TAKE ON ME [Survival LITRPG Apocalypse]

Tess exhaled, and dismissed the Deep Woods timer.

She had already made the call that they would use every second of the time between waves, no matter how unnecessary it was, or how impatient people got. Safety, control, no screw-ups. These people were putting a lot of trust in her: all eighty-two of them were coming home alive, and hopefully with an extra level.

"Okay, head in!" Tess hollered to the army. "Follow Lord Damascus! It's just a short walk. Go till you reach a rocky bluff on your left, and stop when you see it."

The crowd . . . no, the soldiers, shuffled forward, boots crunching on the frozen leaf litter, armor and [Crappy Weapons] clanging. Several of them hesitated as they read their updated [Deep Woods] prompts. Some even stopped entirely, muttering about the timer.

"C'mon, we only have fifteen minutes to get in position. Let's see some hustle!" Tess barked. "Trapper unit, come see me please!"

Five figures peeled out of the throng. Heather the [Cook] and a dark-skinned, soft-spoken man with crow's feet stepped forward. The other three hung back a few steps.

"Hi, Heather. Hi, erm . . . sorry, I apologize. What's your name?"

"Hello, Lady Tess," he said. "My name is Rahul."

"Nice to meet you, Rahul. All right, you guys are up. What traps do you plan to deploy?"

Heather held her hand up. "I set pitfall traps. Each one takes about three minutes to magically build. If anything gets close to them, they get a poison-gas poof to the face, and fall into the trap."

Tess nodded. "Nice. How long does the gas linger? Can it hurt us?"

"Maybe ten seconds, and I'm not sure . . . I haven't tested that part yet."

"Okay. In that case, make sure you build your traps far enough away that nothing can backfire. How about you, Rahul?"

Rahul cleared his throat. "I . . . build burrows." He looked sheepish. "I can make small tunnels, and my skill—[Gnashing Wardens]—summons . . . well, they look like gophers, but they're not. They are much meaner, I swear. They swarm and bite the crap out of anything that steps near the hole."

Tess smiled. "People have a lot of weird abilities. I bet the gophers are great! I'm looking forward to seeing them."

The trapper team would also deploy magical razor wire and ear-popping sound bursts. They also had a trapper whose traps did no damage but applied an assortment of debuffs.

Yep. I'm already regretting not using these people sooner.

"All right, good. You five go east of the bluff. Work together, and set as many traps as you can in ten minutes. Make sure to set them far enough away that the army doesn't take any friendly fire. Be careful, and be fast."

They nodded and broke off.

Tess kept pace with the army's main body, drifting up and down the column, checking gear, and barking encouragement or threats as needed. Every minute, she checked her [Battle Map] and the raid interface, tracking each dot.

The group rounded a bend and the bluff loomed on the left. Tom called a halt up ahead. The army shuffled into a rough semicircle, with weapons held at the ready, and eyes darting to every shadow.

"Nine minutes!" Tess shouted. "Recheck your gear, hydrate, pee if you need to." She glared at a few people who'd already started to drift. "Don't go too far!"

Tess pulled up her raid interface and began to issue formation and movement orders to the battle masters.

People walked through each other's units, causing formation problems and 'traffic jams' all over the place. Tess sighed and made a note for more movement drills tomorrow.

It had taken way longer than it should have, but finally Tess strode back and forth in front of the assembled Raintree army.

She cleared her throat. "Okay, listen up! Our average level is three. That means Wave 10 will be eighty-two Level 8 monsters."

A few people muttered: others exchanged worried looks.

"Don't worry," Tess yelled. "We're not staying for that. Keep in mind, though, that's the eventual goal. But that's for another day. Today, we start small."

Amber's voice rang from the back. "How many waves will we stay for?"

Amber was not assigned to a unit and was under Tess's direct orders. Tess had agreed with Amber that she was better used for tactical hard-hitting strikes rather than burning through her stamina just killing normal monsters.

"I didn't mean to stick me in the back of the army and forget about me!" Amber had said when Tess told her the news.

"Listen, you need to be free for immediate and decisive action the second I give an order, okay? I want you hanging in the back so you're not tied up in any fights. I give the order, and you become my heat-seeking missile."

Amber hadn't argued; she just gave a sad thumbs–mostly-up.

