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Francine was still shaking and jumping at every sound and shadow even nearly a full day after the tutorial had started.
She’d heard the assurances that they were safe within the small campus and that they’d have to leave the grounds to fight and level, if that was the path they chose.
She didn’t care.
She’d worked at an exotic pet store, and while—from what others had told her—normal pets hadn’t been turned into monsters—at least not initially—snakes, spiders, lizards, frogs, insects, and others were apparently enough different that the system had decided they should be transformed… or maybe it was because they hadn’t actually been anyone’s pets at the time…
Francine didn’t know, but she did know that suddenly being surrounded by dozens, if not hundreds of rapidly growing horrors wouldn’t be something she’d forget anytime soon.
It made her wish she had been an elf, or some other nature aligned being that could have simply waved her hand and banished the things, or controlled them, or… something.
She shuddered, looking at the mirror and taking in her diminutive form looking back. No… it’s better to be small.
Her size had allowed her to fit through the drop box, escaping out the back before she could be consumed.
Yeah, being a dwarf is better than being an elf, even if I’m not magical… yet. There was some hope in that. Apparently, in the tutorial, she could earn enough to change her race to be an actual dwarf, or an elf, or even just to change things physically about herself, but she thought she’d probably pass… It was better to be her.
But the possible changes were far from physical. She could pick a class—eventually more than one—and grow stronger so she’d never have to be scared again.
Here in the tutorial, she could get general training and find what worked best for her. There were even specialized, incredibly high level trainers that she could earn time with if she accomplished things of note, not that she thought she’d be able to do that.
Still, the idea of learning from something like a Greek or Norse god… someone who had trade offering the training for some greater favor?
It could be amazing. Even most of the specialized trainings weren’t from those sorts of people though. Even still…
All she needed to do was get up the courage to get up and—
A hand landed on her shoulder, and she squeaked, spinning and looking up at the girl who had stuck by her side since they’d run into one another in the madness. “Oh, Lizzie, you scared me.”
Lizzie smiled comfortingly down at Francine, her freckles making the expression cute and endearing rather than condescending. “Still thinking about the pet shop?”
Francine nodded, grimacing. She’d told her new friend about her experience, of course. “Trying not to, actually, but it…” She sighed. “I just keep expecting something to jump out at me. This room is the first place I’ve felt safe since.”
“I can understand that.” Lizzie had been asleep at the start of all this. As such, she’d spent that first, frantic day in heart- covered pajamas and without shoes.
Now? They were both outfitted with basic clothing.
“Group meeting. Wanna come? I think you might find some relief by facing… all this. I don’t want you to fall behind.”
“Yeah…” Francine chuckled hesitantly. “I suppose getting some form of power… or magic… or whatever this is would help.” The nightmares had been… not great. She really did something to change her perspective. That’s what she’d been trying to do, but actually going was… hard. “What do you think you want to learn?”
Lizzie glanced to the side, looking a bit embarrassed. “I went to the affinity tester, and I have a bent toward ice magic… I know it’s a kids movie but I just can’t…”
“Let it go?” Francine asked with a genuine grin.
Lizzie laughed. “Yeah, that. You?”
“I… I haven’t been tested yet, but if I had my choice?”
The other girl nodded.
“I want to be able to hide better. I like the idea of being like Bilbo.”
Lizzie grinned. “I like it! Let’s see if we can be a team. I’ll distract them with my fabulous, sparkly ice, and you can stab the monsters in the back. You know,” she lifted her eyebrows implicatively, “give them a good sting?”
Francine barked a laugh even as she was shaking her head. “That was terrible.”
“Yeah, well, it made you laugh. Come on. I don’t want to be late.”
“Sure, sure. Lead the way.” Francine hopped off the chair, feeling lighter with a friend by her side once more.
Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad.
Alex sat with Kaylee and the other Initiates as more than a hundred non-Initiates milled about on the floor above.
Alex tried to lay out his reasoning one final time, in order to help them narrow in on means. “This is really our only chance. We’ve been fighting the undead, and that’s not working any more. What we need to do is beat the scenario. We need to beat this phase of the tutorial, and overcome what the System has put before us.”
Kayle gave a slow nod. “Beat, not fight.”
Alex grinned. “Exactly. It will obviously take fighting, but that isn’t the goal.”
