Chapter 12: Book 1: Chapter 6 (Part 3 of 3)

I took Shana’s hand in mine; her skin was soft, and I couldn’t stop myself from caressing the back of her hand with my thumb. She didn’t protest and I led her at a quick jog to the back of the building.

There was a grassed area at the back and a brick BBQ pit that had seen better days. The whole area was surrounded by an eight-foot treated wooden fence.

Our block differed from the other three in that the last unit was extended and stuck out forming an L shape. This is where the laundry room and Super’s apartment for the four-block complex were located. I had taken the unit above the laundry room as they knocked fifty bucks off the rent for the noise and vibrations.

Reg’s place was the extended part that formed the L. It was a mixture of living space and storeroom from what I could tell the one time I had come looking for him before. Paradoxically his unit looked to be the one in most need of a bit of TLC. I approached the door, the green paint chipped and peeling off. I reluctantly let go of Shana’s hand and knocked on the door.

I waited for a few seconds but there was no answer. I turned the doorknob and heard the latch unclick, so I pushed the door open slowly. It was dark inside the room as the curtains had been pulled closed. The place was a mess, but then it had been the last time I was here.

Shana and I stepped in. Over on the left were a series of shelves with the kinds of things you would expect in a storage closet, arranged haphazardly. Obviously, the items had been shoved up wherever there had been some space.

There was a big grey armchair with its back to us in the corner in front of a TV set, which was off due to the lack of power. I could see what looked like the edge of a boot poking out on the right side of the armchair.

“Reg?” I called out.

No answer from the chair. I drew my scimitar and Shana took that as a cue to nock an arrow to her bow. Now prepared, we crossed the room and approached giving the chair a wide berth.

When we reached the other side, we could see that Reg was sitting in the chair and he was clearly dead. There was a soft blue nimbus surrounding his body. His eyes were bloodshot and there was some dried blood that had run from his nose and ears. When I inhaled, I also got the unpleasant olfactory evidence that, unlike Victor, Reg had evacuated his bowels.

“Fuck, but that is rank,” I gagged.

I tried to analyse Reg but got nothing.

“Quixbix are you there?” I called out.

<Yes, Torin. I am always with you> he replied with faux mysteriousness.

“Good to know. Do you know why I can’t analyse Reg, here?” I asked.

<Duh, he’s dead> the imp jeered.

I should have seen that one coming.

“Bugger, I was hoping to find out how he died. What’s with the faint blue light? Shana, can you see it too?” I asked.

“Yes, Torin, I see the light as well,” Shana replied first.

<This blue light means you can loot him> came the response from Quixbix.

“So, we can loot those we haven’t killed ourselves?” I said.

<Yes. If a kill is abandoned it can be looted by anyone, though you will not get as much as the slayer would have. However, in Reg’s case, it looks like the transition killed him. Deaths by natural causes don’t suffer the same reduction penalty. It is first-come, first served> he explained.

“I would hardly call what happened to all of us natural, but that’s just me. I remember Dean telling me I had a twelve percent chance of dying, but he said that’s because I was getting a special Class and Species. Are we likely to find many more people like this?” I said.

<Not too many. The application of the Framework does cause a strain, but it is only fatal for those with advanced pre-existing health conditions. The upside is, for those who survive, which is the vast majority, they will find any previous ailments gone. In all likelihood, Reg only had a few months left in him anyway.>

I nodded at what Quixbix said. My shoulder had been fixed and there was nothing I could do for those unfortunates this didn’t work for. I turned to Shana.

“Did you want to loot him?” I asked her.

“Yeuch! Why do you keep trying to get me to touch dead bodies?” she shuddered.

 “I don’t want you to. I looted Victor and I was offering you the opportunity to do the same,” I goaded reasonably.

“How chivalrous. I think I’ll pass. Besides you bound me, doesn’t that mean you are supposed to be buying me nice things, treating a lady right?” she retorted.

I just pointed to the bracers on her arms and the bow in her hands.

“Weapons and armour don’t count,” she cried indignantly.

I stepped up to Reg and touched him lightly on his forehead and looted his starting coins. “Who is supposed to be the boss of this binding, again?” I asked her rhetorically.

She smiled naughtily at that and flicked her long dark hair over her shoulders. “Because I’m worth it,” she breathed sexily, and gave me a little twirl while she looked archly over her shoulder at me.

I laughed at her display and secretly was in full agreement.

“Are we done here?” she asked after she stopped teasing me.

“Almost. Now, where is it? Ah, bingo,” I exclaimed.

I had been casting my eyes about until I spotted what I had come for. Reg’s toolbox had been shoved on the bottom shelf of the nearest shelving rack. I wandered over and moved the whole box to my inventory with a touch. Then I saw resting against this rack of shelves was a crowbar. Even better I thought and snatched that up and put it in my inventory too.

“Ah, breaking and entering equipment,” Shana winked.

“Yep. We’re good to go. Are you okay with leaving the Mercedes? It’s a beautiful machine,” I said.

Shana snorted a laugh. “The car was my stepdad’s, and it was a lease.”

“Alright then, let’s go steal some bikes,” I grinned.

I took Shana’s hand in mine again and this time she interlocked her fingers with mine. My heart fluttered and my dick flexed at the contact and I led her out into the big bad world.

My happy time was interrupted as we stepped out into the late evening sun. In front of us were three medium-sized dogs. They looked like the same dogs I saw running about earlier. The dogs had leashes on, which trailed on the floor.

