“What the fu—” Sam managed before wrenching the steering wheel in the opposite direction and narrowly missing slamming directly into the beast.
Pete was thrown in the opposite direction as the cabin shifted around him. Coop screamed, flying through the air, her ferret shrill drowned out by the screeching of tires and the sudden cry of metal being shorn apart.
The car jerked back again, and Pete was slammed against the window. This time he had enough time to brace himself and hold up a hand so that he didn’t smash his head a second time.
He caught sight of a blur of black fur and fangs as a huge claw raked the side of the truck and sent the vehicle spinning out of control. Pete’s vision blurred as the truck spun and then righted itself while Sam wrestled the steering wheel under control. She slammed the accelerator pedal down against the floor once again, and the vehicle bucked and shuddered as its back wheels let out a loud shriek.
Now beside the beast, Pete could get a better look at it. The wolf thing was at least half the size of the pickup truck, bristling with dark fur and boasting long spines that curved wickedly from its back like the quills of a porcupine. It might have been a mixture of his injuries and blurred vision, but Pete thought he could make out clusters of large, swollen eyes on the side of the beast as it trotted past. More disturbing still, those eyes seemed to be looking directly at Pete.
“The hell was that thing?!” Sam blurted.
[Nero] Warpspawn. Chimera creatures that are bound together by chaotic magic and chance. It looks like this beast was once a Kalig Warg, but its body and mind have been twisted, bound together with at least two other creatures.
The creature stopped to the right of the truck, arching its back and howling in a classic wolf fashion. The sound of that howl resounded through the intersection, a desperate, haunting complaint that caused Pete’s stomach to churn in response.
While he watched the wolf beast howling beside them, Pete saw a spray of spines shooting out of its mouth, flying into the air by the dozens. They looked like small javelins, pointed at both ends and shimmering with glossy black as they flew into the air and began raining down with destructive power.
“Shit!” Sam shouted, turning the steering wheel sharply to one side as the truck shuddered and bunny-hopped out of the path of the sudden hail of tooth-like projectiles. “Shit!” she repeated as the two-foot spines began crashing down around the truck, hitting with such force that they pierced the asphalt on the surrounding road.
One of the spines slammed into the bonnet, shearing through the metal like it was paper and wedging itself deep into the vehicle chassis. Fortunately, it hit the front left corner of the car and stopped short of penetrating down into the wheel assembly. It had also avoided the engine, allowing Sam to throttle the truck and screech away from the hail of lethal projectiles, leaving the vast wolf behind.
Sam corrected as she got back onto the main road, looking into the rearview mirror of the truck and shaking her head.
“That was damned close.”
Coop crawled out from the rear cabin of the truck, shaking her furry head and looking thoroughly disoriented. It was only as she moved back to the front of the truck that Pete realized she had slipped out of his hands during the encounter and flown into the back of the cabin.
“Toast my ass and call me a marshmallow,” Coop hissed, looking up at Pete and sitting back down in his lap. “Next time I’d appreciate it if you could hold onto me, Pete!”
“Sorry. It just all happened so fast.” He grimaced, feeling the crick in his neck and a cascading range of injuries as they swelled all over his body. “Plus, I’m still pretty hurt, you know.”
“Another trip like that,” Coop said, “and I’ll be worse off than you are. Feels like my insides have been turned to paté.”
“Nero,” Sam broke in, “tell us more about those Warpspawn creatures. You said they were a blend of different things?”
[Nero] Correct, Sam. The Mammon System is vast, and it gives rise to an ever-increasing array of magical spells and abilities. Then there are unique classes such as the Penny Pincher class Pete has acquired, a plethora of gauntlet augments, and, of course, the soulbound weapons you will eventually both choose and become bound to. Given such a vast array of magical items and spellwork, it is natural that, from time to time, rogue magical energies converge—eddies or whirlwinds of magical potency, if you will. On occasion, some of those chaotic convergences draw in NPCs and contestants alike and form unpredictable creatures such as the wolf beast you just saw.
“Okay, so they’re kind of random then?” Sam asked.
[Nero] Exactly. They are not controlled by the Mammon System and do not form part of any official quest lines or leveling requirements. It is still possible to gain loot boxes and other rewards by killing the creatures; however, the rewards tend to be unpredictable and can often be just as warped as the beasts themselves.
“Why doesn’t the System just purge them?” Pete asked.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
[Nero] Baron Tongsly Belch, in all his infinite wisdom, decided to embrace the Warpspawn rather than purge them from the contest. They add an element of luck to the competition, acting as wildcards that don’t adhere to the rules of the game, as it were. Given that so many individuals within the Accumulax Dominion bet on the contest, having such chaotic elements only increases the risk and potential gains—therefore, it increases interest in the entire affair.
“You said that before,” Pete went on. “That there are millions of people betting on this competition. That must mean they’re all watching, right? So, the game must be recorded.”
[Nero] Trillions, Pete. As you rightly suggest, the contest is being watched in real time by trillions of citizens throughout the Accumulax Dominion. Each season a new world is scouted, and a new phase of the competition is held. This season, Earth has been chosen.
“Lucky us,” Coop growled.
[Nero] Those with sufficient wealth are able to pick and choose which heroes they wish to spotlight, and they can either support or hinder the efforts of a given player depending on whether it suits their best interests from a financial perspective.
“Hunger Games shit!” Sam barked with a smile. “This thing just keeps getting better and better.”
