Battleforged

Chapter 33 - Former Child Star Covered in the Blood of his Foes

Eric yawned and stretched as he came to from yet another dream where he was burning alive. He found it a bloody miracle his friends weren't glaring murder at him, since he slept three times a day with his training regimen. And if two of those sleeps were blissful, the third was always a doozy.

He slumped back in bed as flickering dreams faded to the drone of his friends’ voices in the next room, enjoying a handful of precious minutes spent utterly relaxed, melting into the ...

Chapter 32 - Fighting For Your Life

“Morlekai!”

Alice’s awful terror was a palpable thing.

"Hold, Alice! Don't fire. Not until they're in range!" Morlekai hissed, and Eric could taste the edge of the man's panic, eerily echoing his sister's as the sudden upswelling of red-tinged potency filled the air, the Don of their little group finally revealing what he had hid for so long as the air filled with crimson crows…

And Morlekai was gone.

“What’s going on. What the fuck’s going on?...

Chapter 31 - The Thrill Of The Hunt

“Eric, fuck! They’re coming right for us. Set your spear! Eric?”

But Eric had already tuned out the panicking Drake as not the expected one or two, but a full half dozen mutated dogs the size of leopards came roaring and charging down the wide grey stone tunnel that arched to a roof studded in stalactites and near insensate stone bats above, and seemed to go on for miles, according to Morlekai.

Tunnels that shouldn’t exist at all.

Anymore than creatures mu...

Chapter 30 - Final Preparations For The Hunt

Eric feigned sleep when Alice knocked on his door, which wasn’t that hard since he had been asleep two minutes ago. “Get up, sleepyhead! Bro wants to talk to you!”

Ten minutes and one quick sponge bath later, Eric found himself sitting across from a contemplative looking Morlekai peering intently at him as he sipped from a snifter of brandy, looking debonair as always, his frock coat replaced by tight black slacks, a tailored charcoal grey vest, and a shirt of crimson s...

Chapter 29 - Primal Magics - Freeing The Beast Within

Despite the exhilarating rush he felt with his skill and stat gains, he was humbled every day that he was put in his place by the pair of grinning 19 Strength monsters. Because whether it was winding and binding with bladed spear staves, or having his weapon twisted completely out of his grip before his legs were swept under him by a grinning Drake, he always found himself humbled after every sparring session with the pair.

Which, of course, only motivated him to train all th...

Chapter 28 - Mastering The Skills Of War

Only after leveling up his Bardiche skill did Eric finally take a break, sitting his ass down right there by the pel and power napping for who knew how many hours before getting up with a groan, stretching, and carefully reviewing everything he had learned using both bardiches and his saber, now sensing more clearly than ever what he had been doing wrong before.

And taking a break only to hit the weights, making maximum use of his natural regeneration, and stuff himself on Al...

Chapter 27 - The Perils of Training

“You sure about this, Eric?" Asked Drake, rubbing his eyes and cracking a yawn, holding a pair of unsharpened bardiche. The shorter, heavier ones that were more like a cross between battle axe and nagamaki than anything else, most of their curved blades backed by a wooden haft that technically made them bardiche polearms as far as the System was concerned, and not the cleaving war-swords Eric already thought of them as. "You were plumb tuckered out in the spare bedroom, just fift...

Chapter 26 - New Toys To Play With

Morlekai turned to the smith who had witnessed their no-holds-barred sparring. “Thoughts?”

The smith gave a thoughtful nod. “He’ll do well with my spear bardiche. As for the nagamaki variant? That depends.” He turned to Eric. “Know what a draw cut is?”

Eric answered by way of a smile.

And a blade flashing in the blink of an eye.

Iado skillcheck made! You have successfully sliced through 3 layers of Greater Rat hide!

The others lu...

Chapter 25 - Taking The Measure Of My Blade

"You might want to pick out a new name, kid," said Morlekai with a smile, waving him over to the bemused-looking blacksmith and his associate, clearly having the same ideas Eric was. "One might actually start to think you were related to someone famous."

"Ha ha. Yeah, let's not mention that again. Ever."

Morlekai winked. "Sure, kid. Now let me introduce you to our smith who just happens to be a John Smith. What are the odds, right?”

“Better than you might thin...

Chapter 24 - When Everyone Knows Your Name

Eric gazed at the harvester in genuine admiration before turning to look at the mountain of neatly prepared cuts of meat and organs, massive plates of extremely tough lizard hide, a pair of crossbow quarrels, and a softly glowing grey orb he was almost certain was a beast core, before immediately putting everything back in storage.

