Apocalypse Redux - Chapter 307: Doomsday Clock

“What is that stench?” Arthur asked as he walked alongside Isaac across campus.

“Weed,” Isaac said.

“I know it’s weed, why does your campus stink like it?” Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“Our mages are off in Grafenwöhr, learning to blow stuff up, and no one is left with an air-purifying spell,” Isaac shrugged.

“Are you messing with me?”Arthur raised an eyebrow, “This can’t be normal, right?”

“We’re doing a study right now, about if those [Bartender] [Skills] that let people with a high Fortitude get drunk also work with other legal intoxicants, and if there are any differences with how they interact, and so on,” Isaac explained.

“Sounds like that’d be a pain to get started,” Arthur observed, only for Isaac to shake his head.

“Amy grabbed a megaphone, walked outside, and yelled: who wants to get high for science.” He explained

“Are you … are you high right now?” Arthur frowned.

“Little bit,” Isaac shrugged, “I won’t be when we arrive.”

He really was barely affected, only enough to slightly feel it but not be negatively affected in a fight, and to a degree he could erase in a matter of milliseconds. But it was fun to be able to cut loose to even such a small degree, since he so rarely did. He’d let absolutely nothing affect him, never gone under the effect of any [Skill] that allowed him to get intoxicated, never ever touching anything. Normally, things were just too risky.

That being said, even with Amy and Patrick away, campus was largely safe, and until Arthur had arrived, he’d been sitting in his office.

Could someone get to him regardless? Yes, obviously.

But the chance of someone getting to him before he could sober up was negligible to the point of being practically nonexistent.

“So, I was wondering, is the devil’s lettuce a way for an elf to become a high elf?” Arthur asked, dramatically rubbing his chin.

Isaac sniggered, then transitioned into full-blown laughter once he realized that “devil’s lettuce” was another word for marijuana, albeit one he’d never heard before. And it had just been so incredibly funny … though that was probably just the weed talking.

As they approached Stagmer’s workshop, Isaac sobered up in an instant, having passed beyond the range of the drunkenness [Skill].

“There’s no such thing as elves,” Isaac pointed out, “Not really. Alfar are basically elves, but they don’t have a distinction of one of them being ‘high’.”

“What about high humans?”

Isaac just hung his head. Yeah, that wasn’t funny anymore.

A bell tinkled as the door to the workshop opened, managing to alert Stagmer despite the sound-suppressing field around the workshop.

He came out while still brushing molten droplets of metal off his hands, which rapidly solidified when they hit the ground and cleaned themselves up on their own, rapidly skittering towards a barrel labeled “for smelting”.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite customer,” he grinned as he saw Isaac, “Your old suit was pretty much perfect as is, I’d need Tier 10 [Raid Boss] parts to make any significant improvements, but it’s still quite a bit tougher than before.”

As the blacksmith spoke, a new armor stand appeared next to him, wearing the new set.

It was a lot like the old one but with Void Dragon scale highlights. They were the darkest parts, the ones that practically looked black, giving it an interesting pattern.

However, the description and stats had barely changed, the Stat boost had increased by two percentage points, and the new material being mentioned. A worthy upgrade, but one that might not necessarily make that much of a difference.

He grabbed the armor, thanked Stagmer, handed over some interesting materials, and put it back in its rightful slot in [Fully Geared], filling the final slot. There were six sets in there in total, containing his main armor, his backup, his “backpack” which was absolutely covered in pockets and pouches containing emergency materials, and the Space Elemental core he needed to access his regular inventory.

There was also a spare set of formal clothing so he did not end up in the Bundestag in jeans and a T-shirt again, der Mittelfinger, the magical “explosive vest” that could obliterate everything around him, and a newly made Juggernaut suit to use in conjunction with Arthur’s armor [Skill] the next time he borrowed it.

“And it’s very nice to meet you in person, Mr. Wells,” Stagmer addressed Arthur, “I was wondering, what on Earth did you fight to do that to your last set?”

“Gravity-based pugilist,” Arthur said, “Absorbed a few tons of dirt to increase his mass and used me as his punching bag.”

“Oof,” Stagmer winced, “Do you want me to take your new set back and upgrade it to give it some more padding?”

Arthur shook his head, “He’s dead now, unless you can do the upgrade without affecting other stats, it’ll be fine.”

“In that case, I’ll leave it as is,” Stagmer nodded and manifested a second armor stand.

Heavy plate armor made from Sagittarius Steel, which was an alloy with largely similar mechanical properties to the other metals that replaced steel in high-Level constructions, but was far heavier.

Backing it was mithril chainmail, especially in the joints and other vulnerable spots.

Mithril was another alloy, specifically the latest in a long series that had been given the name, in fact, it was the first one that had kept the title for more than a few weeks. People had been claiming to have found/invented the stuff since a week after initialization, only for a superior material to be found in short order. Well, either that or the material had spectacularly failed to live up to the hype. That had happened a few times as well.

