Chapter 10 – Cheese Strategy

It took a lot longer than I would have liked to get everything set up. A lot of it was sneaking around and waiting for Anathema to pass by, which, while nerve wracking, was apparently not all that dangerous.

Selene had informed me that low level Anathema weren’t very good at actually searching for people and were more of just an initial scouting force. As the Usurpation went on though, higher level ones with better senses would start coming out. As it was, low levels tended to rely mostly on sound and sight to find things.

Which turned out to be a huge blessing, especially considering how badly the store had smelled when I was done preparing it.

I peeked from behind the counter of the enclosed snack kiosk I was hiding in, glancing at the entrance to the store in question. Thankfully the wasps had stayed near the stairs leading down to the shelter, letting me skulk around the outer perimeter relatively easily to set everything up. Now, all that was left was putting everything into motion.

My hands were sweaty enough that I took a moment to wipe them on my skirt. I took a few deep breaths, though the tightness in my chest was making it almost impossible. My throat felt dry, tempting me to grab a water bottle from the kiosk.

[Your heart rate has increased noticeably,] Selene noted from next to me. [Is everything alright?]

I gave her a look, her beady eyes stared back at me.

“If this doesn’t work…” I replied silently, glancing back to the store.

[There is no reason it wouldn’t. The plan is well thought out and has reasonably few variables. Even if the plan were to fail, it would only mean the fight would be more difficult. By no means would it be unwinnable.]

After another deep breath, I nodded, shoving the tension down into my stomach. A quick double check of my HUD gave me 82% health, almost 250 mana, and my fully loaded Umbra with an extra round loaded in the chamber. While we were preparing, I had also spent three points on more ammunition, bringing me up to a total of 127 rounds split between nine magazines. With one loaded, three in each side pocket of my school blazer, and the final two in the side pockets of my backpack, everything was prepared, and I was as ready as I could be.

Ah… I wonder if this is the part where I pray for a miracle?

But that wasn’t quite right, was it?

After all, I was supposed to be the miracle now.

I turned to Selene, staring into her crescent shaped pupils as I gave her a nod.

“Let’s begin.”

Selene moved in a hopping blur, and I watched as she entered the store. I made sure to stay as hidden as possible while peeking over the kiosk’s counter. For a few moments, nothing happened, and I was left staring at the red light reflecting off the mall’s tile flooring.

Then a loud, ringing alarm went off from within the store I was watching as Selene activated one of the wind-up alarm clocks we’d placed throughout it.

And then another went off.

And another.

My shoulders tightened as I heard claws scrabbling against tile along with the flap of wings. The white blur that was Selene moving appeared a moment later, leaping from the store just before black shapes dashed from the shadows and came rushing to the disturbance. I recognized most of them as more of the hounds, and they rushed towards the door without hesitation.

A moment later, two ghouls joined the mix. Now that they were closer, I could make out their emaciated forms. They had off-black skin stretched over pointed bones, and their otherwise featureless head was dominated by a wide mouth with pointed, pale white teeth as long as a finger. They moved on all fours in an odd, jittery gait towards the store, but the hounds made it first.

The hounds’ paws made little splashing sounds against the floor as they barreled through the store’s propped open front door, and soon after the first had entered, the sound of breaking glass began. Four or five of the creatures rushed in before the ghouls arrived. Instead of going through the door, the ghouls crouched down low to the ground, sinewy muscles rippling with tension before they leapt at the large display window. With a swing of their claws mid-leap, they shattered through the glass and disappeared inside.

I made a mental note of the jumping movement even as I heard wings flapping. A second later, one of the wasps made an appearance, hovering in front of the now broken window. It was about as big as a cat, and instead of insectoid wings it had six that were more bat-like. The creature was mostly covered in thin, pale white chitin with black flesh poking between the plates. The wasp was curled up on itself as it hovered, making a comma shape that pointed its stinger at the window. After a moment of looking into the store, it flew in.

The sound of glass breaking had increased now, and at least one of the loud, ringing alarm clocks had been silenced. After waiting another moment and seeing no more incoming Anathema, I knew it was time, and so I made my way to the door of the kiosk and opened it. Selene snuck out first, making sure the coast was clear.

[Clear.]

I left the kiosk, forcing myself not to look around and instead simply scurry around to the back where I’d set up the stepladder. Using it, I climbed up on top to the roof. The mall itself had tall ceilings, especially in the central areas, letting me stand with just a slight hunch thanks to my already short stature. I made my way in a shuffle crouch to the roof edge facing the store, my left hand fumbling with the item I’d had clutched with me the whole time. Selene was waiting for me, watching my back for any Anathema that might show up.

So far, the plan was going perfectly.

Phase one had been simple enough, sneaking around and collecting various analog alarm clocks from the antique and appliance stores. Then we’d taken them and hidden them throughout the target store before we prepared the trap itself.

Next Selene had gone in and used her tails to set off all the alarms before joining me. Selene had told me not all the Anathema would come, unfortunately, as they would instinctively delegate the task, but by my count, we’d gotten around half of them, maybe more. After we were sure we’d gotten as many as possible, I would climb on top of the kiosk, and then the final act would begin.

My heart was well and truly racing now, and I fumbled a few times with the small metal rectangle before I managed to flip open its lid. Pressure had built up in my head into a constant, throbbing pulse, but I chose to ignore it as I used my thumb to ignite the small lighter in my shaking hands. I took one last moment to aim, held my breath, and then threw the lighter towards the store entrance.

The liquor store entrance.

