Coast on Fire Read online

  Figuring out what I intend to do with my Class Skills, on the other hand, is much simpler. I’ve wanted Sanctum and Army of One for a while now, and I can buy them. So I do.

  Sanctum

  An Erethran Honor Guard’s ultimate trump card in safeguarding their target, Sanctum creates a flexible shield that blocks all incoming attacks, hostile teleportations, and Skills. At this Level of Skill, the user must specify dimensions of the Sanctum upon use of the Skill. The Sanctum cannot be moved while the Skill is activated.

  Dimensions: Maximum 10 cubic meters.

  Cost: 1,000 Mana

  Duration: 1 minute and three seconds

  “Whoa.” I blink, staring at the Mana cost. A thousand Mana. That’s insane. Even with my frankly ridiculous Stats, I can only cast this once. A proper Erethran Honor Guard who’d advanced the normal way could probably cast this twice at best. And the duration isn’t even that great.

  “Boy-o, just to clarify, since I’m summarizing the actual System description as always, this Skill blocks everything. Someone could drop an orbital strike backed up by a dragon’s curse on you and nothing would get through,” Ali says.

  “Everything?”

  “Everything.”

  “Damn…” I say, staring at the description. “What’s with the three seconds?”

  “Figured on this one, we need a little precision,” Ali says pointedly.

  I consider the matter and nod. Yeah, I can see how knowing exactly how long my ability to be invincible would require exactness. Most other times, it matters a lot less.

  Army of One

  The Honor Guard’s feared penultimate combat ability, Army of One builds upon previous Skills, allowing the user to unleash an awe-inspiring attack to deal with their enemies.

  Effect: Army of One allows the projection of (Number of Thousand Blades conjured weapons * 3) Blade Strike attacks up to 200 meters away from user. Each attack deals 2 * Blade Strike Level damage (inclusive of Mana Imbue and Soulbound weapon bonus)

  Cost: 750 Mana

  I admit, it takes me a bit to figure out the math on this. Basically, it works out to three conjured Thousand Blades multiplied by three—nine—attacks which each dealt the equivalent of my Soulbound weapon’s attack. Which at the present moment is slightly over a hundred points of damage. That works out to ten attacks—including the original strike from my sword—each dealing about two hundred points of damage, which I can use as an area-of-effect or targeted strike. Put another way, I could almost one-shot myself with just base damage, which doesn’t include external effects like armor or targeting. And this is only the first Level.

  “Jesus…” I swear. If I’d had this during our most recent battle… then again, without Portal at Level 3, I wouldn’t have been able to bring my friends. Well, not easily at least, since my range would have been shortened significantly.

  Truthfully, the next Level up in Portal is tempting too. It adds approximately 4,000 kilometers to my range, which is significant. I could easily jump from Whitehorse to LA—if I ever traveled that far first.

  “These Skills are over-powered,” I mutter.

  “Eh… you should see Mike’s penultimate Skills. Hell, you saw his Sphere of Protection. It gave all friendlies within its bubble a 30% bonus to their resistances,” Ali says.

  That’s when I realize. “You’re back?”

  “We don’t actually need to take as long as you meatbags to talk, boy-o.”

  I sigh and shut up, letting myself sink into the couch. “Asshole.”

  Sleep. I’m here for sleep.

  Chapter 2

  I find Aiden standing outside my house early the next day, as I return from a hunting session. A quick check with Ali had indicated that the Kapre had been having issues with an Alpha monster a short jog from town, and after accepting their quest, I proceeded to apply a judicious amount of fire to the problem. And then a lot of Polar Zones. Look, you tell me how else I’m supposed to deal with a sentient moss monster.

  Soot covered, with the taste of ash in my mouth, all I wanted was a hot shower and breakfast. Cleanse might clean me, but it never felt right. Which meant that my visitor, manbun and all, was an unpleasant surprise.

  “Aiden,” I greet my ex-party member and teacher.

  An extremely talented Mage who mixes his esoteric, mangled Eastern philosophy with an analytical mind to advance his magic, Aiden is also a minor coward. After a number of harrowing experiences with us, he no longer journeys out of the city. I disagree—passionately—with his decision, but I understand it. It makes our relationship weird since I desperately try not to judge his actions and fail, then I spiral into mental admonishment of myself over it.

