Abyssal border wall protocol: Ch 2 (revised, Rough draft) (Patreon)

This got the full system stuff added and leveling.

Chapter 2: NO! NO! NO!

SYSTEM INTEGRATION… COMMENCING…

Bright orange words flashed over Liz’s face, “What the…” No! What the fuck is this crap!

“Justin, are you seeing?” Liz said her voice now shaking with fear.

DRAFT PROTOCOL: Initializing…

“Words… in front of… are you seeing them too?” What the hell was going on?

“Yeah, Draft protocol?” We sat up, seeing the words in the middle distance now. They were clear, and there was no way to not see them.

Integration message:       

Earth prime male on world… Alpha 437-T-369, your reality iteration has been drafted for abyssal border duty. Compliance is mandatory. Condition start set, level 0.5, max allocation. 18 months allocated.

COMBAT POTENTIAL: ANALYSIS COMENCING…

“Drafted… abyssal border duty, what the hell is that!” I said, turning to Liz, her eyes were flashing back and forth as she read her message.

“I’m oh god, what the…” fear. Fear, as I had never seen before, crawled from behind her eyes, lacing every word she spoke. Panic.

WORLD COMBAT POTENTIAL: Determination, creature level 2 – 10.

Message compilation: Complete.

Welcome, Justin, to the abyssal border. You have 1 hour before the first monster integration commences. Good luck. See the system help menu for further details.

Participation reward: 1-XP.

“Liz, Liz, monsters…”

“Justin! It says, oh fuck, a countdown 10… It’s taking me to a tower. 6… all the women 100 percent… 4. We’re going to be trapped… 2… You have to give us XP! 1…” Liz’s voice faded just as her body dissolved into shimmers of golden sparkles.

Dust… she was dust…  gone. Just gone. I looked down at where we had been sitting, her clothes. Pink laced panties, black leggings, a matching bra, her crop top, boots, and jacket. All just lying on the rock and leaf-strewn ground. lifeless.

“LIZ! LIZ!” I got up searching, screaming! I knew.. It was as clear as the green canopy of the valley's trees in daylight. She was gone. What had she said? It was taking her and the women to a tower, and I had to get her something called XP, like from a video game.

I grabbed Liz’s clothes. She would be mad if they got dirty, “Mom! Alison! Shit, shit, shit. This can’t be real. No fucking way!”

Stuffing Liz’s clothes into my backpack, I ran. The trail back to my home from Future Rock had never flown by so fast.

I rushed into my house, “Mom! Alison!” I screamed. “Where are they. Where are they!”

I found mom’s clothes by the sink, just a pile of garments. I ran into Alison’s room. Her pajamas were on the bed, the book she had been reading left open where she had clearly been lying reading it. She was gone, my sister. My mom. My Liz.

“It said system help menu for more details,“ I mumbled. The words I forced from my lips caused a change in my view. I had barely noticed it in my panic. An icon in the upper right of my vision. It opened, unfolding.

System menu:

Count down: 00:42:48

Leader Board.

Abyssal Border Warrior Status page.

Map. (locked).

System help.

I stared at the menu.

Leader Board.

Of course there was a leaderboard.

Because what the end of the world needed was a scoreboard.

I selected it.

Orange text unfolded across my vision.

Abyssal Border Wall Leaderboard:Reality Iteration: Earth Prime Alpha 437-T-369.Total Integrated Human Population: 8,295,154,673.Border Zone: 0.5 Training Boundary.

Active Abyssal Border Warriors: 4,168,827,919.Dead Abyssal Border Warriors: 0.

Leaderboard Categories Available:

General: Rank will populate when sufficient data is gathered.Level.Monsters Killed.XP Gained.Progenitors Impregnated.Distance Progress to Level 1 Border Wall.

My mouth went dry.

Eight point two billion people.

The number didn’t fit inside my head. It didn’t feel like people. It felt like something printed on a census chart, something old men in suits argued about on TV while pretending they understood the world.

But those weren’t numbers.

Mom was in that number.

Alison.

Liz.

Every woman I had known. Every man I had ever passed in a grocery store. Every teacher, every mechanic, every farmer, every old guy who waved from a porch.