"We will be staying for several waves," Tess shouted in answer to Amber's question. "Because of our current average level, the first four waves will be Level 1 monsters. That's easy. We stay for all of those. After those, I'll make a judgment call. Everyone, pay attention! Trust your orders, and trust each other. Many of us have done this before against the Headless waves, and now we're even more organized. Piece of cake!"

Six minutes. Tess took a second to scan her [Battle Map], confirming each unit's position. A few dots were still drifting, but she trusted her battle masters to keep them in line. She paced along the edge of the formations, feeling the jittery energy.

She walked past the band. "Hold your songs unless told otherwise. We will not be wasting your mana on Level 1's."

She stopped at the edge of the archers' line in front of Eric and Sophia. Sophia was adjusting the fletching on her arrows.

"You guys good?" Tess asked.

Eric nodded. "Solid."

"We won't miss," said Sophia.

Four minutes on the clock. Tess moved to the 'off tanks' and other units.

The Deep Wood's ambient noise faded to silence: so silent it pressed on Tess's eardrums. She felt like a bug in a bottle. She joined her army's formation, and positioned herself near the center on the elevated spot where Tom had tanked the zone the previous day. Today, the battlefield had expanded significantly.

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The soldiers erupted into cheers as the countdown timer ticked away.

Final check.

Tess and the army faced east. To her left, the spell-casting unit used the bluff wall for cover. To her right, the off-tank unit stood ready to intercept flankers, with melee fighters behind them. At the very rear, the trappers—sheltered by the bluff—would reset their traps between waves. Her Dad and the band took the back middle. The stealth and skirmisher units hid in the trees. Ahead was the main tank unit, and Loo, Amber, Finn, and Jill were also in position.

Chill and just take it easy with the first wave. No moving parts. Just dip a toe in the water. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

They would handle the first wave by maintaining positions and allowing the archers and spellcasters to eliminate the enemies, while the tank line held them back.

Tess's pulse slowed. Her vision narrowed. The world shrank to this place, this moment, these people.

She looked at Amber, who gave her a wry smile.

Tess grinned back, and then the timer hit zero.

The ground vibrated; just a soft rumble at first, then building to a deep pulse that rattled armor and made teeth clack together.

Tess snapped her hands up. "Steady!" she shouted. "Stay in formation. Don't panic. Remember, it's just Level 1's!"

From the treeline, dozens of dark shapes lumbered into view. Tess squinted at one of the icons: [Midwest Plant Shambler Level 1: Deep Woods Spawn]. The monsters were deeply hunched bipeds, with legs as thick and straight as an elephant's. They didn't appear to have arms. Their torsos were bent so far forward that Tess couldn't see their faces, only the tops of their heads. The creatures were weighed down by giant mats of moss and clumps of ferns on their backs. Some had racks of twisted, branch-like antlers sprouting from the sides of their heads and backs.

The monsters did not roar, or even make a sound. They just advanced: very slowly.

Finn's voice cut across the battlefield. "Look at those things! Maybe I can HARVEST plant material!"

"Ohhh interesting, Finn! Maybe we—"

"Not now, guys!" Tess barked at them.

Tess gave no verbal command; she issued an order to all battle masters, telling them to hold their units in position. She then issued the order to the ranged units' battle masters to fire.

The first volley of arrows sliced through the air, embedding in the lead Shambler's thick body and legs. It jerked, staggered, and collapsed without making a single sound.

"Spread your shots out, archers! That was overkill!" Tess yelled. "Casters, what are we waiting on?"

A rainbow of magic erupted. A swath of monsters died under the onslaught.

The first Shambler hit a trap. There was a pop, like a party favor going off, and a cloud of green gas exploded in its face. The Shambler shuddered, then toppled sideways, pulling two others with it into a pitfall trap.

More monsters continued to push forward through the trap zone, but the ground erupted in a cloud of orange magical gophers. They shrieked and swarmed over the closest Shamblers, biting with monstrously oversized buck-teeth.

Twice more, a mix of arrows and spells flew overhead.

Thirty seconds after the first monster appeared, the clearing was quiet. The ground was littered with twitching, burning, or leaking Shambler parts. Not a single monster had come close to reaching the frontline.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Then a cheer went up.

