Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 112: The Potential For A Cataclysm

The entire area at the bottom of the hill was covered in swarming people, bustling around and doing … stuff. Most of said ‘stuff’ should have been long since completed and was probably also done by now, but no one was standing still. Either nervousness was driving them to do make-work, or someone in a position of power had gotten a serious case of anxiety when they’d seen their subordinates weren’t doing anything.

They were, once again, back in Grafenwöhr for this Event. By now, Professor Bailey practically had a timeshare on the military base and that joke had, in fact, been made by several people. But there was a reason these kinds of experiments were conducted here. Large open area, no civilians to get caught underfoot … and, oh yeah, the shitload of heavy artillery that could be dumped on the heads of any unsuspecting monsters.

But that was the normal setup, with a few heavy weapons in place. This … wasn’t that.

What felt like the Bundeswehr’s entire engineering corps had invaded Grafenwöhr like a swarm of locusts, chopping down trees, evening out the ground, laying out plenty of summoning circles in quick-setting concrete, putting up temporary shelters to be used for rest or administrative matters … It had taken merely a couple of days, but several square kilometers of woodland had been turned into a fully furnished summoning base.

The whole thing affair and the professionalism with which it had been handled thus far gave him hope for the future, but Isaac was fully aware of how dangerous this was, and how badly it could go.

They had six hours to research every monster up to Tier 6, and that was simply far too little time. Sure, they’d dealt with the relevant monsters last time, but even if the overall number of possible summons was similar, adding an entire Tier would vastly increase the complexity of the mess. For one, higher Tier monsters required more mana to summon and that would slow down the progress of work, not to mention how much more varied their powersets could be.

Six fucking hours. Really, that was barely enough for a meeting with a halfway complex subject matter, never mind fighting a vast horde of monsters while trying to observe every facet of their being.

Sighing, Isaac slung himself onto a rock, sitting down cross legged as he observed the action going on down below.

“Can’t sleep?” a voice rang out from behind him.

“Just did. Now I’m just observing the goings-on down there until everything kicks off. How about you, Ms. Hightower?” Isaac replied.

Oh yeah, there were actually quite a few more people here than just military personnel and the team. This place was one of only two places in Europe currently researching the Event and a lot of people had showed up to help, including most of Camelot and a large chunk of the BAU.

GSG-13 wasn’t among them, though. No, those people were scattered all over the country in case they were needed and the issue could be dealt with by a single high-Level fighter.

Anything more than that, well, that would be dealt with via airstrikes or a group dispatched from right here via a [Portal]. The latter might have been a viable option for dealing with everything, except the spell had that pesky little cooldown problem. They had three people who knew it from Professor Bailey’s team, as well as two soldiers and one federal agent who had an inferior version of [Portal] with a longer cooldown and shorter range.

Even if all incidents were perfectly spaced out, they would still only be able to deal with thirteen of them via [Portal], ruling it out as a viable solution for everything.

There were also a handful of independent summoners here, but they were only a fraction of those that had applied to be here or simply offered to help. The vetting process had been thorough.

“The same,” She shrugged “There isn’t anything to do for me except make-work, and doing things just for the sake of being busy is a waste of time, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Eh, time spent thinking, all alone with your thoughts, can be pretty productive as well.” Isaac replied, turning his head to face her “For example, I think I just figured out something very interesting about you.”

“And that is …” she asked.

“People have likened you to being Arthur’s Merlin, his stalwart advisor and powerful magician to boot. And that’s true to an extent, but not entirely. You’re the power behind the throne in a far more abstract sense. You’re in charge of ensuring he has all the weapons he needs, both in the literal sense and in the form of alliances. And to top it all off, you’re even of a similar species and wield similar magic as your mythological counterpart. You’re Nimue, the Lady of the Lake.”

“My species? Do tell.” She said with a ‘this should be good’ expression on her face.

“You’re an Asrai, an aquatic fairy from English folklore.” Isaac said.

“No one told you that,” it wasn’t a question, but rather a confident statement based on whatever truth-telling [Skills] she possessed “So, how’d you figure that out? You’re the first person to get that correct without some serious help.”

“First of all, you’re a water-based magic user. You’re also British, and while our sample size is tiny, there does seem to be a certain degree of correlation between the mythology of someone’s home and the species they evolve into. That already massively narrowed things down.

“Then there’s the fact that you were using a lot of things to prevent sunburn in Singapore, even though people at our Level are immune to it. The real thing clearly isn’t as sensitive to daylight as their mythological equivalent, but it clearly still affects you.

“What cinched it though is seeing you now, in the light of the moon. Even though it’s waning and will be gone in a couple of days, you’re still practically radiating power. So in summation, you have the same powerset, strengths and weaknesses.”

“Huh, I suppose that would do it. Though the real question is: why are you telling me this?” she asked.

“Well, Ms. Hightower, call it a demonstration of my other abilities. The whole world knows that I’m an expert at [Aura] manipulation, and while footage of the incident in question thankfully hasn’t surfaced, me taking on a very powerful serial killer is likewise fairly common knowledge. This was me showing that I’m good at more than just fighting.”

