The Turning: System Rebuild: A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG, page 1
The Turning: System Rebuild
A POST-APOCALYPTIC LITRPG
KENNY KING
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
24. The Night of the Full Moon
Chapter 25
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A Message from the Author
Prologue
Oh, hey, you’re back for some more, huh? I can’t exactly blame you. My life’s been pretty exciting the past few months, all thanks to the Turning– an apocalyptic event that turned our world, and not for the better.
Well, in case you forgot, my name is Augustus Octavius Titus Julius Tiberius the Third, but most people just call me August King. Although, I guess now it’s August King, democratically elected President of D.C., Dragonmancer, and head of the newly reformed community of America. Yeah, it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but hey, I didn’t ask for this position.
It was handed to me.
Why? Well, probably because I saved D.C. and any survivors left in it from a race of super apes, killer zoo animals, and a seriously fucked up hospital demon. Oh, and I stopped a Lich King, tamed a gigaclops, befriended a tarasque, and got the former president’s daughter to fall in love with me. Let’s not even mention the way I acquired all those dragon powers, obtained the legendary sword FrostCaliber, and formed alliances with not only one super cool five-year-old girl but also cat people and a tiny rodent army.
Oh yeah, in case you forgot, the animals are people now… sort of. And my best friend Wallace is a bard, which isn’t nearly as impressive as being a talking animal, especially since he can only play three songs. He also has a dog girl he pulls around on a leash, but I promise it’s not nearly as kinky as it sounds.
So, life should be exciting enough, right? You’d think a president should be able to kick back and relax after a well-earned victory, maybe sip a couple mai tais and enjoy the aforementioned president’s daughter.
Except now I’ve got an entire city to rebuild, a legendary illness to contend with, a whole new set of monsters to battle, and a girlfriend to keep happy. And don’t even get me started on what happened to the military.
Oh, and the cannibal bikers.
Shit, and the dungeon quest, too.
As usual, I’m getting ahead of myself. Our last story began with a kaiju in New York and a stolen Slim Jim from my old gas station. But this one?
This one starts with a rocket turtle.
Chapter 1
The kaiju was massive, easily towering over the shorter buildings on the block, and easily twice the height of Nubbins. If it was standing upright, it would probably be even more imposing, but it had to go on all fours. Its body was heavily armored, with a thick, turtle-like shell covering its back and most of its body. What wasn’t covered by the dark shell looked like tough, leathery skin that was a deep charcoal color. Its arms and legs were thick and muscular, with long, sharp claws that glinted menacingly in the sunlight. The eyes on either side of its head were large and yellow, with black pupils that seemed devoid of emotion, almost dull and lifeless. Its nostrils were two small holes located on the upper part of its snout, and razor-sharp teeth long enough to shred through steel filled its mouth.
And I knew that because it had eaten a Kia Sorento only a minute ago.
To top it off, the kaiju's head was adorned with several small, jagged horns that jutted out from its skull, ensuring that it was the least cuddliest belle at the ball.
Oh, wait, no… what actually topped it off were the two rockets that were strapped to its back. They were large, cylindrical tubes that were almost as long as the kaiju itself, and judging by the size, each one was filled with enough explosive power to level a city block. Thick metal bands attached the tubes to the kaiju's shell, and wires ran from the rockets to a control panel on the kaiju's forehead. Everything almost looked comically tacky, like a bad Japanese sci-fi movie. The rockets were even tipped on their fins and noses with red paint, and everything else was the sort of shiny chrome you might find on a kid’s spaceman costume. The creature seemed pulled from a low budget monster flick, which in all actuality, it probably was.
The game maker wasn’t exactly selective when it came to crafting his new world, and he certainly wasn’t the most original.
Luckily, it was about as slow as a regular sized turtle, and lumbered clumsily along the street. It didn’t seem to care what it trampled over or brushed up against, and bits of glass and brickwork rained down as it dragged along the side of the building. Its footsteps cracked the pavement. We needed to head it off before it hit the community and did any more damage to the city’s infrastructure.
“Just one, right?” Annabelle said from her position beside me. She, Wallace, Penny, and I were all crammed behind an overturned city bus as we surveyed the creature before us.
Penny nodded. “That’s what the ape scouts said. We’ve only got a few more blocks before he truly gets into our immediate safe zone.”
Shit, we couldn’t afford any more damage to our home base area, even though it encompassed a much wider range than our actual living space. We’d cleared out most of the city, though the eastern side and some of the north/northeast was still in progress. This kaiju was up in the northern area of D.C. near Howard University and the Children’s Hospital. The hospital had been mostly looted, but we could still run a few more trips to it, and any area between North Capitol and South Dakota Avenue had not been completely looted and ruled as safe, though the zone on my map grew bigger every day.
We needed to get this thing out of here so we could continue to grow.
“Hey, wasn’t there a rocket turtle? Like… from those Japanese movies?” Wallace hissed, looking up at the creature.