Tess scanned the army. The few Level 1 members Tess had accepted onto the expedition called out as they leveled up. Those around them whooped and high-fived them.

Tess checked the timer. Fourteen minutes and twelve seconds until the next wave.

"Reset, reload!" Tess called. "We're just getting started."

The army responded with another cheer.

The timer ticked down, and Tess walked the lines again, checking in with each battle master.

The army was buzzing with anticipation, but Tess forced herself to wait the full fifteen minutes before the next wave.

The trappers reset their lines, swapping jokes as they returned.

The timer hit zero, and the second wave came right on schedule. This time, Tess added the movement of the heavy-hitter squad to the right flank, and she deployed the stealth unit to move up the left side. They were camouflaged beneath the low branches, ready to pounce.

The monsters were the same as before: [Level 1 Midwest Plant Shamblers]. This time, Tess had the archers and casters hold fire a little longer, letting the monsters cluster before the barrage hit.

The result was spectacular. The first volley dropped over half the wave, and the second finished off the rest. The tanks never even lifted their shields.

Third wave, same plan, but Tess had the heavy-hitters rotate left and the stealth unit right: mostly just getting in some formation and movement practice.

This time, she ordered the spellcasters and archers to fire only on her mark. She had them hold their fire till the wave entered the trap zones. The barrage hit with perfect timing; the Shamblers were wiped out in one volley.

More 'level-ups' whooped in the army, some calling out their new spells. People cheered and pumped fists.

Brad screamed, "It's an experience buffet! Eat up, everyone!" He pulled up his shirt and the mouths on his stomach all went 'nom nom nom'. The town seemed to be growing used to the mouths; they laughed, and a few people gave Brad a slap on the back.

Tess heard Amber from somewhere behind her. "This sucks! Four waves of Level 1's? We're never going to level!"

The monsters that had died during the first wave finally dissolved and dropped their loot.

"Crap!" Finn said. "It doesn't look like they drop [Plant Material] either!"

Wave 4 was still all Level 1's, and they went down even faster.

Tess walked the line, checking faces. What she saw was confidence. She sent off the trappers, and brought the battle masters in for a huddle.

"This is Wave 5," she said, her voice low and even. "We're going to see a jump in difficulty. Wave 5 is always one level less than the group's average, so these will be Level 2's. Same monsters, just probably more hit points. We keep the same plan, but get ready for a longer fight. I get that those Level 1's died fast, and Level 2's don't sound scary, but a big chunk of our own army is also Level 2, so these waves are dangerous. Don't get cocky."

The battle masters nodded. Tess spent most of the remaining time going over tactics and tweaks with them.

She checked the timer. Two minutes left. Through her [Battle Map], Tess flicked an order to the band, signaling for a song on the next wave. Her father caught her eye, nodded, then pointed to Bridget.

The wave spawned. No Bosses, no Rare monsters: which was good, because it was noticeable right away that the Level 2's had much larger health pools.

A red glow caught Tess's attention. The fire tattoos on Bridget's arms began to pulse and brighten. Bridget looked nervous. But when she strummed her guitar, and the musical blast of [So What by Pink] hit Tess, Bridget's nerves seemed to melt away.

The monster wave lasted longer.

The archers and spellcasters worked together, their battle masters calling shots and alternating spells.

Bridget's fire tattoos flared with each chorus, sending ripples of magic through the army. The buff [Get in a Fight] added an XS.08 buff to damage.

The tanks raised their shields as the monsters approached.

It took six volleys and the full trap field to kill all eighty-two monsters, but once again none of them lasted long enough to reach the tank line.

Bridget's song ended in a surge of energy. She had been a mess since the Blake incident at the Town Hall, but now her smiling face was streaked with sweat and tears.

Tess saw her Mom break formation for a moment and wrap Bridget in a hug, whispering something Tess couldn't hear.

Bridget gave a small laugh and wiped away a tear.

Tess counted heads. Everyone was still standing, there were no problems, and no one had even taken a hit.

The wave hadn't been a challenge, but on the flip side they hadn't destroyed it as fast as Tess had been expecting either.

"We're doing more, right?" Amber called from the back. "I haven't even had to move yet!"

Tess checked her raid interface. All of the soldiers were now Level 2 or 3. Richard was the only Level 4. The Damascus and Robinson families were Level 5.

