Amazon Apocalypse: Chapter 51 (Patreon)

I let out great heaving breaths, remaining vigilant as the survivors from our defense force patched up the destroyed barricade. We rebuilt little more than a pile of furniture and scrap, but there was enough of it to form a wall thick enough that monsters couldn’t roam into camp.

A few Lycans had been left behind hunting our people in the nearby buildings, but with the bulk of their forces in retreat, we could spare the manpower to hunt them down individually and deal with them. Soon, the civilians living in the shelter were safe again, though the shock of the attack had ruined the illusion of safety for most of them. I had only a few words for them.

“Without levels, nobody is truly safe. To keep monsters like those at bay, gain the levels to slay them.”

A few looked at me with fear and horror, but some others with hope. Perhaps we’d have more fighters to recruit from the next time something like these Lycans came around.

My mind turned grim at the thought. We were mortal enemies now, the Lycans and humanity. The Alpha Wolfman and me. Only one of our two groups would live upon this shard when all this was over. And from the fate of Sheriff Drayton, it looked like the fate of humanity rested in our hands alone.

When I’d finally recovered some mana and hit points, I stood and patrolled the parameter of the shelter. We’d taken a lot of damage, and we had a lot of wounded. We couldn’t survive another attack like this, and next time the Alpha Wolfman would be ready for my ultimate.

“Sir!” A plucky young voice stood to greet me by the gates, though not with as much eagerness as I’d heard from him yesterday. It was Kyle, one of the people who’d stepped up to protect those who weren’t yet ready to fight. “A few monsters sighted, sir, but nothing I couldn’t deal with.”

I placed a hand on the young man’s shoulders. “Thank you, Kyle. Tell the others to gather the dead. I think we’ve saved all we could. The rest we’ll have to cremate. We’ll hold a brief ceremony later.”

I killed any monsters I saw crawling toward the settlement. Mostly it was just a few bugs and a fire squirrel. The longer I stayed here, though, the more would come my way. Such was the price I paid for cheating death. No one else who died today would be so lucky.

There was plenty of scrap from the destroyed barricade. Most of the wood was little more than splinters, and there was plenty of wood salvage around to rebuild with fresh planks, so we opted to just burn the scraps rather than attempt to salvage them. They made excellent fuel for the pyre.

Margaret lit the pyre with another fireball, and all those with something to say did so.

I thanked our defenders for giving their lives on behalf of those who still lived and promised everyone that so long as we survived, they’d get another chance to rejoin us someday. I got a few looks at the odd certainty with which I voiced those opinions, mostly from the new people who weren’t yet familiar with the story of how I died and came back to life.

Nobody in the shelter had cremated a body before, and the whole thing smelled disturbingly like a cookout. We puzzled through, and eventually the fire got hot enough to reduce everything within to ash, including Sheriff Drayton’s pale and lifeless head.

On that front, I’d gone on a quick reconnaissance mission to check out the police station. It was... bad. The Lycans had done a number on them, which was no surprise considering the Alpha Wolfman had seen fit to parade the sheriff’s head around. The only saving grace was that the tactical swat vans were missing, as were most of the police cars.

“Do you think the wolves stole them?” Kyle asked me as we scouted the wreckage.

I shook my head. “Think about that image for a moment. Lycans stealing police vans. I don’t think they would even fit into the seats, let alone be able to operate the vehicles.”

Kyle’s face flushed. “It was a stupid idea. Sorry sir.”

I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Don’t be embarrassed. Everyone starts by making stupid ideas. Then you start thinking through them and realizing why they were stupid. After that, your next ideas start from a smarter place. Pretty soon your ideas end up pretty clever.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I traced the tracks in the dirt, which were pointed away from the station toward the outskirts of the city.

“Seems to me that there were survviors. Those survivors took the vans and fled as fast as they could. Though where they fled to, I couldn’t tell you.” I wracked my brain for a destination, but in the direction, they were heading they’d be outside the area soon enough.

Maybe they thought they could join forces with another police station in a neighboring town, not realizing that our shard was sealed off.

But the facts were clear. The shelter around the Obelisk was the strongest bastion of humanity left standing on this shard. There were other pockets of people here and there, to be sure, but not one of the ones I’d met could stand against the ogres, let alone the Chaosborn Lycans who wanted our blood.

We had to deal with them. Specifically, I had to deal with them. First, I needed to kill the Alpha Wolfman before night fell, for when it did, they would surely attack again.

A plan was forming in my mind. I knew I could kill the Alpha Wolfman. It was just a matter of recruiting the help I needed.

