went missing.

Well, all but one of them, that was. Alice. Though she had yet to calm down enough to formulate a coherent sentence since, so there was no getting it out of her. For all they knew, the baby had simply disappeared.

 It made her heart ache.

I know it wasn’t a coincidence. It was intentional. This system or this tutorial playing games with our lives. What I want to know is, what right do these creatures, these alien parasites have to upset our entire way of life? And all to… what?! Pit us against monsters for their own amusement? Even if all that was even remotely okay, doing something like that to a child! What possible justification could there be?!

Robin had to take a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart.

I can’t help but wonder what that poor baby boy must be going through during all this.

Or how unlikely it was he returned to them at all.

As it was she’d still yet to get the little blip to stop blinking in the corner of her vision, only serving to stoke her anger at this psychotic system all the hotter. Denise, meanwhile, seemed largely unfazed by the disappearance of one of their own—still transfixed by the glowing green cube that they’d found on the boss monsters corpse. It’s emerald glow illuminating her face as she slowly twirled it in her hands.

“Hey, I know you’re over there busy feeling sorry for yourself and all-”

“Denise,” Robin warned. “Not. Now.”

Denise blithely continued on in that unconcerned manner of hers, completely ignoring the danger in her tone.

“But you really should check out your notifications. It concerns the kid too, in case you were wondering. It might surprise you, but I don’t think you should be nearly so worried about the little tike as you are. If anything, we should be the ones worried for when he gets back.”

Robin scoffed. What the swell was the woman talking about?!

Robin thought about ignoring the woman’s ramblings, as she’d done her, purely out of spite. Then, she decided she might as well be the mature adult in this situation—because at least someone had to be—even if she was pretty sure the woman was at least five years older than her. Choking back a biting retort, she focused on the blinking dot in the corner of her vision. It quickly grew to eclipse her vision.

 DING!

•CONGRATULATIONS!•

You have successfully defeated your first ever incursion!

Enemies Slain: (100/100)

Main Objective: Survive the Bosses Wrath for 15 minutes. Complete!

For completing the main objective: receive +50 Participation Points.

Bonus Objective: Reduce the Bosses Health to 85% Before the 15 Minutes Have Elapsed. Complete!

For completing the bonus objective: receive +100 Participation Points.

Bonus Objective: Complete the Main Objective With Less Than a Quarter Casualties. Complete!

For completing the bonus objective with zero casualties: receive +250 Participation Points.

Bonus points will now be assigned to the top three participants based on personal contribution.

+-|—CONTRIBUTION LADDER—|-+

#1. Denise – 27 kills (+300 points)

#2. Robin – 25 kills (+150 points)

#3. Richard – 7 kills (+50 points)

#4. Maya – 17 kills

#5. Eva – 14 kills

#6. Marlene – 9 kills

#7. Skye – 1 kill

Huh? That’s-?! That isn’t who I think it is… is it? No! I don’t believe it. I refuse! I mean…

Maya, having apparently decided to take Denise’s advice to heart, exclaimed in mock outrage.

“Hey, what gives?! I totally have way more kills than this guy! How come I only got forth?! This thing is busted. Yo, how do I dm the mods? Also, dumb question, but who’s Richard? Anybody? Did I just miss out on some crucial lore while I was kiting the pants off that boss monster, or what?”

“Yeah, no. That’s actually, like, kinda giving me the creeps over here? Like, it was just us this whole time, right? I could’ve sworn there was no one else here. Was he just invisible or… is invisibility even a thing?”

“Oh! Oh! Wait, that would be so sick! If the next boss drops invisibility powers, I call dibs!”

“W-wait, powers? You mean like super powers? You really think those exist? I mean, do y’all think we could maybe learn to fly and stuff like that?” there was a hesitant note of excitement in Marlene’s tone.

“Oh absolutely!”

“Not!”

“Says you,” retorted Maya, to which Eva huffed. “Who’s to say we couldn’t, huh? Sky is the limit!”

Ignoring Maya, Eva continued.

“Number one, you don’t actually know, so you shouldn’t pretend like you do. And number two, you can’t just, like, go putting ideas in her head like that! She’s, like, crazy impressionable, you know? I mean, its like, super f-ed up. What if she believes you?”

“Oh please! She knows when I’m just messing around! Isn’t that right Mary?”

“Oh- um, yeah. Uh, my names Marlene though?”

“Well yeah I know that. But then, see, I was thinking right? You’ve got the whole preppy school girl thing going on. And then there was this girl I knew back in middle school, who was, like, a total stuck up bi- uhh, she, like, totally dressed like you do and stuff?”