There was no sign of their owner or owners, and something seemed off about them straight away. They were sniffing the grass as if searching for something and then their heads whipped around when they heard us exit the building.

You are reading story Corsairs & Cataclysms at novel35.com

All three of the animals were salivating profusely, their eyes were bloodshot, and I could see their fur was sloughing off in large patches. The dog’s remaining hackles raised, and they growled menacingly at us. And then everything stopped.

Have you put me in ‘Action’ mode, Quixbix? Do you have another quest for me? I asked him

<Yes, I’ve activated Action mode. I don’t have a quest, like I told you a few minutes ago I’m still recharging from the last one. I can’t normally do this without a quest, but as you’re a rookie the Framework allows us a bit of flexibility. You’re about to be in a fight so now you have a chance to Analyse these beasts first> he stated.

Cheers. I thanked him.

I focused on the dogs to analyse them.

Magically Saturated Dogs x3
Grade: Y Level:  1
HP: 80	Value: N/A
Threat: Very Low	20 XP each
Due to their magical saturation, the Hit Points of each dog is double what is usual for creatures of this type.

 

The analysis was slightly different as Potential was replaced by HP, presumably because I couldn’t soulbind dogs and there was what appeared to be a general information panel.

Why is their value not applicable? I asked Quixbix.

<These dogs were too close to a high burst of magical energy when Earth was removed from stasis. The raw magical energy they’ve absorbed has corrupted them and sent them mad. As they are not monsters created by spawning crystals from refined Mana or sentients who have been subject to character creation, they have no loot to offer> he explained.

Okay, is this going to happen to all the animals? I queried.

<No. These dogs would have been close to a source of power that was suddenly converted. Without the protection the Framework gives to sentients this is what happened to them. Too much raw magical energy kills living creatures and these dogs appear to have been affected right in the sweet spot. They have absorbed enough of that magical energy to become saturated and corrupted, but not quite enough to kill them outright.>

<You can already see the degenerative effect it has had on them. As they continue to absorb the trace amounts of raw magic that gets past the Framework shielding, their condition will continue to deteriorate until they die. Although not these dogs, they will attack, and you are going to have to kill them> he lectured.

I suspected as much. I responded.

<Back to real-time. You’ve got this Torin> he encouraged.

In the blink of an eye, time sped back to normal. The dogs snarled and took a few steps in our direction.

“Shana, shoot the one on the right and then stay behind me,” I ordered her calmly.

I didn’t hear her answer as the dogs ceased their slow advance and accelerated towards us. An arrow whipped past my shoulder and connected with the right-most dog, a black Labrador, the arrow thunking deep into its eye.

Critical Strike! x8 Shana has inflicted 104 piercing damage to magically saturated dog #3. Overflow of 24 piercing damage converted at a rate of 2 for 1 (vital spot) for 12 health loss. Magically saturated dog #3 is slain.

One down. I didn’t have time to celebrate or congratulate her as I drew my ice scimitars and prepared for the other two attacking dogs. The dog on my left was a border collie and the animal in the centre was a dalmatian. The dalmatian leapt for me and I swiped at it with my scimitar and slashed its shoulder. The hit knocked the animal off course.

Critical Strike! x4 You have inflicted 68 piercing damage and 48 points of cold damage to magically saturated dog #2. Overflow of 36 damage is converted at a rate of 5 to 1 (important spot) for 7 health loss. Magically saturated dog#2 is slain.

My scimitar had scythed through the dog’s shoulder and snapped the bone leaving a gaping wound where it had passed through the creature. The dog crumpled to my right in front of Shana. The notification shouldn’t have impacted my combat ability, but I was so awed by my awesomeness that I lost focus on the border collie which had come at me from the left.

The dog jumped and its slavering jaws locked onto my left forearm.

-24 hit points (336/410)

Magically saturated dog #1 is grappling your arm. You will take -12 hit points every second.

I yelped in surprise and pain as the collie chomped on my arm. I dropped my second scimitar which I should have used to ward it off while it was on the ground.

I recovered my wits quickly, though, lifted my arm and pulled the collie with it. The dog clung on, but this left its belly vulnerable, and I skewered my attacker in its exposed gut with my other scimitar.

Critical Strike! x4 You have inflicted 68 piercing damage and 48 points of cold damage to magically saturated dog #1. Overflow of 36 damage is converted at a rate of 5 to 1 (important spot) for 7 health loss. Magically saturated dog#1 is slain.

The collie’s jaws slackened, and I shook the beast loose without taking any further damage.

“Are you alright, Torin?” Shana asked worriedly.

Now the dogs were dead she grabbed hold of my arm to inspect the damage. The marks left by the collie were already fading.

“Almost good as new,” I winked.

This wasn’t entirely false bravado. The damage graphic let me work out that I was regaining hit points at about a rate of one a minute. I hadn’t fully recovered from being shot by Victor earlier but had recouped enough that even after the dog bite I was better off than I’d been directly after my confrontation with him. I would be good as new in less than two hours.

Your party has slain magically saturated dogs (3). +31 XP Torin, +33 XP Shana.

“Let’s get out of here before anything else show’s up,” I suggested.

Shana nodded and took my hand again. We walked across the grass and past Reg’s apartment until we reached the pavement. We crossed the trafficless road on our way to our next destination.

You can find story with these keywords: Corsairs & Cataclysms, Read Corsairs & Cataclysms, Corsairs & Cataclysms novel, Corsairs & Cataclysms book, Corsairs & Cataclysms story, Corsairs & Cataclysms full, Corsairs & Cataclysms Latest Chapter