Amazon Apocalypse: Chapter 20 (Patreon)

Myrina was wearing a white cloth dress, sort of like a toga. It looked somewhere between ancient Greek clothes and gym wear. Her hair was also done up behind her head in an unusual style. I wasn’t sure what to call that kind of bun, but it had a certain elegance to it. The only thing unusual about her appearance was the fact that she was wearing eye shadow, which was something I’d never seen on her. In fact, I was pretty sure she wore no makeup at all, just her naturally flawless face.

Did she dress up just to see me?

If feeling her presence next to me didn’t warm my cold dead heart before, it did now. I almost forgot about my death and the fact that Craig was still out there and that all my living friends thought I was still dead.

“Aw, not even struggling? I wanted to see how strong you’ve become after the integration. Integration survivors are supposed to be really tough!” Myrina said as she wriggled on top of me, ass pressed to my stomach in such a way that trying to get out from under her was the last thing on my mind.

But this was just a hologram, or something like it. As nice as she felt, now that I focused on the feeling, I could tell she wasn’t really there. I felt the weight of her on me, but not the warmth. Whatever strange alien magic Myrina was using to create this projection of herself, it only had a bit of tactile sensation to it. I realized I could just push through it and it would part around me like normal light. So that’s just what I did. I slid around her projection right through her right arm and hovered over her back with her chest pushed against the ground.

“Ha, now I’ve finally got you.” I grinned. Could I actually pin the real Myrina with my current stats? She’d been strong back then. Supernaturally strong. But now that the System had arrived, I knew why. She had the System back then, and I didn’t. Now that we were on even footing...

Myrina twisted, and the strength in her projection doubled again. She twisted her hips and did something. I wasn’t sure what it was, but she executed the move so flawlessly that I knew she must have practiced escaping that exact pin for years.

“Nice try. But you’re going to need a lot more levels before you can pin me,” Myrina purred. Even though she was just a projection made of light, I could feel her warm breath against my neck. I felt my heart beat faster, and not because of the exercise. Myrina wrapped her arms around me.

I chuckled, returning Myrina’s embrace. There was just a tiny bit of tactile sensation to Myrina’s form. She was still definitely made of light, but she was more than just a hologram. It was enough to give the impression of her physical presence, especially when she was hugging me like this.

Still, as she hugged me tighter, her arms phased right through me, and she sighed.

“I’m sorry I don’t have better farwalking tablets. These patronage tokens are just for meet and greets, really. I’m supposed to introduce you to the Amazonian Empire and explain why you should us support you. That kind of thing. I suppose I should get on with it, though. You didn’t activate this token just to see little old me.”

It was my time to silence her. “Myrina, you know, I hung onto your token all these years not because of the apocalypse you warned me about. I hung onto it because I hoped I’d get to see you again. And now I can.”

Myrina blushed. “I don’t remember you having such a way with words. Have you been dumping all your stats into Charisma?”

I chuckled. “Nope, but a few have wound up there all the same. I can share my System screen with you if you like. I actually have a few questions and quite a story to tell. Then you can give me your Amazon Empire sales pitch.”

Myrina smiled. “Tell me as much as you can, though I warn you we’re on a bit of a time limit. The System only allows these initial meet and greets to last for so long.”

I quickly summarized the events since the integration. I couldn't believe that it hadn’t even been a single day. Myrina’s expression when I told her of my adventures went from excitement, to eagerness, to fear, to terror, and then to amazement.

“You died!” Myrina said. “And then you came back to life? You’re certain you were completely dead? This wasn’t just some strange dream you had while you regenerated?”

“Completely. I saw my dead comrades and everything.”

“Huh. That isn’t supposed to happen. I’m guessing the System is having a harder time interfacing with your world than initially believed. Have you seen any oddities in your surroundings?” Myrina asked.

“Now that you mentioned it, a lot of our buildings were duplicated without really being copied. There are a bunch of useless chunks of buildings sitting around Crownhill.”

Myrina nodded, expression serious. “Something must have thrown the System off during its initial calibration. It’s designed to integrate medieval civilizations, and your technology probably threw it off. Heavens know it threw our spells off during those first few months among you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much magic that doesn’t use magic before!” She finally let me up on the ground, and I sat upright against the wall. Myrina slid over next to me.

I felt a little tinge of vicarious pride at that. We had all sorts of wonders before the apocalypse. I might not have had any part in making any of them, but humanity had accomplished a lot. And would do so again, given time. If that Mechanical Master title was anything to go by, humanity had a knack for this sort of thing.

