TAKE ON ME [Survival LITRPG Apocalypse]

Tess's lips curved into a smile. The Foundation teams were holding their own, and were even pushing the Pygmies back in some places despite their numbers disadvantage. Several people across the teams were now Level 3, and the extra levels made a noticeable difference.

At first, Tess had thrown herself into battle and had cut down the Headless with her Sword.

Now, she had taken a step back to experiment.

Tess studied the flow of combat across her [Battle Map]. Her [Morale Insight] flared to life, and revealed the emotional state of each combatant—both friends and enemies—and each team as a whole.

"Crap," she muttered, noticing a worrying dip in morale for Team Five's tank. The creatures were piling up on him, threatening to overwhelm his defenses. He was starting to freak out.

Tess tapped her map, and redirected Team Six's tank—Sam the [Lumberjack]—to move up and support Five's tank.

As the reinforcements arrived, tank Five's morale climbed. The Pygmies' own spirits faltered in response.

A separate group of creatures caught her eye. Their morale plummeted as Team One plowed through them. Some of the stragglers in the group turned tail and fled back into the woods.

Interesting.

Her strategist's mind raced with possibilities. If they could tactically induce panic in targeted enemy formations and make them flee, they could turn the tide of even the most desperate battles.

Lost in thought, Tess almost missed the first screams behind her.

She whirled around, and her blood ran cold.

Wolf Spiders. Hundreds of them.

They swarmed uphill - the unprotected flank, toward the civilians huddled behind the defenders. They were all Level 1, but—low level or not—there were far too many for the untrained populace to handle.

"Oh God," Tess whispered. She had only built a defensive line facing the Headless Dungeon.

We didn't plan . . . no, I didn't plan for two battle fronts!

Tess's heart was in her throat as she frantically scanned her [Battle Map].

The line against the Headless held firm, but they were pinned down, unable to break away.

More people spotted the Spiders. The shouts and screams intensified. Groups of residents broke away from the crowd and fled for the Shacks.

"Dammit!" Tess hissed, and sprinted after them. The Shacks would not shelter them.

Wolf Spiders skittered everywhere, barking and biting at everything in their path.

However, it was the two massive figures lumbering behind the Spiders that truly froze Tess's heart.

[Level 7 River Troll Murk Brute: Dungeon Born.]

Each Troll charged in a different direction, ushering Spiders in front of them.

Fresh screams erupted from inside the wooden buildings.

Tess's hands shook as she accessed her [Battle Map]. She moved arrows and targets around, and issued new orders through the map. She yelled for the defenders' attention. "All teams, listen up! Max damage on the Headless, NOW! Use everything you've got! Bridget, you're up!"

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Bridget nodded. Fire sprouted from her wrists and grew up her arms. The flames crawled across her body and formed fiery flowers on her skin. Bridget began to sing [Roar by Katy Perry]. However, she was too quiet, and her buff didn't spread.

"Louder, Bridget! Sing your ass off!" Tess screamed. "Let's go, Raintree! Unload!" She jumped forward to strike down some Headless of her own.

The fire flared brighter on Bridget's arms as she sang louder. The night exploded in a dazzling array of colors as spells and abilities lit up the battlefield. The air crackled with energy as Raintree's forces unleashed hell on the Headless creatures.

"Come on, come on," Tess muttered, willing the monsters to die faster. Every second counted.

A sickening crunch drew her attention.

One of the Trolls had torn the door off the Town Hall. It cackled with glee, then reached inside and dragged out a screaming man.

"No!" Tess shouted, but she was too far away to help.

The Troll's club whistled through the air and connected with a wet thud. The man's screams cut off abruptly, and his broken body crumpled to the ground.

Vomit rose in Tess's throat.

The Troll laughed, already peering through the Town Hall's wooden beams in its search for its next victim.

"Oh God. I should have seen this coming."

Tears stung Tess's eyes. She gritted her teeth, and forced herself to focus.

"Teams Five and Six, break off from the Headless line," Tess shouted, unsure if they could even hear her. She made corresponding marks on her [Battle Map]. "You will engage the Spiders here, and here." She turned, ready to repeat her orders, but Teams Five and Six were moving.

"Avoid the Trolls at all costs!" she screamed to them.

"But Lady Tess," a voice yelled back, "we can't just—"

"That's an order," she snapped.

Her stomach churned.

Better it wastes time chasing individuals for now.

Leaving individual civilians to fend for themselves felt wrong, but she couldn't risk losing a whole group of fighters.

