Apocalypse: Generic System by Macronomicon (shoe dog free ebook TXT) 📕

creature, then pulled it down to the ground, cinching it in place. Every time it moved, it triggered more of the traps, until the entire creature was held to the ground by a hundred barbed spears.

It was locked down in a vision of contorted agony, breathing heavily and bleeding from hundreds of tiny wounds where the butterflies had chewed through its armor.

The butterflies had blown their wad and disappeared. Now it was time for Jeb to do the dirty work himself.

He siphoned out Myst and picked himself up, rushing over to the creature faster than he ever could have run by himself.

Its head reminded him of a blue whale skull he’d seen one time in a museum. Absolutely enormous.

“Apologies,” Jeb said, holding out his palm to face the creature’s wounded eye. “Alpha strike.”

Hundreds of barbed Lances of telekinetic force shot outward all at once, grinding past each other with the intention of creating as much damage to a living organism as possible.

Dozens were stopped by the thing’s tough armor and bone, but even more made it through the eye socket and began bouncing around the creature’s brain.

The giant gave a pitiful shudder as it died, and Jeb drew himself backwards, not interested in getting squished by its death-throes.

Congratulations! You have Beaten Lagross the Suppressor in a one-on-one duel. Your power is beyond reproach!

Lagross’s Power Accolade Granted!

+5 Body +5 Myst +5 Nerve

That’s a lot.

“Holy shit, dude.” Ron said as Jeb landed next to them. “You sucker-punched the shit out of it.”

“What was I supposed to do?” Jeb glanced at him curiously. “Take it out to dinner first?”

“You get an accolade?” Jess asked.

“Yeah, five Body,” Jeb gave her a half-truth, trying to ease the persistent cramps out of his muscles. For the Nerve sickness, he simply avoided looking at anyone pretty and focused on the pain.

The headache from his Myst sickness was negligible.

Jeb was stretching his cramping jaw and shoulders when he heard the sound.

Ding!

Your party has cleared the Grave of the Titan! Please take your

rewards.

Ron and Jeb grimaced as five identical sphincters appeared in the sky and shat out their prizes.

“Get ba-“ For an instant, Jeb thought he could hear someone’s voice coming from one of the sphincters.

One of the chests clattered to the ground awkwardly. The wood sported a jagged cut along the side and a spatter of blood on it.

What the hell?

Ron and Jeb studied the spot where the unusual magic sphincter faded into nothing, frowning. The others weren’t quite high enough on their Myst to see the damn thing except Amanda, and she was more focused on the chests.

“What happened to this one?” Amanda asked, running a finger across the jagged cut

“Maybe the people sending the prize got in trouble?” Brett said with a shrug.

Sending the prize? Jeb had always thought the prize had been manufactured on the spot by the sphincter. That bore more thinking about.

“Nothing we can do about it here,” Jeb said with a shrug. “Pick a chest.”

Jeb’s chest had an ebony pen with actual gold inlay, creating a brilliant, looping design along the sides. Ron’s chest had a fancy–looking bow, Jess drew a milky-white potion of Myst, Brett got a Body one, and Amanda pulled out another slave collar.

Jeb was turning the pen over in his hand, about to inspect it, when he heard another sound. This one was much deeper, resonating through the entire room.

Thump.

Frowning, Jeb and company glanced up, looking for the source of the noise. Their attention was attracted to the crystal heart in the center of the cavern when it convulsed.

Thump.

The black stone inside the quartz began to heat up, turning cherry red, then orange hot.

Thump.

“Aw shit,” Jeb muttered as he watched the molten rock begin to travel up the building-sized artery.

A nearby lava trap began bubbling, oozing liquid stone out onto the floor.

The heat in the room went up in an instant, from sweltering to scalding.

If this is happening everywhere…

“RUN!” Jeb shouted, pointing toward the entrance to the boss room.

“Shouldn’t we try to -” Ron protested.

“Run, you piece of shit!” Brett shouted, throwing the skinny necromancer over his shoulder and hauling ass.

Chapter 20: This is hopeless

They ran.

The team screamed down the sizzling hallways at full speed, dodging around the overflowing magma pits, not bothering to give the magma squid a chance to grab their legs. When they made it to the next room, they skidded to a halt, gaping at the altered scenery.

What had been an extra wide room prior to the boss fight had become a lava-bridge, maybe two feet of stone with liquid death on either side, radiating heats that would char-broil a normal human in a matter of seconds.

Something they don’t tell you about lava rooms, lava gives off enough heat to cook you from several feet away. Even further if you’ve got an entire lake of it.

“What, what’s going on?” Ron asked, still slung over Brett’s shoulder.

In the middle of the bridge was a red-hot golem monster being birthed onto the path they needed to use.

“We don’t have fucking time for this,” Jeb muttered, glancing at Jess. “Can you go over and get ready to catch?”

“I can do that.” Jess said, bracing her foot against the wall.

With a grunt, she launched herself up, sailing high over the golem, presumably landing safely on the other side of the room.

“Who wants to go first?” Jeb asked.

“I’ll go,” Brett said, handing Ron his shield.

Without preamble, Jeb picked up Brett and tossed him over the obstacle, aiming for the other side of the room. The big Soldier flailed his arms and legs as he flew across the distance, until Jeb felt him come to a halt on the other side.

“Alright