Plus, it gave them the chance to warm up some of their food. And more importantly, he could brew a cup of coffee. He’d brought along an old camping percolator he’d found at his dad’s place. Hopefully, it still worked, because he desperately needed a caffeine fix.
Valentina leaned forward to poke the fire with a stick. She’d unbuttoned her uniform top, and her firm breasts were on full display in her low-cut shirt. “What’s the plan now, doc?”
Warren watched the leaping flames for a minute before responding. The fact that he’d been forced to use a deck cooldown had thrown a wrench in his plans. He’d hope they could take out a few patrols without using his deck, but they’d been completely outmatched. If not for his minions, he wasn’t sure if they would have won.
“I’m not sure,” he finally said. “I leveled up during the fight, so I can take a reduced cooldown for my deck. However, I had hoped to increase my Energy again.”
He turned to Zarya, who had shied away from the warm fire. She looked truly miserable in the heat, but she continued to put on a brave face. Maybe once the harsh mountain winter rolled in, she’d be happier. Assuming any of them were still alive at that point.
Warren frowned as he wondered where the dark thoughts had come from. Maybe the tough battle against the goblins had affected his mood. He’d expected to roll over the little green creatures, but they’d put up a surprisingly strong resistance.
Dismissing his thoughts, he leaned forward and peered at the purple-skinned woman. “Do you know the most efficient way to allocate my stat points?”
“Every child on Daskia learns the proper method to build their squire should they receive a combat deck from the Eternal Emperor.”
He raised his brow. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes, my liege,” she replied. “I am fully able to help you assign your stats. May I ask your current build?”
Warren pulled up his character sheet and examined it.
“Right now, I have 1 point in Melee attack, 2 points in Health, and 2 points in Shield. And I have one point to distribute.”
Zarya’s gaze softened as she stared off into the distance, apparently deep in thought. A moment later, she tapped her fingers against her thigh. “That is certainly a strange allocation of stats. However, I believe we can focus on your strengths.”
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Warren grimaced at her words. This was just as he feared—he’d been allocating his stats in the wrong places. But at least now he had the input of someone who understood the Holy System a little better than him. Going forward, he could tailor his stats based on her advice.
I really hope she’s not a plant to screw up my progress.
But despite his lingering worries, he trusted the system. The notifications he’d received about her becoming his vassal hadn’t seemed to possess any wiggle room. And she’d fought bravely at his side so far.
“Ordinarily, a squire focuses on either ranged or melee combat,” Zarya said, folding her hands in her laps. “While there are some hybrids out there, it’s best to choose one to excel at. If you wish to focus on ranged, then most of your points should be allocated to Ranged Attack and Shield. Alternatively, a melee focused squire should place most of their points in Melee Attack and Defense.”
“No offense,” Warren said. “But I hate the idea of neglecting my Shield with all the aliens out there with beam weapons.”
She cocked her head to the side, a lock of dark hair falling over her beautiful face. “Beam weapons?”
“Those guns your people use.”
“Ah, you mean the firecallers,” Zarya said. “They channel mana from their users and are not beam weapons as you say…” she trailed off, waving her hand in front of her face as the wind shifted and the smoke blew in her direction. Coughing, she stood up and took a few steps back.
“What are the odds of obtaining a beam weapon?” he asked. “Do your people build them? I’ve also had the chance to get some artifacts, but I don’t know what I’ll receive.”
“We have artisans on Daskia producing the finest firecallers,” she said. “Should you take control of your knight’s fee, then you will gain access to the galactic market. Perhaps you will even choose to purchase some from my planet. On another note, I would recommend deciding what you wish to produce in your land before you become the ruler. It may mean the difference between your success and ruin.”
“That’s good to know,” he said. The thought of gaining access to more powerful weapons was a welcome one. But it didn’t help him in his current situation.
“On most planets,” Zarya continued, “squires focus on melee builds. Many cards provide you with ranged options, though strangely, yours have primarily offered melee ones.” She frowned slightly. “Do you possess any ranged weapons beyond the primitive ones from your planets?”
“Those primitive weapons kicked your purple ass,” Valentina cut in. “And they could do it again.”
Zarya sniffed at the woman’s words but chose not to engage. “As I was saying, do you possess any ranged weapons?”
Warren shook his head. “Right now, I have the sword from my deck and not much else. Though to be honest, I think it’s better to let Kassandra use it.”
His friend smiled at his words and crossed her long legs.
“This makes it difficult, then,” Zarya said. “While you could continue to place stat points in shield and Ranged Attack, there is no guarantee you will obtain a ranged weapon. However, you also lack melee weapons to use.”
“Well crap,” he muttered. “That doesn’t exactly make my choices any easier.”
“Should you choose to specialize in melee,” Zarya said. “I would make Defence your priority. When I fought you near the dungeon, your guard position was clumsy and amateurish. Had I not been injured, I believe I would have bested you.”
“Good to know,” he grunted.
