A tumble of thorny vines shot out from the woods and wrapped around her, the small spikes burning where they touched flesh. In an instant Tess was pulled into the woods and out of sight of the cameras.
Zavier stared at the tablet, mouth open in shock. A second later the tablet clattered to the table and he was running to the front door, throwing on a welding jacket and hopping as he hurriedly put on his boots. Without time to find suitable tools he grabbed his two biggest knives from the kitchen and sprinted out the front door. He wanted to scream her name but didn't want to attract anything else that he couldn't take on right now. Fear stuttered his heart and made his skin tingle with adrenaline. Eyes wide with panic, he ran for the woods while listening for the sound of struggle. His heart lurched in his chest when he realized he couldn't hear anything. Dead silence.
With panicked whispers he called her name. "Tess!" he hissed as loudly as he dared. "Where are you Honey?" He searched the ground and saw where she'd trampled the grass. As he sprinted for the path into the woods he heard rustling getting closer. He stooped into an attack stance, both knives held at the ready. If it was another wolf he was dead, but without Tess he didn't know what living meant anyway.
A shadow slid into view and Zavier tensed.
Tess stepped from the woods, pieces of vines still smoking from arcane lightning. Her face bore angry lines and cuts, the blood barely visible against her dark skin. He looked down at the machete she held and saw what looked like a clump of nasty vines in a tight knot. She didn't pause as she leaned over and kissed his cheek, walking straight-backed to the house.
Rustling Creeper, level 3 defeated.
By the time they made it back inside her injuries had healed, doing nothing to wash away the blood on her face.
"Holy shit you are scary, Chica," Zavier said as he gently cleaned her face with a hot towel. At his insistence she'd stripped to nothing so he could check her over, slapping his hands away when he started to get frisky. He tended to only break into Spanish in moments of high emotion, and her sitting easily on the edge of the bathroom sink while he wiped the blood off of her was doing it for him. "I don't know what this is going to do to our relationship. I mean, can I even be with a woman that could beat my ass?"
She laughed. "I've always been able to beat your ass, Chico. Now go check on the kids. I'm going to take a shower and we'll recap after."
Zavier went to the table to examine the loot the creatures had dropped. For some reason the snakes combined only dropped a single item, but it was cool enough that he didn't care.
Item Name: Dust Devil Rattler Scale Buckler
Description: This shield is crafted from the tough scales of the Dust Devil Rattler, providing excellent protection while retaining remarkable flexibility. Its sleek design enhances the wearer's speed and agility in combat.
Stats:
Defense: +2 Agility: +1
Abilities:
Special Ability - Swift Defense: When wielded in combat, the Dust Devil Rattler Scale Buckler enhances the wearer's speed and agility, allowing for swift movements and quick reactions. This provides advantage on Dexterity-based checks and saving throws to evade incoming attacks. Additional Notes: The Dust Devil Rattler Scale Buckler is lightweight yet durable, making it an ideal choice for agile fighters who value both defense and mobility on the battlefield. Its unique design incorporates the natural patterns and textures of the Dust Devil Rattler, blending seamlessly with desert environments.
This would be perfect for Cass. He needed mobility and protection and this would give him both. Then there was the next item. This one was weird.
Item Name: Rustling Creeper Vine Whip
Description: This whip is crafted from the flexible vines of the Rustling Creeper, adorned with sharp thorns along its length. It crackles with a faint energy, hinting at the potent toxins infused within.
Stats:
Attack: +2
Abilities:
Special Ability - Toxic Barb: The barbed tip of the whip is coated with a potent toxin extracted from the Rustling Creeper. On contact with flesh, the toxin induces paralysis, leaving enemies vulnerable to further attacks. Additional Notes: The Rustling Creeper Vine Whip is a versatile weapon, capable of inflicting both physical and poison damage. Its flexible nature allows for swift strikes and precise targeting, making it ideal for both offense and defense in close combat situations.
Zavier thought he could use it, but Luna also needed a weapon. She hadn't really resonated with anything they'd tried yet so maybe this would give her the boost to find something she was comfortable with.
It occurred to Zavier that he didn't know what the attack and defense boosts did exactly. On the surface they seemed self-explanatory but he wanted to know exactly what they impacted. He opened his laptop and started searching.
By the time Tess finished her shower he'd found what he was looking for. Someone had posted a summary that seemed legit enough for him to take it at face value.
"Attack and defense bonuses directly affect a person's ability to cause or prevent damage. It changes slightly depending on the person themselves, but attack targets a person's ability to hit as well as the strength of that hit. The higher a person's attack score and the more proficient they are with the weapon they're holding, the more capable they are of striking where they want to strike, and the greater the amount of damage that strike causes. For instance, a person with a strength of 20 can hit something with double the force of an average person, since the power of their musculature has effectively doubled. But a person with a strength of 18 and a +2 to attack can hit with the same power. The attack increase is the better option because it also provides two points (no data yet on how much accuracy a point is) that can strike the point they're aiming for at a much higher rate. Presumably, when a person's attack skill reaches high levels they can hit exactly where they are aiming every time. A knife, spear, or arrow aimed with a high enough attack score will hit precisely where the person aims regardless of the situation."
"Defense, on the other hand, seems more ephemeral. For some it appears to mean tougher skin or the ability to shrug off more damage. This could have an analog to Endurance but I'm not sure about that yet as I haven't studied anyone with a high enough endurance stat to clearly identify its effects on physicality. Another interesting aspect of the defense modifier is that, for people with high agilities, it seems to provide them greater speed, with defense meaning 'the ability to avoid damage' rather than 'the ability to tank damage.' The sample sizes so far are small and there aren't enough high-level people to make a strong determination, but so far all cases seem to point in that direction."
Zavier sat back in thought. He clicked 'follow' on the Reddit user named Sazed and closed the laptop.
"Personal system engagement available. Would you like to proceed? Note that selecting 'no' will not remove the option and you will be able to enable this engagement at any time."
Zavier looked at The System screen that had appeared in his vision, studying what it said for a minute. He hadn't seen an optional message before, and what was that about engagement? He guessed it had something to do with him reaching level five but he didn't want to take the chance without talking with Tess first.
She walked into the room a few minutes later in shorts and a tank top, rubbing lotion down her arms. He shared the message with her and she shared hers right back with him. Tess had received hers while she was stepping out of the shower but didn't see any reason to rush through her routine. This skin doesn't look this good by skipping the lotion, she thought to herself.
They contemplated the identical messages for a moment before Tess broke the silence. "I mean, I don't really see any negatives to it," she said at last.
"I don't either. Think I should go for it? If it's for level five we definitely want to get any power ups. We're supposed to get rewards for reaching level five, so I can only assume this is that."
"I agree, but I don't want to do it without warning the kids. We don't know what will happen, and if we're out for a while they'll need to know."
Zavier agreed. "Wake them up or wait for the morning?"
"The message said there's no rush, so let's get some sleep. Everything this system has done to us so far has been draining, I want full energy before we do this."