Amazon Apocalypse 2: Chapter 22 (Patreon)

While it didn't take long for a fleshy lump roughly in the shape of a head to regenerate, it took considerably longer for the man to come to his senses. I checked my notifications while I was at it.

Congratulations!

Your class, Scholar of Forbidden Knowledge, has advanced to level 28!

It had been some time since my last level-up, so this was a welcome message. The proficiency numbers were what I had really been looking forward to, though. I checked some of the detailed System menus Myrina had shown me. There had been huge arrays of information available that I’d never known were there—you just had to know where to look.

I could spend hours analyzing every spell I cast, if I wanted to see every modifier that affected the attack.

You cast Mana Bolt!

Your Caster Proficiency increased the damage of your attack by 70%!

Your Neutral Mana Proficiency decreased the mana cost of your attack by 50%!

Your wand, bracelet, and robes increased the damage and accuracy of your spell.

Your Spellsniper Proficiency allowed you to land a critical hit!

Those three proficiencies in particular had done a lot of work helping me cut through the raiders. Without them I would have needed to land a lot more spells. The effects were even more dramatic when I used Arcane Blade.

Getting an entire sword lodged in a target was already enough to deal a lot of damage. And with the increased base damage, my proficiency bonuses turned a crippling attack into a one-shot kill. I doubted I'd be dropping something like an ogre with a thrown machete, even with a critical hit, but it was a trick I'd have to remember.

By the time I finished reviewing the results of the battle, Bridget had already taken any good weapons she’d spotted off the dead raiders and our captive was waking up.

"Do you remember anything?" Sakura asked.

The way she smacked her bloody bat against her open palm made me suspect that she intended to beat the memories into him if he didn't answer correctly.

"W-who? What?" the man mumbled.

His eyes caught on Sakura's horn. "D-demon!" He scrambled backward as he struggled to climb to his feet.

Sakura put a stop to that right away. She took one step forward and planted her boot on the man's chest, pinning him to the ground as firmly as if he had a truck parked on top of him.

"I’m not a demon, I’m an Oni!" Sakura spat in reply. Then she hesitated. "Well... I guess some people might consider Oni a type of demon. So, maybe a little bit of a demon?"

The man trembled beneath her boot.

I strode up behind him. "I've got a few questions for you," I said as the man craned his neck up at me. "Starting with that thing in your chest. Where did it come from?"

I tore the machete from where it remained buried hilt-deep in the chest of another raider and used it to point at the pulsing blue orb under his skin.

"Uh... that... uh..." Sweat visibly beaded down the man's forehead. "Shit. It's foggy. I got it at... uh..." He trailed off with a furrowed brow, desperately trying to remember.

I’ll admit I was impressed he could even remember how to speak. Sakura had reduced his entire head to a bloody smear several times in a row. How could he still remember anything at all?

The only explanation I could think of, was that whatever power allowed him to regenerate his head also stored some of his memories… elsewhere. It clearly wasn't perfect, though, seeing as how he could barely think straight.

"There was this funky looking guy... and then they made me eat something. Yeah, I think that was it. It was like a rock. The boss got it in exchange for... uh... for... something." The Raider Thug stared up at me with wide and confused eyes. "Please, that's all I can remember..."

I ran my hand through my hair. "How much of your former life do you remember? Your name? Your career?"

"I was... uh... I think I was called Chuck. And I sold metal boxes. Cars! Then some old friends of the boss broke out of prison. They gutted the boss one night and told us they wanted to introduce us to some new friends. Some funky looking guys...”

He screwed his face up in concentration so hard his eyes crossed. “Trolls! I think. They made us eat the boss..." the man shivered.

"Oh god. I'm going to die here. You're here to take me to hell for all I've done, aren’t you? I'm sorry momma... I should have been good." He sobbed to himself, crying softly as Sakura hovered over him, her bloody club in hand.

I tried asking him a few more questions, but it was apparent that we'd get nothing more out of the man. It looked like he didn't expect to survive this encounter, and if his sobbing cries were anything to go by, he probably didn't deserve to. What was that I’d heard about eating him people?

"I think we've gotten all we can out of you," I said.

I activated Arcane Blade once more, severing his head at the neck. Blood spouted out of the stump—first in a rush of crimson, but then that rapidly turning blue-ish black. The blood clotted with phenomenal speed, forming a bubble over the severed stub.

