Amazon apocalypse, p.8
Amazon Apocalypse, page 8
“But... but... my family! I have to get to them!”
I grimaced. Based on the casualty rates in the office, a lot of people would be missing their loved ones. From the look on Sakura's face, she'd just had the same realization.
I let out a quick sigh. “Can I leave this to you?” I asked.
Sakura nodded, so I let them talk to her. They had many obvious questions—mostly about what had happened, if we’d experienced the same strange meeting with the System they did, and if monsters were showing up everywhere or just in their office. Sakura brought them up to speed while I browsed my menus and waited for my mana pool to recover.
Carter Smith (Human, Level 5. Rank F)
Strength: 6
Agility: 4
Perception: 6
Vitality: 9
Intelligence: 13
Willpower: 6
There was more to this menu. I’d glimpsed it the last time I was fiddling with my settings, but I had been too busy allocating stat points to look into it. I was pretty sure I’d seen it when I focused on my stats.
I strained my eyes, staring at the words floating before me. After a second, the information besides my name expanded.
Human (Earth) - F Rank
Species Level Cap: 25 (End of E Rank)
Class Titles: None
A level cap for humanity? I didn’t like the sound of that. Level 25 still felt like a long way away, but I knew I’d get there eventually.
I tried to focus on that phrase to see if I could get the System to share more information, but nothing came up. It probably wanted me to earn the information on my own or something. The System seemed very intent on making everyone work for every scrap.
Class titles had been explained to me by the System during my brief meeting with it. I would start seeing them at level ten, which was coming up sooner than I thought. I stared at the rest of my stats.
My most pressing need, right now, was to cure the Toxic Bite infecting my arm, so more Vitality might be helpful. Crossing ten in Intelligence had given me a skill, and I’d heard crossing ten in Perception did the same. Would the same hold true for Vitality? I was starting to reconsider my recent allocation of stat points. Maybe I really should have pushed Vitality to ten with one more point.
It might be worth trying if I couldn’t find any other way to cure this Toxic Bite. The trouble for me was that my main attack scaled off Intelligence. I needed to keep that strong, so I had at least one powerful ability to deal with enemies. It would be a careful balancing act between investing enough points into stats to get them up to ten and unlock whatever benefit they had, and also distributing enough points into my combat stats so that I could continue to defend myself and gain levels.
After all, I didn’t plan to stay in this office for much longer—not with Craig here and gaining levels faster than I was with his gun. I had some supplies back at my apartment and even more in my secret mountaintop hideaway. I hadn’t known exactly what form Myrina’s apocalypse would take, so many of my preparations would be useless—but not all of them.
And the sooner I got to my supplies, the sooner I’d be able to use them.
“Hey, Carter!” Sakura yelled to catch my attention. I noted that sitting down and relaxing had restored my mana points faster than when I’d been standing. Maybe next time, I’d try meditating. “Everyone is wondering what that trick was that made the cockroaches explode when you pointed at them!”
I stood, and I saw Sakura smiling when she saw I was walking steadily again.
“Hey there.” I nodded to the two lawyers my former boss was speaking with, a man and a woman. I’d seen them around the building before, but never had cause to talk to them.
“This is Margaret and Benjamin. The pair of them started this law firm a decade ago, just after they got married,” Sakura said by way of introduction. “Margaret, Benjamin, this is Carter, my right-hand man.”
I ran my fingers sheepishly through my hair, scratching the back of my neck. My actual position had been nothing important, but Sakura had put me in charge of all matters related to office combat and survival. So I guess, in a sense, I really was her right-hand man.
“Pleased to meet you,” Margaret said as she held out her hand. I shook hers and then her husband’s hand right afterwards.
The couple looked extremely similar. The man was slightly taller and had slightly shorter hair, but otherwise, they were dressed in matching suits and had the same stern expression on their faces. They reminded me a lot of Sakura trying to look as boss-like as possible in front of her employees. Except for these two, it looked like this was their natural disposition.
“So, Sakura said your office survived this crazy giant bug attack situation largely thanks to you.” Benjamin’s grip was firm, and I returned the gesture. He was pretty strong, but I wasn’t sure if that was because he’d started strong or because he’d recently put points into his Strength stat.
“I can’t take all that much credit. Everybody fought for their own survival,” I replied.
“But that trick of yours! You just pointed at the cockroaches, and they exploded! What was that?”
There was no reason to withhold any information, so I answered honestly. “That was a skill called Mana Bolt. I was given something called a skill book when my Intelligence stat reached ten. Since Mana Bolt seemed most directly applicable to combat, that was the one I chose. I think you get the option for a skill or something for every stat that reaches ten.”
“Fascinating. So there really is something to these stats...” Benjamin muttered.
Margaret elbowed him in the side. “I told you, dear, it’s like a video game!”
“So it is, dear. So it is...” Benjamin ran his fingers across his chin in thought. “Tell me, Carter. Do you think we should aim for this Mana Bolt, as well? I received a level for killing some of those bugs. Should I put all those points into Intelligence?”
