TAKE ON ME [Survival LITRPG Apocalypse]

"Check your abilities if you can, we might need them!" Bo shouted.

Tom's heart pounded in his ears as he swung his bat wildly at the Pygmy before him. It connected, and the impact reverberated up his arm and rattled his teeth. The monster screamed and held its hands against its busted mouth. Tom had a brief window to access his ability list.

[Dense Resilience]; a passive skill that made him tougher.

Perfect.

He found his second new ability; [Skin Modification].

[Skin Modification: Iron Plate Skin.

Your skin exudes stored liquid Iron, forming into hardened plate armor.]

Fuckin A.

Tom activated [Skin Modification]. The ability flashed, and indicated he had absorbed less than 10% of the required amount of Iron for a full modification. However, liquid Iron seeped from the skin on his hands, forming into partial plate gauntlets and bracers.

The absorbed Ingots.

The sensation of warm liquid metal growing from his skin sent shivers down his spine. He flexed his fingers as the metal hardened around them. He questioned why his hands were protected rather than, say, his face; however, he couldn't deny the sense of safety the armor brought.

"Holy crap, Dad!" Loo called.

Tom nodded, liking the weight of the Iron around his hands.

Kate stepped up next to Tom, her healing aura flowing over him.

With renewed vigor, Tom charged toward the closest Pygmy. He swung his bat. The sound of cracking bones filled the air. Kate followed up with a ferocious swing of her golf club to the back of its leg, also rewarding her with the sound of crunching bone. The Pygmy collapsed to the ground, screaming and thrashing, and Tom continued his attack.

"This one's almost dead!" Sweat dripped down his face onto the Pygmy as he continued to swing his bat with unrelenting force.

Fuck... these gloves are heavy!

As the Pygmy struggled beneath Tom's relentless assault, Kate surged forward, her golf club raised high. With a whistling strike, she brought the club's head smashing down on the creature's spine, silencing its agonized screams. Its body went limp.

With that ferocious hit, Kate had done way more damage than Tom had.

Tom hunched over, trying to catch his breath.

Bo had been kiting his two Pygmy targets this whole time. He didn't engage with them; instead, he screamed and backed up, pulling them in large circles. When one of them turned to chase someone else, he would leap in and hammer it with his golf club to get its attention.

As Tom's breathing slowed, he realized he felt stronger. More capable. He could feel it flowing through him, though he couldn't explain why. He had only felt this way since reaching Level 2.

Maybe we have more buffs!

He needed to get back into the fight, but this could be important. He did his best to 'ask' if there was a list of all the active buffs available. To his surprise, a new tab appeared in the corner of his vision, displaying a list of buffs.

[Wildstrike Prowess: XS.01 increase to critical strike chance. Provider: Kate Damascus.]

[Militia: XS.01 boost to physical fighting skill. Provider: Tess Robinson.]

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In addition, there was the healing buff of Kate's [Regeneration Aura], and his own [Dense Resilience] buff.

We can do this!

Teeth tore into his side. Leathery arms wrapped around his waist. Tom gasped. His momentary distraction had come at a cost.

Idiot!

The creature bit down harder onto his side. Tom braced himself for pain, but it was more of a firm pinch than the excruciating agony he had experienced before.

Thank you [Dense Resilience].

His [Pain Suppression] ability had reduced the sensation to mere pressure. Tom shoved his gauntlet-covered fingers into the Pygmy's mouth and fought to pry it open. The creature screamed and snorted as Tom slowly freed himself.

Kate followed up with a powerful kick that sent it stumbling backward, but the monster quickly regained its footing, and faced off against Tom once again.

"Tess, how many do you see?" Tom' called out.

"I see one headed your way!"

Tom scanned beyond the Pygmy in front of him.

"The large Headless Marauder is feared," Tess continued, "and my Dad is leading two Pygmies around. I'm moving to help him!"

One of Bo's two Pygmies turned its attention to Tess as she approached. It lunged toward her, reaching out its clawed hands, but Tess gracefully stepped back. She dodged out of its reach and slashed across its palms. It screamed and recoiled.

Tom pulled his attention back to the—now two—raging Pygmies in front of him. Their frenzied movements resembled rabid animals rather than thinking creatures. Tom's battle goals shifted closer to his main role as the group's tank.

I need to keep these things off everyone else. That's all I need to do.

That, and not die.

As he faced off against the two Pygmies, Amber maneuvered herself closer. Using one of Tom's wide swings as cover, she executed an aerial roll behind one of the Pygmies, her long dark hair whipping through the air. She pulled her arm back, and a translucent haze traveled down to her hand and into the fireplace poker. The weapon gave off a wavering sheen like a hot asphalt road. Amber thrust the energized poker through the unsuspecting creature.

The Pygmy let out a blood-curdling scream. It toppled over, frantically grasping at the poker embedded deep within its thick skin.

The other Pygmy roared, and lunged toward Amber.