With that in mind, I arranged a new meeting, much like the one I’d held before next to our town’s monument. Only this one was before the Obelisk. People didn’t have to travel far since everyone I would have invited was already staying in one building guarded by shelter barricades.

I stood before my friends and allies, gathered on the walls as we were on such short notice. This meeting wasn’t as grand as the last one, but it held even more importance.

“We all know the situation,” I began, my voice echoing against the rubble around us. “The Chaosborn Lycans are strong, their Alpha in particular. And what’s more, they seem intent on exterminating humanity. At this point, it’s either us or them. We need to deal a decisive blow before nightfall, because I’m not sure we can survive another attack like this one.”

Nods of agreement greeted my words. The threat was clear to see all around us.

“We tried to attack as a group, and that failed.” I paused, meeting each of their eyes. “And it failed, at least in part because of me. Now, I see only one option. Someone has to go in and take them out on his own. We can’t rely on numbers. Only overwhelming power.”

“Just what are you suggesting, Carter?” Sakura crossed her arms and furrowed her brows.

“I’m suggesting that I will go in alone and take care of the Alpha Wolfman myself.”

Gasps of disbelief followed my declaration.

“Carter, you’re the strongest of us, but you saw how that last fight went.” Margaret placed a hand on her hip. “It took all of us to fend that big guy off. If you go in alone, you’ll just be getting yourself killed. And if you die, the rest of us are finished for sure.”

I shook my head. “The Ultimate abilities were the only new trick I had up my sleeve as of last night. But new options have opened up before me.”

I opened my menus, and after a bit of fiddling, I figured out how to share my Racial Evolution Quest with everyone.

Racial Evolution Quest Available!

Evolve your race and advance to the D Grade!

To meet the qualifications to open this evolutionary path for humanity on your shard, you must complete the following objectives.

·         Unlock twenty proficiencies. (19/20 completed)

·         Reach twenty or higher in eight of these proficiencies. (7/8 completed)

“I’m almost there,” I said. I just need to figure out a few more proficiencies to earn and one last one to get over 25. When I do both, I’ll complete my racial evolution and no longer be at the human level cap.“ I turned to Sakura. “At that point, Sakura, I’m going to ask you to make an enormous sacrifice. With your help, I should be able to boost my level to where I have enough of a raw stat advantage over the Alpha Wolfman that I’ll be able to take care of him.”

Sakura nodded. “I’ll help. Don’t worry. You’ll have everything I can give.”

“Me too!” Bridget said.

“What? No!” Sakura’s face turned red. “Absolutely not. No way. Helping Carter level is my job!”

“This job’s too important for you alone,” Bridget grabbed my hand. “Let me help, please. I gained a lot of levels last night, and I need you to defeat those Lycans more than anyone.”

“Uh... what are you two fighting over Carter for?” Marcus asked, eyebrow raised.

The others were all confused. “I guess this warrants an explanation. I told you about my Death Curse, the reason I left town for my Farmhouse, and why I can’t stay here full time with you all. Well, I found a way around the curse. It’s the reason Sakura came with me.”

Sakura watched me, gaze intense and arms crossed. “She basically becomes, uh... a conduit through which I can still level through killing monsters.”

Marcus’ brows only drew tighter for my coy explanation. “I don’t get it. You channel experience points through her?”

“After a fashion…” I shrugged my shoulders. “Basically, she stays in my party. While we’re fighting monsters, she gets all the experience I would have gotten if not for my Death Curse. Then, she gives the experience back to me, admittedly losing a few levels in the process.”

Margaret frowned. “Alright. So, she’s laundering experience points for you. Like laundering dirty money through a legitimate business before putting it in your real name.”

“Yeah… something like that.” I shuffled my feet a bit.

Bridget was the one to finally cut straight to the point. “He’s able to take levels from Sakura and add them to his own. He plans to take a bunch of Sakura’s levels to make himself strong enough to beat the Alpha Wolfman one on one.”

“Shit,” Frank swore, eyebrows rising. “Why didn’t you do this before? We could have used a level 30 version of you on the walls there. We might not have been breached.”

I shook my head. “I was working on my racial quest. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but everyone who didn’t transform to another race with the integration is up against a racial cap. Humanity needed someone to blaze the trail ahead and pick our evolution. I got a quest demanding such, and I couldn’t push my human race any higher without completing it. Nor can I level my class beyond my race. Basically, I was level capped until I completed that quest.”

“…which you’ve done so now?” Marcus asked hopefully.