Each category had the same message, I guess tomorrow I would find out the ranking. I opened the system help screen.

The system help section blazed to life as I flopped down on my couch. I had just kissed Liz! We were going to start our life together! We were going to start our future!

Would you like to unlock the system search feature for: 1-XP?

Yes, or no?

I had been given 1-XP. That sure as fuck could not just be a coincidence. I selected yes. A search bar appeared, and vague directions.

Write, think, or say your question in the search bar, and relevant information will be provided.

Search:

What the hell was I going to ask? Maybe, what in the F’ing hell was going on? What happened to my mom? My sister. To Liz, my soon-to-be girlfriend! Think Justin. You only have an hour, scratch that, less than forty minutes until, what did the system thing say? creature integration. Monsters! Right, monsters mean fighting.

I asked my questions out loud, and the system pulled up the information. “What is the abyssal border, and what is my duty to it?”

System help Answer:

The abyssal border: It is the boundary between the multiverse and the sea of chaos and the abyss. The abyss is a realm of horror beyond imagination that separates known reality from the outer void of nothing.

Duty: When the abyss expands its assault on the border to feed on realities within the multiverse, the protective border expands as well to prevent the rampant destruction, the complete consumption, and the collapse of known realities. This new area must be guarded. Iterations of prime realities are selected in rotation to guard this border. Your current prime earth of iteration, 437-T-369, has now been designated as (DRAFTED) and was next on the rotation of prime world draft candidates.

“What the hell? Right, right right... Okay. What is the system?” It was a long shot question, I did not expect an answer, but the help function had been, well, helpful up to this point, so maybe…

System help Answer:

The Abyssal border wall system: Is the governing intelligence, created by the wills and souls of all those within the multiverse and sea of chaos, and is responsible for purging and reconstituting abyssal incursion monsters into XP energy and then providing abyssal border wall warriors with XP (experience energy points), accounting services, allocating and transferring services for the destruction of abyssal monsters. For tracking abyssal border wall warrior growth, providing guidance and information for abyssal border wall warriors, the production and recruitment of abyssal border wall warriors, and border management functions. As well as ensuring the continuation of the multiverse and the sea of chaos and all inhabitants within for all eternity.  

        I shook my head, “So the system is a management, accounting, and trash take-out service for…All known reality, shit, that’s F’ing crazy. At least the system is helpful and not obtuse and vague.” I asked my next question, “What happened to my mom, my sister, and Liz?”

Abyssal border warrior progenitors —Female— acquisition and relocation: Female (human, prime iteration) progenitors of a species are relocated to abyssal border wall iteration level 0.01, the abyssal border wall tower, for their protection, sequestration, and safety.

“Protection. So, they are, okay?” I asked, my head swirling.

Female progenitor condition: Every effort is taken by the system to keep the female progenitors of a species in peak health so they can produce more warriors for the abyssal border wall conflict.

“Wait a second. What? That does not sound great… Sounds like they are okay, though. How can I talk to my mother, sister, and Liz?”

Abyssal border wall Tower 0.01 occupant search and communication: A male progenitor must unlock the tower search function, cost (1-XP), to search for female occupants. Communication costs are as follows.

Text: 1-XP per 10 words.

One-way voice communication: 1-XP per two seconds.

Two-way voice communication: 1-XP per second.

One-way audio and visual communication: 10-XP per second.

Two-way audio and visual communication: 20-XP per second.

In-person female-to-male location transport: allocation not set.

In-person male-to-female tower location transport: allocation not set.

I got up and started pacing, “right… Okay. Sounds like they’re okay, at least alive, and I’ll be able to get them a message. XP seems like a currency the tower, system, border wall thingy is using. Right, how do I get XP?”

XP acquisition: Receive XP corresponding with the level of abyssal monster incursion level, when terminated, and remains are purged from reality.

Example: Terminating a level-1 abyssal rat will net the terminator 10-XP points from the system, upon purge and disarticulation from localized space-time position within the border wall.

“Humm, right. So, I have to terminate these creatures to get XP, then the system takes out the trash and gives me credit. How much is XP worth?” My musings brought up an unhelpful answer as I was still focusing on the system help search menu option.

