3 Hitting My Stride

I placed all my remaining points into the Determinator tree. 4 notifications popped up.

Determinators are a wall of stone, an unstoppable force. +5% to regeneration stats.

Less man and more a machine, they tread one direction. Forward. +5% to regeneration stats.

To stop one is to kill one. To befriend one is to align yourself with one. +5% to regeneration stats.

For they have wills of steel and minds of metal. You are among them. +10% to regeneration stats.

Man did the sayings have a way of pumping me up. My regen increased by 30%, leaving me with around five health a minute. With my damage resistance, more like five and a half.

So I could get five health a minute against however many bats I could fit in the radius of agony. Not the most promising thought, but whatever. I could handle it. What I really needed was to learn how to use Agony. As I wondered, a screen popped up.

[Agony - Drains all nearby units health, including the caster. The more health the caster drains from themselves a second, the larger the effective range of the aura. Damage to self reduced by constitution. Willpower increases damage of Agony. Current conversion: 1.08(Willpower bonus)/.945(Constitution bonus) = 1.14]

Well fuck. The math was surprisingly complicated, but it made sense for the most part. Willpower helped pain tolerance while constitution made me harder to damage. With that in mind, I willed the power to activate.

Like a firecracker in my skull, a headache formed along with a stinging discomfort all throughout my body. I wondered how much health I had and had damaged. An interface appeared in the right corner of my vision, displaying health, mana, and fatigue.

Man that would have been helpful during the battle with the bat, but whatever. I'm obviously an outlier for what this system had in place. On my top left corner, a debuff was showing,

Health loss from Agony - [5/min]

The sheer discomfort amazed me before a notification appeared,

Skill level! [Pain Tolerance(lvl 13)]

Ahhh, so that's what gave me the points in the tree. I wondered what all the skill levels were when a list appeared,

| [Hail Mary(lvl 1)],[Pain Tolerance(lvl 13)],[Desperation(lvl 8)],[Death's Dance(lvl 6)], [Dodging(Lvl 1) |

I wondered what the hell they did, then descriptions appeared in an ordered list.

[Hail Mary(lvl 1)] - Your plans either fail miserably or payoff in spades. +%1 to success rate of risky plans]

I couldn't believe this was a thing.

[Pain Tolerance(lvl 13)] - You tolerate pain better than others. -13% of perceived pain.]

[Desperation(lvl 8)] - You struggle for what you want. +8% to willpower when desperate.]

That was a powerful buff when I would need it. A useful skill for sure.

[Death's Dance(lvl 6)] - You dance with death instead of hiding from him. +6% to damage dealt when receiving damage.]

[Dodging( lvl 1) - You learn that evading a blow is always better than receiving one. +1% to dodge speed and -1% to dodge reaction time.]

Every single skill was very, very useful. It seemed the schema gave me skill points when I was using the skill. A reward of sorts for using the buff essentially. That meant that I could use Agony for Death's Dance, pain tolerance, and maybe even desperation if it came down to it.

In fact, these skills had been gained by simply doing what the skills were. After a little brainstorming, I thought if I did some of my boxing, the schema would recognize it as a skill. I put myself in my stance, feet set slightly wider than my shoulders. Unlike other boxers, I grounded my feet when I fought. I wanted the power so I could hit hard and heavy, like a hammer.

It's what gave me my fighting name at the local boxing gym called Outlast. I prayed the name would be true in this situation.

I needed to focus, so I cut off Agony. I went through a few hooks, jabs, overhands, and straights before a notification appeared.

[Pugilist(lvl 1) - Skill unlocked]

Aww fuck yeah. I checked the skill.

[Pugilist(lvl 1) - Some fight with words, some with swords. You fight with your fists. + 1% to fist hardness, fist speed, fist damage, and general speed when using only fists for weapons.]

I swung for a few more minutes in the little rock cove I found as quietly as I could. After about half an hour, I'd worked up a good sweat as I read the notifications.

Skill level! [Pugilism(lvl 8)]

The bonuses were more than noticeable by this point. I couldn't believe how much better I was at swinging my fists already. The most noticeable difference was in the sheer quickness of me. The general speed buff made me far faster, especially when combined with the hand speed bonus. My fists would become blurs in my eyes at times. Sweet.

