Run.

  I had been found, somehow. The familiar three-letter word urging me to escape played on repeat. Any hopes that the apocalypse would deter my pursuers evaporated as soon as the System told me I had a bounty on my head. They'd even found a way to use all this bullshit against me.

  My eyes darted around the surroundings, as if they’d be here already. It was only a matter of time. I needed to see if any of the vehicles at the motel could-

  Bucky barked at me, his paws pressing against my leg as he stood up.

  I blinked away the whirlpool of panic and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.

  “Are you okay?” Sally asked.

  The orc hadn’t heard Bucky’s interruption, but I still looked warily between him and the waitress. “Those… jerkoffs have put a bounty on my head. I need to…”

  Sally rolled her eyes. “You were about to murder a whole village of monsters, and some no-brained gangsters are giving you a panic attack?”

  I winced. There was some disconnect in my mind between my existence within the System, and life I had lived before. Against my nature, I relaxed and calmed. It wasn’t because the waitress had a good point—which she did—but more because I was lacking information.

  There were too many things to be worried about right now. So many that it was easy to let them go, at least until our attack was over.

  Rather than speculate over whether the bounty meant I was now fair game to every other ‘player’ in the world after some gold or not, I sent Bernie a message.

  //Scarlet: Tell Rich I have a bounty on my head. I need all details available.

  //Bernie: Roger that, dear.

  I shook my head and gave Sally a humorless smile. “Corpses always rise to the top, huh?”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s ‘cream’, but you’re not wrong.” She looked at the glowing poison on the tip of her spear. “If you’re not in immediate danger, then we’ve got an itinerary to stick to.”

  “And if I am?”

  “Then we’ll be outlaws together.” She gave me a warm smile that was pretty convincing.

  I rolled my eyes and finished applying the Rat Juice. “Nice pep talk. Remind me to hire you as the angel on my shoulder if we survive this.”

  “There’s a vacancy?”

  “I have a paranoid crackhead on one, and an ego-fueled mass-murderer on the other.”

  Sally nodded. “Probably a good thing I’ll be doing the talking, then.”

  Out of the three of us, she probably had the best chance of making any sense to the orcs. Assuming they were open to diplomacy, at least. Only the cyclops had spoken anything resembling English so far, so my hopes weren’t too high. I gave Bucky a pet before we set off toward the outpost.

  He didn’t look like any of the usual breeds I had seen as service dogs, but he had been able to sense I was panicking and nudged me out of it. Out of all the treasures I had found so far, he was probably the most valuable - in terms of keeping my sanity in check, at least.

  For all the good that was doing.

  “My outside voice is rather meek,” Sally said, as we approached. “Could you get their attention for me?”

  I nodded. The lookout was looking southwest, maybe even watching someone within the camp - so hadn’t seen us get closer. Pretty terrible lookout.

  “Oi,” I yelled. “Friend or foe?”

  Even if they didn’t understand me, we were sure to find out either way now that I had announced our presence.

  The orc turned his head, a sneer across his face as he leaned over the wall to look down at us. “This land belongs to Warchief Redleg. Leave or die.”

  I clicked my tongue and looked at the waitress. There wasn’t much confidence in her expression, which did little but bring back the dread and reminder that I was being tracked and hunted. My hand gripped the axe a little tighter.

  “Under whose jurisdiction is he taking control?” Sally asked.

  The orc grunted. “The edge of our blade is the only law you need abide by.”

  “Ahh,” she replied, before turning to me. “My expert intuition is telling me that they believe they can take whatever they want via might. They are unlikely to give up the outpost without a fight.”

  I whistled. “I’m glad I brought you along for this.”

  Sally pulled a face and looked back up at the orc. “I cast diplomacy! Leave now or we’ll kill you all!”

  The lookout turned from us and shouted something in his own language to whomever was in the outpost. The rest of the orcs, most likely. After a quick back and forth, he returned to us with a wide grin. “Don’t worry, little human. We’re all leaving together right now.”

