Cousin Bob:

  “Pretty good for a pawn shop cosplay piece,” Bob said, examining the plate armor Barton had discarded, only to be improved with a couple of the tokens he had earned from his various Achievements.

  Defender’s Gustav Breastplate (Rare, Chest Armor)

  Durability: 600/600

  Significance: 0

  Description: A back-and-breast armor piece, based on a 17th-century design. Its steel make has been strengthened with durability enchantments and reinforced with Runes of the Defender.

  Inherent Traits:

  * Damage Resistance (Physical): 20. Armor-Piercing effects are reduced by half.

  * Damage Resistance (Magical): 15 against all Concept-based energy attacks.

  * Defensive Nimbus: invest 5 Mana points into the armor to activate an energy nimbus that surrounds you and protects against all incoming attacks. The nimbus grants 10 points of Damage Resistance and has a magical Durability of 200. Attacks must deplete the energy aura’s Durability before they can affect you. The Mana invested cannot be regenerated until the Nimbus is dispelled or destroyed.

  “That was a good token investment,” Bob said as he put on the metal armor. It had taken two Rare Item Upgrade Tokens to get the Steel Gustav there, but the result was worth the expense.

  His plate carrier had done great, but the Type IV armor plates had been pulverized into gravel after taking several hits from Ratling Lieutenants. He needed the extra protection. Even better, when he had some time to figure out how Defensive Nimbus worked, he could probably jury-rig a Sorcery Spell to replicate the effect. Or even improve it.

  So far so good, he thought, watching the party as they got ready for the boss room.

  Wendy and Barton had found a secret door that led to a storeroom protected by a metal door – and guarded by one of Doctor Flinders’ creations.

  The door didn’t block Extended Senses. Wendy used it to describe the Boss as a ‘mix of rat and roach.’

  “Not as weird as the Boss at Trash Hill, the one Roland killed,” she continued. “This one only has one set of arms and legs, but they don’t match. And it’s got a roach head. There’s a green cloud around it, I think it’s poisonous.”

  “Oh, I think I have just the Hex to deal with that,” Barton said. “Lucky that I haven’t picked my third level Hex choices.”

  “That’s great,” Wendy told him with a smile.

  Bob grinned at both of them. It was funny, the way her attitude to Barton had begun to shift. At first, she had reacted just like everyone, especially women, did when Barton went on one of his ‘actually’ tirades. That mix of pity and scorn was usually followed by people making excuses and taking their leave.

  But as Barton began to save the day – and those Fireballs of his had done more to clear the three barracks than everyone’s DPS combined – she had started looking at him differently.

  It didn’t hurt that Barton’s flab had disappeared. So did the pimples that had been plaguing him throughout adulthood. He still wasn’t what any chick would call a hunk, but he was getting there with each level he gained. Those extra Con and Dex points changed you. And he had increased his Charisma, which no doubt improved his emotional intelligence.

  She was looking at him like she was seeing him for the first time. It made Bob feel proud of his gaming table nemesis.

  Good for you, bro. Maybe Wendy can be your first. Just, maybe let somebody be wrong without you correcting them.

  “All right, people,” he said, using his Commanding Officer voice. His Roland voice. “Let’s go over what we’ve got before we hit the Boss. Looks like that storehouse has some good loot, and we can all use another level or two.”

  “Be nice if I made it to level three one of these days,” Dahlia said, scritching Bloodykee behind his oversized ears. “Five hundred Essence a level is fucking expensive.”

  “Kee,” the fur monster agreed snuggling against her.

  The cute-creepy quotient was off the chart with those two.

  “We’ll get you there,” Bob reassured her. Everyone else was at level three or four. This boss should push her over the line and make her even more OP.

  “You might need to summon Killodillo for this one,” he went on. “I don’t think we’re gonna be able to keep it bottled up in there, and I can’t hold aggro if it gets out in the open.”

  Dahlia nodded. “Want me to do it now or wait till the fight starts?”

  “Bring him out now. I’ll put a Sorcerous Shield on him to raise his damage resistance, and we’ll have it lead the way. Once he’s got aggro, I’ll join in fight and you can use the other Fiends for DPS.”

  Dahlia nodded. “Okay. How about that poison cloud around him?”

