Amazon Apocalypse: Chapter 10 (Patreon)

My team ran past zombies as fast as possible,  smashing them apart with whatever they could lay their hands on. The  violence echoed throughout the grocery store, making the place feel like  a war zone. A zombie would stagger after us every once in a while, but  we quickly disposed of them before they could reach us.

You have slain [Newly Risen Zombie - Level 1] x3

Despite  being disgusting and terrifying at first, the zombies turned out to be  surprisingly weak. I calmed down after killing a few of them and looking  at my notifications.

I wasn’t sure if zombies were just innately  only as strong as giant cockroaches or if it was because these people  had been so low level before they died, but it only took one Mana Bolt  to finish them. Seeing how easy killing them off was, I decided that  instead of fleeing, we’d just cleanse the store and do our shopping  after we put them all down.

As we worked our way deeper into the  building, I noticed a couple of dead bodies lying near the stairs. These  had been bitten just like the first. When I approached, they attacked.  So that was another point in favor of them being contagious.

“Everyone,  be careful. If you aren’t certain you can kill these things without  getting bitten, let me take them out with a Mana Bolt,” I ordered.

The  zombies were rather slow, and even an ordinary human could just walk  away from them. The level one zombies didn’t even have the coordination  to stand. Their best tactic seemed to play dead and trying to surprise  anyone who came near them. Now that we knew their trick, they stood  little chance against us.

Bridget pushed an empty shelf on top of  one zombie and jumped on top of the trapped undead monster, and Sakura  jumped on their backs to pin them to the floor with her foot as she  bashed their heads in with her bat.

Caleb was a bit more cautious  about taking the undead down than either of the ladies, so he threw  things at the creatures from afar until they stopped moving. He had a  surprisingly good throwing arm on him though, and the zombies he took  down looked quite strange with frozen sausages sticking out of either of  their eye sockets.

Truthfully, I was disappointed at how low  their levels were. I might have leveled up if some of these zombies had  been level three or four. As of now, I was barely earning any experience  points at all. But it was worth wiping these things out when we finally  figured out where the grocery store survivors had been hiding. They  were tucked away in the bathroom at the back of the store.

“All the zombies are dead now!” I yelled as I tapped on the door. “You guys can come out.”

“How do we know you aren’t a zombie?” A voice yelled out in reply.

“Did you hear any of those zombies talking?” I asked. “Because I didn’t. Trust me, I’m not a zombie.”

“Sounds like the kind of thing a zombie would say!”

Convincing  everyone to come out proved to quite difficult, but not impossible.  Eventually, I got them to crack the door open enough that they could  inspect me and see I was a living, flesh and blood human, just like  them. At that point, they finally opened the door, and I could look  inside.

A group of survivors sat huddled together, terrified of  the monsters outside. We told them not to worry and brought them out to  see that there was nothing to be afraid of.

The world had  already fallen apart before they stepped foot outside. Most of them  thought the zombie attack was an isolated incident confined to this one  supermarket and had been certain help would come to wipe them out soon. I  had to break the bad news to them.

“What are we supposed to do  now, if nowhere is safe?” A worried older woman asked. She was older  with gray hair and reminded me a little of my grandmother before she  died.

She was right. Nowhere was safe for a bunch of level ones,  though they did have a stat boost from Blessed of the System that would  make them a bit harder to kill than ordinary people before the  integration.

“There’s an office building where a bunch of  survivors are grouping up. If you help us bring food there, I’m sure  they’d be happy to take you in.” And just like that, I recruited people  to push another twenty carts. It was a good thing too because my  suggestion to use Sakura like a locomotive hadn’t gone over well.

Once  they fully grasped the situation, the survivors thanked me profusely  for saving their lives and helping them escape. I was just sorry there  were no zombies left since they could have used the levels. Not that I  could have gotten them to leave the bathroom if there had been any  zombies left. They had a hard enough time just walking past the pools of  blood.

