Apocalypse: Fairy System by Macronomicon (fox in socks read aloud txt) 📕

Siren’s Cunning, R-R-RubU’s Mysteries, Gresh’s Subtlety, Innovator, Lagross’s Power

Body 21 (9)

Myst 71 (16)

Nerve 26 (10)

Abilities: Mystic Trigger

Accolade Pending: Lagross’s Power suspended due to multiple instances. Awaiting resolution.

Attention, this User has been flagged for exclusion from The System by executive order.

Nine points in Myst and a single point in Nerve. The equivalent of ten levels.

Not a bad start.

Give Jeb a couple months to grow his Myst Core to the new limits, and he’d be moving a few hundred pounds, easy.

That, in turn, would make it easier to engage in more high-stakes Deals, and raise his survivability.

Hold on, Jeb thought, slipping the ring back onto his finger. He had to consider why he was doing what he did. Power for the sake of power never ended well.

He had to find a niche for himself.

Maybe open a business where I rescue children for exorbitant prices. Jeb chuckled at the thought.

Another thought: Jeb didn’t have to follow the same path as before.

He glanced at the immaterial insects wading through the Myst settling near the floor of the inn. One of them was about the size of a large rat with a gaping maw that seemed to strain the Myst like a whale’s filter feeder. It passed through Jeb’s foot without a care, leaving a wake of slightly off-color, blue-tinted Myst behind it.

Can’t say I missed the hallucinations.

Jeb had chosen to raise his Myst exclusively during the Tutorial because he felt that magic would be the way to break the game, and that had been the right instinct.

Now his instincts were telling him…

Don’t overspecialize.

When he had no clue what kind of trials would be heading his way, a more well-rounded approach would likely offer more ways to survive.

Well, payment is typically material in nature, anyway. I don’t think I’ll have any problem getting Body, as long as I continue making Deals.

That settled, Jeb got back to work packing to skip town, idly itching his scalp as he did.

There was a lump on his head.

The fuck? Jeb thought, standing straight and searching for the lump with his fingers.

Nothing? He probed, poked and prodded his scalp with his fingers, not finding anything.

That was weird. Jeb sighed, running his whole hand over his head to dispel the heebie-jeebies.

There was a lump.

Ice settling in his stomach, Jeb reviewed his short-term memory, prodding exactly where he had felt the strange thing. Nothing. He pulled his hand down and looked at it.

The Appraiser sat there on his right ring finger, looking innocent.

Oh, you son of a bitch, Jeb thought, folding back his index and middle finger, using only his ring finger to prod his skull.

There it is. To his ring finger, it felt like something was attached to his skull. Some kind of zipper-like object just above the skin, seemingly welded in…. Needless to say, his other fingers couldn’t feel a thing.

Jeb switched the ring onto another finger and probed with that one.

Still there. Definitely the ring’s doing, then.

What the ever-loving hell is going on here? Jeb thought, poking the lump some more.

It twitched.

The lump on his head twitched.

Okay. There’s something alive in or on my skull that only exists when touched through the Appraiser. I only have one question: Is this the appropriate time to panic!?

Knock knock.

Jeb’s gaze darted to the door.

“Not a great time,” Jeb said, his voice a little higher than he might’ve liked.

“Jebediah Trapper?” The enforcer’s voice came through the wood. “I’d like to speak to you about kidnapping and capital punishment.”

Chapter 8: Getting Out of Dodge

Jeb eyed the window, a bit of cold sweat forming on the back of his neck. He could try to make a run for it, but he was fairly sure this lady would take that as an admission of guilt. Not to mention, Jeb didn’t see himself winning any kind of footrace, the inch of hardwood between them notwithstanding.

Jeb took his magic finger off the magic lump and reoriented his attention. It probably wasn’t going anywhere, and he had prettier fish to fry at the moment.

“Yeah?” Jeb called, motioning for Smartass to hide. The fairy tucked herself behind Jeb’s backpack while he clomped his way to the door.

He opened the door and found himself tilting his head up slightly to meet the melas woman’s gaze. She had pale eyes with dark striations through the irises.

“I half expected you to run.” She gave a faint smile.

“Me too,” Jeb said, crossing his arms and straightening his shoulders. “So did I kidnap Ms. Grenore by some technicality and you’re here to deliver the punishment?”

“Well, yes and no. May I come in?”

“Of course,” Jeb said, moving aside and leaning against the cabinet beside his bed. He really didn’t have to worry about tactics or placement when the woman in front of him had enough strength to make them pointless.

“So—ow.” She bumped her horns in the doorframe on the way through, and Jeb decided not to say anything.

“So yes, technically you did kidnap Ms. Grenore, in the strictest sense of the word, and no, I won’t be punishing you for it. The girl is better off with strangers than her conniving Veek of a father, so I figured she was in less danger during a few hours spent with you. No harm, no execution.”

“Are you allowed to bend the rules like that?”

“We exercise our best judgement.”

Damn, it’s kinda like Judge Dredd up in here. Kinda.

“Then what’s this about capital punishment?” Jeb asked.

“I actually wanted to talk about other kidnappings,” she said, idly rubbing the base of her horns.

“Other kidnappings?” Jeb asked. “Which have what to do with me?”

“You’ve shown a talent for dealing with Impossible situations, and a fondness for rescuing children. I thought