  “Problem solved,” Barton jumped in. “I just added Constant Wind to my Grimoire. I can cast it on an area, a movable object, or a living being. It creates a continuous fifteen mph wind in the direction you want it to face, or wherever the object or person faces.”

  “And if you put it on Killodillo, I can tell him to aim the wind away from us!” Dahlia finished for him. “Not bad, Bartoid.”

  Barton lit up. “Thank you.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Bartoid was an upgrade over Dorko; Dahlia used that nickname only when Barton actually managed to impress her, which had happened maybe five times since Bob had known them.

  “I think we’ve got this,” Barton said. “I really do.”

  They kind of did, until they didn’t.

  Wendy:

  We’re going to die!

  The worst part about the terror threatening to paralyze her was that it didn’t come from a premonition. It was just what she was seeing with her own two eyes, right there and then.

  Rodenroach the Abomination

  F-Grade Level Boss

  Health 611/980 Mana 900 Endurance 790/960

  Skills: * Poison Cloud (Epic, Toggle): Inflicts a stack of Poison that inflicts: 2-6 points of Toxic damage per second for 10 seconds. Every second spent within the Cloud adds an extra stack and renews the effect’s duration.

  * Crushing Charge (Epic, Action): An unstoppable charge that will displace any target with Strength below 90 or a mass of under 1,000 lbs. Inflicts 50-200 physical damage. Requires a running start. Cost: 10 Endurance.

  * Vermin Resiliency (Epic, Passive): Damage Reduction (25) against all attacks. Regenerates 25 Health per second.

  Affinities: Poison, Survival, Vermin.

  Resistances and Invulnerabilities: Immune to toxins.

  Vulnerabilities: Fire.

  Dahlia had summoned her new Fiend, a big dark brown armadillo with a pair of horns coming out of its head. It was the size of one of those wild hogs her brother had hunted when he could afford the ammo. The Fiend must have weighed three hundred pounds.

  Killodillo (Undead Manifestation)

  Grade-F Familiar (Undeath)

  Health 196 Mana 96 Endurance n/a

  The MiniFiend had more Health than anybody else in the party, but it paled in comparison to the monster waiting for them. And Wendy’s healing abilities were worse than useless for the undead, which all of Dahlia’s pets were.

  Dahlia was... dark. Wendy’s awakened Fae instincts identified her as having the blood of the Dark Fae, traditional enemies of her people. Dahlia had sacrificed her Bloodline to make her fantasies come to life, but she still had an aura that Wendy found prickly and hostile, like a human-shaped thornbush.

  Barton knelt in front of the horned armadillo. “Nice boy,” he said.

  “Dillo,” the Fiend replied.

  The words were cute but the mouth saying them had long sharp canines that scared Wendy a little. She sensed wildness coming from the heavy beast. This was no family pet. The only reason it hadn’t bitten Barton was due to Dahlia’s control.

  “You’ve got a natural Damage Reduction of twenty,” Barton went on. “With Rules Change at Beginner 2, I can raise it by forty percent, to twenty-eight. That’s forty Mana I can’t regenerate, but between that and Bob’s Sorcerous Shield, I think he can take a hit or two, as long as he doesn’t let the Boss get a running start.”

  “Yeah, the running start is a problem for any of us,” Bob said. “Nobody can take a two-hundred-point hit.”

  “Nobody but Roland,” Dahlia said in the tone of a teenager talking about her favorite movie crush.

  “And he’s not here,” Bob reminded her. “I’m currently the toughest member with a hundred-thirty-five hit points at level three. Even with my shield, my armor and my energy barrier, two hundred puts me down for the count.”

  “We’ve got to let Killodillo tank the alpha strike, then pile on,” Barton concluded.

  “Bloh. Dee,” Bloodykee agreed.

  “Nah. Too risky. I think it’s One-Man-Army time,” Bob said. “Then I can tank the Boss’ alpha strike damage, then Dillo can taunt.”

  “Yeah, let’s do that,” Barton said. “I want to see what happens when someone uses a signature power.”

  Wendy couldn’t help smiling at the way Barton lit up when talking about Skills and superpowers. Silly things that were no longer silly. And she had seen him pick up a spear and charge monsters, scared out of his mind but still doing what he had to.