About a third of them were useful for collecting  supplies, but that meant we had ten people helping us. The rest were  only good for pushing carts, but on the way back that was just what we  needed.

***

Before long, we had emptied a good portion of  the grocery store and were headed back to the office. Our team was  exhausted and sweaty from carrying all the heavy stuff, but the work  gave them all something to focus on other than the fact that their world  had changed forever. I made sure to remind them how important this food  was. This journey would keep many people from starving once we got  back.

“Caleb, let’s scout ahead. Bridget and Sakura can keep an eye on everyone,” I suggested.

Knowing  how badly these people reacted to a few low-level zombies, the last  thing I wanted to do was force them to confront something actually  powerful. Caleb was putting points into perception to get the Examine  skill, so he could see just about everything, even in the shadows  between buildings.

We spotted a few Scavenger Cockroaches, most of which I killed with my Mana Bolt.

“There  are the bodies from before,” Caleb said, pointing ahead. Some level two  cockroaches had been nibbling on them just minutes ago. That was  probably how they reached level two in the first place.

“Let’s move them into the alley. I don’t want the new survivors seeing them.”

So  we dragged the bodies aside, disrupting a few rats while we were at it.  They were all low level, just like the first group of rats I killed,  but they seemed less impressive. Now that I was killing them with just  one Mana Bolt, I realized they were only about knee height. Sure, the  Rat Matriarch had been much bigger, but maybe these things weren’t so  terrifying. But I suppose that’s the major benefit of being able to kill  them just by pointing at them.

My Mana Bolt hadn’t gotten any  more powerful, but with my swelling reserves combined with my steadily  growing Caster proficiency, I’d become able to push each shot to its  full potential. It wasn’t a good solution considering how much less  efficient Mana Bolt got when I pumped it up with too much power, but if I  ran into stronger enemies, a magical punch wouldn’t do it. I needed  something more like a magical gun. I wasn't there yet, but maybe I would  be with a few more days of work.

Still, all the things we ran  into were fairly low level, which suggested I had been leveling even  faster than the creatures trawling the city. That was a bit of a relief,  but also somewhat worrying. What about the forest? Maybe there were  creatures beyond the city limits whose levels were skyrocketing with  every passing hour. And where had the Rat Matriarch gone when she’d run  off?

“Something’s wrong,” Caleb said as he turned abruptly, as we  were tossing the last of the bodies in the alley where they’d be out of  sight for the survivors who would pass through.

Bending my ear, I  heard Sakura shouting something with urgency. With his perception, Caleb  probably heard what she was saying a lot more clearly than I did.

“What is it?”

“I think they’re under attack,” Caleb replied.

We  ran around the corner, and sure enough, Sakura and Bridget stood over a  body. With a heavy heart, I realized the older woman reminded me of my  grandmother. Next to her was a man with a bloody golf club. He had a  scowl on his face, and his weapon was locked with Sakura’s like they  were crossing swords.

There were two of them together, each  dressed in a pair of stolen boots and coats. Beneath those garbs were a  pair of bright orange jumpsuits I recognized from Crownhill's local  prison. Of course. If the police station had been disarmed, the prison  guards probably had been as well. A prison break here or there was  natural with an apocalypse on the way.

“Out of the way,” the man  yelled. He was big and burly and two heads taller than Sakura. One shove  should have sent Sakura flying to one side by all rights. But Sakura  had been putting points into strength, and her physical power defied  reality. So when the burly murderer shoved, Sakura shoved too, and he  was the one who was pushed back.

“Fucking hell. I thought you said  these people were easy pickings, just like those law office guys,” the  murderer's companion said.

I realized we’d probably found the  culprits behind killing those bodies we’d hauled out of the way a few  minutes ago. We would have to watch out for more of their kind in the  coming days. There were a few hundred prisoners in that facility.  Assuming even only a fraction of them were violent, they would gain  levels the fastest. The prison guards had probably been some of the  first casualties of the integration.

