Silas clung tightly to Charbroilzard, who roared as they began to spiral downward.
“My core suction cups are too strong for your pitiful aerial evasions to work!” Silas boasted.
Everyone groaned with disappointment and hung their heads. We all knew what was coming.
THUD.
Charbroilzard crashed to the pavement. He hit hard but rose to his feet immediately, proving resilient.
Silas still clung to the dragon’s back and quickly broke his other wing.
CRACK.
“Your flying days are done!” Silas crooned. “Who likes barbecue wings? Anyone?”
Charbroilzard roared again and began clawing at his back to remove Silas but his arms were far too short to reach him. Instead, he angled his burning tail up and seared one of Silas’s legs.
“Ouch! Oh, I’ll get you for that, you overgrown gecko!” He deftly crawled higher on Charbroilzard’s back, over his broken wings and shoulders, and up around his serpentine neck.
Charbroilzard reached up to rip Silas off, but the killer Karjok lashed out a tentacle and held the arm firm. Charbroilzard didn’t learn and tried with the other arm, only for the same thing to happen. Soon Silas held both his arms, locking them in place. Then Silas continued constricting around the dragon’s neck.
I winced, knowing what would follow.
“C-Charbroilzard, use Fire Blast!” Kyle_Corgi ordered.
Charbroilzard couldn’t hear him. Its eyes bulged, and its tongue flapped as it strained to get air. Smoke pulsed out of his nose, and his chest began to glow brighter and brighter. His broken wings hung limp, and he couldn’t free his arms. He staggered and strained to no avail.
Then Silas jerked his whole body.
SNAP.
Charbroilzard’s neck hung limp, his body crumpled to the ground, and the flame at the end of his tail flickered out, but the glow in his chest continued to get brighter—unnervingly so.
Kyle_Corgi’s eye twitched, and he stared at me, blank and dead inside—like Charbroilzard.
Silas climbed off Charbroilzard’s back and raised his tentacles in the air. “I am mightier than a tsunami! More powerful than a swirling typhoon! Take note, Shouldérmon, and remember this day! Remember when Silas the Slayer ascended from Hades to bathe in your blood!”
The light in Charbroilzard’s chest peaked, then his body detonated.
An enormous mushroom of fire spewed into the air, and glitter flowed like lava from an erupting volcano. Charbroilzard’s limbs, wings, and tail all scattered in different directions, most of them landing several yards away. I’m pretty sure his head landed somewhere in the bleachers, so some lucky kid got the most metal souvenir in history.
I felt the incredible heat of the explosion on my face, and the crowd reacted in alarm, but I hadn’t taken any damage from the explosion, so I doubted anyone else had, either.
Silas didn’t so much as flinch, let alone turn back for a look at the aftermath of his battle.
When the fires finally died down, a sparkling, smoking crater in the asphalt was all that remained of the tournament circle.
Sync shook her head. “Well, at least it’s over. I vote we never do this again.”
I glanced at the dismayed and astonished spectators, the crying kids, the assorted Shouldérmon remains, and the crater where the. “I think I have to agree with you.”
Alfred announced us as the winners, dismay evident in his voice. We received the promised rewards, and I leveled up twice. I finally had enough AllCash to repair my ballistic vest and maybe buy some ammo or weapons.
“Fair work for fair wages.” Silas beamed at us. “It’s the Karjok way.”
After receiving the biggest payout of my AllVerse tenure, I considered rescinding my vote to never do this again, despite Silas’s wanton brutality. All I had to do was stand there and watch my space octopus eviscerate Shouldérmon, and profit.
Alfred approached the Shouldérmon widows and offered his condolences while giving us the stink-eye.
Silas crawled back to me. “Well, I feel pretty good about how all that went down. We emerged victorious and are free to enter more tournaments. To think I was nervous.”
He climbed back onto my shoulder.
“I suppose so. One thing, though,” I said, “Where was all of that when we were getting blasted by the Godfeathers? Or the fantasy mercenary nerds?”
He furrowed his brow ridge. “What do you mean? I saved your life from the stealth elf, didn’t I? Barnacles, couldn’t you just give me a ‘thank you, Silas’ for winning the tournament?”
He had a point. I was now two levels higher and much richer. “You’re right. Thank you for brutally murdering those kids’ Shouldérmon… I guess. You showed off every bit of your Level-99 status.”