Earlier, when I had just finished hiding the alarm clocks behind various glass bottles throughout the store, I had taken extra time to open up various bottles and splash them around as well as empty them on the floor. Others I’d just opened, waiting to be spilled if an Anathema knocked it over. By the end, the store had been thoroughly soaked with a thick lake of alcohol covering the floor. It had even begun leaking outside the door into the area around the store’s entrance.

So I watched the lighter spin through the air, wondering how much better this was going to work because the Anathema had decided to go inside and start smashing bottles, soaking themselves in even more alcohol. The lighter’s small flame gleamed across the pool of liquor at the entrance, reflecting the flickering light for a moment before it landed.

Then a sea of fire flared to life.

It spread into the store, and a moment later there was a flash of light along with a crackling roar as the interior ignited, flaring light into the dim mall. Quickly, I aimed my gun at the entrance, but I felt my eyes widening. Warmth blasted into me in a wave, and I shivered as I watched the fire grow into a frenzy. Shadows played out in a frenzy of moving shapes across the mall as the Anathema in the store went berserk.

After a few moments of the fire crackling, there was a shriek as the burning form of a ghoul jumped out of the store and onto the ground, writhing in the flames completely engulfing its body. I aimed, but stopped myself from firing when I noticed it fall to the ground a moment later, twitching for a few seconds before going still. A chime resounded in my head, making me flinch.

[Defeated (Forsaken Ghoul – Level 5)

[Reward: 10 Points]

Flames snapped and consumed the inside of the store for another few seconds, but no more of the creatures managed to find their way out of the inferno. The dark shadows spasming from within the store began to slow and then go still, and more chimes began to go off, making my eyes widen.

[Defeated (Fomorian Hound – Level 2)]

[Defeated (Fomorian Hound – Level 1)]

[Defeated (Fomorian Hound – Level 3)]

[Defeated (Fomorian Hound – Level 3)]

[Defeated (Forsaken Ghoul – Level 6)]

[Defeated (Giant Cavern Wasp – Level 3)]

[Total Reward: 55 Points]

[New Point Total: 72 Points]

[Congratulations! You’ve leveled up multiple times! You are now level 3!]

[Stat Points Available: 20]

I watched the conflagration with awe, my throat suddenly dry. Selene had told me she thought these particular Anathema might be especially susceptible to fire, and I had expected it to be effective, but this…

A shrill alarm suddenly went off from within the liquor store, and through the broken window, I saw white foam begin to spray within. The fire immediately began to dim, and I let out a sigh of relief. Selene had assured me the fire suppression system would be part of the backup power supply and would activate, albeit only after the fire had been going for a while, but that hadn’t stopped me from worrying about burning the whole mall down.

[Incoming!] Selene informed me, and I twirled around in time to see shapes moving towards me.

From where I was on top of the kiosk, I had a fairly clear view of the central mall’s chaotic marketplace. The two fluttering shapes of wasps were hovering above the stairs leading down to the shelter. Around the rest of the area, I saw two more hounds darting towards the squealing fire alarm along with the last two ghouls. I couldn’t tell if they had noticed my position or not, so I quickly aimed first at one of the two wasps. After taking a second to steady the reticle on the gently bobbing form, I fired.

They were relatively far away from me, farther than I’d ever shot anyway, and so I wasn’t holding out much hope of hitting them on my first try. However, because they were able to fly and attack from a range, they were number one on my list of things to kill.

So instead of waiting to see if the first shot hit, I fired twice more in quick succession.

My Umbra bucked in my hand slightly, letting out definitive cracks as it fired. With Selene’s help, I’d disabled the silencing enchantment as stealth was pointless in this fight, and the sound was much sharper than earlier. It made me flinch, each shot rattling through my bones. For just a second, the shock of the much louder sound combined with the muzzle flashes made me lose focus of my targets.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I quickly reoriented in time to see both still in the air but now headed toward me. I realigned the crosshair as I aimed down the iron sights, and then shot again. This time, I took a quick second to reacquire the shape and adjust before I let loose more shots. It created a careful rhythm of fire, pause, fire, punctuating the high-pitched whine of the fire alarm.

After the fifth shot, one of the wasps lurched in mid-air before falling to the ground. The other seemed to realize the threat, and twirled behind a pillar. I kept my gun aimed at the pillar, waiting for it to come back out, but it seemed content staying hidden behind cover. Meanwhile, I heard the distinct sound of claws clacking against the floor beneath me, signaling that the hounds arrived. I kept a careful watch on where the two wasps had disappeared but changed to aiming at the edge of the kiosk’s roof, waiting with a held breath.

There was more clacking and even the sound of some objects being knocked over, but nothing appeared. I hesitated for a second before I slowly made my way over the roof’s lip, and peeked over.

One of the hounds was on its hind legs, stretched towards the roof but unable to reach it. The other was pacing behind it, looking up at me with its lidless eyes and smushed face. I felt a fierce grin stretch across my face as a laugh bubbled up inside of me.

It had been a gamble, going on top of the roof, but sure enough, it worked. Ever since Selene had told me that lower level Anathema were dumber and acted a lot like simplistic video game enemies, I had wondered just how much I could abuse that fact. After I had told her my plan and asked her if it would work, she had agreed, saying the only immediate real threat would be the wasps.

With such a high number advantage on their side, the fight itself was rigged from the start to be unfair. So, instead of facing them head on, I had decided to go with the age-old video game tactic of cheesing it. I wasn’t exactly sure how the term had gotten its name, but even with my limited experience in gaming I knew it referred to using a strategy that circumvented a challenge by abusing game mechanics or the simplicity of the AI controlling the enemy.