Chapter 81: Man vs Respec

They spent the week helping the army secure Paris.

It was a long, tedious process. Apollyon’s death had spelled the Apocalypse Force’s defeat on this front, but not all of his thralls were willing to accept it. For every bug that retreated back into the rift, two more attempted to break through the security perimeter. A few slipped through in the early hours of the Incursion, but each new day brought its lot of new soldiers, choppers, and tanks. By the event’s end, any monster was shot from a distance before it could walk ten meters past the rift.

The strangest of the invaders had been a giant panda riding a thundercloud, of all things. Basil had paused long enough in confusion to let the monster escape confinement and then decided to take a look at the world beyond the rift out of curiosity. What he saw filled him with dread.

The world beyond the rift was a wasteland; a gray, barren desert stripped of its very grass by Apollyon’s brood. When they failed to enter Earth, the weaker monsters had turned on each other in a cannibalistic frenzy. Basil wondered if the panda creature had been a desperate survivor escaping its homeworld’s destruction.

That was the future the Apocalypse Force wanted for Earth: a spiral of destruction that only ended when everyone was dead.

Basil swore never to let that happen.

Halfway through the Incursion, he sat at the edge of his bed in the depths of the Steamobile; the vehicle had suffered heavy damage during the invasion, but the army’s crafters graciously helped repair it. They had even improved on the design until it offered the same comfort as a true campervan.

Basil stared at the lotus in his palm. The flower felt so light and warm to the touch; its petals were immaculate like snow. They held the seed of potential, or rebirth.

“You’ve made your decision?” Vasi asked softly at his side, covering her nakedness with a bedsheet. The whole bed still reeked of sex. “About time.”

“Yeah,” Basil agreed. “About time.”

It was bound to happen at some point. The couple had been together for a month now, and Apollyon’s defeat had left them in the mood to celebrate. Vasi simply showed up in Basil’s room one night with her stuff and settled there permanently afterward.

It was… good. There was no other word for it. Making love to his girlfriend for the first time had been sweet, and natural. So they did it again the next night, and then the one afterward. Plato even interrupted a session midway through to complain about the noise. As for Bugsy, he simply cried in joy. Basil had caught him working on a cradle one morning.

Inquisitors might have burned him at the stake for making love to a demonic witch, but as far as Basil was concerned, it felt positively saintly.

“Sorry for the delay,” Basil apologized. “I know more levels would help with containment, but I truly wanted to think it over.”

“It’s fine, Basil.” Vasi rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Rushing it would be a poor decision.”

Basil smiled. “How would you feel about dating a dragonknight?”

“I’m dating a knight,” she replied with a chuckle. “I’m dating you. That wouldn’t change even if you took on a Vagrant class.”

And that was why he loved her.

Basil decided to assign his nine new levels before using the lotus. He at first considered completing Deathknight of the Sepulchre, but changed his mind at the last second. There was another class he had been considering for a while and according to the information provided by Hagen, it would make Berserker redundant and help him let go of it. Basil needed to confirm if the Perk progression fitted his ally’s intel.

Having made his choice, Basil assigned his new levels to the Dragonknight class.

A wave of pleasure almost as intense as the thrill of sex coursed through his body. The magic of the System empowered his muscles, strengthened his bones, and sharpened his mind. His new class’ power filled every inch of his body.

Dragonknight Level 1 to 9 Stat Gains: +9 STR, +9 AGI, +5 VIT, +7 SKI, +4 MAG, +2 INT, +7 CHA, +5 LCK. You earned 300 HP and 90 SP.

Dragoon I (Passive): You gain advanced proficiency with Swords, Spears, and Shields (x2 damage, +10% Crit).

Dragon Rider I (Passive): You gain advanced proficiency in riding creatures, but only those with the [Dragon] Type (+10% damage to attacks when mounted, you cannot be dismounted by force unless you suffer a Critical Hit or Supereffective attack, and you can both direct your mount and attack without splitting your attention).

Dragonbane I (Passive): All your attacks with weapons in which you have a Medium, Advanced or Perfect proficiency will inflict Dragonslayer damage supereffective against [Dragon] types (x3 damage).

Double Jump I (Passive): Not only is the distance of your jumps increased, but you can leap a second time while airborne. Additionally, the damage of your Spear weapons is doubled while in the air.

Dragonbreath I (Active): Select an element in which you have a strong affinity. You gain a weak breath attack (60 base damage) of that element which you can use at will; the breath will also pierce through Resistance.

Basil selected Corrosion as his chosen breathing attack. His halberd and elemental orb already covered most elements anyway, so the choice mattered little to him.