“You’re welcome.” He turned and waved to the kids. “Good battle, cheers, and thanks for the memories!”
They all started crying anew, this time including Kyle_Corgi.
While waving goodbye, Silas leaned in and whispered to me, “They really should get counseling. They’re gonna need it. Trauma is no joke. I—” He belched and held a tentacle up his mouth. “Oof. Sorry. That potato heart’s making me a touch gassy.”
“You’re disgusting,” Sync said.
“Naw, love. I’m sleepy.” Silas stretched his limbs and yawned. “Think I’m due for a nap after all that carnage.”
His eyes drooped, then closed, and little cartoon ZZZs started floating up from him as he clung to my shoulder.
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“I didn’t know he could sleep,” I said. “This is way better than enduring random left-field comments day and night.”
“I’ll have a hard time seeing him the same way after that display,” Sync said. “He’s like one of those cute friendly dogs that’s all lovable and happy… until they see another dog and just want to kill it and anything that gets in their way.”
I nodded. “Hit the nail on the head.”
Sync checked her WHIM. “This is a mess. The Simps keep changing the city around us, and the Data Point moves with it. Lucretia has to be using that to her advantage.”
I arched my eyebrows. “Say, why don’t you be a little proactive here and get some Simps to build you a city? Maybe you can manipulate the trail in our favor and make our lives a whole lot easier.”
“Erik, that’s…” She paused for a moment, as if she’d planned to shoot the idea down and had to reconsider. “…not a terrible idea. That’s actually a really good plan.”
I folded my arms, incredulous. “I didn’t become a multi-millionaire—soon to be billionaire—from having bad ideas. Stick around, babe. There’s bound to be some more good ones. And by ‘some,’ I mean all of them.”
She stared at me for a moment, hands on her hips. “You’re still a self-absorbed casserole.”
“I may be a casserole, but I’m a beef casserole.” I flexed my arms.
Probably one of my dumbest jokes, but I’d stand by it.
She slid her tongue over her teeth, annoyed, but there was something in her aquamarine eyes, like she wanted to laugh at the comment but wouldn’t let herself. Many had tried to resist my charms, and like Shouldérmon fighting Silas, it was a losing battle.
She sighed. “Let’s just go. Spend those points wisely.”
“Keep an eye out while I allocate my points.” I followed Sync while opening the character menu. I had ascended to Level 8 and had six attribute points and four skills to distribute. Instead of just shotgunning what I thought was best, I read the description bubble for each of them as they popped up. It would be better to find out what exactly they affected in-game so I could exploit them.
| Strength: Improves the amount you can carry, your unarmed and
melee attack power, the size of the melee weapons you can wield,
and unlocks access to higher-tier Strength-based skills such as
Mighty Blow, Heave, etc., depending on your Game/Class.
| Speed: Improves movement speed and attack speed, and unlocks
access to higher-tier Speed-based skills such as
Reflexes, Flurry, etc., depending on Game/Class. |
| Endurance: Improves stamina, sprinting/running distance,
duration of breath hold, and total maximum HP.
Unlocks access to higher-tier Endurance-based skills such as
Revenant, Long Haul, etc., depending on Game/Class. |
| Agility: Improves chance of evasion, jump height, and ranged weapon damage.
Unlocks access to higher-tier Agility-based skills such as
Acrobatics, Mile-Shot, etc., depending on Game/Class. |
| Intellect: Improves the amount of XP gained on mission completion, grants greater crafting perks,
and allows access to unique information and map markers.
Unlocks access to higher-tier Intellect-based skills such as
Jury-Rigger, Chemist, etc., depending on Game/Class. |
“Whoa, wish I’d stopped to check that earlier,” I muttered, entering four points into Intellect right away, bringing it to fifteen. The higher it was, the faster I’d level.
| Negotiation: Improves dialogue options and affinity gained with NPCs, grants more favorable buying and selling prices,
increases the number of NPC companions a Player can have, and increases the amount of damage NPC companions inflict.
Unlocks access to higher-tier Negotiation-based skills such as Silver Tongue, Influence, etc., depending on Game/Class. |
| Luck: This stat has a minor effect on everything you do.
Wanna try yours? |
I added one point to Negotiation, bumping it to 12 because everything in the AllVerse was expensive, including a stupid sea breeze mocktail. I put the last point into Speed, bumping it to 15.