“Uh-”

“Also she was, like, heavy religious, and her name was also Mary, so kids, not me, but like, the other kids would call her Mother Mary and stuff like that? You know, like the lady in all the paintings or whatever?”

“Um-”

“Then there was that time you went all heavy metal on us, like covered head to toe in blood, and my immediate thought was Bloody Mary, like with the barbed wire crown and everything?”

“Uhh-”

“So, it just all ties together is what I’m saying. Your names even begin the same. Mary, Marlene. Marlene, Bloody Mary. Cool right?”

“I- I guess?”

“It could be someone else,” Robin hedged, directing her words towards an incredulous Denise.

“No. It couldn’t,” she responded matter of factly, holding Robins gaze until Robin was eventually forced to look away.

“Well, perhaps,” she tried again. “But that doesn’t mean-”

Suddenly, there was a flash of blinding white light. Eva yelped. Maya swore. Robin merely flinched, holding the screaming children close to her chest. Then, by the time they’d all blinked the stars from their eyes, they realized they were now one member greater. Sitting just a couple paces away, was an equally disoriented infant. Only, he wasn’t the same as when he’d left.

The shape he was in…

Clothes torn, burned, covered in dried blood and other, unidentifiable brown substances that stank to high heaven, even from this far away. And his body! What little of it she could see, anyway, was covered in yellow and purple bruises. Tiny cuts, now scabbed over, seemed to cover him from head to toe—as if some psychopath had taken a box cutter and methodically lacerated his skin. On his forehead there was a massive lump, about the size of a quail’s egg, but it was his eyes that scared her the most. Sharp. Wary. Calculating in the way they swept across the clearing, as if in anticipation of a threat.

Eyes like that did not belong on a one month old child. It made her want to cry.

Alice was the first to break the tense, disbelieving silence that’d fallen over the glade.

“Little bro!”

Leaping from her arms, the little girl sprinted towards the boy, arms held wide to embrace him.

“Urgh-!”

Her steps faltered however, when she was hit by a wave of stench.

The nearly palpable wall of noxious fumes which surrounded the boy nearly too much for the poor girl to handle. She pressed on however, admirably, looking like she were fighting against gale force winds. Her steps slowed. Became arduous. Face scrunched in distaste. Finally she fell to her knees, reached out, and hugged the boy. Hands hovering just above his shoulders, and neck craned so far back, she looked like she were doing an impression of an owl. There were tears streaming down her face, though Robin suspected it had little to do with their joyous reunion.

“You’re… back…!”

She sniffled, then clearly regretted the decision immediately.

Robin came to the girl’s rescue.

“Come now. Give him some space. He’s clearly been through a lot.”

The way the girl rapidly fled the scene, you would’ve thought she’d been held hostage. To her credit, she did occasionally shoot concerned glances his way, though these were all, most notably, done from afar. Rising to her feet, Robin began to make her way toward the poor boy. Carefully so as not to spook him, as he was clearly on edge. He watched her approach warily, like a feral cat, tense and deeply suspicious. She didn’t even let a hint of her discomfiture at the smell reach her expression.

“Hey there. It’s okay, you’re safe now.”

“Eva!” Denise exclaimed. “Go get the first aid kit. There should be at least one more syringe left.”

“O-on it!” the girl responded, nearly tripping over her feet as she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off the boy.

“Oh for the love of-! Girl if you don’t get your head out of your a- ugh! Just- step lively now, we don’t have time to waste on your gawping!”

“Y-yes ma’am! Sorry!”

And so saying, the girl veritably flew across the clearing, finding the first aid kit in short order. Now with first aid kit in hand, Robin was more than a little unsure of how to proceed. Babies, in her experience, weren’t big fans of needles at the best of times, and now was clearly anything but that. She swung open the box to reveal a single syringe. Robin cringed.

Why did it have to be so big?

It needed to be done however. Robin plucked the needle from its foam bed and held it behind her back. Kneeling down so she was closer to eye level with the baby, she tried to distract him as she carefully inched into injection range. She finally dragged her eyes from his terrible state to the things he was holding. What looked like a box of candy bars bulging with an assortment of items.

“Oh? What’s that you got there?”

The child’s eyes narrowed, hunching in over the box with a glare, as if daring her to take it from him.

“Woah woah! There’s no need for any of that! No one here has any interest in taking your things away from you. You can relax.”

What kind of degenerate would you have to be to literally take candy from a baby?