“Before, you said you weren’t interested in joining Camelot, yet here you are, proving how worthwhile hiring you would be. What’s the endgame here, Mr. Thoma?”

“You make it sound so sinister, I’d just like to lay the basis for future cooperation.” Isaac responded dryly “Really, there’s nothing much to it. We work together exceedingly well, I think we can do great things together and I’d enjoy working together more closely going forward. [Portal] makes travel practically a non-issue, and both Camelot and us are capable of doing things the other can’t.”

“That is either the most upfront, simplistic offer for an alliance or the worst pickup line I’ve ever heard.” Hightower replied equally dryly.

“Can’t it be both?” Isaac asked, flashing her a wry grin “But all jokes aside, the preparation for this Event has been a good proof of concept for future cooperation. I have knowledge, and a huge number of contacts in the scientific community, as well as several excellent crafters who prioritize my orders. Also in German law enforcement, but I doubt you’re going to have need of those. You, meanwhile, have access to a far greater number of high Level combat [Class] holders, and are far more able to create projects without government interference than I am, given that I work for a research group that’s part of a state funded university.”

“Perhaps. But the abstract idea of future cooperation was always on the table, I’m guessing there’s something more concrete you’re planning?” Hightower asked.

Isaac nodded “There’s a list, but it mostly boils down to the following: sparring partners around my Level for me, which would also provide your people another fighting style to train against, and manpower. Right now, breaking into new Tiers effectively requires an entire battalion’s worth of soldiers to stand watch with heavy artillery. That not only means we need to coordinate a lot of people’s availability, but there’s also the worry that mere artillery might not do it against the next Tier. When we fought the first Tier 6, it was a rock monster with an [Aura] that could have blocked at least a partial artillery barrage. The artillery operators will have better [Skills] next time, but that might not be enough.”

“In other words, you’re asking for support with research while also offering us first crack at the next Tier. I suppose that’s reasonable. I don’t think we’ll have enough time to hammer out a full contract but putting down the basics should be possible.”

“Probably. But for now, I’d be comfortable with a handshake deal.” Isaac said, holding out his right hand, which she immediately shook.

“I’m surprised, though. I’d have expected you to want a contract, or at the very least a witness to make this whole affair legally binding.” Hightower commented off-handedly.

“I trust you.” Isaac said “We’re both smart people, we know how dangerous the [System] is and how important it is to properly understand it. There’s going to be more driving this forward than mere ink on a page, Ms. Hightower.”

“I’ve heard plenty of people talk about the danger posed by the [System], and heard some bad end predictions, Mr. Thoma.” She stated “But I’m curious, where do you see this end if things go poorly.”

Isaac looked her straight in the eye and held her stare for a moment, then bluntly stated “I see this ending with the extinction of the human race.”

She grimaced “Well, that’s a sobering thought. You’re right, though, there’s more to support our cooperation than just the letter of our agreement.”

“Unfortunately. A world without such a pressure … that would be nice.” Isaac said wistfully “Where there’s no such thing as an agreement you have to keep because to do otherwise might get you and everyone you love killed.”

“On that depressing note, if we’re going to be working together a lot in the future, perhaps we should take some of the formality out of this.” She mimed tipping a non-existent hat “Elena Hightower, pleased to meet you, but please call me Elena.”

“Thoma, Isaac Thoma.” Isaac said, reaching up, pulling a fedora out of his spatial storage, tipped it and made it vanish before his hand had dropped back to his side. It was a bit of a waste to use an inscribed core on something like this, but the stifled bout of laughter made it worth it.

Elena hopped onto the rock besides him, much of the earlier tension having melted away.

“So, could you explain something to me? A few hours ago, a bunch of people freaked out and ran all over the place because they thought the Event might have dropped six hours early, but asking didn’t get me an explanation that was even remotely understandable.”

“Oh, that.” Isaac sighed “When the [System] says ‘day’, it’s referring to the sidereal day, which is four minutes shorter than the ‘calendar’ day. Someone cooked up the theory that the Event might not kick off on the Autumn Equinox, but rather ninety-one sidereal days after the Summer Solstice. It would have been very weird if it did that, given that doing so would make the Events happen earlier and earlier until they didn’t even happen on the equinoxes and solstices, but it made enough sense to get everyone in a tizzy.”

“And you don’t think there was even a chance of that happening?” Elena asked.

“Not any more than some other unexpected thing cropping up we don’t have any hope of predicting.” Isaac replied “We might only have two examples of [System] stuff occurring, but they both happened exactly at midnight, Greenwich mean time. If the [System] based its announcement on a certain number of sideral days having passed, that wouldn’t work out. On the other hand, why wouldn’t they just stick with the solar days? The [System] can be really weird sometimes. Then again, if it weren’t, I’d be out of a job.”

“Out of this job, certainly.” Elena said “We’d still hire you, though.”

