Absolute Shopping Addict 25 Chapter 25

It looked very similar to the other skeletons that first attacked the town, but larger and better-equipped.

Also, as it took slow and deliberate steps within the town, every skeleton within its wake began rea.s.sembling themselves.

It roared, and the skeletons that remained from the first wave, as well as their counterparts who had just rejoined the battle, also followed suit.

The sound chilled the awakeners to the bone, because the scene before them was a battle that they thought had ended… began once more.

"What the h.e.l.l is going on?"

"What's this?"

It took a lot out of them just to deal with the first wave of skeletons, but to see those back in the fight again sapped their morale and energy more than they first thought.

However, some took this sudden development better than others.

"It's okay. Stay focused! If we reduce unnecessary attacks as much as possible and attack the joints, we can still deal with them," one of the knights declared, as one of the few awakeners who did not despair.

"We've already figured out the weak points! Don't be discouraged! We can do it!" the other awakeners with stronger mental fort.i.tude exclaimed, shouting battle cries to bring back the morale of their companions.

It might also be because they already dealt with the skeletons before and knew how to fight them.

"But what if they revive again?" an awakener asked, outlining the problem succinctly: the skeletons being revived.

Sure, their morale has returned, but their stamina is almost expended – if they have to take on another wave of skeletons, the awakeners will not be able to deal with them anymore.

"I'm sure the guy behind them is the one that is putting them back together –we have to kill it!" one of the scouts added, and the awakeners found themselves a target: the one responsible for reviving the skeleton army.

"But how the h.e.l.l are we going to take it down?" another awakener asked, and everyone hesitated – it loomed larger than the werecrocodile, and its sword looked sharp and fearsome.

Rus.h.i.+ng in would be tantamount to suicide.

As such, there was only one person in town who would be brave and/or foolhardy enough to take on the challenge, and the awakeners turned towards him, even as they raised up their s.h.i.+elds and formed up once more to handle the skeleton army.

"Ooh, scary, scary…" the man who everyone's eyes were on declared after letting out a whistle as he laid his eyes onto the monster making its entrance.

'Best get geared up for a fight like this,' he thought as he withdrew the equipment from his inventory and wore them, one after the other.

The moment he was done, he began to take careful strides towards the ma.s.sive enemy before him, with the awakeners still in formation looking at him and wis.h.i.+ng for his success, that they may continue to protect this town.

With his armor s.h.i.+ning in the moonlight and his cape billowing in the wind, he looked more like a general leading his army to victory.

Unfortunately, when he opened his mouth, the dramatic moment was ruined.

"Glad you showed up. I've got debts to pay, and you look like you could pay for half of them. Time for some loan payments."

One of the scouts actually collapsed to the ground at this.

Most of the other awakeners were merely content to groan.

'Yep, he's weird.'

They were expecting a heroic battle from this point onward, and sure enough, that's how it began.

In went Jake Smithson, sword gleaming in antic.i.p.ation, swinging his blade against the third boss of the tutorial, the Skeleritter.

And with a clash of metal, the battle was joined.

"This looks like my lucky day! How much are you going to give me?"

***

Several things happened within the 11th Tutorial Area: for Nohas, this series of events was unprecedented for Brino.

The first boss battle with the werecrocodile was what got the ball rolling, so to speak.

This monster was supposed to cull the weaker awakeners and return to be defeated by those who remained, fueled by the need for both survival and vengeance.

However, it was defeated in the very first instance, something that had never happened before, because it was a near impossibility that there existed an awakener who could kill the werecrocodile.

Yet, the greater surprise was still to come, as an awakener managed to make his way onto the Island of Delusion, a place that has never allowed a novice to set foot on it.

The people of Nohas could tell that this is ridiculous, because there was no way to acquire s.h.i.+ps within the tutorial areas at all.

But this changed when what was called a turtle s.h.i.+p appeared in the tutorial area, and was used by an awakener to enter the Island.

While this was a surprise, this wasn't the great surprise people expected. What was an even greater shock was that the awakener who made it to the Island of Delusion, singlehandedly felled the Cherry-Sh.e.l.l Snapper, the lord of the enchanted island within the tutorial area.

If everything went according to plan, the turtle was supposed to attack Brino in a few months, an attack that never came.

With its death, the next boss stepped up to the challenge: the Skeleritter, last of the three disaster-level boss monsters within the 11th tutorial area.

The power that kept it from attacking prematurely vanished upon the defeat of the second disaster-level boss, and the Skeleritter was roused from its slumber, wandering the countryside with its army of skeletons to seek a target for its fury.

Thus the town of Brino was found, and chosen to bear the brunt of the Skeleritter's wrath.

Just like the story about the kingdom lost due to the want of a horseshoe nail, this entire sequence of events was unwittingly instigated by one ambitious awakener.

This awakener defeated the werecrocodile, set foot on the Island of Delusion, singlehandedly defeated the Cherry-Sh.e.l.l Snapper and inadvertently brought the wrath of the Skeleritter upon the town of Brino.

Yes, this awakener is none other than the shopping-obsessed Jake Smithson.

And at this moment, he is unknowingly taking responsibility for the events that he had brought into motion.

Despite the size and weight of its sword, the Skeleritter was surprisingly proficient with its swordplay, matching Jake blow for blow.