“Well, I’m glad I came back to life, even if I did pick up a curse for my troubles.”

“Curse?” Myrina’s eyebrows shot up.

“Yeah, a Death Curse. Rather than try to explain it, I simply opened it up on my System screen and shared it with Myrina.”

She tapped on her own System screen, presumably transferring the text over. When she did so, her face palled.

“Oh... that kind of death curse...”

“It’s bad, isn’t it?”

Myrina bit her lip. “If it was an ordinary curse, I would have been able to send a pill over to cure you instantly as soon as the System allows it. But System curses are harder, and this one directly debuffs your luck and experience gain. That’s a nasty combination.”

“Give it to me straight, Myrina, am I screwed?”

Myrina sighed. “If we were in other circumstances, I would tell you to hide in a cave until the integration progresses far enough along I can come to help you in person. But that curse will bring trouble to you no matter where you hide. You’re going to have to find a way to lift it. The only thing I’ll say is that it’s definitely possible to get rid of it. There are a few rituals back home that could probably do it if done soon enough. I just don’t know how to do it with the resources of a newly integrated world. Still, the System always leaves a path. We’re just not seeing it yet.”

“I suppose I’ll just have to muddle through until I can figure things out.”

Myrina slid closer against me. “Well, that brings us back to the reason I’m here. I want to offer you the support of my faction, the Amazonian Empire! We’re a large faction that spans many worlds, but we’re always trying to establish new relationships, especially on new worlds like yours! With our support, we’ll put you through our tutorial, help you design a good build, and generally give you a guiding hand to keep you at the top of your game! And if you’re able to fulfill certain requirements the System lays out, I’ll eventually even be able to send you care packages or take you on a temporary visit to Themyscira!”

“That sounds great, but will you be there?”

Myrina wrapped an arm around my shoulders and leaned closer against me. “Every step of the way.”

I chuckled. “Then I trust you. If you say it’s the right thing to do, then count me in.”

“You sure? I... can’t offer as much as some of the other factions. Heck, I can’t even offer as much as some of the other Amazonian Empire tokens. If my family was willing to sponsor you, I could offer a lot. But... they don’t really trust me in this, and the family has bigger problems at home. All I can offer is me.”

I wrapped my arm around her in return.

“You’re all I need. Promise. Now, if you really want to help me, you could start by helping me pick a class,” I began.

I opened the notification and viewed my class selections, then made the screen visible for Myrina to look at as well.

Myrina straightened now that we were back to serious topics, and she studied the classes on offer with the glint of a professional at work. I had been hoping she’d be able to help me make an informed decision, and it looked like she could do just that.

We decided to go through the options on offer one at a time. First up was Swordsman, which I probably earned due to swinging around a sword during that last fight. But when I could be shooting spells out of my finger tips, did I really want to be stuck waving around a bar of metal? I could do that before the integration just fine.

Swordsman (Common)

A swordsman’s blade is an extension of themselves. One with their weapon, they cut through enemies with speed and grace. Among the most versatile of all weapons, the sword is a weapon of tremendous power and history. This class makes use of physical stats and focuses on close combat.

It sounded like it might be immediately useful, at least. It wasn’t too tough to figure out how to swing a sword around, so the path of progression was pretty straightforward. But would we eventually have to deal with quadratic wizards up against linear swordsmen? That was a common problem in old-world table top games. Unless swordsmen had a lot of extremely superhuman abilities, they would fall behind their spell-casting counterparts. I asked Myrina as much.

“Not quite. In fact, the Amazonian Empire focuses mostly on physical skills. We have some magic wielders among our ranks, but we mostly rely on our associated factions with that. There are plenty of powerful Amazonian Clans that have attached themselves to some sorcerer king of a distant planet, and that’s usually more than enough to meet our magical needs. There are plenty of paths to the peak, and there are many extraordinarily powerful swordsmen and women, even in just the Amazonian Empire. But it is true to keep progressing, everyone eventually has to start taking on more magical abilities. My grandmother was an incredible swordswoman, and her blade could even cut through time so she could attack someone in the past. It served her very well in duels. She never lost a fight to first blood.”

That sounded downright bizarre. How did wielding a sword turn into cutting through time? But what I’d learned of the System suggested it worked of symbolism and conceptual metaphors as much as reality. Maybe a powerful enough swordswoman could use her sword to cut through anything, even things that weren’t really there.