“Yeah, Gamera,” I said. “He was, uh, ‘friend to children’ or some shit like that.”
“Where’s Godzilla when you need him?” Wallace griped.
“Godzilla’s Toho company, Gamera’s Daiei or Kadokawa,” Annabelle said. “Geez, dude, know your monsters.”
“You can’t just be hot, huh?” I laughed. “You gotta be hot and smart?”
“Yes, she is hot,” Penny said plainly. “But despite Annabelle’s body temperature, this creature does not look like a friend to children. He looks like… a friend of… a friend of violence.”
As she said that, the kaiju bent down with his hooked tortoise beak and tore the roof off of another car, a Subaru Outback this time. A kayak that had been on the roof rack tumbled and rolled away before it was chomped in half. Ah, Subaru, the chosen car of cool lesbians, outdoor enthusiasts, dog owners, and outdoorsy lesbian dog owners. And hey, before you tell me I’m stereotyping, there were, of course, national park stickers all over the back windshield, as well as a license plate frame that said, “I love my Yellow Lab.”
I should have stolen it for Langley.
“Any bright ideas?” Wallace said, raising a brow. The scar he’d acquired during the lich king battle pulled at the skin tightly.
“Aubrey,” I said, speaking to the AI in my head. I’d named her Aubrey after her Aubrey Plaza-like dislike of everything and her deadpan nature. “Aubrey, I’d like to Know My Enemy.”
“Rocket Turtle,” she sighed. “And yes, that’s its real name… Alright, the Rocket Turtle is level 30 with a total HP of 2700.”
I nodded. That tracked, considering levels seemed to grant 900 HP by default, though my own was much higher simply because of all of my bonuses thanks to my advanced class and skill trees. That meant the rocket turtle could probably give me a ton of damage, but he wouldn’t exactly flatline my own considerable HP with just one hit. I was a lower level than him, so I'd have to make my hits count, but I wouldn’t need too many to bring the big boy down.
Or girl… I guess. Can you assume a giant rocket turtle’s gender? It’s not like I could go over and lift up its proverbial skirt.
“Any special skills?” I asked Aubrey.
“Yeah, rockets,” she said, her voice deadpan.
Touche.
“Would you like to open your bestiary page?” she asked, as if it would be a huge inconvenience.
Inconvenience for the fake AI lady in my head or not, I did want it opened, and the page flared to life in front of me. It was similar to the bestiary in The Witcher games, and even though Aubrey could dictate Know Your Enemy to me, this had a bit more info as far as stats and weaknesses went. It also had a handy little drawing that looked way more put together than the sloppy creature in front of me. As far as interesting facts went, the bestiary let me know that due to its affinity for firepower, the rocket turtle was less prone to fire damage, but ice would harm it more. Luckily, I had both powers. Absolute Zero was going to come in handy.
“Okay,” I said, gesturing to everyone to come closer. We were in a crouched huddle, each of
“Hey, I can dance,” Wallace grinned. “Want me to help?”
“Love you, buddy,” I said as I shook my head. “But you don’t exactly have cat-like reflexes. I know Penny can dodge out of the way of just about anything, but I can’t risk you becoming Hamburger Helper.”
“Yeah,” Wallace chuckled and pointed to his scar. “Can’t risk my money maker. Wouldn’t wanna disappoint all the ladies.”
“What about the gigaclops?” Annabelle asked, ignoring Wallace.
I shook my head. “Can’t risk the damage to the city from one kaiju, let alone two. Besides, we should only use him when it's absolutely necessary.”
“Want to get out the .50 cal?” Wallace asked. “Or is it gonna be a sword day?”
I grinned. “Why have a legendary sword if you don’t get to use the legendary sword? Besides, in terms of damage, FrostCaliber does way more, especially with the turtle’s resistance to fire and firearms.”
Wallace gave me a little salute. “Sword day it is.”
“Should we do like a team cheer?” Annabelle smirked.
“If we’re going Captain Planet, I want anything but heart,” I said.
“I am not a planet or a heart,” Penny scoffed. “I am a cat. And I am growing impatient.”
Suddenly, Penny’s wish for action was granted. There was a deep rumble as the massive turtle briefly stood on its two hind legs, then brought all his weight down on another car to pancake it. The rocket turtle bent down and began to tear at the metal with his beaky mouth. Now that he was distracted, it was a good time to make our move. We’d all snapped our attention to the large beast, and everyone was on high alert for its next move.
I nodded to my party, letting them know it was go time with a few gestures, and Wallace immediately spun his acoustic around to his front and began to strum out the first few notes of “Wonderwall.” As the debuff filled the air, Penny and Annabelle first flanked me, then moved to their respective sides. The kaiju snapped its head up from its metal snack, and its eyes locked first on Penny, who was weaving nimbly along the street, and then to me, who had stepped directly in front of it. Annabelle was still slinking behind cars and things, finding a good position to loose arrows from.