I nodded. “Yes. I’ve met all the requirements to advance my race. I’ve picked one that will be good not just for me, but for all of you when the time comes for you to advance to the D-Grade.”

Marcus rubbed his hands together, and the others nodded appreciatively. “Alright. Let’s do it then. To be safe and fair, Carter should take a few levels from as many people as possible. I’ll donate a few levels, and everybody—”

“No!” Bridget and Sakura yelled as one. They glanced at one another and shared a glare.

“What I mean to say is,” Sakura interrupted, “you can’t do it. Carter has to form something of a special bond. It’s a very… uh… intimate connection.”

“She’s talking about sex,” Bridget explained. “Carter has to have sex to take levels. That’s the unique skill he has.”

“Ah… I retract my offer…” Marcus took a step back from me.

Frank stared at me, eyes wide. “That was a skill we could get? Damn. I screwed up my entire build…”

More murmurs erupted, and I realized this was going to spread throughout the entire camp before the night was through. “Basically, that’s why Bridget is volunteering and the rest of you are not. This is a big commitment, and an even bigger sacrifice for her.”

“Thank you for your sacrifice, Bridget,” Marcus gave Bridget’s shoulder a tight squeeze.

“Hey! Wait a minute! I haven’t agreed yet!” Sakura wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me tight. “This is my job! Mine! All you vultures, stay back!”

Frank ran his hand along the back of his neck. “Boss, be reasonable. This is important to all of us. It’s literally a matter of life and death for everyone here. Carter needs as many levels as possible, and you can only offer so many.”

“Yeah.” Bridget took a step closer to me. Sakura pulled me away.

Marcus shrugged. “Sakura, Frank is right. Carter needs all the power he can get.”

Sakura pulled me tighter. She turned to face Margaret. “Surely you understand! I can’t just—”

Margaret cut her off. “I actually agree with Frank and Marcus. I can tell you love Carter very much, Sakura. But this is about more than love. It’s about survival.”

There were nods all around, along with more words of encouragement.

“That’s right!” Bridget said to the group. “And Sakura shouldn’t bear the burden alone. With two people to take levels from, you’ll be that much stronger. This is a scenario where we can’t afford to pull our punches. If leveling up Carter is our only hope, then we shouldn’t spare any expense.”

“But...” Sakura’s voice trailed off when she noticed everyone else nodding along in agreement with Bridget’s words. “...I don’t want to share him...”

Frank placed a hand on Sakura’s shoulder. “I’m afraid you’ll have to take one for the team, boss.”

Marcus nodded. “Thank you both. Everyone in the Shelter depends on you. Thousands of lives hang in the balance.”

Sakura’s shoulder slumped.

Margaret placed a hand on Sakura’s shoulder. “Don’t look glum. Ben and I had plenty of weekend fun with some of the office interns. College girls can be so energetic. It can be quite enjoyable if you go into it with the right mindset...”

Margaret led Sakura away for a little womanly advice.

Frank wrapped an arm around my shoulder, doing the same for me.

“I’m proud of you, buddy. You’ve done what few other men have. You now have plausible deniability when people get mad at you for having a harem.”

“A what?” I chuckled, choking a little on the words.

“A harem, man. Multiple beautiful women in a relationship with you at the same time, and they know it. No bullshit about owning a second phone or pretending to have another job so you can hang out with your side chick.” Frank shook his head in admiration. “Nope. Think of all the time you’ll save being able to take both of them out on a dinner date at once!”

“I don’t think any of us will be going on dinner dates any time soon…” I gestured to the destroyed city around us.

Frank shrugged. “You never know.”

“Regardless, I appreciate the encouragement. I wasn’t sure Sakura would be willing to do something like this, otherwise I would have suggested it earlier. Thanks, Frank.”

Marcus had similar words of congratulations for me when I returned to the group.

“Sir, you are truly a man among men,” Marcus shook my hand vigorously.

I frowned. “Truth be told, I’m a bit worried that this will negatively affect morale. What will everything if the settlement owner does this sort of thing? After this, all I need is a cocaine addiction and I’ll be your typical CEO.”

Marcus laughed. “No, don’t worry. You’ll notice a lot of the defenders we lost on the walls were men. I guess you could say it’s a bit chauvinistic of us, but a lot of men rose to the opportunity to defend the shelter and the women and children within it. There were women on the walls too, but not as many as there were male volunteers. The woman to man ratio in the shelter is already two to one, and a lot of the ladies in camp are worried about what they’re going to do if the ratio gets worse. But with you providing an example for an alternative solution, I think a new trend might start catching on.”