A closed visor that was almost impossible to see or stab through would protect the wearer’s face while allowing them to see out perfectly, a long helmet plume of a Stormraven’s black feathers trailing down to the neck.

“This is largely a traditional medieval armor, with the design having been slightly improved in places, though I decided to leave out the huge crotch bulge,” Stagmer explained, prompting a mixture of confusion and disgust to cover Arthur’s face.

“Back then, a whole lot of knights had syphilis and needed the space to keep their junk as painless as possible,” Stagmer immediately explained, “But it would be too easy to target, obscene, and largely pointless. I hope that won’t be a problem.”

Isaac sniggered. He’d known about that, but despite not being high anymore, having it laid out like that was funny.

“What are the inner layers made out of?” Arthur asked and Stagmer began to explain, but Isaac didn’t pay attention after that. He couldn’t, something entirely more pressing had come up.

[Book with Seven Seals] had asked before replacing the view of his surroundings with a vision without warning, but a potential “apocalypse imminent” warning could hardly be ignored.

Interestingly, he could still keep an eye on his surroundings with his [Aura] even as a map flashed in his eyes, showing the various islands north of Australia without focussing on any one in particular, a sandy beach, a jungle, a flash of several concrete chambers, summoning circles, a calendar with the date “May 2nd, 2032” circled, and a face that graced most countries “most wanted” lists.

According to its descriptions, the [Skill] only ever provided concrete, confirmed, information, which meant that if it talked about a facet of the world, then that “facet” was already locked in and real, and would not chain if the subject ever reached the point of “apocalypse”.

So while the [Skill] hadn’t given him a proper set of data needed to immediately find the cult, if they ever found the cult, it would be somewhere in Oceania.

Unfortunately, it’d never hand out a complete dossier until the end of days was absolutely imminent, but it would progressively hand out more and more hints.

Maybe, just maybe, the information about the enemy base, namely that it was somewhere in Oceania, on an island with a jungle on it, underground, and someone would summon something.

Using [Wisdom of the Simurgh] didn’t help much, just “forest and beach” without any noticeable background features was just way too bloody generic.

Of course, with just two of seven “seals” informing him about the truth of the matter, he knew he had plenty of time to investigate.

Isaac left Arthur to look his armor over again, before thanking Stagmer again and dragging his friend out of the door.

“I just got another piece of information from my apocalypse predicting [Skill], the cult is planning to summon something on the [System’s] tenth anniversary, but we might be able to catch them ahead of time,” he said after putting up a privacy [Skill], “Can you see what you can do about getting some military support for a potential raid on your end, once we have a target?”

“Sure,” Arthur said, “Anything else? And what are you going to do?”

“Just prepare, maybe see if you can get some extra training on storming a fortified position,” Isaac told him, “I’ll keep looking for a target, and talk to my contacts.”

Storming a fortified bunker on foreign soil was highly unlikely to be easy, quiet, or free of negative consequences on the diplomatic front. Not to mention that they needed to avoid having the preparations leak. It would be a fine line to walk, they’d mostly be limited to having their contacts talk and make preparations “in case we ever get a target”, but they did need to prepare.

Getting diplomatic permission to act on foreign soil might actually be very easy, even with regard to avoiding giving a warning. All that was needed was an ambassador from a suitably influential nation, potentially even multiple nations, browbeating whichever state the cult had shacked up in.

It was far from his favorite way of conducting “diplomacy”, but the brute-force approach could be very quick.

Another thing they’d likely need was military support for locking down the surrounding area and preventing runners.

The Round Table had power in spades, even if one only counted those whose connection to Isaac and Arthur was known.

What they didn’t have were the raw numbers necessary for an operation like this.

Just the German military would also be far from sufficient. The Bundeswehr was built for home defense, with a tiny navy that patrolled the North Sea, and that was the long and short of it.

Arthur’s relationship with the British government was a little odd at times, with them being somewhat wary of him due to his status as the confirmed heir to the historical forefather of the nation, but it was good overall. Cutting loose a carrier group to support the operation might not be entirely in the cards, though.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The biggest navy in the world was the US, and Isaac had an overall decent relationship with the Americans, decent was a far cry from “hey, can I borrow a carrier or two” being met with anything other than shocked laughter.

Still, having a location for the world’s greatest danger that could actually be subdued by physical force was one hell of a bargaining chip.

They’d have to see what the future brought.

***

More forest, a brief picture of a village, and more besides, flashing in his inner eye.

Isaac blinked several times as his normal surroundings came back into view. A few street and restaurant signs that gave him information on the local language, some more flora samples that narrowed down matters, more info to throw to Zambon, who’d been exploring Oceania for a damn long time.

He checked the info tab of [Book with Seven Seals] once again.

Prophecy 1: Selfishness of the Pessimists

Seal 1:

Already given up,

A promised salvation dark,

Pact of destruction

Seal 2:

Vision (click to rewatch)

Seal 3:

Defense Information

Seal 4:

Vision 2 (click to rewatch)

Seal 5:

unknown

 

This latest piece of information had the halfway point to the end of the bloody world.

