TAKE ON ME [Survival LITRPG Apocalypse]

Monster wave day!

The Sun had only just risen, but the entire neighborhood had already gathered to witness the completion of the Town Hall. Excited shouts and cheers filled the air. A prompt appeared.

[Congratulations! The Settlement 'Foundation' of the Kingdom of Raintree has achieved Level 2 Settlement status. Caretaker System.]

Amber checked her buffs; there was a new XS boost to defense and recovery when inside Foundation's limits.

Her father and Bo were conversing with some of the other adults about the next building priorities.

"The new prompt says to achieve Level 3 we need established housing for 500 people," said Bo, "including a Lumber Mill, a Blacksmith, a Carpentry Shop . . . Shit, there are about twenty required buildings in all. I'm leaning toward the Lumber Mill and Carpentry Shops first. Any thoughts?"

"Do we have anything for food storage?" Tom asked. "If we get warm weather we're going to lose a lot of food."

To Bo's side, several new faces were writing notes on slate tablets. Bridget had assigned several people to act as Bo and Tess's assistants.

Yuck.

Amber looked around and tapped her chin, bored as ever.

The Headless Dungeon had made her feel alive. However, the rush of leveling and gaining new skills had been followed by a full week of . . . nothing. Even the training had been boring, and she'd been looking forward to it so much.

Amber went to the cookfires, and returned with a chewy [Hearty Rabbit Kabob] to gnaw on; her Dad had recommended them for the speed boost they provided.

There was a strange mix of chatter going on: some people talked about the training; some talked about the Town Hall; and those jerks—Blake and Stan—were moving through the crowd and whispering in people's ears. Most people dismissed them, but a few looked worried.

They moved closer to Amber, and she caught a little of what Blake was murmuring.

"And then they expect us to acknowledge them as Lords? Fuck that, they have no clue how to protect—"

Amber was about to lay into the salty jerk—more through boredom than anger—when an older White woman with silver-streaked auburn hair and deep-set eyes approached her and bowed.

"Would you like a hot cider, Lady Amber?"

Amber sighed, and thanked the woman for the beverage. She would never not be weirded out by people bowing to her.

Blake noticed Amber, and he and his sheep headed off.

Charlie had been waiting patiently for a Blacksmith Forge. In the meantime, he had taken it upon himself to research different ways to earn reputation, and was exploring what those gains could do. He shared information as soon as he found it.

Now, people were calling each other by their formal names, or by their work titles. It was all odd and—truthfully—irritating.

Everyone was focused on all the wrong stuff.

Yes, the Shacks were nice. Yes, Tess's training was a step in the right direction. However, if Chloe was right, there were other Dungeons around. If all those Dungeons functioned in the same way as the Headless Dungeon, then those Dungeons would be gaining a free level every week.

For the last week, they had gained no levels. They were already losing, and no one even cared.

Amber had dedicated every spare moment to training. However, it was becoming difficult to find people to train or duel with. She had regularly beaten anyone on the hill who was willing to take her on, whether they sparred with wooden sticks or actual spells—the latter when her Dad wasn't looking. No one provided a challenge anymore.

When she couldn't find a training partner, Amber devoted herself to honing her mobility skills. She spent hours improving her balance, jumps, flips, speed: everything she could think of. It wasn't unlike gymnastics training.

Speaking of training.

Amber was familiar with sore muscles. She was also familiar with the perception of growing stronger and gaining muscle memory.

After a few days of training, Amber had come up against a physical barrier that prevented her muscles growing any stronger. At first, she thought she was imagining it, or that she was frustrated. But, nope; there was something going on.

Amber had tested her theory. She found some heavy rocks, and for four days in a row she snuck off to do bicep curls—something she normally never did. The first day, she was sore—as expected. On day two she was sore, but felt stronger. On day three she sensed she had grown fractionally stronger, but by day four there was no more room to grow. She had a deeper mind-muscle connection than most people; at a certain point her muscles were 'maxed' out.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Amber pondered this as she walked around with her hot cider. She and Chloe had speculated about the grayed-out sections of their ability profiles, and she wondered if the muscle limits were related.

Ughhh, why is this day so slow!