The child, on the other hand, looked less than convinced. Taking the opportunity for what it was, Robin tried to sneak the syringe past his scrutiny while his eyes were fixed on her. It didn’t work. Immediately, his gaze locked onto the syringe in question, but instead of crying out like she’d expected, he gazed at the needle for a time, before relaxing somewhat.

Had he really thought I came all the way here just to take his things?

Almost incredulous at the ease of the process after all that buildup, Robin reached forward and injected the child with the syringe. He didn’t protest, or even flinch when the needle entered his arm. She tried not to think about the implications of that. In the next moments, his condition visibly improved. Scabs flaked off to reveal pristine skin. The bump on his head receded completely, along with the bruises. A glassy-eyed look she hadn’t even noticed quickly clearing as well.

Now, all we have to deal with is the stench.

Unfortunately, there were no convenient water sources around. Luckily, she’d already thought through the problem of basic hygiene ahead of time.

“Everyone, do me a favor. Head over to the points catalogue and purchase a standard water ration.”

“Uhh,” Maya raised her hand. “But what if I’m not thirsty?”

There came the sound of a slap, followed by an indignant yelp.

“Obviously it’s to wash the baby. Idiot.”

“Oh,” the girl looked sheepish. “But what about soap?”

Robin opened up the points catalogue, and purchased the standard toiletries option for one point—having tested this particular item quite thoroughly. As she made the purchase, Robin held the idea of what she wanted in her mind, and in the next moment, a bar of soap materialized midair. Robin managed to snag it before it fell.

“What? You mean this?” Robin responded with a smile, proper proud of herself.

In short order, each of them had purchased the requisite item. In their hands, they each held a 4 oz plastic bottle of water. Robin let the environmental concerns of introducing plastics, basically on command, pass her by without comment. There was no time for that now. Looking down on the increasingly wary child—eyes flicking from one to another in growing alarm—the women rolled up their collective sleeves, pinched their noses, and got to work.

Forty-five minutes later, a sullen, if sparkling clean infant sat in his new gray system provided onesie, completely surrounded by all his little admirers.

Having bottle fed the really young ones, the little infant boy and girl respectively—seriously, that standard milk ration was a lifesaver—she let the rest of the kids eat their meal in relative peace.

Mothering done, at least for the day, Robin made her way over to the honest to god camping set up they’d purchased and situated near the center of the clearing. Several large tents surrounded a communal campfire area—the flames crackling merrily, and providing some much needed visibility in the growing twilight. Not every seat was taken, though all of the adults were present, including the three teen girls. Everyone already digging into their standard meal kit.

Robin plopped down on a log, a sigh escaping her lips. Opening the point catalog, she purchased her own meal kit—a tray of food suddenly appearing in her hands. After the day she’d had, the savory aromas wafting from the plate were nothing less than divine. It was simple fare. Beans, rice, a bit of protein and plenty of vegetables. She found herself wishing it came with a drink, but then, beggars can’t be choosers.

She dug in.

Once they’d each finished their meal—a choice few of them having gone for seconds—more than one set of eyes were having a hard time staying open. Robin’s included. It was just as she was about to call it a night, when Denise spoke up. She was spinning that same strange cube in her hands.

“Have any of you taken the time to review your status?”

They all shared looks. Eva looking sheepish, Marlene confused, while Maya still looked like she would nod off any second now. Robin was the first to respond.

“So much was happening, I guess I never found the time.”

Denise pursed her lips, clearly unsatisfied with this answer.

“Well you should. I want to check something.”

Robin arched her eyebrows, then shrugged. Seeing no harm in it, she complied.

-|—Status—|- 

Name: Robin Smith

Level: 8

Age: 25

Class: None 

Body Grade: F

Soul Grade: C

Core Grade: Blank (1st Level Purity)

Master Formation: D

Peerage: Soldier

Noble Regalia: None

Strength: 6

Endurance: 5

Resilience: 10

Regeneration: 5

Control: 6

Mana Capacity: 1

Free Points: 16

Abilities: (0/2)

Class Skills: (0/3)

Equipment: (0/7)

Title: None

After she’d finished reading her status aloud, she looked up to find the woman studying her with an unreadable expression.

“Only level eight?” she said it more to herself, but not so quietly that it wasn’t clearly heard by everyone.

Robin puffed up. She didn’t even care that much about this system and it’s rules, but still…

Level eight is good! Or, at least; it isn’t bad! Is it?

“Well, what level are you at then?” she tried to keep the irritation from her tone. “You only killed—what—two more than me? The difference can’t be all that huge, considering.”

Their were several long seconds of silence in which the woman failed to respond, her eyes, yet again, transfixed by the green cube.

“Level fifteen. It’s asking me to pick a class.”

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