"This guy's fast," Jake said as he saw firsthand how the Skeleritter's power was a perfect fit for the third disaster-level boss.

"So much for splurging!" he exclaimed as he not only had to dodge a blow that would have cut him in two, but the other skeleton minions joining in the fight as well.

For all the points he spent on equipment, he still had a lot of problems to deal with in the fight: the Skeleritter did not just join the fight by itself, it was accompanied by an entourage of skeletons.

These skeletons were constantly hara.s.sing Jake and leaving him open to attacks from the Skeleritter itself – even his swordsmans.h.i.+p could not keep up for long.

'I can't defeat this guy unless the others keep these skeletons off me.'

Thanks to that, despite Jake's strength, it was a very difficult situation he was in – even if the other awakeners pulled the entourage of skeletons away, it still wasn't a guarantee that he'd win this fight.

After sending a group of skeletons cras.h.i.+ng into an abandoned house, Jake made some distance and decided to survey the battlefield, looking for someone to help handle the skeletons surrounding the Skeleritter.

"f.u.c.k it," he observed."Everyone has their hands full against these skeletons."

He leaped off the roof of another abandoned house as the Skeleritter set upon it with its sword, the imagery of the battle still fresh in his mind: Liam having a hard time taking down three skeletons at once, others having more difficulty dealing with the constantly-regenerating monsters… it meant that he had no help and would have to do this on his own.

'I can't see how this would work out. I've hit the wall.'

This seemed like certain defeat, and he was steadily feeling the toll the constant battle was taking on him.

He couldn't spare a moment, and couldn't find a way out…

And a small lapse of focus changed everything.

Jake screamed as the Skeleritter's sword punched through his armored leg.
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The cut was deep; thankfully, he moved at the right time to avoid bleeding out.

Unfortunately, that meant he could be swarmed by the skeletons.

"d.a.m.n it!" Jake exclaimed as the battle took a turn for the worst, and right there, he decided to cut his losses and retreat.

Elsewhere, the other awakeners thought of the same thing.

"This isn't good!"

"Okay, we're going to evacuate in order. Form up defensively, and let's make a fighting retreat out of this place!"

"We're in good hands, let's just hold together and we'll make it out of here alive!"

It's true that Jake is a weirdo: a very strong weirdo, but a weirdo nonetheless.

That was why when they saw Jake wounded and forced to retreat, the words of encouragement tasted like ashes in the knights' mouths, their hopes for taking back the town crushed.

"Come on!"

The knights and scouts were the most devastated of the lot of awakeners, but it was their duty to hold the line and ensure their companions made it out of there alive.

Their morale was decreasing, and injuries were beginning to pile up, collapse was about to take place…

"Get yourself together!"

"If you die, we all die! Let's go!"

It was all the other awakeners could do to prevent this defeat from turning into a ma.s.sacre.

A group of awakeners was about to be overrun, only for Jake to swing in and smash the skeletons away.

This was the point where Jake made up his mind.

'ABANDON BRINO!'

***

Once the decision to abandon Brino has been made, the awakeners' safety is now in question, as monsters could appear anywhere at this point.

Only Jake, who had been to the Island of Delusion, knew how miserable such a life would be; he had never intended to abandon Brino or subject other awakeners to the same misery he did while on the Island of Delusion.

This time, however, circ.u.mstances have changed: he can't go back to Brino, as there is an outrageously powerful disaster-cla.s.s boss that invaded it.

'That guy's too strong… next time might be curtains for me… I'm going to fight my way out of here for now…'

At this point, while the other awakeners were making a fighting retreat, the skeletons pursued them mercilessly.

Groups of awakeners made their way out of Brino in many directions to ensure maximum survival – if the Skeleritter caught up to one group, that meant another group could escape to safety.

'Good to know these guys have a plan to evacuate all planned out.'

Thankfully, Jake had a new skill, which he used to aid his escape.

"Haste," Jake said, and his speed was boosted enough that the skeletons couldn't catch him.

Unfortunately, as soon as he made it out of town, he was beset with a void within his heart… a strangely out-of-place sensation as soon as he made it through that battle (comparatively) intact.

'Why do I feel so empty? It's like I've forgotten… something… important…'

The force of revelation crashed into him like a ton of bricks.

"Oh, no!"

He whirled back to the town and stopped, his feet unable to move further away from Brino despite the urgency of the situation.

"My bed! My couch!" he exclaimed in sorrow, as he realized that he left everything in town that he deemed more important than his life.

'G.o.dd.a.m.n it!' Jake thought. 'I left them in my tent, not knowing that it would end up like this!'

It was now that Jake remembered that he visited that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Emmanuel without returning his items into his inventory – he thought he could return after takingcare of that particularly nasty piece of business, but who knew that a monster attack would happen now?

More than that, a monster attack that would end with Brino abandoned?

'All those things I left behind… I miss them already. They're haunting me. I can't stay here. I have to go back for them.'

Throwing away the things he purchased?

To Jake, that was simply unimaginable.

The things he purchased being taken away?

If that happens, it's going to be a conflict of life and death, with only one walking away from it.

'I can't abandon Brino. I don't want to fight that b.a.s.t.a.r.d again… but I have to start making plans to take back Brino; I must find my stuff.'

A bed.

A couch.

These are the things that someone like Jake Smithson would risk his life for.