Everyone knew a monster wave was due later that afternoon, but it was like everyone was ignoring it. After the short breakfast celebration, people just . . . went back to work! Shouldn't they should be preparing, or something?

Amber wasn't about to let the wave of free experience get past her. When those things showed up, she planned to take out as many as she could.

She strode off to train; she didn't feel like she had reached her limit on speed yet, so the plan was to run some sprints, and maybe find some stumps to act as hurdles.

The hours passed. Amber sprinted, ate, took a nap, did more sprints, and ate again.

After midday, the camp's atmosphere shifted. Groups of people huddled together and held hushed conversations. Others rushed back and forth to the latrine ditch. Parents hugged and kissed their children, then corralled them to the top of the hill, Amber even spotted one of the 'new trainees' barfing his guts out beside a tree.

As the first shadows of evening stretched across the hill, Tess's voice rang out and gave orders for the teams to form up on the hill. They were going to be ready and prepared before the earthquake hit; before the monsters respawned.

Amber's whole body tingled, and her muscles twitched. The wave of experience points was imminent, although it probably wouldn't be enough to level-up—it had taken forever to go from Level 3 to Level 4. However, every bit of experience counted. Maybe they would even find some interesting loot. Amber still held onto her blueprint for her new Daggers, but—without a [Blacksmith]—she would have to wait.

As Amber moved into position, the group's interface changed from 'party' to 'raid'. Amber was happy that Tess had positioned Team One as the tip of the spear against the incoming wave. They were positioned halfway up the hill, where the incline was steepest, and facing the direction of the Dungeon. To their left was Team Two, and to their right was Team Three. Teams Four and Five formed the edges of the spear tip. Team Six—the least leveled and least equipped—was held in reserve away from the fighting.

Behind the line, Tess had ordered the residents of Foundation to form rough ranks with [Fighters] in front, and with instructions to only engage in self-defense. Behind them—huddled inside the Town Hall—were the small children and those who couldn't defend themselves.

Amber stretched and did a few back bends. Then she danced on the balls of her feet.

Tess made use of the time. "EVERYONE! We expect the Headless wave to only be Level 1. This means only Pygmies, and no Boar Riders. So, don't lose your cool. We can handle this. If there are any higher-level Trolls, Goblins, or Spiders, I will maneuver my team to engage with them."

A shiver seemed to surf through the Settlement.

"Teams Two and Three should be on the lookout for higher-level creatures as well. Everyone, keep calm. Use your head. Don't break formation, and look out for your teammates. We can do this. It's just like practice!"

The earthquake hit: almost like it was timed.

A few people shouted as the ground shook and bucked.

It didn't last long.

After the earthquake, there was nothing.

Amber had half a heartbeat of worry before the sweet piglike squeals began. Townspeople behind her gasped and cried out in alarm, but Amber just smiled.

One day, they'll understand.

The townsfolk needed to chill out. Of course there would be some danger, but Foundation was better prepared than ever, and the Headless were at Level 1.

Tess strode up to Amber, her eyes unfocused. "Town's morale is low. Lower than I would have thought after the training."

The first Pygmies spilled out of the woods and into the clearing.

All Level 1. That sucks.

Tess started gliding back to the center position, but then stopped. "Ah, crap."

A Level 5 Murk Brute River Troll crashed out of the treeline. It was at least seven feet tall, and it dragged a massive tree limb behind it as a club.

Okay . . . maybe that's a BIT much.

Tess cursed. "That Troll is raising the enemy's morale." She raised her fingers to her lips and whistled. "Jill! Come here!"

Jill dashed over.

"I need you near the front when the wave hits. Do your best to debuff them and bring down their morale before they hit the line."

Jill nodded, and ran back to her team. She placed herself near the front line, just behind Mike.

Hundreds of Pygmies filed out of the woods, but it was the Troll that held Amber's attention.

Tess paced the center of Team One's patch. "This isn't good. The teams' morale is strong, but the townspeople look like they'll break and run any minute!"

"Better say something inspirational coach!" Amber said.

Tess groaned and turned to face the residents of Foundation behind her. She raised an arm. "NEVER GIVE UP!" she screamed. "NEVER SURRENDER!"

Everyone looked at her.