XP quantification: XP is multidimensional phasic…

I closed the message before I even read it and backed out of the system help menu. Once more, in the main menu, I pulled up what the system called the Abyssal Border Warrior Status Page. I sure fucking hoped it was something that was going to help me. I had to get Mom, Liz, and, I guess, my sister, too, out of that tower. They had to be freaking out right about now.

Abyssal Border Warrior Status Page:Name: Justin Barnes.Age: 20.Race: Human.XP Pool: 0.Level: 0.Star Rank: 0 Stars out of 10.Border Title: Drafted.Health: 100 percent.Mana: 0.Mana regeneration: 0.Aspects:Body: 0Recovery: 0Motion: 0Sense: 0Mind: 0Will: 0Mana: 0

Warrior Dispensation’s: None.

Skills:none.

I stared at the status page until my eyes started to hurt.“Okay, no. Nope. I need that explained. System, what the hell are Stars, Aspects, Titles, Warrior Dispensations and Skills?”System help answer:Star Rank:A Star is a condensed unit of growth purchased with XP.Stars may be assigned to Aspects.Ten assigned Stars are required to complete one Level.Upon Level completion, assigned Stars are sealed into a permanent Pattern.I blinked at the words.“So, Stars are like stats?”System help answer:Correction:Stars are not numerical statistics.Stars are total conceptual growth points.Each assigned Star improves the whole function of the selected Aspect.Example:One Body Star does not add simple strength.One Body Star improves muscle output, impact resistance, carrying ability, strain tolerance, and body coordination.“Oh, good. So it’s complicated,” I said, rubbing both hands down my face. “Because why would the end of the world use normal numbers?”The system ignored that.Available Aspects:Body:Power, toughness, carrying weight, injury resistance, stamina, and physical strain tolerance.Recovery:Healing rate, sleep efficiency, blood restoration, shock recovery, fatigue clearing, and mana-supported regeneration.Motion:Speed, balance, reflexes, footwork, climbing, dodging, and movement correction.Sense:Eyesight, hearing, smell, danger awareness, aim support, tracking, and monster reading.Mind:Memory, planning, learning speed, crafting logic, system use, and problem-solving under pressure.Will:Fear resistance, pain resistance, focus, mental protection, and emotional stability under threat.Mana:Mana pool, mana control, mana regeneration, spell use, and energy shaping.I leaned back against the couch.“Okay. Body helps me not get ripped apart. Recovery helps me not stay ripped apart. Motion helps me move. Sense helps me notice things. Mind helps me think. Will helps me not piss myself. Mana is magic crap.”System help answer:Summary accepted.“Of course that’s the part you answer.”I looked at the page again, at all the zeros lined up like a row of empty graves.“Can I mess this up?”System help answer:Yes.I sat there for a second.“Well, thanks for not sugarcoating it.”System help answer:Incorrect Aspect allocation may reduce survival probability.However, no Aspect is useless.Your Star Pattern should reflect your method of survival.I swallowed.“My method of survival right now is screaming and hitting things with whatever I find.”System help answer:Suggested Aspects for early survival:Body.Motion.Sense.Will.Suggested Aspects for long-term survival:Recovery.Mind.Mana.“Great, so everything. Very helpful.”System help answer:Yes.I hated that I could not tell if the damn thing was being funny.I dragged my thumb over my lips and stared at the next line.“Explain Levels.”System help answer:Level:A Level is a completed Star Pattern.To reach Level 1, assign ten Stars.When ten Stars are assigned, the Pattern of chosen aspects is sealed.Sealed Stars become a permanent boarder warrior title.

One Warrior Dispensation can be chosen to complete the star pattern integration.Star Rank resets to 0 out of 10 for the next Level.I frowned.“So if I put four Stars in Body, two in Motion, two in Sense, one in Mind, and one in Will, those stay with me after I level?”System help answer:Correct.Those Stars become your Level 1 sealed Pattern.Upon sealing, the System interprets the Pattern and grants a Border Title.“Interprets,” I said. “That word is doing a lot of work.”System help answer:Border Titles:A Border Title is a named interpretation of a sealed aspect Pattern.Titles are not decorative.Titles provide:Passive effects.Aspect synergy.Skill affinity.Technique unlock paths.

