Apocalypse: Regression

Even after the streets had been largely cleared of the major debris so that rescue vehicles could make it in and out of the disaster zone, the ride was still far from smooth as Will was forced to do his best to weave around potholes and the occasional broken pieces of brick or cinder block that had been missed.

“Noelle’s mother’s leg got broken up ahead,” Will said, pointing at one of the collapsed buildings like he was making completely normal small talk. “Coulda been worse though, but apparently her mailman had a combat class that let him lift the whole dang lamp post off her leg. Can’t tell if she was lucky ‘cause the guy was there or unlucky cause she needed saving.”

“Well, with healing magic, a break isn’t a serious problem at least,” Adele remarked as she leaned forward to join the conversation, her eyes taking in everything around them. “Wonder what they’re going to call it this time around since I don’t think Endless Night will work.”

“That’s true,” Nick thought out loud. “The power grid didn’t go down, and the city is already recovering. They might just call this event something like . . . the Red Sky, or the Crimson Catastrophe, or the Scaled Schism or something.”

“Isn’t that what Mr. Girard kept wanting to call dungeon breaks? Crimson catastrophes or something?”

“Yeah, but this time it’ll have the double meaning of both the day the sky broke and the day the Crimson Crusaders betrayed the city with their petty infighting during the catastrophe . . .” Nick tried to explain his bad wordplay, only to get a bunch of disapproving looks.

“You know, if we published an article through one of the newspapers first, we might be able to name it!” Allen suggested as he continued to tinker away at ViVi, programming in some function only for Will’s erratic driving to send him back to square one as the large van came to an abrupt stop before jerking into motion again and sending the poor artificer all over the place.

“Sorry about that,” Will apologized as he spared a glance at Allen through the mirror before halting the car again and announcing, “We’re here.”

They had arrived at the large, open square where the rift now stood. It had been a central part of the city before, with a bank nearby and a college campus not too far away. The parking lot the rift was sitting in belonged to the college, but now, where dozens and dozens of cars could have previously parked, there was only the rift with a waterless moat surrounding it, filled to the brim with magical thorns courtesy of Jason, the Life Mage’s spell.

“So where are we starting, boss?” Will asked as he put the vehicle in park and everyone began to shuffle out. “From what I understand, they were able to use fancy spells and devices to find and rescue all the injured, so now we’re either repairing infrastructure or recovering dead bodies.”

“Do we have an update on how many died?” Nick asked as soon as the question popped in his head. He shook away the thought. “No, nevermind. Don’t answer that. I think, at the moment, the best thing we can do is start with the infrastructure. Once we clean up this area, we can . . .” He trailed off as he stared at the portal.

The question from the morning was still alive and well in his head, consuming his attention and focus as he wanted so desperately to just walk over to the rift and take a step inside.

As if answering to his call, to his yearning desire to see the other side, the large red portal that was the rift began to move, rippling for a moment before a monstrous, polar-bear-like creature burst through, its eerie white eyes matching its perfectly snow-colored fur as it tore through the red portal, roaring as it plummeted into the pit and onto Jason’s spikes.

“Let’s move!” Nick shouted to his team as he grabbed his spear and started running toward the rift in half a second. He had hoped that the thorns Jason had created would stop the monster, however, even as they stabbed into the beast, trying to give it the same agonizing death that over two dozen monsters had gotten before it, the ursine monstrosity just ignored the sharp, thick spikes, it’s thick heavy fur mostly shielding it from the damage. It shrugged off what little did make it through the fur and into its flesh.

The Crimson Crusaders and members of the Branches of Yggdrasil, one of the mercenary groups his grandfather had hired before his death, sprung into action right away as the Daedalus Guild members nearby joined them, encircling the edge of the pit, weapons drawn. The Daedalus Guild formed a second wall.

“Hey! Buff boy is here! Do your thing!! Quick!!” Rob, one of the six members of the Crimson Crusaders, yelled at Nick, but Nick wasn’t listening to him. He’d lived a long time, and he’d seen the creature before, but he'd never seen it fight, so rather than jumping into the magical briar patch to engage the bear, he quickly activated Omni-Trainer’s Insight, hoping to reveal one or two of the monster’s weaknesses.