Level 2's and 3's wouldn't cut it when the monster wave arrived in Foundation, and her own Level 5 group wouldn't cut it versus the giant. Tess had to push for more. The next wave would be a heck of a lot tougher, but they could handle it.

She took a breath, and made the call.

"We're staying for the next wave."

Tess spent the remaining time going over plans with the battle masters. "Listen, Wave 6 makes a big jump. We go from Level 2 monsters to Level 4. We're going to need everyone for this."

On her way back to the mound, Tess pointed at the band. "We need another song." Then she pointed at Loo. "[Mana Spring] this wave. I want the silver things that buff ability power."

The timer hit zero.

The ground shook.

The monsters looked the same, but this time they didn't shamble: they crashed through the trees, bigger and meaner than before. The new version of the Shamblers—[Level 4 Tough Midwest Plant Shamblers]—headed for the army.

Tess glanced at Loo, who nodded—her jaw set—and launched into her movements.

A few seconds later, Loo looked like she had been dunked in water. Millions of sparkling blue lights spiraled out of the ground below her, which were chased by glowing silver sparkles. The lights spiraled outwards, sticking onto the spellcasters and archers. Tess watched as mana bars surged, their eyes lighting up as the buff hit.

Brad had pulled his shirt up to his chin as he strutted around in circles, his many mouths chanting [Till I Collapse by Eminem]. Brad's mouths were a Dungeon ability and his buff was massively strong: it applied an XS.57 boost to morale and defense. It was the biggest buff Tess had ever seen.

I need to get a Dungeon ability for everyone.

The rhythm and energy were infectious, and the entire army started to stomp and chant along, their feet pounding in time.

Tess assigned her mental orders.

"Archers, ready!" Eric called, his voice sharp.

A moment passed.

"Release!"

A wall of arrows and magic hit the Shamblers.

Some staggered, and some burst into flame, but all of them kept coming.

The wave advanced through another two volleys of attacks. Some—but not many—finally died as they hit the trap field.

"Crud," Tess muttered. "Tanks, brace!"

Tom roared from the front, and the tank line crashed their shields against the advancing creatures. The collision shook the earth beneath Tess.

The Shamblers extended four long branch-like arms that had been hidden beneath their hanging moss. They reared back and brought their arms down onto the defensive line. The impact was strong, but the tanks stood firm.

Per Tess's orders, the off-tank unit sprinted in to catch the Shamblers that were spilling around the southern edge of the main tank unit. The stealth and skirmisher squads flanked, harassing at the monster line from the north side of the battle. And—finally brought to bear—was Tess's heavy-hitting melee unit as they crashed into the Shamblers' southern flank.

The battle was intense. Spells and arrows zipped overhead, people screamed and swung weapons, and the smell of burning moss and ozone filled the air. Tess's heart hammered as she tracked every moving piece, calling out orders and shifting targets on the fly. The Shamblers were big and strong, but they were not smart. The tanks held the line, the damage units whittled them down, and the healers and support kept everyone standing.

After almost ten brutal minutes, the last Shambler fell, splitting open like a rotten log.

Tess checked her raid information. They had spent some serious mana and stamina to burn the creatures down, and that was with Loo's buffs. Everyone was cheering, but Tess was not happy with how long it had taken. In fact, she was disappointed.

Is the army's damage lacking? Is it our low levels? Is it a weapons issue?

Possibly . . . they were using [Crappy] items, after all.

Or maybe I didn't bring enough damage dealers? Did I play it too safe and the army is incorrectly balanced?

Tess took a breath and raised her voice. "I think we should call it here! Gather up loot and—"

A woman from the off-tank group—the same one who had defended Tess at the Town Hall—cut her off. "Please, Tess. We should stay! At least for one more wave. We need more levels!"

"Heck ya!" Amber hollered.

Raintree's soldiers glanced at each other; what began as a quiet murmur soon swelled into a thunderous cheer to remain.

Wave 7 would be eighty-two Level 5's. It would probably also introduce a second type of monster; the [Ozark Beetle] waves had introduced the variant [Nest Guard] to the battle.

Plus, with the chance to spawn a Boss or a Rare, it was far riskier than Tess wanted to get that day. However, with only three days left, and their top fighters still at Level 5 . . .

Tess decided to push it once more.