Warbreaker's Risk: A LitRPG Apocalypse Adventure (The Connected System Book 2), page 10
“How was the road here,” she asked, not turning around.
It was a couple of seconds before the Millmans realized she was talking to them.
“Route 4 was a mess,” Peter said. “Large chunks of it torn up, large cracks.”
“Was it good enough to push things along?”
Peter and Davis looked at each other, not sure what she meant.
Loch got it. He smiled, proud of Harper.
“Can we push shopping carts up the road?” he asked.
The Millmans finally got it, both smiling.
Chapter Twelve
“Piper,” Loch said with the group gathered around him, each with a shopping cart in front of them, other carts lined up by the entrance, and shopping bags piled up on the floor.“Empty the spatial bag of the weapons. Collect the swords and spears from the hobs around the store. Pile up two dozen of the best you can find. We’ll bring those back with us.”
“How will I know what the best ones are?” she asked.
Loch looked up at Cerie, the fairy in her usual spot on Piper’s shoulder.
“I will help with that,” she said.
“Harper, you go through the medicine. Grab as much aspirin, cough syrup, and that kind of stuff as you can. We’ll put it in the spatial bag. No vitamins. Don’t go through the pharmacy. We don’t know what is good to get and what isn’t.”
“Bandages?”
Loch nodded.
“Davis, Peter, we’ll start going through the aisles,” Loch said. “Priorities are things that can’t be hunted or fished. We won’t be able to grow crops, so canned fruits and veggies. Seeds, if there are any. Water. Condensed milk. Maybe some powdered juices. Nothing that can spoil or go bad. Things that don’t take up as much room. We’ll make piles here”—he indicated the wide space between the registers and aisles; they had cleared it of bodies but patches of dried blood remained—“Then we’ll go through the piles and fill the carts and spatial bag.”
He looked at the group, and they all nodded.
“We got some time, so no need to rush, but be efficient”—he looked at the candy around the registers—“No treats. Remember, we need to feed probably a hundred people, if not more, for weeks. Some of this will have to last through the winter.”
They dispersed, following their assignments.
Peter and Davis headed for the canned food aisles. Davis went for the soups, while Peter went for the vegetables and fruit. Each threw cans into carts and bags. They weren’t careful, not caring if the cans got dented.
Loch pushed his cart toward the frozen food aisle. He passed the cookie and chip aisle, turning down the paper products aisle. Paper towels, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies. He skipped the laundry detergent, noticing that many bottles were gone. Had the hobs taken them? He hoped they had, that they tried drinking the stuff. Being poisoned by bleach was a good way for a hob to die.
He paused in front of the wipes, wondering if those were worth grabbing.
They would definitely need to clean a lot of stuff. Tables, cooking supplies. Weapons. Armor. Loch picked up a package. There were a hundred wipes in it. He remembered a package like that would normally have lasted his family of four around a month. Now? He could see the same package only lasting a couple of days, and that was with just him using it.
Were they really going to be useful in this new world? He knew weapons needed to be cleaned, and most likely, armor did too. There wouldn’t be running hot water to clean dishes.
The wipes could be used for everything they had before and even more now.
But the packages were big and took up space. Light, but still would take up a lot of space to get enough for the camp to use. And they wouldn’t last long. Loch could see dozens of uses for the wipes. Almost necessary uses.
He just couldn’t justify the space they would take up, especially where they would go through them quickly. The camp would just have to find or make replacement items that did the same thing. With all the available crafting Classes, there had to be something that could be used as a wipe.
He moved down to the toilet paper, already dismissing paper towels and the various soaps and detergents. All those would be useful, but the space they took up for the short-term return wasn’t worth it.
Toilet paper, though? It took up a lot of space. The rolls were light, they would be easy to push. But a shopping cart's load wouldn’t last that many people long. They would all, including Loch, like to have toilet paper. No one wanted to use the alternatives. But it was still a luxury item, not a necessity.