“Thanks.” Isaac gave her a grateful smile “But could we talk about something else for a bit? We’re going to be stuck doing nothing but fighting for twenty-four hours pretty soon, and I’d like to spend at least a little time doing something before then.”

***

And then, 2 am on the dot, the message flashed in everyone’s faces.

Welcome, one and all, to the Autumn Equinox EVENT!

As summer fades, the harvest is brought in and leaves die, darkness stirs. For today and only today, you may summon monsters that represent the bountiful harvest that you have received at the end of the year, but also the horrible fate that awaits those who failed to gather enough supplies for the winter.

So, step into your boots, put on your jackets, and fight creatures such as animated scarecrows, dead yet living trees, a literal murder of crows and so much more, culminating in the [Raid Boss] ‘The Spirit of Famine’.

Will you earn fantastic rewards by proudly charging ahead, or cower in fear until the eggheads tell you everything’s alright?

“Ok, that last one feels kinda like a pointed insult.” Isaac commented dryly, but he was already moving in the ways they’d worked out so long ago. They’d had the time to make a million plans, so that was exactly what they’d done.

It had been decided that Isaac would start out with Tier 5 monsters a rough gage on how strong these things would be compared the norm, then use that information to decide where to go from there.

Isaac stood there in front of the circle for a moment as one of the bystanders charged the circle so he didn’t have to waste time recharging the mana needed to summon the monster. Then, he charged, shouting “Strength around 60, Agility at maybe 80, Fortitude around 140, bugger all for Perception and Magic Stats.”

Over on the side, someone wrote this down into a laptop, the information immediately being whisked off into a local network set up by the engineers a while ago to be compiled in a location a fair distance from any fighting.

But that wasn’t Isaac’s problem right now. No, that honor went to the Harvest Reaper in front of him, a three meter tall mass of corn stalks and vines in a shape somewhat reminiscent of the Grim Reaper, with two long, whip-like arms that ended in literal scythe-blades that did their damndest to lop off Isaac’s head.

This thing was fast, far faster than a normal Tier 5 and coupled with an ungodly toughness, this made it a scary foe to face … or at least it would have been for someone of the appropriate Level. As it was, the whip-like arms struck out with a speed that almost matched that of bullets, but to Isaac, they seemed to almost be moving in slow motion.

Old Reliable switched over to its Zweihänder form and struck an arm a couple of times, leaving shallow gashes. After all, his Strength was his lowest Stat, which was why he infused almost all his attacks with a [Strike-Skill], and this thing was crazy tough, but he hadn’t intended to inflict damage, he was just creating cuts for comparison.

As the arms whipped back around, Isaac ignited Old Reliable and struck out, cutting almost halfway through the thick, tough wood.

“Fire greatly increases the damage of strikes.” Isaac commented, slowly dancing closer to the man body while deflecting every strike, his counterattacks hitting chipping away at the arms until they fell off, one after another.

When he walked right up to the main body, no last-ditch counterattack occurred, no shockwave to open the distance flung him away, just a desperate flailing of shorter arms. He’d expected it based on its lack of magic, but it was nice to confirm it.

Isaac cut it in half with a single [Piercing-Power-Strike]. The top half flopped to the ground, dead, but the bottom one continued to flail. Clearly, that was where the ‘brain’ was. Cut after methodical cut slowly took it apart until he’d located the central core, which he then speared.

The loot from this Event monster turned out to be the scythes blades that had once graced the ends of its arms.

Scythe of Bountiful Harvest

An old iron blade that reaped countless things, from grain to lives. And from there, it grew, gathering ambient mana to discharge it when it is in use.

Whenever this Scythe is used to harvest any kind of grain, vegetable and other food crop, the amount of gained material is increased by twenty-five percent. If the stubble is returned to the soil, it will imbue seventy-five more nutrients for further farming endeavors.

“I honestly have no idea if this would make it worth it to harvest a field by hand, but someone here probably does. Send it to the relevant group, and summon me a Reaping Field.” Isaac said as he dropped off the two sharp blades by the side of the combat area.

While he did that, people ran into the center of the square, dropping in the required materials, charging the circle, and then getting the hell out of Doge. It really was a very efficient system, but it hadn’t been easy to set up. After all, it had required them to get everything they might need to summon these monsters and yes, that had been exactly as easy as it sounded like.

But that mess was out of his hand now. Instead, he had to deal with this mass of weaving stalks in front of him. Low Strength and Agility, but the same Fortitude as the other monster and high Magic Stats, it was another threat far nastier than regular Tier 5s. Still, it had nothing on Isaac.

***

Two hours later, the dreaded call finally came, someone had summoned something they couldn’t handle. Of course, this was also in flagrant violation of an international treaty, but that was the least of anyone’s troubles right now. To top it all off, the incident was ever so slightly out of [Portal] range, so they couldn’t even get there immediately. Therefore, they ran, desperately racing to get close enough to leap right into the center of the action with a single cast of the spell.