The types we had gathered  here were violent and opportunistic, which meant they’d be in trouble  eventually. While I still intended to set up camp in my little mountain  bunker, I wasn’t about to let criminals terrorize my hometown. Sakura  and Bridget were overpowering the two they were fighting, which meant we  had the level advantage.

“Let’s go,” the murderer said. “Time to bail.” He glanced our way and saw us rushing toward them.

“Split off,” I shouted to Caleb, and he peeled off to cover their escape.

I headed straight for them.

“Out  of our way!” One of them swung his golf club like he would swat me  aside when I was in range. But I had no intention of getting into a  fistfight with the guy. His strength stat had probably been higher than  mine before the integration and was probably far higher than mine now.

So instead, I just pointed my finger at his forehead and unleashed a highly charged Mana Bolt.

The  man’s head whipped back like he’d been struck with a rock. His head  didn’t explode like a melon, but he stumbled backward. Before he could  recover, I followed the attack up with another Mana Bolt.

“Fuck  off!” He shouted as he righted himself, swinging his golf club wildly  and spraying the old lady’s blood everywhere. He must have thought there  was someone invisible hitting him in the head. I replied by shooting  him with Mana Bolt again. And again.

The fight was practically over when Sakura, Bridget, and I closed around the two murders.

“W-wait!  We didn’t mean to kill anyone!” the murderer with the golf club said.  His words were slurred and he wobbled back and forth as he struggled to  stand. Blood leaked from his eyes, ears, and mouth. All those Mana Bolts  had probably given him three concussions at once. He tossed his weapon  aside when he realized how bloody it was and tried to give Sakura his  best charming smile.

She turned to me, and I shook my head. I  pointed my finger right at his eye. With so little distance between us,  this one hit something much more vulnerable than his thick skull.

Your Caster proficiency has increased to 5.

That  attack finally exhausted the last of the murderer's health points. The  man dropped dead, blood and brain matter oozing from his empty eye  socket. His body squirmed for a moment until Sakura brought her baseball  bat down on his head.

Realizing we would not show any mercy, the  other escaped prisoner jumped to his feet. He sized the three of us up  and must have decided Bridget looked the weakest out of everyone  present, so he gave her a shove to break free of our circle. A moment  later, he ran face-first into Caleb’s table leg, which he’d been  carrying propped up over his shoulder and now swung to intercept the  fleeing prisoner.

You have slain [Henchman - Level 4}!

You have slain [Psychopath - Level 6]!

Congratulations! You have advanced to level 7!

“Y-you killed them!” A woman gasped in horror from our shopping cart baggage train.

“Yeah. Just like they would have done to you,” I replied. “You’re welcome.”

“I... but...” the woman stuttered, unable to find words with the smell of blood in the air.

Calming  down the survivors after that little episode took far longer than the  fight itself. Everyone was screaming, crying, or some combination  thereof. It was annoying, not just because we cleared away the bodies  earlier to make sure they didn’t see something like this.

It took me a few minutes of reflection to figure out what was ticking me off.

It  was their attitude. They’d survive the apocalypse and defied the odds  living so far. Those two criminals would have killed them if we had  given them the opportunity. And yet here they were, clinging to old  sensibilities that would get them killed if they hung on to them any  longer. What were they thinking?

Perhaps I’d started down the  wrong path. I have tried to shield anyone from our new reality. If there  were bodies on the street, they’d just have to learn to walk over them.  If there were monsters in our path, they’d have to fight them with us.

But  by some ironic twist of fate, the rest of our journey back to the  office was entirely peaceful. There wasn’t so much as a rat or a giant  cockroach for the survivors behind us to fight. I allocated my stat  points while we walked, putting three in Intelligence and one into  Perception.

“Ha, I think I see Craig and his crew coming back  from the convenience store. They look a little worse for wear.” Caleb  squinted into the distance.