“That was damned impressive.”

Jeffrey laughed. “The fact that you actually took that thing out… that’s what’s impressive, son.�...

Chapter 23 - Nothing Beats A Full Belly For Making Friends

“I’m sorry, Morlekai. But as much as I would be beyond grateful for your party’s continued and much appreciated help… what you’re asking me… to betray my nation’s trust...”

“The government’s already fallen. As has every other government the world over,” Morlekai said, each word crisp and clear, and so chilly that Eric was surprised the rotund rosy-cheeked man with the old fashioned wire-rimmed glasses didn’t find the tea in his trembling hands turning ...

Chapter 22 - Making The Cut

A completely unfazed Morlekai dipped his head Eric’s way as Drake tossed him a dark ale caught without even shifting his gaze. The absurdly graceful man with the aura of a tiger in repose, a certain seductive savagery kept forever in check, truly did look like the lead his mother had sunk her claws into, just three films ago.

No, he looked even better, Eric was forced to concede, his half-smile giving him an air of bemusement laced over deadly menace that most actors had no...

Chapter 21 - A Tough Crowd

Note - low key Adult Content in the last part of this chapter.

“Who the hell is this?”

Those were the first words Eric heard as he stepped past the foyer of what had to have been the largest and best maintained house in all of Junk Town, Alice’s secret grin having grown wide when they cut across the main thoroughfare and began walking through the grassy field past a number of milking goats, right for the mansion on the f...

Chapter 20 - I Learned More Cool Skills!

Eric nodded in satisfaction, pulling out five extra silvers from the ether, and in very short order, Velvet was showing Eric not only how to assemble each type of boxed crossbow, but the basics of proper maintenance, cleaning, even how to replace the steel cables in a pinch. Then it was learning how to properly sight each of them at the sandbag target range Velvet maintained between the stores and the stone wall of the cavern. But not until after he had Eric show him his bow stance...

Chapter 19 - Give Me Those Doubleshot Crossbows!

For just a second, Eric found himself smiling with a certain fond warmth as he caught sight of people strolling from one clapboard building to another. It wasn't too hard to imagine everyone was just living their lives on set as the sound of laughter and play in the distance warmed his heart. Eric then caught sight of a handful of children running around a tiny park beside the lake as a couple men were fishing nearby, both with nets and line. His walking pace slowed as he gazed to ...

Chapter 18 - The Only Question That Matters: Are you in or out?

Eric blinked, taking a second to register her words, and he couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement at the unexpected turn to their conversation. “Color me intrigued. What exactly are we talking about? And I got the impression that greenbacks weren’t worth much more than the paper they’re printed on at this point.”

Alice gave a throaty chuckle. “Less, actually. You’re better off trading toilet paper. Do you know how much a role of double-ply goes for, nowad...

Chapter 17 - A Golden Opportunity

As fast as he could think it, Eric was sprinting, forcing his legs to MOVE like he never had before, crashing into a startled Alice, brown eyes alight with surprise and killing fury… before the snap of razor-sharp jaws snapping shut just feet away resonated through the air.

And Eric’s crossbow was already lined up, pulled from storage as he spun and twisted through the air, already squeezing the trigger when the second lizard burst from camouflage, nearly snappin...

Chapter 16 - I Come In Peace

Eric's voice earned a number of startled cries and shouts to identify himself. He cautiously backed up before it clicked what the problem was, why people were squinting his way as he reflexively angled his tricorn hat, still firmly affixed to his half-helm, a part of him still ashamed of anyone getting a close look at his face. The clue was the pair of dimly glowing globes he had avoided focusing on, because though he could use infravision and regular sight simultaneously, it was e...

Chapter 15 - First Encounters

Slowly, almost ceremoniously, he prepared for his expedition, double and triple checking both his equipment and supplies.

But not before frying up and generously spicing with salt, pepper, and oregano, what must have been at least a hundred pounds of rat meat, having already tested and verified that temperature and freshness were both near perfect in a space he sensed had very little to do with the passage of time.

He then carefully inspected all of his gear, paying par...

Chapter 14 - Making The Most With What You Have

Eric lurched awake with a terrified gasp. His ears roared with the sound of his own pounding heart, his fist tightly clenching the hilt of his saber as he quickly scanned the room, before collapsing with a sob, realizing he was safe and sound.