I cracked my neck before glancing back at the bat I killed. Two other bats devoured the corpse like ravenous dogs fighting over a steak. Disgusted, I turned back before tapping my forehead with a knuckle. I needed to get serious. Sure, getting stronger was fun, but if I went about it with a lazy attitude, I would die. Fuck that, I had better things to do. Like not die.

I ramped up agony till it matched my health regen. The splitting headache, stinging sensation on my skin, and the burn in my muscles started. It felt like I was falling apart. After a few minutes of adjusting, I threw some punches out. It reminded me of fighting in the final rounds of a boxing match. In other words, utterly miserable.

I went about trying to get the willpower to really put out while training before a bat flew over head. I froze faster than a housemaid caught stealing. The bat landed on a stalactite 50 meters away before covering itself with its wings, disappearing entirely.

At that point, I glance up at the darkness away from the glowing pools. The bats were invisible. Like, invisibility cloak levels of invisible. Who knows how many were just waiting in the caves, sitting there, biding their time. It was strange how they didn't notice me or my movements. I shrugged off those concerns though. I doubted my ability to figure out why when I knew so little about all this shit anyway.

Sweat poured from my forehead as it came to me. I could be surrounded by the damn things in every direction. I would need the ability to take on dozens, maybe even hundreds at a time, not just one. Either that or I would be torn apart by a horde of them just like the one I managed to slay.

Skill level! [Desperation(lvl 9)]

I needed to become stronger not just fast, but fast as fuck.

With that realization, I opened my character menu and found thirteen tree points. I glanced at my options for trees,

| I Fledgling[0/5], I Beginner[0/5], I Fighter(Kill a creature 20 levels above you)[0/25]|

Weird. I thought Determinator II would be available. Must require something I haven't done. It didn't matter. I needed to hurry. I put all the points into I Fighter.

A fighter enjoys the thrill of battle and the taste of blood. He fights for pleasure, not out of pain. +1% to general resistance multiplier and physical damage.

You live for battle. You thrive on glory. You need nothing else, for what else is a warrior but the sum of his battles. +1% to general resistance multiplier and physical damage.

I swung my fists with a renewed vigor. Like lightning coursed in my veins, I struggled to improve. I thought of counters, weak spots, even ways of shifting my weight. I tried moving as little as possible to dodge my invisible opponent. Sweat poured from my forehead and armpits in minutes.

It turned out that training while your body disintegrates as quickly as it regenerates is tough as shit. That and being desperate puts a tremendous strain on the mind. I reasoned that a few more points in willpower would make this bullshit easier.

Still, I put in the time and effort to get the task done. I had the habit of complaining to myself about whatever I had to do, but I would get it done. Most people had assumed I was stoic. Micheal knew otherwise. I hoped he was alright, but after what that bat had done to the stone, I doubted it.

Hours later, my eyes grew heavy. I couldn't tell how much time had passed since I started training or the schema had activated. There was no sun, no phone. I was one of the few students I knew without one. I never liked how it seemed to consume whoever used the damn device. It was less like you owned the phone and more like it owned you.

Still, I kept on training, my movements growing sharper and stronger with each passing minute. I'd unlocked several skill levels, along with a new skill or two. I suppose hearing the sounds of a corpse being chewed up helped push me forward.

At the peak of my exhaustion, I walked over between two pillars of rock before falling asleep on my side. It'd been a long day.

***************************************************

After a very meh rest, I awoke with bats chiming around in a swarm over me. Less like they're ravenous, and more like they were trying to get out of the cave. I couldn't believe they couldn't find me, but I suppose that was because of just how many they had up there.

I imagined echolocation relied on some sort of quiet. In this storm of bats, finding your own echolocate-y thing would be hard. Probably. I honestly didn't know why they hadn't found me yet. I would learn how the hard way.

Regardless, I opened my character menu spotting 37 tree points. I finished the fighter tree with 12 points, leaving me a clean 25 left. Three notifications appeared,

So fight on in your life. Find meaning in war. Find fulfillment in bloodshed. Become the fight. Breathe it in. +1% to general resistance multiplier and physical damage.