"Batter's up," I said as I flicked the severed head in the air with the tip of my boot.

Sakura swung her bat, smashing it to a dozen and sending those remaining bits flying.

"What was that for?" Sakura asked curiously.

"He'll be better off without those memories. Maybe he can turn his life around." I gave Sakura a shrug.

I looked around for a piece of paper and eventually settled on just drawing on a car door. Chuck here would see it when he woke up. I didn't leave him anything fancy—just his name, a few supplies, a map to the shelter in Crownhill, and a reminder that he'd promised his mother that he'd be a better man from now on. Perhaps he'd mistake the note as something drawn by his past self.

I dropped the bloody machete onto the ground next to him. He'd need a weapon if he was going to make it all the way to the shelter. And if he made it all the way there, Doctor Roswell would be able to study that strange glowing blue organ in a more detail. He was already studying the wolf pups—like the one bound to Bridget—so studying one more inhuman oddity ought to fit right in his wheelhouse.

"Let's get out of here before he wakes up. I don't want to attract any monsters.” I frowned at the odd growth forming around the stump of his neck. “Hopefully his raiding days are behind him."

We left Chuck to his fate and departed. One thing in particular nibbled at my mind. What was that Chuck had said about trolls? It was time to do a little more investigating.

***

The ogre and troll situation had gotten worse since the last time I checked in on them. Both groups had expanded their territory dramatically, wiping out all nearby monsters. I didn't get eyes on wherever the ogres called home, but I did spot a few of the brutes in the distance.

Ogre Bruiser - Level 22

While not as high leveled as I was, it was higher leveled than the elite Chaosborn Lycans had been. I would have to check in with Crownhill again to see how the people Marcus and Frank had trained were doing. Hopefully their levels were slowly going up, as well.

I still had a substantial lead on everybody else. And if need be, I could drain Sakura and Bridget again for another burst of power. But I didn't want Earth and the people of Crownhill to become completely dependent on me. There was a world beyond this one, and if I wanted to have the chance to explore it, I needed to make sure my home wouldn't burn down the moment I turned my back.

I got a good look at a troll as well.

Troll Scout - Level 21

It’s level was slightly lower, but this troll looked quite a bit faster. Where the ogres had been huge barrel-chested creatures wielded tree trunks for clubs, the trolls were just as tall but much leaner. Their skin was a deep swamp green, and their fingers smoothly transitioned to claws as long as my hand.

"Crap, I think it spotted us," Bridget said as the troll we were observing turned our way.

Not long after she spoke, the troll started running in our direction in a slow ungainly lurch. I reached into my pocket, withdrawing the wand Myrina had purchased for me. While my hands were sufficient in most circumstances, I needed the extra accuracy for a Mana Bolt from this far away.

My spell flew, striking the troll in the chest. The explosive spell tore away a chunk of the Troll Scout's shoulder, but instead of roaring in pain or even stopping, the troll just kept charging. Even worse, the wound healed right before my eyes—even faster than Chuck had healed when Sakura had smashed his head in.

"These guys are going to be tough to deal with," I grimaced.

They might not have as many hit points as the ogres, but their regeneration was even faster than my own. We didn’t have time to deal with the Troll Scout right now, so I revved the engine and sped away.

The troll didn't chase us, which was a good thing.

I'd been prepared to cut Sakura's new refrigerator loose if it tried to chase us. We returned to the farmhouse and dropped off our new supplies. There was a lot to do, though fortunately I had plenty of helpers with nimble fingers to make the work a little easier.

"Chief Humie returns!" Gobgob said, approaching me cautiously as I neared their village. She was the leader of my small, adopted tribe of goblins. They'd been the other faction whose shard had spawned near humanity, though thankfully they'd been a lot easier to take care of than the Wolfmen. What remained of their tribe had surrendered to me and agreed to work for me in exchange for remaining in my safe valley.

"Hello again, Gobgob. It's been a while."

"We serve well, yes? You not mad?" Gobgob wrung her fingers together. She held a stick of skewered bugs in her hand.

"I have returned. I take it you've all been keeping up with the gardening?" I asked.

"We crush the bad-bads. No bugs or mean plants." Gobgob nodded sagely. "Food for the master?"