I looked at the nearby survival kits. There were a couple of big knives, but nothing I would truly put in the sword category. Taking the swordsman class would be risky enough. Taking the swordsman class when I wasn’t even sure I’d get my old sword back? No way.

Arcane Arsenal (Uncommon)

An arcane arsenal is a walking magical armory. They have a projectile for every task and the vast mana reserves to fuel them through a prolonged fight. They are jack of all elements, but master of none. Their power lies in their ability to switch between attacks of different elemental affinities to use the best tool to slay any foe. This class makes use of mental stats to focus on magical combat.

Arcane Arsenal was an interesting thing on offer. Myrina had a lot to say about it, too.

“If you were a woman and could join the Amazonian Empire in full, I would recommend picking the swordsman one. The Empire encourages her citizens to hone their combat capabilities. But men aren’t really part of the Amazonian Empire. It’s tough to explain, and you’ll have to come see it for yourself to understand. But basically, plenty of Amazons know the value in marrying into a little magical support,” Myrina said.

I chuckled and raised my eyebrows. “Oh? Do you know any eligible young Amazons looking for someone with the Arcane Arsenal class?”

Myrina smiled coyly at me, tongue flicking across her lips. “Sure do. Dozens upon dozens of them.”

“Oh? Sounds pretty tempting,” I teased, trying to make Myrina a little jealous. But she shrugged off my best efforts like they were nothing.

Myrina bumped my shoulder and laughed. “It might be a good option, but Arcane Arsenal requires you to have a bunch of front-line fighters to keep anyone from closing with you. I’ve seen wizards of similar classes before. Once you get in close with them, they’re finished.”

Soul Mage (Rare)

A soul mage specializes in magic inherent to a person’s very being, and their unique spells can bypass many traditional defenses. While not as physically imposing as other mage classes, the soul mage can be a terrifying opponent under the right circumstances. This class makes use of mental stats and focuses on unconventional combat. Due to their unpredictable nature and the many sinister evolutions this class makes available, Soul Mages are outlawed on many worlds.

Myrina was silent as we reviewed this option. When she finally spoke, her words came slow and hushed. “You really went through some rough stuff, huh? I’m sorry I couldn’t be there. People don’t get the Soul Mage Class offered to them without something bad happening.”

“I’ll be alright. Any thoughts on it?”

Myrina shook her head. “If it were me, I wouldn’t take it. Soul Mage on its own isn’t too bad, but a lot of the classes you can upgrade it to like Mind Slaver and Soul Devourer are particularly nasty. The Amazonian Empire is a bit laxer about hunting down Soul Mages than some of the righteous factions, but those evolved classes are truly evil. You won’t be welcome in most sectors of the multiverse if you decide to go that route. But I have to admit, it is a powerful option. And there might be a more tame evolution you can take later down the line instead of the two I just mentioned.”

I noticed Myrina hadn’t said not to take it. Just that it would be risky. And I had the title Death Defier, which directly stated I had an affinity for Soul Magic. But was I willing to live as a fugitive for that?

I set Soul Mage aside for the time being. I felt Myrina grow tense next to me as she saw the contemplative expression on my face. She said nothing to. Thankfully, the next option was a welcome respite from the grim subject of the previous class.

Playboy (Rare)

While others spend their days mastering the swords or spells, a Playboy mastered the hearts of people. Those attracted to them will be putty in their hands, and their countless lovers will be desperate to please them. They may not be that fearsome on their own, but who needs to fight when they can seduce others to do the fighting for them? This class makes use of social stats to facilitate interpersonal relationships.

When I saw Playboy on offer, I realized I really shouldn’t have picked Fabulous Phallus. As nice a skill as it was to have, it opened the door for the System to feed me all sorts of odd things. It was like clicking on the wrong ad on your work computer. You just had to accept that these things would pop up forever after.

Myrina was staring at me with a grin on her face that spread from ear to ear. “Now, how did you earn this class, Carter?”

I rolled my eyes. “Honestly, I’m not really sure.”

Myrina giggled and needled me in the side with her fingers. “No way! Spill the secret! How many women have you taken advantage of?”

I held my hands up and chuckled while she poked me. “None, I swear!”

“I have my doubts about that.”

“Okay, there were a few women in my survivor group who seem to respect me a bit. It’s nothing much, though.” I watched Myrina’s face carefully for a reaction. I was waiting for anything negative. But she wore only a pensive smile.