“I think you’ve grown new abs, Handsome,” Vasi noted with appreciation. Her soft fingers trailed over Basil’s chest and thighs. “You should start naming them at this rate.”

“I’ll let you pick the nicknames,” Basil teased her back. “But only after I get rid of the Berserker muscle pains.”

“Are you sure you want to fully get rid of it?”

“Yes, I am.” His halberd counted both as a spear and as an axe. With his new Dragonknight Perks, he could let go of Berserker and keep his proficiency. The Runic spellcasting loss would be compensated with an investment in Runesmith. “I don’t regret taking the class. It saved my life more than I can count in the early days.”

“But you’ve outgrown it,” Vasi whispered softly.

“I did,” Basil confirmed.

Once, it was anger that carried the weight of his fight. Not anymore. He looked at his girlfriend and lightly kissed her on the lips. A warm feeling coursed through his cheeks, pleasing and comforting.

That was the thing that spurred him on now. He wanted to protect Vasi, Plato, Rosemarine, Shellgirl, Bugsy, and all the people he had come to care about since the world’s end. Monsters like Apollyon needed to go; not to help Basil feel better about himself, but for the sake of everyone’s safety and happiness.

“Goodbye, Berserker,” Basil whispered as he activated the Lotus of Wisdom. “You will always be a part of me, one way or another.”

The lotus dissipated into nothingness and a screen appeared before Basil; one showcasing both his current classes and those he could access, but never invested in. A series of ‘+’ and ‘-’ allowed him to reassign his levels among them.

Basil had considered his choice of build for a while. His strength was that of his team, so he intended to focus on support classes like Runesmith and Alchemist in tandem with more martial options like Deathknight of the Sepulchre. He would empower his allies and protect them with the strength of his arm.

Berserker, Gardener, and Fisherman would go. The former was a good class, but one better fit for an antisocial grumpy bear than a team player; the other two had been useful when Basil lived in the wilderness, but were now all but useless. He reassigned his levels and confirmed his choice.

You have exchanged your 5 [Berserker] levels, 3 [Gardener] levels, and 1 [Fisherman] level for 1 [Deathknight of the Sepulchre] level and 8 [Runesmith] Levels.

You have lost the following Perks: [Slaughterer I], [Fishing I], [Warp Spasm I], [Jardin Secret I], [Greenhand I]. [Runic II] remains unchanged; the loss of [Berserker]’s [Runic II] is compensated by the gain in [Runesmith] [Runic II] tier earned at level 9.

Lost Perks have been replaced with the following:

Runestorm I (Active): [Support] 10 SP. You can empower any melee weapon you wield (such as swords, axes, or daggers) with an elemental infusion for five minutes, changing the damage Type to the chosen element. Available elements: [Fire], [Wind], [Earth], [Water], [Frost], and [Lightning].

Runecraft (Passive): You can now incorporate runes into all of your crafting processes, permanently empowering your equipment with their additional effects.

Magic-Eater I (Active): When you have Runestorm active on a weapon, you can redirect any spell of the channeled element within twenty meters to your weapon, absorb them, and regain an amount of SP proportional to the spell’s power. You can only redirect Spells, and not Active Perks or standard attacks.

You have capped Deathknight of the Sepulchre at level 10. You earned the [Duty Beyond Death] capstone. You can also select one of your stats except for HP/SP; it will receive a one-time bonus chosen at random (maximum +6).

Duty Beyond Death (Passive): Not even death will stop you from fulfilling your duty. When your health points hit 0, you do not immediately die. Instead, you gain the [Invincibility] status for five minutes, during which you cannot take any damage nor suffer from debuffs and status ailments. However, you cannot regain HP and once the effect ends, so will your life. You also cannot be turned into a [Undead] type by any means, even willingly.

Basil hoped he would never have to make use of that last Perk. He assigned the stat bonus to intelligence, one of his weakest stats.

You gained 4 Intelligence Points and 20 SP.

Already he could see synergies between his new abilities and the old ones. He could make better equipment for his team and would have an easier time targeting an enemy’s elemental weaknesses.

If Technomancer was like Deathknight of the Sepulchre, it should be cleared at level 10; both classes, once completed, amount to 40 levels when combined with Tamer. If Basil dedicated himself to completing Dragonknight, Runesmith, and Alchemist, each of them with 20 levels, then that would make for 100 levels.

A full build.

Basil chuckled at the thought, much to his girlfriend’s bemusement. “Come on,” Vasi said. “Don’t keep the joke to yourself.”

“I’m seriously planning my class progression as if I intended to reach level 100,” Basil replied. “That’s absurd.”

“Is it, truly?” Vasi smiled. “We’re a long way before we can hope to reach this threshold, but the possibility isn’t zero either.”

