Chapter 32

  Eve sighed in exasperation as she watched Ben and his cherubs do battle. Ben and his squad had stormed the Orc Dungeon gate and bounded excitedly into the fray.

  Behind the giant gate was, what looked like, a small city of orcs. Except it was occupied by an army. A city-sized military encampment. Within, the Orcs were at least level 12.

  There were a lot more varieties of orcs. They didn’t have standard classes like the lizardmen. Instead of priests, they had shamans. Instead of smaller weapons, they wielded large, unwieldy weapons like axes and great-hammers.

  The orcs even had mounts. They rode giant dire wolves that were large enough to accommodate the massive size of the orc bodies.

  Ben and his cherubs faced a hundred at a time, not because the dungeon was designed that way, but because Ben intentionally made as much noise as possible and used his mage cherubs to cast massive aoe attacks to pull as much aggro as possible.

  The orcs ran out of tents and wooden houses screaming their war cries. They appeared to have blacksmiths shops, food shops, and other types of buildings. The orc numbers were endless. It was truly worthy of the first raid in the world of Eternity.

  None of that mattered. Ben and his cherubs slaughtered them. It wasn’t even close.

  Every orc fell in one hit. Ben and his cherubs were far too fast and far too strong. Now that Ben actually had increased attributes to back up his Grandmaster proficiencies, the enemies were just cannon-fodder.

  Ben got bored at one point. Eventually, he stopped attacking efficiently and started testing out flashy maneuvers with his enhanced speed, strength, and jumping distance. With the haste buff from the White Mage Cherub, Ben zoomed through the battlefield, jumping around and twirling his halberd in a display that really belonged in an anime.

  “Really?” Eve thought.

  It was a ridiculous sight, completely impractical, but Ben was having the time of his life testing his new beyond-human limits.

  He could jump much further and higher than Olympic athletes. He could twirl and summersault better than any gymnast. He could endure falls from great heights. He practiced jumping off of walls and buildings to launch himself into groups of enemies. That group would soon explode into a cloud of green blood as Ben’s halberd tore through them.

  With his enhanced endurance, Ben was able to maintain the spiritual extension of his halberd indefinitely, so his kill efficiency was much greater than his own melee-based cherubs.

  His cherubs weren’t anywhere near as flashy. They maintained efficient killing speeds, based on their weapons. Despite Ben having Grandmaster polearm proficiency, he no longer used his Cherub Halberd Masters.

  Ever since he found out that his cherubs could grow his proficiencies, he chose the composition of his army based on that. Since he was already at Grandmaster Polearm proficiency, he didn’t use any polearm-based cherubs.

  He summoned one cherub of each different kind of weapon to build his proficiencies. He chose a mage of each elemental type, which included the white mage. As for the other cherubs, he chose one Bow Master, one Dagger Master, one Cherub Warrior, etc. That way he could train multiple proficiencies at once.

  Eve trailed behind Ben and his cherubs and just picked up loot. Instead of leaving a Cherub Warrior behind for protection, Ben left a Cherub White mage instead. The cherub white mage helped her gather loot while also occasionally refreshing Ben’s buffs.

  Given the lifesteal of Ben’s halberd, and the massive amount of damage he did, neither Eve nor the Cherub white mage needed to do any healing. The white mage was just there to buff. Since its buffs lasted a while, it had a lot of downtime to help Eve. Ben and his cherubs were so efficient at killing the horde of orcs, that none got passed to attack Eve. Even if they did, they wouldn’t be a threat to her, since she had reactivated her Soul Link. So Eve followed at a casual, relaxed pace and sucked all the loot into her inventory to be divided later.

  Ben and Eve didn’t even need to discuss the strategy anymore. They were totally in sync. Ben trusted Eve completely. A fact that Eve noticed and was greatly pleased by.

  They slaughtered their way towards a huge black spire that was in the center of the orc city. It took an hour to reach it despite how fast their clear speed was. That was just how large the city was.