I shrugged. “That’s up for you to decide. But I don’t think the Intelligence stat is the only one worth leveling. I think you get a very useful skill that lets you see enemy levels once you hit ten for Perception. I plan to pick that one up whenever I can spare the stat points.”
“I see. I see...” Benjamin nodded. “In that case, it would do well for us to diversify our efforts. Perhaps we can have different folks aim for increasing each stat to ten, then pool our knowledge about what skills are unlocked. That seems like the best way to figure this thing out.”
“That would be clever.” I nodded. “We’ll keep in touch.”
That really seemed like a useful idea. Benjamin and Margaret seemed like they had good heads on their shoulders, and they were remarkably calm—considering the circumstances. It would be a long time before I earned enough stat points to spare what would be needed to reach ten in every stat. But with a bunch of people working together, we could figure out exactly how the System worked much faster.
Margaret and Benjamin had stayed in the break room since the integration began and had been exploring their stat menus the entire time, so while they had little experience fighting monsters, they had plenty of knowledge to share. I was pleased to have made their acquaintance.
“Oh, one last thing before we go. Do you guys have a first aid kit?” I asked.
They had a first aid kit sitting unattended in the break room’s corner. I had planned on wrapping up my rat bite to protect it, so it didn’t hurt quite so much the next time Sakura brushed up against me. But I was greeted by a pleasant surprise, finding a tube of topical antibiotic sitting on top of everything else. It wasn’t anything special, just the typical yellow-tube stuff with some pain relievers mixed in. But it was perfect for me.
You have applied [Antitoxin Medicine - Common].
Your affliction [Toxic Bite] is reduced in severity.
I tried to apply more Antitoxin Medicine but didn’t receive another message. It looked like that was all the effect I would get out of the tube. Still, maybe applying it again later would have the same effect.
“Do you mind if I take this? I’ll pay you back at some point.” I held up the first aid kit.
Benjamin waved his hand. “With all the tips you gave us? Consider it a gift given in thanks.” He leaned in close. “Also, I’m pretty sure that it’s Sakura’s first aid kit, anyhow. She loaned it to us a month ago and we forgot to give it back.”
We parted ways a few minutes later, heading towards the stairwell again.
Sakura turned to me once we were out of the law office. “I’m surprised. I thought you were going to have them follow us or something,” Sakura said.
I had thought about doing just that. There were certain benefits to having a large party, and I was sure I’d be able to talk Benjamin into joining us. But the chain of command would be unclear since the people in that office worked for him and not Sakura. I had an even more important reason for not teaming up with them.
“It would have been a bad idea.” I shook my head. “That was their first fight, which means they can’t be above level two. That means they’d need to fight cockroaches or something like them. I don’t know about you two, but I’ve been getting far fewer experience points from cockroaches than I used to. We need to find and fight stronger monsters. They wouldn’t survive fighting stronger monsters.”
“I see...” Sakura nodded. “Well, I suppose those insights are why I put you in charge!”
There were four floors in total in our office building, but not all were filled. The economy hadn’t been in the best shape when the apocalypse began, so Sakura only had five of the eight offices filled. Assuming the same ratio of survivors held true in each office, I estimated there were about eighty people left in the building.
I revised my estimations downward when we came to the next office, one floor up.
“Oh god, I’m going to be sick.” Bridget went pale.
Frank shook his head.
We stood before a pile of bloody and shredded corpses.
Sakura turned her head to avoid looking at it, and I wanted to do the same. But I needed to examine the corpses.
“These look like rat bites...” I muttered. “I think we now know how those rats leveled so fast.”
If only I’d killed the Rat Matriarch the first time we’d met outside of Sakura’s office, some of these people might still be alive. I turned to see the others all looking queasy, and the grim sight had my stomach roiling as well.
“If the rats were here, they aren’t here anymore. Let’s go check the other wing,” I said.
We headed across the stairwell to check out the other office on this floor we hadn’t explored yet. There were corpses here, too, but there were also a few folks still alive. Like the law office, many of these people had locked themselves into the break room. A few others stood on desks. Beneath them, giant cockroaches crawled on the floor, or munched on a pair of bodies in the center of the room.
There were seven cockroaches, but only four of them were the same size as I was used to seeing. The other three were twice as large. That those three were the ones munching on the human corpses didn’t escape my notice. They’d probably leveled up with those kills.
“Oh god, not again.” Bridget averted her gaze, and Sakura tucked herself behind me.
“We’ll avenge them,” I promised. “Get ready for another fight. Let’s take care of these bugs.”
I nudged Sakura toward the bigger bugs gnawing on the human corpses. Bridget and Frank were lower level than the two of us, so it would be better to leave the weaker cockroaches to them. We would take on these stronger ones, since it would probably take killing dozens of the weaker cockroaches for either of us to level.
Once Sakura saw my gaze was set on our enemies, her own expression firmed. Her aversion to the corpses was overcome with bitter determination to avenge them.
“I’ll handle the front line this time,” Sakura said. “Can you fire your magic bolts from behind me?”
