The Turning: System Update: A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG, page 1
The Turning: System Update
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
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
28. One Week Later
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A Message from the Author
Prologue
I know, I know… this again, right? Sure, we don’t need to catch up every single time we see each other, but life’s been busy. So, if you remember the last time we spoke, we’d saved the new D.C. from a deadly, magical illness– all thanks to yours truly and a pretty badass old lady named Nora. And our compound made a lot of improvements, including a working blacksmith, a forge, and even a school. We also killed a bunch of cannibal bikers, made friends with a dog army, found out what happened to the real army, and discovered more than a few new enemies along the way. Apparently, the game maker got bored and decided to up the ante a little bit. New creatures, new moves against us… and I could finally hear his voice in my head again.
Tense isn’t exactly the word for it, but things aren’t exactly friendly between us.
Oh, nemeses, that’s the word I was looking for.
But now that I’ve got a Nicolas Cage superweapon and a can-do attitude, maybe… just maybe I’ll be able to take that much needed break I’m always mentioning.
Yeah, right.
Let me tell you a tale about a President, his party, and two mysterious strangers. It’s a tale that finally takes us out of the D.C. metropolitan area and into a wondrous, magical place.
A place called Ohio.
So, we’ve had our tales start with kaijus, Slim Jims, and rocket turtles.
But this time…
This time we start with groundhogs.
Chapter 1
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?” Wallace groaned as another land mine went off, showering us all with rock, grit, and dirt. He and I both spat a good bit out of our mouths. “This is really ruining my liking for Puxatawny Phil.”
“Really?” I half grinned, half grimaced, feeling the grit still in my teeth. “Because it’s giving me a hankering to watch Caddyshack.”
We were on the northernmost edge of the city proper, in Rock Creek Park. Just a few hours ago, we’d received word from the rodent battalion that was trying to make a home there. The rodent army had, well… procreated like rodents, and just like the cat alliance’s kittens, these creatures were born immediately sentient and turned. Except, it took the kittens a far longer time to grow than the rodent babies, closer to human children, actually. All that to say, the park in Fairfax was running out of room, and some of the rodent army’s mass needed to be re-stationed in other parks in the D.C. metropolitan area. Rock Creek was one, as was a park in the Alexandria area. Unfortunately, Rock Creek already had inhabitants, and they weren’t sentient or intelligent in any way.
They were massive mutant groundhogs, thus the Caddyshack reference.
Oh yeah, and we were blowin’ ‘em up, thus the land mines.
The rodent battalion and I had set up a perimeter at the edge of the park’s eastern parking lot and lined it with a few of the land mines we had left after the biker battle. It might seem sort of like overkill, but it was actually a stroke of genius. Drawn to us like bait, the groundhogs kept tunneling towards us, sometimes in triplets or even in groups of up to four. They’d hit the mines and turn into groundhog party confetti in five seconds flat. Meanwhile, any of the massive creatures that managed to tunnel up and out were being overtaken by our ground forces, with reinforcements sent straight from Fairfax.
Our battleground was a large crescent shape of forest, then a few yards of grass that bled into a bit of gravel and dirt before hitting the concrete of the actual designated parking area. However, no material stopped the mutant rodents, and they tunneled even through the concrete. You could watch their progress as they split the ground in front of us, reminding me of the movie Tremors, which had terrified me as a little kid.
We’d made a clear stand in the parking lot, demarcated by the rubble and evidence from our line of landmines. The groundhogs kept advancing from the tree lines, fleeing like rats from a sinking ship, except they were too stupid to realize they were running right into danger. They were scary, and seemed only drawn by bloodlust and hunger, which we used to our advantage. The rodent army swept over any mutant it could get its hands on, chewing through them like a pack of Amazonian piranhas– leaving nothing but bones in their wake.
“Running low on mines!” Wallace yelled just as the trees in the forest began to sway. Another wave of groundhogs was coming. Jesus, these things didn’t let up.
Time to bring out Plan B. Which, if you’ll remember, is always dragon. I mean, dragon is also Plan A, but I was trying to avoid it this time. I didn’t exactly feel like setting the entire park ablaze, nor did I want to run the risk of stepping on our rodent allies, but I was getting hungry, and this was turning out to be a bigger endeavor than we’d originally planned.
“Get back,” I said, my words morphing into a roar as my dragon transformation ripped through me. My allies gave me a wide berth as I became massive.
“Another wave!” one of the rodent soldiers called, preparing his troops.
Annabelle gracefully hopped up on one of the park benches, then used it to climb atop the small map and utilities kiosk that was posted. Her feet balanced expertly on the uneven, steep roof. I always wondered if her ability as an archer also gave her the balance and speed to climb things so deftly.
