TAKE ON ME [Survival LITRPG Apocalypse]

Tom closed the Dungeon prompt and shut his eyes. He tried to exhale the jitters. Behind him, the boulders sealed off the entrance to the Headless Dungeon with a loud, permanent-sounding thunk.

Even though he knew—rationally—that the Dungeon should be easy, he couldn't shake the memory of Chloe limp and cold in his arms, or the way the Boss had nearly broken Kate's back. He was trying, but the memories didn't just disappear because he wanted them to.

He forced the thoughts away, and shook his head.

I'm not 'hit-the-brakes, hold-the-team-back' Tom anymore. Now I'm . . . 'full-steam-ahead' Tom.

He winced at his analogy.

The torch was right where he remembered it: wedged in the wall, just inside the tunnel mouth.

Behind them, the walls began to move. At first, it was a faint grinding, like gravel sliding around in the bottom of a bucket. Then it grew louder. Stalactites and stalagmites pushed out from the stone. The tunnel was closing in, squeezing them forward.

Tom grunted, set his jaw, and moved forward.

His plate boots echoed on the stone. His torchlight bobbed.

The tunnel was shorter than he remembered. He ducked beneath a low-hanging formation, and stepped out into the first cavern.

Team Two had said there would still be ten waves, just all Level 1. No problem. They would keep the waves spaced out, just like the Deep Woods.

Tom flinched as Bo hissed in his ear.

"Look! Up there, on the wall!"

Tom followed Bo's finger toward a blue, ghostly glow. A magical camera lens poked through the rock.

"Caretaker Epic is here," Bo whispered, his hands twitching. "We gotta do something big to get another reward. We fucked up the Spider Dungeon and—"

"We did NOT mess up the Spider Dungeon," Tess cut in. "It was strategic. Sorry he didn't think us fighting a giant Spider monster was epic enough."

Bo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay, but we need something bigger this time. He's not gonna keep showing up if we're boring."

Chloe's forehead creased under the glow of the torchlight. "How do we make a fight at Level 1 epic?"

Bo spread his hands. "I don't know, but we need to kick some ass. Be memorable."

For half a heartbeat, a spectral blue hand poked through the cavern wall and gave them a thumbs-up.

"See!" Bo said, pointing.

"Tess, you said that Team Two triggered the waves by pushing deeper in?" Chloe asked.

Tess nodded. "Yeah . . . " Her eyes widened. "Oh. Right. Okay. We push forward together, fast pace, mow these things down as fast as they spawn. We don't stop moving until the Boss is dead."

"Like a speed run?" Amber smiled. "We're gonna spank this place."

"Exactly," said Tess. "No slowing down. Tom, you're going to be way, way ahead. Don't forget the spear traps in the tunnels. Kate, you're after him, and . . . go wild. I'll go next. Finn, hands on my back, you push me forward as fast as you can: you set the pace. Loo, you're right behind Finn. Drop a [Mana Spring] in Room 2, and a [Mana Brook] in the Boss room. Chloe, you're after Loo. Then Mom, then Richard, then Dad. Amber, you cover the rear."

Everyone nodded.

Tess looked at her father. "Dad, you got something good to play?"

Bo nodded. "Good to go."

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Tess turned to Tom. "How about you, Tom?"

Tom felt the old urge to argue; to suggest a safer plan. But he swallowed it.

"Ready," he said, and touched the [Tank's Sacrifice] spell in his mind, just to be sure it was ready.

Tess lined them up. "All right. Tom and Kate, get us started. Everyone else, ten seconds behind. We're counting on the ranged area of effect damage to do the heavy lifting. Go hard, team."

As Tess spoke, Hana reached into her backpack and swapped out bone arms. The green orb of [Radon Light] formed over her head, casting her face in a witchy glow. The spell seemed larger and more powerful than before.

"Okay, Tom. Let's go!" Tess said.

Tom took a breath, then stepped into the room.

A prompt appeared at once: [Room 1 of 3: Wave 1 of 10 approaching.]

The screeches of Headless Pygmies started up, echoing in the darkness, but Tom didn't slow. He barreled forward.

Prompts flashed in his vision: Wave 2, Wave 3, Wave 4, all the way to Wave 7, as he plowed through the center of the cavern. Behind him, Kate must have already shifted; her growl was a deep, guttural rumble that bounced off the cavern walls.

The first wave reached him. Tom swung his Flail in a wide arc, the heavy ball pulverizing three Pygmies at once. They shrieked and folded, limbs snapping at wrong angles. He raised his Shield and absorbed wild, clawed swings. They barely registered. The Headless were so low-level compared to him that it was like swatting mosquitoes.

Kate roared again, this time right behind him. The force of it made Tom's ears ring. He risked a look back. She was massive and angry, and she was tearing through the Pygmies.

Tess and Finn had emerged from the tunnel, and Hana's [Radon Light] floated high, painting the whole battlefield in radioactive green.

At the end of the line, Bo emerged and started singing. Not just singing, but performing. He gave a spin, and a kick, and swung his hips as the opening notes of [Another One Bites the Dust by Queen] bounced off the cavern walls, drowning out the shrieks.

A dozen Pygmies to Tom's right suddenly sprouted flashing red icons over their heads as Hana's [Contagion] spread [Sickness] and [Infection] in an uncontrollable biological blaze. The monsters started hacking and coughing. Some collapsed outright.

