Redo: Grimoire System in the Apocalypse

Blaze watched the young lad with curiosity as corpses were launched into the air. Not half an hour ago, the man had been forcing himself just to approach the front line.

He had always been a perceptive and calculative individual, but he couldn't figure out exactly what Peter had just done.

"Just what was that?" Blaze muttered.

He'd continued watching the young man closely as he cast spells into the crowd. There hadn't been much time for him to learn about the newcomers' Classes or Skills.

"It wasn't as simple as a Berserk Skill. The moment that Skill was activated, I felt a change in my own behavior as well."

This kind of Skill could be both a saving grace and highly detrimental to their party if not used properly. Luckily, he had more than enough points invested in Wisdom to shrug off the effects. 

His eyes consistently strayed across the battlefield, studying each party member's attitudes since the spell had been cast.

'No changes in Geth, that's to be expected. Filthy and each of the Skeletons seem to be firing faster than before. The rhythm is off.'

Glancing back, Blaze also noticed that those who were resting had found a new fighting spirit. Each of them was staring longingly toward the crowd of wolves.

His eyes shifted to Swole, who he was concerned the most with. With no Intelligence or Wisdom, he would likely be influenced the most.

'Thank goodness he's still passed out.'

Swole was still sleeping peacefully on the back of Geth's wolf. Zolis and Filthy's Direwolf Pups patrolled the area but stayed close enough to gain residual experience.

Blaze glanced at his own experience bar. It was almost pitiful how slowly it was increasing.

Experience being shared among ten individuals and seven Tames restricted the leveling speed. Even with the snail's pace for the group, he was impressed at how quickly the front line was leveling.

"Blaze, what are the numbers looking like?"

Felix was sitting next to him, watching the battle. He had been another that frequented their Dungeons and Dragons sessions.

"If my calculations are accurate, the original number would be close to 9000 wolves. That's only within the three rooms where the stones were used for the Formation."

He looked over at his friend to see that his brows were creased. He ran his hand across his braids and looked out into the sea of beasts before them.

The man was almost the exact same as back on earth. The only difference was that his irises had turned pure gold.

Felix's parents had moved to the U.S. from Haiti when he was just a kid. They had moved in next where Blaze's family was living at the time.

The two had hit it off quickly and spent most of their childhood pretending to cast magic out of cool sticks they'd found on the ground.

Blaze couldn't help but smile at the fond memories. He even chuckled at the fact that both of them ended up becoming mages.

While he was reminiscing, he felt a slight disturbance in the Mana. One of his selves tried to hone in on the source.

He sent a message to Geth almost on instinct, but it seemed that their communication was blocked. 

Blaze frowned and tried to send the communication again. He could have yelled, but he didn't want to disturb the others.

If there was too much distraction, there was a high probability of the beasts being able to storm through.

While casting another Fireball, he motioned to Felix.

"See if you can send me a message through your Grimoire."

Felix raised his eyebrows but didn't question his friend's request. He made a fast motion in the air in front of the shimmering tome.

A frown soon found its way upon Felix's face as well.

"It isn't getting through. What's going on, Blaze?"

"I'm not sure. I felt a slight disturbance, and I can-"

Blaze stopped talking for a moment. One of his selves just managed to pick up on something.

He turned toward the outer edge of the Formation, near one of the massive stones.

At that moment, there was a slight movement in the brush. It wasn't easy to make out, but Blaze swore that he'd seen a man.

"Go tell Geth that we've got company. Be subtle about it."

Felix's brows shot high, but he wouldn't question anything his friend asked. Blaze made sure not to make a big deal of watching him walk off and cast another Fireball.

'I hope that it's nothing major. Now definitely isn't the time.'

****

Felix noticed the seriousness in his friend's expression. Neither of them had ever really been the serious type, so it had to be something serious.

Blaze's face crumpled further after he'd turned his head to look at the forest. That's when Felix was sure that something was up.

"Go tell Geth that we've got company. Be subtle about it."