Warrior Despensions.Future title evolution.I stared at that for a long moment.“Okay, that sounds important. Give me an example.”System help answer:Example Pattern:Body: 4.Recovery: 0.Motion: 2.Sense: 2.Mind: 1.Will: 1.Mana: 0.Possible Border Title:Frontline Survivor.Effects:Improved survival under direct threat.Improved physical stability during combat.Minor pain and fear resistance.Improved use of Body, Motion, and Sense during danger.Increased affinity with melee weapons, ranged weapons, improvised weapons, armor use, first aid, and emergency movement skills.I read that twice.Frontline Survivor.The words sat in my head with weight. Not hero. Not knight. Not champion. Survivor.That felt about right.“So the Title is like a class?”System help answer:Partial match.A class is assigned.A Title is earned by Pattern.A class tells a warrior what they are.A Title records what the warrior became.I hated how much sense that made.“And if I level again?”System help answer:At each Level, ten more Stars may be assigned.Those Stars seal into a new Pattern.New Patterns may grant new Titles, evolve existing Titles, or create compound Titles.Example:Level 1 sealed Pattern:Frontline Survivor.Level 2 Star Pattern:Recovery: 5.Mana: 5.Possible Level 2 Pattern Title:Mending Wellspring.Combined growth path:Frontline Survivor of the Mending Wellspring.Result:Improved combat survival.Improved healing.Improved mana regeneration.Improved recovery from injury, blood loss, fatigue, and shock.I let out a breath.“So if I build wrong, I might get a bad title?”System help answer:No Title is bad.Some Titles are less suited to immediate conditions.“That means yes.”System help answer:Yes.“Fan-fucking-tastic.”My eyes dropped to the last part of the page.“Explain Skills.”System help answer:Skills:Skills are action pathways created through use, practice, and XP reinforcement.Aspects determine what your body and mind can support.Skills determine what you can do with that support.Titles determine what you do best.

Warrior Dispensations are special rewards granted when a Level Pattern is completed.

Warrior Dispensations provide unique growth options based on your Aspects, Skills, Titles, actions, achievements, and survival history.I sat up a little.“Say that again, but simpler.”System help answer:Star reinforced aspects create potential.Skills turn potential into action.Titles improve favored actions.

Warrior Dispensations provide unique advantages to abyssal border wall warriors.I nodded despite myself.“Okay. That one I get. Give me an example.”System help answer:Example:Body Stars improve force.Motion Stars improve movement.Will Stars improve action under pain,  mental attacks, and fear.Blunt Weapons Skill converts Body, Motion, and Will into an effective striking technique.Without Skill:You swing harder.With Skill:You swing better and harder. At a higher level, various effects might be added, such as increasing the mass-to-force ratio of the applied vector angle. I looked toward the kitchen, where the knives waited in their drawer. Then toward the garage, where I knew there were tools. Hammers. Shovels. Things that could maybe keep me alive.“What about archery?”System help answer:Archery:Linked Aspects:Sense.Motion.Mind.Will.Sense supports aim and target reading.Motion supports draw, stance, and release.Mind supports correction and learning.Will supports shot control under threat.“Liz is better with a bow than me,” I muttered.No answer came.That hurt worse than if the system had answered.I forced myself to keep going.“How do I get Skills?”System help answer:Skill acquisition:Perform an action with enough intent, difficulty, and relevance.The System will recognize the action and create a Skill when the minimum threshold is met.Skill improvement:Use the Skill.Survive with the Skill.Spend XP to reinforce the Skill.“So Skills level from use and XP?”System help answer:Correct.Use reveals the path.XP strengthens the path.I gave a short, humorless laugh. “Ha, of course even practice costs money now.”System help answer:XP is not money.XP is condensed energy purified from abyssal incursion monsters.“Yeah, well, it spends like money.”System help answer:Statement accepted.I rubbed at my chest, where my heart still would not stop hammering.“Can Skills unlock things?”System help answer:Skills unlock Techniques.Techniques are focused applications of Skills.Example:Archery Level 5 might unlock Steady Draw.Blunt Weapons Level 5 might unlock Heavy Follow-Through.Digging Level 5 might unlock Clean Cut Earth.