On his left, [Paranoia] swept through the ranks. The Headless screamed in terror, clawing at their own bodies, many convulsing and flopping to the ground from [Heart Palpitations] and [Tachycardia] damage.

Richard hurled [Fireballs] deep into their ranks, like a quarterback throwing a desperate Hail Mary football pass. Each one exploded in a tight burst, sending up buckets of monster blood and roasted Pygmy bits.

The Headless didn't stand a chance.

"Keep pushing forward, Tom!" Tess shouted.

Wave after wave collapsed against them, but the party's health bars barely budged. The only real danger was running out of targets.

Tom smiled. They were dominating.

By the time the tenth wave popped, Tom was most of the way across the room. He kept pushing forward, knocking aside four monsters at a time with his Shield, and trampling them underfoot as he made for the exit tunnel.

Behind him, Bo continued to rock, but he had shifted to a high-step marching dance, belting out the chorus as he spun and kicked at the air.

Amber—clearly bored in the back—laughed and joined in Bo's dance, doing her best to mimic it.

A lone Pygmy screamed and broke through the chaos.

The magical camera pushed farther out of the wall, leaning out as it tracked the Pygmy.

It sprinted for the group. Amber let out a delighted whoop, triggered her [Show Off] spell, and launched into a string of backsprings. She flipped up and over the monster, moving so fast Tom's eyes could barely track her; she delivered a [Slice], [Slice], [Slice], [Stab], [Slaughter].

It was definitely overkill. The thing managed a single, multi-mouthed, pitiful whine before its body just . . . fell apart, its pieces scattering everywhere.

When Bo hit the chorus, he made a finger gun and pointed at a Pygmy that burst into flames, then at another that clutched its chest and dropped from a heart attack, and finally at a third that simply withered and collapsed under a [Sickness] spell.

Bo blew imaginary smoke from his finger as he spun and danced.

Tom snorted. It was gory as hell, but—for the first time in forever—he let himself feel . . . enjoyment? Well, he wouldn't go that far. Maybe just a little less freaked out.

He pressed into the next tunnel, making a point to stomp on every inch of floor he could reach, triggering the spear traps. They sprang out at him, but the iron tips barely scratched his armor.

It was so scary here last time . . .

But now, at Level 5, Tom and the team were an unstoppable force.

They reached the second room. Another wave of Pygmies spawned. This time, Tom didn't even bother to slow down. He just waded through them, screaming, swinging his Flail, drawing their attention. He kept pushing forward, leaving the rest of the team to mop up the mess.

Kate barreled through, crushing anything in her path. Tom wasn't sure if a bear could laugh, but he was pretty sure she was; she made a loud chuffing sound between attacks.

Three or four Pygmies tried to ambush the casters. Tess intercepted, slapping away their strikes with [Riposte] and [Parry]. She cut down two, then deflected the others toward Amber, who finished them off.

Since they were in Room 2, Tom paused for a moment as Loo danced in place, blue and silver motes of light swirling around her and the rest of the team. She looked tranquil, and her eyes were closed, as if meditating in the center of a hurricane.

The team's buffs shimmered above their heads like Christmas lights strung in a tight knot.

Tom glanced over the status bars. For once, not a single injury. Not even to himself.

All right, fine. This is kind of fun!

They barreled down the last tunnel. Tom stomped on every section of floor, setting off every trap in their path. Bo's music thundered behind them, echoing down the passage. The camera in the ceiling glowed brighter as they entered the Boss chamber.

The Boss was a slightly larger version of the other Level 1 Pygmies, hunched and drooling from its many mouths.

It was nothing compared to the Level 4 they'd fought the first time.

Tom didn't hesitate: he charged—Shield up—and slammed into the creature with everything he had.

The Boss flew backward at least ten feet, screeching and flailing its arms.

"Knock it over here, Dad!" Loo shouted, her ability icons flickering above her head. A heartbeat later, the entrance erupted in a spray of red jellyfish.

Tom hauled the Boss upright, dragged it into position, and hammered it again with his Shield, aiming for the opening.

The monster tumbled backward, straight into Loo's spell. The jellies engulfed it instantly. The Boss lasted around five seconds before collapsing into a twitching, shrieking heap.

"YES!" Loo shouted, pumping her fist.

The Boss vanished.

Two loot chests crashed to the ground: one banded in Copper, from the Level 1 Boss; the other banded in Iron.

Bo whooped and ran forward. "God, I hope one has Upgrade tokens. We need those so fucking bad."

But as he reached for the Iron chest, it shimmered and downgraded to Bronze. The lid opened, revealing a pile of Upgrade tokens.

"No . . . wait . . . I take it back!" Bo shouted at the ceiling. "What was in it when it was Iron? Something [Standard]?!"

But Caretaker Epic had already vanished.

Tom let out a long breath. He looked at his family: Kate, who had shifted back to human form and was laughing as Loo picked monster bits out of her hair; Chloe, already dissecting the run with Tess, plotting how they could be even faster next time; and Amber, still laughing and dancing with Finn, even though Bo had stopped the song long before.

Laughter and smiles: it had been a while. He closed his eyes, and let the feeling soak in.

"Told you it'd be fun," Amber said to him.

Tom didn't totally disagree.