  Once they arrived at the foot of the spire, the atmosphere became a lot more dark. Eve walked up to Ben. Ben stopped his flashy attacks and stood still to look forward with a frown. Ben’s mood had soured. Eve followed his gaze to bear witness to an unsettling sight.

  There were cages as far as the eye could see. Cages that contained more NPCs which were chained and enslaved. Ben narrowed his eyes and sent his cherubs forward to slaughter every orc in sight. He focused on moving to the cages.

  The people inside were in a terrible state. Even worse than the people that were captured by the Lizardmen.

  The crowd of people were sitting on the ground, cowering in fear. Ben broke the cage lock with his halberd and walked inside. The crowd of overly packed people backed away from him.

  “Don’t be scared. We're here to help. It’s safe now,” Ben said.

  A young woman, who was covered in dirt, blood, and tattered clothes, picked up a handful of mud and threw it at Ben’s face. Ben dodged it casually and looked at the woman in confusion.

  “You’ve damned us. The master will punish us. Go away or you’ll just make it worse,” she said.

  Ben saw a yellow exclamation point appear above her head. The universal sign of a quest waiting to be accepted.

  “My name is Benaiah, this is Eve. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. Look, we have cleared the way. You are free,” Ben said.

  Ben gestured to all the guards that were being slaughtered by his angels. The woman shook her head frantically. She turned around to reveal a glowing red mark on her back. It was a giant tattoo the size and shape of an orc’s hand.

  Ben narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and formed a scowl that shocked Eve. Eve had never seen Ben so angry.

  “Ben?” She typed.

  Ben barely registered Eve’s text. His mind flooded with terrible memories of his past.

  Before…

  [Congratulations. You have reached level 15]

  [You have gained one perk point]

  Ben dropped to one knee and huffed heavily. He watched as four spectral knights surrounded a hell hound. They all pulled their longswords out of the creature and watched it fall to the ground in a dead heap.

  Among the corpses of that gigantic Elite Hell Hound were at least a dozen smaller hounds that ran in its pack.

  Ben struggled to rise to his feet. He inspected his blood covered body. His arms and chest were covered in gashes, teeth and claw marks. He brought up his system window to check his health.

  “Less than 20%. I have to,” Ben said.

  Ben begrudgingly let the wand in his right hand disappear in a dim flash of light. It was replaced by a small vial full of red liquid. When he drank it, some of his wounds healed, but not all. He checked his health again.

  “Just 45 percent?”

  Ben's heart sank. He only had one potion left. He steeled himself and manifested his wand again. He looked at his 4 spectral knights. They stood at attention, waiting for orders. Ben looked at his class tree and assigned his class perk point.

  Four additional knights emerged from a flash of white light, which gave him a total of 8 spectral soldiers.

  “This will have to do,” Ben thought.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  He looked off in the distance, down the streets of the apocalyptic city. The night air was still filled with screams. Buildings and houses burned around him. Vacant cars riddled the streets. Every single light was out. No street lamps, no house was illuminated. The electricity had long since gone out.

  Ben dismissed his spectral knights and began to jog as quietly as he could. He avoided the street and stuck near the houses, where he could hide in the shadows and gauge which fights he wanted to take.

  Periodically as he moved, he came across a group of enemies. Packs of hell hounds feasted on corpses. Hell Imps hunted high in the sky. Skeletal monstrosities that looked like a mix between humans and bipedal alligators moved on patrol.

  Ben stuck to the shadows as best as he could. However, he could only do so much to hide his presence. A howl caught his attention. He was covered in blood. The hounds caught his scent.

  Half a dozen hounds sprinted his way. Trailing behind them was a group of three of the skeletal monstrosities.

  [Level 6 Hell Hound]

  [Level 8 Bone Demon]

  Ben moved to the backyard of the house that he was near. He knew he couldn’t hide, but he could make the inevitable battle draw as little attention as possible. He stayed quiet and waited for the hounds and bone demons to round the corner of the house. Ben had to pass a gate to enter the backyard of the house. He left the door open so the enemies wouldn’t have to barrel through the door to get to him. That made it so the Hell Imps in the distance wouldn’t join the fray.