“Not that I wish to deride your skill,” Zarya said quickly, a worried expression on her face. “I believe you will vanquish all who you face.”
Warren turned back to inspect his character sheet. He liked being in the thick of things with his minions, but he’d taken some pretty serious injuries in the past. If it wasn’t for his Sword of Deimos, he might have died a few times over.
After a second, he placed 1 point in Defense. So far, the Holy System had provided him with what he required. But until he had a ranged weapon to use, he couldn’t waste his precious stat points. For now, he’d have to focus on what he had—and he had a powerful melee weapon, thanks to his deck.
Maybe in the future, he’d could add some points into Ranged Attack. There were some situations where being able to stand back and plink a couple of shots against an opponent could be handy.
Now that he’d dealt with his stats, he moved on to his deck upgrades. The options flashed in front of his eyes.
Combat Deck Improvements
- Energy
- Cards
- Duration
- Summons
- Bodyguard
He immediately dismissed Cards and Bodyguard—neither of those needed to be upgraded at the moment. Plus, it seemed like defeating world challenges would provide him with more than enough cards.
Which left Energy, Duration, and Summons. He would like to have more Energy, but with his limited cards, it wasn’t a pressing issue yet. Most battles were decided before he could build up 3 Energy, anyway.
That left Duration and Summons. The duration would add 15 minutes to his deck timer, while the Summons would halve the time between calling his deck. As no battle had lasted long enough to require an extended timer, he decided to go with Summons. The ability to call his deck every six hours was a game changer. It meant he could use it at least three times a day.
Warren selected Duration and the hourglass icon for his deck halved. In a few hours, he would be ready to fight the goblins again. This upgrade would allow him to strike the goblins several times a day, greatly reducing the time he needed to defeat the horde.
Once he was finished, he poured some water into the coffee percolator and pulled out a folding pan. Then he used a stick to rake some of the coals out of the fire. Placing the pan on top of the glowing embers, he dumped out a can of corned beef to cook it.
Soon, the delicious aroma of cooking meat filled the air. Even Zarya moved closer to the fire. After a morning of hiking and fighting, all of them were starving.
Pulling out a bag of salted peanuts while the meat cooked, he passed them around the fire. As usual, Kassandra chose not to eat. It really seemed like she didn’t need rest or sustenance. Somehow, the deck must be sustaining her.
As he munched on a handful of salty peanuts, he used his knife to turn over the sizzling meat. This was a meal he hadn’t enjoyed since leaving Sayers Mills. Not many of the doctors he’d known had enjoyed fried canned meat.
When the meat was nicely browned, he sliced off pieces and handed them to the others. He then broke out a bag of potato chips and some crackers. It wasn’t a gourmet meal, but it would fill their bellies. And it was true camping food.
Still, once he took control of town, he planned to start having real meals again. Preferably something with fruit and vegetables. Maybe even with some fresh meat on the side.
As they ate, he once again turned to Zarya, who had fetched her own meal from the strange pocket dimension she carried around. She was nibbling daintily on something that looked like a purple stalk of celery.
“How did your planet survive being integrated into the Godaurian Empire?”
“My home world was not nearly as desirable as your own.” She lowered her food slightly before she continued. “Daskia is far from the front line of the Eternal Crusade and only a handful of factions invaded my homeworld many centuries ago. The bards sing of three powerful squires who rose up and slaughtered the invaders. It is said they spilled so much invader blood that it rose waist high in their last battle.”
Warren looked at her quizzically, while Valentina lowered a potato chip from her ruby lips. “What do you mean, ‘far from the front lines’?”
“Do you not know?” She raised her brow. “Even now, a tendril of the Starveborn invasion fleet heads toward this sector of the galaxy. The Children of the Black Hunger will descend on Earth and face whoever stands victorious. Which I have full faith will be you, my liege.”
“Holy fucking shit.” Valentina surged to her feet, the bag of potato chips she was holding dropping to the ground. “Are you telling me there’s an even worse invasion on the way here? And what the hell are the Starveborn? They sound fucking terrifying. I mean, really, the Children of the Black Hunger? Who names someone that?”
“The consume all mana and life in their path like a pestilence,” Zarya said quietly. “Yet the Eternal Crusade fights to keep them at bay from the empire.”
“So that’s why you invaded our planet?” Warren said. “To turn it into a stronghold against the Children of the Black Hunger?”
“All planets are eventually brought into the empire,” Zarya said. “However, with news of the Children of the Starveborn nearing this place, the opportunity for glory and the Eternal Emperor’s favor brought thousands of factions to Terra.”
Warren sat back and mulled over the bomb that Zarya had just dropped. Even if he succeeded, he’d be fighting a much harder battle in the near future. No longer could he just focus on wiping out the aliens—he would need powerful allies and vassals as well if Earth had any hope of surviving.
He let out a sigh and rubbed a hand down his face. One of these days, it would be nice to receive some good news.