There's so little left in these corpses you stand on. You've built bridges of bodies and swam in oceans of blood. +1% to general resistance multiplier and physical damage.

For you are war incarnate, a monster in a man's flesh. Swallow the darkness, and be swallowed by it. +1% to general resistance multiplier and physical damage. Fighter II unlocked.

Jesus fuck these little sayings were cool and kinda eerie at the same time. I checked out the remaining talent trees.

| I Fledgling[0/5], I Beginner[0/5], II Fighter(Kill a creature 30 levels above you)[0/50]|

Welp, the fighter tree seemed very useful, so I choose it before placing 25 points into it in one go. Three notifications appeared in succession once more.

You continue your path. Known by many names, but mostly known by what you leave behind. +2% to general resistance multiplier and physical damage.

In your wake is nothing. You know no family. Your joy is the clash of steel, the spray of blood, the carnage of killing. + 2% to general resistance multiplier and physical damage.

Loneliness is a success. It means everything has fallen to you already. +2% to general resistance multiplier and physical damage.

While the bonuses were small, they added up over time. I checked out my skill levels.

| [Hail Mary(lvl 1)],[Pain Tolerance(lvl 17)],[Desperation(lvl 13)],[Death's Dance(lvl 11)], [Dodging(lvl 3), [Pugilist(lvl 18)], [Physical Fitness(lvl 7)], [Focus(lvl 5)] |

So 75 total stats. I glanced at the bonuses of fitness and focus.

[Physical Fitness(lvl 7)] - You use your body with vigor. It responds in kind. +7% to stamina usage, but +14% to strength when moving.]

[Focus(lvl 5)] - Your mind is an instrument of your will. +5% to skill gain when focused.]

Hell yeah. That explained where a lot of the new skills came from. I would be able to grind those up to something, especially the fitness skill. That strength bonus would be awesome as well. Still, I need as much regeneration as possible.

I open my character screen.

Character Totals Regen Buffs/Debuffs

Health 198/198 5.15/min Agony - Losing 5.15hp/min

Stamina 198/198 51.48/min Elemental Res - 0%

Mana 40/40 1.04/min Plasma Res - 0%

General Resistance - [5.5%](Const bonus)X[1.11](Multiplier) = 6.1% Rad Res - 0%

Physical Damage Bonus - [8.8%](Strength bonus)X[1.11](Multiplier) = 9.8% Mental Resistance - 8%

The screen changed a little, likely due to new buffs or something. I guess the screen being dynamic made sense, considering it warped reality.

So killing another bat was out of the question for now. I doubted that I would get so lucky again, especially considering my luck was only three. So after the swarm died down to a stand still, I trained again, shadow boxing with the discomfort of agony.

A few close calls with the bats reminded me of why I'm training so hard, so desperation gained a few levels too. After a few hours, I'd become very dry and thirsty. I needed some water. I'd been hungry for a while too, but that paled in comparison with the thirst I had.

Training without any food or water weighs on the mind. I figured I'd need a few points in willpower soon so I could keep pushing myself. I placed ten more skill points into the fighter tree before planning out a mad dash towards the pools of glowing water.

The bats could use echolocation, so I needed to be quiet. I could be right beside one, as long as they didn't hear me. I snuck around my little cove of rocks for a while before a notification popped up.

[Sneak(lvl 1) - skill unlocked]

I practiced with agony on while rolling around, dodging imaginary swords'n'shit. After a few levels in sneak, dodge, and pain tolerance later, I enacted my plan.

Which was just be super quiet. I snuck for about ten feet before a bat appeared above me. As its wings unfurled, the bat appeared into existence from nothing. It looked surreal. I froze in place that instant, terrified and on edge.

The bat swooped down, landing on the ground beside me. It opened its mouth, trying to taste for me. Waving its wings, it got closer and closer until it was inches from me.

Cold sweat poured down my back as I held my breath. I could feel my blood beating in my ears. My left eye twitched out of sheer nervousness. I got another notification.

Skill level! [Desperation(lvl 17)

My mind went into a tirade. Fuck you schema. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. I hated the damn thing. I hated it with a burning passion. My teeth clamped as my fists clenched. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the stupid ass schema. I wouldn't have had a bat breathing down my neck either.