  “John. I was hoping I could catch a ride?” Aiden says.

  “Ride?”

  “To Kelowna. Lana mentioned in a message that you purchased a Mana field enhancement in the city. I was hoping to study it, perhaps improve the core formula, and well, bring it back,” Aiden explains.

  “Of course. I need a shower, but we’ll go after that.” I pause after stepping into the door, curious. “How’d you know I was back? And when to see me?”

  “Ah…” Aiden shifts uncomfortably.

  “Roxley.”

  “Yes.”

  I leave before I say anything I would regret. Being on Roxley’s good side is smart, especially if you’re living in Whitehorse. The man did nothing wrong. Just because that devious, back-alley scoundrel…

  Exhale. Shower. Portal. Breakfast.

  Breakfast is in Kelowna, a simple series of Portals away. Aiden and I joined the team—or the portion of it that’s here—which includes Sam, our Level 39 Technomancer; Lara; and Mikito. Ingrid, our Assassin / Thief / general sneaky body is still in Seattle, making nice with the Americans. With the Sect pulling back entirely, the Americans have devolved into a series of skirmishes with one another as they scramble for control in the city.

  After I made the necessary introductions, most everyone left me alone to enjoy my breakfast while the girls caught up with Aiden and Sam stayed his taciturn self. Sam rarely gets involved in our private conversations, a factor I enjoy about the older gentleman.

  “Did John make arrangements for where you’ll be staying?” Lana asks Aiden after they’ve finished discussing the latest gossip from Whitehorse, the majority of breakfast finally finished.

  “No…”

  At Lana’s look, I protest, “I didn’t even know he was coming till this morning!”

  “Don’t worry about it. We’ve got an apartment where we can put you up,” Lana says with a sniff at me.

  “We’ve got an apartment?” I say, surprised.

  “Not all of us enjoy sleeping on the floor of the nearest abandoned room,” Lana teases, making Mikito smile.

  Even Sam snorts a little. Then again, that man set up his little house-cum-workshop almost immediately. As far as I know, Sam has a workshop in every major settlement he’s visited and spent more than a week in.

  “It’s convenient,” I mutter. Between my high Constitution and resistances, sleeping on the floor isn’t really that uncomfortable. In fact, with System-aided healing, I don’t even wake up with sore muscles. I’ll admit though, I do enjoy sleeping in a real bed sometimes, but that’s what my house in Whitehorse is for. After all the upgrades we’d done for the building, even with the massive swarms, it stays in good shape.

  “Thank you. If you show me where it is, I’d love to get started on the enchantment immediately,” Aiden says. “I can already feel the difference in my regeneration rate.”

  Lana nods, getting up and setting her plates aside, shortly followed by Aiden. Sam takes his leave at the same time, off to continue working on his latest project—an analysis and dismantling of Sabre. With my Personal Assault Vehicle badly damaged during our last encounter, it’s still in the process of fixing itself, which makes it the perfect time for Sam to analyze the changes. While he doesn’t expect to actually replicate the machine, the knowledge he’s gain
ing is supposedly increasing his skills significantly.

  That leaves Mikito, who I gesture to stay when she gets up. The dark-haired lady sits down quietly, hands folded all prim and proper. Hard to imagine that this sophisticated, well-mannered young lady is also one of the deadliest—if not the deadliest—melee duelist I know. Well, excepting a certain frustrating Truinnar.

  I break the silence with a prosaic question. “How are you doing?”

  “Well.”

  “Well, as in good or well as in well, things could be worse?”

  “I am doing fine,” Mikito says. “Lana already spoke to me last night. Your concern is touching but unnecessary.”

  I grimace at my friend and grimace. This… well, this is an area I don’t know how to handle. She’s hurting a bit, but if she says she’s good, what am I supposed to do? Tell her she isn’t? The fact stands that we all have our own pain, our own emotional scars. This world isn’t one where you can spend years in therapy, talking about your feelings till you get better. The next crisis is always just around the corner.