I looked at Marcus askance. He’d put a lot of thought into this for having just learned about it a few minutes ago. “Well, I’ll be relying on you to spin it as positively as you can. Thanks, Marcus.”

“You can count on me, Sir!” Marcus saluted.

Then he, too, left, leaving only me and Bridget.

“You sure this is what you want?” I asked. “I know you worked hard for those levels.”

Bridget shook her head. “This is what I got those levels for. Besides, I need you to defeat the Wolfmen more than anyone. I can still feel the other soul they bound me to. The connection has been growing stronger ever since my bite.”

Bridget pulled back her hair to reveal two cute little blonde wolf ears in place of her own.

“First marked as a sacrifice, then bitten...” I shook my head. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to do more for you, Bridget.”

Bridget shook her head. “Don’t be. I’m certain now that this connection works both ways. Whichever one of us dies first will sacrifice to the other. If you find the wolf pup, I’m connected to and kill it, I won’t have to deal with it anymore. That’s the conclusion the doctor, and I came to.”

“So, according to Doctor Rosswell, the only way to fix you is to wipe out the Lycans...” I muttered, running my hands through my hair. “Figures. I take it he has a similar problem?”

“Seems so. The bites accelerate the soul transformation process. If it goes on much longer, I’ll end up more wolf than human. And ever since the Wolfmen became the Chaosborn Lycans, things have been getting worse.”

I put a comforting arm around Bridget. “We won’t let that happen. I’ll find that wolf pup, and we’ll fix this. For you and everyone else suffering from this curse.”

She gave me a small and grateful smile. I couldn’t help but notice her teeth were a little pointier than before.

We parted ways, her to freshen up and me to evolve my race to the D-Grade. I overheard some people repairing the barrier mention they picked up a few proficiencies, so I decided to help out a bit until I received the same rewards.

Sure enough, that did the trick.

You have gained the Repair proficiency!

You have gained the Construction proficiency!

That put me over the total number of proficiencies I needed, though not the total level. To that end, I ran around the walls practicing with the sword. I kicked everyone except for Bridget and Sakura from my party and figured I’d focus on giving them a last level or two if I could manage it.

None of the monsters were strong, but there were enough of them coming for the settlement thanks to my Death Curse that I was able to get quite a bit of hacking in. Mostly that meant giant cockroaches, but I dealt with a few more fire squirrels.

Those things got quite annoying if they got close enough to the walls to throw fireballs. Most of the defenders on the walls used guns, but only someone with a gun-specific class could dish out enough firepower to take one of those giant fire squirrels down. Otherwise, they could shrug off regular bullets long enough to run away.

But with Warp Step and vastly superior levels, I could track down these Fire Squirrels and cull their numbers down to size, at least to where they wouldn’t be burning down our defenses the moment my back was turned. It was one of those Fire Squirrels that finally pushed my Sword proficiency to the threshold.

Your sword Proficiency has reached level 20!

Grateful for the victory, at last, I returned to the settlement. The sun was high in the sky by now, and it was already midmorning. Would this be my last sunrise? By the time the sun set, either I’d be dead or the Alpha Wolfman would be.

I began the transition from the F-Rank to the D-Rank by finding a quiet and cozy, out-of-the-way room. It was a block down the street from the fortifications surrounding the Obelisk. That area was too packed full of people seeking safety to have an empty room since most of Crownhill’s surviving residents were packed away in the dense cluster of office buildings there.

But here, just outside the defenses, I had plenty of peace and quiet. Bridget had pointed the place out and recommended it as a quiet place to focus. It was a small apartment that looked like it had been rented by a few young women, none of whom were present now.

Maybe they were in the shelter, or maybe they’d never made it back from wherever they’d been working at the time of the integration. Whatever the explanation was, if they hadn’t come to reclaim their old space now, they probably weren’t going to.

Sakura tagged along to stand guard during my transformation and be ready for her part in what would come after.

“Ready when you are,” Sakura said, leaning on her club.

I took a seat on the bed. It looked like a woman’s room, floral, pink, and smelling of cheap air freshener. I focused on the overly sweet smell. From the last message I received upon ranking up, this was probably going to hurt.

I looked through my System messages and scrolled for one of my most recent prompts.

Racial Evolution Quest Completed! Would you like to begin your racial evolution?

I took a deep breath and hit accept.

Racial Evolution initiated... this may involve some discomfort.