  “Huh.” Sally tilted her head as she watched the orc dip away from the edge and out of sight. “Looks like I rolled a natural twenty.”

  “You know they’re just coming out to kill us, right? The fact that he didn’t use his bow means they want to have some fun with this.” I rolled my head around on my neck. “Bucky, go stay.”

  The dog woofed some brief disobedience before turning and finding a place away from us to sit. Even though Richard didn’t think Bucky would be able to get the System, I was determined to make it happen. With how active he wanted to be, he’d eventually get hurt… and without the STAR magic, I wouldn’t be able to heal him.

  If he wanted to help me, I’d have to help him first.

  “I’d be slightly more comfortable with actual… armor.” Sally held her spear up readily. “Neither of us are dressed for combat.”

  “So pessimistic all of a sudden.” I stepped in front of her and turned to the left.

  Based on watching the outpost construction, the entrance was around the south side. It wouldn’t take them long to grab weapons, and-

  Ah, here they were.

  I’d seen the look on their faces a few times before. An immature and cruel joy, some excitement over the prospect of bullying or punching down. Amusement at the cost of others. This was the first time it was a group that looked as though they just rolled out of a bodybuilding competition and into a Conan the Barbarian convention. And green.

  All of them were taller than me and far more muscled. Not wearing much in terms of armor, so we had that in common. Despite their confidence, something told me I had higher Morale than them.

  “I’m done with this roleplay encounter,” I murmured to the waitress. “I’m going in. Stay behind and don’t die.”

  We had given the orcs enough time to live. The novel idea of talking to the monsters had worn pretty thin. They were beneath my level. Just pinatas of loot and experience, an obstacle in the way of my progress.

  I twisted all that fear and worry about the bounty into rage and vengeance. An actionable choice, I drove forward with my axe held up. The orcs regarded me with amusement as more of them filtered around the corner of their outpost. They raised their weapons in the front, but by their body language, it didn’t seem that they were taking us seriously.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  A very fatal mistake.

  Deny Life took me close to the first, and I brought Threadcutter up in a sharp upswing. I severed the orc’s arm off at the wrist and ran a deep gouge through his green torso. As I stepped to move past him, Sally’s spear came in and cut straight into his neck.

  Either she was feeling especially sharp, or my Killing Blow had drawn her in.

  There wasn’t enough time to let this thought bloom, as I was already swinging at the second orc. Six of them now had some icon denoting they were slightly afraid of me. Five were still around the corner and hadn’t seen my act of instantaneous murder.

  My attack was deflected, mostly by reflex, but I was still in motion and barreled into the monster. I didn’t expect it to do much to him given the size difference, but the surprise of my kill had him wavering. He stumbled, and I pushed him with the shaft of my axe.

  It gave me enough room to level a wide sweep, probably my last attack while I had the advantage. I cut one monster, giving him Rat Plague, and disarmed a second who was near enough to be hit with the arc. Sally’s spear came in and sliced another orc, also giving them the plague. She backed away, and I was too much of a threat for the monster to pursue her.

  I blocked the swing of an axe; the force vibrating down my arms. Another on my left was trying to flank me. We were nearing the edge of being overrun. My next attack was blocked, and I took a cut across my upper left arm. I kicked out to prevent an overhead attack and received a slash into my side for my efforts.

  An awkward swing of Threadcutter connected with a knee, causing an orc to collapse. I twisted the shaft and punched them with the blunt end of my weapon, then turned just in time to stop a sword from decapitating me.

  One of the sickly orcs flashed red.

  Doomchain extended from my left hand and ripped through the side of their face, the pointed end of the hook piercing through the bottom of their mouth. I pulled and ripped their lower jaw off, then swung Threadcutter one-handed, striking a second shocked orc clumsily. Sally finished another off.

  Things were starting to go-

  I twisted at the last moment, barely blocking the swing of a warhammer.