  “Okay,” I say, slumping back. After a moment, I meet her gaze and change the topic. “We’ve been missing our morning training sessions.”

  “You’ve not been around,” Mikito says.

  “Yeah. Whitehorse or Vancouver’s fast becoming my base of operations. Simpler that way. I could use your evaluation on the delvers in Vancouver. And I’ve been meaning to test out their dungeon.”

  “Lana says it’s only a gradated dungeon? It gets harder the farther you go?” Mikito says quietly. “Doesn’t seem like you need me for that.”

  “Well, no one knows how strong it is anymore. At least, none of the delvers, though they believe the Sect did. Be nice to understand that,” I say, shrugging. “Furthest the teams have gotten is to a Level 40 plus building zone, and they barely made it out at that.”

  “When?”

  “Pardon?”

  “When do you want me there?” Mikito clarifies.

  “When can you get up?” I pause. “Down.”

  Mikito bits her lip as she thinks things through. “We still need to work out who is going to replace Mel. None of the… the…” She clears her throat. “No one is shining through right now. And I’d like to get their average Level up a little more.”

  I stay silent, letting her work things through herself. I know part of the reason why she’s taking so long to leave here is a reluctance to let go, a need to do good by Mel and her apprentice. Who, I have to admit, I can’t even remember the name of. I know I could if I wanted to, but I don’t. Dwelling on the past, the many people lost, is just a road to further pain.

  “Two weeks. Maybe three,” Mikito finally says.

  “All right.” I nod, accepting her word. It’s not great, but I’m sure I can figure out something to do in the meantime. If nothing else, my goal of basically visiting every village, town, and other settlement in BC will be mostly done by then.

  Routine. I’m falling into a routine, even after a few days of peace and quiet. Training, breakfast, Portal to the last town I was at before exploring further to map and add the new locations to my map of explored places. Spend a couple of hours of exploring, then Portal again back to Vancouver and my office on the top floor of the central library and thus the City Center. Depending on how far and which direction I’m going, it sometimes requires multiple Portals, but that doesn’t matter. It’s all the same.

  Routine. Which is how she finds me. By the time I’m fully cognizant of my actions, I’ve dropped the Portal, cast a Soul Shield, and have my sword at the lady’s neck. She raises an eyebrow, seated as she is at a desk—a new desk, set perpendicular to mine—all coiffed and put together.

  “Mr. Lee,” she says. “Or do you prefer your Galactic titles?”

  “Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?” I snarl.

  Ali floats above me as he updates my minimap with more information. Lots of dots right outside my door. At least a dozen, though they’re all coded grey for non-aggressive. At least for now.

  “My name is Katherine Ward. I’m your new personal assistant,” the woman says, meeting my gaze without fear.

  Seeing that there’s no direct physical threat at the moment, I pull my sword back while regarding the older lady. Late or mid 50s probably, with smooth skin, minimal natural makeup, a pixie-cut hairstyle that frames piercing brown eyes, and a form-fitting, classic business suit. In other words, the perfect secretary.

  Katherine Ward (Level 21 Assistant)

  HP: 120/120

  MP: 240/240

  Conditions: None

  “What? The male secretaries go on strike?” I say wryly, walking to sit on my desk as I stare at the woman. She’s no physical threat to me.

  “There were few men doing this job even before the incident,” Katherine says. “There are even fewer now. And as you might note, none of them are here.”

  “What makes you think I’d hire you?” I say, shaking my head. “You just walked into my office and set up.”

  “Well, for one thing, your AI has agreed to the need for me,” Katherine says. “For another, the fact that I could just walk into your office speaks of a lack of organization on your part.”

  I grunt. She’s not wrong. Being accosted by random individuals with their own agendas has been driving me slightly insane. That I’ve been using Portal and Blink Step to get away from them is less than dignified. Though effective. But dodging the problem can hold only for so long…

  “Kim?”

  “WE HAVE CONDUCTED EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION INTO MS. WARD’S PRIOR EXPERIENCE. HER RESUME IS EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE, WITH PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE INCLUDING CEOS OF YOUR WORLD. PRIOR TO YOUR APPEARANCE, MS. WARD WAS ONE OF THE MAIN ORGANIZERS OF THE EASTSIDE ASSOCIATION.”