“General Pancake, what do your elf eyes see?” Annabelle called out, making us both snicker a little with the Legolas reference. Of course, when she snickered, little curls of smoke didn’t come out of her nostrils like me.
The newly appointed General Pancake, a Holland Lop rabbit, replied, “I am no elf, m’lady, but I do see another contingent of six of the devils!”
So, clearly the rabbit wasn’t a Tolkien fan. Or at least, a Peter Jackson fan.
Just then, the grass and branches parted to reveal the next wave of mutants. Unlike the kind you might see in your backyard only a few years ago, these had been changed by the Turning. They’d gone from a pest to a formidable force. They were at least six to eight times the size of normal groundhogs, now almost the size of a boar or a large pig. Their fur was matted and unkempt, and their fangs gleamed in the murky, oily sunlight, hanging over their lips almost like tusks. All of them were filthy, and chunks of soil and grass were knotted and entrenched in their coats. Their claws, once used for burrowing, were now curved and long like a velociraptor’s. They tore furrows above ground and below. I roared as I locked eyes with one of the advancing bastards. Its eyes were beady and red, and there was nothing behind it but sheer primal hunger and rage. Without any human influence, the Turning had erased everything from them but pure id. They knew nothing but destruction and consumption.
Penny, with Langley tethered to her hip via a long leash, yowled and poised to strike. On her hands were the custom claws that Ludo had made her. They looked particularly wicked and already had rusty red bloodstains on them from the first wave of groundhogs. Langley had been tethered to the Siamese cat girl to enable Wallace’s full focus on his guitar. Langley needed a stabilizing force around this many rodents, not because she was a bad dog, but because she was very excited. She’d tried to play with one of the chinchillas just last week and nearly put the poor thing in an itty-bitty hospital.
The groundhog that was staring at me ran straight for me, snarling and growling as it did. I heard a twang as something rushed past my face, and one of Annabelle’s glowing blue energy arrows buried itself in the creature’s back end. Undeterred, it continued towards me. I roared once more, lifted my foot, and brought it down on the creature’s spine just as it came within range. I felt the snap of its body underneath my clawed foot. While that might have seemed sort of gross in my human form, my dragon form seemed to fuel my own need for consumption and destruction, and I found the sensation sort of satisfying.
There was a cacophony of sound as the other five groundhogs rushed onto the scene. One attempted to burrow right on top of a landmine, showering us immediately with dust and gore, the latter of which was absorbed by the soil fairly quickly and turned into a reddish brown mud. I used Dragon Claw in my terrifying form to rip another one to pieces before it could reach the rodent battalion, but the three that pushed through weren’t in for an easy fight. When it came to the rodent army, size didn’t dictate strength. The unit of guinea pigs, chinchillas, and hamsters moved with surprising agility, and their determination and honor was boundless in the kind of fervent way you can only find in true soldiers. I think one of the reasons the rodents were so badass was because of their quickness and b
“Loose!” Annabelle yelled from her perch, and a small unit of guinea pigs launched arrows with precision, their shots finding their mark amidst the chaos. The forest swayed again as more of the groundhogs decided to forego burrowing and run headlong into the fight. Beside me, a chinchilla displayed impressive acrobatic skill and gracefully evaded a large groundhog's attacks while striking back with kicks and punches. I didn’t want to risk intervening and hurting the little guy, so I focused on a different groundhog a few yards away. Before I got to him, however, the hamsters, armed with miniature maces and daggers, darted in and out, delivering swift, deadly cuts.
Unfortunately, just when I thought the battle was won and dragon form might be overkill, the trees parted and six more massive beasts stampeded into the fray. They were in a slight v-shape formation, and the one at the head was almost twice the size of the ones flanking. The surviving two from the previous wave doubled back to fall behind their apparent leader, and the rodents fell back to regroup into formation. Careful of the surrounding forest, I sent a Dragon Bolt at the biggest one, and he howled and screeched as the smell of filthy, burnt fur filled the air. The rest of the groundhogs charged, aiming to retaliate with brutal force. Their massive claws swiped with abandon, and the air began to fill with tiny screams as a few rodents were cleaved in two.
“Loose!” Annabelle screamed, but the guinea pig archers were fleeing from the groundhogs. The leader was still aflame, and I sprang forward– hoping like hell I didn’t step on any allies– and snatched him in my claws. He was a wriggling mass of flames and stink, but I did the only thing I could think of.
I bit his head off.
Which, dragon form or not, was still pretty gross.
I spat out the charred head just as more clashes and screams rang out. The rodents were exhausted, and the latest wave of groundhogs was causing casualties.