  [Orc Captain (Level 4 Elite)]

  He hadn’t been there before. I slipped on loose sand and tumbled to the ground, almost dropping my weapon in the process. Two shadowed figures moved toward the waitress while the captain loomed over me. He was a little larger, and wearing a bright red tricorne. Like a pirate captain.

  I rolled to the side as the weighty hammer struck the earth beside me. Back up to my feet, I bared my teeth at the leader of the group.

  Although… group was a bit generous at this stage.

  Stacking two Killing Blow debuffs on some of them had all but frozen them in place. If it wasn’t for the captain being here, I was sure they would have run. The others with only one stack of the fear icon were naturally cautious due to the overall mood of the orcs.

  “Warchief will hear of this,” the captain grunted.

  My eyes went up to the System message telling me that Killing Blow had just hit level 5. I smiled.

  “You okay, Sals?” I called, bringing my axe back up, ready.

  “Yeah.” Her reply had some strain on it, but I took her at her word. The orcs had pushed her back, but she had hit level 3 now and needed to hold her own.

  As for me… I had a little time to kill.

  The captain lunged forward, and I met him halfway. We clashed several times, weapon against weapon. He avoided my wide swing just as I dodged the hefty end of the sledgehammer. Another orc tried to help out but got caught in the fray and Rat Plague struck him hard.

  Killing Blow activated, and I grabbed the back of the interloper's head, pulling him forward into the dagger I now held. Three quick stabs to the face and then a hard elbow as I let him go.

  I turned back to the leader of the failing troupe, with Threadcutter back in my hands.

  The waitress was obscured by a sole orc, some distance behind the captain. They flashed red, even being outside of my normal reach. I allowed the rush of adrenaline and bonus Stamina to take control.

  Instead of moving myself, I heard the growl of Bucky over by Sally. The orc attacking her shook in place, right before the end of her spear burst from the back of his head.

  They had reached the breaking point. Any orc not dead bolted toward the south. The captain feigned an attack, but then pushed me away and made to follow the remnants of his scouting party.

  I dropped my axe as I stumbled and brought out the hook. Another second and he would have been out of my reach, but my wide wing acted like a whip, spinning the hook around his lower leg once before the sharp barbs dug in.

  The captain stumbled and fell forward, dragging me along the sand as he did so. His sledgehammer bounced from his hands, out of his reach. He rolled onto his back, panic in his eyes. Hands pawing for a dagger on his belt. Too slow. I stepped forward and placed Threadcutter straight through his head.

  “This is our world, asshole.” I wrenched my axe away and pulled a face at the escaping orcs. Even with all the desire in the world to kill them, they were beyond me catching them up. I turned to the waitress instead.

  Sally was leaning on her upright spear, breathing heavily. She had a gash across her forehead that was healing up, as well as fresh blood soaking through her shirt on the right side. Beside her stood Bucky. The dog had blood around his muzzle, and was wagging his tail, eagerly awaiting permission to move from position.

  “You both okay?” I asked, as I kneeled down and gestured for him to come over.

  “Peachy.” Sally stretched herself out and sighed. “There were a couple of times where I… acted without thinking, almost.”

  “It surprises me that is uncommon for you.” I pet Bucky on his head as he fussed, full of energy. “Why’s he bloody?”

  “He came out of nowhere and bit the wrist of the orc attacking me, which allowed me to impale their head.”

  I furrowed my brow at the dog. “That’s not being safe now, is it? Feels like… my Killing Blow can also influence those around me.”

  Sally put away her spear and felt around the injury on her head. “Well, I’m not sure how I feel about being a proxy weapon for you. I’m just getting the hang of fighting for myself.”

  She had done well. Fought off two orcs at once with only minor injuries. Deathforged had kept me topped up to full, and the temporary Stamina kept me energized, even now. I looked up at the skill updates to see what the System thought of my performance. Starting with my most important one.