I couldn’t see that far, but Caleb’s  perception was at nine, so I wasn’t surprised that he could see things I  couldn’t. Perhaps next level up I'd put two points into Perception  instead.

We returned to the office to find it much the same as  I’d left it. Benjamin and Margaret were beside themselves with joy to  see our safe return, and everyone else eyed the wagons of food hungrily.

The  new survivors were welcomed with open arms considering what they were  bringing with them, and the survival group expanded by quite a bit.

“Maybe  we should stay here a while, Carter?” Sakura suggested. Quite a few of  the other survivors were treating us like conquering heroes just for  braving the great outdoors and bringing back supplies.

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

I  still wanted to get my supplies and set up base in my survival shelter.  I’d spent an awful lot of my time setting that up before the  integration, after all.

But maybe staying at the office wouldn’t  hurt. After all, if things really went south again, we could always flee  to safety. It would be good to keep the mountaintop bunker as a secret  shelter.

When I talked to Benjamin next, he had an exciting discovery to share with me.

“Carter, look at this!” He gestured to the empty air in front of him.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Oh.  Right. System screen. Here, let me share what I’m seeing with you.”  Benjamin made a few obscure gestures, and suddenly the air before him  lit up and a screen popped into existence. It looked different from  mine, like it had been pulled out of a spreadsheet. In fact, looking  closer, it looked exactly like a spreadsheet.

In contrast, my  System screen was reminiscent of a plain text web game. These screens  must have been customized for the individual meant to interact with  them.

“How’d you do that?” I asked as I ducked around to look at Benjamin’s screen with him.

“We’ve  been experimenting while you were out adventuring. There are a lot of  features on these menus. One of our people even found a calculator. This  thing even has an app store! And to think I was sad my phone stopped  working. I’ll show you how to access those menus later. For now, this is  what I want you to look at.”

New Quest Available!

Establish a settlement:

• Your group meets all suitable requirements for establishing a settlement for the class: shelter.
• Establishing  a shelter will enable the purchase of shields, training equipment and  allow the purchase of non-combat jobs through the profession system.
• To  establish a shelter, you must fend off all who would oppose the  establishment of your shelter, both sentient and monster. Completion  will grant a Settlement Obelisk in the geographic center of your  shelter.

“You want to try this quest?” I asked.

“Many  people are very hopeful about that line there. Allows the purchase of  non-combat jobs through the profession system.” Benjamin pointed to the  second bullet point before us.

“It looks like you’re going to need to fight to complete the quest, though,” I cautioned.

Benjamin  nodded. “That’s why I wanted to bring it up to you. We need people  willing to fight, and after Craig took most of those from us, we need  everyone we can get. I know your group of four has already helped us so  much already, but I can promise to make it worth your while if you help  us again.”

Benjamin showed me another screen.

You have selected the governance form: Republic.

• A republic is ruled by democratically elected representatives and can contain one or many branches of government.
• Due  to your planet's achievements with this and related forms of  governments, you will receive unique bonuses to establishing this type  of governing body.

“The important part for you is right here.” Benjamin flicked through several more screens.

Government branch: High Sword

• The  High Sword of a Republic is a permanent position, usually held by one  of a republic’s strongest combatants. They are the ultimate guarenteer  of law and order, and their power is the backbone of any civilization.
• In  the more common monarchy type of governance, the High Sword would be  king. The High Sword of a Republic sacrifices absolute authority for  greater freedom of the citizenry.
• Despite  not wielding absolute power, High Swords of Republics are often both  wealthier and more powerful than their monarch peers due to the fact  that merchants inherently prefer to do business in nations based on law  and order rather than the supreme authority of a monarch.

The High Sword holds the following powers.

• A continuous stipend of 30% of all tax revenue from the Republic or the equivalent in resources.
• The ability to raise armies and declare war.
• Immunity to all laws within the Republic.

I raised an eyebrow. High Sword sounded like somewhere between a president and a constitutional monarch.

“Are you... offering this position to me?” I asked.