“I just find it insane that I started picking levels based on how they would help me survive day-to-day, and now I’m planning for a full journey to level 100.” Basil laughed. “I don’t want to become an Overgod, but I find it funny.”

“I’m not particularly interested in godhood either,” Vasi said. “But at the speed at which our foes throw themselves at us, we might end up ascending to godhood out of self-defense.”

Truer words had never been spoken.

“In any case, it is done,” Basil said as he put his arm around Vasi’s waist and pulled her to him. Her skin felt good against his. “I hope that will be enough.”

“Are you worried?” Vasi frowned. “Apollyon’s words bother you, don’t they?”

“We needed a neutron bomb to defeat him, and he wasn’t even at full strength. If he really is the weakest of the Horsemen…” Basil sighed. “We can’t really solve all our problems with nukes.”

“That human arrow of light was fantastically powerful, I’ll concede,” Vasi said while caressing his chest. “But it is Rosemarine that landed the coup de grâce, helped by our spells and weapons. The System is the great equalizer. Don’t demean your own strength, Basil. Apollyon became so powerful because he was dozens of levels ahead of us. We can catch up.”

Basil chuckled. “Do you think Plato might become just as big one day?”

“I doubt it,” Vasi replied with a bemused tone. “Size does not always equal power, Basil. I’ve heard of mages no taller than a child, yet capable of far more destruction than Apollyon and his army put together.”

Basil didn't know whether he should take that as an encouragement… or as a warning.

Today’s battle had been won, but the war was far from over.

The rift closed on the seventh day.

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Basil watched the scene from afar as the pillar of light collapsed on itself. Its otherworldly energy receded into the sky, where the cosmic circuit linking Earth to countless worlds disintegrated. Basil knew it hadn’t truly vanished; it had only become inactive until the next Incursion. Leroy believed it would be many months before the portals opened again, but with Maxwell afoot, one could never be certain.

Still, this particular Incursion ended on a triumphant note. A tall building of steel stood proudly where the pillar of light once touched the ground. The Eiffel Tower had been restored to its original state. A thin layer of rust covered its metallic architecture and its feet sank in a desert of sand, but none of that mattered. The world had ended, yet the very symbol of France stood undefeated.

This country still had hope.

And so did others. Basil had heard from Neria that the British Army, helped by the Queen’s Guard—though the King’s Guard was probably a more appropriate name now—had retaken London and the Big Ben dungeon. Good news was coming from Germany and Spain too.

But still nothing from Bulgaria.

Basil suppressed a sigh as he walked back to the site of Apollyon’s fall. He feared for his mother’s safety, but he could do little but wait until the French Army managed to establish communications with his homeland.

Basil observed the Louvre’s crater from the edge. Mages had cleaned the area of radiation with spells, allowing hundreds of crafters and workers to excavate buried artifacts and exploit the Horseman’s corpse. Basil noticed Muggy and other coffee machine mimics serving beverages to guards while Shellgirl barked orders from atop a pile of treasure.

Not only had Apollyon’s demise spawned a shower of precious loot, but the Horseman’s corpse was made of advanced technology and high-quality material. Shellgirl had already called dibs on many body parts, including the claws and mandibles.

One of the Gehenna cannons had been set aside for research and future mass production. The other would be mounted atop the Steamobile to replace the damaged howitzer. Basil also hoped to work on pieces of the exoskeleton. With Berserker gone, he could now wear metal armor without losing his weapon proficiency. Considering Apollyon’s exoskeleton had allowed him to survive a neutron bomb…

How could Basil call himself a knight without a shining suit of armor made of an alien bug’s corpse? It just didn’t feel right.

The noise of a chopper echoed above the crater. Basil raised his eyes at an approaching helicopter that soon landed at his side. A familiar man stepped out of the cargo hold alongside a pair of guards.

General Leblanc had come to reclaim the capital.

“I can hardly imagine that you killed this creature on foot. This is a feat worthy of a Greek epic.” The General shook Basil’s hand warmly, but firmly. “Your people truly are modern-day heroes, Basil.”

“We wouldn’t have lasted long without your Baguette, General.” Basil instantly regretted his wording. “It did ninety-five percent of the work.”

“You shouldn’t discount the other five, young man.” The old soldier waved a hand at Apollyon’s remains. Even dismembered and carved up into pieces, he remained awe-inspiring. “Few would have dared to engage this monster, and fewer would have survived to tell the tale.”

“Still three more to go,” Basil said. “Has any other Horseman shown itself?”

“Not that I know, though our information network only extends to parts of Europe and North Africa. It’s not impossible that a Horseman manifested on the other side of the world without our knowledge.” The General put his hands behind his back and observed the Eiffel Tower from afar. Although he remained stoic even in the face of victory, he couldn’t suppress a satisfied smile at the edge of his lips. “I cannot put into words how happy I am to see this monument again, Basil.”