Bo raised his magical guitar, and screamed out a loud cheer of his own.

The rest of the town joined in. Amber shrugged and screamed with the chorus, and the chant rolled downhill toward the Pygmies.

"NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER! NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER!"

Jill leaped out in front of her team and pointed down at the Pygmies. "HA! LEVEL 1! YOU COME HERE AT LEVEL 1? YOU MUST HAVE A FUCKING DEATH WISH! IS THIS A FUCKING JOKE?"

The Pygmies at the front of the line reeled backward as though they had been physically slapped. They grunted at each other uncertainly.

The massive Troll behind them snarled, and pointed up the hill.

"YOUR FUNERAL! YOU PICKED THE WRONG FUCKING HILL!" Jill screamed at them. Her cursing ramped up, and the Pygmies squealed.

The Troll roared, and pointed its enormous club at them.

The Pygmies surged forward.

Three Level 5 Wolf Spiders crept out of a different area of the woods. Their hairy bodies were the size of large dogs, and they had the fearsome heads of wolves. One leaped down from a tree with a deafening howl.

"Oh crap," Tess said again.

Team One's orders shifted away from the Troll, and their arrows directed them to intercept the Spiders instead. Team Two angled themselves toward the Troll.

The teams dug in to meet the Pygmies' charge. Tess screamed out orders, and volleys of magical damage flashed or rained down on their enemies. The tanks moved forward and were soon surrounded by Pygmies. The off-tanks picked up any stragglers.

The teams pulverized the Level 1 Headless as they swarmed up the steep hill. Amber had the worrying thought that she might not get to kill anything; however, the Pygmies kept pouring out of the woods, even as so many of them died.

"Dad!" Tess yelled. "I need something to help us hold the line! [Bards] in Teams Two and Three, join in with whatever Bo sings, but don't ruin the song! [Bards] in Teams Four, Five, and Six; get ready to pick up the next song when they're done!"

Bo looked lost for a moment, but then he nodded to himself. He stepped forward, strummed the first note on his ghostly guitar, and began to sing [Stand By Me by Ben E. King].

There were a lot of weird looks sent Bo's way, but a buff appeared seconds later.

[We Stand Together: Gain defense and morale when holding formation.]

Bridget joined in with the singing. Fiery red lines grew up her arms, resembling flaming flower tattoos.

Brad lifted his shirt, and his skin stretched and pulled apart to form his extra stomach mouths. Each mouth mimicked one of the instruments in the song.

A few people in the teams shouted and stepped away from the gruesome spectacle, but Tess screamed at them to get back in formation.

Amber's Dad was now smothered underneath a pile of Headless, and her Mom had shifted into Bear form and was mauling through the Pygmies.

Patiently waiting for my turn, Tess!

Tess called for another round of ranged damage and debuffing from all teams.

Finally, Amber got the signal she was waiting for. Her attack pattern flared to life, and directed her behind a knot of Headless that were facing her father. They were already damaged from Hana's and Chloe's spells; they just needed some quick help out the door.

Amber sprinted at the line, and let her well-trained muscle memory take control. She vaulted off a pile of corpses, flipped high in the air, and landed behind her targets. The closest Pygmy sensed her and turned, but Amber was already rolling to her left. She activated her [Slice] ability and carved through the backline of Pygmies. They were weak, her Daggers bit deep, and they died quickly.

Amber received new orders and ran over to help clear some Pygmies off Team Three's tank. She blinked away some gore that had splashed onto her face

I LOVE this!

Not that she could ever admit it to anyone.

Amber ran up behind another Pygmy and activated [Stab], then [Slice], and then eviscerated the target in front of her. She had a giant smile on her face the entire time.

She whipped round to another Pygmy and triggered [Slice]; she watched in slow-motion horror as a sinewy piece of Headless meat tore loose from the monster and flew into her mouth.

Amber spat the chunk of warm bloody meat from her mouth, and fought hard not to vomit. She blew raspberries, trying to rid her tongue of the rancid, oily taste. Unfortunately, she was covered in blood and had nothing to wipe her mouth on.

With a rotten savory taste in her throat, and a churning stomach, Amber focused back on the fight. Admittedly, her initial zeal had been knocked down several pegs.