Tom was ready. He would not let his daughter be bitten again. He pushed her aside and took the brunt of the attack.

The Pygmy sunk its teeth into his forearm, and Tom let out a loud hiss. However, thanks to [Dense Resilience] and [Pain Suppression], the initial sting was reduced to pressure. With his free hand, he gestured for Amber to retreat to safety, and he was thankful when she actually did.

Kate rushed in with her extra damage. She raised the golf club high, then groaned with dismay when she realized she had broken the head off during her previous attack.

Since swinging his baseball bat one time, Blake had been a slack-jawed spectator. Kate grabbed the bat from him, not hiding the disgust on her face.

Kate swung with all her strength, and landed a powerful hit on the Pygmy tearing at Tom's arm. The creature released its grip and howled in agony. Kate continued her fierce attack against it, and it slumped to the ground beside its impaled comrade.

A short while later, both Pygmies finally stopped twitching.

Amber crept forward again and tugged at the poker in the Pygmy's back. She used her foot as an anchor and, after a great deal of fleshy squelching, she wrenched it free.

Bo yelled; the Pygmy he had been kiting had managed to catch him. It didn't get a firm grip, and Bo grappled with the creature., Exhaustion was etched on his face. His eyes, however, were fixed on Tess as she faced off against the other Pygmy.

Tom could practically read Bo's thoughts as he weighed the risks of his next move.

Bo shoved the Pygmy away and grabbed his dropped golf club from the ground. He stepped in close and swung hard, hitting the Pygmy's upper right chest, but it did little damage. In that split second, the creature wrapped its wiry arms around Bo's body. Bo dropped the club once again and tried to wrestle free, but the Pygmy's many mouths clamped down on Bo's thigh and side, their sharp teeth sinking deep into flesh and muscle.

Tom shuddered as Bo's screams echoed around them. Tom ran toward Bo, but he was too far away.

My God, he has no [Pain Suppression]!

Finn moved forward to help, but Hana held him back and stepped in front of him. Tess backed toward her father while still facing her Pygmy.

Hana was doing her best to block Finn. She turned her back to him, raised her hand, and conjured a sickly green-yellow ball of light. It hovered directly above her, casting its phlegmy glow downward. Hana stumbled, but she charged forward toward Bo. The sickly light followed, then shone down upon the two Pygmies facing Bo and Tess.

Both Pygmies groaned with obvious damage from the light, but it was not' enough to take them down. Bo screamed and thrashed as his side and leg were gnawed on.

"Bo!" Hana cried out. She cast another spell and threw it at the creature attached to his leg.

The Pygmy slid to the ground and staggered away from Bo, vomiting from its many mouths. At the same time, the color slid out of Hana's face, and she began vomiting herself. Bo pulled himself away from the creature, dragging his injured leg.

"My health bar! It's half gone!" Bo yelled.

Finn rushed over and enveloped his father in healing energy. Bo sighed as his wounds began to magically stitch together.

Both Pygmies trembled and retched beneath Hana's light. Tess charged in with fierce sword strikes, quickly overpowering them.

"Dad! It's loose!" Chloe shouted. She pointed toward the Headless Marauder that she had previously kept locked down with [Fear]. "My spell reached its limit!"

The Marauder charged toward them and threatened to plow into the group. Without hesitation, Tom stepped into its path.

"There is another one coming! Your side, Tom!" Tess yelled.

A huge and muscled figure ran at them from the far end of the street. Its nametag read [Level 2 Headless Marauder: Dungeon Born]. It screamed at them in an unknown language as it charged. It wouldn't take long for it to reach the battle.

Chloe stared down the [Level 1 Headless Marauder: Dungeon Born] in front of her father, her hands pressed against her temples. It wavered and went limp. Its tan skin turned deep red, and its veins bulged with each heartbeat.

Tom didn't know what spell Chloe had cast on it, but it was clearly powerful.

The creature's large tongue flung clumsily toward Tom, but he was quick to catch it in his plated hands.

Amber leaped forward, as graceful as a cat, her poker in-hand. She landed and rolled low, then stabbed its hamstring—shallow yet precise.

As it went down on one leg, the Headless Marauder tried to turn and face Amber, its thick arms reaching for her, but Tom still held its tongue. He yanked the creature back to face him.

Just looking at her child with harmful intent must have been enough to make Kate's [Maternal Instinct] activate. Tom could practically see her muscles swell.

Kate roared, and struck the creature on its back with her bat, driving it forward into the dirt. Amber finished it off with multiple swift stabs to its back.

Tom dropped the creature's tongue.

He positioned himself to face the charging Level 2 that was heading straight for the group. It was larger than a horse.

If Tom sprinted, he could reach the monster before it reached the others, but what could he do then?

There was no other option. He ran at it, letting out a guttural bellow to drown out his panic.

The creature slowed and turned toward him, its enormous muscles rippling beneath its thick skin.