Humanity's ancestors had gotten along just fine without it. Loch moved to the bread aisle. He knew that even sealed up in the bags, bread and rolls would start to go moldy after a while. The packages weren’t airtight. There were no freezers at the camp, the bread would mold and become worthless. If they could freeze it, Loch would absolutely fill a cart with bread. But without being able to preserve it? The bread would be worthless soon.
Picking up a package of sesame bagels, Loch wondered if the seeds on the bagels could be used to grow wheat. It would be worth taking some bread if they could get crops out of it. He was pretty sure it didn’t work that way.
But they could get seeds from fruits and vegetables.
He’d have to make sure they grabbed enough to get some seeds.
Loch stopped at the end of the aisle. There were some granola bars, snack bars, chips, and fruit snacks. Some of it was carry-over from other aisles and not worth grabbing, but he paused at the granola bars.
The boxes were small, twelve or so bars to a box. As a snack, the bars were a good one. Filling and somewhat healthy. He piled box after box into his cart.
It didn’t take long to fill it.
There was an aisle at the other end with protein bars. He’d stop there and grab those as well.
He returned to the registers, seeing a couple of carts filled with canned vegetables and fruit. A large pile of swords was off to the side, Piper and Cerie sorting through them. Seeing the weapons, Loch realized he hadn’t even looted the two Shamans and Elites.
Leaving the cart, he walked over to the self-service area where the bodies still lay. The blood had dried, now sticky. He avoided stepping in it.
Crouching by the first Shaman’s body, he used Evaluate on the robes and the staff still clutched in the monster’s hand. The robes were nothing special. Poor stitching, roughly spun wool. Not even worth taking.
The staff, though, that had some value.
Dark Oak Staff
Increases the flow of Spirit used in Spell Abilities. +5% to Attack and +2% to Damage of Spell Abilities channeled through the staff.
What were Spell Abilities? He knew, from conversations with Cerie, that some Classes were considered Caster. Essentially, they were the Wizards of the Connected System. Were Spell Abilities what those Casters used?
If so, this staff wasn’t good for a melee fighter like him or Harper. But would it be useful for Piper? Right now, she only had Abilities based around the creation and use of her summons.
It might not even be good for Piper.
But eventually, they’d come across someone that classified as a Caster and would benefit from the staff. Maybe even someone at the church camp.
The staff had been taller than the Shaman, only by about six inches or so. It would be short for most people. Made of a dark-colored wood, the length was twisted and gnarled, rough patches of bark along its length, the top curling in on itself. It didn’t look special, just a length of wood.
Prying it loose from the Shaman’s hands, Loch saw the second Shaman’s staff a few feet away. He identified it the same as the first.
Holding the staves, he moved on to the Enforcer’s giant club.
Tremors Oak Club
Level 2 Weapon
+1% Attack per every 5 Weapon Levels
+1% Bashing Damage per every 5 Weapon Levels
Requires Base Strength of 25
-Tremor Bash Rank One: 50 Spirit Activation. When the weapon strikes the ground, it causes Off-Balance Debuff in a five-foot radius, +2 foot radius every five weapon levels. Anyone in the area of effect must resist Earth elemental damage or receive Off-Balance Stun Debuff for 5 seconds, +2 Seconds every 5 weapon levels. 25% chance of causing Knockdown Effect, +2% every 5 weapon levels.
Loch read the description again. The weapon was good. Not as good as Onyx or Harper’s tonfas, but it was strong. A pure warrior-type would get a lot of benefit from it. The Strength requirement was a big one though. He doubted anyone newly Adapted would have a Base Strength that high.
His wasn’t that high, and he was probably one of the highest-leveled humans on the planet. He doubted he was the highest. Someone with ambition and training had to be doing better than he was. There was no way he was the highest. He had been the first to reach Level Five and get a Class, but there had to be those that had outpaced him.