This is based on aspect star allocation and skill use path.I stared at that last one.“Digging? That’s a Skill?”System help answer:Any repeated survival-relevant action may become a Skill.Combat is not the only survival path.For some reason, that worried me.I pushed that thought away before it could settle in.“Can I save XP and not spend Stars?”System help answer:Yes.Unspent XP remains in XP Pool.Unassigned Stars remain available until assigned.Warning:Hoarded XP may be useful for transfers, communication, emergency purchases, and system functions.Warning:Unassigned growth may reduce survival odds.“Right,” I said. “Spend XP and live, or save XP and maybe help Mom, Alison, and Liz.”No system answer came.Of course not.That choice was mine.I looked at the status page again.Abyssal Border Warrior Status Page.Warrior.Not son. Not brother. Not almost-boyfriend. Not a person. A Warrior. There was no ambiguity about that. It was clear what I was going to have to do.The word made my stomach twist.“Okay,” I whispered. “I get it enough for now.”

I leaned on the couch, dropping my head, “Well, shit, I was going to have to kill 100 level-1 creatures to get to level one. Whatever that meant, not to mention getting credits to Mom, Liz, and Alison. How do I get XP to my mother? How much XP do they have?” I asked the question as the knots in my stomach started tightening.

Female tower occupants XP start condition and XP transfer requirements:

Female progenitors start in the tower with: 0-XP. They can create visual viewable content (searchable by protector class progenitors) and can follow (live feed, visual and audio) Male progenitor abyssal border warrior protectors at no cost. Daily water, food, and health requirements are provided.

XP transfer requirements: Every XP transfer has a 1 XP transfer cost. Any amount of XP can be transferred to the desired female progenitor from the male progenitor protector.

“Holy shit, this system is starting to seem sexist as fuck… how can women gain XP in the tower?”

Female Progenitor XP acquisition: A female progenitor only gains Experience points through male progenitor protector XP transfer.

Exclusions:

Pregnancy bonus: 10,000 XP, Tower accommodation upgrade: One tower modification will be made permanent.

“Oh… well, shit. That’s, that’s not…” my head snapped up as I realized what was going on, well, at least part of it, “The system is making the women give birth. At least highly incentivizing it.” I checked the timer in the menu.

System menu:

Count down: 00:22:08

Leaderboard.

Abyssal Border Warrior Status page.

Map. (locked).

System help.

“Shit, I’m running out of time, one more question, then I have to get ready for… what? Monsters. Fighting. Shit.” I started pulling out knives from the kitchen, tools, and anything I could find that might remotely be used for a weapon. “System, what is going to happen when the countdown is over, and the thing about the earth being level 0.5 happens?”

I got my answer, and I realized I was fucked. Royally and completely fucked.

Abyssal monster training integration and level 0.5 abyssal border parameters:

Monster integration: Your combined world combat start potential has been determined as creature level 2 through 10 to be integrated in the level 0.5 training area. In 00:21:12, one creature will be transported within [minimum distance: 11 yards (10 meters), maximum distance: 110 yards (100 meters)] of your location.

Level 0.5 abyssal border parameters:

Goal: Reach level 0.5 border and enter expanded level 1 abyssal border domain.

0.5 Monster integration parameters: Every day (relative locations equalized, nonphysical three-dimensional splicing complete) at noon, one monster will be transported to the male progenitor protector’s location. Upon the next day at noon, if the male progenitor protector has not moved 48 miles (77 kilometers) from the monster integration location, two monsters will be integrated at noon. This effect will double until the male progenitor protector has traveled the indicated amount.

“Oh, that’s just utter shit,” I said, realizing the first thing my mom would do would be to see if she could watch me or contact me. I had better watch my language, plus Alison would most likely watch me too, and I didn’t want to be a bad role model for her.

“Twenty minutes, here we go.” Fighting a monster, what the heck. Like, really, this was all too strange, too weird. If it hadn’t been from the pile of clothes from both Liz, Alison, and my mom, Kathleen, I would have thought I had been drugged or crazy. “There was really only one option and one option only. I had to get ready to fight.”