“Don’t tell me you’re a closet Parisian,” Basil mused.

“No, of course not,” the General chuckled. “But building this tower was a tribulation. Many artists decried it, the architects struggled to find funds, and it was never meant to last long. Yet men of great will persevered, and here it stands.”

He waved a hand at the Eiffel Tower.

“This monument survived two world wars and one apocalypse,” he said with pride. “It gives me hope that our people will endure what comes next.”

“Me too,” Basil replied with a smirk. “Neria told me we’re winning on most fronts.”

“Your actions have helped more than you can possibly imagine,” General Leblanc said with a sharp nod. “With most portals closed, we could relocate troops where needed and make territorial gains. Madrid has been secured, Berlin too, and the British have reestablished control over their island; An axis going from Portugal to Germany is now more or less safe for humankind. Once we’ve secured the Western European Zone’s borders, we’ll start pushing East to retake the rest of the continent.”

Basil could see the writing on the wall.

After so many setbacks, the tide was finally turning in mankind’s favor. They would beat back the apocalypse, inch by inch.

“I’m surprised Kalki is not with you,” the General observed. “Neria informed me the two of you were rarely seen apart nowadays.”

“He’s helping treat the wounded at the infirmary.” The man was a saint; when he didn’t heal people with his songs, he did his best to tame Apollyon’s surviving drones into docility. Kalki had limited success with the latter, but Basil gave him points for trying. “We intend to leave for Athens together.”

“A most dangerous journey.”

“Are you going to stop us?” Basil doubted the military man would be unwise enough to try, but the world’s fate depended on Kalki’s survival. Many men would have acted rashly in the light of these facts.

“I let him go free when Metal Olympus wanted him captured, why would I restrict his movements now?” General Leblanc smiled sharply, though his eyes remained calculating. “Making an enemy out of a god is usually ill-advised. I would rather have him as a friend, even if that means indulging him against my better judgment sometimes.”

And like that, Leblanc had proved himself wiser than all of Dismaker Labs’ board members put together.

“What of Leroy then?” Basil asked. The false god had been taken away by soldiers and not seen since. “What will become of him?”

“He’ll be put under house arrest and help us solve the disaster he started.” General Leblanc crossed his arms, his face twisting into a scowl. “I am mindful of his attempt at repentance, but his remorse does not erase the severity of his crimes. His actions would have earned him a one-way ticket to the Hague before the apocalypse he helped create. He should be thankful that we abolished the death penalty decades ago.”

“He has burned his bridges with Maxwell and blunted the Incursion the best he could,” Basil pleaded on Leroy’s behalf. “His sins are great, but his good behavior should count for something.”

“It does matter. But once things settle, his fate must be settled before a tribunal. All his actions, good and bad, will be taken into account.” The General scowled grimly. “Let us speak of other things. I have… news for you.”

Considering his grim tone, Basil doubted it would be good. “It’s about my mother, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid so.” The General put a hand in one of his uniform’s pockets. "We were setting up a direct line of communication for your sake when the Incursion struck us earlier than expected. We lost contact with Bulgaria when the portals opened.”

He brought out a photo and presented it to Basil.

The picture showed a reptilian, winged monster flying over a raging sea. The sky above it was covered in eldritch circuitry, while mechanical krakens of gears and bolts infested the waters below. Basil immediately noticed the familiarity between the latter machines and the Unity’s gearsmen. As for the reptilian monster, it couldn’t be anything but a dragon; its black scales seemed made of polished obsidian and its eyes burned like eldritch rubies in a dark night.

The photo in itself wasn’t so intimidating, but the implications worried Basil greatly. Although he could barely see the shoreline in the background, the Tamer immediately recognized it.

“This photo was taken by a frigate near Varna in the Incursion’s first hours,” General Leblanc explained. “According to our sources, the local portal opened into a Unity-led world. They jammed our long-distance communications with eastern Europe.”

The Unity had invaded Bulgaria.

Basil stared at the photo for a few seconds before quickly reaching a decision. He returned the photo to General Leblanc and offered him a short nod.

“General,” he said. “I’ve done my best to help your country… but now mine is calling.”

“And you can count on our support to protect it,” General Leblanc replied with a warm smile. “If even a tenth of your people are like you, then I pity the Unity. They do not know what they have stepped into.”

No, they did not.

“Shellgirl!” Basil shouted from the edge of the crater. “Shellgirl!”

“Yes, partner?!” his teammate replied from atop her pile of gold.

“Pack the loot, we’re skipping town today!”

Saint George would have his tribute.

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