He’d also gotten an exact number for his foes from the third Seal, aka five individuals who were true believers, and a mercenary company that Arthur would trash the instant the fight started.

[Royal Action] had a sub-[Skill] that would inform every law enforcement agency on the planet about who those people were working for, freezing their accounts, putting them on every list in existence, and so on, while also informing the “victims” of what he’d done.

Not to mention that unless he undid the [Skill], they’d be automatically trackable by anyone with a law enforcement [Class], leaving them to either run or be royally fucked.

***

Another week after that, Zambon rang up Isaac, Isaac rang up Arthur, and Arthur rang up British Naval command.

They had a target. They had allies. And all it had cost was a little time, political capital, and sharing the fact that Isaac had a prophecy [Skill]. They didn’t share the specifics, though, just the fact that he had one, and quite frankly, keeping that secret while trying to cash in on the information it provided would have been tough anyway.

The list of stuff to do was now very short. Wipe out the remains of the cult, hit Level 200, convince various nations to try and adjust to the [System] rather than clinging to old social structures until they broke catastrophically, and then, once the world was “safe”, take a long nap.

But before he charged headlong into battle, he checked his status sheet one final time.

Name: Isaac Thoma

Class: Challenger of the Apocalypse

Species: Einherjar

Level: 187

XP: 70,719/3,760,000

Health Status: Healthy

Mana: 4,150/4,150

Stats

Fortitude

350 (+20)

Perception

1,000Strength

450 (+15)

Agility

1,000Magic Power

405 (+10)

Magic Regeneration

1,000Free Points: 0 Stat, 3 Skill

Aura

Aura of the Crimson Dawn (short range, combat, blood, regeneration)

Aura of the Desperate Seeker (long range, sensory, mental, projection)

Aura of the Eternal Warrior (mid-range, combat/mental/sensory, armament)

Central Skills

Form of Horror XXX

The Chosen Weapon XXX

I Am The Sword XXV

Grave of Swords XXX

Armory of Ancient Times XXVII

Legacy of a True Warrior XXX

Divine Fire XVI

Champion of Mankind XV

Final Defiance I

Aspects of the End (Speed of Hati, Power of the Behemoth, Wisdom of the Simurgh) X

 

Skills

Hundred Faces XXVIII

Stealth XXIX

Power Strike XXX

Piercing Strike XXX

Sundering Strike XXX

Blades XXX

Sneak XXX

Sweeping Strike XVIII

Far Strike XXX

Manifold Strike XXX

Hunter’s Gaze XXX

Phantom Step XXIV

Unknown Fear XXX

Bestial Regeneration XXX

Undying Focus XXX

Tools of Terror XXI

Fleeting Presence XVIII

Crippling Blow XVIII

Absolute Blade Mastery XXV

Compounded Impact XVIII

True Cut XVII

Legendary Blow XXV

Fully Geared XXVI

Knightly Leader XXX

Analyze Person XVIII

Continent Strider XXI

Burden of Power VIII

Expert’s Insight XII

Blessing of Innovation XXVI

Lessons of History XVI

The Meaning of the Name XVIII

Titanic Presence IX

Fire Soul VII

Book With Seven Seals I

Call of the Gjallarhorn I

General Skills

Gralloch XVIII

Alchemy XVI

Death’s Embrace VIII

Bloodline of the Hellborne Survivor (Empower Relatives)

Advanced Bureaucracy VIII

Police Procedure VIII

Healing VII

Quest Giver III

Omniglot (5.998 languages known)

Member of the Round Table (Shade: Seon Yoo-jin)

Accumulation of Knowledge (unranked)

Well of Wisdom’s Blessing (unranked)

Enhanced Dragon-Scale Web (unranked)

Crimson Runic Script VIII

Unrestricted Speech VI

Biomantic Alteration (unranked)

Aspects

Aspect Skills

Archspecter (full stack)

Ephemeral Phase

Ghostly Freedom

Endless Hunting

Spectral Touch

Lernean Hydra (full stack)

Hydra’s Restoration

Adaptive Regeneration

Disposable Organs

Dismiss Injuries

Megalodon (2 stack)

Shark’s Body

Wave Charge

Reality Filter (full stack)

Reality Shift

Perception End

Set Illusions

Free Illusions

Living Sword (full stack)

All Blade Style

Involable Blades

Annihilating Trails

Unhindered Bladework

Void Dragon (4 stack)

Star’s Heart

Infinite Mind

Scales of the Void

Wings of the Void

Demon Lord (3 stack)

Moment of Immortality

Supreme Hellflame

Hell-Bone Armor

Space Elemental (2 stack)

Fixed Point

Space Affinity

Ankou (full stack)

Freedom from Mortal Limits

Eternal Restoration

Implements of True Death

Reaper’s Cloak

Royal Draugr (full stack)

Endurance of the Eternal Warrior

Always Armored

Spectral Plate

Loyalty Past Death

[Empty Slot]