I left my house and went over to Elizabeth’s and Miss. McKnight’s house. Liz had enjoyed archery for a while. I found what I was looking for in her closet. A bow with a forty-pound draw and two dozen arrows. I ran my hand over them. The points were target tips, but I remembered Liz had gotten…

“There you are…” I said, pulling out the pack of twelve hunting tips. She had been obsessed with a certain Mockingjay archer for more than a few years during our childhood. I had helped her save for and smuggled the arrowheads into her room. My smile fell at the memory. I hope Liz is okay…

I went back to the living room of my home, where I had an assortment of items laid out on the coffee table and couch. “Who the hell is supposed to be ready for monsters and shiii…Sugar. Wait, the military. Level ten seems way too high for a bunch of level zeros… but… but… system do guns work?” I looked around, noticing that all the lights were off, and the ever-present green clock on the microwave was out.

System integration parameters: All pre-integration combustibles and electromagnetic circuitry has been neutralized. Reconstruct or reconstitute materials to recreate the intended effect.

“Okay… okay… So, no guns, cars, or electricity. At least not until we can remake them, I think that’s what the system means.” I set my backpack on the reclining chair in the living room. “Right, okay, fight. Then I have to travel, holy shit… almost fifty miles. The help menu said doubling every day. So today is one monster, then tomorrow is two, the day after four, then eight, oh shit, then sixteen.”

The reality of it hit me. This was too weird not to be real, no, that wasn’t the problem. In three to four days… My stomach dropped. A lot of people, a lot of men, are going to die. If I were not careful, I was going to end up in that statistic also.

I put on heavy long canvas pants, boots, and a few shirts and a jacket. I was hoping the extra padding might act kind of like armor. I’ve watched those medieval U-tube video’s, and most armor always included a big puffy layer that actually did a lot to stop slashes and blunt impact.

My haul of weapons was not stellar. I had a claw hammer, my broken mall ninja sword, two kitchen knives, Liz’s bow, two dozen arrows, only half of which had sharp tips, and mine and Liz’s walking slash fighting staffs.

The backpack got a few cans of food, water, a change of underclothes, and a few odds and ends. Lighters and matches did not work, but my flint-and-steel striker still did.

The mall-ninja sword’s handle had broken a long time ago, but the steel was still okay. That would make a good, oh, what are they called, staff sword ninjagatooo…. Naginata. I did not have time to make one before my monster arrived, though. I decided I would wait to see what it was. If it was anything too deadly, I would grab my pack and run. That was the only sane thing I could do. 

Three minutes until showtime. I waited on the back patio area. I figured the monster might spawn in the house or somewhere around my house, and this would give me the best chance at seeing it before it got the chance to kill me. I found it odd that I was not more skeptical of what was happening, but for some reason, it just felt right. Everything the system told me felt real and had an intrinsic quality of truth to it. Like the kind of real you feel in your bones. I have no idea why or how, it just was.

“System, what monster will be transported to my location?” The question was worth a shot. The system had been very helpful so far.

Localized monster integration: Monster integration into the border training area 0.5 is randomized upon first integration. If a second integration is required before the target distance is traveled, the same monster type will be integrated. Upon distance goal completion, a new randomized monster type will be selected.

“Well, no hints then…” I breathed out slowly. The bow was strung, and the hunting tips added. My mall sword was tied to the backpack and the staffs resting on the table. The kitchen knives were in my backpack, and the claw hammer was dangling from a holder on my right, with the arrows in my left. I had pulled my bike out of the garage. It was an old mountain bike, but it would still be faster than running or walking if I had to flee.

3…

2…

1…

I braced. I felt. Everything focused down to a pin drop as a slight tingle washed over me. With every sense I had straining to the max, I waited, and waited. and waited.

Nothing.

No crashing from inside the house. No, howl of some creature torn from its home and transferred here. No sparkle of light to indicate the transported monster's location, as had happened with Liz when she was stolen from me.

“There…” I walked forward slowly to the edge of the patio. The lawn was a slight downhill that led to the creek and the fort that Liz and I had built as kids.

Black, a black thing was moving. And slowly. I focused as it fully came from behind the bush that hid our castle. It was long, sort of slimy, and had four, no, six, tentacles waving around.

It was a slug. Sure, it was black, had appendages waving from its back, and it did not look natural to Earth in any way. But it was just as slow-moving as a slug.

