[CHAPTER 10]
Leo jogged up the stairs to the second floor. Before getting all the way to the top he slowed, listening for any noises from the Antithesis he’d left there not five minutes prior. He didn’t hear anything but that doesn’t mean much when the thing you are listening for doesn’t make much noise to begin with. Edging farther up the stairs he caught sight of his hard-light wall still standing. Going a few steps farther did not show any Antithesis anywhere near the opening of the stairwell.
“I wonder where they went.” he muttered under his breath before dispelling the wall and stepping into the hallway. Leo peered down both directions to try and catch sight of any of the plants nearby. Certain that no Antithesis were hiding nearby he stepped out to plan his next move.
“Aegys, how long will my hard-light walls stay in place?”
<Assuming nothing attacks them, they will stay active for approximately thirty minutes. You can also dispel them remotely. Should you desire something longer lasting, we do have some options.>
“What do we have?”
<There is a stationary hard-light projector you can set up that will last approximately five hours assuming nothing attacks it. Even if the group you encountered earlier were to attack it non-stop the moment you placed it the wall would last for four hours before it failed.>
A plan formed in his mind. “Please get me one of those big enough to block this entire hallway. Will I be able to set an effect like I did last time?”
<The Mk II Hard-Light Bulwark would allow this. Total cost per unit is 100 points and can project a hard-light wall up to twenty feet in any direction.>
“Get me one for now.”
<Standby.>
New Purchase: Mk II Hard-Light Bulwark
Points reduced to - 2147
The box that appeared was rectangular in shape, two feet long by a few inches wide. Opening his new present Leo picked up what appeared to be a staff with a phoenix head on one end and tapered to a point on the other.
<Hold it above where you want the center of the wall to go with the pointed end down. Make sure the head is facing away from you before pressing the button.>
Following the directions given Leo pressed the button. A bright laser shot into the floor boring a hole before the staff tore itself out of his hand and stabbed into the floor. A second later it extended to stand four feet tall and what looked like wings of fire burst from the sides of the staff, settling against the edges of the corridor.
“Flashy.” he commented before pressing an orb of fire into the wall.
<Are you not a fan?>
“I didn’t say that. It will definitely make me stand out in a crowd though.”
Confirming the wall was working Leo turned and began walking back towards the shop where he found Sylvester. As he walked he kept an eye out for any survivors, glancing into the various shops and quietly calling out.
A short while later he made it back to Sylvester’s shop. Glancing at the sign Leo couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hey Aegys, I think I found your coffee shop.”
<Looks like you did. Unfortunately I believe they may be closed.>
“Hmm, it’s possible I guess. Best get moving then.” Leo turned away from the shop and began his trek farther down the hall.
<Watch out!>
Before Leo got more than a few steps away, Aegys called out a warning at the same time as a spiked tentacle stabbed into his right shoulder and yanked him over the counter and into the shop.
“Agh, fuck!” Leo reached to his hip where one of the Hummingbirds sat and pointed it towards a writhing mass of tentacles he saw on the ceiling. Before he was able to get a lock-on, another tentacle smashed into his hand, throwing the gun across the room and shattering a few of his fingers.
Unable to move one arm and with the other hand being almost pulverized, Leo only had one option left. With all the adrenaline rushing through his veins Leo screamed, “Burst!” and screwed his eyes shut.
A moment later another spike tipped tentacle took him in the back of the knee.
‘Shit, guess that doesn’t work like the game.’ was the only thought Leo could have since it felt like liquid fire was pouring through his leg and shoulder. At this point his hand was more numb than painful, especially when compared to the two tentacles still writhing around in his shoulder and leg.
<Leo! The bracer! Use your bracer!>
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‘But the only bracer I have is on my right hand. I should have gotten another.’
Leo’s mind was going foggy and he watched as a drop of ruby red fell into a small puddle on the floor. It seemed to glitter as it fell before it splashed into the rest, muffling the incessant noise in his head. The tentacle in his shoulder twitched just hard enough to send a shock of pain through him, and with it a blast of adrenaline that cleared his thoughts just enough to realize,
‘I’m so stupid.’
He activated both bracers at the same time to start filling orbs of fire and launch them in every direction he could point them. Soon enough the entire shop was a sea of light and heat as it went up in flames. Leo gasped as the tentacles that still held him suspended began spasming, ripping his shoulder and knee to shreds. Moments later he fell to the floor as they burnt to ash.
Target Eliminated!
Reward - 15 Points
<Leo, you need to activate the active heatsink in your cloak. You can’t get any medical devices that will withstand this heat until the flames die down.>
Mentally toggling an icon in his HUD that looked like a flame with a circle and line through it, Leo felt a wave of cold come over him. Cracking his eyes open, Leo saw what looked like a film of frost on everything around him.