“Hey, ugly!” I hollered, and the beast roared. I caught the fishy, fetid smell of its breath and watched in disgust as foamy spittle flecked the pavement.
The turtle lowered its head as if to charge, but an arrow sank into its eye, not quite in the orb but in the corner. The turtle looked towards where Annabelle was now perched on a fire escape, but before he could retaliate, Penny yowled and drew its attention towards her.
With a deep breath, I gripped FrostCaliber tightly and charged forward. The kaiju reacted quickly, ripping his gaze from Penny and launching one of its rockets in my direction. I managed to dodge it with ease, and it went directly into a bank building behind me. The ground shook as the building caved in on itself, its front obliterated by the blast, but luckily, I’d overestimated the rockets’ power. It hadn’t cleared a block, just one building.
Wallace was on the chorus as another arrow flew from Annabelle’s position. The kaiju roared at me, but Penny leapt onto its back and slashed her claws along its leathery cheek. The giant turtle head snapped back and forth, uselessly trying to bite the back of its own head, and Penny quickly jumped onto a nearby fire escape.
As I closed in, the kaiju spun and tried to swing its tail at me. It moved clumsily, and I ducked mostly out of the way, though the heavy, thick cable of its tail scraped over my back with a glancing blow. I ran forward once again and brought my sword up just as the kaiju tried to rear back on its hind legs. My blade sank into the soft, wrinkly flesh of where its leg just began to hide under the shell, but even though the rocket turtle roared, it didn’t seem to slow it down. It was just armored too well.
“This is going to take forever!” I hollered.
“What do we do!?” Annabelle yelled from a small distance away.
“Plan B!” I yelled.
Suddenly, “Wonderwall” stopped with a jarring, discordant strum.
“What’s Plan B?” Wallace yelled.
Plan B is dragon. Plan B is always dragon.
I mean, okay, it should be Plan A, but dragon shifting isn’t always practical, as I was trying to avoid more damage to the city, but jabbing it in the soft spots with arrows and FrostCaliber was going to take too long, like doing a boss fight with only one move. Even though my level was significant, the turtle and I would just end up chipping away at each other. And if we wanted to debuff again…
Jesus, a guy can only listen to “Wonderwall” so many times.
With a roar, I transformed into my dragon form, my body growing to ten times its size. My black scaled body gleamed in the sun, even under the discolored apocalyptic sky. The kaiju was caught off guard, but it quickly regained its composure and charged at me once again.
I countered with a Dragon Bolt of ice that engulfed the kaiju in a flickering, frosty blue light, almost like flames with the way they danced over its form. The turtle roared in pain, but it didn't back down. The hard surface of its shell began to splinter and crack against the intense cold, almost like the keratin of a weak fingernail. Now that we were basically the same size, I could look at its eyes as it attempted to charge forward again, opening its beak wide to tear a chunk out of my hide.
I evaded its attack and summoned a massive wall of ice to cut off the turtle’s charge. The kaiju couldn’t stop in time and slammed into the wall, knocking it off balance as the ice shattered. I used my claws to slash forward, opening up the sides of his leathery neck as I gripped his head and tried to keep his sharp beak at bay.
The wounds drew blood, but weren’t mortal. He snapped his beak open and closed, and the sound was thunderous. I’d seen videos of snapping turtles biting all sorts of items clean in half, and this was like that but times a hundred.
The kaiju fought back and struggled against me, so I dug my heels in and resisted his pushes forward. Unfortunately, he was still a higher level than I was, and I felt my clawed feet slide and tear against the road. I let go quickly and darted to the right, throwing the kaiju momentarily off balance and sending him falling clumsily forward with a ground-shaking thud.
I quickly used Absolute Zero on him to slow down his movements even more, then moved in with a quick slash with my Dragon Claw to the topmost part of his neck, just where it connected to his shell. Unlike the more shallow blows to the sides of his neck, this skin along the top split open like tissue paper, and a gout of almost black blood arched across the urban scene.
Critical Hit!
That was due to my Battle Master subclass and its Increased Critical skill, and I was thankful for it as the turtle bellowed in pain. Its neck pointed downward, as if he couldn’t even bear to lift his head. I stepped back to avoid another spray of blood as it gouted in time with the turtle’s slow heart rate.
I only needed maybe one or two more hits like that to finish the job.
See? If you can be a dragon… always be a dragon.
I went to cast another round of Absolute Zero to freeze the kaiju and slow down any retaliating attack, but just as the arc of frosty blue left my fingers, the kaiju managed to shoot off another rocket. This time, we were too close for me to completely avoid its blast, and it singed a path against my right side as I jumped mostly to the left to avoid it. It crashed into the front of a long ago looted CVS, and the store’s large, light-up letters crashed and shattered as they hit the ground.