A squirrel jumped from a tree. a full, furious suicide dive right at the slug. The tentacles caught the squirrel midair, and in a flash of motion, it was ripped in two and stuffed into the maw of the creature.

Teeth, lots and lots of teeth.

So, the nice monster is a black slug leech tentacle horror nightmare. Don’t get close to it, right? What the hell.

The thing had noticed me, and it was crawling…sliding…slugging its way up toward me. This was anti-climactic as fuck. I had been expecting a troll, or goblin, wolf, or rat. But this was okay. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Justin.

I lined up the shot. Liz was way better at archery than me, like by a lot. I was passable and could at least hit close to the center on the targets we had practiced on most of the time.

My heart raced as I walked slowly forward. I was still dozens of paces away. I did not want to find out what the hell those tentacle things felt like.

WOOSH.

THUD. “SCREEEEE!” the creature screamed and flailed its tentacles wildly. It still crawled toward me, but black stuff was leaking from it. I shot another arrow.

It landed, and more black blood poured out, and then the tentacles stopped moving.

Skill gained:

Archery: level 1, Novice.

Aim: Level 1, Novice.

The notification of the skill gain flashed to the side of my vision. It was odd, they were words, I knew I could go back and read the information, yet at the same time, the feeling of what the message meant was more, was more important. I knew on a fundamental level what the system was trying to say, just as I knew on this same fundamental level that the system was telling the truth to the best of its ability and was trying to help me.

The body dissolved instantly, decaying rapidly in motes of black dust that just disappeared from reality.

XP gained: 30-XP.

I was out of breath, breathing heavily. Shit, had I been holding my breath the whole time? fucking feels like it. I flopped down into a chair around the table and just took a moment to let my head stop spinning.

Slug monsters were not going to be that bad. I could do this for another day for sure, maybe up to eight of them, maybe sixteen…

“Oh fuck! Old Man Tom!” I shot back up and grabbed the bow and slung it over my shoulder, and one of the walking sticks. I sprinted around the house in a flash. Old man Tom was in his eighties, sure, he had been a war vet, but nowadays getting his mail from the end of the driveway counted as his daily exercise.

I ran up his driveway, slowing when I got close to the front of his house. “He’s got guns… I know he does… wait, those won’t work. Shit.” Old Man Tom had a front porch and a big window that he had his recliner chair positioned so he could see his T.V and out the window at the same time.

My heart plummeted into my stomach as I looked through the window. A waist-high mass of rocks was pummeling the reclining chair. Blood coated the window, walls, and ceiling. Old Man Tom was nothing more than pulped mush in his chair.

“Oh, fuck…” I puked up what little I had in my stomach.

The creature, the thing, turned and faced me. It was a mass of rock with glowing red eyes. It was vaguely human-shaped, and it took ponder us steps toward me.

I backed off the porch. Shit, shit, shit, okay, a rock golem thingy…

Arrows were not going to cut it with this thing. I needed a smasher, something heavy to bludgeon the ever-living hell out of this fucking thing that had killed Old Man Tom.

I threw open his garage door and waded into the mess that was old man Tom’s shop. I knew what I wanted to grab. Old Bessy. It was a sledgehammer that Tom had so affectionately named and had around since before I was born. He always said he had seen more war zones than some soldiers, and I didn’t doubt it one bit.

I found her in her customary spot, hanging prominently above a messy workbench scattered with the tools and half-finished projects of the life of a mechanic. I lifted her from her spot in the wall, “Time to get some vengeance, Old Bessy…”

The iron wood handle was strong, and the head of the hammer, though rusted in spots, still felt like a solid choice to add to my arsenal. Not waiting to get trapped in the garage, I ran to Tom's front lawn. The rock golem had fallen down the few front steps from Tom’s porch and was in the slow process of getting back up.

I waited…

And waited…

“Fuck, this thing is slow…” I said, watching it take ponderous step after ponderous step toward me. If Tom had been any younger, he would have smashed this thing into oblivion. I swung the hammer a few times, getting used to the weight.

I set old Bessy down and picked up the cherry-wood staff. It was mine, and it had seen many fake battles between Liz and me.

I ran toward the rock golem holding the staff by the far end and swung.