The two teams charged into the swarm of Spiders. Their weapons flashed under the chaotic light of spells.

Team Five demolished their knot of arachnids. Tess sent them new orders to form a tight formation and attack another group of Spiders targeting the vulnerable untrained individuals on the hilltop. Their captain efficiently commanded his team into position, and they rushed the Spiders from behind.

Team Six sliced through their cluster of Spiders. However, they were oblivious to the danger approaching from behind.

"Team Six, Troll!" Tess screamed at them. She threw warnings onto her [Battle Map]. "LOOKOUT!"

But the sounds of battle drowned out her warning.

The Troll's club arced through the air and pulverized Sam.

"No," Tess whispered. She watched in horror as the Troll tore through Team Six.

Tess could barely breathe. Tears slid down her cheeks. She swiped them furiously away.

Focus!

She reactivated her [Battle Map].

The Headless were just about dead now, but two Trolls and countless Spiders remained. She had to act fast.

"Team Two, Team Three, on that Troll! Brad, buff your group!" She pushed her orders vocally and through her [Battle Map]. "Teams One and Four, we're taking down the other Troll! You!" Tess pointed at the kid with the large marching-band drum. "Play for our group! Dad, hold your song in backup in case anything else comes! Loo, mana! Unload on the Trolls! Once the Trolls are down, kill the Spiders!"

Tess charged forward, her Sword gleaming in the moonlight. The Troll loomed before her, its club slick with blood. Sam's and countless other's blood.

The Troll roared, its rotten fish breath stinging her nostrils. It swung its massive club, and Tess ducked under the blow. The wind of its passage ruffled her hair.

Tom's heavy body bowled into the Troll's side, knocking it back. Its momentary shock changed to fear as Kate the Bear charged from the other side. She latched her giant claws onto it.

Tom used [Taunt] on the creature.

"Now!" Tess yelled.

Spells erupted from all sides: from multiple members of Teams One and Four. The spells battered the Troll. It staggered, its muddy eyes dazed.

Tess seized the opportunity; she dashed in, and drove her Sword deep into its thigh.

The Troll howled. It kicked out, and caught Tess in the ribs. Something cracked, and the air rushed out of her chest. She was hurled backward.

"Tess!" Her mother and father called out.

*****

Tess was slumped on a tree stump, surveying the aftermath of the battle. The air reeked of blood and smoke, punctuated by the moans of those not yet healed.

"Lady Tess?" A soft voice spoke at her side.

Tess looked up. "How many?"

Eric swallowed hard. "Fifty-three."

Tess didn't move, but her nails dug deeper into her palms. "Dammit," she whispered.

She stood, and winced at the pain in her ribs. Finn had healed her, but the residual ache of newly knitted bones still lingered. She took slow, careful steps among the wounded and the dead. Many of them were faces she knew; now they stared back at her. Lifeless. They would disappear soon.

A sob threatened to escape, but she choked it down. She couldn't break. Not here. Not now.

Tess turned to Eric. "We have to start training more teams. Six teams isn't enough." She paused. "Not that we even have six anymore."

Her vocal cords were tight. She waited for them to loosen.

"I was talking to Chloe about the Spiders," she told Eric. "She thinks that, when a Dungeon is Level one, it sends everything it has in a big assault at the nearest Settlement. That's what the Headless Dungeon does, and now that's what the Spider Dungeon does. They probably have some time dilated way of getting here so fast and worked together to time their assault. We can't let that Troll Dungeon keep getting stronger. Although it's safe to assume that, once we beat that, it will also attack us every week."

Eric was a silent shadow beside her.

Tess took a deep breath. "I should have seen this coming. Or at least, I should have thought about getting hit with two armies."

Eric hesitated. "It wasn't your fault, Tess. We couldn't have known."

"I should have! I should have thought about that. I'm supposed to know. That's my job, and now all of Team Six is dead, along with forty-three other people."

"Tess—"

"Please go find Kate, Finn, and anyone else with healing spells. Make sure no one else dies. Grab Loo for the mana."

Tess lurched away, leaving Eric standing there. She knew Finn and the others would already be working their way around Foundation. But she couldn't let Eric see her fall apart.

She replayed the battle over and over, assessing every mistake. Every real—or imagined—misstep. Like an idiot she had even been experimenting during the battle, right before the Spiders attacked.

If I'd been paying attention, maybe they wouldn't have flanked us.

She watched—on a continuous loop—Sam explode against the Troll's club.

"I need to be better," she muttered to herself, the tears returning. "I can't let this happen again."