Chương 4

Despite his nerves, Oliver's hands were steady when he opened the coffin lid. He immediately went on offensive, spraying a handful of silver dust into the air and leaping up, spare iron shovel in hand and ready to strike. What he found however, was a town engulfed in flames and chaos. The dust he'd foolishly thrown into the air sparked and then exploded with force, knocking him into the nearest building's wall.

Without his points in Resilience, the impact would have likely broken his spine and left him in as a heap of flesh to be cooked. As it was, he rolled on the cobblestone and groaned. He shakily got back to his feet. His back would be one massive black and blue bruise tomorrow. But that was a problem for later.

"I should have purchased that stupid health potion." He cursed himself for being such an absolute idiot with his time management. He'd prioritized stashing his loot over visiting the town's herbalist. It was obvious that James must have lit the town ablaze after meeting Oliver. Not only would it kill Oliver, it would also rack in a significant amount of experience from all the villagers and animals who failed to flee to safety. It was a solid plan for experience gain.

Assuming you didn't mind the blood of a massacre on your hands. His eyes watered and he licked his cracked lips. The heat from the burning buildings was intense but as long as he stayed in the center of the cobblestone streets, he was probably safe. He stumbled forward through the burning streets. Despite the danger, he didn't immediately run for the nearest exit. Instead he hobbled in the direction of the blacksmith's forge.

A flaming ghoul burst from an alleyway and dashed by him, chittering madly to itself as it hopped from flame to flame. Then it rushed at Oliver, arms waving about wildly. Oliver quickly drew his gun, and fired a single shot into the undead creature. The blunderbuss exploded with power, he barely managed to keep his grip as it lurched back. His ears rang from the gun's bang. But the shot traveled perfectly. The ghoul flipped, its head flying backwards while its body spun forward with its momentum.

It did a flip in the air before landing face down in the cobblestone, the bullet having cleanly exited the back of its skull. A kill notification appeared on the side of Oliver's vision, alerting him to his spoils of 2 more Mel.

"At least it has power," Oliver muttered, though he lacked the capability to even hear his own words at the moment. Then he wiped the sweat from his brow with his handkerchief and hurried on his way. Actively trying to reload the blunderbuss while simultaneously keeping an eye out for danger. He vaguely thought to himself that maybe carrying a weapon that relied on gunpowder through fiery streets might be a terrible idea. But he wasn't about to dispose of the weapon now.

Who knew when he'd next be able to find a weapon vendor? The blacksmith's shop had fallen to pieces. As Oliver approached, he spotted the blacksmith's blackened body now pinned beneath a collapsed support beam.

"Oliver?" the blacksmith said as Oliver dashed over to the workshop.

"You're alive?" From a distance he'd been certain the blacksmith was dead. But the big man moved and spewed out a dry, guttural cough. He reached out in Oliver's direction with an arm that had been burned into a black stump.

"Avenge us," he moaned.

"Our spirits will never rest until the culprit is dead." A new quest icon appeared on the side of Oliver's vision. The rewards were hidden. That was a risk. He could only hold three quests at a time and if the blacksmith died he would have no idea who he would need to talk to if he decided to discard this quest down the line. But Oliver did have all three quest slots open at the moment. And he planned to take out James regardless.

Not only had the [Flesh Weaver] attempted to murder him for a level, he was intending to go on a killing spree of all their peers. He needed to be put down.

"I accept." The blacksmith nodded and the quest request disappeared.

"Then finish me. Don't let me die like this. Let me taste my own blade as my final meal." Oliver nodded gravely. If this is what the man wanted, Oliver could give him that final comfort. He found his shovel on a nearby broken table. The flames hadn't claimed this area yet and the silver glowed in the firelight. It was warm to the touch, but not scorching. He spun it over his head then chopped down in a fluid motion. The sharpened silver blade sliced cleanly through the blacksmith's neck.

The head fell to the stone floor with a thud. Even in such a grim and dangerous atmosphere, Oliver couldn't help but marvel at the strength that 30 points granted him. No normal human could have sliced through muscle and bone so cleanly. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Congratulations! You have defeated the blacksmith Gerald Conner, level 19. You have been awarded [800] Mel. Oliver nearly dropped his shovel in surprise. 800?

That was more than he'd ever managed to save up at one time. He now held a small fortune in his money pouch.