‘Poor guy just got fired.’ Leo giggled then groaned as the movement shifted his shoulder.
“Ae…” he coughed out a bit of blood. “Aegys, heals please.”
New Purchase: Class I Nano-Regenerative Suite
Points reduced to - 2142
Leo dragged the box closer using his forearm and managed to flip the lid off. Inside were two cylinders that were attached to a mouthpiece in the middle.
“How am I supposed to use this with no functional hands? I can’t exactly press a button.”
<This version will activate as soon as you breathe in. No need to press any buttons.>
He stuck his whole face into the box and managed to snag the mouthpiece with his teeth. Getting it set into his mouth he clamped down and breathed as deep as he could. What followed could only be described as breathing an electric cloud. A numbing feeling spread from his chest and down each limb, finally settling in the areas he was injured.
New Purchase: Class I Hemo-Restore
Points reduced to - 2137
He reached over and moved the box closer again before flipping the lid off. Inside was a tube, crimson red with a sort of plastic stopper at one end. A yellow arrow pointed towards the stopper.
<Give it a few seconds for the Nano-Regenerative Suite to finish with your hand and you should be able to at least grab it. All you need to do is press it to your skin.>
Just like Aegys said, a few seconds later Leo could just barely feel his hand. Moving it too much produced a dull grinding feeling that probably wasn’t too good for him so Leo quickly grabbed the tube and pressed it into the side of his neck. He didn’t feel anything and was about to ask what went wrong before Aegys said,
<Done. It injected a series of tubes through your skin that connected with the nearest artery and injected the Hemo-Restore directly into your system.>
“Fancy.” Leo tried to sit up and lean against the counter. Despite some stiffness and some minor grinding feelings he was no longer in any pain. “What the fuck was that?” he asked.
<That was a Model Four. They are common ambush…>
“No, not that thing. I know what Model Fours are, I’m just upset that I didn’t think to look up. No, I was asking about the fact that this room went from Dante''s Inferno to Mr. Freeze’s lair in a couple seconds.”
<Ah, that would be the active heatsink ability of your Phoenix Mantle. It steals the heat energy of the surrounding molecules and contains it in a material with a vastly superior heat retention than anything on Earth.>
“Ok, so the lack of molecule energy caused any liquids to freeze…I didn’t think it was this powerful. What if there are people nearby? Will they get caught in the radius?”
<No, there is a failsafe built in. Any biological organisms that are nearby will be excluded. This does include Antithesis unfortunately.>
“Well I can’t have everything I guess.” While they were talking, Leo periodically tested his injuries. Noticing they still hurt a bit he settled down to wait a bit longer.
“Is there any way to make my body stronger? Armor only works on what it covers and I don’t really want to wear a power armor suit everywhere.”
<There are many options for how to do this. I would recommend the Class I Bursyamo Catalog for 150 points combined with the Class I Genetic Manipulation Catalog for 250 points. The Bursyamo are a race of feathered bipeds whose homeworld is extremely close to their sun and covered in volcanic activity. As such, they evolved to have dense bones and muscles to combat a higher gravity as well as feathers and skin designed to shield them from heat. For you, this gives the options to shield your own body from any heat while also making you much harder to injure.>
“Would that cause me to grow feathers? I am rather fond of my skin.” Leo asked nervously.
<Unless you wanted feathers, then no, you would not have any. The only side effect would be slightly less sensitivity due to the thicker skin, but this could be overcome with a nerve augmentation from the Genetic Manipulation catalog.>
“Ok. I’m assuming that would take awhile so remind me of it once we have enough downtime.”
<Of Course.>
Leo sat there feeling the litany of injuries he had received. There was an exhaustion that had settled deep into his bones. “Aegys, I think I need a nap. Something tells me my two hour lights out session earlier was by no means restful and becoming an Antithesis chew toy did me no favors.”
<I would consider that a good idea. You should also eat something, it will help the medical nanites work.>
“Get me another hard-light bulwark and something easy to consume. Maybe something to sleep on that isn''t a fast food restaurant floor.”
<Standby.>
New Purchase: Hard-Light Bulwark
Points reduced to - 2037
New Purchase: Class 0 Field Ration
Points reduced to - 2036
New Purchase: Class 0 Bedroll
Points reduced to - 2035
Leo opened the bulwark and set it up to block the entrance to the shop before opening the larger box to reveal what looked like a rolled up sleeping bag. He unrolled it and watched as it seemed to inflate into a self contained air mattress with a sleeping bag attached. The smallest box contained a squeeze tube.
He settled into the bedroll and ate the squeeze tube which tasted like exactly nothing. “Aegys, please let Kat know I’m okay. Wake me up if something happens.”
<Of course.>