She offered the stick to me. Looking closer, I saw there were about a dozen enormous beetles stuck through their middle and roasted over a fire. It looked edible, but not exactly appetizing.

I waved her off. "That's alright. You go ahead. I just came here to let you know that I got more wire. I'll need you and the tribe to bend it all into position just like I showed you before."

"Gobgob understands. Will relay to the others," Gobgob said. She darted back toward the circle of huts she and the other goblins called home.

After that, Sakura, Bridget, and I patrolled the area around our camp a few times, searching for anything that could potentially cause a problem for us.

"Bridget and I walked this route just yesterday and there was nothing here! Now there are like three different monsters over level ten," Sakura remarked as we walked the trail.

I chuckled sheepishly. "That's probably my fault. Death Curse and all."

"It's all for the best, though. I'm on the verge of finally getting over level twenty. I can almost taste it..." Bridget said.

I shrugged. "The experience points are yours."

We were all in a party, and it wasn't like the System was going to give any of the XP for killing monsters to me. We ended up hunting down several strange creatures. One looked like a massive spider with boney legs as wide around as my arms. There were human-like fingers on the tips of each bony limb, which made it seem far creepier than it would have otherwise.

Fortunately, it was just level sixteen and we made quick work of it. The other two intruders in the valley were even weaker, though they still would have been nasty for Gobgob or any of the goblins to encounter. We cleared them out and the valley was safe once more.

"Monster hunting done," I said, glancing between my two women. "See anything you'd like for dinner?" I gestured to our final kill, a fire-breathing hedgehog the size of a dog.

The scent of singed fur lingered in the air.

Bridget waved her hand over her nose. "No thanks. I'd rather find something to eat from the barn."

I glanced at Sakura. She shook her head. "That hide is trashed. My Job level isn't anywhere near high enough to do anything with that."

"Fine, fine... I have an alternative proposal to the two of you then. How about we eat out? It's been a while since we've been to Crownhill, and I want to check in with everyone again."

Mostly, I wanted to drop off the armor I'd purchased on Myrina's world with the blacksmith. Then, I wanted to check in with Frank, Marcus, and Margaret. It had been a week since they'd last seen me, and I them.

I probably had the most up-to-date information on the status of the ogres and the trolls, and it looked like those were the two remaining factions to watch. Neither race seemed particularly adept at exploration, but I had good reason to suspect that at least one group of humans had already contacted the trolls.

It was only a matter of time before conflict broke out. And when it did, I intended humanity to be much better prepared than we’d been when the Wolfmen attacked.

"Only one problem with that..." Sakura tapped her chin. "I'm pretty sure every restaurant in Crownhill is closed. It is the apocalypse and all."

"Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of bringing the food we planned to eat to them. We have enough to share with people, too.” I grinned at Sakura and winked at Bridget. “It's selfish of us to hoard Bridget's cooking all to ourselves."

Bridget blushed, and Sakura's eyes widened. "What? No. She's our personal chef!"

"While cooking is useful,” Bridget admitted, “some of my experience comes from when my food is actually consumed. Taking goods into town would help me level."

Bridget shrugged. "Besides. There were a lot of hungry people there, last I checked. It's been a while since they had something cooked in a proper oven. Besides, I noticed Carter's new magic bag keeps food warm and fresh. It would be a shame not to use it..."

"Carter! Bridget is going to give away all our snacks," Sakura protested.

I combed my fingers through Sakura's hair and laughed. "Don't worry, there's plenty to share.”

I turned to the pretty blonde. “We'll help if you need any extra hands in the kitchen, Bridget."

Bridget shook her head. "No, you two go keep yourselves busy. My job is at its best if I work alone."

Sakura's eyes brightened. "That means I get to keep Carter busy while we wait?"

Her eyes sparkled and she leaned in close, curling an arm around my shoulders as she gazed into my eyes with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "However shall we keep ourselves entertained?"

<Note>

Chuck would make a decent protagonist tbh.

Guy wakes up. No memories. Strange message scrawled using the machete in his own hand. A map to safety. A promise to be a better man. A suspiciously high level compared to the rest of the humans in this apocalyptic wasteland, and a strange blue orb buried in his chest that grants him phenomenal regeneration abilities.

It hits a lot of themes that litrpg, harem, and progression fantasy readers like.