“Yes,”  Benjamin replied. “I have the Examine skill, and besides Craig, you’ve  got the highest level of anyone I’ve seen. And I sure as hell am not  asking Craig if he wants the position. The ability to raise armies and  declare war is just going to be ceremonial for the system. I doubt we’re  going to have anything resembling an army. But I’ve been reading  everything I can about the jobs and the profession system. I think that  30% tax revenue stipend could add up to something nice for you. It's  supposed to be very worthwhile for anyone who takes one of these jobs.”

“And what about these monsters? Are you sure we can handle them?”

Benjamin leaned in close and whispered. “That’s where I have a little secret. My car.”

“Your car?”

“I  like to head to the shooting range after work. I’ve got two rifles in  there, both much higher gauge than Craig’s little handgun.” Benjamin  said. “You saw how many levels that little thing gave him. Imagine what  we could do with a pair of real guns?” Benjamin said with an eager gleam  in his eyes. “I’ll take one while we complete the quest, and you can  use the other. Even in Craig is higher level than you now. I’m sure he  won’t be by the time we run out of ammo. Outleveling him will keep him  from making trouble. And if he makes trouble anyway, you’re more than  welcome to use the rifle to... maintain order. Just like the High Sword  title says.”

“You sure you want me to have the other gun? Not your  wife?” I asked. I wasn’t sure how good Craig’s perception skill was,  but he had the Examine skill, which meant it was at least ten. I didn’t  want him to hear about anyone’s plot to assassinate him.

Benjamin  shook his head. “We talked already. We’ll have plenty of time after the  quest is won. Besides, nobody here will leave the office. The parking  garage is nearly half a block over. You’d have to retrieve the guns, or  they’ll just sit there uselessly.”

“Have you spoken with the police station? They said their guns were all broken. I don’t know how Craig got his working.”

Benjamin  nodded. “We’ve been chatting with them. I’ve told them about Craig, and  some of the guys here have a few theories. Theories we're working on  confirming with a little good old fashion corporate espionage. There’s a  special title you have to earn before a gun even works for you, and  even then, it takes a bit of fiddling. But we’ve been spying on Craig  and know he’s taken his gun apart and put it back together multiple  times. That has to have something to do with it. If we can figure out  his trick, we’ll be catching up to his level before we know it.”

I  was certain that the gun was the main reason Craig was at a higher  level than me. Even my Mana Bolt didn’t have as much of a punch to it as  a bullet, which was the main reason I’d been careful not to initiate a  shootout with Craig. But if I could span the level advantage, he  wouldn’t be able to intimidate us any longer.

And the thought of  doing so using his own trick was just too good an idea to pass up. I  could hardly wait to see the look on his face.

“What if I end up using up all your ammo?”

“If  there are as many jobs in this profession store as I've been lead to  believe, I’m betting at least one of them involves casting lead into  bullets,” Benjamin replied.

I licked my lips. Doing this really would tie myself to these survivors. Did I want that?

I glanced back at Sakura, Bridget, and Caleb, still being thanked like heroes just as I’d been a minute ago.

“Alright, Benjamin. I'm in.”

Benjamin clapped me on the shoulder. “You won’t regret this.”

<Note>

Sorry for the delay! Finally got the chapter back when the server came back online.

I  get a bit annoyed at the fact that in a lot of these novels the main  characters end up establishing what is essentially a totalitarian  dictatorship. But in universes with such dramatic levels of power, I  suppose it is natural for the physically strongest person to rule. I was  thinking about how a more democratic form of government might work in  such a setting though and this is what I came up with.

I  might tweak things still since there are few examples to learn from,  but for now I think this is vaguely what I'd like to progress toward.

Carter Smith (Human, Level 7. Rank F)

Strength: 7

Agility: 5

Perception: 8

Vitality: 12

Intelligence: 19

Willpower: 7

Charisma: 7 (+4)

Luck: 0

Caster proficiency 5.