Grand Arctic Ursine

Level: 40

Type: Aberrant Beast

From the icy, treacherous realms of Salarium, the Arctic Ursine has evolved. This colossal creature stands over ten feet tall at the shoulder and has fur that resembles jagged, icy rocks, each strand glinting with an unnatural sharpness. This beast’s formidable presence is matched only by its relentless ferocity as it prowls its icy domain, ever ready to crush any intruders beneath its stony hide.

Insight Note:

The Arctic Ursine's fur is not only incredibly tough but also extremely abrasive, capable of shredding the flesh of those that come into contact with it. The bear's rocky hide grants it significant resistance to physical piercing and slashing attacks. However, it is particularly vulnerable to acid and blunt damage as the rocky exterior can be melted, and the layers of fat and muscle underneath the armor are more vulnerable to damage.

Ice Resistance: 90%

Fire Resistance: 50%

Acid Resistance: -10%

Slashing Resistance: 80%

Piercing Resistance: 80%

Bludgeoning Resistance: -30%

“Bludgeoning damage! Hammer time, everyone! Acid if you have it!" Nick used the guise of his orders to give the buff that Rob had pesteringly demanded earlier, activating Pep Talk as he gave out his commands. Nick stepped away from the bear lashing out at them, its claw scratching the lip of the pit, as he looked around for some way to do bludgeoning or acidic damage, now understanding exactly why the piercing from the thorny vines of Jason’s spell had been so useless against the monster.

Unfortunately for Nick, as he looked around, he could see that very few people actually had a bludgeoning weapon. Aside from Arnold with his Maul of Afterburn, Mr. Walters with his bare-knuckle fighting style, and a few others with clubs and maces, the majority were spear, sword, arrow, or rifle users. Piercing and slashing were how most people did damage. Even Nick lacked a weapon besides his fists to capitalize on the monster’s weakness.

Holy fire, Nick decided. Everyone has holy fire. It’s a public resource at this point! He focused his mind on the emotions he needed to manifest the righteous fury in flame form.

“If you can’t smash it, burn it together with me! It won’t do much damage, but enough fire and we might have a chance to melt the bastard!” Nick ordered as a pillar of flame three feet in diameter fell upon the Arctic Ursine. Even as Nick and at least a dozen other guild members tried to burn the bear alive, it just continued trying to attack them, clawing its way out of the pit and onto the asphalt even as it roared out in pain, lashing in a blind fury with a paw so strong that, as it struck the closest target, Rob, it sent the winged-horse-riding S-tier warrior skidding across the ground and into the wall.

Seeing Nick, who was next closest to the mad beast, it started to charge him next, its mouth open like it was about to eat him. Nick tried to back up, but the fatigue from using Pep Talk and burning all of his mana on holy fire left his muscles sluggish as he tried to flee from the ursine.

Just as it was about to send him flying, potentially killing him with the attack, a medicine ball struck the tip of its nose, breaking it on impact and causing the beast to flinch, stunned from the impact as Mr. Walters appeared a moment later, punching the beast on the left side of its face as Arnold came in with a smash to the left side of the beast’s rib a moment later with his Maul of Afterburn. There was a crack as the rocky fur and underlying ribs broke, then an eruption of flame from the maul as the afterburn effect activated.

The bear, falling down for a moment, was then instantly lifted into the air as Rob, having recovered from the attack, and his brother, Bob, both lassoed the creature. They quickly worked together with their other guildmates as they dragged the massive beast into the sky, the bear monster thrashing around helplessly as the ropes binding it got tighter and tighter until it was finally able to reach one of the two steel-strengthened ropes and cut it with its claws. It plummeted to the ground a moment later.

With a hard thunk, the large arctic bear shattered the patch of street it landed on and the floor beneath it. By the looks of it, the beast had snapped a leg, but it was still roaring in rage as it swiped at the air in the direction of Bob. A massive claw made of aura, much like one of Seo-ah’s more advanced spear abilities, shot through the air, hitting Bob with enough force to dismount the warrior, sending him to the same fate the bear had just endured as he started to fall.

Then, without missing a beat, the bear turned around rapidly and began to focus on Nick, wanting to pick right up where it had left off as it let loose a powerful aura nova burst that knocked Mr. Walters and Arnold back before they could strike it again.