"The town's wealth, to you…" a ghostly voice said on the breeze. That would be his Echoes of the Dead skill kicking in. He bowed his head in thanks. Another fiery beam collapsed, reminding Oliver that money quickly lost its worth after you died.

"Time to go." Fire wasn't ideal for any of Oliver's skills. His Shadow Slink skill was rendered useless without decent shadows to slip into. He could normally attempt to wait the flames out in his sanctuary, if he hadn't just expended all of that. When he reached the town's walls he stared at them as they blazed. Fire burned as far as he could see. There was no way he could hope to scale the wall right now. He licked his cracked lips and looked around. He could follow the town wall around and hope for a gap.

Or maybe there was a well nearby that he could hide in? That might work. There had to be options to survive. There was no way he was going out like this. Another flaming ghoul burst out from inside a building. Oliver shot this one in the heart with a silver bullet. A kill notification. He hoped the noise of the gunshot didn't attract James, but there wasn't much that could make his situation worse than it already was. At least if James showed up it would add some random variables to his survival.

Just when he was debating whether or not to try digging a hole under the flaming wall with his new shovel, he heard a buzzing, whirling noise above him. He looked up, ready to face off against some new bee monster or something from another biome, assuming it had been attracted to the light of the flame. Instead, amongst the burning spires of the buildings, a lone metallic drone hovered in place. Oliver debated shooting the thing down with his blunderbuss.

Back in his life before this place, drones had never been a good sign. At best, they meant surveillance. At worst… well, his father hadn't ever had anything kind to say about the machines." You wish to live?" the drone said in a metallic, whirling voice.

"Obviously," Oliver croaked, his throat parched." I have formulated a plan that requires your survival. Please grab a hold of my landing skids."

"Is it a fellow experimentee controlling you?" Oliver asked." Yes. You may call me [Technomancer]."

"What's to stop you from dropping me into the inferno and collecting a free kill and level?"" Nothing. Besides the cost of one of my drones. The skids are not detachable. However, you will die regardless if you stay here. And if I truly wished you ill, I would have already opened fire on you." While he did have the bones of a few different survival plans, Oliver had to admit the idea of a fellow human rescuing him did sound rather appealing at the moment.

When the best of his current plans was to dig a tunnel, it didn't bode well for his odds of survival.

"Fine. Let's do it." The drone flew closer. Oliver stuck his shovel across the bars below it and grabbed a hold of the underside. The drone was far from massive. It was barely sized bigger than Oliver's torso. At first he doubted it would be able to take off, but the blades whirled and the contraption shook. Slowly, he ascended with the drone. And, true to his word, [Technomancer] did not dive bomb him into the flaming village. Instead, the drone flew him over the walls.

They passed over the fields of cemeteries that surrounded the town.

"You can drop me off wherever," Oliver offered, eyeing the ground below. If he jumped from this height, his Resilience might keep him from any serious damage. But it also might leave him with a broken leg or ankle. Which would be far from ideal. Especially since he couldn't spot the next closest town to Ventri. It was likely decimated or removed by the merge earlier. He also didn't know where James was currently hiding. He'd half expected the experimentee to chase after him with a cleaver.

But the only movement Oliver spotted was a ghoul lurking amongst a patch of tombstones. The drone slowly began to lower him. Only once Oliver's feet touched the ground did the machine pause midair and speak again." I have an offer for you, Oliver."

"How do you know my name?" Oliver asked the whirling contraption." I have access to a database with a great deal of compiled information. Your name is included in one of the files. I cannot say more than that." Oliver frowned. A database? Wherever this drone had come from, it must have been a far more advanced biome than his own. That likely meant better information about their situation. And he'd learned long ago that information was vital to survival.

"What's your offer?"" As I said earlier, I've developed a plan that I believe you could be instrumental in. If you wish to decline, I understand your mistrust due to the current situation; however, this may very well be your fastest avenue to freedom. Please consider." Oliver looked at the floating machine. He hadn't seen any technology beyond clockwork gears in so many years. It felt surreal to see this thing here. It revealed a longing in him.

He was so tired of fighting zombies and fleeing from nightmarish predators. An exhaustion took him as he stared out into the gloom of his biome. The burning town in the distance was the brightest light he'd seen in months. He wanted to go home.

"Speak. I'll at least hear out your proposal."