Setting the two staves down, Loch grabbed the thick handle of the club. He could barely get his hands around it. He tried lifting it, surprised that he could.
It was awkward, the top hanging down, he could only raise the club enough to move it. No way he could use it to fight. He couldn’t even run with it; the thing was very heavy. At least he could bring it with them.
It would take up some space in the Bag, but it was an item worth keeping.
The War Chief’s sword was an even better item.
During the fight, Loch had just paid attention to the blade. Where it was, how fast the point was coming for him. He hadn’t even bothered to study the craftsmanship of the weapon.
There was no way the hobs had made it.
A short sword, the blade was thick with sharp edges down both sides, tapering to a point. The metal was some kind of steel alloy, gray but with light silver streaks. The crossguard was the same metal, along with the hilt, all looking like it was one piece with the blade. The guard was rectangular, the ends square with slightly angled corners. Leather wrapped the handle, the pommel a hexagon with a rune carved in the middle. Loch thought it looked like a set of scales. Very stylized.
BLADE OF JUDGEMENT
Level 2 Weapon
+1% Attack every 5 weapon levels
+2% Slashing Damage every 5 weapon levels
+15% Critical Hit Chance, +2% every 5 weapon levels
-Speed Of Judgement: 25 Spirit Activation. Causes attack speed to double for 5 seconds. +5 seconds every 5 weapon levels.
What were the hobs doing with a weapon like that? Where had they gotten it?
HOB JUDGEMENT
YOU HAVE FOUND A WEAPON THAT OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT BELONG TO THE DARKMOUND CLAN OF HOBS. DISCOVER WHO THE OWNER OF THE SWORD WAS AND WHETHER THEY ARE ALIVE OR DEAD. RETURN THE SWORD IF ALIVE.
Loch groaned, reading the new Notification. A quest.
He had hoped to avoid the hobs, but this quest wanted him to get even further involved with the monsters. The quest was low on details, but it was pretty obvious where to start investigating.
The hob’s mound.
Not a place Loch had any interest in going.
Luckily there was no timer on the quest. He could avoid it, probably forever, if he wanted. Someone else would end up using the sword, maybe the quest would pass to them. Loch felt a little guilty about it.
There was a mystery to solve, and the original owner of the sword might still be alive. Loch had other responsibilities. At this point, he couldn’t go into the hob mound looking for someone that might not be alive.
Loch cursed, dismissing the Notification.
He was not going to let himself get distracted.
Carrying the sword and the staves and dragging the club, Loch brought them over to where Piper was going through the collection of weapons. Hob and skeleton, other assorted ones from the Dungeon. None of it was great quality, some a little better than others. But it was probably better than anything the survivors had back at the camp.
Peter had said they were using improvised weapons, the same as Peter and Davis had been. Golf clubs, baseball bats, and axes. The swords would be extremely useful, even low-quality ones. There was a sizable collection. She looked up as he walked over.
“Make sure these get into the bag,” he said.
She looked at the weapons he put down, back at the pile in front of her. Cerie flew closer to examine what Loch had just dropped off.
“That club will take up a couple of slots,” Piper said.“Could get four swords.”
“This is better,” Cerie said, before Loch could say anything. “The staves are decent for casters, but the club and sword will be good weapons for melee fighters.”
“Okay,” Piper said with a shrug, returning to going through the pile.
“Slots?” Loch asked. “Is that how the bag is set up?”
“That’s how I see it,” she replied. “It’s not endless, just pretty big. But it’s made up of these cubes that are all the same size.”
“How big are they?”
“They do not really exist,” Cerie said, flying back over to Piper. “It is just how the Connection translates the bag’s dimensions to Piper. How something fits”—the small fairy gestured to the club—“Isn’t random but follows a complicated formula based not just on physical size but Spiritual power.”
Loch waved his hand, not really wanting an explanation.
He’d given the bag to Piper to control and manage. She could figure it out.
“How much space do you want for food?” she asked.