Felix couldn't help the change in his expression. He quickly calmed down and began to act normal.

'Who the hell would try to disturb them in an area like this? Usually, Direwolves would be crawling around the place.'

He placed his hands on top of his head and casually strolled down the makeshift steps. There were many people with enhanced eyesight now, so he made sure not to act awkward.

'There's no way a single person has the ability to block communications from that range.'

Being someone who focused on debuffs and control magic himself, he was sure that there had to be more than one player behind this.

"Hey, what's going on, Sindri? Have you chosen a new Class yet?"

Felix even made sure to stop and make small talk. He wanted to be as careful as possible not to be spotted acting abnormally.

Sindri flashed a beautiful smile and nodded her head with zeal.

"Yes! I think I found the perfect Class! It will help with both sustainability and tanking for long durations."

Felix was actually quite impressed. He gave her a thumbs-up as he passed by.

"That's awesome! I'll be relying on you to keep my scrawny ass safe!"

He heard her laughing as he continued walking by. He turned the corner and almost ran into Jack.

The young man leaned on the edge of the wall and watched Peter closely. It seemed as if he was concerned for him.

"Oh, I didn't see you there, Felix. Is everything alright?" 

"Everything's okay. I just wanted to take a glance at what you front-liners see. You know, hanging out at the back can be pretty dull at times."

Jack chuckled at his senior and patted his shoulder.

"Just don't let Peter's Skill get to you if you wander too close. You might find yourself diving head-first into the wolves just to see if you can handle it."

Felix was instantly curious. 

"What Class is he, exactly?"

"He's a Warrior, like me. Only, he doesn't have a single offensive or defensive Skill. All of his Skills and Talents are pretty much support since he prefers not to be on the front lines."

Again, Felix gained even more curiosity about the chubby young man. If he wanted to be a Support Class, why did he end up choosing Warrior?

Not wanting to get caught up in a long conversation, Felix made his way forward. He looked at the man who'd made it a point to recruit him to the party.

He'd first met Geth and Zolis at Blaze's first Dungeons and Dragons session. His parents had moved away before high school, so he'd never had a chance to meet Blaze's friends.

Felix was curious about the man from the beginning. Geth looked like an extraordinarily genuine and affable guy.

Even so, Felix always felt uncomfortable around him. The man scared him, but he never really knew why.

At least, that was until he watched him slaughtering these Direwolves with no care in the world.

When he fought, his face was utterly void of all expression. Even when he purposely took damage, which was already bizarre, his face remained impassive.

It was like looking at a robot!

He approached the cold man on his right side and spoke so that Peter couldn't hear. Felix didn't think the man would notice anyway in his battle-crazed state.

"Geth. There seems to be a problem."

Felix noticed that there wasn't a single deviation in the man's movements. Not even his muscles tensed slightly.

'Impressive.'

"Give me the details."

Flat. Completely apathetic.

"Communications are cut off. Something's blocking us from speaking through our Grimoires. Blaze believes that the Formation is being tampered with."

Geth nodded.

"I sensed a change as well. For now, continue acting like you don't know anything. The situation is too precarious for us to veer from our current goal."

Felix raised an eyebrow.

"I would like to add; It can't be a single person. The range is too great."

Geth nodded again.

"That's fine. If they didn't make a move immediately, they are uncertain about proceeding. 

Our best move is to get as many of us to 50 as possible. Inform Zolis and Sindri it's time to switch shifts."

"Got it."

Felix glanced back as he moved away. Geth's demeanor didn't change at all. 

He looked over at the young woman swinging around her battleaxe. The gleeful expression on her face was a stark contrast to her husband's.

Zolis had always been one to wear her emotions on her sleeve. She could be read as effortlessly as the Grimoire floating in front of him.

****

Geth smiled inwardly. There was only one explanation that he could think as to why someone would be setting up such an elaborate trap.

'So, someone thinks they can swoop in and steal our Boss, huh?'