Apocalypse respawn

In a cramped, cold cellar, a group of people who had just removed their hoods gathered around a wooden table, exchanging glances. The only light source was a tallow lamp casting dim, orange rays across everyone's face in the room. A large wooden plank had been nailed over where light iron bars bore down on the pavements above.

'I should have expected such a team.' thought Rargnes

Of the five people before him, Rargnes recognized only three: his father-in-law, Luan, Jean, and Mei, a soldier. The remaining two were unknown locals.

"We'll be working as a team tomorrow," Luan whispered. "What are your skills and equipment?"

Noticing the others' hesitation, his father-in-law continued, "I'm skilled with a spear and shield. I can wield a sword if necessary. I only have my helmet and an energized spear, so I'll need several shield recharges. For the rest, I wear chainmail up to my neck, a twenty-layer gambeson, and iron greaves."

He didn't mention the details of his equipment, like his blacksmith's gloves, the knife almost everyone carried at their waist, and other such items.

"I don't have any magic skills, and my energy is standard—not as strong as the frontier fighters, but sufficient. My class skill boosts my strength and speed, allowing me to equip a shield on my left hand at any time."

Most people didn't have classes that temporarily enhanced their strength. Those who did often used them in many wars or kept them hidden.

"Can you equip it on your right hand as well?" Rargnes asked.

"No, everything was fixed at the time of revelation."

So, if he lost his left hand, his class would lose its usefulness—not to mention that this limitation weakened the power. 'But you never know; he might be able to equip any weapon or object to any part of his body.'

Luan looked at the others insistently.

"Fine," Rargnes sighed. "I have an energized helmet, chainmail, sword, and mace. I also have iron greaves, a gambeson, two wooden shields, a spear, a magic staff, and some rudimentary fire, ice, and earth spells, though only fire is combat-effective. I need the staff to cast up to ten attacks, which require some time and distance from the enemy, and it's useful within fifty paces. My energy level is slightly above average, and my class allows me to double my equipment's defense at the cost of one-fifteenth of my attack power."

He lied slightly about his class. At worst, if he had to use it, what could they do? They'd likely be dead if he had to use it, and any repercussions would come after the battle, by which time he'd be with the mercenaries. The worst outcome would be straining his relationship with his father-in-law, but he wasn't opposed to divorce. Using a class upgrade token was a steep price for a bender, but maybe it would be for the best.

"Double?" one of the two strangers asked. "That much?"

"Yes, but I lack protection for my legs… developing a strategy or formation to enhance our strengths and mitigate our weaknesses could be useful."

"A low position, like on stairs, could help protect your legs," Luan suggested.

"Yes, we should think through the battle before engaging," Rargnes agreed. "By the way, do we have any information on the classes of those we'll be attacking?"

"Not all, but I'll share what we know later."

"Do we at least know how many of them our group is expected to kill?"

"The arrangements will be made later, but to avoid raising suspicion, it will be different people from those you've been tailing."

There was a silence that Jean broke.

"Uh, I don't have any energized equipment, I don't know any magic, and the only skill I have is a slight energy boost when I kill someone in the new world, along with a small strength increase."

Then, looking at Rargnes and Mei, the latter translated, and he continued.

Rargnes thought about his father-in-law's class and compared it to Jean's. Both likely used one to three tokens, seven at most, though he doubted it given their effects. The shield class seemed interesting: did it allow the use of any shield size?

Then, he discarded that thought: he had mentioned needing to equip it. It probably couldn't weigh more than he could carry.

"And your equipment?" one of the strangers asked. "And your name, by the way."

Jean looked at Mei, who translated, and he replied, "Ah, it's Jean, and my equipment consists of a bulletproof vest, a helmet, and greaves. I have a shield, but I struggle to use it, and I use a spear."

Rargnes wasn't sure if Sengrar had recovered the technology for energized bullets, but it didn't seem like they planned to use them now. Maybe they'd be useful in one of the last battles when they had enough support to challenge the noble.

No one commented on Jean's more than insufficient strength, and one of the strangers spoke.

"My name is William. I have an energized helmet, chainmail, greaves, and a gambeson. My class grants me resistance."

Mei was next, speaking in a somewhat halting language.

"Mei, my class doubles my energy and increases my strength and resistance by half. I have a gambeson, non-energized chainmail, and helmet. My sword, mace, and spear are all energized."

Though she mentioned a gambeson, she was referring to the bulletproof vest she wore under her chainmail.

"My name is Giltrur. I have an energized helmet, energized chainmail, greaves, and a gambeson. My weapons are an energized spear and wooden shields, and I wield a sword. My class increases my strength."

Soon, they began discussing their strategies.