  “The what?”

  “EASTSIDE ASSOCIATION—A GROUP OF LIKE-MINDED ARTISANS WHO WORKED AS A CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION TO MANUFACTURE COMPLEX EQUIPMENT FOR RESALE. THE ASSOCIATION USED PROFITS TO PROVIDE ASSISTED HOUSING AND LOAN REPAYMENTS.”

  “What bits-for-brains means is that she’s a do-gooder with skills. And diplomacy. After the art restoration incident, we decided you needed some help. Bits and I did some research and reached out to a few candidates. Unfortunately, she’s the only one not majorly compromised. So far,” Ali says.

  “And the ambush?” I growl softly to him while I stare at Katherine. She hasn’t flinched, just sitting there waiting.

  “Her doing. We were actually going to talk to you about her tonight.”

  “What’s with the ambush?” I say out loud.

  “After the limited information provided by Kim, I conducted some research myself. It was soon clear”—and at that, she looks at the door leading out of my office—“that you require help in organizing your day. While you desire to not be ‘bothered’ by such incidents, you do need to deal with them. Or at least arrange for others to deal with them.”

  “And you can help with that,” I state flatly.

  “Yes.”

  “How do I know you don’t have your own agenda? People you’ll sneak into places of power?”

  “You are asking how you’d expect to trust me and that is an impossible question. Trust must be built and we currently are strangers. However, be assured that your AI is watching what I do,” Katherine says.

  “As am I.”

  “If we are finished with the interrogation, I have a recommended schedule for the day. I have set aside an hour for you to meet with petitioners—fifty-five minutes now—after which we have an hour for hiring. And then—”

  “Why not the other way around?” I interrupt.

  “At this time, we do not have a full grasp of your responsibilities. Also, as evidenced, you have certain trust issues. It is better for you to gain some first-hand experience with your petitioners. I would even recommend that you randomly select some to speak with on an on-going basis even after hiring and delegation is complete.”

  “I…” I consider what she said and wave
her to continue. Fine. Let’s see how this plays out. If there’s a trap here, I’m not experienced enough to see it. Or I am, but I want to see how it plays out. Because she’s right—avoiding running the city isn’t going to work. And the council is too busy fighting about how they’re going to run it to actually do it. But… “Tomorrow morning, I want it free.”

  “For…?”

  I smile, waving her to continue.

  Hours later, after a number of meetings with petitioners and job applicants, I’m finally alone. One thing I’m grateful for is Katherine having the foresight to order in lunch. When lunch is served, Lana sauntered in, glancing at Katherine with narrowed eyes. After a few minutes of soft-spoken conversation, the initial wariness had slipped away from my girlfriend as she dropped into a chair next to me.

  “How’d you make it here?” I said, frowning. One of the more significant purchases I intend to make is the installation of communication arrays in each settlement. Once set up, they will allow for long-distance transmissions between each settlement. “And how’d you find me?”

  “Mmm… your new assistant contacted me,” Lana says around a mouthful of crab. “And I took the boys out for a run.”

  I grunt, wanting to chide her for risking her neck, but decide against it. Lana’s a survivor like me and can handle herself. Anyway, with her pets, in many ways, she is a lot tougher than she should be for her Level. Especially since she’s been focusing on Leveling them lately. Especially Roland. Roland is scary.

  “Katherine?” I say with a frown. I’m really curious how my new assistant knows enough to contact Lana already so quickly.

  “My Class provides me with a number of Skills. A minor Skill in communication called ‘Contact List’ allows me to contact a certain number of individuals within my sphere of influence. Normally I’d need to designate them individually, but with another Skill of mine—Intuit—I am able to access a portion of what would be your contact list. It was a simple matter then to mark Ms. Pearson as a priority individual,” Katherine says. Interestingly enough, she’s also pulled a plate of food to her, though she’s eating with significantly more decorum. I guess the lady has no problem eating in front of her boss.“Now, we were going to speak about your most recent interviews…”