“Hmmm...” Myrina flipped over to sit on my lap as she gazed at my eyes.

“Alright, I kissed one of them. Happy?” I said. Inwardly, I felt my heart tighten. I didn’t really like talking about Sakura when I was with Myrina. The thought of having to pick between one of them made me ache to my soul.

“A kiss, huh?” Myrina tapped her chin. “I guess that would be enough.”

“You’re not... jealous?” I asked curiously, afraid to hear the answer.

“Nah, you’re my buddy, Carter! And I’m your patron. Your victories are my victories!” Myrina replied.

“Oh. I... see...” Myrina’s words left me a little confused, but I accepted her answer all the same. I was pretty sure she was flirting with me, but she was as supportive as a friend would be at the sound of me kissing another woman. It was strange, to say the least.

Myrina joked a bit about me taking the Class, but I had other ideas. If nothing else, being a Playboy wouldn’t help me kill Craig.

Scholar of Forbidden Knowledge (Epic)

Scholars of Forbidden Knowledge walk a dangerous road, and their paths can lead them to either ruin or greatness. While not explicitly a mage classification, the Scholar of Forbidden Knowledge primarily makes use of mental stats, though has some abilities that rely on other attributes. This makes it more demanding than other classes and requires higher than average attributes across all stats at each given level.

Scholars of Forbidden Knowledge seek to discern the truths of the universe and gain power through knowledge and discovery. By cultivating this knowledge, scholars can passively grow in power without the need for experience points.

“Epic. That means good, right?” I asked Myrina, as she remained silent. Her brows were furrowed in concentration.

“Yes, it’s good. Very good. In fact, I really think this is the Class the System wants you to take. You have a death curse that prevents you from gaining levels, and so it offers you this scholar class that looks to be an ability of the cultivator line.”

“Cultivator line? Like farming?”

“It’s a way to level without leveling. Some say that such abilities predate the System itself. Your title ability gives you a way to gain stat points, and this gives you a way to gain levels. Between the two, you’ll have completely compensated for your disadvantage of not being able to kill monsters for levels.”

I frowned. “So I really have to pick this Class. Are there any downsides to it?”

“Yes. I’m not familiar with this specific scholar class, but usually they contain an eclectic mix of abilities that don’t often line up for combat. Or any practical application, really. The scholar class is for academics. Except all the real academic disciplines are filled with people with a normal class and an academic job title. Scholars are usually a bit of an oddball class, and you might end up being forced into a profession. But that might be smart for you anyway, considering your curse. There isn’t much point in you going out to fight monsters until you get that lifted.”

“Despite the epic ranking, I should be prepared to suck at combat?”

Myrina shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. It all depends on the specifics of your class. Scholars of Elemental Fire can be quite deadly, since their understanding of fire can allow them to cast fire spells far beyond their normal level and empower them far beyond their normal strength. Scholars of Life and Death are some of the only non-holy classes that can perform resurrection magic. Scholars of Prophecy have a knack for knowing the future and sometimes changing it. But a Scholar of Forbidden Knowledge? Hold on, let me check my book on known Classes.”

Myrina winked out for a moment, and when her image reappeared, she was holding a large dusty tome. “Show me the Class Scholar of Forbidden Knowledge!” Myrina commanded, and the book’s pages flipped open. Pages streamed by, starting from the front cover and continuing on without stopping until the last page closed. “Huh. I guess it isn’t there. Well, it was a long shot, considering it’s an epic class. The Amazon Empire has all the common classes categorized, almost all the uncommon ones, and a lot of the rare ones, but past that, our data grows scarce. It seems like most of the other scholar classes are only rare, though. Maybe you can figure something out by reading those.”

I thanked Myrina for her efforts, but I already knew what I had to do. I selected Scholar of Forbidden Knowledge.

<Note>

So, Carter has his class and kinda gets to see Myrina again! Yay.

I actually wasn't planning on bringing Myrina back for another 6 chapters or so, but I didn't want to have 12,000 words of Carter brooding alone while he looks at stat sheets. That's how stories end up with magical incorporeal voice companions (AKA: writers desperate to add dialogue while their MC is on a solo training arc)!

Anyway, it's only temporary, and it's just a hologram of Myrina rather than the real deal, so hopefully the real physical reunion will still be special.

I think I have her character mostly straightened out by now. Enough that I might take another crack at chapter 1 if I have time. Myrina's got a lot going on at home. I'm not 100% certain how her troubles will intersect with Carter's, but it is slowly coming together.