[Nero] You have yet to reach your first arena, so sponsors are currently unable to directly bolster or hinder your efforts. Once you complete your first arena contest, however, sponsors will be free to choose you as their given hero or villain, at which point they can begin actively assisting or hindering your advancement.
Pete nodded. “So, it’s in our interests to make sure the sponsors like us, right? I mean, we want more people betting that we’ll succeed than fail.”
[Nero] Precisely. But you need not worry yourselves about that just yet. While the citizens of the Acumulax Dominion can already see your activities and some may even have chosen you as potential heroes, the wagers won’t truly begin until you reach the first arena. Should you survive that long, I will be more than willing to tutor you on the ins and outs of the sponsor-hero relationship. For now, though, it seems a deadline has been set for your next quest.
A new update appeared on Pete’s HUD.
>> NEW QUEST: Reach the Novice Arena.
Survive the perils of the Dominion Ultrimax Contest and reach your first arena in one piece…or several pieces if that’s the best you can manage. Either way, you’ll need to step into the arena within the next 48 hours or you will be disqualified. In case you’re wondering, yes, disqualification means death.
QUEST REWARD: Novice Arena Entrance Ticket.
TIMEFRAME: 48 Hours
Pete looked at his gauntlet map, trying to judge how long it would take them to reach the arena site indicated at the top of the map.
“We should be fine,” Sam said, checking her own map. “As long as we’ve got transport, we’ll reach the arena with plenty of time to spare.”
Coop grunted. “Provided we don’t get speared through by demented wolves that vomit spear teeth or cut in half by hobgoblins.”
“And as long as the truck holds up,” Pete added.
Sam rolled her eyes. “The truck’s fine. Trust me, they build these bastards tough, and we didn’t take that much damage. It’s all surface shit which doesn’t matter.”
They drove on for the next few minutes, lost in thought and keeping their eyes peeled on the streets around them. The Warpspawn wolf had come out of nowhere, and Pete found himself wondering how many twisted creatures like that were wandering around the neighborhood. Then there were the goblins and their larger, more brutal cousins.
The streets were lined with buildings all covered with shimmering energy shields just like Pete’s apartment and Coop’s house. It seemed as though the majority of the area was locked off, and Pete suddenly realized that this would be a problem if shopping malls and structures like grocers and fast-food joints were similarly shielded. Sooner or later, they’d need to find food, and that would be a hell of a lot more difficult if most of the buildings were locked down.
Another thought followed quickly after that troubling realization.
“Nero, how many people become contestants? I mean, what kind of percentage are we talking about here out of everyone on the planet?”
[Nero] In a world of this size with approximately eight billion inhabitants, roughly five hundred thousand contestants will take up the gauntlet. The actual number of gauntlets offered is twice that amount, but many of the obelisks go untouched either because the locals are too fearful to approach or because they land in scarcely populated or unsuitable areas.
“Half a million people?” Pete mused.
[Nero] Approximately 0.00625% of the total population. Of course, many of those will die before reaching the novice arena. Typically, the number halves before the contest proper begins. Then, the number of fatalities begins to drop as contestants learn how to utilize the Mammon System to their benefit and as they amass sufficient wealth to acquire a suitable class, core attributes, abilities, armor, and the like. The biggest factor to survival, however, is the acquisition of a soulbound weapon. Those who acquire a weapon and learn to harness its abilities are much more likely to survive and prosper.
“These soulbound weapons,” Sam interjected. “We can only get one of them, right?”
[Nero] Correct. Once the choice is made and you are bound to the weapon, you cannot choose another. Of course, with sufficient coin and skill, you can make a great many adaptations to the weapon, enhancing its abilities and changing its appearance, secondary functions, and the like.
“But we can still use other weapons, though, right?” Pete asked. “I mean normal guns and that sort of thing.”
[Nero] You can, but you won’t want to. As soon as you move past the novice arena, conventional weaponry will be useless against the foes you face.
“What about weapons we take from enemies and whatever we find in loot boxes?” Sam asked.
[Nero] Loot boxes will contain all manner of useful items: potions, armor, gauntlet augments and those that can be applied to your soulbound weapon, scrolls, rare coins, temporary buffs, and bonuses. But you will not find weapons as such within loot boxes. None that you will be able to use, at least. They can be traded for Belch Bucks, of course, as can almost all items found within the boxes. The same holds for items you loot directly from vanquished enemies.
Pete nodded. “So, we need to reach the arena and get ourselves soulbound weapons to have any chance of making it.”
[Nero] That would be your best chance, yes. Though you should know that the game grows exponentially harder with each arena level you reach. You will need to constantly be amassing wealth and using that coin to purchase upgrades. You will have to develop your soulbound weapon, sharpen your spells and abilities, and always strive to grow and increase your fighting effectiveness. This is particularly important before entering a new arena. Time limits will apply, of course, but you would do well to use every available moment to level up prior to entering the arena itself.
“But first,” Coop said, turning to look up at Pete, “you need to heal your ass.”
“Well,” Sam said as the truck started to slow down, “looks like you’re gonna get your chance.”
She pointed ahead to an absurd structure that seemed to be sitting in the middle of a broad intersection up ahead. The metallic rectangle shone with reflected sunlight, sitting at an odd angle while traffic lights to either side flashed the amber signal.
“There’s our Vend-o-matic machine,” Sam confirmed.
Pete breathed a sigh of relief. The medkit was within reach and, hopefully, a chance to stave off death, at least for a little while longer.