TAKE ON ME [Survival LITRPG Apocalypse]

Tom froze. Under the night sky, the bone-chilling squeals of Headless echoed from the woods all around them, growing louder and more frequent.

Oh fuck, that's a lot.

Tom's heart raced in unison with the growing alarm surrounding him. People murmured, their voices tense as they crowded together, pointing into the woods.

"Group up! Defend yourselves!" Bo yelled to the gathered people.

Tom marched back and forth, herding their children into a protective circle. Kate appeared with Amber and Tess, both girls gripping their Bronze weapons.

Tom locked eyes with each of his daughters.

"If this goes bad, you guys bolt." His voice was firm and steady, despite the fear clawing at his chest. "If I say go, you go. Do not stop. Look out for each other."

The kids stared back at him, defiance dancing in their eyes, but Tom summoned his best stern look. "You can't argue with me on this." Then he looked at Kate. "You too. Be safe. Love you."

His gaze was drawn to the ground; a lime-green arrow directed him to an area just ahead. He shifted position, moving down the hill and to the right. Other members of their group took up their positions in Tess's formation.

Kate's healing buff tingled on his skin.

"Don't worry, Tom," Tess said. "We got this."

God I hope so.

The agonizing minutes stretched on as they waited for the creatures to appear. Their collective breath hung in the cold air like fog.

A mob of Headless creatures burst from the treeline at the base of the hill. Squeals filled the air as at least twenty [Level 1 Headless Pygmy: Dungeon Born] charged the groups of humans from several different directions.

"I'll mark our targets! Prioritize them!" Tess called out.

Small red skulls appeared next to the nameplate over the closest Headless.

A bright yellow-green glow shone in Tom's periphery, and he risked a glance behind him. Hana had cast [Radon Light]. The Headless monsters entered the light and stumbled, their grotesque mouths all retching. Hana was pale, but she kept up the spell.

Tom stepped forward, gripping his bat tightly. He yelled at the creatures, trying to draw their attention toward him and away from his family. He swung his bat, hitting a few of them, and causing just enough threat to pull their focus toward him.

Kate followed up behind Tom. She let loose on the closest Pygmy, hitting it hard on its side with her bat. It crumbled with a bone shattering crack.

Chloe added her spells to the fight. There were spell indicators for each of her three damage-over-time spells hovering above the two Headless in front of Tom.

A second later, Kate whomped them down with her bat.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

The Headless that had focused on their group were all dead. However, more Headless were streaming from the woods and up the hill.

Tom risked another glance behind him.

Loo planted her feet firmly into the dirt, straightened her spine, and took a deep breath. She placed her palms together and extended her arms overhead. Her hair whipped around her face, and an icon flashed above her head showing she had conjured a [Mana Spring]. Only Loo could see mana, but Tom assumed it had worked.

"I'm making the stream flow directly through the middle of the group!" Loo yelled, and moved into her next yoga pose.

"Tom, pay attention!" Tess snapped. "Move forward, and watch your arrows! More Headless incoming!"

Tom followed his arrow, moving away from the group and further down the hill.

The Headless swarmed him.

Tom grimaced as teeth clamped down onto his back and legs. He tried to throw them off, but there were too many to defend against.

However, they easily fell—one by one—under the combined onslaught of Amber, Tess, Kate, Chloe, and Hana.

Moments later, almost all of the Pygmies that had attacked their group were dead.

Tess called out another threat. "There's a [Level 3 Headless Boar Rider: Dungeon Born] at the bottom of the hill, and something else big is coming through the woods."

The sounds of fighting reverberated around the hillside. The Boar Rider charged through the clearing below, knocking people aside like dominoes, and trampling those who didn't crawl away fast enough.

Some people tried to access their abilities, placing themselves between the monsters and their family members, and throwing whatever magic they could.

"Helen, over here!" Bo shouted from somewhere on Tom's left.