  He needed some work, but with the right person helping him, he could get there. Be who he really was, behind the nervous exterior that was already being chipped away by the System.

  Josh didn’t say anything and just took his usual position by the door, waiting for the others. He had become quiet and withdrawn, no longer joking around with Bob. Wendy was worried, but she was afraid that pressing the issue would only make things worse.

  “Door is unlocked but trapped,” Barton said after using his wind magic on the armadillo: a strong and steady wind was now coming from the Fiend’s head, just as the Hex Wizard had promised. “I’ll use Rules Exemption and remove the trap on your mark, Bob.”

  “Everybody ready?” Bob asked. After everyone responded in the positive, he said. “Activating OMA.”

  Bob began to glow. At least, he did to Wendy. And to Barton, too, from the way his eyes got as big as saucers. He didn’t grow taller or bulkier, but she knew he was growing denser somehow, as magic pushed his body to its limits and beyond.

  “Barton, go,” Bob said, his voice heavier, with a faint echo after each word.

  Barton gestured. Nothing visible happened, but Wendy could feel energy draining from the door.

  “Josh, go.”

  Josh opened the door and moved aside as Bob charged forward.

  The boss reacted with deadly speed.

  Bob was moving faster than he ever had, but Rodenroach spun around countercharged the One-Man-Army. It didn’t build up much momentum, but the thunderous hit sent Bob flying back and destroyed both of his energy shields, doing quite a bit of damage. But by then Killodillo had entered the fray.

  The Fiend roared in defiance, and a ‘Taunted’ debuff appeared over the Boss. The wind effect on the Fiend pushed the toxic cloud away, but more kept appearing around the boss. It would keep the monster from filling the room with fumes, but not for long.

  Wendy reached Bob and used Healing Touch on him. His own regeneration as well as her aura healed him further with every passing second. He would be all right.

  “Stay back!” Bob shouted as he rushed the monster. He and Killodillo crowded the Boss, keeping him from using its charge attack.

  Josh moved inside to get a clear shot while Dahlia’s spider pet ran on the ceiling. Barton fired off a Magick Darts Hex at the Boss, the little glowing missiles unerringly hitting the monster.

  They were hurting it, but not quickly enough, and it was hitting Dahlia’s armadillo over and over, cracking its protective plates and making it bleed through the wounds.

  Wendy saw it happening. The Boss would destroy the Fiend, then turn against Bob and savage him. They were all going to die.

  Dahlia stepped past her, Bloodykee on her shoulder, firing off bolt after bolt of dark energy. A glowing card floated over her outstretched hand.

  “Apotheosis! Killodillo, transform! Killopine, come help me!”

  The card flew toward the heavily wounded Fiend and became an enveloping dark light. For a few seconds, Rodenroach lost interest in the Fiend and turned to Bob.

  Despite the wind spell, Bob and Dillo were both suffering from poison exposure. Wendy healed Bob, and got close enough for her aura to work on him. It wasn’t enough. The toxic fumes were overwhelming her aura and even Bob’s overcharged regeneration.

  This is it, she thought. When Bob fell, the monster would slaughter the party.

  Killopine struck Rodenroach and knocked it away from Bob.

  The transformed MiniFiend was almost twice as big as the original, and its plates were now covered with spear-sized quills. Dozens of the barbed spikes remained stuck in the Boss, dropping his Health by hundreds of points and dozens more points per second as some kind of damage-over-time effect worked on it.

  Even better, the Apotheosis card had fully healed Dahlia’s pet.

  The rest of the fight was brutal but brief. Wendy concentrated on healing Bob while everyone else hit Rodenroach with everything they had. By the time Killodine reverted to its original form, the Boss only had a few hit points left.

  Josh finished him off by running up and shooting it in the head at point-blank range.

  System alerts clamored for her attention, but she was too shocked to open them.

  We didn’t die. But I thought we were going to. I was wrong.

  Had she just panicked? Maybe that was it. But in previous fights she hadn’t had that feeling of doom. Something was interfering with her Second Sight.

  “YES!” Josh shouted, snapping her attention back to her surroundings.

  “Class evolution!” her brother announced. “And race evolution! I have the power now!”

  He started to change before their eyes, and his triumphant shouts were replaced by screams of pain.