The small cries of pain mixed with the roars of the groundhogs, creating a cacophony that reverberated through the parking lot and turned it into a damn Civil War battlefield. The ground became a patchwork of dirt and fur as the combatants engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
There was a resonant twang as Wallace batted a groundhog away with his guitar, too entrenched in battle to even pull out Martha– his trusty firearm. A blue energy bolt whizzed past and buried itself between the beast’s eyes, probably saving Wallace’s guitar from future punishment. Langley yapped and tugged on her leash, eager to get back to her preferred human mid-battle, but Penny dug her heels in and kept her in place. It was an impressive feat of strength, considering she was also slicing and dicing a groundhog.
Suddenly, one of the groundhogs dove into the actual concrete, seeming to split the earth in two as he descended with incredible speed. The guinea pigs and chinchillas that had been fighting the creature froze, watching in horror as the surrounding concrete erupted in lines. I tracked the groundhog’s progress as the ground trembled and cracked, not wanting it to pop up and take someone unawares. Time seemed to slow as we held our collective breath, waiting to witness the groundhog's next move. Penny and Langley ran over, and Langley was on all fours with her elongated teeth dripping lines of drool onto the pavement.
“I SMELL HIM!” she snarled, yanking on her leash.
Then, the concrete exploded outward in a violent burst as the mutant practically rocketed out from beneath the surface, nearly soaring through the air. Langley rocketed herself upwards, using her powerful legs to meet the beast head-on. The two animals collided, their forms briefly silhouetted against the sky. The mutant threw Langley off, and she hit the ground with a pained yelp. The groundhog landed amidst the small contingent of guinea pigs, chinchillas, and hamsters. Panic spread among the small warriors as they scrambled to defend themselves against its massive teeth and razor-sharp claws. Some narrowly dodged the groundhog's onslaught, while others were not as fortunate, succumbing to the brute force of its attack.
I roared and considered letting loose another Dragon Bolt, but didn’t want to hurt the surrounding rodents. Instead, I picked up a chunk of concrete and hurled it at the beast, caving in one side of its jaw. The bottom half of its mouth hung crookedly as it screeched. My throw bought the rodents enough time to regroup, and they adjusted their tactics quickly to take out the wounded mutant. They formed a tight formation, working together to exploit any opening that presented itself.
“REGROUP!” Annabelle yelled, and the guinea pig archers shot off small arrows at the groundhog with the broken jaw, turning their attention away from Penny, Langley, and Wallace, who were now helping battle the larger group of mutants. Langley seemed otherwise fine from her fall, but I’d make sure she regenerated her HP later.
Chinchillas and hamsters swarmed the beast, targeting each of its limbs and chewing over the animal the way I knew they could. The poor things just needed a second to get their swarm started. All across the parking lot, other groups of rodents were trying to regroup and do the same, with General Pancake shouting orders every few moments.
“Wallace!” I roared. “Give us a buff. We need to end this.”
“Time to put this one to use!” Wallace said gleefully as he swung his guitar to his front. With a flourish, he strummed the first several notes to “Zombie” by the Cranberries, and to my horror, even started singing it. And oh yeah, he was doing the whole accent and everything. It was… something.
But what was even stranger than Wallace’s Dolores O’Riordan impression was what was happening on the battlefield. While the title of the song had suggested something with a necromancy element, expecting it and really seeing it were two very different things.
The tune began to animate the lifeless bodies strewn across the battlefield—guinea pigs, chinchillas, hamsters, and monstrous mutant groundhogs. The former animals were a shock, since I’d expected to only see our enemies magicked so perversely.
“What sorcery is this!?” General Pancake yelled, forgetting the battle for a moment entirely.
And he wasn’t the only one. Even the idiotic, barbaric groundhogs froze their attacks as the fallen creatures came back to life, their movements jerky and unnatural. Their bodies convulsed, and their eyes flickered with a malevolent green glow. It was an undead army, and it was gross, but luckily it was on our side.
With horrifying determination, the reanimated warriors lurched forward, their limbs contorting in grotesque angles. Their once-familiar features were now distorted, their flesh rotten and decayed. Even though they’d only died minutes ago, some even seconds ago, they suddenly looked like they’d been rotting for weeks. The undead guinea pigs, chinchillas, hamsters, and groundhogs clashed with the living groundhogs, their movements erratic and strange, but still effective. Their rotting claws slashed through the air, tearing into flesh with a sickening crunch. I watched a tiny undead hamster try to lift his mace high over his head, but his little rotten hands couldn’t bear the weight and fell off completely.
However, little rotten hands or not, the undead warriors showed no mercy as they tore through the ranks of the living with their grotesque forms. Limbs were torn asunder, and blood stained the ground, mingling with the stench of decay, burning fur, and coppery, bloody mud. I shrank back down to human form, my mouth half hanging open as I watched the brutal melee. Every living groundhog was massacred before the first chorus was even finished.
“Whoa,” Annabelle croaked from atop her kiosk, looking as shocked as I felt.