  [Killing Blow 5]

  [New Passive: Killing Chain 1]

  [Fear Effects reduce the HP threshold for Killing Blow activation]

  What the System failed to realize was they hadn’t restricted that to effects only against my target. The more enemies I could labor with fear and panic, the greater chance I had of getting Killing Blow on higher HP amounts. With my axe enchantment… things were coming together.

  [Imposing 3]

  [Deathforged 2]

  [Shroud of Fear 2]

  [Heavy Arms 2]

  [Deny Life 2]

  Mostly just my recently gained Class skills getting a small upgrade. Deny Life had 12 seconds less cooldown. Deathforged restored 6% HP now. Gradual changes. I hadn’t made note before, but I also had Mastery skills for Chain, Dagger, and Fist weapons. All low level as it seemed that my Killing Blow activations didn’t grant much weapon experience, if any at all.

  “All these percentages are nice,” I said. “But it feels like an axe to the head just kills any problem either way.”

  Sally brushed her hands off on her skirt and kneeled down to loot the closest bodies. “How much did Richard tell you about stats and progression?”

  I shrugged and looked down at the captain’s corpse. “I’ve had a few hits to the head, so let’s assume not a lot.”

  “Power, Guile, and Knowledge are mainly offensive stats. Vitality, Stamina, and Morale are mostly defensive stats.” She looked up at me, her tone like she was teaching a stubborn toddler. “In saying that, there are ways to attack with defense stats. Think of them as more of specializations.”

  “Right.” I nodded slowly. “Otherwise Richard would be hassling me to get more Power or something. He’s gambling on the System providing me with ways to make my build work.”

  “Essentially. There isn’t a… wrong way to assign your stats. Assuming you play along with the STAR, it only affects what skills you’ll have available and how effective you are in battle.”

  “But hitting things with my axe still works.”

  Sally rolled her eyes. “For now. He said that both stats and monster strength also tie to the rule of five. You’ll notice actual gains every five stat points, and monsters get more difficult every five levels. So your clumsy axe swinging might not carry you as far after level 10.”

  The unnecessary ‘clumsy’ affix stung a little. Maybe she had a point, though. If I put points into Power then I’d probably unlock more axe or melee attacking skills. By focusing on Morale I was slowly gathering up a host of bonuses to causing fear and capitalizing on that with cinematic executions.

  I wondered how the System would reward someone who focused purely on Vitality.

  Mostly... because I was trying to avoid the notification of messages from Bernie, and all that conversation entailed.

  “Here, loot the rest, hun,” I requested the waitress. “Dibs on the sledgehammer, though.”

  She nodded and went at it. Having an item filter might be useful, to save cluttering my Inventory and brain. While she did that, I stood and stepped away from the aftermath of our fight to look at my STAR.

  //Bernie: He says…

  //Bernie: He doesn’t know what the bounty could mean.

  //Bernie: It’s not done through the STAR System - it’s the Roach’s

  //Bernie: Are there any other details?

  I swore under my breath and pinched the bridge of my nose. Maybe it was on me for expecting the Guide to be omnipotent. He had said himself that he was just a pleb like the rest of us, so flaws were inevitable. I reminded myself that he was doing his best and was probably on our side.

  Part of me still accepted the minor chance he wasn’t.

  I went through my notifications and windows to try to find something about the Bounty. Eventually, after digging up some obscure statistics and other screens I had no interest in viewing, I found that there was something like an email app. Within here was the notification, with more details on my bounty.

  [System Warning]

  [Tier 1 Bounty - Duration 3 day(s)]

  [A Bounty has been placed on your head. For the duration, other Players may see the reward offered above your head]

  [Once per day, for the duration of the Bounty, you will be attacked by monsters seeking the reward]

  [Bounty duration and Tier may be increased by revisiting the nearest Town Board]

  [Reward Amount: 2,000 Gold / Dead or Alive]

  [Bounty Poster: Ricardo ‘Rico’ Wayans]