Next, I searched the sea of skills, many of which were greyed out because my level was still too low. Just like exercise, I reasoned it was better to build the basics.
Out of curiosity, I checked some of the Intellect-based skills for Level 15 and above. It definitely seemed worth investing, even for Rickshaw Riot. I could eventually repair my own gear and create mods for the rickshaw.
“Weapon modification? This thing can have weapons? Yes, please.”
As we hurried through the ever-shifting SimpCity, I put two of my four skill points into Opportunist, bumping the XP and AllCash boost to six percent at Tier 3 of 5. I put the other two points into Scrounger, elevating it to Tier 2 of 5, and Toughness to Tier 3 of 5.
“Uhh, gotta fetch ’em all… can’t let one little Cryduck get away…” Silas murmured in his sleep.
I winced, wondering if I should be concerned.
Navigating a city that could literally change in an instant made the trip way longer than it needed to be, but we eventually made it back to Trisha and her clique by the poolside. It was one of the city’s few unchanging areas, and I wondered if the SimpCity girls were truly content with it how it was or if the pool was off-limits from modification as part of the game.
We approached the ladies while I hung back and kept watch for bird men. This was Sync’s time to contribute. Things had been quiet since coming to this section of the city, and I doubted this would last.
I surreptitiously scanned the other SimpCity ladies.
| Glenda – Level 16 Player |
| Game/Class: SimpCity 3 |
| Ashleigh – Level 18 Player |
| Game/Class: SimpCity 3 |
| Danyelle – Level 19 Player |
| Game/Class: SimpCity 3 |
All four were humans, and I assumed their respective Simps running around were Players like them. A fit pool boy with sun-tanned skin and a half-unbuttoned shirt stood by with a cartoonishly large pool net.
| Pool Boy Steve – Level 35 NPC |
| Occupation: Scoops what needs scooping and scoops it well |
| Game/Class: SimpCity 3 |
Trisha wore a scarlet swimsuit and a sun hat with a rose secured in the band, and she sipped a tropical drink. She had all manner of bracelets and a red bead necklace to match her swimsuit. All four women had their chairs facing away from the pool, presumably to catch the artificial sunshine at a better angle.
“Reggie!” she yelled over her WHIM, a feature that seemed to come with the SimpCity game. “You’ll tank the tax bracket if you build zone two industrial there. Just put it on the far edge of town. It’s an ugly desert anyway. Who cares about the native lizards? That’s literally what survival of the fittest means.”
I realized she was sipping a sea breeze cocktail, of all things.
“Once you’re done, be a dear and come back,” she said. “I have some plans for a small shop aesthetic that will be just the cutest downtown attraction.”
Sync took a seat beside Trisha in the pool chair and extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Sync.”
“Pleasure…” Trisha said with a note of disdain, a fake smile, and a limp handshake.
“How does this work? Can anyone play, or do you need to be locked into the game?” Sync asked.
The other ladies all glared at her with a “how dare you disturb us” look, and Trisha sipped her sea breeze.
“Sweetie, we’re the ones playing. Any simp can build your city, as long as he’s a lower level than you.” She pushed her glittery rimmed sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and traced Sync’s form. “If you can find a guy to build you a city… go for it.” She flashed a pouty smile. “Might want to visit an Avatar Station before you try, though.”
The other ladies snickered and sipped their drinks.
I folded my arms and grinned, knowing exactly what was coming next.
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break--Royal Road. They call us the Critical Hitters.
In the desolate desert of the North American Sector, the government harvests the Soul Energy of siblings Eos and Maxima in secret.
When their powers attract the attention of a dangerous criminal organization, their routine lives are shattered. Eos and Maxima must search for freedom and the truth about their past as hostile forces close in.
The answers they seek lie behind one word—!
Occam's Favor
A grizzled ex-mech pilot is drawn back into the Everwar, a decades-long conflict raging across Jupiter’s moonscape.
This time he refuses to fight alone, bringing a crew of misfits and a mech powerful enough to rewrite the war itself.
is a can't-miss power-scaling mech series. Read it now!
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Dungeon Crawler Carl Audio Immersion Tunnel for Soundbooth Theater, and he's the lead writer for the Dungeon Crawler Carl Role Playing Game.