  When the pack entered the backyard, they met a line of spectral soldiers. Ben hurled bolts of energy from his wand while his soldiers allowed the hounds to crash into their shields. By the time the Bone Demons caught up, most of the hounds were already dead.

  The Bone Demons didn’t last long.

  As soon as the battle was done, Ben looted the corpses. He sighed. Still no potions. Only shabby weapons that the bone demons wielded. None of it was better than his wand, which allowed him to fight in relative safety and preserve his health.

  Ben looted the corpses quickly of anything valuable, dismissed his spectral knights, and continued further into the city.

  “Just a little further,” Ben thought.

  Dread filled Ben as he finally arrived at the gate that guarded the entrance to his neighborhood. There was a guard house where a security guard checked every vehicle that entered. Now that guard house was only occupied by a half-eaten corpse.

  Ben ran past the gate and shivered. His neighborhood was in ruin. Some of the houses had completely collapsed. Many were on fire. He could see hell imps circling in the distance. More screams. Ben burst into a sprint.

  “Please be ok. Please be ok,” Ben thought.

  Ben didn’t stop running even as he arrived at the road that led to his house, even as his lungs protested. His sprinting drew the attention of several packs of enemies, but now he could let his spectral knights hold the line while he moved as quickly as possible. The density of enemies in his neighborhood was much smaller than the inner city.

  Ben rounded a familiar corner as the last of the enemies trailing him were skewered on the swords of his knights. He froze.

  His house was surprisingly intact. However, the closer he looked, the more dread welled up in him. He ran forward past the bloody lawn, up the half ruined stairs, and burst through the door.

  His nose filled with the stench of death. Even if he couldn’t smell, the result was obvious.

  Bodies. So many bodies. They lined the living room and dining room. Severed limbs lay sprawn about.

  Two hell hounds were in the living room fighting over a bloody bone. Ben recognized the corpse they claimed.

  His knights suddenly appeared and bisected the two hell hounds. It took everything in Ben not to scream. He walked forward on wobbly legs and fell to his knees.

  His mother, his father, the twins. All dead.

  Their faces stricken in horror, their bodies mutilated. But, there were more faces. Faces he recognized.

  An older woman and an older man. Ben’s eyes widened in realization.

  “Sarah,” he whispered.

  The corpses didn’t belong to her. They were her parents.

  “If her parents are here, then…” Ben thought.

  Ben couldn’t complete that thought. He barely managed to rise to his feet. The tears wouldn’t stop flowing, but now he had a purpose.

  He began to look around. He found a trail of blood that led further into the house. He followed it to a door. The basement.

  Ben gritted his teeth, readied his shield, and attempted to open the door.

  It wouldn’t budge. Something was barring it from the other side. He tried to be quiet while he attempted to force the door open. But no matter how much he pulled, he couldn’t open it. He could break it, but that would cause noise. It was a risk he had to take.

  Ben summoned a knight and had it crash its shield into the door. Ben heard a whimper from the other side.

  “Sarah?” Ben said.

  “Ben?”

  Ben’s eyes widened.

  “Yes, it’s me,” Ben said.

  Ben heard scrambling on the other side. After a bit of shuffling, the door swung open and Ben met the distraught, tearfilled gaze of his childhood crush. She was ok.

  “Sarah,” Ben said.

  He could barely get out the words. He spoke with a feeling of deep relief, even despite his recent devastation. Sarah reached forward, grabbed Ben’s arm and tugged him towards her.

  “Tim is hurt,” Sarah said.

  Ben was taken off guard as Sarah tugged him down the stairs. In the basement, Ben saw the terrible state of his best friend. The man was sitting down against a wall, covered in blood. A blood-soaked katana lay next to him. His eyes were closed. There was a bloody cloth wrapped around his stomach. It was Sarah’s headcovering.

  Sarah ran forward and dropped to her knees by Tim’s side. Her long, thigh-length hair was messy and wild. Ben had never seen her in such an unkept state.