I need distance . . . I need, I need agility! Nick panicked for a second as the bear, capable of taking on S-tier warriors, seemed determined to kill him next. Not having any good options, he pulled out one of Topaz’s green agility vials. It was a temporary boost, only a minor amount for someone normally, but for someone like Topaz it was the difference between crawling and running because she had the Potion Master skill thanks to being an alchemist.

Nick had already thought about copying the skill with his Advanced Training ability, but he hadn’t had enough time to go through the list of all available options and make an educated decision. However, facing a giant bear and feeling the limitations of his own legs, he didn’t hesitate as he quickly copied Potion Master from Topaz, a pop up explaining the skill generating that Nick had to ignore.

There’s no thinking things through if you’re dead, Nick thought to himself as he then immediately downed the green vial in his hand. The effect was instant. His body shuddered for half a second. He felt the chemical concoction creep through his veins, and before he knew it, his whole body began moving like everyone else was in slow motion as he ran faster than the Sandals of Hermes had ever let him run before, looking back to see that the fifteen-foot gap between him and the charging bear had grown to forty-five feet. The holy fire from his comrades continued to stack on the monster as it chased him. The burning white-furred bear seemed like something out of a horror book.

Feeling confident in the monster’s pending demise, Nick put another fifty feet of separation between him and the bear, chugging a mana potion before he turned and watched the bear finish burning to death, its body ablaze as it collapsed on the ground before finally dying.

As Nick caught his breath, he saw the dozen notifications from the fight, the aftermath, and him copying Topaz’s abilities.

You have gained 4,563 EXP.

You have leveled up! You have 5 unassigned stat points!

Congratulations! Training!! VI has evolved into Training!! VII.

Congratulations! Holy Fire II has evolved into Holy Fire III.

Congratulations! Enhanced Command III! has evolved into Enhanced Command IV!

Good thing I picked the skill when I did, Nick thought as he stared at a second notification that had just popped up, as well as his character sheet that went with it.

Advanced Training [Aura]

This unique skill allows you to permanently copy and utilize one skill from any individual you have previously trained. The copied skill starts at level 1 proficiency.

Cooldown: Every five levels.

Advanced Training: Remaining Cooldown- 4 Levels.

Name: Nick

Class: Trainer

Level: 36

EXP to next level: 1/19,250

HP: 990

Mana: 310

Unspent stat points: 5

Strength: 106 (+15) Aura: 26 (+16)

Agility: 95 (+15) Magic: 62 (+12)

Constitution: 99 (+15) Charisma: 303(+32)

Active Skills:

Training!! VII (1%)

Get in the Zone! IV (67%)

Frost Giant’s Magic III (62%)

Charge IV (69%)

Straight Thrust IV (99%)

Spear Sweep IV (98%)

Healing Touch III (92%)

Omni-Trainer's Insight III (46%)

Sorrow’s Final Laugh (52%)

Pep Talk III (13%)

Cloak of Madness II (23%)

Holy Fire III (2%)

Dragon Fist of Fury II (15%)

Correcting Bad Form! III (71%)

Lover’s Charm II (16%)

Advanced Training (0%)

Passive Skills:

Spear Fighting VII (12%)

Sword Fighting IV (35%)

Learn the Basics V (93%)

Nutritionist III (18%)

Enhanced Command IV! (2%)

Sword and Shield II (95%)

Tough Love IV (04%)

Knife Throwing (31%)

Spear Throwing IV (19%)

Survival Tactics (27%)

Blacksmithing II (19%)

Shield offense III (4%)

Unarmed Fighting III (12%)

Parry Master (0%)

Potion Master (1%)

Total inventory slots: 4

Items:

Emerald Earrings of the Moon Drake

Weight of Dedication

Sandals of Hermes

Signet of the Verdant Guardian

Crown of the Mountaintop

Standard of Greatness

Blade of a Thousand Failures

Titan Axe

The Soulstealer’s Ring

Crown of the Gallows

Titles:

David’s Descendent V

Clear Intentions

Speedy Can’t Lose III

Drake Slayer III

Herbicidal Maniac

Mass Murderer

Crustacean Crusher II

Realm Ravager III

Hundredfold Victor

Hound of Helsing II

Redeemer of Souls

Battle Herald II

Goblin Bane

Glacial Guardian II