Skill unlocked! [Scorn(lvl 1)]

The rotting flesh in between its teeth smelled like sulfur and week old roadkill. I could become a part of that rotting meat if I didn't stand still. My eyes stared at the creature inspecting the ground inches from me. Goddamn was it stressful.

The bat glanced up at that moment before flying back up. The wind off its wings brushed the sides of my face, cool and refreshing. Fuck was that hard.

I snuck for a few more feet, gaining levels in the skill rapidly. I reached halfway between the pools and my cove. My backpack sat a few feet away, full of goodness I could eat. Alright, maybe just a few snacks, but jesus was I hungry.

The water came first. I paced further, reaching the pool in ten minutes. When I reached the pool, I deflated like a balloon. I cut off agony, the lack of pain coming in like a wave of relief. I placed my lips against the water before I drank it in.

Cold, crisp, and refreshing, I drank until I was swollen. I waited a few minutes before drinking again and again and again. Goddamn it felt good. I sat in this tiny little piece of heaven for a moment, savoring the flavor. A moment without the constant pain, effort, and thirst.

The moment was fleeting, however. I breathed deep and slow before lifting myself from the pool. I wanted to bathe, but that was going to take a while. More like a dream then a desire.

Sneaking back, I reached my backpack after five minutes. I took out several pieces of jerky, scarfing them down before carrying what was left of my trail mix. Sneaking back, I reached my outcove with a far fuller stomach.

I gave myself a five minute break before putting agony back on. Biting me like a winter morning, it hurt like hell. I started yet another grueling training session.

Of course, the part that irked me the most was how I didn't have any say in the whole situation. There were parts of this I enjoyed, I couldn't deny it, but the bad parts...they outweighed the good ones. By a lot. By a huge, consuming amount.

The thought burned in my mind as I trained. The feeling helped me ignore the pain. I thought of inflicting this torment tenfold on whoever caused this schema. I envisioned smashing their face. I imagined ripping out their teeth and stomping their stomach. I would tear their skin, rip open their guts...

I shook myself from my trance. It's not a good idea to dwell in that feeling. From the amount of sweat on me, I'd been training for hours. Far too long of just embracing that malicious sensation.

A notification appeared.

Skill level! [Scorn(lvl 13)]

I frowned before checking out my new skills.

[Sneaking(lvl 11) - The shadows are your cloak and silence your friend. -11% to noise when sneaking. +11% to stamina consumption while sneaking.]

[Scorn(lvl 13) - You gorge on your malice. While in hatred, +13% to strength, endurance, willpower, and pain tolerance, also -26% to charisma and perception.]

Scorn was strong as shit. Sure, I'd be real dislikeable when it's working, but I needed those buffs. They worked great with agony as well.

Glancing at my character screen, I had 37 unused points. I put twenty points into II fighter finishing the tree. Two notifications appeared.

You are a warrior, a soldier, a mercenary. You are whatever you need to be to battle. +2% to general resistance multiplier and physical damage multiplier.

Because even though you leave only death in your wake, you are only alive during battle. +2% to general resistance multiplier and physical damage multiplier. +10 health and stamina.

Hell yeah. That was a point of endurance right there. That's 17 left. Looking at the trees, I found,

| I Fledgling[0/5], I Beginner[0/5]|

Welp, I put the five points into each, giving me two notifications.

You've learned how to move through your new found screens. +5 health, mana, and stamina.

Now you're going out into the harsh world created by the schema. Prepare yourself for its trials. +5 health, mana, and stamina.

They weren't terrible by any means, but they weren't anything special either. No new tree opened up for me when the others were completed. That made sense to me. The schema rewarded genuine effort and difficulty, not endless grinding. In order to progress, I would need to accomplish something first.

I mean, if you could just endlessly grind out the skill trees, then becoming ridiculously powerful would be easy as hell. Everyone would be strong. No one would be dumb enough to go out and die without any real reason for it. They would just knit or some shit until they were godlike.

I figured that my only option was training my current skills until I could kill the damn bat. Otherwise, I would end up as the same bat shit spread all over the cave floor. Not my ideal situation.

It was time to hit my stride.