Grant groaned. “We’ve been treating the fighting as the point, but even leveling isn’t the point of this. It’s definitely a side benefit, but Alex is right.”
Others were nodding. Pilar had a smug smile, while John seemed like he was barely paying attention, fully focused on his weapons that were laid out around him on several commandeered tables, each in various states of disassembly.
“So, we’ve already discussed the plan for the full out assault. Most of us will engage the massed undead and let a few of us get to the central area. In the best case, we can clear out the above ground undead, and the majority of us can hold the perimeter, maybe even draw out some of the heavy hitters.” Alex looked around, serious. “As for the attack on the big bad? There are likely twelve Flesh Golems of the Plague Guard along with whatever other defenders the Plague Lord has. I need those taken care of at the very least while I remove the undead.” He looked to John. “I would love your fire support.”
The marksman grunted and lifted a hand—still holding a cleaning rag—in acknowledgement.
After a moment’s silence, Bret raised his hand in inquiry. “I don’t mean to be rude, Alex, and I know that you are ‘in charge…’ But, why should you fight him again? Why can’t others? I know you’re strong, but some of us are closing in on level nineteen.”
Alex shrugged, opening his mouth to respond, but Stephen spoke first, drawing all eyes. “Because he can ensure a kill without having to whittle down the creature. If this were a videogame, I’d expect this to be an optional boss with multiple stages. He might even be compelled to retreat to try to come at us again once he heals up and prepares counter measures for how we fight him the first time. Alex already saw him twice, both times he didn’t act as we would expect a free agent to act. With that in mind, Alex is the only person who can quickly negate that possibility.”
One of the women who Alex wasn’t familiar with grimaced, the action accompanied by a small trace of electricity to zig-zag between some of her hairs. “I never did enjoy videogames. It seems silly to base our strategy on one.”
Stephen shrugged. “This scenario has already shown many videogame-like elements. What’s more, what we call ‘videogame logic’ is really just the logic behind designers of scenarios in general. Things that don’t matter to the greater purpose are shortcutted in one way or another, and things like that. Similar thinking goes into trainings, board games, books, and movies. It’s something to expect in an artificial world of basically any kind, and I believe that we can all agree that this is an artificial world.” He shrugged again. “But even if I’m wrong, Alex is still a good choice. The fact that he is the best choice if things are as we expect they are? You can just think of that as icing on the cake.”
That seemed to mollify the few who were still on the fence about things.
They talked a bit longer—smoothing out the rougher edges of the general plan—but dawn was coming, and they all wanted to get a bit of sleep before the final assault.
Three hours later, Alex quietly approached the college at the head of the secondary assault group. A few people were still securing their earplugs, but everyone in both groups should be at least a bit better protected than before.
They were in position to storm the back gates, which had been found to be less defended. Moreover it had been noted that during each of the previous assaults, the undead at this other entrance had moved to attack the Initiates at the main gate once the assaults had breached the outer defenses.
As such, most of the non-Initiates who had volunteered to help—with a few Initiates, including Stephen—would be a distraction, allowing Alex and his group to penetrate deeper with less resistance.
They didn’t expect such a distraction to work for the assault on the Plague Lord, but it should be enough to achieve their first objective.
Their first target was the hub of the college-wide PA system, and from there, they’d go for the core and the Plague Lord, hopefully meeting up with the other force at the end.
As to group composition, some of the non-Initiates had joined Alex too, much to his… discomfort.
Specifically, Mr. Weston walked beside him, a crowbar already shaking in the older man’s gloved hands.
Alex leaned close to the man, lowering his voice to hopefully prevent embarrassment. Though he still spoke loudly enough to be heard through the muffling of the man’s earplugs. “You can still turn back. You’ve done so much already.”
The teacher shook his head. “No. I’m needed here. I can do this. I can help.”
His nervousness was incredibly apparent. The man had even begged off of Inventory training. Though, Alex had to admit that he was alright with that. He didn’t know how well he’d have been able to focus in the lead up to the battle.
The sun was just starting to shine down the street behind them—practically horizontal to the pavement—but it had not risen so much as to be in the other assault force’s eyes.
It was time.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, confirming that assessment.
Alex kept his voice low, but he still put enough volume behind it that those with him should be able to hear.
“It’s time. They’ve started their attack, and we’ll begin ours in less than five. Be ready.”
People shifted, checking what gear they had. Hands tightened on weapons, and some checked those as well.