“At least half,” Loch said, turning to Cerie. “Should have asked this first, but will anything happen to the food that goes in the bag?”
“It will be like anything else, in a kind of stasis. The food will age, it can’t be left in there forever. It will just take a very long time to start to rot.”
“How long?”
Cerie shrugged.
“Depends on the Spiritual energy of the food.”
“Food can have Spiritual energy?”
“Not this food,” she answered, waving her hands at the aisles around them. “This food was all pre-Connection. Anything made now, with post-Connection ingredients, will have some amount of Spirit infused in it.”
“We can get buffs from food?”
“Yes.”
Loch just shook his head. Food buffs were a staple of video games and even some novels and shows. Cerie had hinted that video games had been created to help prepare people for the Connection’s coming. He just found it hard to accept that even things like food buffs were real. It did make some sense, more than video games had. If Spirit was generated from the core of the world, of course that energy would infuse with seeds. It was already meshing with the beasts of the world, why not the plants as well?
“Half for food, a quarter for seeds or anything we can use to grow new crops, and a quarter for weapons,” Loch amended.
Piper sighed, looking at the large pile of weapons, then at the ones Loch had brought over. She glanced up at him.
“These are included in that 25 percent,” he said.
Piper muttered something under her breath.
“Let’s go through these again,” she said to Cerie.
The fairy floated over, settling on the girl’s shoulder.
Loch looked at the bottle of Powerade Zero. Cherry flavored. His favorite. He drank a ton of the stuff during the summer months and even during the winter. Not that he heavily exercised, he just liked the taste and how refreshing it was. The Grandfords also had grape and orange, his other favorite flavors.
It was rare when the store had all three flavors. Most times, he had to settle for one and then get bottles of red and blue. There were the bad times he had to deal with peach for a while. That one he did not like.
Loch turned the bottle over in his hand.
The bottles were big. Bulky.
They’d take up a lot of room.
He wondered what could be made with Spirit-infused materials. An elixir, if that was what they were called, potion? What would Powerade replenish? Stamina, most likely.
How would someone go about making it? Who would make it? An Alchemist? Was that even a Profession? With a long sigh, Loch put the bottle back on the shelf. They were just too big. He really wanted to bring a bunch, but it just wasn’t efficient or feasible.
He walked away, stopped, and went back.
Grabbing some bottles, he threw them into the cart. Holding a cherry, Loch twisted the top off, taking a long drink. Warm but good. Pushing the cart to the back of the store, he took another drink.
The cart was full, almost overflowing, a couple of 24-packs of bottled water on the shelf between the wheels. It was heavy. Should have been heavy. Loch remembered pushing half-filled carts and what a difference that weight made compared to an empty one. This cart, filled as it was, felt like an empty one.
He was glad for the Adapted bodies.
Part of his plan was to push the carts all the way back to the churches. That was a couple of miles, with a very long hill along the way. Walking had taken the Millmans a couple of days. Loch had figured it would be triple that with them all pushing carts, even Piper.
But maybe it wouldn’t be that bad.
He pulled up his Status as he pushed the cart, watching his Stamina. It was going down, but not rapidly. That would still be the limiting factor, but if they stopped to rest every couple of hours, their Stamina would recharge, and they could keep going. They would only need a few minutes of rest.
Could they each push two carts? That would be awkward and hard to manage. For the most part, physics still ruled the world. Except for the special Abilities and magic. They had made sure to pick the best carts and not the ones with the broken wheels. Harder than it should have been. Carts and bags. That was the best they could do. He looked at all the meat in coolers, most of it had gone bad already.
Such a waste.
He hoped the survivors at the camp would become good hunters. They were going to need a lot of meat. He would have to become a good hunter. There were a lot of hunters in town. He knew some of the neighbors hunted in the woods out back behind his house. It just wasn’t something he had ever done. No issues with it, just had never gotten around to learning. But were those hunters bow hunters? Because guns weren’t working.