I nodded. The man in me didn’t really like sitting safe behind her while Sakura held the front line. I wanted to be up there alongside her. But with my wound, I couldn’t fight properly, and between the two of us, I was the only one with any sort of ranged ability. It was only natural that I be the one to support her from behind.
The smaller cockroaches scuttled around the room, trying to get away from us as we approached. But I ignored them completely, focusing entirely on the larger monsters. Bridget and Frank peeled off to deal with the small fry.
The bigger cockroaches turned to regard us both, and now that I could see them up close, I realized their mandibles were as wide around as my wrist. Instead of just nibbling at your legs, these bugs could probably snap off a limb and eat it. In fact, judging by the state of the corpses behind them, they’d been doing just that.
Sakura attacked with her club, smashing down on top of a massive cockroach. It tried to dodge, but for all its many legs, it wasn’t as nimble as Sakura. She hit it in the back with all her strength—which was considerable, now that she’d put more points into the stat.
Even with that, it shrugged off Sakura’s attack without a scratch. This cockroach was far tougher than the level-one variety. It was still stunned, but that was all. Even worse, the other two giant cockroaches started heading for her.
The moment Sakura was in danger, my Hero of Sakura Miyamoto title kicked in and boosted all my stats. Suddenly, fighting with her on the frontline seemed like the logical choice.
I poured extra mana into my next Mana Bolt. These things were bigger and tougher than their level-one brethren, so I scaled up the amount of damage I was doing accordingly. My spell landed squarely on the third giant bug, blasting right through its torso and shattering the armor over its thorax. The monster stumbled backward, convulsing and twitching until it collapsed onto its back.
Sakura charged forward, slamming her club into the second giant cockroach’s head. With enough force to shatter her table leg, she crushed the cockroach’s head instantly. Its body toppled to the ground in pieces, leaving nothing behind except a trail of slimy green blood.
Your Caster proficiency has increased to 3.
I dealt with the other cockroach that Sakura had stunned the same way, because Sakura now only held half a club. I pushed my Mana Bolt ability hard and struck the remaining large cockroach in the face, driving it back.
Sakura discarded her broken weapon, her eyes darting around before they lit on a baseball bat leaning against the wall. She used the momentary distraction my Mana Bolts gave her to snatch it up. It was bigger than the table leg she had been using, and had a bit more heft to it. She returned and gave the big cockroach another swing, this time shattering its shell. Now weak and crippled, my next Mana Bolt finished it off.
You have slain [Cockroach Scavenger - Level 3] x3
I was surprised to get credit for all three kills, but Sakura said she’d also got all three kill notifications. It seemed the System knew when people were working together, and experience points were shared accordingly. At least now we didn’t need to worry about who got in the last hit.
Frank and Bridget had finished the last of the other four cockroaches by then, and the survivors in the office were stepping down from where they’d hidden on top of their desks or coming out from the break room.
“The monsters are dead for now, but I would be careful. There are things more dangerous than those bugs roaming the halls,” I warned everyone present as they stared back at us.
“Those things… they were monsters!” a man shouted.
“I know. And we killed them for you. But we won’t always be there to kill them,” I replied.
“Is help coming?”
I shook my head. “Look, if you want to be safe, head downstairs to the law office. There’s a man and a woman down there named Benjamin and Margaret. Tell them Carter sent you and join up with them.”
These people looked to be about the same level as most in the law office, so they would probably do well to team up with the lawyers. Hopefully, with enough numbers, even a creature like the Rat Matriarch would think twice about attacking them.
The rest of our exploration was uneventful after that. We cleared out every room and cubicle on the second floor, save for one small office that we found locked—where we found a woman hiding underneath a desk. She looked terrified and was trembling, but Bridget talked her out of hiding and had her take shelter one floor down with the others.
On the third floor, we encountered another group of survivors. This time, there were six of them, including a middle-aged couple huddled in a corner. One of them was injured and bleeding, but it didn’t seem serious enough that their death was imminent. Thankfully I was still carrying the first aid kit, so we patched them up and sent all of them to Margaret and Benjamin.
The other wing of the third floor was the strangest of all. Apparently, the manager in charge there had decided that two-thirds of his employees vanishing—and a magical talking voice telling everyone it was the apocalypse—was no excuse for not getting work done. When we walked in wielding improvised weapons and covered in insect blood, he tried to shoo us away.
“What are you doing, Damien?” Sakura asked, bewildered. “We need to evacuate these people!”
“My bonus depends on us getting these TPS reports done on time! I don’t care if the internet is out or if two-thirds of my employees vanished.”
I sighed. “Damien, you’re going to get yourself and all your employees killed.”
He glared at me furiously. “Don’t lecture me. You’re not qualified.”
Damien was annoying, and part of me wanted to let him get eaten by a giant rat or a horde of bugs. But his employees didn’t deserve to die for his ignorance, and his position was understandable. The System had appeared, and they’d all gone through a strange experience, but without being thrown into a life-or-death situation, it was easy to fall into old habits and just get back to work.