Helen struggled to pull the two small girls along with her, trying to reach the group before the monsters reached them. She stumbled, and a Pygmy leaped in front of her, blocking her path. Her gray hair wild, Helen screamed and unleashed a bolt of lightning from her fingers. The Pygmy shrieked, spasming on the ground, before Tess finished it off with a swift chop of her Sword.

"I'm healing Tom's bites!" Finn yelled. Tom's Pygmy-bites closed up, but his 'thank you' shriveled in his throat.

A massive [Level 3 Lake Troll Murk Brute: Dungeon Born] crashed out of the trees. The Murk Brute dwarfed even the Troll Lurkers they had seen earlier; this thing was rounder, and easily nine feet tall. It roared, and its enormous tusks glinted menacingly in the moonlight. Its skin was a mixture of dark-green slime, dangerous looking spikes, and random patches of oily matted hair.

We are all fucking dead.

The Troll locked eyes with Tom, and charged.

It was much faster than it appeared.

Hana screamed at Finn to back up.

A glowing blue guitar formed in Bo's hands. The icons for [Autotune] and [Summon Sheet Music] formed above Bo's head. Bo sang; meekly at first. The energetic tempo and beat of [You're the Best by Joe Esposito] rolled across the battlefield.

All the family members turned to look at Bo, along with many others on the hill. Someone from a different group mouthed 'what the fuck'.

Despite their stares, Bo pushed through and sang louder. Other indicators popped into existence above his head, showing a bar chart with columns for [Instrumental], [Vocal], and [Showmanship]. [Showmanship] was at zero.

A new buff flickered to life.

[Best Around: XS.03 increase to dodge and physical damage. Provider: Bo Robinson.]

The Troll crested the top of the hill. Tom stepped forward to meet it.

Holy shit.

The creature towered over Tom. Its stagnant-water stench almost made him gag. It snarled, and swung its massive club at him.

Tom dodged the blow. He swung his bat hard at the Troll's knees to keep its attention on him.

Amber and Tess launched themselves at the Troll's back and savaged it with their blades. Each slice opened up a wicked cut that bled green.

Tom dodged another blow.

Chloe and Hana launched their damage-over-time spells at the Troll.

"Keep it up!" Tom shouted through gritted teeth. He dodged another crushing blow.

Bo sang louder, his face creased in concentration. He even added a little shimmy, and was rewarded with an uptick in [Showmanship].

[Best Around: XS.04 increase to dodge and physical damage. Provider: Bo Robinson.]

The Troll had a massive health pool, and it continued to fight.

Amber and Tess skillfully slashed at the Troll's exposed back. Hana and Chloe targeted it with their spells. Kate rained crushing blows into its flesh, which elicited wet squelches and roars.

Amber made a move toward the back of the Troll's legs with a blurry [Shiv] attack, possibly to hobble it.

The Troll was smart enough to see it coming, and raised its free arm to swat her.

Tom instinctively reached out to stop the creature's arm. Too late, he realized Amber had activated her [Dodge] skill, and was already safe in a different spot. This left Tom off-balance, and he tipped wildly to the side.

Finn had ignored his mother and stayed close behind Tom during the fight. Tom fell sideways and crashed into him. Tom quickly rolled over.

The Troll loomed over Finn, who was still on the ground.

"Finn!" Hana screamed. She sprinted forward.

Bo stopped singing. "Finn!"

The music died mid-song.

[Worst Around: XS.04 decrease to dodge and physical damage. Provider: Bo Robinson.]

The Troll raised its club above Finn, who tried to push himself away.

Tom stumbled back to his feet. He scooped Finn off the ground and roughly tossed him backward, away from the Troll.

"Tom!" Kate screamed.

Tom heard everyone yell just before he turned his head. The giant club crashed into his face.

His nose smashed. Stars danced in his eyes. His neck and spine bent sickeningly backward, past the point where they should have snapped. For a moment, he thought he could see his own heels.

The next thing Tom knew, he was on the ground. His body spasmed, no longer under his control. He was vaguely aware of screams and shouts, but the pain was all he could focus on. His eyes rolled back.