Perfect…

The wood smashed into one of its legs, tangling the thing. THUMP… it fell face first on to the soft grass of Tom’s well-maintained lawn that I had been upkeeping for him for more than a few years now.

I grabbed Old-Bessy, raised her above my head, and brought her down on the rock golem.

Over…

And over…

And over…

Skill Gained:

Blunt weapons: Level 1, Novice.

50-XP gained.

Finally, the thing was dead. Smashed from moderately sized stones to smaller pebbles that dissolved into the fading black dust as the system took out the trash.

Tom’s dead… Shit. He had been a stand-in father figure ever since my dad died. He was a good guy, a little grouchy at times, but mostly good-spirited. I mowed his lawn and helped keep his shop organized to the degree he would let me make it.

“Those would have been a problem… two, maybe four. Smashing that many would take me all day… MOM!” I realized I had XP now. I could send a message and XP to both mom and Liz.

Walking back to my house, I realized I was shaking, shivering. Shock. What was happening? What had happened? Tom Smashed. The blood, his body more a red paste than a corpse. I wanted to bury him. I just couldn’t face it. I would have to scoop him into a bucket to bury him. I… I just couldn’t do that.

I… I just can’t… plus he would not mind sitting in front of his window. He liked it. Maybe later, but he would understand… The old war vet’s words drifted into mind, “Survive, victory belongs to he that perseveres.”

I sat on my couch, trembling. Okay, how do I do this?

“Unlock the tower search option?” I said, hoping that would get the system's attention. It did.

Would you like to unlock the occupant search function for iteration level 0.01 abyssal border wall tower?

Yes, or no?

I selected yes.

Minus 1-XP.

System menu:

Leaderboard.

Abyssal Border Warrior Status page.

Map. (locked).

System help.

Tower occupant search.

“Search for Kathleen Barnes, Alison Barnes, and Elizabeth McKnight,” I said as I filled water bottles and any container I could find with water. I knew it would not be long until the water pressure was zero, and I would have to start scavenging for water. I had to sort through some of the options it gave me, as it pulled everyone up with that name. But the filters in the search option let me sort by family and other things like life proximity.

Tower occupant search: Found.

Transfer XP: 1-XP cost.

Communication: Varied XP cost.

Transfer 0.5 iteration item: Varied cost.

“Wait a second. System, can I transfer items to occupants in the tower?” I asked, filling up the last containers I could think of, which were the two bathtubs in the house.

System Help Answer:

Iteration level 0.5 abyssal border wall item transfer: spend a varied amount of XP per item to be transferred to the female progenitor of your choosing in the iteration 0.01 tower.

Example: one cup of water. 1-XP transfer cost, plus 1-XP for water, plus 10-XP for a standard glass cup. Total 12-XP.

Note: Transfer cost is equal both to and from the tower.

“Right, whatever…” I pulled up the message options. There was no way I would leave mom to worry. And from what I gathered from the system, I did not want Liz making content to try to attract male attention to get XP if I could help it.

Justin to Kathleen: Mom, are you okay? Is Alison okay? I’m okay. Love. (message cost 1-XP)

I checked my total XP, sure enough, I had started with 80-XP. Now I was down to 79-XP. “Shit mom or Liz can’t respond unless I send them some XP,” I said, pulling up the option to transfer her XP. I transferred 15-XP to Mom and the same to Liz. My next message was to Liz.

Justin to Elizabeth: Liz, you okay? I’m okay. I love you, hold on! (Message cost 1-XP)

XP transfer cost: Minus 32-XP.

I looked at my XP total after I was done. I was down to 46-XP. There was only one way I knew of so far to get more XP. Tomorrow, there will be two of the slug nightmare things. No rock golem, though, not with Old Man Tom dead.  

Where can I get more XP? That was it, Hank lived just up the road a bit, he had a whole farm, well, a small one. I didn’t like the idea of wandering around, though. I needed to get ready. I had a day before I would have to kill two of those things.

I needed to get my bike in order and figure out what supplies I could take. I also needed to figure out the best way to kill those slug monsters.

As I was thinking a soft ding sounded in my ear and an envelope message icon appeared in the upper right of my vision. I opened it.

Message Kathleen: unread.

Message Elizabeth: unread.