I braced as I remembered what had happened the last time I’d received that warning from the System. My vision abruptly went black.

Suddenly, I was somewhere else. I stood on a grassy field. Nearby, a few human figures wandered the open grassland.

No... They weren’t human figures. They shared more in common with chimpanzees than with people. Uncertain of their footing, they still managed to stand straight and move forward. They were small, too, only about chest height on me. I wondered what the awkward looking creatures were.

The vision shifted, and hairy men and women replaced the upright apes in crude leathers, walking just as the apes had been.

That was when I realized I hadn’t been transported somewhere else at all. I was somewhen else. I had a distinct feeling that the System was showing me humanity’s past. Perhaps those apes and these cavemen before me now were my own distant ancestors.

I saw more visions. The cavemen and women huddled together around the fire, cooking the result of a successful hunt. I saw a man relentlessly tracking a gazelle through the savanna with a spear in his hand.

The cavemen shifted to stone age farmers. Cities rose and fell, and kings were born and died. Tribes became cities, and cities became countries. Stone spears soon gave way to bronze, then to iron and steel. The pace of history advanced until the images blurred by one after another faster than I could follow.

But I still felt like I had been there for it all. The battles, the triumphs, the defeats, the love won and lost. The emergence of art and science amid all the chaos and barbarism was an estimate to humanity’s indomitable spirit.

I saw flashes of explorers braving the wilderness, the deepest depths of the sea, and even the surface of the moon.

We had taken the world we’d been born on and truly conquered it, at least until the arrival of the System.

I watched it come. It had been there all along, watching us as I was watching now. It has seen everything from the humblest ape to the smartest scientist.

And when it decided it could wait no longer, it introduced us to the Arcadia Multiverse and all the worlds under its control.

That introduction nearly destroyed us for a while. It crushed the intricate supply lines that kept our civilization ready. But it did not kill us. Given time and the right opportunities, humanity could rise once again, this time stronger than ever. A voice called out to me.

Great Ancestor of Humanity. Make your choices and remake yourself.

Your decision shall shape future generations forever more...

The list of potential evolutions for humanity presented itself to me once again, but I had already made my choice.

Homo Accelerate (Rare): Humans of this sub-classification will learn, grow, and progress through jobs and proficiencies at an enhanced rate.

The System menu before me disappeared, but the tingling running through my body didn’t dissipate. I braced, clenching my jaw and digging my fingers into my palms. I could already tell this was going to hurt.

The pain built, and the visions around me shifted. Instead of the past, I now saw myself. And I was a model others would follow. It took me a moment to realize what was happening as I stared at my own image.

Looking closer, I could see myself on a biological level. Everything from my bones to my skin was there to focus on if I wanted to.

When the System told me to remake myself, it wasn’t kidding. Off to my left, there were all sorts of sliders and dials. I could make myself taller if I wanted. Shorter too. I could add some muscle or take some away if I wanted.

I always thought I could use a bit of a squarer jaw, so I fiddled with that dial a little. A bit of scrolling told me how to work it, and soon I had a chin that might have landed me a role as a Hollywood actor if not for my other flaws.

But they wouldn’t be there much longer either. There was a dial for skin, and with a simple flick of a switch, I deactivated blemishes. No more acne or lingering scars. That was easy. Allergies? Gone. Getting fat from eating junk food? Deactivated that in a heartbeat. I set my eyesight to beyond twenty-twenty, and I fixed the minor issue of tinnitus. After, I added a bit of extra muscle mass, too, though I didn’t go for a full body-builder physique. I was an agile mage, not a brawler. If other people wanted that physique, they could work for it.

I would have done more, but the pain was growing, and the dials wouldn’t let me change any more without undoing some of what I’d fixed. Looking in the upper corner of my vision, I’d exhausted the points the System had given me for these changes. Apparently, anything else would have to wait until I transformed myself again at C-Rank.

I was satisfied with my changes as they were and hit accept.

A vision flashed before me, one of myself and another of a female version of me I hadn’t thought to edit, but it was updated with all the same changes I'd made to myself. If I ever reached the C-Grade, I might be tempted to see how large I could shift the average breast size. But for now, my changes were strictly rooted in practicality.

Template for Homo Acceleratus accepted. Transformation beginning.

The pain I’d been feeling up to that point was nothing compared to what came after.


<Author's Note>

It's officially a harem novel now. Yay!

Also, Paladin of the Seraph is live! Check it out here!

https://amzn.to/3BUdgP7

Oh shit. I just realized I forgot to take down the chapters here on patreon... one sec...