  Both her and Tim looked like a mess. They were dressed in their Sunday best. Sarah even wore a conservative, ankle-length dress. That was notable to Ben because outside of church and church events, Sarah rarely wore dresses. That gave him a good idea where they were when the apocalypse first began.

  Sarah’s dress was stained with blood. Ben could tell that it wasn’t her own.

  “He is at 2% health. His health isn’t getting better. Every time his natural regeneration kicks in, he receives bleed damage. I can’t stop the bleeding,” Sarah said.

  Sarah spoke frantically. Ben dropped down to one knee and manifested his last health potion from his inventory. Sarah looked at it with a wide eyed expression.

  “What is that?” She asked.

  “A health potion. It will heal him and stop the bleeding,” Ben said.

  Eve’s eyes widened.

  “Really? Hurry!”

  As Ben undid the cork of the bottle, Tim's eyes slowly fluttered open.

  “Ben?” Tim asked.

  Tim’s voice was extremely weak.

  “The one and only. I’ve got your back, Bro,” Ben said.

  Ben showed the potion to Tim. Tim immediately recognized it.

  “How many do you have?” Tim asked.

  “Just the one, but I’ll find more later,” Ben said.

  Ben moved the potion to Tim’s lips. Tim turned his head away, to Ben and Sarah’s surprise.

  “Victoria,” Tim said.

  Ben’s brows raised.

  “What?” Ben asked.

  Tim raised a hand weakly and grabbed at Ben’s shirt. Sarah looked down with a pained expression.

  “You have to save Victoria!”

  Tim’s voice was hoarse as he screamed. Ben’s eyes widened in realization. He looked at Sarah.

  “They took her. She’s gone,” Sarah said.

  “No, she is still alive. If they were going to just kill her…” Tim began.

  Tim couldn’t finish his sentence. He coughed violently and sputtered blood from his mouth. Ben saw Tim’s health tick up then back down as he took bleeding damage.

  Ben looked on with a conflicted gaze. He narrowed his eyes resolutely and pressed the potion back to Tim’s lips.

  “Drink this then come and help me find her,” Ben said.

  Tim raised a hand and shoved the potion away.

  “I haven’t even gotten to level 10. I can see that you are already level 15. The fact that you were able to get here proves how strong you are. You are only at half health. You’ll need that. I’d just get in the way and drain your resources by forcing you to protect me.

  I won’t bleed out. I just have to wait out the damage. You have to go now. Save Victoria!” Tim screamed.

  Tim shoved Ben away as hard as he could. Ben stumbled back and shakily rose to his feet. He watched as Tim’s eyes closed. Tim passed out from exhaustion.

  Ben clenched tightly into the potion and stood up with his eyes narrowed. He turned his back to Tim and Sarah.

  “I will,” Ben said.

  “Ben, please don’t leave us,” Sarah said.

  Ben looked back to see Sarah’s fear-stricken face.

  “She’s my sister. If there is even the smallest chance that she is still alive, then I’ll find her,” Ben said.

  Sarah bowed her head and fidgetted.

  “Then I’m going too. She’s my best friend. If you came here then you must have cleared the surrounding area. It should be safe enough to leave Tim here to heal. There is nothing I can do here anyway, so let me help,” Sarah said.

  “No,” Ben said.

  Sarah frowned.

  “But-”

  “Sarah,” Ben said.

  Sarah’s eyes widened. Ben glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. She had never seen him like that before. He was covered in blood and looked at her with such an intensity that she couldn't help but freeze.

  Ben knew the truth. She didn’t even have a class. She, like most other people, was level 0. She would be a liability. He didn’t have the time nor the patience to argue with her.

  “For once in your life, just do what I say,” Ben said.

  Sarah wanted to argue but given the situation, she begrudgingly conceded. She balled her fists and shook in frustration.

  “Then just be sure to come back safe. We need you, Ben. Now more than ever,” Sarah said.

  Ben nodded silently and sprinted up the stairs, leaving Sarah and Tim behind. Sarah could only watch helplessly as Ben disappeared into the night.