The day before had been close. Too damned close. Only now did he appreciate how foolish it was to put his trust in weapons he used constantly, yet not think even once of checking them for strain, cracks, wear and tear? Besides cleaning ...

Chapter 13 - Skill Evolution Detected!

Perception check made! You have successfully spotted 2 Rat Sentinels.

Stealth check made! You have successfully snuck past Rat Patrol.

Congratulations! Stealth is now Rank 6!

Eric was filled with an almost overwhelming surge of relief when he spotted yet another quintet of rats after carefully making his way down the tunnels for a good half hour.

Apparently, it had just been chance that he had spotted the ambush as the patrol neare...

Chapter 12 - Mind Games

Iaido skillcheck made! You have critically struck your Training Pel in the blink of an eye!

Eric couldn’t help smirking, deliberately allowing his interface combat notes to take up space in his peripheral awareness as a mental narrator’s voice in the back of his mind. He found a certain comfort in the snarky voice keeping him company, as the only other sound was the panting of his breath as he trained as hard and diligently as he ever had before with all his weap...

Chapter 11 - Why level fast when I can level up my skills instead?

Eric shook his head, a wry smirk dancing across his scarred features. Of course these mutated monsters were hunting him! He had seen the mad gimlet of hate-filled cognizance flickering in the eyes of the rat whose heart he had exploded, just days ago. Pouring so much essence into the bastard, so much more than he needed to in his desperate lurch to survive, that he had almost killed himself while doing so.

"Training," he whispered aloud. "I need so much training by teachers w...

Chapter 10 - Leveling Up in the Post Apocalypse

Perception check made! You have successfully spotted: Rat Sentinels.

Eric froze where he stood, peering around yet another brownstone corridor as he dared tunnels winding far beyond the tight circuit he and his sister had used to hunt.

He was quite pleased with the day so far, having successfully ambushed two additional clusters of rats, both a pair and another group of three. He had given in to prudence, carefully avoiding one cluster of a half dozen or so. Th...

Chapter 9 - The Hunt Begins

Eric took a deep, steadying breath as he found himself before the metal door once more, the slightly gnawed but still perfectly serviceable lock once more in hand.

It didn't matter how much he had grown, these past few weeks. Even if he was a long way from being as strong, graceful, and quick as he had been in his prime, he was perhaps even better at delivering vicious draw cuts than he had ever been before. Or perhaps he was fooling himself, those lost three points of Streng...

Chapter 8 - Gearing Up For The Apocalypse

Eric swallowed his anxiety as he made himself approach his sister’s room, her door secured by yet another combination lock, one that he hadn’t even tried to open. Determined to respect his sister’s space, her privacy.

Before realizing that what held him back wasn’t reverence, but fear.

Fear that something bad had happened, and the minute he entered and studied whatever waited for him, would be the minute his hopes and dreams of being united with his loved ones w...

Chapter 7 - A Path Forward

He couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the weight room that had been the source of so many grueling workouts, his mind already racing with plans, Mr. Vincent's words echoing in his skull, even now.

“You just need to lift twice a week, Eric. But were pushing you to the absolute limit, on those days.”

Eric had definite reservations when he had first begun his hardcore training regiment, just over a year ago. But some internet study and further research explained...

Chapter 6 - Rising From The Ashes

Eric normally woke up with no real sense of time, always having lived according to his mother's schedules. But now he knew exactly what time it was. As if his interface was equipped with a stopwatch in the form of a gut feeling. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that exactly 9 hours had passed since he had collapsed in an exhausted stupor, and, save for the gnawing in the pit of his belly, he now felt so much better than he had when first emerging from that awful pod that had tra...

Chapter 5 - Eaten Alive

“Faster, Eric. You wanna die with a rats eating you alive? Pick up your feet and RUN, boy!”

He could so easily picture Mr. Vincent, his fitness coach who looked like a C list star with his silver-grey eyes, Beckham style haircut, and bristly mustache. A man Eric knew couldn't act for shit, but who could absolutely wipe the floor with anyone so arrogant as to think a handsome face meant they were worth shit in an action movie.

Because Vincent had been old sc...

Chapter 4 - Pod Failure

Congratulations, challenger! You have successfully survived full neuro-network integration!

Crystallization complete.

The words washed over Eric as he slowly slipped free of the soothing dark waters of oblivion.

Only to be met by blinding flashes of white-hot pain.

He whimpered, wanting nothing more than to slip back into the soothing darkness. But the voice echoing through the massive chamber he thought he was floating in, or perhaps it wa...