John just patted his holsters, a small, satisfied smile evident across his features. He’d been asked to hold his fire until absolutely necessary due to the noise, and he’d taken the limitation in good spirits.
They all knew that his skills would be in high demand before the day was through. The gunshots they could just barely hear from the other group was evidence enough of that.
Just less than five minutes later, Maria all but appeared from the shadows beside them. “The way is clear. Let’s go.”
Alex didn’t hesitate, breaking into a steady jog, his companions falling in around him.
They could hear something like susurrations from the nearby battle on the other side of campus, as well as the frequent report from the few other Initiates with firearms of one kind or another.
Because of that, they weren’t surprised when they approached the rear entrance and found it all but abandoned.
There was a single bone lurker that seemed to be wandering a bit aimlessly, but other than that? It was almost too deserted.
They were watchful for a trap even as Lenka took the undead down with a well-placed crossbow bolt.
A moment later, they were through, Alex ashing the lurker for good measure on the way past.
They numbered close to twenty—mostly Initiates—and so when the other bone lurkers lunged out of hiding from the buildings just inside the gates, it was a quick fight.
In fact, Grant, Natasha, Jacob, and Ben handled one side while Laura, Leanne, Chip, and Bret took the front lines on the other. The three spear-wielders complimented their hammer-fighter quite well, ducking and lancing out around the larger, more sweeping strikes as Grant and Bret each took the forefront position of their respective flank.
Alex stood ready to purge anyone who got injured, but no one did.
He found himself grinning.
Thirty bone lurkers—all in the mid-teens, level wise—and eight of their warriors had taken them down without a scratch. Literally.
We just might be able to get this done.
The group picked up the pace, walking quickly even as they kept a wary watch all around.
They were nearly a third way to their first destination when an inhuman scream preceded the next minor-flood of undead from a nearby building.
Mr. Weston—still beside Alex—pulled back his crowbar to swing, but locked up, eyes going wide and his whole body trembling as the frothing, raving monsters tore closer.
It didn’t end up mattering as the spear wielders engaged the frontmost ranks yet again, magical shields of various kinds flickering into being as well. Combined, that allowed the others to fold around and completely encircle the undead in short order.
The enemies were eliminated with little fanfare, once more without anyone requiring Alex to purge them of the turning plague.
Still, the teacher was actively trembling, tears running down his face.
Once he was sure he wasn’t needed elsewhere, Alex put his hand on Mr. Weston’s shoulder. “You can—”
The teacher shook his head violently, cutting Alex off. “No, son. I’m going to help.”
Alex hesitated, but finally nodded. He wasn’t going to force the man away. “Alright, then. Let’s keep going.”
The next difficulty they encountered was in the admin building’s front hall as they sought to address the greatest threat to this action, and their first goal: The PA System.
Apparently, there were a few places in the school that could transmit, but they all ran through this building, and so it was the primary point of failure if they wanted to remove that tool from their enemies arsenal.
The undead seemed to know this as well—or at least their commanders did—because the building was packed.
Alex had to fall back into the role of healer and plague purifier as the other Initiates—backed by the more combat capable non-Initiates—stabbed, bashed, cut, and magiced their way through the hordes, questing deeper into the building, toward the control room.
John’s guns came free, though he tried to remain judicious of his use of the loud weapons in such enclosed spaces, mindful even despite everyone’s hearing protection.
This time around, Mr. Weston didn’t freeze, but he wasn’t really able to fight, either. Thankfully, he kept up with little issue.
Unfortunately, despite Alex’s best efforts, several non-Initiates died or were turned and killed before he could get to them in the tumult, especially when the group had to spread out to clear rooms and cover multiple hallways as they advanced.
They’d all agreed beforehand that Alex wouldn’t be unturning anyone. It was just too costly to do under the circumstances.
Regardless, Alex fully planned on ignoring that if one of the Initiates was turned, but he kept that to himself.
Still, even with the minor losses, the fight through the halls and siderooms felt almost perfunctory, despite how much of a slog it was.
Unfortunately, that sense only remained until the powers that be seemed to notice their assault.
They had just attained the second floor, and Alex gave a happy shout. He could just see the well-labeled ‘Public Announcement System Central Hub’ at the end of the hall. “There it is! We’re almost there!”
The responding cheer from his companions had barely quieted back to the focus of battle when the PA system audibly clicked, the sound all too audible.